Episode Details
Back to EpisodesBreaking the Safe Path: From Corporate Finance to Creative Empire w/ Tina Frey
Description
To the design world, Tina Frey is the visionary behind TF Design, known for fluid, organic resin pieces sold globally. But before the sculpture tools, she wielded spreadsheets. Tina spent nearly two decades climbing the corporate ladder in finance, a "safe" path carved out by cultural expectations and a fear of the unknown, until the weight of unfulfillment became heavier than the risk of leaving.
In this episode, Tina shares the raw reality of the second wall she hit ten years into her entrepreneurship. Success brought its own trap…a burnout so severe during a warehouse renovation that it required a radical spiritual intervention. She opens up about her journey from a self-described "goody two-shoes" accountant to a mystic exploring consciousness through silent meditation, psychedelics, and fasting in the Mexican jungle.
Corissa and Tina explore the intersection of commerce and consciousness. They discuss why true creativity requires silencing the business brain, how to trust an intuition you've ignored for 40 years, and the profound realization that we don't need substances to access the divine, we just need to remember who we are.
In this episode, we cover:
- The Walmart Epiphany: The specific, fluorescent-lit moment in Guam involving roach traps that made Tina realize her corporate promotion was actually a soul trap.
- The Good Daughter Syndrome: Navigating the pressure of immigrant family expectations and the fear of what people will think when you leave a prestigious career.
- Burnout as a Portal: How a decade of grinding led Tina to a breaking point, and why her first experience with psychedelics taught her how to finally exhale.
- The Vision Quest: Tina’s harrowing and transformative experience spending four days in the jungle with no food, water, or distractions to connect with Source.
- Designing from the Gut: Why you must create for yourself first, and why listening to "market demands" too early can dilute your authentic voice.
Notable Quotes:
- "I’m pushing my shopping cart through Walmart on a Friday night... I see in my cart roach traps and bug spray... and I remember thinking... why is this a good thing?" — Tina Frey
- "You create it for yourself... there’s gotta be a spark of why you’re making that object... Don't try to make something for others because... you're gonna end up being confused." — Tina Frey
- "My goal always was ultimately not to depend on plant medicine... to be able to access this sort of energy, this knowing, outside of that space was kind of a practice I feel like I've always wanted to learn." — Tina Frey
Resources & Links:
- Connect with Tina Frey: instagram.com/tinafreydesigns/
- TF Design: tf.design
Connect with Corissa:
- Explore the Advisory. https://corissasaintlaurent.com/advisory
- Inquire for Keynotes. https://corissasaintlaurent.com/speaking
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Thanks for tuning in!