Meet Melinda Cea

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melinda Cea.

Hi Melinda, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a passionate storyteller.  I believe stories, especially the ones we tell ourselves, have the power to change our lives. I’ve been producing TV for eighteen years now, and am an award-winning Film Producer, Life Producer, and soon to be first time Author.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a curious doer, and really, that’s what being a producer and storyteller is all about — staying curious and being relentless about doing whatever inspires you.

I’m a small-town girl at heart, though, who loves love, backyard bbq’s, being outdoors, family time, and girl chats. I grew up in the high desert of Antelope Valley, so the excitement of lights-camera-action in the entertainment industry was the total opposite of my tumbleweed, two-lane hometown, and a hell-yeah for my thrill-chasing self.

It all started when I graduated from Cal State Northridge with a degree in Cinema Television Arts and interned at every news station that would take me. From being on camera (omg, those tapes are hilarious-I die) to being a writer, producer, and director, I had an insatiable appetite (still do) for understanding every role on set; and I love being there.

Soon I realized news wasn’t for me (the call times were super early) so I transitioned into the wild world of reality television; thinking that would be better and way more fun!

When E! Entertainment wanted to send me around the world, for the first time EVER, with Ms. American Pie herself, Tara Reid, producing a series called Taradise, I couldn’t pack my bags fast enough. My passion for production was sealed and my thirst for travel ignited. Reality TV was a dream job!

After my first world tour, I ran from show to show, working my butt off and quickly expanding on my responsibilities. I was developing shows, casting the perfect talent, scouting and planning shoots all over the world, negotiating millions in branded integrations, writing scripts, directing, interviewing, running post-production — all with the aim of creating world-class content.

Now as an executive producer and content creator, I have over 60 television credits, 300+ episodes produced, I’ve conducted thousands of interviews, and have a love of storytelling that has allowed me to lead teams in twenty-seven countries, including Thailand, Spain, Palestine, India, Tanzania, Greece, and Papua New Guinea.

I’ve produced everything from the Emmy-nominated series Dancing With the Stars to Secret Millionaire, Undercover Billionaire, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Better Late Than Never, Operation Change, Flirty Dancing, I Can See Your Voice, Cooks vs. Cons, American Hustler with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and so many more. From ABC to FOX, A&E to Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Quibi, Food Network, and TVLand — it’s been a ride.

I’ve had the honor of telling stories for some of today’s most influential producers like Mark Burnett and thought leaders like His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and President Bill Clinton. From Donna Karan to Kevin Costner, William Shatner, Terry Bradshaw, Harry Connick Jr., Sir Elton John, Ken Jeong, Glenn Stearns, and Jenna Dewan, I’ve been able to work alongside and learn from some of the world’s top talent.

I’ve garnered partnerships with Lionsgate, Discovery Communications and production companies in Los Angeles and NYC for my own TV show concepts. I even had the privilege of partnering with the National Association of Television Programming Executives (NATPE) as an executive producer of their inaugural Omni Cultural TV Fest and was honored by Los Angeles’ Mayor Eric Garcetti for my work as a television producer.

Apparently, I’m now considered a veteran now.

Most recently I produced the documentary feature Case for Kindness with director Steven Sawalich, and Executive Prodcuer of The Office, Teri Weinberg.  The doc features Ben Affleck, Lady Gaga, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, The Dalai Lama, and world-renowned scientists and experts to better understand the effects kindness can have on our bodies — physically, mentally, and emotionally. This one word could determine the fate of humanity. We’re in talks with several distributers for the film now. I’ll announce on my socials @melindacea where you can see it very soon.

Seriously, Kindness is cool and super entertaining!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My journey so far has been the thrill of a lifetime. One I am so grateful for. It’s taught me so much about the world, humanity as a whole, and myself. But like all journeys, mine has not been without lessons; the hardest one of all to learn for me was self-abandonment.

There was a darker side to the culture of entertainment that took me forever to wake up to.

As the years went by, suicide rates of reality TV contestants soared, and I became hyper-aware of how one interaction, even the smallest hello, could have an impact — good or bad — on someone else’s life and my own. That mixed with all my travels were teaching me how much value we place on external approvals, permissions and validations. I saw a culture whose self-worth was rooted in net worth. A culture who hid under materialistic sparkle. I saw how people blindly chase something without knowing what that something is and why they’re truly chasing it. I saw how out of touch I not only was, but how we can be as a society, with ourselves.

I realized I had been so busy, busy, busy, producing other realities, that I had forgotten how to produce mine. I had been so busy surviving that I wasn’t learning what it truly meant to thrive. I had no clue about the importance of work-life balance, mental health, setting boundaries, having sovereignty over my time, and nurturing the most important relationship in my life; the one with my self.

Years of therapy and life coaches helped me to start seeing the concessions I was making for my “dream job.” Getting to the finished product was often about working myself to the bone and turning my life upside down for a culture that was running me into the ground for the bottom line. Many times I was telling stories I didn’t really want to tell, and the ones I did, were at the mercy of a gatekeeper. I quickly learned why it’s called the Entertainment Business, because it’s a business, and all businesses are about the bottom line; which makes sense… when running a business, but what about when producing your life? The best rest of your life?

I started wondering if there were dividends past the checks. Dividends like sleep, proper nutrition, more joy, more freedom, more love, peace, passion and purpose. I started to wonder why I needed someone else to give me permission to tell the story I wanted to tell. To live the life I wanted to live. If the “business” of reality TV wasn’t going to change, I knew I had to. If I was part of the problem, then I could also be part of the solution.

I learned how to set — and hold — boundaries and how to ask the right questions before taking a job. Once I realized that the right questions for me had nothing to do with my title and rate, that I needed nobody’s permission to tell the story I wanted to tell but my own, and that my energy, beliefs and perceptions created my reality, it was a total paradigm shift when it came to producing not just my life, but every.damn.thing!

Soon I came to know a very different reality, one filled with empowerment, and easy-to-hand-out No thank you’s. I came to understand the difference between thriving and surviving. We all have to survive, and that might mean taking the day job sometimes, but truly thriving is about doing the thing that lights you up, no matter what. That thing may change over the years, but paying attention, and staying curiosu about it, is how you never abandon yourself again.

The quality of my life and my career drastically improved once I knew how to align with projects that were in line with my value system — one I had to clearly define.

Side note: If you go to Melindacea.com, there is a bunch of cool freebie’s for you, including my guide to Interviewing Like A Pro. It’s decades of experience for free, for you!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Today I am most proud of my biggest production yet, my first book, that I am writing now. I’ve never typed so much in my life; my hands are literally swollen. I can’t tell you the title just yet, but if you go to melindacea.com and sign up for my newsletter, you will be the first to know.  Here’s what I can say,  it’s about remembering who you are, it’s sexy, soulful and reads like a rom-com that will make you blush and say Omg, No-She-Didn’t, Oh-Yes-She-Did, Thank-You, I-Am-Not-Alone, Preach-Sister.

Remembering who you are, a.k.a a journey to the self is new and perhaps frightening for many, but my book provides an entertaining ride while simplifying and demystifying the idea. I invite readers to take their own journey right alongside me, and to take  their power back by asking themselves, the same questions I asked of myself. Why? Because if there is one thing I do know, it’s that questions open doors.

Writing a book has been the biggest challenge of my life, but doing so has inspired me to be of service in another way. I am also a Life Producer (much like a Life Coach). I help my clients remember who they’re and tell The Story Of You; which let’s be real, is the most important story anyone will ever tell.

Telling The Story of You requires one thing —remember who that is. We go on an exciting journey to the Self that happens a lot like the three stages of production — pre-, pro-, and postproduction— and there are key steps at each stage. If there is one thing being a producer has taught me it’s that you have the ability to produce your own hit reality, and star in a life you actually want, as none other than yourself. All you have to do is step into your role as Producer and say Action! I know because I did it— and I want to help you do it too.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Real success, for me, I now define by the amount of joy, freedom, love, and courage I have to follow those sparks of curiosity that poke at me.

I can tell you this, the clearer I got on what my value system was, what matter’s most to me, and the way I wanted to make people feel, the more courage I discovered, the more joy washed over me, and the more creative I was. In fact, the more opportunities came my way, even. Once you get clear on those things, I promise it’ll never be easier to walk away from a reality you don’t want, to produce the one you do.

Then, all you have to do is just start! ha. That’s the scariest part right? When I first started my career I spent a lot of time wondering if I was doing it right, people pleasing, self-doubting, etc…you know, the usual self-abandonment 101 techniques.

Eventually, I said, F this, just start and do your best girl, and I guess that’s the secret sauce to my success. My hands were often shaking with nerves, voice trembling with doubt, filled with fear and excitement all at the same time. But I just went for it and didn’t stop until whatever my next dream was became my reality.

Many times my voice still shakes with excitement and I’m blanketed in nerves when I am out of my comfort zone, but being in that headspace makes me feel alive. And often, I discover the best stories there.

So take it from me, just start and don’t stop until whatever your next dream is, becomes your reality. Dive in, heart first, doing your best. Get curious and produce your life around whatever is currently driving your curiosity. Doing so will become a symbol of what it means to tell the story of you! And once you remember what it truly means to be you, the entire universe lights up to make it so — and that is award-winning s*it.

Remember (a lot like production), life and dream chasing doesn’t always go as planned, so focus on your why, and your what, and the how, I promise will be figured out. Take it from me, life is too short to hold back the story you want to tell.

So whether a journey to the self is new for you, or you’re aware your old narratives need some rewriting, I’d love to help you tell the Story of You. Trust me, it is possible to go from seeker of magic to author of magic!  Hit me up at info@melindacea.com and set up a free consultation.

Contact Info:

• Website: melindacea.com
• Instagram: @melindacea
• Facebook: @MelindaCeaOfficial
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melindacea/
• Twitter: @melindacea

Image Credits
Professional Pics by Lori Dorman Photography