S8E4: Building Connection with Marcus Weiss

Ever wondered how neurocoding and clowning intersect? In today's episode, we welcome Marcus Weiss, former member of the Blue Man Group and current clown for O in Cirque Du Soleil’. Marcus is a versatile individual with a background in acting, improv, directing, and neuro coding. He shares insights on balancing structure and spontaneity in events, introduces the concept of neurocoding for positive behavior change, and discusses his program, the Joy Experience, aimed at fostering joy and positive transformations. 

Today we are discussing:
Encouraging Connection in Events (3:03)
Balance in Event Planning (7:21)
What is nuero coding? (12:25)
The Joy Experience (14:56)
Fostering Connection in Everything (20:26)

Connect with Marcus:
https://www.themarcusweissexperience.com/ 
marcusweissexperience@gmail.com
Instagram: Marcus Weiss Experience
Facebook: Marcus Jacob Weiss
LinkedIn: Marcus Weiss

Visit the Experience University website for more information!
www.experienceuniversity.org

Connect with us on our socials!
Facebook: Experience University
Instagram: @kristin.malek

Transcript

Dr. K
Hello, hello, everybody. We are up now for another epic episode of the Experience University. Podcast, and if you have not been watching this on Youtube, which we have this season, you will want to log in to the Youtube video for this because Marcus is so animated. He has an epic background, and I have my pen that says this meeting that could have been an email. And this is not one of those meetings. This meeting with Marcus is when you definitely want to be live for listening on the podcast from audio or from video as well.

Today's guest, we have is Marcus Weiss, epic person, actor, clown, teacher, improv aficionado, director, neurocoder, all of these things. And you should be watching the video cause he's already like, “Oh, my gosh,” performer, improver, like all the things. So epic, Marcus, thank you so much for being here. Anything I missed? Cause there was a lot there.

Marcus
Anything you missed there, there could be a lot that you missed because we are all of infinite potential. So dare I say? Yes, you missed everything maybe. Who knows?

Dr. K
I love this already. I love this. You're just so epic. I texted Marcus the other day I said, “Hey? Just wanna make sure we're on.” He sent me a selfie. He was backstage at Cirque Du Soleil’ like as a clown with full face makeup. And that is what you're gonna expect. You have no idea what you're gonna hear today, and I'm ready for it. Are you ready for it?

Marcus
I am absolutely ready for it. I am ready for it. May I preframe a little bit by saying, I said this right before we came on camera, ready is a fallacy. Nobody knows what the future holds. Anybody listening to this or watching this -if you can foretell the future, then get off this podcast immediately and go sell that knowledge because nobody can foretell the future. And how this is relevant to you is, I believe, this. Look forward into the positive possibility of what might happen next. And yes, you might be fully prepared and knowing that we're not entirely ready, sets us up for ironically being quote unquote, ready.

Dr. K
Yes, oh, my gosh, well, if there was any psychics listening, and I'm sure they logged off now. I'm already living for this. I mean, Marcus, you're so great. So let's jump in. So you have been a performer, and you've also been a director. You've been part of events. You've also run your own events. So first question, we're just gonna dive in, I've no idea exactly what's gonna come out of your mouth, and I am living for it. What are things in your mind from a performer or from an event perspective, what are things that event planners are missing right now? What is just like, “Oh, oh, they're overlooking,” or “they're not incorporating” or “it could be better.” What in your mind are we missing?

Marcus
Well, in this moment, what comes to heart—I say heart on purpose—is that our feelings of wanting to be connected to each other and to the world at large drive all of us. Perhaps that perspective might be missing for people, and that feeling of connection to each other and the world and our shared mission can be different from event to event. It could be, okay, we want to get connected to our drive, to celebrate together, to be a family. I believe that perspective going into any event is really a key because we all started, and I hope this is not news to anyone, in a belly. We felt everything was great, and we were loved, and we were enough. We heard a heartbeat, and that was our universe.

Then we come out, and we’re instantly miserable, because the world is a hard place. The world is tough. Can we all agree that the world is a challenging place, yet we're all here, we’re taking steps forward to get out of bed, put clothes on. And we are all moving towards something, to feel oneness with our environment and meaning in our life. And why do we put events on? It's for purpose. To get some kind of feeling at the end. And I think that perspective, that grand perspective, of what are we stepping into is possibly what's missing as we get caught up in the ultimately, invariably the logistics of getting stuff done.

Dr. K
If you're not watching the video, you have to, because Marcus is like being born every moment.

Marcus
Kristin, that’s it! You're being born every moment. Every moment is a new moment, and I know Kris, you've done some improv yourself. Every moment is new, and it's our choice to open our eyes to that moment, and see what this moment is bringing to us. Is it learning? Is it enthusiasm? Is it challenge? Something, and then step into it, and then yes, do the things.

Dr. K
Yes, I was in an improv show on Tuesday, and there were two people, it was their first show, having anxiety attacks. But once they got into it, they were so into it, so yes, just doing the thing. I want to jump into our second question now. There's been much discussion around community building, connection, and feeling. And it's kind of interesting in our field right now, from my perspective. For example, one of the events that I was at earlier this year is very indicative of what happens at a lot of events where they just assume if they get a small group of people together into a room by themselves, say, first time attendees. They put them all together in a room and they give them a bar that, like magically, they're gonna connect, they're going to talk to people. Some left saying, I've never felt more lonely because there was no structured connection. So if you're there by yourself, you're already by yourself. You already feel alone. And then you're just like, “Add some alcohol to the mix” if you drink, right. And then all of a sudden, you're gonna open up and talk to people, and other people already there might already be cliquey. You're there by yourself. It's not very comfortable. So, as someone who's performed and run events, there's a fine line between overplanning every moment of the event or experience and being super loose. How do you describe that line, where that line should be, for those navigating it?

Marcus
While the structure of an event, in my imagination, my hallucination, is that the reason we put structures in place is again to get to a certain feeling for every one, is to get to that goal of the event, is to get to the things that we need to say, that we need to share, in order to get to that final result, I suppose, or that deliverable of the event. And then within that structure, everybody's trying to do their job right. And then, all of a sudden, somebody's trying to, you know, the projectionist is trying to get to the slides, and this person's trying to get to the speech. Everybody's trying to do their job, and in that, sometimes lost, again, that feeling that we want to get to.

So I think one of the things that we can do is intentionally apply the things, individually and as a group of those running the event, those sort of in charge of the event, of getting ourselves to that place of keeping perspective, meaning that whether it's we all get together and learn like, take a deep breath, put a smile on your face, and remember what the purpose is of this event, you know. So that, both of us are in improv, so that in the moment, out of anxiety, or maybe exuberance, we don't just say the first thing that comes to mind. We don't just do the first thing that comes to mind. We don't just cut that dish. We don't just eliminate that slide. We don't just cut the speech. We go like, “Okay, hang on.” That person's speech is very important because it serves this purpose, so is there a way to shorten it? What's the way? Can we prepare the person giving the speech, for example, do they have a 30 second version of the speech versus a 5 minute version of the speech? Do they know how to deliver their message in less time? And can we prepare for that ahead of time? Or what are the essential slides that we can show? Is there a way to have an alternate slide? A backup thing? Is there somebody in the company that can deliver something without a microphone if the microphone goes out. Is there somebody among us who can shout and project, you know?

Again, are we noticing that some people are alone right? As opposed to being connected? We want people to be connected. What can we do in this moment to include them? Do we turn the volume down, or is there somebody in the company who can start a Conga line, you know. Yes, the Conga line wasn't part of the plan, might be little out there. But is there a way to? And because we have the Conga line now, what's gonna happen to the rest? And somebody might go like, “Conga line.” But then somebody again, take a deep breath, and go, “Yes, except connection and celebration was our focus. Remember?? “Oh, yeah, yeah, I remember.” So I believe it starts with the greater vision. And it's like everything. It's like weddings. “Hello, everybody.” Who started with like, “We just wanna hug a tree because we love each other.” And all of a sudden we're stressing out in the middle of the wedding because we're like, “Where's the cheese?” “Oh, what do you mean?” So we have to remember what it's about. I hope this was helpful.

Dr. K
Yeah, absolutely. You and I, I would say, are very solid polymaths. We see the overlaps of everything; we train in lots of different areas because we see how it's all related. So I was so fascinated when I was reading your bio and hearing your background, and meeting you for the first time, and hearing all the things we're doing. And it was like, “Actor and clown and improv and instructor,” and all these things. And then it was like, “neuro coding” Now for everyone who's listening to the podcast in Season 7, we were all about designing behavior change. And so there was a lot of neuroscience last season, and I was instantly fascinated. And I do not think professional clown will be in my future, but I want to hear about neuro coding. What is it? How would you describe it? And how do you use it in the work that you're doing?

Marcus
Okay, fabulous. Officially, neural coding is the language of our nervous system and how it pertains to how we function as human beings as well as how we use that information to get the very best out of ourselves. By that, I mean, neural encoding is a modality, a way for us to learn how to default to behaviors that serve us, default to feelings of joy, courage, or confidence. So that we can do things to change our patterns of behavior and habits. At first, it's discipline, then it becomes a habit, and then, it becomes you. Essentially, it boils down to this: as I think, so I feel; as I feel, so I do, so I have, so I give.

I came to neural coding via the performer, director route. Performers do this on stage. They take a script, understand the character's thoughts, leading to feelings, actions, and the audience's response. Our thoughts create feelings, impulses to do things, and our lives result from the decisions we make. Our lives are the cup from which we can give. So that’s what neurocoding is. So, I help people default to positive possibilities in their lives and even to a place of positive expectancy, which brings us back to the future.

Dr. K
If people are not watching this video, they've got to watch this video because you're so absolutely incredible. I see on your shirt The Joy Experience. I hear you talk a lot about joy, even in the last answer, talking about joy. I know you also run a program on joy. So, first, with the Joy Experience, how did you get there from your history to where you are now? Then tell us a little bit about your program because I think we can all use a little more joy in our life.

Marcus
Yes, okay. So people often ask me when I show up, “Marcus, do you just wake up with this, you know, excitement and energy.” I go, “No, no, I don't. No, I don't. Who does? I don't. I don't pop out of bed like a jack in the box.” No, of course not. In fact, I wake up like this. Maybe your audience recognizes this. Oh, my gosh! Like that, like any person in their fifties. Okay? Then I take my fingers and go like this, “It's gonna be a great day.” Okay, I know this happens to me because my brain believes me in that moment. Your brain believes you for just a moment if you vividly imagine something. So if you tell yourself it's going to be a great day, in that moment, you look forward to it a little bit, cause it changes how you think and changes how you feel, and so it changes a little bit of what I do with my body. Then I stretch my body.

I do all that so that I can show up with some kind of energy, looking forward to the day because there was a time when I didn't want to wake up at all. I would wake up, literally open my eyes, say, “Oh, no, not again!” Then all I saw ahead of me was stress, anxiety, and overwhelm, and then, you know, was coming straight at me, and then I'd go like up there it comes. That's the future, right? The future of this day. Then you head towards exactly what you don't want. You usually head towards it. That's what people do. I would get it, and at the end of the day, close my eyes, and go, “Thank God.” The irony of it all! My favorite time of the day was being unconscious at night. And I would go, “Thank goodness, I don't have to see anything for a while.” Then I would wake up and do it all over again until, and I still had this hope. I was still this guy up here, but from the neck down, and that's this part of me was kicking under the water like crazy, but I knew I could be happier. I knew I wanted to be excited about life, meaning I wanted to wake up, and I did.

I found somebody who happened to be a speaker, ninja their way into my heart, and I found myself jumping up and down. Me, I've been a performer for decades, and all of a sudden, “Wait a minute.” It's not just my brain jumping up and down, going, “I know I can be happier,” but my whole system was like, “What? This is what life could feel like?” All of a sudden I couldn't wait to get up in the morning, and I didn't wanna go to bed. I was making Youtube live videos until like 1am at night, cause I just wanted to give back. Because, like’ “People, people, I have a vision!” And you, too, could have faith. And if you can't have faith, at least, there's hope, everybody. And all of a sudden, I knew how to, in an instant, change what I focus on, which changes how I feel, which changes what I do, which changes what I have, and now is changing what I give back. Listen. It doesn't have to be this kind of version. It's whatever your version is; there's things you can do.

Basically, there's exercises. And then there's things we can do together. That's where the Joy Experience came from. I developed an online program. That's two and a half hours on one day and two and a half hours the next day. So we can reconvene and see how these things helped you, for even just a week, and how your life can change even within a week, and you know and then the people I've coached that come up to me. They say, “Marcus, you know, life has never been the same. My life has changed” And even within, you know, 45 min. I run sessions called a Beat of Joy. I do that every week here in Las Vegas, at Tahiti village. People come up to me afterwards, and their eyes are a glow, and everywhere, from a Vietnam veteran to a mother of 5 to like 7 year old kids. They come up to me, and they're like, “What just happened to me.” And I say to them, “You did that. You can do more of it.” It's not a momentary thing. It's not the circumstances; it is something in you empowered to change, and the key is, can you change again any moment, any day, in any part of your life, and the answer to that is yes, and the way to do that is to connect with somebody who can help you, and that somebody can be Kristin, or that somebody can be me.

Dr. K
I love it all. Oh, my gosh! I mean, you're so infectious and magnetic in such a positive way, like, literally the first time I met you, I was like, “We have to be friends. You have no choice. We have to be friends.” Then we sat next to each other at that restaurant, and we were just like we're friends forever now.

Okay, as we're wrapping up the podcast here, the last key question before we get to contact information. What is your one takeaway for everyone listening to the podcast: event planners, designers, experience designers, students who are getting into this. If you had one key takeaway, what would that be?

Marcus
Connection. If you have made it to the end of this podcast, one thing you were looking for is a sense of connection, and not only a connection to Kristin and myself, the Marcus Weiss Experience, but a connection to something inside of you. And you're seeking some kind of connection to the world, to some kind of meaning, and that comes from a feeling of fulfillment, of gratitude, of “I can do this,” whatever it is. So I believe that the one thing that I want people to take away is keep going out and connect to your dream, to your intentions, to your family, to your community, to your company, to your event. Keep seeking, keep going for that thing that is driving you, and connect to feel a oneness with that person, that community, that universe, and ultimately the world. Because I think that's what drives us.

Dr. K
That's so beautiful and so true. We're talking a lot about community and connection, and that's so prominent in our field right now. So if people want to check out The Joy Experience, they want to check out your program, they want to check out your other things, they want to connect with you, they feel that bond and your excellent good juju putting out in the universe. How do they do that?

Marcus
Well, so I am the marcusweissexperience.com. That is my website. You can go there. You can email me directly at the marcusweissexperience@gmail.com. You can find the Marcus Weiss Experience again on Instagram. I am Marcus Jacob Weiss on Facebook, and through that, The Joy Experience is coming up on the thirtieth of March. That's the first session, and the second session is on the sixth of April. So if anybody wants to sign up for that, my links and connections are both on my website, as well as in the Bios on Facebook and Instagram. I'm also on Linkedin and Marcus Weiss on Linkedin. So that's a lot of Marcus Weiss and the Marcus Weiss Experience.

But you can be your own experience, right? And you're creating your own experiences out there as event planners. So my wish for everyone is that the Marcus Weiss Experience becomes The Joy Experience becomes your experience. That's what it's all about. I want to connect to you, and here we are, and I hope we can keep connecting to you and your audiences.

Dr K
Absolutely. I will make sure all of those are down below in the show notes. Or I mean at this point, you could just Google Marcus Weiss Experience and get all the things, yes, about Marcus. Thank you so much for being on this podcast, for being on this video, for being who you are as a human being, as an inspiration, as a positive energy in our universe that we so need right now. I am so grateful for you, and just thank you for your time because I don't take it for granted.

Marcus
Thank you, Kris. I thank you for this honor and this privilege and this absolute joy of being here together with you and your audience, thank you.

Dr K
Absolutely. For all those who are listening, make sure to log in every Friday, wherever you listen to your podcast or check us out on Youtube, new this season, Season 8. We are also on Youtube, make sure to react, like, do all the things, write comments, share with your friends because we are dishing up the epicness, and we are so excited to have everyone log in. We will see you next week.