Maria Baltazzi

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Maria Baltazzi is a Los Angeles-based television producer, known for her work in unscripted programming, particularly in adventure and documentary series. Her career has been marked by both critical acclaim and commercial success. Additionally, she is a wellbeing teacher, transformational travel designer, and author.

Contents

Maria Baltazzi, Morocco 2023 Maria Baltazzi Morocco 2023.jpg
Maria Baltazzi, Morocco 2023

Take a Shot at Happiness: How to Write, Direct & Produce the Life You Want

In 2023, Baltazzi published Take a Shot at Happiness: How to Write, Direct & Produce the Life You Want. This book blends insights from science and spirituality to help readers achieve greater happiness. It offers practical steps and immersive activities that combine phone photography and journaling prompts aimed at fostering self-reflection and personal growth. Maria’s approach to exploring happiness has been recognized for its creativity and innovation.

Book Awards

Maria Baltazzi's Take a Shot at Happiness has been recognized by several organizations:

Personal Transformation and Philosophy

Baltazzi began her journey in the television industry as one of the original supervising producers of the Emmy Award-winning series Survivor on CBS. Her work during the show's early years helped shape its innovative storytelling and audience engagement, contributing to Survivor becoming a cultural phenomenon. In 2001, she received an Emmy Award for her work on the first two seasons of Survivor and was nominated for an Emmy for Eco-Challenge: Borneo.

After seven seasons with Survivor, Baltazzi moved on to developing and showrunning other television series. Witnessing the high-pressure environment of the entertainment world led her to question how people can achieve success while staying true to themselves and finding genuine happiness.

This question inspired Baltazzi to seek a more meaningful life, leading to her earning a Ph.D. in Conscious-Centered Living. She has also studied happiness, mindfulness, meditation, and positive psychology with teachers such as Tal Ben-Shahar, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Rick Hanson, and Deepak Chopra.

The Happiness Explorer

Today, Baltazzi is known as the "Happiness Explorer." She combines her experience as a television producer, wellbeing teacher, world traveler, and transformational travel designer to help others on their journeys toward happiness. Her approach includes journaling and phone photography as tools for self-discovery, making the reader’s happiness journey more personal and profound. Baltazzi is also committed to philanthropy. She has walked over 8,500 miles, participating in marathons on all seven continents to raise funds for various causes. Her other adventures include summiting Kilimanjaro twice, trekking to Everest Base Camp, leading treks in Africa, and walking the last 100 km of the Camino de Santiago several times.

Professional Affiliations

Baltazzi is a member of the Producers and Directors Guilds of America, The Explorers Club, and the Transformational Travel Council. Her enthusiasm, knowledge, and passion for human potential inspire others to pursue their dreams and find fulfillment. She believes that true success is found in self-discovery and the pursuit of authentic happiness.

Early career

Maria began her television career shortly after graduating from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and a minor in Broadcast Management. She then attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where she and a classmate became the first two women to earn an MFA in Film. Years later, following professional and personal setbacks, Maria pursued studies in happiness and mindfulness, ultimately earning a Ph.D. in Conscious-Centered Living from the University of Sedona.

Her first job in television was at KCST-TV, an NBC affiliate in San Diego, where she worked in the Traffic Department, inputting commercials into the station's daily program log. She then spent nearly five years planning media campaigns for KRON-TV, an NBC affiliate in San Francisco. Maria later moved to Los Angeles, transitioning to production. She began as a TV show researcher and advanced to the roles of producer and director.

Personal life

Maria has visited all seven continents twice and explored over seventy countries. She scaled Mount Kilimanjaro in November 2008 and October 2015, trekked to Everest Base Camp in May 2009, crossed the 15,000ft Salkantay Pass to Machu Picchu in 2015, and climbed Mount Olympus in Greece in 2016. As an avid distance walker, Maria completed the New York City Marathon in November 2009, the Los Angeles Marathon in March 2010, the Athens Marathon in October 2010, the Great Wall Marathon in China in May 2011, the Solar Eclipse Marathon in Port Douglas, Australia, in November 2012, the Safaricom Marathon in Kenya in June 2013, the Rio Maratona Caixa in Rio de Janeiro in 2014, and the Last Marathon in Antarctica in 2015. She participates in marathons to raise funds for Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation and Stand Up to Cancer.

Awards and Accolades

Show Credits (partial list)

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