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[0:00] Shereen Pimentel: Right now, Thor is not the best with um me leaving places. So like if I left my dressing room and Thor was in my dressing room, he would howl incredibly like very loud. He'd be like, oh hey, what's going on?

[0:30] Joe Rosko: It's me, Roscoe founder and host of Built for the Stage, an online training program that helps actors to train like athletes. If you want to try a free trial, go to the website builtforthethestage.com, and we'll get you on our way with a seven-day free trial, no catch, no gimmicks, or you can click the link in the description of this episode. Please, if you like the podcast, rate, subscribe, leave us a comment, follow us on the gram at Built for the Stage, or on TikTok at Built for the Stage, or on Facebook at BuiltForThes. All right, we have a special guest for you. This is an excerpt from Motivation Monday on Playbill. We have none other than Shereen Pimentel, who plays Maria in WEST SIDE STORY. We chat a bit about Broadway. We chat a bit about her new dog. We chat a bit about her new school endeavor. This one's an interesting one. Not just all about the stage in this episode with Shereen. So I hope you enjoy this episode with Shereen Pimentel.

[1:40] Shereen Pimentel: Hey, Shereen.

[1:44] Joe Rosko: Hello. Thor's very excited.

[1:46] Shereen Pimentel: Oh my goodness. Look at that little.

[1:49] Joe Rosko: Oh yeah, kisses. Uh everyone watching, Shereen is uh play she plays Maria in WEST SIDE STORY on Broadway.

[1:58] Shereen Pimentel: Yeah.

[1:59] Joe Rosko: We can't wait. We can't wait to have her back up there doing her thing. Uh but until then, she'll be here chatting with us uh on Motivation Monday. How are you, Shereen? Thanks for joining us.

[2:10] Shereen Pimentel: I'm good. Thanks for having me. Uh, you know, it's Monday. Um, but I'm feeling good. Things are doing doing good, actually.

[2:20] Joe Rosko: Well, tell tell us about little Thor. How did how did he come into your life?

[2:26] Shereen Pimentel: Um, well, quarantine, you know. Um, I definitely wanted to get a pup, and then um I just didn't. I was always working and I didn't know if I'd have enough time. And I think like a month or two in, I was like, I'm getting a dog. My mom was like, no. And then I got the dog a few months later. Um, because we have a family dog, so there are two dogs now, which we never thought we would like have two dogs in the same house.

[2:53] Joe Rosko: Okay.

[2:54] Shereen Pimentel: Um, but we do, and he's about seven months old. He's still a little baby, and um, I'm definitely like a tiger mom, so that's been fun. I I yeah, he's my child. He's he's my baby.

[3:08] Joe Rosko: Do you have do you have a dog stroller for him?

[3:11] Shereen Pimentel: I don't. I don't, not yet. Um he loves to run, so he wants his feet on the ground. How do you feel about dog strollers? Like when you see someone pushing a dog around in a stroller, how do you feel about it?

[3:24] Shereen Pimentel: I don't know. I like I get when you have them for like going to the airport and things like that. Like, but just going to the park. Your dog wants to walk around. Your dog wants to, I don't know, run, meet other dogs. So uh yeah, I'm I'm not the hugest fan for those types of times.

[3:46] Joe Rosko: I hear you. I hear you. Um when you get back to the show, is Thor gonna come with you? Will he have his like his own dressing station? Like, how's that gonna how's that gonna work?

[4:00] Shereen Pimentel: We're gonna work it out. Um, right now Thor is not the best with um me leaving places. So like if I left my dressing room and Thor was in my dressing room, he would howl incredibly like very loud. He'd be like, oh, and he does it in our house now as well. Um, so that wouldn't work. So we're we're working on different things. We'll see what we can do. Or maybe Thor's gonna have to have a buddy and a friend to hang out with while I'm at the theater.

[4:30] Joe Rosko: Oh hi. Oh yeah, it might not go off well when Tony's lying on the ground at the end of the show and and Thor all of a sudden's howling from off stage.

[4:41] Shereen Pimentel: Exactly. That's you know, that's that's what we're thinking. It really wouldn't work very well. Um, but he really does like people, so uh he does get a little scared. He is a scaredy cat, but once he gets to know people, he really does enjoy that. So I'm hoping that he can at least come visit everyone.

[4:59] Joe Rosko: Yeah. What have you been doing to keep busy during the pandemic? I've gotten to see you perform, which has been nice uh virtually. How's that been for you? Just kind of like, oh, I guess everything's gonna be filmed now, and a lot of it might be in my apartment, you know. How have those experiences been?

[5:19] Shereen Pimentel: Um yeah. Um interesting. I think I've gotten better over time, uh, because I've gotten like a whole setup and and we've definitely gotten faster in putting together all the things. I am pretty grateful that my parents live pretty close to the city. So I left my apartment uh in the summer and I moved back to Jersey. So I do have someone like have help at least to like put all the things together and record all the things and look at them and and give some feedback and opinions. And um we can do that all in the comfort of our own home. So that's really nice. Um but it's interesting, and then it's interesting to see like the final product of of what you get when you get a virtual performance. I think I've been doing a lot of that kind of stuff, virtual performing, um, putting together my own song, my own music.

Um, but then also figuring out some other avenues and some other things that I'm interested in because I think that what quarantine did at the beginning was um make it so we had to figure out what life would be like not being a performer. Um it's really easy, it's not a bad thing, it's just a really easy thing to be able to define yourself from what you do, from being a performer, a singer, a dancer. And now we couldn't do that in the scale in which we were doing it. Now we were doing it in our own homes and we were doing it again sometimes as a hobby, but but not as a job. Um, and and once that happened, you had to figure out how do you actually define yourself as a person. Um, so yeah, I've been finding other interest and and finding other things that that I want to pursue as well.

[6:58] Joe Rosko: You're okay. So you were fresh out of school or in the midst of school when going into the role. Are you still doing classes now? Or are you are you what what's your what's your school status? What's that all about?

[7:13] Shereen Pimentel: So I graduated in May.

[7:16] Joe Rosko: Oh, congratulations.

[7:17] Shereen Pimentel: Thank you.

[7:18] Joe Rosko: No, it's okay. And I was like, I am not going back to school. No.

[7:23] Shereen Pimentel: Um, so now I'm pursuing my MBA, um, starting in January. Yeah. I'm finishing up some modules because I went to conservatory. So they're like, you didn't take math for four years. And I'm like, no. So I have to take math. Yeah, just like basic math and then also accounting.

[7:45] Joe Rosko: Exactly.

[7:45] Shereen Pimentel: What's math? I'm like, what? They're like basic algebra. I'm like, huh? Um, and then I have to take accounting and then finance. So it's been a time these past few months trying to figure all that kind of stuff out. Um, but that that's my current school status. I'm still a student. I'm just not um doing the arts at school. I'm doing business now.

[8:08] Joe Rosko: Very cool. Any specific uh field of business that you have your eyes set on, or you're gonna kind of just pick that uh as you get into your studies?

[8:19] Shereen Pimentel: Um I think that my biggest thing is finance. Um, especially in the past few days, I've been doing a lot of research when it comes to that and um learning how we can stop. It's very interesting. I I I fall down these like YouTube holes for like three to four days and and try to learn as much as I possibly can and then go like read some books. But YouTube is like, you know, the most accessible thing that we have. Um and I was listening to this guy named Tony Robbins, and he was talking about how we all trade, we are all financial traders, we trade our time for money, and that's like the worst trade that you can do because there are only so many hours in the day. So then there's only so much money you actually could make.

Um, and he started talking about how you can make your money work for you, make your money make more money, which which ends up compound interest and all that kind of stuff. So um that's kind of my main focus, investing, working with money. Um, and then after I do that, see I don't know what business ventures I want to take on. If I just want to continue investing in projects that I believe in, or I don't know if I want to start my own business at some point. Um, yeah, I'll kind of see where that takes me. I think really pursuing the MBA is having the people. That's the whole reason why I got my arts degree in the first place as well. Was I wanted to be in the environment um and see how that shaped me as a person?

So now I'm kind of doing the same thing, even though it's online and it's not in person, trying to see how um it will influence me. I don't think like going to school can like answer all the questions that people have, but there's something about the people that are there, there's something about the instructors you have, or something that you hear about it, it can help spark like a uh it could be the catalyst to something that that uh ends up being really exciting.

[10:12] Joe Rosko: Yeah, yeah. As you're pursuing this MBA or or even back in your uh time uh in school for the arts, you you brought up Tony Robbins. Who who else has been influential in your current pursuits?

[10:29] Shereen Pimentel: Um, whether that's you know, a big name that you might not know personally or or someone personally.

[10:41] Shereen Pimentel: You said you've been YouTubing for hours.

[10:43] Joe Rosko: Like well, yes, I know.

[10:45] Shereen Pimentel: Any big YouTube names that you would recommend for us to check it out, even if it's about finances or things like that? I know that that's important for a lot of us right now in 2020 is getting that under control.

[11:01] Joe Rosko: Yes.

[11:02] Shereen Pimentel: Um, so Tony Robbins was the first person. Basically what happened to me was obviously the pandemic hit, and then I was doing arts as fun and hobbies and, you know, also doing virtual performances. I'm a performer, I can forever do that. Um, and then I saw a friend of Michelle Mercedes, you know her in West Side, and she was pursuing her MBA and I was like, this is the sign because for months I kept talking about I need to, I want to focus on business and finance because when if something like this ever happened, not just a pandemic, but you know, I don't have a job or something, I don't want to be in this kind of position where like I'm floundering and I don't know what to do because I just don't I have no financial literacy, like I don't get it.

[11:49] So I even messaged her that day and I was like, this is telling me that I need to finally just do it, like finally just apply and go for it.

[11:59] So I did that, got into the MBA program. I was complacent. I was like beautiful, I love this. Now I can just go to school and I'll learn it there. Um, and then I know a few different people who have started businesses and one guy named Ben had recommended Tony. And I was like, his books. I was like, okay, cool. I'll read those soon.

[12:21] And yesterday, oh, mind you, two weeks ago, I was like, I'm gonna start investing a hundred dollars into the stock market. Because I was watching this video that was like, if you aren't willing to invest a hundred dollars into the stock market, how do you believe that you could make a million dollars? Right? If you're not willing to just do something, even a small thing, like how do you believe that you could work on like this humongous scale?

[12:47] And I thought to myself, are you using the Robin Hood app?

[12:50] Joe Rosko: Sorry to...

[12:51] Shereen Pimentel: I am, I am a Robin Hood person. It's always simple. I like it. I'm like making money right now. I love it.

[13:00] Joe Rosko: We gotta talk, we gotta talk more about Robin Hood after this for sure.

[13:03] Shereen Pimentel: Yes. Um, it's okay, it's perfect. So, but I did believe that I was like, we all look at the stock market as like, oh no, it's down, I can't invest. And then when it's up, we're like, oh no, it's too expensive. I can't invest. So never will we believe that we can invest our money into it, right?

[13:26] So I was like, I'm just gonna invest. If I lose a little bit of money, it's a hundred bucks a week, I'll be okay. Like it's, I'll try. Um, eating out or doing whatever, so you might as well do it in a more productive fashion.

[13:45] Joe Rosko: Exactly.

[13:46] Shereen Pimentel: And maybe the hundred dollars could make three dollars. Maybe it can, and that's three dollars that I didn't have before. I think I think now is a great time to invest. This is when we would like put in the pre the little cursor at the bottom saying, like, I'm not a professional, don't listen to it.

[14:09] But anyways, when it's down in these circumstances, it's down in an unusual time in our society. And those businesses that are down that used to be up, they're not down because of any fault of their own. So now's the time to take advantage of that low price point so that when things do get normalized in whatever way that's going to mean, and their stock goes back up, you had already capitalized during this time.

[14:39] Joe Rosko: Exactly.

[14:40] Shereen Pimentel: So that's when I started just investing in, but I wasn't doing any research. I was just kind of like, they say invest in what you know. So I tried to do that. Um, some time passed. I was like, okay, I'm finally gonna do the research. I'm gonna like sit down and try to look up what people do.

[14:56] Um, and I found Tony and then I found Ray Dalio and really just kind of sat and just watched a whole bunch of their videos, just different videos, different tips that they've got, a whole bunch of different stuff. Um, all night yesterday, honestly, till about one o'clock in the morning.

[15:11] And there was so much that they talk about that has to do with finance, that's amazing, but also just a lot of it has to do with life and how to live your life to be able to do any field that you want to, and so you realize that the way that they go at the stock market is by studying psychology and making sure that mentally they are ready to be in the stock market because a lot of stocks just have to do with emotion.

[15:33] So I just found that incredibly fascinating last night, and now I'm like diving deep into his book, Unshakable now. Um, I like went to Barnes and Nobles at 9:30 this morning to pick it up. Um, because I just think that it's something that we all should know as artists. He started bringing up the fact that like celebrities and athletes, so many of them go bankrupt because they make a lot of money, and then no one really tells them what to do with the money, and so they become consumers, which is amazing, right? We all consume things.

[16:01] Like I own an Apple product, right? But I don't own Apple because I don't invest in Apple. I have no stake, no share, nothing in the game, right? So they've made money off of me buying, consuming their product, but I've made nothing. I've just lost money.

[16:18] Joe Rosko: Yeah.

[16:19] Shereen Pimentel: That's it. And soon the value of the product I have will depreciate. And I will sell it for less than I bought it for. And that's how we just live life, which is fine. But the way to be able to from what I've been researching and reading and listening to so far is being able to consume and then own.

[16:44] Joe Rosko: Yeah.

[16:44] Shereen Pimentel: As well. And I think that with the current climate of the world and everything, so many people have talked about owning and legacy and generational wealth. And those are things that I'm like, I don't have those things. But how does one get them, right?

[17:01] And we think that self-made billionaires and millionaires came out and just were and just had that money. And then you re-listen to these people's stories, Tony's story, Ray Dalio's story. They did not start with millions and billions of dollars. No. They just took the chance and they tried. And then they failed and they figured it out.

[17:23] They solved, as Ray Dalio likes to say, his problems he looks at as a puzzle, and you figure out the puzzle, and you get to the root of the problem, then you overcome it and you keep moving. He has this whole five cycle beautiful. I'm like, wow, something we never talk about.

[17:41] Joe Rosko: Because we all say, like, there's never a failure, it's always just a lesson, right?

[17:46] Shereen Pimentel: But if we don't see that, if we don't see the first step, that be realistic. It was a misstep. You failed, you tripped on the rock, the thing happened. Now you can get to the root of the problem. If you just go to like it was a lesson, but you don't know what the lesson was, you can't move forward.

[18:03] Joe Rosko: Right.

[18:04] Shereen Pimentel: Yeah. So, um, take some time to study that lesson and really dissect it for sure. Let's go back to you making that decision to apply and go get your MBA. A lot of people are thinking of doing a lot of things right now, you know, with all the time on their hands.

[18:24] Joe Rosko: Is it just something natural for you to have that, I guess, courage or just go-getter attitude to just go for it? Or what was that process like for you to actually pull the trigger and put yourself out there, you know?

[18:38] Shereen Pimentel: Yeah. Um, I think we all innately have it, but we have to like exercise that muscle. We have to exercise that determination that we have within ourselves, or else it just goes dormant. So, um, it wasn't natural. I had been looking at applications over and over again. And as I said before, Michelle had like applied, said she was doing an MBA, and I like she put a post on Instagram and I was like, this is what I need to do.

[19:05] Like I've been thinking about it this whole time, and I haven't done it. And sorry, Thor wanted to, he was like, I want off your lap right now. Um, but I needed to make that leap. So I do say like it's not overnight. I'm not just like, yes, I need to do this right now. I think and I think about it, and sometimes I do make a few mistakes, and then I think to myself, why not? Like what am I losing?

[19:35] And I think the pandemic has really taught me that. Like, what am I really losing by trying?

[19:41] Joe Rosko: Yeah.

[20:57] Shereen Pimentel: Yeah, we have one of our Built for the Stage t-shirts is a why not t-shirt from Giuseppe Basilio from Hamilton, and that was his big mantra of like just you know, just put yourself out there. And like you just said about the failures. If you fail, it's a lesson to learn from, and you move on.

[20:57] And I guess that would be the motivating message from our episode with you today, Shereen. Is anyone watching for Motivation Monday is just why not? You know, now's the time to do it.

[20:57] Joe Rosko: If there was ever a time, now's the time.

[20:57] Shereen Pimentel: That's what I'm saying, right? Like, there's a pandemic, there's like lots of things are happening right now. Why not? Like what it you kind of for the most part only have things to gain. And the things you're losing really are not, they're not life and well, coronavirus is, so not in that respect.

[20:57] But aside from that, right, they're not life and death. Like investing in the stock market for me for a hundred dollars, not life and death. Applying for my MBA, not life or death, right? If I didn't get in, I didn't get in. I tried.

[20:57] Joe Rosko: All right, and that'll do it once again. Thanks to Shereen for being on the podcast with us at Built for the Stage. If you want to try a free trial, click that link below or go to the website, builtforthestage.com. Until next time, it's me, Rosko, signing off.