The Tarryn Reeves Show

AI, Creativity, and Storytelling: The Future of Books, Film, and Music

• Tarryn Reeves • Episode 66

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What does it really take to turn imagination into impact? In this powerful conversation, Tarryn sits down with award-winning storyteller, independent filmmaker, and multi-lingual creator Sylvia Greif, author of the children’s book Lester’s Planet and the YA adventure Ella Green and the Kingdom of Abud, co-founder of Medi LLC, and host of Stories, Controversy & Bandaids.

You’ll hear how Sylvia:

  • Transformed severe dyslexia into a creative superpower and finished multiple books.


  • Uses storytelling to shape values for children and young adults, blending environmental themes, empathy, and wonder.


  • Balances entertainment with message, so stories teach without preaching.


  • Navigates the realities of independent filmmaking, including her deeply personal documentary uncovering her mother’s WWII spy history, and why mental health must be part of the creative conversation.


  • Thinks about AI in film, music, and publishing, where it helps (restoration, research) and where we need boundaries.


  • Builds creative routines (hello, 3 a.m. writing sprints) and finds inspiration across languages, travel, and nature.


If you’re an entrepreneur or creator who wants to write, publish, or produce meaningful work that actually moves people, and positions you as the authority, this episode is your masterclass in courage, craft, and owning your story.

Connect with Sylvia:

 Ready to write the authority-building book your market can’t ignore? Visit automaticauthority.com to get started.


Welcome to the Tarryn Reeves Show, the podcast for elite entrepreneurs, visionary leaders, and high impact CEOs who are ready to grow their brand, amplify their message, and build a legacy. I'm your host, Tarryn Reeves, multiple international bestselling author, publishing strategist and founder of Automatic Authority Publishing and Press House. Each week we dive into powerful conversations with trailblazing entrepreneurs and change makers who are using storytelling. To scale their business and impact. So grab your favorite drink, settle in, and get ready for a dose of inspiration, strategy, and the truth behind what it really takes to turn your wisdom into wealth. All righty. Today I'm joined by Sylvia Greif, who is an award-winning storyteller, independent filmmaker, and creative force behind Medi LLC and the podcast stories, controversy, and bandaids. She's a Swiss born author, producer, and chart topping singer songwriter, who is known for pushing boundaries and sparking fresh conversations at the intersection of creativity, technology, and social impact. Sylvia is the author of the children's book, Lester's Planet and the Action Adventure Young adult trilogy that begins with Ella Green and the Kingdom of Abud. Her storytelling spans, formats and generations bringing imagination, empathy, and environmental awareness to the forefront. Fluent in five languages and deeply passionate about animal advocacy. Sylvia works with nonprofits to fight animal cruelty and promote wildlife conservation. Whether she's discussing children's literature, the challenges of independent filmmaking, or how AI is disrupting film, music, and books, Sylvia brings bold insights and fearless spirit to every conversation. Let's welcome Sylvia to the Tarn Reed Show. How are you? I am amazing. How are you today? I'm good, thank you. That is good. Now, Sylvia, you've been called an award-winning storyteller. What drew you to storytelling in the first place? So I started as a creative mm-hmm. As a singer into the business. And just before COVID, I felt the need to write a book. Mm-hmm. Uh, the first book was about my chihuahua 'cause I'm an animal lover. Yes. Called Lester. It's a real story. Okay. And true story. And that was really for children range, so three to six, seven. Then before COVID, I wrote my second book of ELA Green and the Kingdom of a Book. Mm-hmm. The story is not autobiography, it is more about a message. I think it's very important for me personally, if I write something or if I sing when I write my lyrics, that's the, I convey a message. Yes. And you said that you felt the need to write a book. Yes. Now as a publisher and a storyteller myself, I believe that every single person in them has a story to tell, whether that be fiction or nonfiction or both. Mm-hmm. What do you believe kind of felt that need to rise up and you took action to do it? Because a lot of people feel the need. They don't do anything about it. They just go, oh, I can't write that, or I can't tell that story. I think that if you want, you can, and I'll tell you why. I suffer from very severe dyslexia. And it was really, for me, climbing the Everest to write that book, I felt bad. I said, oh my God, when I'm gonna send the first draft to any editor, they're gonna be so mistakes because I see words when I write some things. I see words upside down, numbers, eban numbers. It's impossible for me. So it was really a decision I took. I said, should I try or not? And I wrote the book. The editing was a nightmare. Really, really, I had someone to help me obviously before I sent anything, and there are many times where I thought of giving up. Mm-hmm. Because sometimes my head was in another dimension. My thoughts always difficult to write little things, but adding up little things that add up make it a huge mountain. So, yeah, so I, I wrote it during COVID. I had time and so I think it's important. To try. Mm. There's no success, and I don't think you should write to become famous, or you should sing to become famous. You should do these things because your soul tells you to do them and you need it. Whatever happens after is great, you know? Yes. Yeah. I love that. I love that you didn't let your challenges like dyslexia mm-hmm. Stand in your way of doing something you wanted, you know, I have so many writers who come to me or say, oh, I wanna write a book, but English is my third language, or I have, English is not my first language. No, that's right. Um, your Swiss born living in Monaco. Yes. And you still managed to write not one, but two books. So you are quite a formidable force, Sylvia and I absolutely love that. Let's talk storytelling because it's something you and I both love very, very much, but I have kids. Yes. And you've written a children's book and young adults book. Yes. What role do you think that stories play, especially stories with messages play in shaping how young people see the world? Oh my God. Okay, where do I start? It's essential. In the crazy world we are living in, I think kids are the future, the way they're raised, the way they see things can shape our world. Mm-hmm. To a better world because it needs it today. And yeah, I think it's very important, uh, to convey a message and unless this planet. That was my little chihuahua. I love animals. I've always been an animal advocate. I had many pets, wild animals. I was raised. Some lions. So I've always been surrounded with animals, actually more than with humans. They are true love. Not that your husband, your boyfriend or family, it's a different kind of relationship. Yeah, it's an unconditional love. Exactly. And I think when I say that, my friends, a lot of. My friends and my business partner, Michelle Gray, she's exactly like me. We understand people who don't have dogs who say, my God, what is this crazy lady they're talking about, you know? Yes. Uh, but um, I'm not completely crazy. But yeah, I think that the blessed this planet was about puppy mills. I don't know if you have puppy Mills in Australia. Happy Meals, unfortunately everywhere. Yes. Yeah. And at the time I was touring and I represented the Human Society of the United States. For the fight against Pappy Mills. Mm-hmm. Um, and from that I decided to write a book because a friend of mine said, well, Leicester is such a amazing dog. He was one kilo three, which means a peanut. Oh, that's tiny. And very, very courageous. Huge attack pit bulls and had no idea of how small he was. You know, completely crazy. So I wrote a book about him and it's actually a real story because I was traveling from east in the south of France to Switzerland and he was in my handbag and we are walking to go to the gate and I was with a friend, with a doctor, and suddenly this crazy little one sees a huge dog. And what does he decide to do? He decides to jump from my back and go and attack the dog. Obviously, I'm quite tall, so you imagine he fell on his head? Oh. He fell on his head and I thought he was dead. My doctor friend took him with him in the ladies' room and ated him with breath to breath. It's in the book. Oh my goodness. It's Everything is true. And then this friend of mine later on said, Sylvia, you have to write a story about him because this dog is amazing. So I used. Lester, when I went to LA I was gonna adopt a dog and I went to a shelter and that's how the story started with Lester. So the message is that we have to respect all living creatures. Yeah. And it's very important for children to know that, to respect life, to see also the truth. I tried not to be too harsh in the story 'cause it's for very little children, but just to make them understand how important it is to love. Yeah. And to be kind. Yeah. And I think that we as humans have this. Inbuilt kind of intuitive system where we learn through storytelling. I think it's one of the most important endearing and enduring facets of being a human being. Because if you think about it as far back as any of us remember from human existence, or not even remember, but like through the history books, people sat around fires and they told stories. Law was passed down in stories. And like the Bible, religious ticks are told in stories and it's really how we learn. And I think one of the most loved things I like to do as a parent is read stories to my children. But I always try and choose books that encourage some sort of lesson learning value, moral that comes outta it. Yeah. And I love that. I'm gonna get Lester, my little boy. He's currently one. Mm-hmm. So I'll have to get your list. Oh, some beautiful images so he can look at, yeah, I'll have to get at, read that to him. Now, I'm curious as a creative, Sylvia. Yes. What sparks your imagination the most, whether it be for your song lyrics, like where do you find your inspir? So I speak different languages. Yes. Switzerland. They already have German, French, Italian, and then I. Speak also English. I try to at least Spanish and I'm learning Chinese because I traveled around the world and I like different cultures. Yeah, I think we learned a lot from that and I get my creativity from there, whether I, when I write lyrics, I like to write, when I travel, when I'm in a plane or the train, like riding. Maybe because it's a moment of peace mm-hmm. Where nothing is gonna disturb me. My phone's not gonna ring. I'm hyperactive, so I'm not gonna start doing something else. 10 things at the same time when I'm sitting in a plane, I can't just get out the door. Yes. Right. I just have to stay there. And, and I found that it, uh, triggers my creativity. To be up there. Up there in the sky. Yeah. 30,000 feet of high. Or in a train for Ella Green, I wrote mainly in a train. Mm-hmm. And creativity for me is my travels, my childhood. Also how I grew up for Ella Green. Obviously there's maybe always something of us when we write a book. Absolutely. So yes, that's how I trigger my creativity. And for the music, it's the same thing. Mm-hmm. And do you have a creative routine? So when you sit down to write, or are you just able to sit down, open a laptop or a notebook and just write away? Or do you have to have like a specific set of rituals, I suppose? Yeah, so I, for Ella Green, I used to wake up at 3:00 AM mm-hmm. With my three dogs, with me at the office. Cappuccino and I would write until about 7:00 AM 8:00 AM mm-hmm. And then I'd stop. I like writing. I like the morning, early morning. I'm an early riser. Me too. Uh, I think it's the best moment of the day when everything is still, still, and when the sun is still asleep. You know, I think it's so peaceful. Mm-hmm. So that's my routine for writing. Then I will write also in the afternoon whenever I feel it. But my routine was really for Ella in the morning. Yeah. For singing at night. I like, but then again, if I have to record at 10:00 AM I'll do it. Yeah. It's not the same. The vibe is not the same. Yeah. But I prefer at night. Yes. Interesting. Now, Lester's Planet is a children's book, ages three to about six or seven, you said. Mm-hmm. But Ella Green is your series, I suppose, that have meaningful themes and are aimed at a young adult. Young adults. Yes. What made you want to write for a young adult audience after having written for younger children? I don't know. It's just kidding. Like that? No, because Okay. To make, uh, has been made in French to make it short. Yes. I went to boarding school at a very young age. I was six and I was bullied in boarding school. You know, when you're very young, you're still your mommy's girl. Mm-hmm. And it made me become stronger, but I had to fight. Yes. So the story is when I used to go to bed, I used to plunge into my bed and cover myself with a duvet. Hmm. You say duvet In Australia, they say Duna, but I'm from Africa. Duvet. And do say duvet. Duvet, yeah. And then I would close my eyes and tell to my beds to bring me to a destination. It could be middle ages, it could be the 17th century. It could be underwater on the moon, wherever my imagination brought it. And that was for me the start with Anna Green. So Ella is a 14-year-old girl. She has a special power, she can understand nature, and she has a link to nature. Mm. And she has a purpose in the story. So obviously Ella is maybe has a little bit of me because I went to a boarding school. All the rest is an invention of Seattle. Well, I love trees. Sometimes I do try to talk to trees, but that's another story. So the story started like that, and I wanted to convey a message about nature and animals because it's something very close to me. I think we're destroying our world. It's a fact. Absolutely. You know, I know that in Australia you've had terrible fires that are destroyed. Fire as a reason, and we just had a cyclone. So let's see. Then again, I think it's not all of humans vote because I think there's a cycle like. You look at the, the earth and millions of years ago, glacier ages and then it went warm, et cetera. But I think that we are destroying a lot of things and that a lot of people, sadly today, still don't care. Yeah. And I think that maybe if children can realize how important trees are, just talking about trees, we cannot live without trees. No, impossible. How important it is that when you wake up and you open your window, you see a beautiful blue sky, you see the ocean, you hear the birds. We can't live without nature, but nature can live without us. Yes. And I think it's very important, uh, to convey that message because for humans, sadly, it's my opinion, there's no hope, but kids. Who are the future can change things. Yes, definitely. Hmm. What a powerful message. And I couldn't agree with you more. And it's funny, I love how synchronicities work because I'm from Africa. You are from Switzerland. You grew up with lions. Yes. I obviously had lions as a big part of my life. Not serious. Yeah. I went to boarding school at age six. I was bullied at boarding school. I have a huge imagination, so it's very, very interesting how, you know. Things just happen this way. And Sorry, I'm gonna, I'm gonna interview you now. Course, course. You have lions. I didn't have lions as pets, but they were around a lot. Yes, I had on my farm, so they were free. I had a zebra who came to visit my horses daily. You know, that's the thing. So baby elephants adorable. Like that was my childhood, you know, very connected to nature. And then. You grow up and you see the people around you who maybe haven't had. Such an upbringing, and they do. They have no disregard or even a thought to nature. But I've noticed in myself, like if I don't go out camping or I don't go out and connect with nature regularly, I get very, very cranky. Like I get very dysregulated. Oh, same here. Same here. I think it's so important for humans to stay connected to the nature and to work in harmony with it. It is completely a message. Actually, after our podcast, I'm gonna take my dog, Lola? Yes. And I'm gonna go and walk by the sea. Oh, amazing. Well, I'm not gonna do that'cause it's seven o'clock time. Yes. I'm gonna to go to bed, but tomorrow I'm going for a walk. Now I'm interested in, you know, children's book, young Adults. I specialize in nonfiction. Okay. But there's, there's always this crossover. I'm wondering how you balance. Entertainment for a young audience because they're essentially wanting to be entertained. They're not interested in a lecture as such. Yes. How do you balance entertainment with those deeper messages when you're writing for your younger readers? I just write, I think too much sometimes and a zillion thoughts coming in and out, and I'm like, stop. So I think I just write what I feel. What is important? I look at children around and it's just a message that comes. I think it has to be natural. I think if you think too much, then the beauty of the moment and the natural side just fades away. Yeah. And children, you cannot lie to kids. No. No. They know. Mm. They'll like it or won't, you know, they'll see if it's true or if it's made up. Hmm. Absolutely. And I think that also crosses over into nonfiction. If you think too much, it's never gonna happen Exactly like it. It just won't come out and it won't be authentic to you. And that's what people are looking for. Yes. When they read subconsciously, they're looking for that authenticity. Yes. Completely. Absolutely. Now let's talk. Independent filmmaking and disrupting the media 'cause I know this is something that you like to do. Really? Why do you say that? I dunno. Now, as the founder of Medi, LLC, and she's with, with my partner, I'm actually, I wanted Michelle Yeah. Co-founder with Michelle Gray. She's in the States. We founded many LLC. Yes. Together. Amazing. And you've also got the podcast stories, controversy and bandaids. Bandaids. Yes. We started that together. Yes. You are clearly passionate about media. You've participated in various media, right? You've got audio with your singing, and you've got your books. So you've got your print and you've got your podcast. What inspired you to get into, I suppose, independent filmmaking? Okay, so let's say Michelle is creative and brilliant and she is the film producer. We've known each other for many years. I was signed to her label, realized Records at the time, and I released a few albums with her, but she always was interested in movies. Producing. So we started a project together, a documentary we are working on about, how can I put it? The story of my parents. Hmm. Actually the podcast explains what happened. It's a craziness that we found that she found out many years ago and that brought us to start the podcast documentary and we hope her a feature film. Scripted film. Yes. This is in the long run, but for the moment we're working on the documentary, it's been very emotional. Yeah. And she's brilliant. I'm very bad with technology. Mm-hmm. I have no idea. If I go on Google and I try and find something, forget it. She will find everything. Everything. So I'm more the artist. She is the brave, let's put it that way. Yeah. So we started the, the documentary, and this is a new project for me, not for her, but it's very interesting also. Yes. The research and the creation of it. Yeah. And the podcast, as you know, is, is I love podcasts. Yes. Like for me, when I talk and when I explain the story, I think because of the heaviness or it, it was like talking, going to a session with a shrink. Yeah. And letting things out. Mm. I don't know how it, for you. Two hours ago, I had a counseling session with my counselor, so I know exactly how that feels. Now I work specifically with entrepreneurs and I encourage a very real raw and vulnerable type of storytelling that also helps sell their next level offers as an entrepreneur. But I really believe that it's. Peeling back these layers of the filtered social media or the branded website or whatever it is, that really allows humans to connect on that level that is necessary in order to build a relationship and then exchange money or exchange information. It's a relationship building, it's a trust building thing, and I believe the fastest way to do that. I don't believe, I know the fastest way to do that is storytelling, but it can be very, very confronting and heavy as you have described it, in telling things that you may not have told anybody before or you may not have shared publicly before. And especially people of our age and up we're told, don't air your dirty laundry in public. You know, don't say those things. Because people are going to judge you, and it's quite a journey to navigate. What tools are you using in filming this documentary about your parents to help you navigate that heaviness and that vulnerability and that fear? I suppose I have struggled lately with so many fears and anxiety. Mm-hmm. I'm a tough cookie. Yes. Normally the journey. Then I decided to go on. If I come back a few years ago, Michelle came up, I'm adopted. Okay. I was adopted at a very young age, three, two days old, and she came to me one day and said to me, Sylvia, wouldn't you be interested in finding out your biological parents? And to be true, my life was perfect. I was lucky. My parents. Were very rich. Mm-hmm. They adopted me when I was two. I had the paradise. I had everything I wanted, and I seriously had no interest at the time to know who they were. Yeah. I thought they decided to abandon me for certainly a good reason. They couldn't keep me. I have no grudges. I never felt any discomfort about talking about it. I never felt the need to look for my parents. To know who they were. And so when she asked the question, I said, uh, whatever. I don't really care, but I just let it open. Yeah. And she came back three weeks later and she said, Sylvia, I found something amazing, but not about your biological parents. About your adoptive parents? And I said, what? What do you mean? This was in just 2013, more or less. And she said, look, you have to send a copy of your passport notified to New Brunswick, Canada. There's some files, secret files that are there classified, and should I continue or do you think I'm crazy? Impact my curiosity now. Yes, continue. Um, so I did that. I went to my lottery classified thing, sent a passport. A few weeks later, came back telegrams about my mother from Lord Beaverbrook Churchill's right hand. The long story short is that my mother was a spy. Wow. Yeah. That is. Wow. No, no. So wait, so at the time it was her maiden name. We're talking 19. She adopted me. She was. Let's put it that way. When this happened, it was just before the second World War. She was a very young girl, and when I saw that my mother was still alive, I said, no way. I'm closing the door. It's not possible. It can't be her. This is not my mother. My mother's a jet setter. She travels around the world. She's beautiful, but she's not a spy. No way. Yeah. I closed the door. My mother passed away. And Michelle always, Michelle came back to me maybe a year later and said, so look, Sylvia, I know you didn't want to know, but we did some more research and we found so much stuff and do you wanna know? So my mother had passed away and I said, I'm curious a little bit. I said, okay, what do you have to tell me? And then the story starts the craziness of my family. World War ii. My father, who was 20 years older than my mother who adopted these, is my adoptive parents. Yes. Uh, Cruz's personality is very known. She spied for the allies, but we first saw she spied for the Nazis. Mm-hmm. You know, as a story went on, Michelle made some amazing discoveries of who she was. Ari. And I must say I'm so proud of her. Hmm. Some things I don't understand. The emotional part of it came that I saw this woman and suddenly it's like a mirror that breaks. You see something else behind it that you had no idea of The woman you knew all your life. My mother.'cause she's my mother and my everything. I miss her every day and I'm doing this documentary for her. Yeah, because I thought she was vain at the time. You know, teenagers can be a pain. Pain in the neck. Yeah. I saw in parties traveling around the world. I said, my God, she was everything. But that what she went through, the struggles, the anxiety, the mental health problems when she had to spy when she was locked in places. My father was Jewish. He came as a refugee to Switzerland. So I started that journey very excited about what we were finding out, because it's like a rat hole. There's always something coming out. Classified documents are being declassified. Mm-hmm. And we found crazy things about coup in South America in the late fifties where my father took part. This was my family. So it started bringing anxiety in my life. But who am I? Mm-hmm. Who am I? And so we started filming the documentary in New York because for me. The story starts there, although she comes from solo, which is a small, tiny little village in Switzerland. At the time, 3000 people living there we're talking 1935. Uh, my mother left that village on her own age, 1718, to travel to America on her own. And during the whole second war, she was traveling. To all these countries in military planes, from England, to Spain to France, back to America, and we're talking times where traveling was not like today. Yes, a young girl in 19 35, 19 36, age 17, doesn't travel on her own to America where she's never been. So we found out the reason why she did that and by who she was sent. And so I also, in my podcast in stories, controversy and bandaid, I really wanted to talk about mental health because I think it's judicial. Yes. Because I never had any fears. I never was afraid. I never thought, sometimes in the morning here, my fears are there and I work as said, oh, how am I going to, how am I gonna go through the day? And I've had that. So it, it did bring these fears because. I'm discovering. My mother that I didn't know. I didn't know my real parents, I mean my biologic parents. And now I realize that this woman, I, I knew nothing of her. Why did she never talk about it? Why did she never tell me anything? Why didn't she leave a secret book somewhere in a safe in Switzerland for me to understand? Mm-hmm. But she left letters. I found letters. Hundreds. Hundreds. And of. Lovers. She had what Generals? American Generals, a very famous German general and lieutenant that was against Hitler. I mean, the story goes on. It's in the podcast, and we're doing the documentary on that now. But I also really want to talk about mental health, and that's what I do on the podcast. Yeah. Amazing special woman. And th this is something that I don't think I've actually spoken about publicly before, but I'm going to now, is that owning a publishing company, one of the things that I want to implement is a not-for-profit sector where my writers and I go into old age homes all. Spend time with people who are so important. They're so important. And I wanted to, yeah, and to tell their stories and for us to publish books as a legacy piece for their families, with their photos, with their stories, so that their children and then their children's, children's children can learn about the amazing people that are part of their generational line. Also learn about themselves through their ancestors, because you would have traits that you picked up from your mother, and even though she's not your biological mother, you still would've picked up traits from her and ways that you think, or that you do things and then you can go, oh, I understand now that that comes from mom or that that comes from Fran. You know what I think? How do you say that? Tism? Even if it's not your biological mother. Yeah, me. She is. She got me, I was two days old and there's, she's my mother, but she was petite, she had brown hair. I'm blonde, I'm tall. But there's a sort of where she started acting like she dyed her hair blonde, and I realize now I do things that she used to do. Yes. You know. That's good and that's very interesting. Hmm. Um, and yeah, it's this amazing woman. I just regret, she never talked to me, but we interviewed some CIA agents and people in the business and they told me they can never say anything. Hmm. Certainly not to your family. To the close ones, never, ever, you know. Yeah. So I understand, but as we discover things about her, I said, no, this is not possible. It cannot be. My mother. When I read the love letters and she had. A few. Few. Good for her. Exactly. Good for her. But I'm her daughter and I'm like, mama, I call her me. I don't need to know these things, mom. I wanna know. It's Oh, too funny. Yeah. So now, Sylvia, what's one story that you haven't told yet? Feel like you need to in the future. Oh my God. Um, I can't tell you. No, you can't tell it's classified. It's, it isn't. Yes, I will. I mean, yesterday I had a chat with Michelle and my private life and a few things that led to a lot of things. She said, Sylvia, are we gonna have to make a movie? I said, okay. Let's see. Yeah, that's exciting. Very nice. So not including the documentary? Yes. If your life was turned into a film tomorrow, a movie tomorrow, what would the title be? Ah, well, first of all, the documentary and the movie at when we started, I didn't want to be seen at all. Mm. It is not an ego trip. Mm-hmm. It is really to discover who she was. Yeah, I've been told by many people that I had to appear, but I will always appear from the back or my image blurred because I don't want it to be about me. Yep. Although people say, well, it is somewhere about me. And a very good friend of mine, who's a journalist in Paris that we interviewed during the documentary said, you know, you are a Harris, uh, because. You are the one who will decide if this story will come out or not, and they left you that choice. Yeah, and it took me a year to decide actually if I wanted to do that. But when I found the letters, I thought if my mother was a spy, which now, which say I found the liaison. She was, why did she leave these letters there? It's not for me to find them. If she wanted me to find these letters, maybe she wanted me to tell her story, so that's why I did it. Yeah, and it's not, Michelle will say, Sylvia, stop it. It's not about me. Obviously I'm in it because I'm the one telling the story and I am doing the narrative of the whole thing. But it's really about strong woman and how. In the midst of World War ii, but I think there's a, there's a correlation with fears, anxiety, then there was a war, and today in this crazy world where we live, I have so many friends who suffer from anxiety, who have depression, and I think there's a link 70 years later with that. Mm-hmm. So that's why I also want to release that I'm not a doctor. In no means, you know? But I think that when you live things, when you feel fear, when you feel anxiety, when you feel your, some days you can't. It's just impossible. I can't, I never work. You have these negative thoughts coming in your head and we have about 80,000 thoughts a day in our heads the same as the day before that come and come. And so I think it's very important to talk about it. Because, uh, maybe people can relate in a certain way, that there's always a way, you know, that you have to believe. And being strong is sometimes very hard when you have the impression that the sky is falling on you money-wise in your love life with your health or whatever else. And it's very important to come back to message. This obviously is for adults. More because I hope that children today don't suffer depression. Although a lot of young adults have issues. Yeah. They don't know where they go. They don't see a future because everything is so mad. Mm. Uh and yes. So we come back to messaging. Yeah. Yeah. Now, before we wrap up, what's one controversial opinion that you have about storytelling or the creative industry as a whole? Well, today you have ai. Mm. Okay. As an artist, I try to have an open mind. So I think that AI is good, for instance, to research books on Google. Mm-hmm. Um, we are utilizing AI and it's actually quite amazing on old pictures. So there's a picture of my mother in the fifties or in the forties. And she's moving like in a video. Wow. And that is great. That side of AI is great, but also naturally the negative side. As a singer, as an artist, I heard lately my producer, because I was thinking of recording an EP and he sent me a song and I loved the song. I said, wow. And then he says, do you know who the singer is? No. Completely, completely. Really? Wow. And I had no idea. The feeling was there, the music was great. And I'm thinking That's scary. That is scary. I didn't use AI for my books at all. I think it's interesting for research. Mm-hmm. You know, research. But there are boundaries. Yeah. But as humans, are we capable? To keep these boundaries, you know? Mm. What's your opinion on that? Oh, geez. Like as a writer myself, I use AI a lot. Mm-hmm. Okay. I don't use it to write because I believe that you need to be an expert in your area first. I know that you need to have an emotion. First, and you need to have a human approach first. Mm-hmm. Because if you just plug anything into ai, it can spit you out anything. Mm-hmm. But doesn't sound like you. Is it authentic to you? Is it actually what you know and feel to be true? If those things are not there, then it's really just a tool to overcome writer's block or for inspiration or for, I can not, writer's block. I get writer's block all the time. Oh, then I'm not the only one. You are definitely not the only one. And this is something I work with my authors on all the time. I am the type of writer that sometimes I won't write anything for two, three weeks, and then all of a sudden I can spit an entire book out in the three days. But I cannot do it until I'm in that creative flow, in that creative space where it's ready to come through me. But I also use AI for things like planning my vegetable patches. You know, I go tell, I like, these are the seeds that I have. What can I plant together? Mm-hmm. So I think that as humans, we have the potential to work in coordination with ai. But you are right. It's boundaries. We cannot just lose our and hand our power over if we like, if you know, we'll lose it. Yeah. But we know we lose those boundaries. That's right. There's very no question. It's just a question of time. Yeah. Yep. And it's a journey that will play out and we will see what happens, what happens. Um, but do I think it's a bad thing? Not necessarily. I think that we need to make the right choices. Exactly. And that's just with everything in life. Do you need to make the right choices and you need to keep making the right choices. Exactly. That simple. It is. With that very. Intense question. I'm going to bring this to a close so that people can ponder on that little AI thing, which is very, very popular at the time of reporting. But Sylvia, as we've discussed, I own a publishing company. You are an author and a creative, the listeners and the viewers of this podcast want to know, mm-hmm. What book has impacted you either personally or professionally? Give us the book drop. I have to. I love it. She, okay, so one is called from Gregory David Robertson. Mm-hmm. Called Hanham. Hanham, okay. Yes. The other one is from a French author. Her name is Mo Awa. Mm-hmm. And it's called Kira. Actually, I can show, I don't know if you can see. Oh, you've got it there with you. Amazing. Uh, is that Kilimanjaro? This is Anna. Ah. And I went there. Actually, I climbed the porn. Amazing. And the second I have it here. Oh, chanter and, and why these two books? He comes from Australia, Gregory, David Roberts. Oh, you have to read the book. Oh, I have to read. This is, this is a very, look, I have no patience. Okay? I have no patience. I am hyperactive. I start a book, I start meditation, and then I get out and I have thoughts, and I have thoughts, and I'm like, oh my God. I'm actually going to do Joe Dispenser. Have you heard of him? Everyone? Yes. Joe Dispenser. So I'm going to Cancun in normally in June. Amazing. So a retreat. Yeah. This book is the first book that I read twice. I was able to finish it. Okay. And him again. Yeah. So it must be good. It is very good. It's a true story. Okay. And I can only recommend it and is very spiritual. It's a journey of research of oneself. It happens in Nepal. I went to Nepal. I was only gorgeous, and it's a friend of mine who recommended to read the book. It's very nice. It's story of this woman who goes there for certain reasons, and I don't know if you can get it in English. I don't know. Okay. I guess it's been maybe translated to English. But these are two of my there many books, Charles Dickens. I mean, I can go in them. All the things classic that Ed Garland Poe, uh, my favorite. You and I would get along fabulous. I'm a classics girl. Like I love my classics. I know not many people do these days, so that's lovely to hear, Sylvia. Yeah, and I, I love that all these, these classics talking also, we could go on and on. Yep. Absolutely. Sylvia, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us and your story and your vulnerability on the podcast today. It's been an absolute pleasure to have you. Thank you. And can I just give the name of our podcast? Would you mind? Can I give that again? Just people, people are interested. Absolutely. So it's stories, controversy, and bandaids, and it can be found on all major platforms, Spotify, red Circle, et cetera. Beautiful. Go and check out Sylvia. I'll be sure to put out some links in the show notes for this episode. Okay. Thank you so much, Sylvia. Thank you very much. Bye-bye. Thanks for tuning into the Tarryn Reeves Show. If today's episode litter firing you, share it with someone who needs to hear it and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a story that could transform your business. If you're ready to write the book that positions you as the go-to authority in your industry, visit automatic authority.com to find out how we can help you make it happen. 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