Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lex Taylor & Julianna Zinchenko. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lex & Julianna , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

Lex Taylor: One of the best investments I’ve ever made is in myself. I realized about five years ago that there are many ways to build a successful life. My path doesn’t have to be concrete. It can be limiting to think that you must stick to a career that aligns with your degree. I struggled and felt like a failure at the time because I wasn’t doing that. One of the biggest lessons I learned is that life is ever-changing. It’s what makes it exciting and worthwhile. Embracing the ride and understanding that you must take life as it comes and follow what feels right were hard lessons for a perfectionist like me. While there have been investments I’ve made that were maybe not the best decisions, they helped weed out wrong directions. Never regret a time when you learned first-hand what you hate. Those times can be just as valuable, if not more, than times that align with your best life path. You need to build up resilience and problem-solving skills in the bad times to relax in the good ones.

Julianna Zinchenko: The best investment I’ve made is tapping into my spiritual side. Looking within and working on my insecurities, fears, traumas has significantly given me confidence and power over my life. Truly a game changer. Reading and self educating is also an amazing investment. Books are so powerful and we’re so blessed that some of the greatest minds of all time put their thoughts on pages for us to have forever. If you don’t have the family connections or opportunities yet to be in rooms filled with inspiring people, you can have then right at home on your book shelf. I think self-education is one of the most powerful tools. You don’t need to wait for anyone to give you anything or help you out. You have everything you need inside you.

I think regardless of the situation you always walk away having learned something new so I appreciate every investment I’ve made. However, I’d have to say my worst investment is doing a free internship for a company I didn’t believe would do well (They shut down shortly after I quit the internship).

I was doing it cause I was hoping to make some contacts and connections. I was looking to other people to hand me things and that’s a huge time waster. Networking and connections are important but do not wait around hoping to hop on others coattails. As they say, don’t wait for a seat at the table, create your own! Focus on sharpening your skills and doing what you can with what you have at the moment! Trust me, there is tremendous power in that. Then you’ll have people approaching you to work together.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The Prude and a Lil Crude podcast concept began after both of us moved from Michigan to Nashville in 2021. Julianna and I were on the phone one night and realized how fulfilling and fun it would be to combine our strengths into a podcast. We wanted an outlet to discuss things we think are normalized that shouldn’t be, while also cultivating a community of people that are open to having these honest conversations.

Currently, the world is obsessed with black-and-white viewpoints, where the reality is in the gray. Our podcast addresses the gray. We also don’t sugarcoat. Our opinions may even be perceived as crude, but that is in our name so it fits.

We’re also so excited to be celebrating our first anniversary of the podcast! This year, some of our episode titles were “Old Souls & Young Souls”, “The Game of Life”, and “Is Cheating Just Okay Now?” to name a few. We dove into a wide variety of topics this year from health, dating, and entertainment, and are looking forward to continuing what we started in 2023.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Lex Taylor: The television show Shark Tank and Masterclasses, specifically the class with Spanx founder, Sara Blakely. Overall, I just love hearing from anyone who has created something from the ground up.

Julianna Zinchenko: Yes! The War of Art By Steven Pressfield. Every creative/entrepreneur needs to read it! It talks about the resistance we feel when pursuing something we love and how to navigate all of those feelings. I read it when I was 17 (I’m 23 now) and still use his philosophy to this day. It really sticks with you and is very helpful. Also tapping into my spiritual side has been a game changer. Meditation, exercise, being outside, and eating well is so important. As I get older I become much more aware of how your future really is in the daily routine you set for yourself.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

We both are on a mission to build up our business to the point were we can help people. It truly is our driving force.

Lex Taylor: I have a degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology. I see a need for more education on strategies (mostly free ones) that help people understand themselves and become more mentally centered. I’m also extremely passionate about health and wellness. I have had some personal health experiences over the last few years that have reignited my passion for arming others with the knowledge they need to feel their best. Without good health, life comes to a screeching and frustrating halt. I have many ideas I want to bring to life and look forward to eventually making them all happen.

Julianna Zinchenko: Yes, I want to guide the youth and show them that there is so much power in being yourself. I hope that in standing in who I am and sharing my opinions with the world I will inspire little girls and boys to do the same. It’s cool to be yourself. It’s cool to be into whatever you’re into, because you say so. I also hope to show them you don’t have to be just one thing. You can be into two polar opposite fields and that’s okay. Life has NO RULES! Everything is made up so who said you can’t also make something up!

I’m a huge girly girl. I’ve been in love with fashion since I popped out the womb. I grew up sewing and idolizing the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. As I got older I would try to suppress that because the world tells you that girly girls aren’t taken seriously. I figured if I didn’t show people how much I love to sew and dress up, I’d be successful. I didn’t realize in doing that I was limiting myself. I was shutting off a part of me and attracting the wrong people in the process. I want kids to find what they love and fearlessly pursue it. When you do that you will almost instantly find yourself a community you feel so comfortable in. And that is what life is about, community, love, and purpose. The entire world needs people being who they truly are! We were all put here to be different, it’s silly of us to try to be exactly the same.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prudeandalilcrude/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/PAALC_
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCYUjqb6NKjFbkHVRjtPfLVg
• Other: [email protected] and TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prudeandalilcrude?lang=en