Voice Lessons Podcast

Deciding the objects we surround ourselves with in our homes can be a journey of self-exploration. In this Lesson on What We Keep, Jean Lin, Founder and Curator of New York City design gallery and studio Colony, speaks about her new book, what designers make, what they collect and understanding the creative power of collecting. ABOUT COLONY   Founded in 2014 by Jean Lin, Colony is a cooperative gallery, design studio and strategy firm with the singular aim to celebrate independent design and support the community who creates it.   Colony Consult provides creative direction and design services for design studios, architecture firms, real estate developers and global manufacturers. The team utilizes design, marketing research, PR, and content creation to better articulate clients' position in the American market.   Colony, the designers' co-op, is a community of independent furniture, lighting, textiles and objects designers coming together on a New York City stage to celebrate American design with an international audience. The gallery is located at 196 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013.   FOR SHOW NOTES VISIT: WWW.VOICELESSONSPODCAST.COM   TO WATCH VIDEO EPISODES: https://www.youtube.com/@VoiceLessonsPodcast  FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/voicelessonspodcast

If you've ever shown up in a room, boardroom or otherwise, on a job site or at a conference where people don't expect to see a woman like you, raise your hand. If you're Generation X or older, it's pretty much par for the course. Voice Lessons Podcast Creator and Co-Producer Kim Kuhteubl leads “A Lesson on Owning The Room.” VOICE LESSONS SHOWNOTES:  https://voicelessonspodcast.com/2024/05/17/a-lesson-on-owning-the-room-with-kim-kuhteubl   VOICE LESSONS ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/voicelessonspodcast 

Meet Pascale Sablan, a visionary architect with an impressive track record of transforming the built environment. Pascale has been recognized as one of the most influential architects of her generation, with a practice characterized by a commitment to excellence, innovation, and sustainability. She currently serves as the NOMA Global President and Chief Executive Officer at Adjaye Associates, New York Studio in charge of all operations, whilst continuing to lead efforts for architectural projects, community engagement and business development. Pascale is not only an accomplished architect but an activist dedicated to addressing disparities in her field. She founded Beyond the Built Environment, empowering women and BIPOC designers. As the Global President of the National Organization of Minority Architects, she's a trailblazer, being the fifth woman to hold this position in the organization's 52-year legacy. Pascale's advocacy has earned prestigious accolades, including the Architectural League 2021 Emerging Voices award and the 2021 AIA Whitney M. Young Jr. Award. Inducted into the AIA College of Fellows, she's the youngest African American to receive this honor in its 167-year history. Pascale has received grants from the Graham Foundation and the Architects Foundation for her research and exhibitions. Her influence extends globally, with lectures at esteemed institutions like RIBA, the United Nations, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Described as a "powerhouse woman" in the media, her work has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, and Forbes, and she was recognized by Oprah's Future Rising platform. With a Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute and a Master of Science from Columbia University, Pascale Sablan, with her unique perspective, unwavering dedication, and undeniable talent, is set to shape the future of architecture for years to come.   TOPICS DISCUSSED IN "OWNING YOUR OWN NARRATIVE": What is Pascale's earliest memory of being creative? The lengthy educational journey to becoming an architect 5% of Black students go into architecture school and only 3% graduate. 7 HBUs creative 65% of the students. What happened in Pascale's history of Architecture class and how it cemented her purpose as an advocate The responsibility of showing up as you are in spaces where you don't look like everyone else Architect Magazine's Erasure of Justin Garrett Moore Google and it's definition of great architects Pascale Sablan's new book set for release in September How activism isn't all always about action, it's about wholeness LINKS:   https://pascalesablan.com/ https://www.adjaye.com/ https://www.beyondthebuilt.com/say-it-loud https://www.noma.net/  

In this Lesson On Commitment, Rich Nichols talks about fighting for equal pay for the US Women's soccer team. Rich shares insights into what it takes to stand up to the entire US Soccer Federation and why women are just people who get things done without any ego involved. Nichols was the catalyst for the USWNT quest for equal pay and created and executed the strategic media strategy that catapulted the teams push for “equal pay” to the top of international, domestic, and social media coverage and transformed the women on the USWNT into reputational pioneers for social and economic change.   VOICE LESSONS SHOWNOTES: https://voicelessonspodcast.com/2024/04/19/a-lesson-on-commitment-with-rich-nichols/   VOICE LESSONS ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/voicelessonspodcast   All Things Being Equal: The Genesis, Costs and Aftermath of the USWNT's Equal Pay Battle

In this Lesson On Mindfulness, Dr. Ellen Langer, known as the "mother of mindfulness," shares her profound insights on mindfulness, its impact on our lives, and how it enhances leadership, especially for women. Dr. Ellen J. Langer is the author of more than two hundred research articles, and thirteen books including the international bestseller Mindfulness; The Power of Mindful Learning; On Becoming An Artist, and Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility; The Art of Noticing; and most recently, The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health.  Among  other numerous awards and honors, she is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, three Distinguished Scientist Awards, the Staats Award for Unifying Psychology, and the Liberty Science Genius Award.   She is. Widely known as the "mother of mindfulness" and the "mother of positive psychology," she has reached millions around the world with her inspirational talks, that explain with humor and clarity the deep impact of her nearly half century of research and how anyone can easily put her method of mindfulness into practice immediately.  A member of the psychology department at Harvard University and a gallery exhibiting painter, she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her websites is www.ellenlanger.me   VOICE LESSONS SHOWNOTES: https://voicelessonspodcast.com/2024/03/22/a-lesson-on-doing-what-you-love-with-allison-eden/   VOICE LESSONS ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/voicelessonspodcast

In this Lesson On Doing What You Love, Allison Eden talks about her journey as a celebrated creator in the world of glass mosaics. Allison shares insights into her creative process, the evolution of her career, and how passion drives her success. VOICE LESSONS SHOWNOTES: https://voicelessonspodcast.com/2024/03/22/a-lesson-on-doing-what-you-love-with-allison-eden/ VOICE LESSOS ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/voicelessonspodcast   

Renee Bracey Sherman is a Chicago-born writer and reproductive justice activist committed to the visibility and representation of people who have had stigmatized experiences. In this episode, we discuss why it's so important to share your own story, how you can stand strong in speaking your truth, and how you can embrace the collective hug of support that comes along with joining a movement for change. Because your voice and story matters.

Merle Hoffman is an internationally known leader in the struggle for women's rights, opening one of the first abortion clinics pre-Roe in 1971. Throughout her activism career spanning over 50 years, Merle's mission remains the same; for women to fight for their own reproductive choices and to recognize that each individual woman can make a profound decision for her own life, and has the right to speak up for that choice. You just have to practice courage.

Becca Rea-Tucker has been "saying it with sugar" since 2018 and now more than ever, this feminist baker is helping to shift the conversation and inspire change around women's issues by using a more unconventional platform: cakes.

Jennifer Freed, Ph.D, M.F.T. is a psychological astrologer who believes that your cosmic DNA serves as a roadmap for your life. Even when we are experiencing oppression from our societies, if we learn to embrace our past traumas, use our unique gifts to create change, and incorporate movement into our day each day, we can make joyful choices that allow us to show up for ourselves and others during times of hardship.

“What are you?” It's a question Dr. Sarah Gaither was asked a child growing up mixed race. Now she studies the effects of that question and others related to identity at Duke University's Identity & Diversity Lab. In this episode on belonging, we talk about identity denial, identity accessibility, and why she's using her own multiracial identity to help create a more inclusive world.

Dr. Louann Brizendine was among the first to explain why women think, communicate, and feel differently than men. Now she's on a mission to rebrand the “M" word: Menopause.

Ronit Plank's mother left to follow the Indian mystic, some would say cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (also known as Osho) when she was five years old. Through the process of writing her memoir, When She Comes Back, Plank rewrote her definition of forgiveness.

Dana Marlowe turned a moment into a movement. What began with the question, “What can I do with my old bras?” led to the creation of I Support the Girls, a national non-profit organization that provides a source of dignity, self-esteem, empowerment, and support to marginalized women via the donation of bras and menstrual hygiene products. As a human rights advocate in the intersections of feminism, menstrual equality, health, and dignity, Dana works tirelessly to better the lives of the most invisible populations.

Brandy G. of Authentically B wants everyone to know that it's ok to be you. Because when you do, the divine might just present you with your heart's desires. The moment Brandy decided to be visible as her authentic self was the moment that her transition from full-time school teacher to model and lifestyle influencer unfolded. And she's owning it.

Kristen Richardson comes from a long line of debutantes but she chose not to debut. In this, “Lesson on the Unwritten History of Women”, find out why curiosity drove her to research this enduring tradition and why the role debutantes play in a family's story, is much more complicated than it seems.

Seventeen years after Mara Smith left her career as an attorney to raise her family, she's back full force not only with the valuable skills she learned as a mother but with the drive to start a successful Tequilla brand in the spirits industry. Got a great idea for our next episode? Nominate a guest or send us a note to  hello@voicelessonspodcast.com 

Following her intuition, Nicole Crowder made a transition from full-time photo editor to pursue her true calling in upholstery and furniture design. In this lesson on Soul Work, we talk about her brand new collaboration with World Market, her practice of slow creation and why using her lineage to tell a story through her work creates pieces that are generational. How Nicole's photo editing career opened her up creatively to different arts.  Nicole's transition to upholstery was non-linear and allowed her to adapt, grow and change. The difference between intuition and ego. Nicole's slow creation ethos. Why Nicole's vision is to create generational pieces that can be passed down and turned into heirlooms. How her career trajectory shifted when she started having a bigger conversation about how to serve through her work. Forming partnerships that are mutually exclusive but also ones that will help share and amplify your larger message.  Nicole's collaboration with World Market. What are you leaving behind? Nicole's mission to highlight the work of Black designers and Black history through her partnerships. Recognizing vehicles for reducing waste in the design industry. Being clear with what you love and what's important to you. Women's leadership is about nuance and a combination of experiences and every culture reflects those differently.

Where does creativity come from? And how do creatives, especially women, tackle failure? In this “lesson on escalating dares”, Ilana Ben-Ari talks about how she turned her creative vision into a business, despite the stigma that women and creatives are limited to just coming up with ideas. Why stop at invention, when you can build your own business? Find out how to tackle the fear of failure and use playful creativity and bootstrapping efforts to build something you can truly be passionate about. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: How to take the leap and start your own business. Can designers be business owners? Risk tolerance and how it plays a role in predicting economic, social, and personality outcomes among women. Failure and how the notion of failure directly impacts women's decisions for their future. Negative gender stereotypes in the workforce today. Why perfection shouldn't hold you back. The difference between running a business and maintaining a business. How to nurture your creative gifts. Creative women and the notion of feminine leadership.  

One in four Americans is a woman over 40. Katie Keating co-founded Fancy Inc., a 100% women-owned, operated, and focused advertising agency to help advertisers speak to them. In this lesson on “doing it anyway,” she talks about her mission, the 3%, and why women need to harness the power they possess as consumers to change the culture. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Katie's journey to forming Fancy. At the time Katie got into advertising, only 3% of Creative Directors were women. Why Katie decided to quit her well-paying agency job to gain more control over her career. The hardest thing about starting your own agency, according to Katie. Why women are faced with “aging out” of their careers as they get older. Is the female competition still a thing? The article Katie wrote about women over 40 that went viral, and the response it received. How women can harness their purchasing power to affect the kind of change that they want to see in the world. 80% of women make the household purchasing decisions. Women's resistance when talking about money and finances. How do you encourage brands to take the leap and have a conversation with women in a more inclusive way?

In this moment, it can feel exhausting standing under the weight of the world and its problems. It's going to take all hands on deck to speak the truth about what isn't working so that we can figure out a solution together. In this episode “A Lesson On How to Change the Conversation”, author, speaker, and movement builder Alexis Jones shares her belief that audacious ideas have the ability to change the world. Her company I Am That Human works with the biggest, baddest people, brands, organizations, campaigns, and initiatives to inspire people and innovate humanity.

Britt Baker and her company Dow Janes are on a mission to get 10,000 women invested by the year 2025. Why? Because good things happen when women have money. In this lesson on "how to think like an investor", we speak to why it's time for women to take control of their money so they can have more choices, louder voices, and more financial confidence when it comes to investing and building a foundation for their future. How Britt got into investing at an early age. The concept of Dow Janes and the founder's mission to help women invest. Dow Janes started as an investment club for women in Britt's living room. The turning point when Britt and Laurie Anne teamed up to launch Dow Janes as co-founders. *Women donate their money more than men. The way that women invest. **About 39% of women have no retirement strategy, compared with 25% of men. Only 19% of women have a written retirement plan. Common misconceptions that women have about investing. How Britt defines confidence in investing. The subject of money is emotional and intangible. Your relationship to money drives how you relate to and use money. The 3 common themes that come up for women and money. Why Britt and Laurie Anne design what they are working on in their business based on their menstrual cycles Your cycles can be your superpower if you use them correctly. Why women need to understand money in this moment. Why leading with intuition can be more powerful than the numbers. How women can have a conversation about taking on finances with their spouse.

Crosby Noricks is a pioneer in the Fashion PR industry. In 2006, she founded PR Couture, a career platform and sourcebook for lifestyle communicators, as a way to highlight where strategy and fashion intersect. In this “lesson on being seen”, we learn how she was able to pivot personally and professionally along the way to help more women become visible in their own businesses. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: It's common for creatives to be multifaceted. Feminist Fashion  How Crosby got into her field. Why Crosby wanted to figure out where strategy exists within fashion public relations.  The mindsets about PR that PR Couture is trying to change. PR is such a feminized field and it also reflects a lot of the ways that women are socialized to be these supporting characters only working behind the scenes. *70% of the global PR industry is women. **Only 2 of the 10 largest PR agencies worldwide have women running their North American operations. And the salary for a woman in PR is $20,000 less compared to her male counterpart. The thought-leadership piece around PR and how it has evolved in the digital world. What being a thought-leader means to Crosby. How to pivot in the culture of the conversation. How to recognize the time to pivot. How to thrive in an agency environment in the PR industry if you're an introvert. You can ease into your own visibility. True visibility is internal. How certain career choices are subconscious decisions based on our own visibility issues. How personal decisions turn into personal branding. Active listening with your audience and yourself is key as you evolve and your business grows. Filling a gap in the market around service rather than profit. When men market to women they typically try and solve problems that don't exist. Being in service to your creativity and curiosity to help move your business forward. Finding a PR professional who aligns with your mission and values. Women often go into entrepreneurship roles because they face diversity and wage gap issues. We cut off our ability to be accepted and loved in a certain way by not allowing ourselves to be seen. Feminine leadership leans toward collaboration and inclusivity.

Women face misogyny at work every day but the construction industry is like the Wild West and has the second-highest rate of sexual harassment complaints in North America. Natasha Fritz experienced that harassment which is why when she heard a misogynist clip on a construction industry podcast, she decided to do something about it. In this episode, “A Lesson on Doing the Right Thing”, she shares why her choice to publicly call out the offensive remarks was the only choice. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:  Natasha's experience growing up as sometimes the only female in her shop classes and on her job sites. Feeling like an outcast in your field, just by being the only woman. How Natasha broke out and created her own business. Why the construction industry is resistant to change in areas like gender equity, technology, & sustainability. Natasha's Instagram post that went viral. Change does not have to be risky, it's just unfamiliar. Sexual harassment towards women, especially at work is still a major issue. **The industry with the 2nd highest rate of sexual harassment in the workforce is the construction industry. How Natasha found confidence in her industry to speak up for herself more. The double standards women face when trying to speak out when something is not right. The particular masculinity associated with the construction industry and the toxic work environment it unfortunately presents. There are corporate ways to handle sexual harassment that have not been adopted by the construction industry. Sexual harassment incidents need to be called out more by men. What language do you use when you're in a situation that is uncomfortable? Why some men don't realize the importance of breaking gender roles. What Natasha learned from this experience. The internal misogyny women face at work and how to undo the jerk reaction to accept that kind of treatment. Why forgiveness is key to industry shifts. What feminine leadership could look like in the construction industry.

If your mind, spirit, body, and soul have been out of alignment for a long, or even a short time, it's going to take adjustments to get you back into the flow and that usually means stepping out of your comfort zone. In this episode, host Kim Kuhteubl shares powerful tools on how to get around your inner gatekeeper, unconscious beliefs and chart a course forward. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Kim's definition of alignment. One of the most powerful tools that you have when it comes to stepping out of your comfort zone is receiving. Confirmation Bias and why it keeps you stuck. If you can't see anything new when it comes to your life and vision, your inner gatekeeper is the reason why. Stepping out of your comfort zone requires conscious decision-making and making new decisions will likely be in direct conflict with your old, unconscious beliefs. Growth doesn't have to mean grueling or dangerous but it always is unfamiliar. Certainty is a flawed concept. Limiting beliefs and cognitive shortcuts How to own your own creative vision. Kim's process on how to step outside of your comfort zone. Awareness is more powerful than thought. Smartcut your thinking by replacing old thoughts that no longer serve you.

Opera Singer turned Interior Design Founder @lanemcnabinteriors runs a thriving interior design firm and sustainable furniture company that is creating the next generation of heirlooms. How did she get there? By giving herself permission to keep embody her life and creativity fully. In this Lesson on Living Your Own Story, Kim talks about her early working relationship with Lane, how Lane built her firm as a designer, and how she's embraced her role as both a mother and creative and industry leader. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: How creatives can embrace spirituality. Lane's first profession was singing and how she made the transition into design. Why lane decided to go with a sustainable business model. What “sustainable” means to Lane. Creating timeless pieces. Dealing with pushback from customers regarding budget and premium offerings. Designing with purpose to make products more beneficial to the environment. Lane's 3 principles to her business. Not using motherhood as an excuse to not be your full self. How Lane speaks to issues that are important to her while keeping her brand value and reputation in mind. Being a mom and creative entrepreneur. How the shift happened for Lane to embody her own story. Transitioning from one career to the other. How women can step up and make their vision a priority, even in a family unit. How Lane views feminine leadership. How we can use feminine leadership to align principles with practices.

Beverly Jenkins never planned to be an Author. Growing up during the Civil Rights Movement, her mother passed along a love of books and history and she decided to become a librarian. In this episode, she talks about the journey from first-time author to becoming the primer writer of historical Black fiction in the United States with 49 books in an industry that rejected her. Beverly also shares intimate moments of her past, her process, and why she's rooting for women writers to get off the sidelines and just "publish your damn book”. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Beverly didn't plan on being an author. Beverly's mother passed along her love of history and reading to her at a very young age. Black history was very important to Beverly's great grandfather on her Mother's side which can now be seen in her books. During Beverly's childhood, libraries were still segregated. African American authors were never shelved in with the rest of the collection. When Beverly first started writing, Black characters were not prevalent in romance or history stories. There was also no place to get published as a Black author in these genres until the 1990s. Plotters vs. Pantsers Beverly's writing process The point that Beverly knew she could write. How and why she started her first book. Beverly has written 49 books in her lifetime, typically in the Historical Romance genre. What is a sweet romance? How Beverly handled the rejections she faced in the publishing industry. How Beverly found her editor. How the portrayal of strong and determined Black women has changed in the model in the romance genre. Black women's three gifts and how Beverly highlights these in her heroines. Beverly's newest book Wild Rain and why her character came to be. Beverly's new Women Who Dare series. How Beverly views feminine leadership. If you have the writing bug, it's not going anywhere. It's up to you to decide that you're strong enough and brave enough to pursue your dream.

Lyra Satyanarayana and her family packed up their belongings and headed to a new life, virtually overnight. Why? Intuition. In this episode, you’ll be taken along Lyra’s journey from leaving her multi-million dollar real estate business by connecting with her spirituality to realize the bigger vision for her life. How do women balance work life with personal life? The decision Lyra had to make between being a CEO and being a mother. Why it’s ok to start over and create the life you want. Your intuition leads you into darkness but sometimes that’s part of the growth. Divorce is not necessarily a bad thing.  Why Lyra decided to close her multi-million-dollar real estate business essentially overnight. The shifts that happened to Lyra and her family and where her intuition led them next. The moment Lyra knew she would show up in the world differently.  The teachings that Lyra uncovered on her new journey in Crestone, Colorado, and why she went to that particular town. How Lyra and her husband handled their divorce and how intuition tied into this decision.  Why we are anxious about slowing down and focusing on our soul. Lyra’s new spiritually focused business.  We are so far removed from the spiritual in today’s society. The separation between religion, government, and capitalism and alternative solutions around their messages. People have separated out divinity from humanity to the capacity that we compartmentalize it so much it’s unrecognizable. Lyra’s definition of the Unholy Trinity You can never exit the system while living inside of it. What is it that’s truly missing is something we need to get in touch with more. Your spiritual connection to yourself and how to extract yourself from your truest way of being.  Whatever you're doing today is for you. It is the thing that you're supposed to be doing until it's not. People with their purpose use it as an excuse to not work hard in the moment and to not show up in the present. Women who are so successful often feel like something is still missing. Future Forecasting vs. Manifestation and your sense of the larger vision. Lyra’s definition of “Direct Knowing.” The unfolding of the larger vision can be fun and joyful because you’re not committed to the path because it rarely works the way you expect in the first place. Live in the present, even in the bad moments. How to turn “why is this happening to me” into “this had to happen to me for a reason.” Lyra’s message for what it means to be a woman leader in this moment. Feminine leadership principles and what they mean to Lyra.   Intuition lead vs. Heart lead and how that applies to feminine leadership. 

“Friendly-feminist “and author Erynn Brook posted a tweet about a lesson she learned from her mom. It went viral. She posted about a concept that seems simple, but in reality is very hard for most of us to do, especially women. Leave. This lesson on leaving isn’t just for women. It is for all genders. Practicing and putting up boundaries is a human right. No one should be deprived of it. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: How Erynn got into professional writing. The first post of Erynn’s that went viral. Why Erynn is a “friendly-feminist.” The story that prompted Erynn’s viral tweet. Why is it radical for women to set boundaries? You don't have to tolerate another girl being mean to you. The social contracts women feel obligated to partake in. We need to give ourselves permission to leave. What was becoming instantly visible like for Erynn after her tweets went viral. Writers tap into things that are unspoken but felt, and they're able to give a voice to those things whether it’s an emotion or a movement. Writing is a call to leadership. Does Erynn consider herself a leader? Leaders are coming in unexpected places and look different than they did before.

Yogi, Dancer, and Activist Leslie Salmon Jones went on a journey of healing to West Africa to find her roots. She not only came back with a newfound love for herself but with the foundations of new practice: Afro Flow Yoga®. Created in 2007 with her husband Jeff, Afro Flo blends yoga and meditation with dance movements from across the African Diaspora and creates an inclusive and diverse environment, free of any judgment for the Black community, and celebrates the beauty in diversity. (Additional original music by Jeff Jones) TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: What is Afro Flow Yoga® and its mission? Leslie’s background in movement and how it set the foundation for her work today. The lack of positive images representing Black women while Leslie was growing up and the self-esteem issues she had as a response. How Leslie rebuilt her self-image and never turned back. Leslie’s experience in Canada versus the United States. Leslie’s mission is to bring together our roots and to celebrate the beauty and richness and brilliance genius of people from all walks of life. Leslie’s viral Reebok ad and how she became a positive body image. How Leslie met her husband Jeff and how their journey to West Africa was the catalyst to finding her roots, healing deep trauma, and eventually the creation of Afro Flow Yoga®. There is an invisibility of Black people in yoga, in leadership positions, and in teaching. In the patriarchal system and colonized system, there's having power over. And in the divine feminine system, there's doing power with collectively thinking about the circle. What Afro Flow Yoga® has done for the Black community. Many of the transformative movements happening to uproot the system that is very broken have been started by Black women. Feminine leadership really is about care, how we care and how we systemize care. Divine feminine wisdom will help us find harmony and balance with nature. The 4 V’s of the Omega Women’s Leadership Intensive. Leslie’s work in women’s leadership and her advice for facing your fears. Beauty comes in many forms. When you come into self-love you are a light for others as you just reveal the fullness of your nature.

Together with 5 plaintiffs and the law firm Emery Celli Brinkerhoff, Laura Strausfeld and Jennifer Weiss-Wolf filed a class-action lawsuit against the state of New York for taxing tampons. Since 2016, their organization Period Equity has helped 20 states repeal the tax. In this episode, Laura talks about the winding creative road that lead her to this fight and asks women to join together and speak up on shared problems that demand equity. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: How being a twin tied into Laura’s career steps and her mission to get women to collaborate. Laura’s non-toxic perfume business started as an accident and turned into a passion. What Laura learned about environmental risk in the perfume business and how these government regulations started her interest in manufacturing practices. Why creatives often become unexpected entrepreneurs and how they succeed. What is period equity and why does it matter? States collectively make over $150 million annually from taxing menstrual products. The tipping point that got the legislature to take action against the period tax in the NY state case in 2016. Women were excluded from medical research until the 1980s and early 1990s. We need to overcome being embarrassed about the issue of menstruation and use our voice to ask for necessities such as menstrual products. Scotland has made period products free. The goal of Period Equity and how women can get involved in their own communities. How litigation can alleviate menstrual inequality and fund free products for those in need. Whey menstrual companies aren’t doing their job when it comes to fighting for period equality. Why are most of the world’s billionaires male? Why feminine leadership often represents those who don’t have a voice.

In the wake of the 2016 election, activist, social entrepreneur, and one of the organizers of the Women’s March, Jenna Arnold, hosted listening circles around the country to understand why 51% of white women voted for Trump. She wrote a book that captured those learnings called Raising Our Hands: How White Women Can Stop Avoiding Hard Conversations, Start Accepting Responsibility, and Find Our Place on the New Frontlines. In this episode, Jenna tells us how the Women’s March changed her and how white women can show up in this critical time in our history, accept responsibility, and find their place on the new frontlines. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:  The common theme in Jenna’s body of work and how she finds simplified, creative solutions to solve the world’s problems. How being dyslexic changes the world view. The founding story of the Women’s March and the most surprising thing Jenna learned about herself during the process of organizing it. What is a leaderless movement? Can they work? Women are trying to lead and topple systems at oppression at the same time. 74% of white women don't engage in political conversation because it's too uncomfortable, because it doesn't keep the peace. What sparked Jenna to write her book, Raising Our Hands. Women are hesitant to step in and engage out of fear of not getting it perfect. How a woman’s self-worth, or lack of it, gets translated to our political actions and our world views. Why we are not willing to take responsibility for history. Why we are intentionally invisible in our daily lives. Money is an expression of an internal belief that we hold value. Things white women can do to take action and join the fight on the frontlines of change.

Barbara Huson has devoted decades to empowering women as a financial therapist, wealth coach, and author. In this episode, Kim speaks to her about her 7th book, Rewire For Wealth, and the three steps every woman can take to step into their power and program their brain for financial success. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:  How Barbara’s father and first marriage didn’t teach her about money but prepared her to help women financially. Banks could refuse women a credit card until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 was signed into law. Prior to that, a bank could refuse to issue a credit card to an unmarried woman, and if a woman was married, her husband was required to cosign. Why women are afraid of their power. Being MetaFISCAL and what it means. How a women’s spiritual journey connects with her financial wellbeing. Barbara’s three levels of financial development: survival, stability, affluence. Are you an under-earner? The two emotions to recognize when going from survival to stability on your financial journey. Barbara’s 3-step formula to rewiring our brains for wealth. Why it can be difficult to rewire. The connection between our brain and our thoughts and how we can change the negative thoughts we tell ourselves. The balance between love and fear. Receptive surrender and how it relates to COVID-19 and what we are collectively going through as a whole. Why Barbara changed her last name. #LESSONUP: (2:50- 3:50) I realized very early in my work with women and wealth is that women's issues with money have very little of anything to do with money. And it has everything to do with their fear up or ambivalence about power because women don't understand power from a feminine perspective. And in my definition, a powerful woman is someone who knows who she is, who knows what she wants, and expresses that in the world unapologetically. So essentially our fear of power is our fear of becoming all of who we're meant to be, to really shining our light in the world, and dimming ourselves down. So we don't make waves. And for the patriarchy men see power as power over we don't, for us, power is power with, we are collaborative. We are all about power with. (4:09-5:00) I remember interviewing a psychologist who specialized in financial matters and I asked her, why are women so afraid of their power? And she said to me, something gave me full-body chills. She said powerful women have been burned at the stake. Yes. And I believe it is in our collective unconsciousness that we have this fear of being punished or having catastrophic outcomes if we are powerful. But in order to create wealth in order to make a difference in the world, we have to become a container that can attract, sustain and grow our money. And that's what's required of us. Mother Theresa said it takes a checkbook to change the world. And it's so true. (10:07- 10:20) Under-earning never feeds your soul. It is always an act of deprivation and not just of money, but of time of choices, of freedom, and most of all of self-esteem. (10:45- 11:20) Our brain which is a physical organ in our body controls our behavior. Everything we do inhaling, exhaling, saving, spending is controlled by our brain. Our mind is a non-physical entity, the source of thoughts and feelings. And what flows through the mind is what shapes the brain. So if you want to change your behavior, it's really hard. It's really, really challenging to change your behavior unless without changing your brain first, and the way you change your brain is by changing your thoughts and feelings. (13:28-13:56) All rewiring is unlearning the thoughts that don't serve you so you can, we can program into your brain thoughts that serve you. You recognize the thought you reframe it, but it's not enough to change your behavior unless you do the third step, which is respond differently. Don't want to do, do what doesn't feel. Right. Do what you think. This isn't me. This isn't me. Those are all signs that you are rewiring your brain. (14:55- 15:40) The effects of COVID are many, but one of it for us is enforcing us to reconsider our life. And are we going in the direction we need to go? And thing to do when you get the call, when you realize, Hmm, I need to make some changes. Whether you want to or not. The universe tells you time to make a change. What you need to do is step back and receptive surrender… to get quiet because the idea is to tune into your soul. And in order to hear our soul, we must be quiet. Our soul needs stillness. Our ego, which is telling us, telling you, you're not enough. You must do this. You should do this. It's so loud. It's screaming at you. So you need to get quiet to see what your soul has to tell you. (20:30- 21:50) I think we do not need to get to the state where I was, where it was feeling heavy. I do not think we need to get to this point. This is about you as a black woman asking for support because you give it to other people without question. So why can you not give it to yourself? And I think that is what I would say to any woman listening, give to yourself what you would give to others without question. And a lot of us do that, but we don't think that we are worthy of that. And that was a lesson that I had to learn because I do it. I show up for everybody and I show up in a way and give a hundred percent at all times. And yet I don't feel that I'm worthy of that level of support.  (17:38- 18:00) I want women to know how much power they have to create the life that they want. How much power, how much is in their control. How absolutely much how their thinking is so powerful. The creative power of thought is mind-boggling. And then when you can shift your thinking, you actually rewire your brain and your behavior will change. And there's nothing you can't do.

Why is it still so difficult for women who lead to ask for help, especially when it comes to their mental health? And, why are Black women even less likely to ask for it? In our special SEASON 2 launch on INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY, Kim speaks to award-winning producer, writer, and speaker Trey Anthony, best known for her work “Da Kink in My Hair” and most recently, her new book “Black Girl In Love (with Herself).” In this lesson on showing up for yourself, Trey speaks openly and honestly about coming to terms with her own depression, and how we as women can find freedom in expressing the truths about our daily struggles and fall back in love... with ourselves. (This episode includes colorful language). TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: How Trey’s grandmother influenced her creativity, career, and eventually her voice. Why Trey started her first piece “Da Kink in My Hair” and what the show represents in regards to issues Black women face in their daily lives. How “Da Kink in My Hair” became an overnight sensation. Trey is the first Black woman in Canada to ever have a television show on a major prime-time Canadian network.  Black Culture in Canada vs. the United States.  How Trey made space for Black women in the self-help market. Black Girl in Love (with Herself) addresses the real things that occur to Black women as they move through spaces. There's a stigma in the Black community around depression and mental health issues that we do not talk about, and yet it's happening.  How do we create a safe space for Black women to fall apart if they need to? If you look at so many of the movements of social change that are happening, Black women are at the forefront. When you are not recognized, you have nothing to lose.  Many women leaders are viewed as the strong ones and have a hard time admitting when they are struggling, and how Trey navigated this personally. By the time Black women actually seek health for mental health issues, their symptoms are 5X more severe than white women.  As women, we think we can handle more than we actually can and it’s ok to ask for help. There is a common misconception among women that receiving comes with strings attached.  Asking for that support and being carried is part of the modeling of what the new success means. How mothering changed Trey and her journey as a solo parent. The rules that are written in the culture for the way we do things don’t actually make sense for busy women. Feminine leadership looks like in today’s society looks like so many different things, because we are doing it all.

Author, speaker, and activist Joy Bennett shares a story no parent can ever imagine being a part of. What happened to Joy and her family was the beginning of her spiritual transformation. This is the story of a woman who shifted from intellectual know it all, to a questioner. Listen to how she healed her unbelief in this episode in “faith”.  

In this “Lesson on Trusting Your Gut”, Kim Kuhteubl pulls an interview with serial entrepreneur, author and visionary Christiane Lemieux out of the vault to talk about the growth of her business, saying “yes” and why this moment was meant for creative women who were born to lead. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE How the designer challenges “tradition in a quintessentially American way,” and her “American design visionary” status. Canada, does that feel ironic or did you always know you would end up in New York? Christiane’s first two strategic jobs including working with Isaac Mizrahi. The emotional experience of her brand DNA Christiane’s collaboration with target. Why young entrepreneurs should take the risk The changes in the online retail space and the importance of being nimble. Christiane’s collaboration with Target. Evolution of social media. When to say yes and when to say no. What is the hardest thing about being visible and the face of the brand?    

Interior designer, author and visionary, Vicente Wolf's list of projects is an interior designer’s bucket list that includes hotels, retail spaces, apartment buildings and private residences across the United States and around the world. He's been recognized as a leader or legend in every design publication you know including the AD 100, Elle Décor’s A-List, NY Spaces Top 50 Designer and House Beautiful’s 10 most influential designers, to name a few. In this "Lesson On Longevity" from the vault, Kim Kuhteubl speaks with him about his journey to interior design, licensing and the business of being an interior designer. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Vicente’s circuitous journey to the interior design profession. Is there an emotional experience behind his rooms? Was his business built strategically or from the gut? How did he get into licensing? Is he comfortable with the visibility and being the face of the brand? How big is his team? Should designer's who want to be published work for free?

In this “Lesson On Embracing Creativity" Kim shares the big lesson she learned about creativity in the first writing class taught by #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Liz Gilbert. Thanks to our listener All the Arts for All the Kids for the suggesting the idea! TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Elizabeth Gilbert’s advice on writing and what gets in the way of so many creatives expressing themselves. How creativity is linked to relationship. The exercise that changed Kim’s relationship with her creativity How to claim your own creativity and celebrate it As women, we can own and profit from our creativity like never before What your creative work teaches you about your inner life

After the murder of George Floyd, Kennedy Mitchum found herself locked in battles on social media about race in America. Tired of people using the dictionary definition of racism in their defense, she contacted the editors at Merriam-Webster to argue that the entry for racism should be revised and better reflect how systemic racism is in society. In this, “Lesson On Racism”, you will find out their answer and why Kennedy believes now is the time for women to be brave. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Black history in our education systems is not prevalent enough How Kennedy’s own personal experiences as a black woman have motivated her to push for a greater understanding of what racism means The incident that prompted Kennedy to reach out to Webster to change the definition of racism The old definition of racism does not include systemic oppression and factors that are missing Fighting for what you believe in What gave Kennedy the courage to reach out and what gave her the persistence to continue until they said yes The response Kennedy has received for making this change and the visibility she has received from it Culture is a container and it needs to change based on the people who are in the container with you Using your voice for change Everyone’s narrative deserves to be part of the story You don’t make a change unless you ask questions Question everything, educate yourself and keep pushing Helping lead women for those who can’t #LESSONUP (4:05) And then combined with my own personal experiences as a black woman, being stereotyped, being looked over and things of that nature that hurt me and my mental health in college. The fact that people are understanding that a lot of these systems, whether it's in the healthcare, whether it's an education and things like that are it's continued to perpetuate racism. They didn't understand that connection. It's not just individual bias. It's not just disliking someone because of the color of their skin. It's a lot deeper than that. (7:55) I've had these same different conversations over and over again. And I just realized that that definition was the problem at that point. People continue to go there to justify ignorant behavior and it's a stay stagnant. (8:45) A lot of systemic oppression and a lot of the systemic factors that are missing from the definition. It's very passive and it doesn't show how active racism is in today's society. So I emailed them and said at this point, you guys are misinforming the masses by using this definition. People continue to go to the dictionary for a more nuanced way of understanding a word. And racism is a word that you should have. (9:55) I'm sick of you acting like you're for diversity and inclusion, but not taking care of your people, your students of color, not caring, not doing anything if they have to drop out because they can't can't afford it, but you brought them here. I'm sick and tired of it. We don't need words. We need actions. I need to see how you are actually for people of color at this point in time. (14:55) Question everything. We've been listening to narratives that aren't in our favor for so long, whether it's in the media or whether it's the history books o in the dictionary, I definitely want to create a way to continue. Advocate and educate (22:25) Keep pushing. Educate yourself. Start questioning this stuff because it's just so programmed, just going with the status quo. I definitely understand, and I've definitely been there, but you just reach out and find those resources for yourself. At the end of the day, they're comfortable in their spot. They're comfortable with the way they are right now, but you aren't and that's not okay. So if you're uncomfortable, you shouldn't be uncomfortable. So keep pushing, keep doing, find different routes. Find ways in order to bring about the change that you need. If one isn't working and find another one.  

Matthew “Levee” Chavez (our first male guest!) believes his art and creative tools can grow community dialogue and encourage positive activism. His Subway Therapy project started with only a table and two chairs, a table where New Yorkers would sit and share secrets while they were waiting for the subway. The day after the 2016 election, he brought sticky notes and what happened at that table went viral. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: The Subway Therapy movement and Matthew’s nonlinear past that helped him spark the idea The Secret Keeper and why secrets are meant to be released Matthew’s second name and what it means for him on his journey towards creative openness Combining social service with performance art Conflict resolution and how people deal with conflic The one sticky note that stood out to Matthew and why? Violence in school and it’s direct relationship to the Trump campaign How do you see both sides and hold space for all while still having a stance? Navigating the rapid spread of a movement. How do you take care of the caretaker? The Secret Telephone installation The liminal space between male and female in creativity and leadership #LESSONUP: (4:05) I was a sophomore in high school and I would go and talk to middle schools about the transition between junior high and high school. And then in college, I was a peer counselor. In that liminal space between high school and college, I really liked it. You're active, you're there, you help people to transition. And so I started kind of developing this ideological framework around me being like the bag, like if you're a goldfish and you're going from the pet store to home, you need that bag that like scoops up the water you're in and then takes you to the new tank. And then you have to sit in the water for a little bit. Like that bag is super important for the fish, not feeling shocked when it transfers from the temperature water that it's in, into the new temperature water, even though the water is relatively the same. Always wanting to be in that liminal space, like the transition place between things really is what my mind was so interested in like always. (11:55) So I had that up and then I just sat there and invited people to write. I wrote express yourself. And then like thousands of people wrote, starting around two o'clock in the afternoon until midnight. There were about 3,000 people that wrote on sticky notes. (12:45) I guessed that people were going to write, but I didn't actually think that people were gonna write with such fervor. And so I didn't want to leave cause I didn't want to risk somebody vandalizing it or trashing it or whatever. And so I kind of wanted to be like gardener of that garden that I had started. (21:03) I know the moment where it felt like I had really done something and it was that same night…it's midnight. I'm trying to figure out what to do. And I stood back and I was just sort of trying to figure out how to process what had just happened. It just got interviewed by like New York One. There were all these notes. And I was just looking at it and I, the way that people had put the sticky notes on the wall actually had formed this shape. That looked like two wings that were coming from the table. And it like angel wings. I had that thought and I had this really, really strong, wash of emotion and I'm feeling it right now. And it was so powerful. Whoa, I don't really know what just happened, but it's definitely beyond me. Like, something really wonderful has happened that I channeled or like open the doorway for is really, really wonderful. Yeah. It's like a natural shape. You could think of the way people stick things to places. It kind of like there's this density right at the center. And then it kind of like shapes up to where people's arms are. And so it looked just like wings. It's really wild. (27:21) I think the goal has changed over time. When I was doing subway therapy, I was very much in the front seat driving and people could see me driving and really what I'm trying to create now are installations and opportunities for people to be the driver. If writing is the thing and that's the only experience that allows people to share themselves with other people, then they create the work by writing. And if I'm sitting at the table, people are asking me for permission to do it. And I actually don't like that. I don't want people to do that. I want them just to do it. And so I've been trying to find ways to eliminate myself from my public works so they can exist without me. (32:02) I think there's something so fun about secrets and it's childish. And a lot of people have secrets that they have accrued over a lifetime and I respect that. I think people have like a few that they don't even think of as secrets until they're presented with an opportunity to share one. So when you hear stuff that you wouldn't normally hear, it provides like something really interesting as like a human experience. I do think we like unearthing hidden stuff. And so that's very exciting. (34:55) I think about my role now, what I'd really like to do is create more of that. If we take a design perspective and look at some of the challenges that we have as a society and what we're missing, there's all this knowledge in religion and in ancestral knowledge and in different cultures that can give us and provide us with all the things that we need in terms of like connection and ritual and daily experience. And we just aren't using it. And I think how do you create that moment of connection randomly? The sticky note project is a really good version of it with subway therapy, being able to talk to a random therapist, that's sitting there, it's like obviously BS, but, but also like really serious stuff like marital problems and suicide and all these different things. And then secret telephone is like such a fun thing, but it does let you jump into someone's life for a second. And I think that regular experience creates empathy and it creates community and it creates connection. And you can imagine what those people's lives are like. And therefore it makes you a more well rounded person and better at making connections when you have the opportunity to make them with people. So that's sort of my mission now is to drive society towards connection and towards understanding by creating different experiences. (47:25) I think we are in profound need of what is considered feminine because it has been so diminished. And with this particular President has brought up all of the fire. I mean, femininity is fierce, right? It's brought it up in a new…and the moon moves the tides. So there's lots of things that in this moment are… it's interesting, the way that you're leading, because you're again, holding space for both sides, which I do consider feminine. (50:04) I am so lucky to have that because I know I have a lot of friends who are men who can't process the world in that way. And I just feel immeasurably lucky to have whatever it is that allows me to hold that space and be comfortable in that feminine energy. It’s such a blessing and I feel so good about it. If I could restart my life… I think about being a woman all the time. I dream as a woman. And I just think about it a lot. I would trade if I had the opportunity to…I know that I'm very privileged to live in like a white male society is like the power absorber. I'm a little envious of how powerful women are, not in contrast to men, but just to have like all, like I have like 50% or less, I have like a tiny piece, but to have like that whole feminine energy and fire and fierceness and power, that is just incredible. So in all of a lot of the people that are out protesting and doing different things and different arenas, it's like, man, look at all those warriors out there being fierce and powerful and awesome.

In this episode, Kim Kuhteubl goes unedited to speak to you from this moment and share memories of racism, hurt and injustice that she has experienced in her life. Now, more than ever, is the time to use our voices, to not give up, and to not be silent. It’s ok to feel rage right now. Rage is a teacher. Your rage is going to help you deal with what comes next. How will you speak up and use your voice for change? TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Kim’s story on being mixed What Clarissa Pinkola Estés says about rage Women who become socially, politically or culturally conscious find they have to deal with the collective rage that comes up and it's psychically sound Companies that are culturally and socially making an impact will move us forward Now is the time for us to state our values, and not be silent Call-out culture and why we’re afraid You did not come here to be persecuted by people who do not see your value. And so we do not have to prove it to them It is not our obligation to continue to support a system that was not built with us for us, but definitely by us Children know that they are whole and valuable and loved Everyone needs you to speak your truth and lead right now #LESSONUP (3:06) …my visible whiteness, giving people permission to unleash their true, true thoughts. I think the thing is this we're tired, right? I'm tired. I'm tired of playing by the rules of a system that actually wasn't written with me in mind. (3:25) I'm a light skinned black woman or mixed woman, depending on who is looking at me. And I'm tired of having to justify the color of my skin or what my soul, the depths of my soul knows to be true, because it has nothing to do with the color of my skin. My passing, as some people love to point out to me, does not give me a free pass on racism. If you have trouble with the color of my skin and please take it up with God. And just because you think, I look like you does not mean that. I think like you. (4:25) So if you're really angry right now know that your rage is a teacher, your rage is going to help you deal with what comes next. And to the people who've stayed silent to the people who didn't put a blackout on their Instagram feed, who didn't reach out to say, Hey, how are you doing who's politics. They keep in the dark so that the rest of us don't ever know who we're fully dealing with. We know who you are. We know who you are in this moment. (6:01) People who stay silent in this country are a dying breed. People who are silent are afraid, afraid they'll lose their or their social standing. Oh, my silence is not your friend. (6:45) Even if you're afraid to say something because you don't want to get it wrong. I understand that. But say something, it means so much more than your silence because your silence is killing us. I also want to say to those of you who feel less than who feel like your journey is somehow invalidated by this hatred that lives unconsciously and consciously in people who don't deserve to be in your presence, that you, your gift, your divine nature comes from source. (9:10) You came here to be an expression of love and joy to live in abundance. You did not come here to be persecuted by people who do not see your value. And so we do not have to prove it to them. I saw Patrisse Cullors, one of the cofounders of Black Lives Matter speak two years ago at the United States’ Women's Conference. And she said, “let your joy be your resistance.” Your ancestors worked so hard for you to be in this moment for you to have reaped the benefits of all of the persecution and hatred and hard work that they did. (10:15) It is time to use our voices and not give up until this kind of way of being this tolerance of ignorance and hatred. And this belief that some people would be more superior than others. When we are all in fact, creatures of the divine, no more, no more. (11:45) Don't hold back your rage, unleash it, unleash it on the systems and the people who support the systems that oppress us demand, accountability, demand, progress, demand improvements. It is your right.

In this moment, it can feel exhausting standing under the weight of the world and its problems. It’s going to take all hands on deck to speak the truth about what isn’t working so that we can figure out a solution together. In this episode author, speaker, and movement builder Alexis Jones shares her belief that audacious ideas have the ability to change the world. Her company I Am That Human works with the biggest, baddest people, brands, organizations, campaigns, and initiatives to inspire people and innovate humanity. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: The vision behind #IAmThatGirl and what girls wanted and needed at that time Building a brand when you make people a part of it What are her squads? Visibility can be a double-edged sword Staying authentic in who you are Alexis’s spiritual practices How to get specific about the thing that you love the most and not apologize for that What the E-Myth taught Alexis about shifting gears within the leadership roles and leaning into different communication styles The differences between feminine and masculine leadership What cause is Alexis willing to be unpopular for? What is a “good man” and do women who are raised by them have an advantage? Kobe Bryant and how do women approach the conversation of forgiveness with Men Making the invisible bro-code system visible and rewriting the rules of it We need to talk to young white men about privilege How Alexis got involved with “13 Reasons Why” How movements like Black Lives Matter and #METOO are changing the cultural conversation #LESSONUP (5:25) And I think if you're a true founder, you have the humility to recognize that it's just a tapestry and everyone is a different color thread in that tapestry. And so for me, I think having the initial, the impetus and the spark for I am that girl, but truthfully, women have grabbed it and run with it and created so much of their own thing. And I think that was a big part of kind of our pillars in it were I am but one girl originally from Texas, I have a very, very specific perspective to myself. We wanted every single girl, every single woman, every single person who identifies as female, we wanted all of them to be able to feel like it was a home. (6:55) I think visibility is definitely double edged sword and I think learning how to manage visibility, because I think the moment as a human and I think it's something I've certainly struggled with over the years. Because the expectations and quite frankly the validation that exists outside of you. I think it's really easy to loose who you are in a world in which we are crowdsourcing confidence outside of ourselves and I think visibility offers you that temptation of saying “Oh, all of these people have all of these ideas and all of these opinions”, because that's really what visibility is, right? It's the mirror recognition that people now have an opinion on your life and often strangers have an opinion on their life. (14:32) Leading with a femininity, which I think leadership requires both of it. And it's really up to each individual. I think of what you lean into. Because I grew up with four older brothers, I grew up in a very masculine environment. I was an athlete. I worked at Fox Sports, ESPN. I've always been around a whole lot of men. I think that a lot of it is nature/nurture and that nurture aspect was I learned how to communicate very directly, which men predominantly communicate very directly. And I remember being 14 years old and having this kind of aha moment of that distinction when we talk about feminine, masculine energy. (16:40) I think it takes a lot of humility back to that word of like malleability back to that word of flexibility, back to that word of almost this emotional intelligence to recognize that whoever's before you, whether it's a man, whether it's a woman, regardless of how they're dressed, regardless of how they're coming across or what their job title is. I think so much of leadership is recognizing my only job is to take the time to learn how the human being in of me needs to be communicated to. (19:05) We are taught so much and we can unlearn so much. And we kind of this idea within technology, like we're always like upgrading with our technology, are we upgrading within our humanity? (31:48) If we're ever going to get to a place of actual change, one is addressing, acknowledging, listening to the righteous indignation and anger. There's righteous anger that if you're a woman in America today and you see the things that are happening, if you are a person who is looking at statistics of one in five girls will be sexually assaulted on a college campus. One in two women walk around having been sexually assaulted in our lifetime. If we don't all have a low grade fever out of like a mild rage that exists all the time, then we're not living and breathing. And again, that's just with women. And so I think when we look at social change, we have to make space, which I think is very much happening in this moment right now with Black Lives Matter. We have not made space in order to hear the righteous, indignation and anger that is so tangible in real. (35:40) We can be messy and we can be mean, and we can make mistakes. And we can have a miraculous piece of us that is like God breathed and all of it belongs. And I think the bravest, most courageous conversations that we can be having right now in the midst of #MeToo and Times Up is what does progress look like? What, what does moving forward look like? And I do think that is having really great conversations around things like forgiveness and things like rehabilitation. And how are we better educating again? How are we working with young men to help them unlearn and to stop reading off a cultural script they've been handed, which, this idea of toxic masculinity is, is damaging to all of us. It's not just to women, it's damaging, the cost is so great. (41:25) The trendsetters and the influencers within the male space, so many athletes or who like the little boys are looking up to. And so what we found was identifying those locker rooms and creating a new, normal, a new standard, a new expectation of what it means to be, this kind of a 21st century man who like boys will be boys, as long as there are always respecting women, like kind of these new adage bro-code. Love, support, defend each other, but not at the expense of other people. Can inject into this new concept of bro-code is I'm going to hold you accountable to being a really good human. It’s kind of this evolution because there's a lot of really good about bro-code right about that brotherhood. (44:30) I think we don't realize the practicality of language and the power of language when you give people the actual words. None of these young men are talking that way. So can you give them actual tools in that moment and prepare them.

Stressed? You’re not alone. In fact, women in the US are nearly twice as stressed as men. Not only do we register stress events more strongly, we often react both physically and mentally, all while taking care of family responsibilities and working to grow and profit from our businesses. Dr. Eris Huemer Winans is the founder of FACE it, a company that is changing the face of mental health. In this “Lesson On Self-Care”, we speak about the ways that women entrepreneurs can deal with stress, and one of the biggest challenges that impact women entrepreneurs who are making change. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Being NOT OK. OK. And A-OK. How to deal with the news and when not watching can make you more stressed. What are the top three ways women can take care of their mental health People are speaking more openly about their mental health issues How to create a state of mind that allows you to look at the world and get through any obstacles The strategies that women entrepreneurs can use to move themselves to OK and beyond The #1 thing Dr. Eris recommends doing daily to stay in a good state of mind How to rewire your brain if you’re experiencing “mom guilt” Dr. Eris’s “Life Lens” and the eight areas she looks at her life to maintain harmony Dr. Eris’s “Process Communication Model” and the six different personality types that woman leaders fall into Why women play smaller What to do when other people don’t get your vision The number one thing that women disruptors can do to take care of their mental health What does self-esteem have to do with it? #LESSONUP (6:02) I think that it's very important to filter the time spent watching news, especially if you're anxiety prone, you're super sensitive and you get shaken up with the world events as we all do. Because globally we all feel a sense of anxiety because there is so much unknown in the world right now. We don't know where things are going and because we have all of this conflicting information from politics to the news, we don't always know necessarily what is accurate and not accurate. (8:35) I think it's so important for us to acknowledge that it is OK to not be OK. It is OK for us just to be OK. It is OK. All of this is OK if I am hurting, if I am anxious, if I am sad, if I am grieving, if I am depressed, if I am any of these things. It's OK. And it's acknowledging the fact that I'm either not OK or just OK that I can then find hope to feeling better, which is an A-OK state of mind. (10:25) Set boundaries and following through with them instead of not setting boundaries and making them as if they're threats that you don't intend to carry out. (12:02) We have to rewire our brain. Number one. I'm a mom. I have a six and a half year old and I love to work. I know that I as a parent, I am here to be an example to my child on how I want them to be in the world. So it's how I am living by example. Behaviorally and what my behaviors are, what he sees me doing, what he sees my husband doing, how we communicate, all of these things is how my son is becoming in the world. So I am teaching him how to become by how I am. So that's number one. (17:10) I think that as women we've overcome, We're the minority. We've come into the world and we have to fight differently. We have to prove ourselves differently. We have to overcome so many obstacles that are different, especially when we're working or putting ourselves out there. Of course we view the world through a different lens than men. I'm just coming from the perspective of a personality type and how we would lead. I think there are so many different women out there that we all lead differently. (19:25) As a woman, when you are a leader and you are revolutionizing the system and you're putting yourself out there and you're wanting to change the world depending on in what industry or on whatever level. I think the number one thing that I see is women growing into their own strengths, finding their strengths and their self esteem and believing in themselves. And I see that as taking time and experience. So if you have a vision and you want to do something as a leader and changing the world in whichever way you're wanting to, it's like giving yourself time for growth and experience and repetition and all of those things. And once you do that, you build that self esteem because that strength is what shines through. (22:00) We allow people around us to make us feel bad about our strengths and our desires and our vision and all of these things. So we play smaller and play smaller. We actually put ourselves into insecurity. Like we're trying to fit in this box of maybe what these other women are, how they're living their lives or how we feel like we should be. And we're living too big. So I think that you need to have an intuition, you have to have something within you that wants you to do more. So you need to stay true to that and be honest with yourself. And that takes time and practice.

A stuck person is a powerful person. Flow is natural, so if you're holding yourself in place, imagine how much energy it's taking you to do that. How powerful you must be. Perhaps the most important thing you need to know about being stuck is how powerful your ability to create is. If your current thoughts and actions are getting in your own way of doing that, it’s time unstick your stuck. Learn how in this “Lesson On Unsticking the Stuck" with Kim Kuhteubl. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: The most important thing you need to know about being stuck What thoughts and actions are you repeating over again and what are the beliefs that are keeping you there A stuck person is a powerful person Stuck is a state of mind Why we subconsciously get in our own way The relationship between beliefs and actions The “LIFE MUST TEST ME” belief system We blame ourselves to stay stuck Too many women are practiced in hiding and not being found or discovered for who they truly are Visions for your life demand aligned action How being stuck affects your career Kim’s process to becoming “unstuck” It’s ok to ask for help Burn the bridges that keep you “safe”, that keep you from being seen for the woman you are How women can lead differently by burning the bridge of the unknown and leaping to the other side #LESSONUP: (:40) Perhaps the most important thing you need to know about being stuck is how powerful your ability to create is. But what exactly is it that you're creating and why? What thoughts and actions are you repeating over and over again and what are the beliefs that are keeping you there? Because stuck is a state of mind. (1:25) My journey to stuck started because I was a how addict. How I thought things should go, how I'd seen other people who I thought were successful doing it, how I thought I was supposed to feel, how life was supposed to look, how I was going to get life right based on my calculated and controlling formula of X and Y and Zed divided by everybody else's experiences that I didn't want to repeat deep into the loop of my life must test me belief system. (3:50) What I was used to was my familiar spiral of blame. For you, it might feel like you're drowning or overwhelmed or distracted or whatever stuck drug of choice is. I didn't have to move and I didn't have to get tested. I was stubborn. Some part of me AKA the ego part was telling me that stack would give me the time I needed to figure out my way out of stuck all by myself. I was smart. I knew how to get things done, but what I didn't know at the time is that you can't solve a problem from the level of consciousness you use to create it. In other words, if you're at the level of stuck, any solution that you dream up without some kind of pattern interrupts without some kind of help is going to come in from the consciousness of stuck and affirm your stuckness. (4:25) Too many women are practiced in hiding and not being found or seen…discovered for who they truly are and if you stay in this space of this might happen, you don't have to look at the fact that it isn't. You don't have to acknowledge that your dream might not come true even if this way of being, this way you have to stay put doesn't feel good anymore. They ignore their hearts signal that the dream is not actually one they want anymore or maybe the version of they wanted has changed. (7:30) Some women get stuck by telling themselves, and this is especially when it comes to relationships. If I don't move or change, if I wait long enough holding the energy of this very specific way of being, this person will love me. In this case, stuck is a form of withholding a skill that many women, especially when you feel voiceless are practiced and it can feel like power to withhold your approval or opinion or favor, especially when it feels like you don't get it. So why would you give it or when you're afraid, afraid of what you might lose by truly being. (8:10) Another reason that people stay stuck is because they like the way they’ve been doing things, a lot. They ignore the signals around them that the world has changed, the culture has changed, the expectations for the way we do business has changed, what buyers value and the conversations they have and they places they’re going to have those conversations are changing. They pissed off that what used to work, what has always worked, doesn’t work any more. They’re angry or afraid that time has the nerve to pass. (10:05) When we were thinking about the products that we would create as a brand, we wanted to create products that we ourselves wanted to use that we couldn't find elsewhere. That was a kind of product that brought purpose and meaning and deeper connection between parent and child and created a really easy to use, approachable routine. (10:30) If you’re telling yourself you don’t know what to do, that’s only partially truly. Because I do believe that you have all the answers when you ask the right questions. You might not know which questions to ask, or you might be afraid of the answers because those will require change and once you let go and let life, you will probably feel out of control, like you don’t have power. (15:05) Revealing the truth of what you see and using your voice to express it, may be a lie to someone else. If you’re an idea woman, working on transforming what was, don’t expect people to understand what you know to be true about your work, about what you’re discovering, about what you’re being guided to assemble from the realm of ideas. You are the creator. Just keep going. (16:20) I believe my creativity comes through me and once I turn that channel on, it’s easy to surrender to the ideas that come to me in the moment. As a writer, I’ve fallen off of the outline more than once. As a producer and director, I’ve seen emotions, or opportunities to take the story in a different direction,  reveal themselves in the spaces between what is planned and I follow them, always with good results.

While they were on maternity leave together, best friends Kelly Oriard & Callie Christensen created the kind of toys they wanted their children to play with, ones that would help them to become caring, confident, and resilient children. They called them Slumberkins. Now four short years later, they’ve built a multi-million dollar children’s brand based on their experiences as passionate educators and moms. In this episode, we discuss trust and intentional branding with our first-ever duo! TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:   Developing a product that brings purpose and meaning What are Slumberkins and how are they interactive for parent and child to deepen the bond of connection together? Sometimes passion is more important than a business background. Learning to scale your business. How Kelly and Callie’s sports background helped translate to their business mentality and the concept of failure. Creating a strong brand from the beginning. Having a strong, emotional foundation will serve a lot of people during this moment. Children need emotional wellness building blocks at an early age. Transitioning a side hustle to a mission-based brand. The importance of engaging with your customers and your community. Millennials are the therapy generation. What happened when the duo went on Shark Tank. The Jim Henson Company and Slumberkins. “Fake it till you make it.” Storytelling is key when starting a business, especially an online one. Listening to and responding to consumer needs. Building a team and community within your business structure. Navigating relationships as friends and as business partners. Being Co-CEOs. Communicating your mission to a team to implement and excute. Women lead by leaning into intuition and being mindful on their growth and the growth of others. #LESSONUP: (4:33) It was four and a half years ago now that we on maternity leave. And it was just us getting out, doing things, going on walks like we normally do. And we had this kind of creative moment of inspiration of talking about the children that we both worked with in the schools and then also looking at our newborn babies and feeling this moment of inspiration around what kind of interventions could be done before kids get to school in the world of emotional wellness that we were trying to support and work with on a daily basis with our students. (6:30) ​W​e turned that $200 worth of fabric to sell at a local holiday craft fair. And we turned that into about $700. And then we just opened our first bank account and then just went from there. (6:41) Despite not having any business background, we were so passionate about the idea and thought, why not us? Why couldn't we do it? Look around, look at the people on Instagram that are selling and people that are doing thing. We have the background, we have this idea, let's do it. Why not us? (8:25) I had tried to pitch the storylines to publishing houses and book agents and just received polite, “no, thank you”. It was like, Oh man, but this needs to live on. And so even then when we both went back to work part time as educators, we still kept it going and which was a very intense looking back. I don't know how we did it. (9:30) So we're kind of used to this ride of entrepreneurship through our experience in sports as well of just, there's no failure really. You're just learning constantly for this big win in the future. And I really think it translated to the mentality that we brought to the business. (10:05) When we were thinking about the products that we would create as a brand, we wanted to create products that we ourselves wanted to use that we couldn't find elsewhere. That was a kind of product that brought purpose and meaning and deeper connection between parent and child and created a really easy to use, approachable routine. (10:30) Saying we are an intentional brand, it’s so much different than what you see. People have asked us, “aren't you afraid of someone like Mattel or Hasbro knocking you off?” And we're like, “I mean, they can try, but they're not like moms and educators that are fueling everything they have into this product. (12:10) Slumberkins is really about helping parents take that a step further to doing something for their children that maybe they didn't hear explicitly out loud. And helping guide that whether they're doing that internal work themselves or not, the messages are coming through for children. We think that that's something really unique that nobody is doing at this point (13:40) And then behind the scenes, we left our positions as educators when we got word that we were going to film Shark Tank. So that was another thing where it catapulted us into taking the business more seriously. It was the reason we took the time to really develop a brand platform, a big vision, really think bigger for the brand. And as soon as we were all in on that, it just, even having those own goals for ourselves, it helped us redefine what our goal was for the business. (15:18) We're in a co-production with the Jim Henson company to develop a preschool series based on our characters and Kelly and I are co-executive producers on the show. It’s definitely a pinch-me moment. Every time I say it, I can't stop smiling about it. I know. It's so exciting. (17:10) Telling the story around the brand has been key for us. We bootstrapped the company to over 1.5 million before we took in any sort of outside funding. (21:59) We had this real history of trust in each other and how we showed up for each other. (25:06) Being questioned about being Co-CEOs was the thing that I think pushed us into having those harder conversations and diving into our self-work. And I'll say, I love your platform, ,of finding your voice just because there have been so many times where Kelly, has had to shove me into stepping into myself and finding my own voice in our journey. ​(26:50) It's this concept of trust and shared power and making the implicit explicit, right? So we're trying to do that with our product. We're trying to do that for families. And if we as co-CEOs are not able to show up, to share power, to be explicit about what we're being triggered by or what's going on a little bit below the surface with each other and with what's going on in our lives, then we're not walking the walk of what we're trying, trying to do in the world.  (28:20) Women do lead differently. And we very much fall in the idea of leaning into intuition, being very mindful and focused on our teams emotional wellness growth, our emotional wellness and growth and how that is connected directly to the work that they produce. Now in our case, it all connects together cause that's what our product is about.  

Shannon Watts was a stay-at-home mom folding laundry when she heard the news of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. It was at that moment that Shannon decided to get off the sidelines and encourage other women to join her, starting the largest grassroots movement in the country, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Shannon and her army of mothers (and others) have bravely gone up against the gun lobby, proving that when you “fight like a mother” you can do anything you set your mind to. In this “Lesson on Doubling Down”, we talk about the business of building a movement. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: How and why Shannon started Mom’s Demand Action (MDA). How the organization dealt with the rapid growth of the movement. *As of 2018, Moms Demand Action had 761 local groups and 6 million supporters. Every mom is already a multi-tasking organizer. Movements are like startups. The three things MDA focuses on that they believe will save the most lives. Stand Your Ground is a gun law that is rooted in racism. Gun violence affects everyone. Dealing with criticism. Using your losses to fuel motivation. How to create a revolution in our current system and doubling down instead of backing down. A major moment with Starbucks and Howard Schultz when Shannon trusted her gut. How women lead differently in activism and political efforts. Women lead with their maternal strengths. Women are a political asset but they are scared to jump in. Shannon’s spiritual practice. How women with big visions can take the first step. #LESSONUP: (5:01) I think that​ was a​ moment in America when so many people wanted to get involved in 2018 and we tripled in size as an organization​ and k have kept growing ever since. And we're actually larger now than the NRA. (5:25) We have over 375,000 donors now. And so that has enabled us to outspend the NRA in the last two election cycles. (7:30) I’ve been really focused myself on Ahmaud Arbery the last few days and the stand your ground laws that have made it possible for private citizens to be vigilantes. And I'm curious if those laws will come into focus for you guys at all. And if you know the statistics on keeping people safe by focusing on repealing those. Yes. So I mean, we're still learning all the facts, but it sounds like one of the three DA's who the case was passed on to before arrests were made, was somehow claiming that, citizens arrest laws, open carry laws and even stand your ground laws, made these two white men within their rights to pursue and shoot Ahmaud Arbery. And you know, these laws are rooted in racism, especially stand your ground. We know they disproportionately impact people of color and too often they're used by white people to shoot and kill and ask questions later. So we fight these laws everywhere they come up and we work to roll them back where we can. (9:00) ​The ​bigger picture​ is that ​too much gun violence in this country impacts people of color, particularly black men and boys. And you really cannot talk about gun violence without talking about the systemic racism that causes it. (10:45) I think it's incumbent on our organization to involve all white women, Republican and Democrat alike to speak out and to get off the sidelines and to not just care about the school shootings and the mass shootings, which frankly are only about 1% of the gun violence in this country, but to care about the gun suicides and the gun homicides that happen in rural America and in city centers. And that's what we've done. We have been very committed to diversity, equality, and inclusion efforts internally as an organization and externally. And it is incumbent upon us to continue to learn and to listen and to hold up the work that others have done for decades. (11:06) Black women have been putting their literal bodies on street corners to stop bullets where they live and, and really their work has been invisible for too long. And so it is on our organization to make sure that that’s always a priority. (11:30) You don't get involved in social activism in this country, not expecting to lose or if you do, you're going to be sorely disappointed. I always say, this is a marathon, not a sprint. And incremental change has become sort of a dirty word. This idea of something being incremental that somehow if it's not an overnight revolution, it's not worth doing. And you know, if you spend any working on activism on the ground, you very quickly realize the system is not set up for an overnight revolution. (12:09) How do you create a revolution in our system? You do it by showing up for years and years and years, like drips on a rock and you do the heavy lifting, the unglamorous work of activism. And I think women in particular are cut out for that. (12:34) It's almost always women who are willing to stay the course and they play the long game and we lose a lot, but we win more than we lose. But if we, if we gave up every time we lost, we wouldn't have gotten this far. And so you have to come to see failure as feedback. It's not fatal. It's just a stepping stone and you have to look at how much you won when you failed, and then use that information to point you in the direction of winning. (16:10) Women worry that if we don't know enough, we can't just jump in. And I don't think men have that same gating factor. Women feel like they have to cross all the T's and dot all the I's and know everything and be perfect and not fail. And men just don't have that same concern about jumping in. I say in my book Fight Like a Mother, if you don't use motherhood as a tool for you, it will be used against you.  (17:59) This is just about restoring the responsibilities that go along with gun rights. We're not anti second amendment, we're not anti gun. Many of our volunteers are gun owners or their partners are gun owners. This is simply about replacing the responsibilities that the NRA has eroded for decades. (19:53) You talk about staying put as a seismic act, which I thought was really beautiful and that women go in and they knit and they breastfeed. And we've had this come up in conversations a number of times where women breastfeeding becomes an act of anarchy in some way. (20:52) And I am just so amazed by how organized women are and how industrious they are and how entrepreneurial and creative and innovative,​ ​the ideas they've come up with​ ​have been just spectacular over the last eight years. And it's, it's why we are where we are. (23:20) I had to decide, am I going to back down or am I going to double down? And I decided the ladder, I decided that I was not going to be silenced or threatened if I lost my kids. I had nothing left to lose and it really has become like white noise. I simply do not care. (26:28) If you're passionate about something, you will be good at it and you will find a way to bring your time and your talents. It doesn't have to be starting a national organization. There are many different ways to get involved in different things. But if you do want to start an organization, if it's in your neighborhood, your community, in your state, in the country, you can do it to.

Eight-year-old Bellen Woodard is the only African-American girl in her third-grade class in a Virginia school. After a moment coloring made her feel unimportant, she had an idea to change the conversation by giving the “skin-color” crayon a new meaning. This idea has evolved into a movement and business called “More than Peach” that is giving people across the country a way to talk about identity, race, and inclusion and inspiring girls, and women, to use their voice for change. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: What adults get wrong about little girls. What happened in Bellen’s classroom and how she changed an uncomfortable conversation? What is the “More than Peach” project? Why Bellen isn’t afraid to speak up. What are Bellen’s Palette Packets? How Bellen has helped 2000 classrooms with her multi-cultural kits. What it means for Bellen to be inducted into the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. Bellen’s advice from her mom. How Bellen dealt with a first grader teasing her about her hair. What makes an idea shift and turn into a movement? How girls can lead at any age #LESSONUP: (3:04) Every time we would color in school, they always ask for the skin color crayon and we all just knew that, oh the skin color crayon is crayon language for the peach crayon, not really thinking about what we were doing. (4:00) And then when I told my mom about this, she said: “how about you give them the brown crayon next time?” And I said, “I don't want to do that. Instead, I want to ask what color they want as it could be a number of any colors.” And that's what I did. And then everyone started actually telling me, “I want the peach crayon or I want the brown crayon.” (5:14) I want kids to feel like they can be kids and not feel excluded and have the best options. And how I'm doing that is I have my pallet packets, which include multicultural items and my very own, “More than Peach” crayons coming in June. I actually deliver them to schools and now I'm donating to senior centers because they can't see their families due to COVID-19, because they're more at risk. Everyone should be able to color. (5:30) My big goal is to get this not just around the country but maybe even around the world so people can know that they have their own skin color and it's okay if the peach one or brown one doesn't actually match you and if it doesn't, you can actually say something. (7:02) We went into the Virginia Museum of History & Culture Museum and they decided to put one of my palette packets on display and a More than Peach tee shirt to be at the museum forever and ever. And that's really good because when I'm older, maybe people can start doing their own More than Peach project, making sure other people know that there's a skin color for everyone. (8:58) I need younger kids to stop asking for the skin color crayon, always assuming to get the peach crayon and actually telling them I want this... I actually want the peach crayon. (10:34) Be you. You are brilliant, be brilliant. And just know that if you want something to change, you should be the change and don't just hold it in for a long time. If it really bothers you, then make sure you say something because people may not think it's weird. They may actually think about it and say, you're right. I could imagine having the same hardship. (13:19) Maybe God made my hair crazy because I'm also all over the place, my hair is also all over the place. And how many of you will actually have matching personalities with their hair?

After a flash of inspiration, Deborah Alma bought a vintage ambulance on eBay and became “The Emergency Poet”. Another flash several years later and she bought a shop, founding the world’s first “Poetry Pharmacy”, a tea, performance, and consultation space where Alma prescribes handpicked poems to her patients. In this episode, we take an inside look at the healing, intimate power that poetry has, and how it connects people to the spiritual part of themselves. You’ll learn that being on the outside of normal can be the best part of how you share your voice and operate your business, allowing some decisions to be made purely on moments of playful creativity.   TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:   What is “emergency poetry” and how did Deborah turn her creative passion into a career?   Why we turn to poetry at times of crisis or at heightened states of emotion.   How poetry taught Deborah the power of listening.   The intimate nature of poetry and how it can serve as an extension of yourself, allowing you to become more open.   How being mixed race/mixed class informed Deborah’s work and the importance of combatting situations of prejudice.   Why what Deborah values most about herself is invisible to others.   The journey from creative to businesswoman.    The struggles of taking yourself seriously as a creative business owner and the boundaries that should be addressed.    Why some creatives want to give away their work for free.   Do you have to be ruthless to be good at business?   The collegiate way that women lead and why they work with you instead of for you.   #LESSONUP:   (1:25) About eight years ago, I suddenly bought a vintage ambulance on eBay. All of my friends saying, no, do it. It wasn't an idea to have a business particularly. It was just a kind of a piece of art, I suppose. A kind of creative idea to go and do poetry prescriptions.   (7:14) And it's got all the original ironmongers shelves, sort of mid Victorian shelves. And I was peering through the dusty windows at these shelves and the mahogany counter and an old tale. And it was a bit like the emergency poet thing. I just had this kind of flash of inspiration.   (7:24) The flash of the inspiration, is that the same place where the poems come from for you? Yes. It's the kind of free, almost childlike, playful part of me that hasn't died. I just indulge it all the time. It's the same place I think.   (9:28) I think what happens here as well as the States is that school can put you off to poetry. People pick poetry apart in the classroom and it destroys it. It destroys that kind of immediate and intimate response.   (12:22) I realized how sharing a poem could take them in their head to somewhere positive. So I learned that, I learned that people like being listened to really carefully. I learned that people like you to ask unexpected questions. They like to talk about themselves.   (12:33) There's a process…this question and then this question, so that they don't go off into unsafe territory. It's always about them. It's always about positive parts of themselves. Then it kind of comes to a resolution and at that point I asked them what they'd like a poem for whether it's work stress or anxiety or they're bullied at work or whatever it is, and it's right at the end. So we don't dwell on the thing too much. The poem should answer that.   (15:10) It's such a personal relationship. That that very intimate relationship, yourself, your emotions in that text, whether it's fictional or a poem.   (21:34) For me because it's not seen as well. It's part of me that's really important and that I love and I'm not in touch with it. It's not addressed most of the time. So it was really nice to be able to write about it actually. There's a line in one of the poems from when I was little and we put bells around our ankles, my mum and me and my sister and we'd dance, Indian dancing and I grew up with the films and it goes right through me. But it's not seen.   (18:19) I think there's something that women do that's very different. It's more about working together, worrying about the people, how people feel when they work with you, that they work with you and not for you. That kind of collegiate way of doing things. I can be a bit of a softie. I want to give things away all the time.

Led by a calling that she couldn’t ignore, Payton McGriff, founder of Style Her Empowered (SHE) has made it her mission to keep girls in school. Her company, which started as a project in undergrad, is now an award-winning startup with a scrappy team on three continents, in four cities and across many time zones. In this “Lesson in Courage” we discuss how she assembled it, why she believes it’s important for every woman to use their voice, and why recalibrating her personal values has been key to her success. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: School uniforms have been shown to be one of the most cost-effective ways to keep girls in school around the world. What the day in the life of a schoolgirl in Togo, Africa looks like and the obstacles girls there face towards education. How Payton came into her first round of seed funding to open her doors. Why and how SHE creates uniforms that “grow”. Creating a zero-waste process. Why it’s good to rely on creative input from others when developing a product. Why fighting for your cause and standing behind what your beliefs will drive your ideas to the fullest. Assembling an A-Team dynamic that empowers everyone. *KPMG women's leadership study found that 80% - 86% of women report that when they see more women in leadership, they are encouraged and they can get there themselves. Finding your voice through adversity and articulating your values. How to create thoughtful, circular systems to expand your impact even further. Creating a holistic space for women through courageous pursuits that resemble the natural cycles of our environment. Solving problems based on listening. Women lead from a place of empathy and community because we often feel excluded. #LESSONUP: (7:54) About six months after we provided our first group of girls with new school uniforms, we had 65 girls sponsored and the majority of them had grown out of their school uniform just months into the school year. So we wanted to create a well-tailored dignified uniform that could grow up with these girls and didn't become a repeat barrier to their education. (8:38) We worked at the university that I graduated from with students to try to get the first prototype working that expands and we tried it on our girls in Togo and it just wasn't something they liked. So we honestly tabled the idea for quite a while because we didn't want to impose a product that our girls were not interested in. And then it was about a year later, we looked back at the uniforms and realized there was still some potential there. (9:00) And after about a year and a half of failed attempts at creating a dress that can expand, we came up with the Xi uniform and it grows six sizes a foot in length. And because we know that environmental impacts impact women and girls at a much greater rate, we wanted to create a product that was really truly sustainable and circular and thought about the full process (12:22) There have been moments of burnout during the journey that I think every startup encounters, but it all comes back to just the incredible people that we work with and serve in Togo. (15:53) When I stepped off that ledge into SHE, I had to really meet some incredible people that could help me select the metrics I measured my life by very intentionally. Because I think that is all of the training that you don't get in entrepreneurship classes or programs or competitions. (17:50) I think the fact that we started with something tangible, like a uniform, felt actionable and that was, ever-evolving and wanting to do more, perhaps there is more courage associated with it. (18:34) It's really how you bridge that gap between the first year and really proving your concept. (19:09) There's this quote I love that says talent is equally distributed. Opportunity is not. And so it was just apparent to me that I am someone who really has benefited from a ton of privilege in my life. And so that is on me to start to dismantle the systems that I have benefited from and to start to really redistribute opportunity in an equitable way. Because if I, someone who's benefiting from privilege, am not doing it, nobody's going to and we have to be a huge part of that conversation. (22:58) I think there's absolutely a such thing as feminine leadership. I think it's very much community-based and from a source of empathy and values. I think the conversations that I have with women leaders are very much centered around all stakeholders so that it's not just your customers, it's your employees. There's just a real thoughtfulness and a real care in feminine leadership. And I think that's because we have experienced a system that's not working for us all of the time. (20:42) Having a strong conviction for the problem and a truly deep passion for wanting to solve it I think is always been a successful first step for me. (24:05) It's to create a circular system where girls have access to education and skills training and adult women who've never been able to access the classroom, have access now to education and employment development. So it's these two pieces really serving each other and expanding the impact and doing that all in a way that benefits the environment and creates thoughtful circular systems.

Erica Mackey is a mom on a mission. In this “Lesson on Self-Assurance”, the CEO, and Co-Founder talks founding MyVillage—a company training an army of women entrepreneurs to run their own businesses--raising six million from impact investors and her solutions for the broken, messy problem of childcare in America. If you’re a mom who was told to get on the childcare waitlist while you were still pregnant, this episode is for you. Why the average American mom can’t '“stay-at-home”. What is My Village? Why/how was it founded? What do being humble and “being the rock” have to do with it? How role models like Finland’s Sanna Marin, New Zealand’s Jacinda Arden, and Senator Tammy Duckworth are changing the conversation. Obstacles that women face as working mothers around an unconscious bias. Creating a really powerful on-the-ground community that supports each other. "Why are women expected to work like they don’t have children and mother like they don’t work?" Why aren't childcare providers able to be written off in the same way that other employees are? How Erica’s confidence and passion attracted investors to her business. Women raise on 2.8% of venture capital. How did Mackey raise 250 million and 6 million for her ventures? What is an Impact Investor? Do women lead differently? #LESSONUP: (8:03) We're using a lot of principles that are out there around child centered, child led, play-based programming. But we are doing it in a way that we really help people thrive in their first six to 12 months of running a home based business. (12:54) We're seeing so many more women right in this moment, I think of Jacinda Arden who brings her baby to the UN general assembly for the first time ever. Who's out there breastfeeding. Finland's female prime minister who's the youngest female prime minister in the world and she posts selfies breastfeeding. And then Tammy Duckworth, she got caught on her zoom call saying “ you're going potty mommy will be there in a second.” She told it to the whole democratic caucus, which I thought was hilarious and I personally, I love this. (14:49) That boundary between personal and professional as you start framing it, you can't be the best and exclude the other side. (15:52) We're still having this conversation in the United States, strangely about women who work and should women be allowed to work where you should be at home with your children. And there's still this kind of unconscious bias and this push-pull a lot of the times still between moms who work and moms who don't about what is best for children. (17:34) I think in the world that we're in now where unemployment is going to be a major issue and flexibility around employment and trying to make all of the puzzle pieces work in a way that don't. It's going to have to be at the forefront and the political conversation. (19:00) I built that business over seven years. I was COO and built a thousand person team. We raised about 250 million over the course while I was there to scale the business and at the point that I moved back to the States, we were selling about 10,000 houses a month. (19:53) Focus on solving important problems. And I think that's where a lot of my confidence as an entrepreneur comes from and how you present the opportunity, how you work your way through your network to get to the right conversations at the right time. (20:42) Having a strong conviction to the problem and a true deep passion for wanting solve it I think is always been a successful first step for me. (21:27) I was very specific about picking impact investors for our initial round. Impact investors are really mission-aligned, so they're looking for a double, triple bottom line business. Some of them are environment, profit, people-focused. Some of them are just people profit-focused, so they want a return. But they really understand that the best impact that can be made in a society is usually in a really complex system. (23:20) It's more of a place of leading from self-assurance. If I have doubt about the direction, it's anchored in a place where I'm sure we will get to a solution on the other side. (26:24) Feminine leadership will often will make you much more successful in the connection and coming from a good place, coming from a place of support, which then I think as long as you're delivering the directness, on the other axis at the same time where you're really able to not get hung up by worrying so much about people, how it's going to land, and where it's coming from. A true, honest place. I think that women, in general, are much better at getting that balance. (28:59) This is about creating an army of small female entrepreneurs that are going to change the world but just really tackle the childcare crisis on their own.

When it comes to doing business, hitting the million-dollar mark is an elusive one. In this "lesson on power", Kim interviews Ali Brown, one of the most recognized entrepreneur coaches in the world, about the obstacles women face in reaching it and how they can step into their value, their purpose and build wealth on their own terms. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: How Ali found her calling and why she questioned it. Why the million-dollar mark is elusive and why women stop themselves from reaching it. Obstacles that women face in earning more money. Finding the magic in your business plan. What does AI have to do with it? What Ali thinks about feminine leadership. Why corporations are cultivating leadership skills most women innately possess. Differences between men and women when it comes to earning money. The pressure on women to be everyone to everything. How to embrace the potential in this unplanned-for time and how not to give in to panic. #LESSONUP: (5:01) You're going to be okay and if you allow the space to get the ideas you need right now to receive the support you have right now, to just be open to new things and new ways. That's when stuff starts happening. If you're resisting change, if you're resisting things, especially at this time, that is when you're going to hit a wall. No matter what level you're at, whether you're rich or poor or here or there. But this whole reset for humanity, if you will, I think is on that energetic level is going to really get people to just center again and be open to change. (7:01) When I tapped into that joy…that energy along with the practice of learning how to price myself right and not undervalue my services…as long as I followed that path, the money started to flow. (7:45) If you're at a point right now that you're not sure which direction to go, I think it takes some time and pull in, but then think about “where can I connect that value with the joy?” Because that's the magic formula.  (9:52) We lead more by feeling and it's very interesting that all these qualities are becoming extremely recognized and felt and viewed as credible in the corporate world. (12:50) You should aim for a million in revenues. So aim for that. Have fun, plan, dream, look at how could I, how could I do that? Not like, I can't do that, but how could I, we forget to dream. We forget to try on, we forget to play. And your business can be a part of that. The numbers can be a part of that. (15:06) I help lead the leaders and lift them up cause this is new for them. This is new for our generation to have this kind of money, to have this kind of power to help them decide how to use it at the same time (16:01) Money amplifies who you are. We need more women with money. (16:20) I think we grow up, a lot of women just think that money being used as power in a bad way. We've never seen it used in the way that we could be using it in.