10,000 NOs

Amanda Clayton has hit her stride, with her latest portrayal of Cathy Ryan, the tough-as-nails wife of an armed car robber, on Showtime's City on a Hill.  But long before she was dazzling millions in their living rooms, she was grinding, first as an athlete and then as a waiter and theater actor.  She eventually nabbed a series regular role on Tyler Perry's television series, If Loving You...

As we continue our holiday hiatus, we give you another one of last year's transformational New Year's interviews, this time with top strength coach and transformation specialist, Jay Ferruggia. If you are in the midst of beginning your New Year's resolutions, you don't want to miss this one.  Enjoy...    Jay Ferruggia is bald, jacked and tattoed.  So it's easy to be intimidated...

As we continue our holiday hiatus, we give you last year's New Year's day interview again because it is so inspirational in terms of Transformation.  It applies as much as we kick off 2020 as it did at the start of 2019.  Enjoy...   Charlie Rocket ran a multi-million dollar business where he managed hip-hop artists like 2 Chainz into Grammy Awards.  But he weighed over 300 lbs and was diag...

Matt was a guest on Brian Levenson's podcast, Intentional Performers on October 9, 2019.  Due to the holiday hiatus, and with the generosity of Brian, we are reposting it here on 10,000 "No"s.  Here is the description from Brian's feed...   Matthew Del Negro joins us on this week's episode of the podcast.  Matthew is an actor that has played a wide range of roles in features bo...

As 2019 draws to a close and Matt writes furiously on his book to make a deadline, we preview some of our upcoming guests, including Henry Winkler, former Navy SEAL Chris Burns turned trauma surgeon Chris Burns and Sam Apuzzo who was the best player in NCAA Women's Lacrosse two years ago and now assistant coaching at Boston College. We also discuss the importance of improvising during the holi...

As a professional track and field athlete and Olympic Trials Qualifier, Steven Benedict has run in some of the world's most prestigious events. In addition to the Adidas Classic Diamond League and US Nationals, he spent two years running for Nike and was a Penn Relays Champion. Featured in 50 national and international magazines, such as Train, ESPN Magazine, Men's Fitness, Men's Healt...

For this episode, released on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, Matt riffs on thoughts from a recent work trip to Hawaii where he saw some movies he loved, some that disappointed and experienced a Catholic Mass that surprised him.  It includes several clips of Quentin Tarantino from a podcast he did with the folks who help him run the New Beverly Theater and the overall theme is that nothi...

Sarah Shahi is beautiful.  But despite having graced the covers of countless magazines, it would be wrong to call that her defining quality.  To sit down with her is to discover that she has humor, strength and grit that exceeds the average person.  Perhaps her steel was forged in the fires of growing up one of the few Iranian immigrants in Texas, or maybe it was from surviving an abusive father w...

Jane Hanson has interviewed VIPs from Bishop Desmond Tutu to Presidents to Rock Stars, Pop Stars who turned out not speak English (you'll hear that funny story)... you name 'em, she's probably interviewed them.  And she's collected nine Emmy Awards over the years for her efforts.  She is credited as being the first person to announce on-air that the Twin Towers were struck by a pla...

At 33 years old, Chuck MacLean has worked with some of the biggest talents in Hollywood like Brad Pitt and Antoine Fuqua.  Currently, he collaborates with major players Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Tom Fontana, Jennifer Todd and Kevin Bacon with his critically-acclaimed Boston Cop Drama, City on a Hill.  What I enjoyed most in sitting down with him is his ability to say it like it is without worrying...

Carrie Wilkerson went from twice her current size, weighing 266lbs and feeling lethargic, to being what I describe as "tiny" and an absolute ball of fire when it comes to energy. Learn how she created the life of her dreams, built a business from home and raised four kids.  Her father always taught her, "if you can find a way to get paid for talking, Baby Girl, you will have it made!&#...

Most people want to do big things or start new hobbies.  But when they go to pursue them, they generally underestimate all of the resistance surrounding the pursuit and eventually lose their steam.  In this episode, Matt talks about how to feel successful in all areas of your life. Whether it's starting an acting career, a podcast or even becoming a better surfer... or anything else you may wa...

Michelle Walrath is an entrepreneur and restaurateur who has also Executive Produced several critically-acclaimed Documentary Films, including Tapped, Fed Up, The Devil You Know and Under the Gun through her Atlas Films.  But behind every endeavor she's tackled as an adult is her fierce Mom protection mode.  Unsatisfied with the choices she had to feed her children over the course of a summer...

Mike Boyle is not your typical psychotherapist.  He's not your typical guy either, but he kinda used to be. A standout hockey player with aspirations to play in the NHL, Mike became critically depressed as a college athlete after suffering multiple head injuries.  He has since dedicated his life to healing and helping others thrive. He has worked extensively with people suffering from symptoms...

In this shorter solo episode, Matt riffs on relationships, which sometimes start as work-related and then become friendships... and other times start as friendships and then become work-related... and how they had a huge impact on his past week's trip to the East Coast.  And, in general, on his life since 10,000 "No"s was launched.  Particularly in the past few months, including a fort...

Sue Hollis has every reason to be arrogant and obnoxious:  she was a powerhouse corporate warrior for both British Airways and Qantas before realizing she wanted to make a bigger impact with her work.  That's when she stepped down and co-founded TravelEdge, a corporate travel management company now valued over $250 Million, 20 years ago, making her one of Australia's Top 10 Female Entrepre...

Launching a podcast was unchartered territory.  So was deciding to be an Actor.  But both have led to new, surprising experiences, relationships and opportunities that were nowhere in sight at the start.  In this short, solo episode Matt discusses the benefits of taking a leap and the number one takeaway of the entire show.    SHOW NOTES: "No matter what happens to you... the gig of being a hu...

Jason "Jay" Redman is a retired naval officer and US Navy SEAL.  He also wrote the book The Trident:  The Forging and Reforging of a Navy SEAL Leader and his second book, Overcome:  Crush Adversity With the Leadership Techniques of America's Toughest Warriors, available wherever books are sold December 10, 2019.  But his story, while wildly heroic, is not without strife, setbacks and n...

Many of you likely know Actor Jeff Perry as the strategically conniving, power-hungry, Cyrus Beane opposite Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn on Shonda Rhimes' smash it, Scandal or as Meredith Grey's father on Rhime's other smash hit, Grey's Anatomy.  What you may not know is that he is one of the founding members of the famed and respected Steppenwolf Theater Company, alongside Hi...

Asking for help can be seen as weakness.  In this solo episode, Matt discusses that the true lack of courage is in NOT asking for help because it allows us to let ourselves off the hook.  Quotable:  “And I said, yeah, ask:  They had what you needed.  But because you weren't bold enough to ask for it, you didn't get it.  And instead, you suffered in silence.  And, yes, I was talking to my 1...

In an effort to keep it real, Matt opens up about a very mundane recent "battle" he dealt with. The key takeaway is that it is not the perceived obstacle in front of you that matters as much as your attitude toward it and reaction to it.  Reframing is not something that just applies to the macro challenges of impressive past guests... it applies to YOU in every second of every day.  What l...

If you've been watching City on a Hill this year on Showtime there is no doubt you've been riveted by Mark's portrayal of Jimmy Ryan, the slippery brother to Jonathan Tucker's Frankie Ryan.  But what you'll know after listening to our conversation is that, not unlike every other guest on 10,000 "No"s, the quality of his work is mostly the result of Mark's sheer will...

Welcome back to 10,000 "No"s and thank you for being here again.  I know last week's episode was quick, for my birthday, but hopefully it home in terms of making you realize just how lucky we all are to be here.  This week's guest, Jake Thompson, feels lucky to be able to do what he does, which is coach, speak, design apparel, host a podcast and run a company.   His podcast is Comp...

On his birthday, Matt riffs on the extreme odds of just being alive and why it's worth being grateful.       SHOW NOTES:  "I know you've all got challenges, as do I, that's part of life, but..." (2:35). The odds of a person being born to being the person that they are have been described as astronomical, (2:57). "Just you being here, warts and all, is a big deal.  It's...

Julie Benz is an actress.  She's been working steadily for a long, long time, but probably most recognizable as Dexter's wife, Rita, on Showtime's Critically Acclaimed smash hit, Dexter.  What you may not know is that Julie was a serious figure skater from the age of 3 to 13, on a high level.  Her rigorous training, from such a young age, has no doubt had a big effect on her career, pe...