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Tara Schuster
Best-Selling Author & Former VP of Talent and Development at Comedy Central
Tara Schuster
Best-Selling Author & Former VP of Talent and Development at Comedy Central
Biography
After overcoming a childhood of adversity, Tara Schuster quickly rose up the ranks of Comedy Central where she rocketed upwards to become the youngest Vice President of Talent and Development at the network, overseeing all production and creative aspects of shows, such as the Peabody and Emmy award-winning Key & Peele.
What no one knew at work, however, was that, privately, she was battling crippling anxiety and depression. She was good at work but bad at life. After dealing with a particularly dark experience, Tara decided enough was enough and that she needed to take care and control of her mental health. She called upon the same talents she had used to launch hit television shows to begin a life-changing journey of self-healing and self-care. For five years, she researched how to both “be her own parent” and nurture her own wounded well-being—creating a 600-page Google Doc of her findings.
Tara studied and tested practical, easy-to-use, self-care tools that allowed her to create radically better mental health for herself while also thriving in the career she worked so hard to accomplish. She didn’t have to choose between her career and sound mental health and neither should anyone else.
Tara turned her struggle with chronic anxiety and depression into two bestselling books on self-care. Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies has sold over an astounding 250,000 copies and has been translated into five languages. It was selected as one of the Best Non-Fiction Books of 2020 by Goodreads and was selected by Cosmopolitan, Real Simple, Goop, Publishers Weekly and many more as one of the best books of 2020. Glow in the F*cking Dark was released in 2023.
Her humorous take on taking charge of one’s mental health—always backed by empowering action steps—has won praise from readers ranging from Wharton professor Adam Grant to Academy Award-winner Anjelica Huston and bestselling author Glennon Doyle who has said, “You’re going to want Tara Schuster to be your new best friend.” Tara has taught hundreds of thousands of readers about self-care and now hosts the wildly popular “Glow On” journaling club on Substack. Now, Tara has re-entered the corporate world to offer the help she so badly needed.
Tara understands the realities of working in a corporate environment and seeks to help individual contributors, managers and executives prevent and heal burn-out, have better inter-generational dialog, and create a culture where self-care leads to more self-esteem, innovation, productivity and less friction.
As an in-demand speaker, Tara has received invitations from the Fortune 100 and spoken to audiences ranging from Civic Nation to women’s and young professional groups. Bringing a winning combination of humor, vulnerability and hard-won wisdom to the stage, she does more than inspire and motivate audiences to create lasting change in their lives. She provides easy-to-implement tools to take better care of one’s spirit, mental and physical health, and relationships—as both an individual and a member of a workplace team.
All of Tara’s offerings can be done as keynotes or workshops and are customized to the specific needs of a company.
Speaker Videos
Authentic Self-Care
Tara Schuster x KTLA
Gratitude Practice
Self-Care in Judaism
The Importance of Role Models | Tara Schuster
Self-care, Vulnerability, & Real Talk
Tara Schuster’s Guide to Thank You Cards | Penguin Random House
Why Is being Nice To Yourself So Hard?
Speech Topics
Journaling for a Healthier, More Enjoyable Workplace
The science behind the effectiveness of journaling to reduce stress, gain perspective and even hasten the healing of illness is staggering. A 2022 study found that employees who journaled took fewer sick days from work! Yet, journaling is often seen as trivial and not as one of the first lines of defense for mental health as it should be. Tara Schuster wants to change all that. After 12 years of developing her journaling practice and teaching sold-out workshops on the subject, Tara, in her hilarious and entertaining way, will teach you how to:
- Gain self-awareness and perspective.
- Reduce stress and anxiety.
- Better understand your emotions to prevent burnout and make better, non-reactive choices.
- Quell your inner critic to gain self-esteem and know your self-worth.
- Change your perspective to better understand the needs and communication styles of your colleagues and clients.
You’ll leave Tara’s workshop inspired and refreshed and take away practical, proven, enjoyable exercises you can use to feel less stressed, more motivated and just better at work.
Goodbye Imposter Syndrome: Using Our Inner Critic to Our Advantage
Having worked in comedy for 12 years, starting as an intern at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and ascending to one of the top jobs in Comedy television, Tara Schuster spent most of her career as the only woman in a room of 18 men and had to learn how to navigate the famously difficult corporate environment in Hollywood. In this funny, inspiring and practical keynote, Tara will help you overcome your inner critic, combat and even use imposter syndrome to your advantage, and finally create a protected yet collaborative and empowered version of yourself at work. Full of hope and lots of fun, you’ll walk away from this talk with the tools to make the most out of your career and empower others along your journey to success.
Telling Our Stories: Using Empathy to Combat Anti-Semitism & Hate
According to the Anti-Defamation League, Jewish people represent just 2% of the population but 60% of the religiously motivated hate crimes in America. In the past few years, Anti-Semitism has increased dramatically in every category: harassment, vandalism and assault. In this highly motivational, urgent—and, as always, funny talk—this comedy veteran and bestselling author reveals her own journey towards Judaism, why classic Jewish comedies don’t work anymore and how we can fight back against hate. This talk will resonate with any group that has been oppressed and offers tangible solutions that you can start using today.
What Do We Mean When We Say, “Be Authentic?” Choosing to Be Our Best Professional Selves at Work
“Authenticity,” seems to be the buzzword de jour in popular culture and many workplaces. But what do we mean when we say “authentic self?” Do any of us really have one authentic self? Or are we different in the company of our parents, children and colleagues? In fact, research shows that bringing “all of yourself” to work lessens promotions and mutual respect and can even lead to increased friction. In this inspiring and surprising keynote drawing from her experience of developing and helping to create Emmy and Peabody Award-winning television shows, Tara Schuster tells the hilarious story of her foible—trying to fit into Hollywood only to discover that being authentic did not mean bringing all sides of her to work. But instead, she brings her best, brightest and most engaged professional self to the office—both for her good and the good of the company. Using an Internal Family Systems framework, Tara gives us real tools to discover our agency in deciding who we want to be at work and beyond.
Testimonials
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