The Strong Women’s Club Women's Success Stories in Business and in Life

Dr. Laura Miranda tells us about how she started her urban training groups, and how she's developed them into a product and global fitness business certification program. Dr. Laura Miranda DPT, MSPT is a NYC based doctor of physical therapy, certified personal trainer, and creator of PURSUIT, the outdoor fitness movement. By mission, she empowers people on their path toward becoming the best possible version of themselves. Learn about Dr. Laura on her website DrLauraMiranda.com StrongHealthyWoman.com and follow her on Facebook (@DrLauraMiranda), Instagram (@drlauramiranda), and Twitter (@drlauramiranda).

Lisa Kelly, President, Kelly Wellness Consulting Inc., has been cultivating healthy changes within workplaces and with personal clients for over 20 years. Through her online, fully-facilitated "Workplace Wellness Ambassador Certification Programs," Lisa's mission is to create an innovative and collaborative landscape for global workplace wellness that fosters employee-driven, results-oriented wellness solutions benefiting employers, employees, and communities at large. End of year offers for business coaching packages still available! Write to edie@thestrongwomensclub.com for more info. Can't wait to help you have the most amazing 2018 possible!!  

Get Smart and Strong: End of 2017 offers on business coaching and strategy sessions for you to get better organized, more focus and more clarity for your amazing progress and success in 2018. Write to Edie at edie@thestrongwomensclub.com for details. Chris Freytag, Founder of Get Healthy U teaches us about building up an online fitness business, live-streaming fitness classes from her studio, and many tips as to how to stay relevant in the industry. You can find her at: https://gethealthyu.com https://www.gethealthyutv.com/  

Sarina Jain is the creator and founder of Masala Bhangra. She is able to fuse her heritage and personal family history with fun Bollywood dance music and moves and passions of Bhangra. We talk about how to start a movement, how to get people excited about something they've never done before, how to scale a fitness business into a global phenomenon. Website: https://www.masalabhangraworkout.com    

First, we talk all about our walking challenge! To combat the sitting is the new smoking research evidence, we are walking an extra 30 minutes every day. Join us!! Check out the Strong Women's Club Facebook Group for details. UPLIFT Studios in NYC is THE place to go for female empowerment, both physical and mental empowerment. UPLIFT was founded by Leanne Shear, when she started training women to run marathons as a side gig, while she was a full-time writer. A story was then written about Leanne, and the rest is history! In our conversation we talk about all aspects of a fitness business, plus their female society, and some of the struggles along the way. Leanne did a friends and family round of funding, invested in a property, had partners and a few hiccups, but is super-successful, looking for new locations and expansion possibilities. RESOURCES: Upliftstudios.com Sitting is bad for you research: http://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/2653704/patterns-sedentary-behavior-mortality-u-s-middle-aged-older-adults The SWC FB Group you must join now! https://www.facebook.com/groups/strongwomensclub/?ref=bookmarks    

Lisa Druxman, the founder of Fit4Mom, is on the Strong Women's Club Podcast today. Lisa tells us about how she built her fitness business into the largest fitness program for moms in the United States. At the moment, they have over 300 franchises, with 1000 moms, participating in multiple locations. We discuss who her first hires were and why she chose those people. And we talk about how each level and stage of business growth has its own skill set. www.fit4moms.com www.lisadruxman.com    

Founder and President of YogaFit, Beth Shaw teaches about how she is able to grow her fitness business into a multinational empire. Beth talks about how she trusts when delegating and how flexibility and persistence are keys to success. YogaFit is coming to Israel December 6-12, 2017. If you would like to take those classes, or any other anywhere in the world, use the code: strong10 to get a great discount. Be sure to listen to the end of the program where Beth makes a professional opportunity offer that might be exactly the right thing for you. http://www.bethshaw.com/book-now/ http://www.yogalean.com www.yogafit.com https://www.facebook.com/YogaFitStudios/ https://www.yogafit.com/find-yoga-teacher-training/level-one-foundations-Tel-Aviv-2500/  

Emily Cook Harris brings power, strength and confidence to the clients of EMPOWERED. Emily teaches us: How to grow your team and her screening process How to let your company grow and change with your own lifestyle How she morphed into having more remote personal fitness clients Emily founded EMPOWERED in 2010 with the mission of empowering those she trained to be strong, confident, and have the courage to pursue their dreams - using proceeds to support education so girls' around the world could have that same opportunity. Emily personally experienced how education had the power to unlock doors and wanted to pay that forward to the next generation. Empowered NYC (http://www.empowerednyc.com)  

Gwen Hyatt founded DSWFitness (Desert Southwest Fitness, Inc.), Center for Continuing Education in 1980 to provide continuing education for fitness, health, rehabilitation and clinical professionals. In 2013 Human Kinetics acquired DSWFitness! Now Gwen is a travel blogger, mountain bikes wherever and whenever she wants :) Gwen teaches us about how to be fluid in your career, how she was able to recognize opportunities, and how she scaled from an in-person business to have a huge online education business very similar to what a lot of people are building today. She was able to do it without the help of the internet, using direct mail and other things, so you'll learn all about that in today's episode.  

Amy Clover from StrongInsideOut.com. Amy conquered anxiety and depression with fitness, but took it to an extreme with over-training and an eating disorder. We talk about her streams of revenue in Strong Inside-Out and how she teaches to reframe mindset.

Chavonne Hodges is an NYC-bred Advertising professional by day and certified AFAA Group Fitness Instructor/ entrepreneur by night. Diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in college, Chavonne started exercising to combat her mental health disorder. As a co-creator and instructor of TrapAerobics, Chavonne strongly believes in the transformative powers of trap music and exercise. Her love of music, fitness, and natural, good vibes inspired by her to start GrillzandGranola, her fitness/lifestyle brand, which has worked with various creative collectives, non-profits and companies like Facebook NY and Tumblr. This episode is particularly interesting if you are starting your own fitness company and you aren't quite sure how to go about it. Female entrepreneurs who love something special and different, this is for you. Building a personal brand relies on you being you. Go do it! You can find Chavonne at: https://www.grillzandgranola.com https://afterclass.classpass.com/4-inspiring-female-fitness-entrepreneurs-to-watch/ http://clickcliquenyc.tumblr.com

Janet Yassen is a psychotherapist, a feminist, a civil rights activist, and one of the founders of the first rape crisis centers in Boston in 1973. If you knew you wanted to start an important center, how would you go about it? Would you do it like Janet did? We talk about gender-based violence, about how group settings are extremely important, how she works to help people get in control of their minds, bodies and spirits. Janet talks about how we need to face our own powerlessness often, and how it is possible to accomplish.

Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus is the President of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance and the Founder of MAZE Women's Sexual Health. After I rant about the injustice and disappointment I experience on Yom Kippur in Jerusalem this year, you get to hear the interview with Bat Sheva, where we cover her work as a leader of JOFA and as a Medical Sex Therapist at MAZE. Dr. Marcus tells us some amazing stories of how her work has helped women. We talk about Orthodox Judaism and sexual satisfaction all in the same sentence and program, which is for sure a winning way to go! Drop me a line, say hi, let me know who you are. I'd love to meet you! Be healthy and strong, Edie MAZE (http://www.mazewomenshealth.com/about-us/our-team/) Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (https://www.jofa.org/Who_We_Are/Leadership_and_Staff) The Joy of Text Podcast (http://jpmedia.co/podcasts/joy-of-text/)

Shira Taylor Gura has developed a way to help you get through day-to-day situations that might make you anxious, fearful or angry, among other things. Shira runs workshops and retreats, and is also the author of “The STUCK Method: Five Simple Steps to Emotional Well-Being”. You can learn more about Shira and the STUCK Method here: http://thestuckmethod.com Today's podcast is taken directly from the Facebook Live interview I did in my office with Shira. If you're interested in seeing that video, click here: The Strong Women's Club Facebook Page Let me know who you are and what you think! Be well and strong, Edie

Shana Tova!! Rabbi Deborah Waxman teaches us about adopting “Yes, And” in Judaism Sweet and Happy New Year! For the podcast this week, I talk about how I organize large dinner parties at home and the tools I use to delegate to my guests some of the cooking to make things easier. They don't always like it… I reflect on spirituality and what it means for me, and how my daughter, Maya, influences me. And together we learn from Rabbi Deborah Waxman, who is the head of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and the Jewish Reconstructionist Communities. Rabbi Waxman is the first woman to hold these positions simultaneously. We learn what Recontructionist Judaism is and the items that Deborah feels need urgent attention. And we get our own private lesson for the new year. You can learn more at: www.jewishrecon.org www.ritualwell.org Thank you to the Strong Women who listen to the podcast! Have a healthy and strong year! L'Hitraot

The author of “White Walls: A Memoir About Motherhood, Daughterhood, and the Mess In Between” (http://amzn.to/2xuukfk), Judy humorously writes about her life as the daughter of a mom who was a hoarder and mentally ill; how she met her husband, who has a surprising story; and about being a mother herself. Judy is an author and comedienne, joining the two in her writing and her stage appearances, and here on this podcast! You can find out more about Judy at http://judybatalion.com

Taciana Mello and Fernanda Moura from Brazil are interviewing women around the world (hey… I do that too!) about women's empowerment, women founders and women entrepreneurs. They're filming a documentary, gathering advice and stories from experienced female founders about their hardships, struggles and triumphs. After they interviewed me here at WeWork Herzliya, I invited them to be on the podcast to tell their own stories. Today, we get a behind-the-scenes look into their 13 months of travel (so far), the women they've met and the countries they've been to. How do you pack for such a long trip when most of your luggage is full of video equipment? Taciana and Fernanda tell us what they're carrying. What is the worse experience they've had on the road so far? Listen to the show and find out! Thank you, Taciana and Fernanda! It was great fun meeting and an honor to be part of this important project. The Girls on the Road (https://www.facebook.com/thegirlsontheroad/)

Sally Becker is back on the podcast, talking about her current work and latest missions to Mosul. Sally's charity Road to Peace really needs your help to pay for medical supplies for severely malnourished children in the war zone. Sally tells about the most difficult mission she's ever been on, the dangers she and the doctor accompanying her, Dr. Marino Andolina, face when there, and the extreme hardships the people suffer there from ISIS attacks. If you visit Sally's website: RoadtoPeace.org.uk (https://www.roadtopeace.org.uk) you will see photographs and videos of the children she has already helped to receive medical help in the US, and those for whom the help is too late. CNN and the BBC have covered her work, which you can also see on her website. I know it sounds as if I'm pushing for donations. That's because I am. This is a cause where all of the funds you send go directly to the needy people. No middle man. If you are inspired by her work, send Sally an email on the contact page on her website and let her know you appreciate her. I appreciate you for caring. Be well and safe everybody.

In today's conversation, Karp Randel founders Robbie Karb and Jane Randel tell us about how and why they became partners, how their previous careers at Liz Claiborne LLC gave them the experience they need, and how they continue to work to make social change from inside corporations. Jane is a co-founder in #NoMore, raising awareness about and fighting domestic violence and sexual assault. She is also an advisor to the NFL and NASCAR regarding issues relating to domestic violence. Robbie is on the executive board of Human Rights First, an independent advocacy organization that works to ensure that the U.S. is a global leader in human rights. She is also on the Board of Educational Alliance, an established settlement house serving the needs of the multi-generational lower Manhattan population by providing direct services around education, jobs, and overall wellbeing. RESOURCES Karp Randel  http://karprandel.com/ Jane Randel on the Huffington Post  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/jane-randel No More https://nomore.org

I met Shelli Warren in my own personal mastermind group. We are now friends, mentor each other when needed, rely on each other, and will jump to help the other figure out a sticky spot in her business, or wherever. On today's episode, we talk about benefits of the mastermind. Here are a few: • Practical goal setting and follow through • Support • Friendship, even global friendships • Learn to own your strengths • Accountability • Propels you into a higher level of performance • High level profit planning • Investing in a mastermind allows you to take full advantage of it, you devote your time and efforts to succeeding • Brainstorming on your business, get creative! • Find out where your weak points are, get ideas and advice on how to strengthen them • Reach goals that were previously unattainable! We also hear about Shelli's career, and how she can help you with your own ENCORE CAREER. Thank you, Shelli! It was great to talk to you on the podcast! RESOURCES www.bizchix.com www.sheconnex.com https://blog.linkedin.com/2016/04/12/will-this-year_s-college-grads-job-hop-more-than-previous-grads https://www.experience.com/alumnus/article?article_id=article_1247505066959&channel_id=career_management&source_page=additional_article  

I run mastermind groups, both in-person and virtually, or on-line, and I think it's time we talked more in depth about what the benefits are, why you should definitely join a mastermind, and what goes on inside a mastermind group. We discuss the different types of masterminds, the structure, the size, the time spent at a mastermind, how often you should meet, and if it's necessary to pay for a mastermind for it to be effective. I talk about the following benefits of joining a mastermind group, which include: • Getting and giving support: usually professional support, but sometimes you might need some personal support and you'll get it from your mastermind cohorts. You will learn about your own business by supporting others • Accountability: Don't underestimate the power of peer pressure, when it's used wisely. You won't want to let your group down by not fulfilling the goals you promised you'd meet. That accountability will move you forwards in a few months more than you've progressed in a year. I promise! • Goal setting: we set reach goals each week, then meet them. We also learn to set goals that are right for us, something that we weren't already planning on doing that week. If you don't meet your goals, we'll figure out why. • New outlook on your business: your mastermind buddies will not be in the same field as you. You'll benefit from their experiences, different to your own. And getting new eyes on your work will spark your occasionally dormant creativity. • Your network will grow: you now, through proxy, have access to your mastermind's network, globally. Your network just got a whole lot bigger. Use it! • Friendship: Very quickly you will care about the other women in your group. It just happens. You are thinking about how to help them, they have helped you unconditionally, you've seen them struggle, they found solutions to your problems. These friendships stick even after the mastermind is over. Listen to the podcast to hear about structure, time frames, very big and very accessible mastermind groups that you can join. Or form one yourself! Share this episode with a friend or two. They'll thank you for it! RESOURCES https://www.forbes.com/sites/chicceo/2013/10/21/7-reasons-to-join-a-mastermind-group/#583a6725deb2 https://growtheverywhere.com/improvement/what-is-a-mastermind-group/ http://www.thesuccessalliance.com/what-is-a-mastermind-group/  

This week in Israel there was a terror attack where two Israeli policemen were killed. Both policemen were Druze, so I'm going to tell you about who the Druze are. The Druze are not Muslims, though the religion is an outgrowth of Islam that originated in the 10th century in Egypt. It also has elements of Judaism and Christianity, influences of Greek philosophy and Asiatic thought. Due to having relatively progressive ideas for the time, such as the abolition of slavery and the separation of church and state, they were considered to be outliers and unorthodox, and were persecuted, so they became very secretive with their religion, which is still true to this day. Even to many Druze themselves, the religion is secret and mysterious. Only special clergy called Uqqal, can study and learn all of its aspects. Basically, their rules are: they believe in one god, they have to reject all non-Druze tenets, and they must be very loyal to the Druze community. You cannot convert to become a Druze. And if you marry somebody who is not Druze, then you are also no longer Druze. They believe in reincarnation, so that they believe that everybody that is alive today is a reincarnation of somebody from when the religion was revealed. The Druze don't have a country, but they do have a flag. They live mainly in Israel, Lebanon and Syria, and they are very loyal to the countries that they live in. In Israel, the Druze men serve in the Israeli army (whereas the Arabs, or Palestinians, do not serve in the Israeli army). The Druze in Israel are highly respected and integrated within several political parties, even though there are only about 150,000 Druze in Israel. The names of the two policemen murdered this week are: Advanced Staff Sgt. Maj. Hayil Satawi, 30, who was married with a 3-week-old son; and Advanced Staff Sgt. Maj. Kamil Shnaan, 22, May their memories be blessed. Now we'll tell a different kind of story: A story about a storyteller who tells story. Noa Baum tells her own story in a wonderful way, She uses storytelling as an artform, as a powerful tool in education,and in business. Noa talks about how we can use storytelling in our businesses and as leaders, to make a bigger impact and have people follow your lead. Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druze http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/21/5-facts-about-israeli-druze-a-unique-religious-and-ethnic-group http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Druze.html http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/history-and-overview-of-the-israeli-druze www.noabaum.com

Dr. Romy Block and Dr. Arielle Levitan are the founders of VousVitamins and the coauthors of The Vitamin Solution: Two Doctors Clear the Confusion about Vitamins and Your Health, in which they provide a common-sense, medically sound approach to using vitamins to improve your diet, exercise plan, and overall health. Romy and Arielle look critically at the vitamin industry and commonly sold off the shelf products. They scrutinize ingredients and in clear, accessible, language, explain which vitamins and supplements can be helpful, which can be harmful, and which are altogether unnecessary; explore health topics including migraine, hair loss, fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, hot flashes, and more; and address preventive care, providing insights on topics such as screening tests, weight loss, and preserving memory. On the show, we discuss their reasons for going into the vitamin business, what's different about VousVitamins, and how they manage to get so much done every day. Resources https://www.vousvitamin.com The Vitamin Solution: Two Doctors Clear the Confusion about Vitamins and Your Health (http://amzn.to/2eFD1eu)

What happens when things don't go as planned? If there's one thing you can always count on, is things not going as you've counted on them to be! So what do you do when there are conflicts and crisis? Problems and Perils? Do you have a Plan B in place? What is your backup plan, or are you hoping to figure it out as you go along? Nope! That's not us! Not you and not me! We are ready! As ready as possible!! Ok ok, so what does this even mean? What counts as a crisis? Anything that brings on a drastic downturn in sales, in image, in the ability to earn a living, and mainly, things that we have not predicted happening when they happen and we are not prepared for them; they've taken you by surprise; And you had better react quickly, or the damage will be greater and greater. It could be a sudden change in political situation: sanctions, terrorist activity It could be that there's a virus stopping you from accessing your own information on the computer It could be that your competitor came out with an amazing product, similar, but better than yours It could be that you fired somebody now they're out to get you on social media It could be a natural disaster: earthquake, hurricane, snow storm, stuff like that It could be that you put out a faulty product and you have to recall it and explain it to the world. Or one of your employees does something unforgivable What if your distributor has one of these things happen to them? What are you going to do?? How do you get ready? Have a team in place, know who they are, what their roles are, have them trained properly. Don't forget about your core beliefs, your mission statement, especially at the time of crisis: this will guide you, give you all the answers you need when you need them. Try to predict the unpredictable: figure out what's most likely to happen and how you respond, once it's happened. See what's happened to others in the past and how they dealt with it; learn from their mistakes and their triumphs. Insurance: Do you have insurance? Go get it! Make sure that you're insured well, whatever that may mean for your business. But don't ignore insurance, however boring and confusing it may be Do you need backup equipment? Buy it. Make sure your plan is clear and is simple: It should be clear as to when a crisis happens, and when it's behind you, and you're back to business as usual. Try to make these points measurable. And your fix-it plan, make it simple. So that everybody understands who goes where and when. Keep your Plan B up to date: take a look at it at least once a year. You'll be surprised as what's changed in that short period of time. Be sure you set a good example: Let your employees know you are with them, support them, and they are with you. Make sure to keep your relationship with your team solid and reliable. They must know you have their back. Budget: Be sure to have rainy day funds ready for when you need them, because you will. Prioritize: What comes first? What doesn't need attention at all? RESOURCES https://www.mindtools.com https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/business-planning/what-is-a-contingency-plan-and-why-does-your-business-need-one/ https://mikeclayton.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/top-ten-things-to-build-into-your-project-contingency-plan/ https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/biz-contingency-plan/  

A live, uncut podcast about what we've accomplished over the past 50 episodes, what went well, what can be improved and what I loved.I also talk about plans for the upcoming year, share what's going on behind the scenes at The Strong Women's Club, and give you a personal update as to what is going on with my family. I hope you enjoy it! Subscribe to the podcast, share it with a friend. You'll be making a difference! Thank you so much for joining me in this labor of love. I appreciate you.

Last week I mentioned two leadership styles: Transformational and Transactional, but there are many different ways to define leadership personalities. There is the definition by Lewin, which includes: Autocratic, Democratic and Laissez-faire. There is the Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid (See on Amazon), which mixes a people-oriented style with a task-oriented style, depending on the job at hand. There is the Path-Goal Theory, which weighs the ability of the employee with the ambiguity of the task at hand, then decides which approach to use. A book called Primal Leadership (See on Amazon) by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee talked about Six Emotional Leadership Styles: Visionary, Coaching, Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting and Commanding, and how each style might affect the emotions of your team members. And there is Authentic Leadership: people who inspire trust, are open about the problems they come across, don't ignore or hide them, and have a high level of integrity and are consistent. Where do you fit in? How do you lead? How do you influence, inspire, motivate, stimulate and individualise? In an effort to simplify and to condense: Here are four things that you can do to begin to be an authentic transformational leader. This is how you start: Set an example: high standards, ethical choices, excellence in character You will develop and communicate and exciting and ambitious vision for your group, and encourage their development towards that end You will stimulate their intellect: Foster open discussions about the vision and how you'll get there You will care about your team: genuine concern Thank you for joining me, Edie P.S. Next week we will talk about what to do where there are problems... Resources Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, et al (http://amzn.to/2sTCuMg) - Affiliate link https://umesorld.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/ethics-character-and-authentic-transformational-leadership-behavior-1999-bass-and-steidlmeier.pdf https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newLDR_84.php http://www.wright.edu/~scott.williams/LeaderLetter/character.htm Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid (http://amzn.to/2sTCuMg) - Affiliate link

Dr. Nora Gold is not afraid of writing about anti-Israelism on campus, a very sensitive subject which she wrote about in her novel entitled “Fields of Exile”. Dr. Gold also wrote “Marrow and Other Stories” which was praised by Alice Munro, and her latest novel is “The Dead Man”, which also has a deep connection to Israel. Although a tenured professor of Social Work, Nora chose to leave academia to follow her calling as a fiction writer. Dr. Gold is also the creator and editor of Jewish Fiction.net, an online journal that publishes Jewish-themed fiction from around the world. We talk about how Nora chooses her subject matter and how she was able to be brave enough to leave a secure position to become an author. You can find out more about Dr. Gold at www.noragold.com  

In this 5-minute podcast episode, Edie Berg talks about two different leadership styles: Transformational Leadership and Transactional Leadership, and how entrepreneurs starting small business will be better off when adopting the Transformational Leadership style. Resources used for this episode: http://online.stu.edu/transformational-leadership/ https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/transformational-leadership.php https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/transformational-leadership-infographic.php https://hbr.org/2017/05/what-the-best-transformational-leaders-do

Although consistency in business is the secret to all success, so is creativity and knowing yourself and also not getting burnt out. So when I traveled to Costa Rica on my off-the-grid one week vacation, I decided to also have a break from podcasting, and let myself cut loose of everything. For a full week, no internet, no electricity and no hot water. What does being off the grid mean? Technically, it means no outside infrastructural support. So my husband and I were deep in the Costa Rican jungle, living in a tree house, hiking, watching the monkeys, insects, birds and other animals, while just staring out over the tree canopy to the ocean. We also read a lot, hiked in the jungle and along the beach, saw many exotic animals and butterflies, which particularly made my hubby smile. But why is it so important to have this type of getaway? Isn't it enough to go on vacation, change your routine, and see someplace new? I don't think so. I think it's vital to go somewhere where you have no access to internet, or TV, or your emails. Where nobody can call you, and you can't call them. Really just cut away for a few days. The effect isn't immediate. It takes time for your mind and body to adjust to the new pace, to be able to open your inner doors of creativity and thoughts. Once you're there, you'll know it. You'll feel excited and invigorated, with no external stimulations. You'll feel satisfied and curious, all at once. On today's podcast I talk about my latest off-the-grid getaway to the Osa Peninsula and how I felt when I got back to my office. I talk about preventing burnout, recharging, explosive creativity and reconnecting with my partner. Giving myself the gift of no hot water, no internet, no lights for a week. Priceless.

Andrea Wolf shares her story about testing positive for the BRCA1 mutation at age 22 and having prophylactic mastectomies at age 30. Andrea's mother and grandmother both had breast cancer, and Andrea is able to use her personal and familial story to drive her work at the Brem Foundation. The Brem Foundation, named after Andrea's mother, Dr. Rachel Brem, is a nonprofit organization committed to breast cancer prevention through early detection. Today's podcast is about Andrea's story, how and when to screen, what to expect if you decide to have prophylactic surgery, what breast density is and more. Resources: Brem Foundation: www.bremfoundation.org

Are you one of those people who love the thought of working from home, but when you try you get too distracted? Are you feeling burnt out from your day-to-day stress, but there seems to be no end in sight? Dr. Michal Biron is the Head of the MBA program at the University of Haifa, and her research centers around these questions, plus other daily predicaments that career women face. In this episode you will learn: How to battle burn-out in your team and in yourself How to setup a home office that you can actually work in How gender inequality affects the pay levels of both dominant and pleasant women, but each type of woman deals with this differently Michal's articles have appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Human Relations, and International Journal of Human Resource Management, among others.

If you want to be a great manager, you need to get the job done efficiently and done well. But how do you inspire your team members and employees to work harmoniously together, trust each other, set the right goals, and be fulfilled enough to stay with you and not move on to their next challenge? Today's guest has spent the better part of her career researching these questions, and we discuss the answers on the podcast. Israel Prize Winner Professor Miriam Erez is the Chair of the Knowledge Center for Innovation in the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management at the Technion in Israel. Dr. Erez's research has evolved around three major topics:Innovation Cross-cultural behaviour Work motivation On the podcast you will learn: That you must create an environment that spurs creativity How to quickly develop a trusting atmosphere That you must promote ownership and accountability How to provide the motivation to innovate What type of feedback is effective and not detrimental What shared leadership is How you must lead people from different cultures differently How team participation in goal setting is crucial in some cultures and weak in others  

What was initially the spontaneous question of “What can I do with my old bras?” led to the creation of Support the Girls. By chance, Dana's inquiry led to her thirst of knowledge to learn that bras and feminine hygiene products are rarely donated to those most in need: homeless women and girls. To date, Support the Girls has donated over 90,000 bras and over 401,000 feminine hygiene products to women across the world. Dana has spearheaded the initiative, and led the charge to the creation of Support the Girls affiliates throughout the United States. The movement has tremendous momentum, and Dana's efforts have been showcased in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Yahoo News, The Today Show, Kveller, NationSwell, and many more. Dana knew how to take advantage of a surprising opportunity and turn it into a global social enterprise. Takeaways and resources from this episode: Keep an open mind and an open heart for new opportunities that can change your life Luck comes to those who work hard You can be an expert in a field that one year ago you knew nothing about Dana's company: http://www.accessibilitypartners.com Support the Girls: http://isupportthegirls.org

Jean Trounstine is an activist and author whose 6th book is Boy With A Knife: A Story of Murder, Remorse, and a Prisoner's Fight for Justice (IG Publishing April, 2016). It explores the true crime story of Karter Kane Reed and the injustice of sentencing juveniles to adult prisons. Jean worked at Framingham Women's Prison for ten years where she directed eight plays with prisoners. Her book about that work, Shakespeare Behind Bars: The Power of Drama in a Women's Prison has been featured on NPR, and now on this program too! In addition, she has spoken around the world on women in prison, co-founded the women's branch of Changing Lives Through Literature, an award-winning alternative sentencing program featured in The New York Times and on The Today Show, and co-authored two books about the program.  

Are you a role model? Who is your role model? What are the characteristics you are looking for in your role model? These are the traits I hope to have to be an inspiring and effective role model to others: Confidence Not afraid to speak up for what you think is right Fearless Unapologetic Driven Independent Knowledge Hardworking Intelligent Strong Ambition Respectful Be yourself Presence Focus Vision Resourceful People can identify with her Somebody you can learn from Be able to take on new challenges Inspire others to follow their dreams Wise women Inclusive Unembarrassed Not self-conscious Doesn't care about what others think of her Those that help you progress to the path you want Understanding

The Silver Platter by Natan Alterman In today's episode, I talk about the stark transition between Yom Ha'Zicharon and Yom Ha'Atzmaut. I discuss the meaning and origin of the popular expression in Hebrew: Magash Hakesef. The following is the original poem by Natan Alterman. The Silver Platter And the land grows still, the red eye of the sky slowly dimming over smoking frontiers As the nation arises, Torn at heart but breathing, To receive its miracle, the only miracle As the ceremony draws near, it will rise, standing erect in the moonlight in terror and joy When across from it will step out a youth and a lass and slowly march toward the nation Dressed in battle gear, dirty, Shoes heavy with grime, they ascend the path quietly To change garb, to wipe their brow They have not yet found time. Still bone weary from days and from nights in the field Full of endless fatigue and unrested, Yet the dew of their youth. Is still seen on their head Thus they stand at attention, giving no sign of life or death Then a nation in tears and amazement will ask: "Who are you?" And they will answer quietly, "We Are the silver platter on which the Jewish state was given." Thus they will say and fall back in shadows And the rest will be told In the chronicles of Israel Resources: Rani Jaeger from the Shalom Hartman Institute Donniel Hartman Barbra Streisand singing Hatikva for Israel's 30th birthday in 1978 

Today's podcast centers around women's business. And businesses for women's products, AKA FemTech. Growth strategy consultant, marketing expert, sought-after public speaker and Vagipreneur, Rachel Braun Scherl is a trusted authority on leadership, entrepreneurship and female health. Over the course of her career, Rachel has driven growth for her clients as well as her own businesses. As co-owner and principal of SPARK Solutions for Growth, a consulting firm advising businesses on strategic growth and partnerships, product development and marketing, Rachel has built an international client base that includes multiple divisions of Johnson & Johnson, Allergan, Pfizer, Merck, Bayer and Deloitte. Edie also explains about Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel, how Israeli's actively remember those who were murdered and honor those who survived. Plus→ The Strong Jewish Women's Summit is going strong! You can still register, at any time. If you are reading this before April 28 then you can even enjoy 10 interviews completely free of charge. The link to the summit is here: www.thestrongjewishwomenssummit.com

Do you ever wonder how you'd behave in extreme situations? If you were training for the olympics as a cross country skier, got smashed by a truck, were diagnosed as a paraplegic, were in rehab for six months, what would you do? I can tell you that I'm pretty confident that I wouldn't become an aerobatic flight instructor as soon as I was discharged. That is, however, what Janine Shepherd did, and she is my guest on the podcast today. Janine has written a memoir about her incredible years after the accident; how she became a flight instructor, how she was told that she wouldn't be able to have children, but yet she did; some of the more intimate details of what her doctors told her, how she was treated, and how she overcame. The book is called Defiant: A Broken Body is Not a Broken Person Through powerful and emotive storytelling, there is something for everyone in Janine's message of hope. DEFIANT topics include the following: Why some people don't give up and can succeed against all odds. Struggling to rehabilitate with permanent disabilities, Janine rekindled her defiant spirit in a dramatically improbable way. Seeing a small plane fly overhead one day, she declared, “That's it! If I can't walk, I'll fly!” How to come back from a major loss. It's not about whether or not you will face adversity, it's how you approach it. Once she let go of “Janine, the athlete,” which was how she had always defined herself, Janine was able to create a completely new life. Her ultimate goal: become a pilot, even though she'd never flown a small airplane and was disabled. Little goals kept her going along the way. A broken body is not a broken person. Janine's mantra: You are not your body, and you have the choice to create new dreams. Be defined not by what you've lost, but instead by who you are and what you can become. What to do when things don't go as planned. Janine's real strength didn't come from her body. This realization changed everything. She was no longer tied to a set path, and was free to explore life's infinite possibilities. Janine's recipe for healthy defiant living. Janine learns about how to not just survive, but to flourish in the face of adversity. Challenges and change are not to be dreaded, but actually welcomed as opportunities to thrive in unexpected ways. The concept of disability. Janine inspires those coping with physical disabilities and other challenges to believe in the power of potential. Her accomplishments (and mindset) far outweigh any disability. Janine Shepherd is an inspirational speaker. She was awarded the Order of Australia, the nation's highest honor, for her service to the community, her inspiration and her work in raising awareness of spinal cord research. She is a contributor to Deepak Chopra's workshops and has been featured on 60 Minutes, This is Your Life and CNN's Turning Points with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You can see Janine's TEDx Talk from her website: janineshepherd.com  

Come to the Strong Jewish Women's Summit (www.thestrongjewishwomenssummit.com) This week I tell you a story about my new hater, what she wrote to me, and how I dealt with it. We leave the story in the middle, the end has not come to be yet. I'm in suspense too. Working hard on the Strong Jewish Women's Summit. We talk about producing a large event, and some of what goes into it. Come to the event! Let's make this happen together! Happy Passover 2017  

Rabbi Dr Jackie Tabick became Britain's first female rabbi in 1975. She worked for many years at West London Synagogue with Rabbi Hugo Gryn and then at North West Surrey Synagogue in Weybridge. She is now Convenor of the Reform Beit Din and is very involved in interfaith work being co-President of the World Congress of Faiths. She received her PhD in 2014 and the subject of her thesis was outcomes of conversion to Judaism 1952 to 2002.

Who is the Strong Jewish Women's Summit for, who should attend, and who is speaking on the summit? This summit is for you: If you believe in women's leadership If you believe Jewish women can be part of a non-political sisterhood of women that completely supports each other If you love to hear biographies and stories from real people that are like you, with similar backgrounds and history If you'd like to get concrete information, and have it at your fingertips so that you'll have an intelligent answer ready when somebody flippantly says to you that women have exactly the same opportunities as men; or why does it matter, a good leader is a good leader, regardless if they're male or female; or either you're born a leader, or you aren't, it isn't something you can learn… yada yada yada If you believe that we as Jewish women have the responsibility to hold our communities together, to learn from each other, and to get closer to each other Who is speaking on the Strong Jewish Women's Summit? We have an amazing line-up of extremely strong women who will inspire you, who are forward-thinkers, who you will learn from and will want to hear more of! These are some of the speakers: Professor Mina Teicher: speaking about international women's leadership. Dr. Teicher is the former Chief Scientist of Israel, and now is the Vice-President of the International Women's Forum Lori Palatnik: Founding Director of the Jewish Women's Renaissance Project. Lori speaks about how to start a movement you really believe in, with many practical tips Devora Mason: the Manager of the Innovation Lab at the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem, Devora speaks about designing your career path to suit your own needs Dr. Judith Rosenbaum: The Executive Director of the Jewish Women's Archive speaks about the history of Jewish women and feminism, and how it's relevant to us all today Dr. Yael Schuster: Founder of StellarNova, talks about her startup that centers around girls and STEM, why and how she developed it Dr. Rahel Berkovits: Rav Rahel teaches us about women and halacha, and our participation and obligations in rituals Jenny Belotserkovsky and Michal Tavrovsky: Founders of the JFE (Jews For Entrepreneurship), we discuss the importance of networking, of connections in the Jewish world, of how they built their accelerator, and more Carol Schwartz: Founding Chair of the Women's Leadership Institute Australia, we discuss the need to advocate for gender equality, women's leadership, governance, social enterprise, business and finance issues Miriam Lottner: Creator and founder of Reveal Cards, public speaker, and business consultant. Miriam takes us through how to go from idea to product, some bumps along the way, and how to deal with them well Rivka Malka Perlman: Rivka Malka addresses both the spiritual side and the practical side of you to get you further in your business and life. She tells us of the near-death experience that changed her life Sue Zimmerman: Sue is a social media expert who uses her business acument to blow up social media campaigns. Her niche is Instagram, but her knowledge is marketing. She teaches us the importance of using social media wisely Plus many more!! Join us at www.thestrongjewishwomenssummit.com See you there!!

We talk about the differences between an in-person conference and attending an online summit, advantages and disadvantages. We talk about the front and back end of the summit website and membership site. Listen to the podcast to get all of the details. Next week, we'll reveal some of the guests that will be on the Strong Jewish Women's Summit. L'Hitraot !

Nora Ephron died of leukemia in June of 2012 at the age of 71. Which was quite a surprise, to even some of her close friends. An early demise is nearly always a tragedy, it was with Nora Ephron. Confident and funny, sharp-witted; she could clearly see through the muck to find clever essence of any important and not-so-important situation. Nora Ephron was a writer, born to a family of playwrighters and screenwriters. Born in NY, brought up in LA, she went back to NYC to be a journalist. When Nora first started her career, she applied to write at Newsweek, who rejected her because she was a woman. Nora was then a researcher at Newsweek for a while but quickly left to be a writer at the New York Post, just before there were a number of lawsuits against the magazine centering around gender discrimination in March of 1970. Nora Ephron went on to be a clear feminist and thinker. She was able to label things so that they were suddenly transparent and obvious. “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim” —1996 Wellesley College commencement address, Nora Ephron RESOURCES: http://www.makers.com/nora-ephron http://www.makers.com/moments/leaving-newsweek-magazine http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/nora-ephron-farewell-legend-16657600 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVCfFBlKpN8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Oqo_fFCkps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPWifn-yNN8

The Strong Jewish Women's Summit will be launched in the next few days. It is a free, online conference for you to attend from home, on your own time. Why? Why do I feel the need to put so much time and effort into this? I want to bring strength to women to move towards fulfilling their potential in the way best for them. The Strong Jewish Women's Summit provides intimate conversations and lessons on why women's leadership is crucial for the world, how you can and should be part of that leadership force, and also gives you practical lessons on how to take your idea and turn it into your business. The reasons come from two directions: Women must be in control of their own lives, of their own careers, of their finances, their families, and their futures. Women cannot be brought up to believe that they are smart and capable, but not when it comes to building a meaningful career of substance and purpose. Women must know that they are in charge of themselves. They are in charge of how much money they make, just like men are. They are in charge of where they go to university, what they study there, which job they take, and which they refuse. Women choose how much time they take off for maternity leave, if they're lucky. They choose which partner to build their lives with, if at all. Again, if they're lucky. We need to make these choices in an intelligent thought process, and not just let fate and circumstance dictate our futures. This is the essence of leadership as I see it. The essence of leadership is that we lead ourselves. We women are in charge of keeping world peace. That's the truth. We need to begin by bringing together our own community. Our own sisterhood of Jewish women, where each individual makes her own choices as to how she wishes to celebrate her Judaism, but is part of a collective where the whole is much greater than the sum of it's parts. Where the community is non-political and non-judgemental. Where we work together, join forces, to strengthen each woman in her own journey. We are far too divided and it's time to put an end to it. We are much better united. On today's podcast you'll hear a little of my personal story about why I do what I do. More importantly, think strongly about why you do what you do, and if you also want to be a Strong Jewish Leader. Get a lot more information at www.thestrongjewishwomenssummit.com Can't wait to see you there! Edie

Did you know that Lauren Bacall was Jewish? Her mother was from Romania, and her father's family was from an area that was in what is now Belarus. She was born in the Bronx in 1924. Her parents divorced when she was 6 years old, and her mother raised her as a single mother. She spent a lot of time with her very warm extended family, her mom's family the Weinsteins, in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The name Bacal is a form of Weinstein in Romanian, apparently, though it's not clear to me how. Her mother changed their name to Bacal after her divorce. The name Lauren was given to her by the director of her first movie, Howard Hawks. Lauren Bacall's name was originally Betty Joan Perske,. Two interesting things about her name are: She always preferred to be called Betty, rather than Lauren, even well into her stardome She liked to say that she and Shimon Peres, the Prime Minister and President of Israel, were cousins, because her maiden name was Perske, and Peres is a form of Perski, and their families were both from the same area, then, part of the Russian Empire. So Betty Bacal studied acting and was a fashion model, 5' 81/2” tall and gorgeous, in Greenwich Village. She was on the cover of Bazaar Magazine when she was discovered and asked to audition for a part in Hollywood. When she was only 19 years old she was in her first movie “To Have and Have Not” which was a huge success, she became a star right from the start. There she met, acted with, and fell in love with Humphrey Bogart, who she married, and had two children with. Here is a clip from that movie, To Have and Have Not, and she is speaking to Bogart. This could very well be her most famous line: Bogart died of cancer, sadly. She would eventually get remarried to actor Jason Robards, and have a third child, then divorce. Her deep voice was cultivated, so that she would always leave you knowing that she was in control, never flustered. Her famous look, with her head and eyes turned was originally used because she was nervous and her chin shook, so she held her head that way to prevent it. That became her signature look. Lauren Bacall was always cast in roles that were of women whose strong will complemented, rather than detracted from, their sexual attraction. She showed how female confidence is extremely attractive. She and Bogart became one of the most famous couples in Hollywood. After Bogart died, she said that she didn't want to become a professional widow in Hollywood, so she moved back to New York, and starred in many theater productions. She won two Tony Awards. She became socially and politically aware, famous for and proud of her liberal views. Although she did not bring her children up as Jewish, she was proud of being Jewish. She mentioned in an interview that she was sorry that she did not speak up about it early in her career, but she was very young, dealing with instant success, and it was not a priority for her at the time. Let's hear another clip from Lauren Betty Bacall, from an interview in 1995 for the BBC program, the Late Show: Face to Face. Lauren Bacall died of a stroke in New York when she was almost 90 years old. Thank you, Lauren, for choosing roles which portray strong, confident women. BBC - The Late Show Face to Face: Lauren Bacall 1995 Wikipedia Jewish Women's Archives Lauren's Best Lines 

Ruth W. Messinger is the former President of the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) and their current Global Ambassador. A lifelong activist, Ruth works to provide the aide that is needed all over the world, to the poorest countries globally. They promote human rights, launch campaigns against genocide, reform international food aid, stop violence against women and LGBT people, and much more. Ruth was named one of the 10 most inspiring women religious leaders of 2012 by The Huffington Post; the 6th most influential Jew in the world by The Jerusalem Post; and was listed annually on The Forward's “Forward 50” for nearly a decade. You can find the American Jewish World Service at www.ajws.org

She was born Golda Mabovitch in 1898 in Kiev, which is now in the Ukraine, but then it was part of the Russian Empire. In her autobiography, Golda tells about her father boarding their home up, during the pogroms in 1905 in Kiev, where over 100 Jews were murdered. In 1906 her family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was a natural leader, famous for having raised money to pay for textbooks for her whole school when she was only 11 years old. She knew how to speak from her heart. She ran away from home when she was 15 years old because her parents wanted her to leave school and get a job. She went to Denver, where her sister Sheyna lived. There she learned about Zionism. She met Morris Myerson there, and they married, on the condition that they would move to Israel, which they did, in 1921 to Kibbutz Merhavia. They moved to Jerusalem in 1924 and had two children, Menahem and Sarah. In Jerusalem, Golda Meir became politically active, by representing the Histadrut Trade Union and also serving as a delegate to the World Zionist Organization. This area, at the time, was under the control of Great Britain, as prescribed by the sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. This was a secret agreement from 1916 between the French and the British, which the Russians agreed to, that split up the region of what is now Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Armenia, and Israel. The British White Paper of 1939 went so far to allow the Arab official of the area to determine the rate of Jewish Immigration, including during the Second World War. Golda Meir fought hard against these policies at the time. When it was decided that the Jews would be given a homeland in the area of Palestine, it was clear that there would be a war. Golda knew English, so she knew how to speak to the American Jews. She went on a fundraising trip, and came back with 50M dollars! They were able then to buy weapons from Czechoslovakia, which enabled them to defend themselves during the war of independence. In 1948, Israel declared its independence and Golda Meir's signature is on that declaration. She was elected to the Israeli parliament, and when the fighting with the Arabs started, David Ben-Gurion sent her, dressed up in disguise as an Arab, on a secret mission, to plead with King Abdullah I not to enter into a war against Israel. He declined. On May 10, 1948, four days before the official establishment of Israel, Meir traveled to Amman, Jordan, disguised as an Arab woman for a secret meeting with King Abdullah I of Transjordan at which she urged him not to join the other Arab countries in attacking the Jews. Abdullah asked her not to hurry to proclaim a state. Meir replied: "We've been waiting for 2,000 years. Is that hurrying?" The war expanded to include Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, and Syria, all against Israel. The result, as we know, is that Israel preserved her independence. Golda was named the Minister of Labor, then the Foreign Minister. Carrying the first Israeli-issued passport, Meir was appointed Israel's ambassador to the Soviet Union. In 1955, on Ben-Gurion's instructions, she stood for the position of mayor of Tel Aviv. She lost by the two votes of the religious bloc who withheld their support because she was a woman. Golda Meir gave a speech to the UN in 1962 urging Arabs to agree to full disarmament. Here is part of the introduction: [audio clip on podcast] When Golda Meir was 68 years old, even though she wanted to leave the world of politics, she was convinced to stay on as the head of the Mapai party, which she was able to merge with two other parties into the Israel Labor Party. After Prime Minister Levi Eshkol suddenly died in 1969, she put off her retirement again and agreed to serve out the remainder of his term. Then her party won the elections, and she got a further four years as prime minister. During her time as prime minister, she met with Henry Kissinger, she agreed for “security versus sovereignty,” where Israel would accept that Egypt has all of Sinai, while Egypt would accept Israeli presence in some of the Sinai strategic positions. At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team and a German police guard were murdered. Golda Meir then ok'd what is known as Operation Wrath of God, which was an undercover operation carried out by the Mossad, to kill the people responsible for the massacre, who were from the PLO and the Black September. Now, let's talk about the lead up to the Yom Kippur War. The Israeli intelligence couldn't say for sure if an attack was being planned by the surrounding Arab nations, but on Oct 5, 1973, Meir did receive notice that the Syrian forces were massing on the Golan Heights. Her advisers said that they would still have enough time, if needed, to gather the Israeli troops up to fight, but the general feeling in the country was there would not be an attack after the results of the Six-Day War. So although a resolution was passed giving Golda the OK to gather all of the troops together just in case, she didn't do it early enough. Soon, it was clear that there would be war. Golda met with Moshe Dayan who was Minister of Defense, and with General David Elazar. Dayan said there would not be war, so to only gather up the air force and two divisions. General Elazar said that Israel should mobilize all of her troops, plus launch a preemptive strike. Golda Meir did not launch a strike but did gather the troops. She was afraid to lose the US backing, which would certainly be lost if Israel was seen to be the first attacker. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger later made a famous statement, that if Israel had launched a preemptive strike, she would not have received “so much as a nail.” After the Yom Kippur War, Meir and her party were plagued with questions over the lack of preparation for the war. She resigned in April of 1974, succeeded by Yitzhak Rabin as prime minister. She died at the age of 80 from cancer in 1978. The women I talk about are our teachers. Our mentors. Our examples of how we can behave today, how we can be strong women, know ourselves, give of ourselves, and make the world a better place. We are making history now! Every day! So do something great! Memorable! Make history!! Thank you to the Jewish Virtual Library, plus other sites I used as resources for today's show. You can always see the links to our resources in the show notes, which are on the website at http://www.thestrongwomensclub.com/. And: please share this podcast with three of your friends, Tell them about it, show them how to subscribe and listen. Thank you!! http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/golda-meir https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golda_Meir http://www.biography.com/people/golda-meir-9404859#synopsis

We are continuing with the second half of the 15 Traits of Unabashedly Successful Women! Remember, you can find the original post, written by me, for Success.com, on the website SUCCESS.com. You can also just keep listening here, and see if you agree with these points or if you don't agree with them, or if you'd like to add something…. If you would like to comment, you can on the Facebook page of the Strong Women's Club. You can also, which would be extremely kind and thoughtful of you, go over to iTunes and leave a little rating and review. Just press pause, leave a review of one quick sentence on iTunes then come back here and hear why you, too, are a successful woman, and will be and can be a successful woman!! I'll wait…… You're back ---- ha ha ha----- Ok, let's jump in where we left off last week. #8 Successful women remain grateful: This means that they, we, aren't afraid to give credit where credit is due. They don't take things for granted, such as their current position. They are aware of the hard work it has taken to get there, and they're grateful for their success. And thank you to all the people who've helped along the way! #9: Unabashedly successful women work hard and persistently: Nobody gets to where they are, if they're successful, without working hard. Including Tim Ferriss and his four -hour work week, which of course is not four hours, Tim is the first to say it. This sounds obvious, but it's worth a mention. Doing well takes hard work. Again and again and again. As we say in our house: No Shit, Sherlock. But still. #10: They don't sweat the small stuff: Successful people are good at separating the valuable from the worthless. The wheat from the chaff. They know how to pick their battles. I recently heard the most wonderful and inspiring Ruth Bader Ginsburg on a podcast called What It Takes, where she says the best advice she ever received was from her future mother in law, before her marriage to Marty. And it was: occasionally, it's a good idea, to be deaf. That's true in a marriage. It's true at work. It's true in all relationships. So don't sweat the small stuff. Be deaf to it. Move on. #11 They choose their battles wisely: This is a direct continuation of the previous point. Hot shot successful women don't make a big deal over every little thing. But, if there's a real problem, you can be sure it will be swiftly taken care of. #12. They do what they believe in: So this is a really important point. It's crucial. I mean, how can you keep up doing all that hard work, be persistent, known what's important and what isn't, if you don't believe in what you're doing. You can't. Plain and simple. You must have a purpose to your work. You must have a meaning. There has to be substance and values behind your work. This is the fuel. This enables us to keep going when it's hard. And it will be hard. #13 They have confidence! Ta DA!!! Yes!!! Successful women believe in themselves!! And it is beautiful!!!! The most beautiful thing is confidence!! #14 Unabashedly successful women have a vision for the future: Successful women see a new and better world in the future and work towards achieving those changes. They are in it for the long haul. #15!!! They feel successful, but never done! There's always more, always better, always further to reach. These women are seemingly tireless, ultimately devoted and constantly curious! So, ladies, nobody is superwoman. We are all made of flesh and blood. However, if you want to be super-successful, take into account these points, see which of them you have got under control, which could use a little work, and which others you'd add to the list! This was part two of our success series. Who knows, maybe there will be part three. Let me know! If you like it, then there will be! Please leave a rating and review. Somebody told me that if you don't ask, people won't know, so I'm asking: Please share this podcast with your friends. I mean properly share it: take their phones, show them where to subscribe from. You can subscribe on iTunes, directly from my website, on Google Play if you're on Android, or on Stitcher… Plenty of places. So help them get some great free content right on their phones, and help me grow the program. So that's three friends you can share it with this week. Now even. Do it! Thanks everybody for listening, ciao for now, and l'hitraot!!

Today's show is about Rabbi Regina Jonas. Try to imagine being the first person in the world to do something. Anything. What would that be? The reason why I ask you to try and find a place in your mind that puts you in front of everybody else and says, everybody else, in the world, is wrong, and I am right!! That includes not only the people I don't know, on the other side of the world, that I've never met, don't necessarily respect, but even the people that I respect the most. Even my mother, even my father. They're wrong too, and I am right. The first female rabbi in the world was Rabbi Regina Jonas from Berlin, Germany. This story is interesting on a few different levels. One is what I'm talking about now. Regina was a teacher, and then she went on to study at the Academy for the Science of Judaism. She graduated, and her position then was an Academic Teacher of Religion. Not a rabbi, but that's not what she wanted. Regina, our heroine! Wanted to be a rabbi. So she went ahead and wrote a thesis, which is a requirement if you want to be ordained. The subject of her thesis was: “Can a Woman be a Rabbi According to Halachic Sources?” Her conclusion, based on biblical, Talmudic, and rabbinical sources was: Yes, and therefore, she should have been ordained!! Clever, but not enough. The professors there refused to ordain her. Regina then applied to Rabbi Leo Baeck, the spiritual leader of the German Jewry at the time, who was her teacher also. He refused. But our Regina Jonas was persistent! Not taking no for an answer! A more liberal rabbi, Max Dienemann, in Offenbach, who was the head of the Liberal Rabbis Association ordained Regina Jonas on December 27, 1935!! YOOHOO!!! The next part of Regina's story is very sad. Of course, Germany in the 1930's was the rise of the Third Reich. Many Rabbis of Germany fled, left, which enabled Regina, funnily enough, to finally be able to have her congregation, because up to that point, she didn't. But not for long. She was forced to a labor factory, then in 1942 arrested and deported to Theresienstadt. In the concentration camp, she continued her rabbinical work. She was there for two years before being deported to Auschwitz, and murdered in December of 1944 at the age of 42 years old. How do we know about her story? We didn't! It was widely thought that the first ordained female rabbi was Sally Jane Priesand from the US in 1972. After the fall of the Berlin wall, Regina Jonas's files were found in an obscure archive in East Berlin. She had left there a few of her papers, two photographs of herself. That's it. A short documentary film was made to record the trip to Germany to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Regina Jonas's death. Gail Reimer directed it, it's called “In The Footsteps of Regina Jonas.” Here's a short clip from the ceremony at Theresienstadt, during that commemoration trip. Thank you to The Jewish Women's Archive which you can find at JWA.org. And to the Yad Vashem website. And to HaGalil.com Music Credits: Deliberate Thought by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/?keywords=deliberate+thought Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Sunday's Child by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license Artist: http://audionautix.com/ B - Somber Ballads by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Hi everybody, I'm Edie Berg, thank you so much for joining me today! Today's episode is #84 of the longer version podcast, and next week's episode is #85 -- amazing how it works that way, hey? So for these two episodes, I'll be doing solo episodes, and let's see how we go. A few reasons for this: 1. I like doing them! It's fun just to talk into the mic: it's kind of freeing for me! 2. I don't have to worry about having a guest. So this is also true for the quickie history podcasts, the #SWC's, that I don't have a live guest whom I ask questions. In the quickie podcast I talk about a strong Jewish woman in history, and it's only about 5 minutes long. So even if you hate history, you can probably swallow these podcasts, plus I try to make them interesting with sound bites from the past, which are really fun to hear. 3. I feel the need to start talking about issues that I'm thinking about, and start teaching! So you probably know that I'm working on a big leadership conference that I'm producing, coming up at the end of March. It's a ton of work. In that conference we'll concentrate on leadership, gender equality, entrepreneurial skills, and Jewish daily life. So I figure it's a good idea to start teaching some of those, or all of those, topics here too. So today, I'm taking kind of a cool short cut. Cool for me, that is. Last summer, or rather, for the whole second half of last year, I decided it was important to write for large online publications. I still think that's true, and I'll be going back to that more once the summit is over for this time. One of the article I wrote was for Success.com, and it has been shared on Facebook over 49,000 times which really is a lot of times!! So although I find that rather surprising, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share the article here. Now the article is a listicle, which is an article based around a list, duh. I used that format, not because I particularly love it, but because Success.com particularly loves it! The title of the article is “15 Traits of Unabashedly Successful Women.” I'm going to talk about all 15 traits that I wrote, but not all today. I'll do half today, and half next week, so it won't be too much for you, or for me, all in one episode! So let's get going!! I learned from interviewing super-successful women each week for well over a year, and that's where I gathered this info from. It isn't a scientific research article. More things that I've learned, and now I'm passing them on to you, my lovely listeners, whom I appreciate so much!! Number one: Unabashedly successful women play to their strengths! So before you can play to your strengths, you have to know yourself pretty well, or really well, know and accept that you aren't good at everything, but you are really great at some things. Do those, and delegate the rest! For example: you love to talk on podcasts, but you don't love the social media aspect of running an online business? Get somebody else to do it! They'll thank you for it, they'll do it a lot faster than you, and certainly better than you. Plus, you'll have more time freed up from not doing what you don't love to dedicate to other tasks that need to be addressed. So that was successful women play to their strengths. Number two: They have ambition. These women do not dream about being the best in their section or in their department. Their eyes are set on being the best in the state or country, at least. Most want to change the world! So think big, then think bigger! Am I teaching leadership? NO! I'm building a movement of career-minded women who want to change the world for themselves and for the following generations! Number three: They stay positive. Successful women, actually, successful people, which will include men, even though I tend to talk about the standpoint of the woman, because that's what I understand best; successful women know how to deal with disappointment in a way that keeps them from getting down and staying down. They know the future will be bright for them. And they know it from inside themselves, not needing constant encouragement from outside sources. So get it into your head, and believe it, keep it there, that you will be a success! You already are a success! And tomorrow will be even greater, even brighter! Number four: They're organized. Ok, so not every person is born organized. But the successful ones behave this way: when I approach them to do the podcast, they say yes or no, but they answer quickly. If it's a yes, then they check their calendars, book a date, then do the interview. Not a lot of reschedules, no extra emails. They decide what they want to do, when they want to do it, and then they just do it. Simple and organized. No big deal. Number five trait of unabashedly successful women: They're constantly learning. These women do not stay static. They are continuously improving themselves, use mentors and coaches to accelerate their improvement. This is important, as are all the other traits on this list. But you not only need to keep up with the game, you need to get ahead of it, and you need to even invent it. But if you stay on the same level, then you really aren't. You really are going backwards. And backwards is not a good thing. At every stage of your career, every stage of your life, be sure to be a constant learner. Otherwise, life is just too damn boring. That's a known fact :) Number six! (I kind of feel like I'm emceeing the Price is Right, or Let's make a Deal, which would be kind of cool….) So number six is that they have a strong support system. Most of the women who are really successful have a very supportive partner or family member. They know that they have somebody to lean on when they need it. Warren Buffet has said that this was his most important business decision of his whole life - choosing who to marry. So, this is not to say, and please don't get angry with me, and tell me that there are a lot of fabulously successful single people. I know. I do. But that doesn't mean that who you choose to spend most of your life with isn't a very important decision, that if you get right, that helps!! It just does! You have to admit that's true. Number seven (and the last for today just because that's how I've chosen to split 15 into two): They know that failure and success go together. You know that. What's clever is if you expect it, and aren't afraid of the failure. That takes all of the sting out and that will enable you to readjust, regather quickly, get your ducks in a row, as the girls in my Mastermind like to say, and go for whatever it is again! Stronger now and better now!! So don't be surprised by failure: Be prepared, think out possible scenarios, worst-case events, be ready! Be bummed when it happens, then move on! Ok, So those were the first 7 of the 15 traits of unabashedly successful women. If you want, you can jump ahead to next week, go to Success.com where you can read the whole article. You won't find it on my site, the stuff you write for large publications like that is all original content, so it's not something I republished or anything like that. Or you can just wait for next week's Strong Women's Club podcast episode, which I hope you do! Now I have a request for you- actually, it's a couple of requests: One, please go to iTunes now, yes right now. Even if you're on the treadmill, then stop for just a second, turn your run into intervals, and jump on over to iTunes and leave a nice rating and review. Then, while you're there, please share this episode with three of your friends, who you think might enjoy it! Only three, not the whole PTA, or whatever. Just copy the link right off of the iTunes page there, and paste it onto a WhatsApp group of friends, or onto your FB page, or LinkedIn, or wherever, and share it! That would be really helpful. This podcast has to grow faster. So I truly appreciate it. Truly. Tag me, if you want, and I'd love to thank you. That's thanking you for your thank you, but that's ok. It's nice to be nice to each other. Have a great week everybody, keep working, keep being strong and getting stronger. Ciao for now! L'Hitraot!

Hi everybody, I'm Edie Berg. Thank you so much for joining me here today and this is a quick podcast about a strong Jewish woman in history. Voice 1: Well, now, what is a feminist? Betty Friedan: Feminist? Well, we all have our definition about it, and I say feminism is pluralism, too, that it takes a different form in a different time in different situations. But my definition of feminism is that it is the movement of women to full equality, to true equality, to have their own voice and their own participation in the mainstream of society and it is an explication and an affirmation of values that come from female experience in every discipline and every profession and every part of society, an affirmation of the principles and values that have so far been limited to female experience by men. EB: That was Betty Friedan, a strong Jewish woman who is credited with sparking the beginning of the second wave of feminism in the United States. She wrote many books, the first being "The Feminine Mystique." Betty had surveyed her former college classmates for their 15th-year reunion. And after talking to them, she realized that many of these women, even though they had very comfortable conditions, they lived in nice homes and everything, were unhappy as housewives. And she discovered that most of these women wanted more in their lives than taking care of their husbands and their children in their homes. "The Feminine Mystique," that thing, that title, means it was the illusion made by media that showed that women were happy as housewives, or unhappy in their careers as working women. Betty Friedan, in fact, had to experience that same dissatisfaction in her own life. Here's Betty talking about true equality: BF: True equality, we already have a sense of a more complex definition. And we're not even yet that close to simple economic equality in the job place as well because women are still in this country only 62 cents on the dollar... EB: In the book, she discusses how the first wave of feminism fought and secured really important women's rights such as education and the right to vote. Betty Friedan is credited with sparking the beginning of the second wave of feminism in the US. In 1966, Betty Friedan cofounded and was elected as the first president of the National Organization for Women, or NOW. The main goal of NOW was to bring women into the mainstream of American society in full, equal partnership with men. Pretty simple. She called for the drastic rethinking of what it means to be feminine. And that is the main idea behind the book and the concept of feminine mystique. In 1970, Betty Friedan organized the Women's Strike for Equality, which was a huge success, a big march which was a forerunner of the big women's march that we just had in the beginning of 2017. Betty was a very strong supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment to the constitution, which of course passed congress by a huge landslide. There's a quote from Betty's memoir, in Life So Far, where she says, "The truth is, that I've always been a bad-tempered bitch. But some people say that I have mellowed some. I don't know." When Betty was asked if she thought she would see, in her lifetime, true equality between the genders, this was her answer: BF: And I think that in our lifetime, we might see it, but that means that the young women that are saying "I'm not a feminist, but..." have got to start saying "I am a feminist, AND..." EB: A quote from The Feminine Mystique, is the only way for a woman, as for a man, to find herself, to know herself as a person, is by creative work of her own. Most of the information for today's episode was taken from an interview from the Public Affairs Roundtable way back in 1985, plus from Wikipedia of Betty Friedan and the Feminine Mystique, and from the Jewish Women's Archive as usual. Thank you for joining me today, if you like these podcasts please jump onto iTunes and leave a rating and review. It's an awesome way to say thank you and it doesn't take much time, plus if you listen to the podcast make sure that you subscribe. And also share it with three other people that you think would also love it. Maybe your daughter or your friend from the gym who's running next to you on that treadmill, or maybe a friend at work who's complaining about the long commute or somebody who says that she's in the car all the time, driving kids around. Share it with them, that would be a great gift to me and make a big difference to the podcast as well. I really, really appreciate it. Have a wonderful week, the next podcast this week is Starting a Success Series, so stay tuned for that. Ciao for now and L'hitraot!