Podcasts about beyonc

Many articles, films, and interviews have been made about Illmind's extraordinary career producing many albums for several of the top names in Hip-Hop today. This isn't one of those interviews. In this week's episode, John digs deep into the early experiences and upbringing that shaped Ramon Ibanga Jr - AKA !llmind - as a musician and planted the seeds of what has become a life's quest towards community building. After years of social innovation within the Producer Community, we catch up with this 2x GRAMMY Award winning artist just days before he speaks at Gary Vaynerchuck's VeeCon and just a couple months after the launch of his landmark NFT project: Squad of Knights.  MUSICAL MENTIONS 0:00:10 World Music Foundation Podcast 0:00:12 John Gardner 0:00:18 GRAMMY 0:00:20 Multi-Platinum 0:00:21 Producer 0:00:26 !llmind (aka Illmind) 0:00:38 DMX's Second Album 0:18:59 Pete Rock 0:18:59 DJ Quik 0:18:59 Dr. Dre 0:20:02 undergroundhiphop.com   Music Producer Community Forum   Producer   Beats 0:20:23 SoundCloud 0:20:32 Bounce an MP3   Single 0:21:48 Akrobatik 0:21:56 Remind My Soul   12-Inch Vinyl Single 0:22:11 Fat Beats NYC   Mount Rushmore of Hip-Hop   Jay Z   Beyoncé   Kanye West   J Cole 0:24:48 Little Brother 0:24:58 Atlantic Records 0:25:16 G Unit   G Unit Records 0:25:59 Cruel Summer 0:26:11 Rhymefest 0:27:20 Pass the Aux 0:28:09 BLAP 0:28:22 DJ 0:28:32 Cypher 0:28:47 New York City 0:29:12 BLAP on the Radio 0:29:57 Recording Studio 0:30:32 Web 3 0:31:21 Bitcoin 0:32:00 Squad of Knights 0:32:02 NFT 0:32:59 Piano 0:33:00 Guitar 0:33:01 Drum Set 0:33:02 Beat Machines 0:33:33 Music Software 0:33:35 Music Hardware 0:33:39 Cables   BLAP Kit 0:35:19 ZIP File 0:37:20 Snare 0:37:26 EQ 0:37:35 TR-88 Machine 0:37:38 Foley 0:37:55 Sound Design   Squad of Knights   Rhymefest   Skyzoo   Live from the Tape Deck by Skyzoo and Illmind   Kanye West   Audio Engineers   Music Producers   PFP   Moonwalk   Wallet   Metaverse   Gary Vaynerchuk   VeeCon   Discord   Chronicles of S.O.K. (Squad of Knights)   Executive Producer   Arrangements   Mixing   Quincy Jones   R&B   OpenSea   LooksRare   Ethereum   Tabla   Sitar 1:04:38 Liturgical Music 1:04:48 Notes 1:04:48 Bending Notes 1:04:51 Sliding Notes 1:04:59 “High Lonesome Sound” 1:05:00 Bill Monroe 1:05:01 Bluegrass  

JAY-Z,  was born Shawn Corey Carter, on December 4, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York, here in the U.S..   He grew up in Brooklyn's Marcy Projects in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood, which was pretty rough at the time, where he was raised mainly by his mother, Gloria Carter, who says Shawn used to wake up the household at night, banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table.   His mother bought him his first boombox for his birthday, which set him off on his love of music.   Shawn's father, Adnis Reeves bailed out on his family, including Shawn's three siblings, at a young age but they rekindled their relationship right before Adnis passed away.   Shawn has said, through his lyrics, that when he was younger he had once shot his older drug addicted brother, Eric, in the shoulder for stealing his jewelry.    While in the 6th grade, Jay tested at a 12th grade reading level.   Shawn went to Eli Whitney high school in Brooklyn, along with AZ, the longtime friend and co collaborator of Nas and The Firm, who has been revered as “one of the most underrated lyricists of our time.”   After the closing of his high school, Shawn attended the George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School. There, he would be amongst future Icons and Outlaws alumni Busta Rhymes and Biggie Smalls, the one and only Notorious B.I.G.   Shawn then attended Trenton Central High School, shortly, before dropping out.   He claims to have been selling crack at this time and was even shot at three times.   His firsthand experience with illicit drug dealing would form his lyrics when he began rapping under the stage name Jazzy, soon shortened to Jay-Z (a name that may also have been derived from the proximity of the J and Z subway lines to the Marcy Projects or possibly an Homage to his rapping mentor, Jaz-O).   He lived in London in 1989 for a short time. JAY recorded music with Monie Love and soaked in the culture, before moving back to the States.    You can hear Jay on some of Jaz-O's earlier recordings from the 80's and 90's, like “H.P. Gets Busy”, “Hawaiian Sofie” and “The Originators.”   In the early 90's, Jay-Z found himself involved in rap battles with LL Cool J, who eventually had a falling out while they were both involved at Def Jam. They've resolved their differences since then.   Big Daddy Kane's 1994 album, “Daddy's Home”, introduced the world to Jay in the song “Show and Prove”, a posse cut that had multiple rappers doing verses on one track.   Big Daddy Kane has said in regards to Jay being referred to as his “hype man,”  “When I would leave the stage to go change outfits, I would bring out Jay-Z and Positive K (“I Got A Man”) and let them freestyle until I came back to the stage.”     Jay then found himself appearing on Big L's “Da Graveyard” and alongside young versions of DMX and Ja Rule (Holla Holla) in 1995.   1995 also saw Jay's first official single, “In My Lifetime” that had a music video as well as an unreleased video for the song's B-Side, “I Can't Get With that.”   What do you do when you want to get your music out but have no financial backing from a record label? You get out and hustle your album yourself. Jay Z would spend hours a day selling CD's out of his car.   Tired of not getting where he wanted to be in the music world, Jay-Z and two friends, Damon Dash and Kareem Burke, founded their own company and independent record label, Roc-A-Fella Records, in 1995 to release his debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996). It eventually sold more than a million copies in the United States, certifying it platinum and hes been revered as “one of the greatest rap albums ever” and, arguably, “Jay-Z's best work.”   This album featured beats by renowned producers like DJ Premier and DJ Clark Kent and even had very early appearances from the Notorious B.I.G. and the queen, Mary J Blige.   Reasonable Doubt debuted at 23 on the Billboard 200 and charted for 18 weeks.   The four singles from this album were “Dead Presidents”, “Ain't No N Word”, “Can't Knock the Hustle”, and “Feelin It”. It would later make Rolling Stone's Magazines “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”   A string of successful albums followed at a rate of at least one per year through 2003. Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life (1998) was not only one of the first of Jay-Z's releases to top the Billboard 200 album chart but also won him his first Grammy Award, for best rap album.    This record saw Jay relying more on “wordplay and flow” and featured beats by DJ Premier, Erick Sermon from future Icons, EPMD, Kid Capri and Swizz Beatz, who was a producer for DMX and the record label, Ruff Ryders as well as Timbaland.   Singles from this album included “Can I Get A..”, featuring Ja Rule and Amil, as well as several other head bobbin' bangers.    Vol. 2 would go on to sell over 5 million copies. Remember how we said he won a grammy for this album? He actually boycotted the awards ceremony, contesting the failure to include DMX as a Grammy nominee.   1999 saw Jay working with Mariah Carey on the chart topping song, “Heartbreaker”, which would be his first chart topper in the US. Thanks Mariah!   The same year, Jay released “Vol 3… Life and Times of S. Carter”, selling over 3 million copies with singles like “Big Pimpin.”   The Year 2000 saw the release of yet another album, “The Dynasty: Roc La Familia”. Not originally intended to be a Jay Z album, it was initially recorded to be a compilation record for the Roc-A-Fella artist roster, but Def Jam released it as a Jay-Z joint.   However, this record introduced the world to up and coming producers, The Neptunes and a guy named Pherrel Williams, Bink, Just Blaze and some guy named Kanye West.   The album is considered “more soulful” and has gone twice platinum. That's almost 9 million copies, total. Not too bad for a high school drop out.   In the midst of all this success, there were some fairly prominent feuds with other rappers.   In 2001, Prodigy from Mobb Deep had a problem with a line from Jay in his song “Money, Cash, Hoes” that he felt was talking smack about a dispute he had with Death Row Records, most notably, 2 Pac and Snoop Dogg.   I looked up the lyrics and the only line that I could find that seemed remotely close to a diss was:   “Us the villains, fuck your feelings While y'all playa hate, we in the upper millions What's the dealing? Huh, it's like New York's been soft Ever since Snoop came through and crushed the buildings” Later that year, at Summer Jam 2001, Jay performed the song “Takeover”, which attacked Prodigy with the lines:   “I don't care if you Mobb Deep, I hold triggers to crews You little, I got money stacks bigger than you When I was pushing weight, back in '88 You was a ballerina, I got the pictures, I seen ya Then you dropped "Shook Ones, " switched your demeanor Well, we don't believe you, you need more people Roc-A-Fella, students of the game, we passed the class 'Cause nobody can read you dudes like we do Don't let 'em gas you, like, "Jigga is ass and won't clap you" Trust me on this one, I'll detach you Mind from spirit, body from soul They'll have to hold a mass, put your body in a hole Oh no, you're not on my level, get your brakes tweaked I sold what your whole album sold in my first week You guys don't want it with Hov Ask Nas, he don't want it with Hov, no!”   Jay then proceeded to reveal photos of Prodigy dressed up like Michael Jackson.   That last line then started beef with Nas that went back and forth until 2005.   The critically acclaimed The Blueprint (2001), Jay's 6th album, featuring the triumphant hit “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” solidified his status as one of the preeminent voices in hip-hop at the dawn of the 21st century.    That album was released literally hours before the infamous 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.   The Blueprint was written in only two days and hit double platinum status, selling 2.7 million albums by 2012.   This album was revered for its production and for being able to “balance mainstream and hardcore rap”.   As opposed to other Jay-Z releases, the Blueprint had only one guest rapper, a fella by the name “Eminem”, who assisted Jay on the track, “Renegade.”   Kanye West was back in the mix producing 4 songs on the album.   The Library of Congress chose “the Blueprint” for preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2019 for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”   A legendary singer can actually be heard singing in the song “Girls, Girls, Girls”, another single from “The Blueprint”. Michael Jackson. "He was on my song ‘Girls, Girls, Girls', singing these background vocals and I didn't even put his name on it,” Jay once revealed in an interview with NME.   Shortly after its release, Jay-Z pleaded guilty to assault relating to a 1999 nightclub stabbing of record producer Lance Rivera at the Kit Kat Club in New York City at an album release party for Q-Tip (Tribe Called Quest) and received three years' probation, but the incident did little to derail his career. Apparently, the altercation happened due to Jay accusing Rivera of bootlegging his albums.   Always a busy man, Jay-Z dropped his 6th record, the double album, “The Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse”, in 2002. It sold over 3 million copies in JUST the U.S., selling more than his previous album, “The Blueprint”, and debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one!    A reissued version, dubbed “The Blueprint 2.1”, was later released as a single disc album and had half of the songs that were on the double record, including the hits “Excuse Me Miss” and “03 Bonnie & Clyde”, which featured the queen B, Beyonce.   Lenny Kravitz, Faith Evans, Biggie and Kanye all had appearances on this album and actually had the songs “Stop”, “La La La”, “What They Gonna Do, Part 2”, and “Beware” on it; these were songs that were not on “The Blueprint 2.”   Also in 2002, Jay-Z released a collaborative album called “The Best Of Both Worlds” with a guy who's been in the news quite often the past years, R. Kelly. The first single from this record was “Honey”, which sampled “Love You Inside Out” by the Bee Gees. None of the singles charted.   Ahead of the release of The Black Album (2003), however, Jay-Z announced his retirement as a performer. The “farewell recording” proved to be one of his most popular, with killer singles like “99 Problems' ' and “Dirt Off Your Shoulder (you can listen to our version at the end of the show and on the official Icons and Outlaws Spotify playlist.    The Black Album was produced by Rick Rubin, and featured other hit makers like Eminem, Kanye, The Neptunes, DJ Quick and The Neptunes, attracting considerable attention. This album has sold over 3 million copies in the US. Jay threw a “retirement party” on November 25th, 2003. However, unlike most of us that would rent out the back room at Outback Steakhouse and invite people from work and the few family members we can tolerate, this was a concert. A concert held at Madison Square Garden in New York.    The footage taken at the “party” would wind up being the central focus of Jay-Z's documentary, “Fade to Black”. All of the proceeds from the party went to charity,   Other performers that rocked the stage were his backing band, The Roots, Missy Elliot, Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Ghostface Killa from Wu Tang, the speed rapper, Twista, and so many more. Both Tupac and Biggie's mother's, Afeni Shakur & Voletta Wallace even made a special appearance.    As Jay-Z had claimed that he would “retire”, it was more of a retirement from making new studio albums. It didn't stop him from touring, releasing a greatest hits record and making a second collaboration album with R. Kelly, named “Unfinished Business.” This time, the release debuted at number one in the US on the Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum. 2004 was another busy year as he assumed the presidency of Def Jam Recordings, making him one of the most highly placed African American executives in the recording industry at the time. This new role led to his Roc A Fella partners selling off their shares of Roc A Fella and Jay taking control of BOTH companies. Absolutely killing it!   As I mentioned, Jay-Z stayed extremely active in music. He collaborated with the rock group and future Icons and Outlaws featured artist, Linkin Park in 2004. This record was a remix EP dubbed “Collision Course” that featured mashups of songs from both artists. The only single from the record, “Numb/Encore '' wound up winning a Grammy for “Best Rap/Sung Collaboration”. Linkin Park performed the song live at the Grammys and featured the one and only Sir Paul McCartney of the Beatles, who sang verses from the iconic song “Yesterday. The EP went platinum in the US.   Speaking of Linkin Park, Jay-Z executive produced the debut album of Fort Minor, the side project from Mike Shinoda.   In 2005, Jay-Z headlined the Power 105.1 annual concert in New York called the “I Declare War” concert leading people to speculate who he was “declaring war on” as he'd had a history of calling out other artists. However, it was quite the opposite. The concert wound up being an end to the rivalry between Jay and Nas with the two sharing the stage and performing a blended version of Jay-Z's “Dead Presidents” and Nas's “The World Is Yours.”  Jay appeared as a guest vocalist on the recordings of numerous other artists, including Kanye West, whose career he had helped foster, and Beyoncé, whom he had begun dating. (The two would be married in 2008.) Jay-Z also developed a large portfolio of business ventures and investments, including a film-production company, a clothing line, and a stake in the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association, which he later helped relocate to his hometown of Brooklyn.    He formally returned to recording in 2006 with his next album,Kingdom Come, which released the single, “Show Me What You Got”. This single was leaked a month earlier than it was supposed to and wound up being played in heavy radio rotation. This leak led to Def Jam prompting an FBI investigation into how it could have been leaked. I couldn't find much more about the investigation.   Kingdom Come, Jay-Z's ninth album, featured songs produced by Pharrell, Kanye, Just Blaze, Dr. Dre and, oddly enough, Coldplay's Chris Martin. It sold over 680,000 copies in its first week and has gone double platinum.    In 2007, Jay-Z released his tenth album, American Gangster on November 6th, which was inspired by the gangster movie of the same name, by Ridley Scott.  This record was considered a concept album with Jay depicting his life as a street hustler. The first single off of the album, “Blue Magic” starts off with what has been called a “dealer's manifesto” and refers to political figures of the 1980's like Reagan and Oliver North.    He has his own color. In 2007, JAY-Z spent tens of thousands of dollars for the Pantone Color Institute to create a hue just for him. Described as a pearly blue with platinum dust, the color was first introduced on his own limited edition line of GM Yukon Denali later that year. On January 1st, 2008 Jay stepped down as Def Jam president. He founded a new label, Roc Nation, in 2008, and it soon became a full-service entertainment conglomerate.   Jay-Z proved that he remained one of rap's most-bankable acts when he embarked on a highly successful tour with Mary J. Blige in 2008. The following year he released The Blueprint 3, which bore the sound of some of his most frequent producers, including West and Timbaland. The album generated such hits as “Empire State of Mind,” a musical love letter to New York City adorned with soaring guest vocals by Alicia Keys, and the determined “Run This Town,” which featured West and Rihanna. Both songs won Grammy Awards, as did two other singles from the album. Watch the Throne (2011), an ambitious and highly regarded collaboration with West, proved to be similarly fruitful, with the singles “Otis,” “Niggas in Paris,” and “No Church in the Wild” capturing Grammys as well. In between the two releases, Jay-Z published a memoir, Decoded (2010).   Jay Z (having dropped the hyphen from his name) returned in 2013 with Magna Carta Holy Grail, which, in an exclusive deal with Samsung, was made available for free to users of the company's smartphones several days ahead of its official release. Although the album, on which the rapper reflected on his massive wealth and fame, was greeted with mostly lukewarm reviews, it became his 13th release to land at number one on the Billboard 200. It also produced two Grammy wins: one for best rap/sung collaboration for “Holy Grail” and another for best music video for “Suit & Tie.” He received two more Grammys a year later for his collaboration on Beyoncé's song “Drunk in Love.”   In 2017 JAY-Z (having capitalized the letters and reinstated the hyphen in his name) released his 13th studio solo album, 4:44, an extremely candid album that was, in part, a response to Beyoncé's Lemonade (2016), on which she accused her husband of adultery. He admitted to infidelity on various tracks and also addressed racism and politics. The couple's albums were both released exclusively on TIDAL—a subscription-based music streaming service that JAY-Z owned alongside other artists. JAY-Z had acquired the service in 2015 when he purchased its parent, the Norwegian technology company Aspiro AB. Also in 2017 JAY-Z became the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2018 he and Beyoncé, billed as the Carters, unveiled the collaborative effort Everything Is Love, for which they won the Grammy for best urban contemporary album.   In 2021 JAY-Z was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.   JAY-Z is as iconic an entrepreneur and businessman as he is a recording artist. He's been involved in everything from having his own collection through Reebok in 2003, starting his own clothing line and selling it for $204 million, owning a chain of upscale sports bars called the 40/40 Club, being an investor in a line of beauty products, being a co-brand director for Budweiser Select and owning the Brooklyn Nets basketball team until 2013.   He's been an investor in an app to help rich folk book executive plane flights, launched his own cigar line, bought a wine and spirits company, signed an exclusive deal with the Weinstein Company, producing a documentary on Kalief Browder, a man imprisoned for three years and who committed suicide when he was released.   As recently as 2020 he announced the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment, a partnership between his own Roc Nation and Brooklyn's Long Island University, which “prepares students for a wide range of careers in performance, entrepreneurship, and all aspects of music, sports business and management.”   In November of that same year, he announced his joining of a cannabis production company as their “Chief Visionary Officer.”   He made Grammy history last month. JAY-Z recently became tied for the most Grammy nominations in history with 80. He shares that distinction with legendary producer Quincy Jones. He's also married to the person who currently holds the record for second most Grammy nominations: Beyoncé's 9 nominations at the end of November put her at 79 over the course of her career.     Jay Z is ranked the 88th best artist - of any genre - of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.   From running around the rough and tough alleys of the Marcy projects to becoming a mogul of multiple companies, Jay-Z is the living embodiment of what hard work and perseverance can achieve. Jay-Z's net worth, presently, is 1.3 Billion dollars, giving him the infallible title of “Hip Hop's First Billionaire.” www.britannica.com www.wikipedia.com www.jayz.com Consider Becoming a Producer of the Show! www.iconsandoutlaws.com www.accidentaldads.com  

Join Alyssa and Brittany as they discuss tattoos and books about tattoos! Titles we discuss: Thank u, Next by Ariana Grande, David Hasselhoff's music career, Barbra Streisand albums, La La Land, Hamilton: An American Musical, Kinky Boots, Cats, Wicked, Dear Evan Hanson, Mean Girls, Sound of Music, Tell Me a Tattoo Story by Alison McGhee, The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris, Dark Archives by Megan Rosenbloom, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon, They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, The Haunted Mansion, Blindspot, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer, Inside Any Schumer, I Feel Pretty, Trainwreck, Hercules, The King of Staten Island, Sweetener By Ariana Grande, Lemonade by Beyoncé

Auntea Jerrell is still struggling with his thighs. Aunteas Kerel and Dawon go to Broadway to watch Take Me Out to see what all the hoopla around Jesse Williams and his dick is all about! Congrat to Willow Pill! It's Political Season and the ads are getting crazier and crazier! This week's Ask Yo Aunteas question asks if we can be both Socially Liberal and Fiscally Conservative based on a comment Dawon made in the summer of 2020. The crew also resonds to an update from last week's AYA around Mental Health. Congrats to the new Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, the first Black and LGBTQIA Press Secretary! There are whispers that Beyonce may be working House Music and the Aunteas are gagged! Janet slays at the Derby! That's What's Brewing Today. So, Get Your Cups Ready For Minoritea Report! Follow Us- MERCH: MinoriteaReport.com Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo_xKK1VRhPrVMQxm1SzTCg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minoriteareport/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MinoriTeaReport/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MTeaReport Email Us- AYA@minoriTeaReport.com Spotify Playlist- https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0rVJtKJmesMkCgVKmJwc46?si=1455491d0a4049b5 Time Stamps: 3:15- My secret relationship 5:45- Jesse Williams Dick 29:15- Willow 29:47- Political Season 34:49- Tea Break 35:37- AYA 59:51- AYA follow-up from Epi 170- Mental Health Awareness 1:11:48- Karine Press Secretary 1:12:40- Beyonce House Music? 1:18:12- Janet at The Derby 1:21:45- Elon Musk

As the Federal Reserve's efforts to tame inflation roil both stocks and bonds, investors everywhere are struggling to figure out the best way to play defense in markets amid concerns that a recession is on the horizon. One of the top executives at Goldman Sachs Asset Management has a surprising idea: Beyoncé. Katie Koch, the chief investment officer for public equities at GSAM, quips that “Beyoncé is ultimately recession-resistant” and so are other popular artists. That's why the portfolios she helps oversee own shares of live-concert companies in the U.S. and Europe. While Live Nation Entertainment Inc. got hit hard during last year's Covid-19 lockdowns, she points out that the company actually weathered the previous recession well and managed to grow revenue in both 2008 and 2009. “So the consumer will spend in a recession,” she says, but “they'll be quite selective in terms what they spend on.” Another example is beauty products, she adds. And Koch doesn't buy the notion that China is uninvestable: “You can buy assets here in the US as well as assets in China that are overly discounted for something that we know is eventually going to work out, which is that the economy will reopen” Koch joined this this week's episode of the “What Goes Up” podcast to discuss the state of play in markets and why -- despite share prices that have crashed over the past year -- investing in innovative companies is still a good idea for the long term.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The children of Trinidadian immigrants growing up in Montreal, Jamella Bailey, President, and Founder of Crüe Cosmetics, dreaded the hair maintenance process. It led her to spend many years hiding her hair under braids and protective styles. But her quest for a Beyoncé-like lace front cost her more than the expensive price tag for the wig. The stylist she visited glued the wig directly to her hairline, with traumatic results in hair loss, scalp irritation, and traction alopecia.  Jamella couldn't use most of the products she found in her pharmacy without additional irritation. This life-changing experience led her to research natural ingredients and start blending products in her kitchen, and she used friends and family as testers. She knew that she had found the right formula for her first product, a Growth Serum, when her testers started buying the product and asking for more. As a result, Crüe officially launched in 2016 with four hand-made formulas housed in amber glass jars.  Jamella initially thought her target audience would be other Black Canadian women with hair damage but quickly found that those issues attracted a much wider audience than she ever imagined. She shares the challenges Black beauty founders face in being pigeonholed in specific categories. Jamella has honed her craft along the way, taking photochemistry courses to become a better formulator and recently being a certified trichologist. She also shares why she must consider regulatory rules if she expands her business beyond Canada.  However, in the meantime, she is expanding the Crüe Cosmetics line in the coming months to add shampoos and conditioners to complement her existing treatment line. And she plans to expand beyond her e-commerce model to include salons that can retail her products and use them in treatments.  And Jamella has plans to put her trichology certification to good use in the future.  Follow Crüe Cosmetics on Instagram and Facebook.

Gabby is a Women's Life Coach who focuses on guiding women from being the backup dancers to the Beyoncé of their lives. She has been through it and she shares her rock bottom in this episode. I really enjoyed talking with her about the important topics like codependency, self-love, and turning inward when patterns start to occur. The word “hard” came up a lot during the interview and I really appreciate it. Because this work is not average. It's certainly not easy. And I have found that the most rewarding things in my life come with doing something hard. And oftentimes the hard becomes easy as I get better at it. Tune in to hear more about this lively conversation. Follow Gabby on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabrielle.0livia/ (@gabrielle.0livia) Visit Gabby's website: http://www.lifecoachingwithgabby.carrd.co/ (www.lifecoachingwithgabby.carrd.co) Follow Lit AF on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsmesarahcohan/ (@itsmesarahcohan.com) Visit the Lit AF Website: https://www.sarahcohan.com/ (https://www.sarahcohan.com/) Thank you so much for listening. Please leave a rating and a review for the Lit AF podcast. This really helps to grow the Lit AF community. And please share this episode with your friend, it will make them feel good. Are you loving the Lit AF podcast? Make a one-time or recurring donation to thehttps://www.sarahcohan.com/tipjar ( tip jar) to support the show. THANK YOU.

Welcome to Episode 900 Cynthia Chaplin interviews Dr. Akilah Cadet, in this new installment of Voices, on the Italian Wine Podcast. More about today's guest: As a young Black woman, Dr. Akilah Cadet experienced judgement, "isms", and numerous barriers in the workplace. One day she thought, “what if I could change that?” and Change Cadet was started. Cadet, her last name, is a French term that means soldier. Change Cadet prepares individuals and companies to be soldiers of change in the workforce so there can be more women and people of color at the top. She wants everyone to feel empowered in their career. To accomplish this, she provides people and companies with services that support anti-racism, diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging (DEIB) including executive coaching, strategic planning, facilitation, and crisis recovery. She advises tech startups from concept to staffing, facilitates strategic workshops, coaches leaders, and speaks at various engagements. Dr. Cadet has 15+ years in management and building successful projects, teams, and leaders in the public and private sectors. She is a 2021 Forbes Next 1000 Honoree and honored as one of Staffing Industry Analysts' (SIA) 2021 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Influencers. Forbes and the Wall Street Journal Diversity and Business Newsletter have featured her work. She has worked on federal, state, and privately funded multimillion-dollar projects ranging from public health/healthcare to education. She has spent an extensive part of her career designing training, coaching executives, and informing systematic change to improve the workforce experience for large organizations. Currently, she is a Store Ambassador with Lululemon. Dr. Cadet holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Education in Community Based Public Health, a Master of Public Health, and a Doctorate of Health Sciences in Leadership and Organizational Behavior. But more importantly, she lives in/loves Oakland, has an incredible shoe game, and is a proud Beyoncé advocate. If you want to learn more about today's guests, you can by visiting: safeya@changecadet.com akilah@changecadet.com About today's Host: Cynthia Chaplin is a Vinitaly International Academy certified Italian Wine Ambassador, a professional sommelier with Fondazione Italiana Sommelier, a member of Le Donne del Vino, and a Professor of Italian wine and culture. Born in the USA, Cynthia moved to Europe in 1990 where she has lived in Spain, Belgium, England and Italy. She chose to center her career in Rome and immerse herself in the Italian wine sector, which is her passion. She has taught university students and expats, works with embassies, corporations and private clients, creating and presenting tastings, events, seminars and in-depth courses. Cynthia is a wine writer, translator, and a judge at international wine and sake competitions. She consults with restaurants and enotecas assisting in the development of comprehensive wine lists and excellent food pairings, as well as advising private clients who want to develop a comprehensive Italian wine collection. She lives with her British photographer husband on the shore of Lake Bracciano, north of Rome, where they share their beautiful garden with one massive grapevine, two border collies and an arrogant diva cat. If you want to learn more about today's host, you can by visiting: Facebook: Italian Wines in English Instagram: kiss_my_glassx Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-chaplin-190647179/ Let's keep in touch! Follow us on our social media channels: Instagram @italianwinepodcast Facebook @ItalianWinePodcast Twitter @itawinepodcast Tiktok @MammaJumboShrimp LinkedIn @ItalianWinePodcast If you feel like helping us, donate here www.italianwinepodcast.com/donate-to-show/ Until next time, Cin Cin!

Writer, Speaker and Producer Dev Ramsawakh talks with Chloé Cooper Jones—Pulitzer Prize finalist, philosophy professor, Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant recipient—about Easy Beauty , her groundbreaking memoir about disability, motherhood, and a journey to far-flung places in search of a new way of seeing and being seen. “I am in a bar in Brooklyn, listening to two men, my friends, discuss whether my life is worth living.” So begins Chloé Cooper Jones's bold, revealing account of moving through the world in a body that looks different than most. Jones learned early on to factor “pain calculations” into every plan, every situation. Born with a rare congenital condition called sacral agenesis which affects both her stature and gait, her pain is physical. But there is also the pain of being judged and pitied for her appearance, of being dismissed as “less than.” The way she has been seen—or not seen—has informed her lens on the world her entire life. She resisted this reality by excelling academically and retreating to “the neutral room in her mind” until it passed. But after unexpectedly becoming a mother (in violation of unspoken social taboos about the disabled body), something in her shifts, and Jones sets off on a journey across the globe, reclaiming the spaces she'd been denied, and denied herself. From the bars and domestic spaces of her life in Brooklyn to sculpture gardens in Rome; from film festivals in Utah to a Beyoncé concert in Milan; from a tennis tournament in California to the Killing Fields of Phnom Penh, Jones weaves memory, observation, experience, and aesthetic philosophy to probe the myths underlying our standards of beauty and desirability, and interrogates her own complicity in upholding those myths.

On this episode of The Kids Table, we're talking to Terrill Haigler, better known as “YaFavTrashman” to his 30,000 followers on Instagram. Terrill is a former sanitation worker in Philadelphia who has used his voice, charisma and influence to advocate for sanitation work - and all other essential workers- in Philadelphia and surrounding communities. We hope you'll enjoy this conversation with the self-proclaimed “Beyonce of Trash-” and maybe learn something about how to turn social media fame into real impact.

Adele celebrated her 34th birthday on Cinco de Mayo. Beyoncé earned a Daytime Emmy nomination from her mother's show. Facebook is projected to lose a large amount of teen users to other platforms.

Han var övertygad om att han skulle bli hårdrocksstjärna, men blev en av världens främsta musikvideoregissörer. Jonas Åkerlund har levt i ett rasande tempo. Först nu börjar han blicka bakåt. Varför? I Sveriges Radios Söndagsintervjun möter du personen bakom offentlighetens mask i journalistikens mest grundläggande form intervjun.Programledare är Martin Wicklin.Producent: Ulrika Stenström.Kontakt: sondagsintervjun@sr.seOm Jonas ÅkerlundJonas Åkerlund är mest känd för sin banbrytande musikvideoproduktion på uppdrag av världens artistelit. Det stora genombrottet kom med Madonnas Ray of light 1998, men sen dess har han haft hundratals samarbeten, med bland andra U2, Rollings Stones, Beyoncé, Rihanna och Coldplay. Men allt tog sin början när han av en slump fick jobb på det legendariska reklamfilmsbolaget Mekano, vilket blev hans filmskola och starten på hans yrkeskarriär. Vid sidan av reklamfilm har han även regisserat kortfilm, dokumentärer och ett antal långfilmer. Nu är han aktuell med en serie för Netflix om Clark Olofssons liv.

On today's scandal chat - Selena Gomez and Cara Delavigne are in a new season of 'Only Murders In The Building' - but were they once together? Annnd find out what award Beyoncé has won for the first time...this chat brings up memories for Eli :(  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Beth Hart over Zoom video!The Grammy-nominated vocalist Beth Hart has been gearing up for the release of her “Black Dog” music video for months, but unfortunately for undisclosed reasons, she isn't able to include the audio. Never one to withhold from her fans, Hart decided to release the video anyway – just without the audio – in what may be the first ever “silent” music video release. Directed by Greg Watermann, the “Black Dog” music video comes on the heels of Hart's latest album ‘A Tribute To Led Zeppelin,' which pays tribute to one of the most formative musical influences of her career. At the helm during the recording of ‘A Tribute To Led Zeppelin' was super-producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance) and engineer Doug McKean (Goo Goo Dolls, Adam Lambert). The A-list musicians include Cavallo on guitar along with Tim Pierce (Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner); on bass was Chris Chaney (Rob Zombie, Slash);on keyboards was Jamie Muhoberac (Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones); on drums was Dorian Crozier (Celine Dion, Miley Cyrus, Joe Cocker), and Matt Laug played drums on Stairway To Heaven (Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper). Orchestral arrangements were by David Campbell (Muse, Beyoncé). All that was left was the final piece of the puzzle...the voice. Things clicked into place when Cavallo was producing Hart's previous album, ‘War In My Mind' (2019), and she did an impromptu version of "Whole Lotta Love" in the studio. He later asked about doing a whole record. Earlier on in Beth's career, former VP of Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label, Alan Callan, recommended Beth contact Jeff Beck to work together. Hart and Beck have gone on to form a beautiful friendship. Beck and Jimmy Page are also friends, and for a while, bandmates in The Yardbirds. After Beck's departure from the band, they would eventually become Led Zeppelin. We want to hear from you! Please email Tera@BringinitBackwards.com. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #LedZeppelin #BethHart #NewMusic #zoom Listen & Subscribe to BiB https://www.bringinitbackwards.com/follow/ Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! https://www.facebook.com/groups/bringinbackpod

This week we get to know, Rachel Silva who is the Executive Administrator, Chief of Staff, and Chief of Operations at The Coffee Guy in Pensacola! Loved hearing how the Holy Spirit showed up for her through a child who gave her the exact money she needed for her bus trip. That amount was exactly what she needed to pay the bus driver. Only God! Thanks for listening.  #LoveMyCoffeeGuy IG: https://www.instagram.com/coffeeguycafe/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coffeeguycafe/ If you want to see their full menu, go here: https://coffeeguycafe.com/menu/ Pictures of the inside of Coffee Guy: https://coffeeguycafe.com/gallery/coffee-guy/ Their website: https://coffeeguycafe.com/

This week I'm answering YOUR questions from social media and we are covering topics from donuts to Beyoncé songs to poetry performance and writing tips. Listen in as I talk about all the things!    To get transcripts, links, and details from each episode, check out the show notes. To continue your support of the podcast and my work, become a member of my Patreon community where you can get access to archived episodes, bonus episodes, and behind the scenes content. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter, for podcast clips, poetry quotes and random quips. For information on how to book me to speak or perform at an event, visit amenabrown.com. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian make their red carpet debut, Beyoncé finds Lizzo's baby pic, and does Katie Holmes have a new beau after her breakup with Jamie Foxx? Comedian and actress Gabrielle Dennis cohosts, so tune in to today's Dish Nation for the dish!

Toby Gad ist einer der erfolgreichsten Songwriter. Er hat Hits für Beyonce, Madonna und John Legend geschrieben. Aktuell ist er DSDS-Juror. Auf der Blauen Couch spricht er mit Thorsten Otto über das Geheimnis richtig guter Songs.

Late servin Sunday's tea. Now it's just motivation Monday! Anything goes here.#workout #WerQ #80s #club #tea Dance #tiktok #2000s #80s #90s #00s #10s #20s #dancecast #dance podcast #exercise #werk #werkout    - variety, club dance 2022 back to 80s1.runaway-deelite2.lets have a kiki - scissor sisters3.training..2 3 4 5 6 7 8 - dirty disco4.All the single ladies (put a ring on it) - Beyoncé (where's Paul at Woodys when I need him?  lol)5.Only in my dreams - Debbie G6.Born this way - Gaga 7.I feel good-Jeanie Tracie  Edson Pride8.Hung up - Madonna9.your love is my love - whitney10.absolutely not - deborah cox11.calling mr vain - culture beat12.dont call me baby - madison avenue13. One Kiss - Dua Lipa 14.shape of you - ed sheeran15.(why is daddy at the) thai massage - aron chupa ft little sis nora16.hella good - no doubt17.breathe - Michele branch18.SOS - Rihanna19.rain on me - ariana and gaga20.in de ghetto - skrillex21.let me think about it - ida corr / fedde le grande remixed 100x22.the business - the business23.drop a house, on that bitch - (feat. Heather Leigh West) [Razor N Guido)24.we fell in love - rihanna25.starships - nicki minaj26.macarthur park - the queen of disco - donna summer27.show me love - Robin S28.young hearts  - candi station

Hear why a great customer experience means everything I am always excited to share a great woman's story with you, our audience. Melissa Copeland is a great woman to know. She had a wonderful career, as so many women have had, only to discover that flying all over the world was not great for her family, or even herself. She pivoted and launched Blue Orbit Consulting, which allowed her to refocus her attention on clients closer to home and on projects dear to her heart—like improving customer interactions for her customers. Our conversations roam all around the challenges she, and I, see among our clients as their customers are changing, service expectations have dramatically shifted (where fast means right now), and staffing has become an uphill climb, to say the least. What to do? Call Melissa, who brings her expertise in organizational transitions and interpersonal growth and development to the task at hand. Clients love her approach, and I think you will as well. Enjoy.  Watch and listen to our conversation here At SAMC, the topic of culture change is one we know a great deal about What I enjoy when I have someone like Melissa on the podcast is how we can share our ideas, experiences and know-how and continue to learn from each other. You can certainly read in my book, On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights, how frustrating it is for companies, then and now, to address the core service imperative of their organization's business. My hope is that you take away some great ideas and great learning around how to step back and look at your own business with fresh eyes, and see where you need to make some changes that will make all the diference. If you'd like to reach out to Melissa, you can connect with her on LinkedIn or her website BlueOrbitConsulting.com, or email her at melissacopeland@blueorbitconsulting.com. More about culture change and how to motivate your employees to love their jobs Blog: How's Your Culture? Doing Fine Or In Drastic Need Of An Overhaul? Podcast: Marcella Bremer—Build a Better Business With an Amazing, Positive Culture Podcast: Lisa McLeod—If You Want To Succeed, You Must Find Your Noble Purpose Additional resources for you My award-winning second book: Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business My award-winning first book: On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights Simon Associates Management Consultants    Read the transcript of our podcast here Andi Simon: Welcome to On the Brink with Andi Simon. Hi, as you know, I'm Andi Simon, I'm your host and your guide. My job is to get you off the brink and I go looking for people who have really interesting ideas to share with you to help you see, feel and think in new ways. That's why today I have Melissa Copeland. And Melissa is here to talk about the customers of tomorrow, and how to serve them. But what's really interesting is her own journey and what she sees going on in the market, and how she can help you see it through that fresh lens that I want you to have. Remember, time to get off the brink, and the times they are changing. So let's soar together. Melissa, thank you for joining me today.  Melissa Copeland: Thanks for having me.  Andi Simon: Share with the listeners, who is Melissa and when and how did you get to where you are now? And why are you so interested in it? Please share your story.  Melissa Copeland: Sure, it's a wandering path, but I think many people have those nowadays. It was less common when I started working, but I actually started as a documentary producer producing travel documentaries and traveling around the globe doing that which I love. It didn't take long, about two years, for me to learn that it was really hard to afford my rent and lunch and a bus pass on the salary a documentary producer makes. So I went to business school, and business school wasn't at all what I expected. It was much more of a structured education versus some of the intellectual inquiries that I was expecting to find. So if there is such a thing, it sounds like an oxymoron, but I was a bit of a countercultural business school student coming out of grad school. I landed in a job in strategy at what was then Ameritech, now AT&T. I was sent to one of the wholesale divisions. So think of the really technical engineering, kind of in the more old-fashioned parts of the company. And here I was, this kid who had been a documentary producer. And my background was in history and writing. And I learned to speak engineering, and I learned to speak pension. I had more fun than I ever thought I would in the corporate world. So I was rotated in the seven years that I was there, through almost every functional area. I got a taste of strategy, sales, marketing, and wound up doing two types of international assignments. One was a startup based in Chicago. And the second was an assignment based in Brussels, Belgium for two years. And those were amazing. A couple of the things that I really learned was that the language of business is really one of figuring out how to connect with people, and how to define problems, and then organize toward a solution, whether it's through collaboration, whether it's through directing, or self-directed teams, or any of those pieces. And so one of the things I didn't expect that I've used my entire career since then, was during that time in Brussels, the techniques that you learned growing up in the United States to influence people with money, or sales incentives, or performance incentives, didn't work the same way in a different culture and context. And that notion of what is my culture and context? And how do I get the results I need? One of the things I learned was, in the US, if you wanted to get something done, you have a meeting, you divide up the tasks, and everybody goes in, does it. In the situation I was in, in Brussels, if you had a meeting, the way to get people engaged was to give everybody the opportunity to participate in the brainstorming, right? So no matter what it was, if you call it brainstorming, people were highly engaged, because everyone wanted a piece of the ideas and to really feel like, what would they be called, an influencer, but to really be part of the solution, and then folks would happily go and participate in terms of behavior change. So that has actually become a signature part of the consulting I do today. Some from that role, I moved through a couple of different roles, but I stayed in that arena of really working on customer experience and employee experience, and helping folks move through changes that almost always benefit customer experience and customer loyalty. And that's when I would say my love affair with customer service and contact center organization started.  Andi Simon: You formed your company Blue Orbit Consulting in 2014. Typically, I would start any interview like this and read your résumé. But I really prefer you to talk about this journey because it's a setup for what's happened since you set up your own company. So how did you come about? Your insights are extremely valuable today. We don't motivate people by giving them more money that doesn't do anything for the research work. You can give them more money, but it doesn't mobilize them. It doesn't motivate them. It's not what makes them work. There's something that took you from being inside to being a consultant having your own company. What was the catalyst?  Melissa Copeland: So I worked for many years for a consulting firm called The Northridge Group and helped build the firm, and was able to be the generalist moving across a lot of areas. The firm had tremendous success. And I have one of those hard learnings. After about 12 years there, my kids were eight and five, and I was continuing to travel almost every week. And no matter where I was, I was on the wrong continent for somebody. And we got to a point where more often than not, it was my kids, you know, or team members or clients. But it really became a challenge that it was my kids that were on the wrong side of that. So I left and I wasn't sure what I was going to do. And that lasted, that break lasted about two months. And we learned that I was terrible at carpooling, that I hated doing laundry, and got rid of all of our household help. But, former clients and colleagues started calling with projects and saying, hey, you've always been really good and helped me think through hard problems, will you come help me do this global technical support? Will you come take a look at this process problem in my organization? And that's fundamentally how Blue Orbit was born. So in 2014, I formed Blue Orbit. It was just me, and a couple of high school and college babysitters taking care of my kids, you know, before and after school. And as the firm grew, I really drove more focus around not just taking  every phone call, though anyone that calls and says, can you help me think through this hard problem, I really enjoy hard problems. So I'm happy to help think them through, but really, drove more focus around the pieces that I think are really important as businesses grow and move forward. And that is thinking through not just the customer journey, and some of the buzzwords around that, but also thinking through the service design for how you support that customer journey, and more recently, a lot of emphasis around employee engagement. So how do you make it easier on the employees to deliver the service design and a fantastic customer experience. So little by little, as the firm grew, it started being engagements with me and then I started building more team-based engagements to be able to implement at large organizations. Then we land where we are today where the business supports both some startup companies that are just starting on that journey. It's tons of fun when we have a blank slate, and you're starting with the service design from the beginning. And then the large organizations where you might have hundreds or thousands of people that you're trying to orchestrate. And then it's really more that collaboration and building a funnel of ideas for how can we accomplish the goals we need to get to.  Andi Simon: You and I both understand the complexity of human interaction and conversations. And the question is, what do we say to whom in what way to get what done? And that's not casual, and every culture is different. The culture is inside each one of these, small, large and otherwise, whether in Belgium or in the States, or whatever they are, and just do things differently. And your description of the Belgium folks who wanted some autonomy, mastery and purpose, which is what we're talking about these days, was quite different than here where command and control tell you what to do, and tactical and practical, and not much gets done. So it's an interesting time. So some of the insights that you're pulling together, working over the last years, 2014 was a short long time ago. And between the pandemic and all the things going on with technology and customer transformation, there's some key themes that you and I chatted a little bit about. Can you share them with our listeners or our audience? I do think they are going through them and they want to know, what do I do now? How do I do this? Some thoughts?  Melissa Copeland: Sure. I love how you you reference the autonomy and the mastery. One of the pieces that I first tried to size up is that culture and context and organization. I do feel compelled typically to look at data, because you always have people in your team or your organization that need to be data driven. And then we also have to look at some of the more qualitative aspects of what does it take to drive change, like, are we talking about a jello situation where you're going in and going back out? Are we talking about a situation where people are highly receptive to doing things differently? Some of the themes and particularly changes since 2020, a big one affecting a lot of organizations, whether we call it the great resignation or not, but the balance of power has shifted in terms of employees making choices about where they want to be. And so I challenge that many large organizations and in particular contact centers are dealing with the vacancy rate in roles that may be as high as 30%. So I have two clients right now that are down about 30% of people. And that puts enormous pressure on the organization and its ability to serve customers. To that end, there are two big themes that I've been working with a lot of clients on. One is the theme around, what if the customer isn't always right? And so how do you handle that? The first studies I've seen in years, probably as long as I've been working in customer experience, started coming out in the fall, illustrating a significant change in customer behavior, meaning, historically, customers really cared about that the agent I spoke with was friendly, were they pleasant, so we'll call that friendliness. And then they care about, is my question answered, or has my problem been resolved? The shift in the research over the past six months is that customers care much more about how fast something happens. So the friendliness isn't at the top anymore, although I'd say it's table stakes in most organizations, it's really how quickly can you get to my question, or get me an answer. And can you do it in the media that I choose to interact with you in? So can you do it by voice? Can you do it by self service? Can you do it by chat? What are the different ways that I can connect with you? So that's one huge arena. The second that combines the two, getting answers quickly, and then struggling with kind of making the workplace attractive for employees and making their roles easier. And so I'll call that the employee engagement or employee enablement tools. So in customer service, and contact center, lots and lots has been written and talked about around how artificial intelligence or AI is used in bots and self service so customers can do things themselves. The real frontier that I've been working with clients on for the past year, and I think it'll become bigger in the next two years, is really around how do you use that power to enable human-to-human interaction? So how do I help an agent, right, be as quick and effective with a customer that wants to interact by voice? Or they have a question or a challenge that's too complicated for the self service arena and so how do you deploy those tools on the market in a way that really makes the agent's job easier, and makes employees feel like they can succeed in a difficult environment, or ultimately make that environment better? So I'd say those are the two big ones that I've been working with folks on that I think are the trends that are here to stay for at least 2022 to 2024.  Andi Simon: As a culture change expert, I'm curious, because I had one client who had a very bad help desk. And we actually suggested they go and make their folks remote before the pandemic. They were in a fabulous position when the pandemic hit. But the remote gave their staff a much better work environment and they lost the turnover. They speeded up the responses and they realized that having them come in and sit and wait and have to get things done in place was dysfunctional for this particular organization. They were an outsourced service provider, but what was important was that the people thought about it in terms of what mattered to them. Where did it matter that they work? What hours could they work, as opposed to a box that they had to fit into, and that autonomy and mastery. They needed something to motivate them to mobilize them to want to do this as opposed to being forced into it. And so that became interesting. My second point is that both consumers and employees are people. If you think of them as the same as very important people, then your customer and your staff are connected. It's not separate. And so now, if we step back and look at them as one ecosystem, it's no longer what the customer wants, it's how the employee and my customer can solve a problem together, collaboratively, as opposed to I'll do it in my time. You can't. It's really less adversarial or competitive and much more collegial. Are you seeing some of the same things?  Melissa Copeland: Absolutely. So I think one of the really interesting takeaways is, remote work is something that has been talked about for a long time. And then companies that explored it particularly for contact centers or tasted different pieces of it in very targeted areas. The pandemic forced folks to do it on a mass scale. And what many organizations found was no productivity was lost. What they had to do, though, was figure out how to recreate some of the cultural aspects that existed when you brought people together. It's a great example you give around the IT help desk because one of the bigger satisfiers for folks that work in centers are being able to have hours that they can manage more effectively. And so for a center, the benefit is that they can have more people working part time or split schedules or different approaches. And for employees, you've removed the transit piece. So they're more open to working. So I think those are often terrific solutions. And it's interesting to see organizations work through what's here to stay because when folks flipped the switch on March 2020, right, all the old processes went with them. There's a really interesting opportunity for organizations that are willing to take a hard look. It's one, I'll be honest, I thought it was going to happen in 2021 and it didn't happen that much around getting rid of some of the low value processes and activities. But I'm optimistic that this year will be the year that many organizations step back and say, we really need to do it that way, or can I make it easier on everybody. And then I don't think I can say it better than you did around the collegial approach to problem solving. So it's typically a terrific scenario, when you can have an agent empowered to conduct a conversation the way they want to. And that requires a couple of things. It requires organizational trust, and having the metrics or ways to measure the effectiveness of a conversation that go beyond process compliance. So a traditional way of doing it was, here's the process and you're measured on how you follow it that doesn't drive the autonomy and mastery of that process. But it doesn't drive mastery of the customer interaction. And so seeing more organizations move toward some of the enablement tools that in order to allow agents to have the conversation that they want and need to have with a customer, you have to solve the problem.  It's very different to achieve the same goal. So an example of some of the cooler new tools that are coming into play is some of the same artificial intelligence technology that makes self service bots work can be deployed to help agents. So the bot can be sort of listening, if you will, to the conversation and picking up key words and tone from the customer. And then prompt the agent. Here are some documents that might help you. Here are the links and the reference material so that the agent can focus on the conversation, not zooming through multiple apps, or wikis or web links, to find the information they need. And that goes toward your point around, you can really drive a collegial situation more than you can an adversarial one. You give the employee a great shot at success versus the employee feels like they're on the front line. Andi Simon: You raised a very important question. How do we evaluate, assess and appraise our employees? There was a great article that talked about how I never see them. I used to evaluate them based upon how I felt about it. I mean, some of the reaach proves that's how you evaluated them. It wasn't on their performance, per se, it was how you liked them or not. And so now they're having a difficult time knowing what to evaluate. It's not just compliance with a rigorous help desk script, or how fast you answer the phone, or how fast you solve the problem, or how the customer evaluated you. This is all experiential, and it's richer in many ways and more challenging to evaluate another. I'm not quite sure how to tap into the customer satisfaction. What does that mean? l'll give you one little speed thing. One of the CEO groups I was doing my research with, a gentleman in fertility centers said, it used to be that we could set up an appointment with someone interested in our methodology with a doctor, you know, over time. Now they want it immediately. And if I can't get the doctor to contact them immediately, however fast that is, they go somewhere else. And I say welcome to a world of instantaneous gratification. You know, they're ready right now. I want that conversation. And he said, I don't know how to put a young person in charge of it now, so they can appreciate what that young person is looking for because I can't figure it out at all. So now, my question for you is, as you're looking at this, how do we appraise the success of our customer service system? And what should people think about as they are evaluating their evaluation system?  Melissa Copeland: Those are great questions. So the first one is relatively straightforward. So when looking at the success of a customer service organization, or the customer experience, many of those metrics don't change, what changes is how you use them. So in terms of data, one of the fun things about contact centers is they usually have an overwhelming amount of data. So you can see how quickly our customers connect to the answer that they want. And you should be able to calculate how many times you're getting the customer the right answer the first time. If you can't calculate it, that's a great subject for us to talk about and brainstorm how to get to it. But you should know how often the agent is able to satisfy the customer. And when they can't, you need to divide into two groups, the things that are agent specific, and the things that are systemic. So right, no agent could have solved it, because of other other reasons. So there's an overall framework for looking at how quickly am I serving the customer? And then, was the customer satisfied? And I would argue, most importantly, was their issue solved on the first call? That does push by the wayside some old metrics. So an older metric would be looking at how long it took. I, Melissa, typically, I don't care how long it took, if you did it right the first time and the customers were happy, we've avoided future calls and interactions that become more expensive and more time consuming. And we've made that customer of tomorrow happy because they have patience for very little and certainly not for mistakes or ongoing back and forth about the same issue when it comes to appraising the individual. That also is something that I love, your example that is shifting, right. So it was always something where, when people were in the same place, you would see someone at their desk, you would see if they were working, and that vision that I can see you isn't there anymore. So that does drive more dependence on metrics. And it does drive more conversation with the individual. So one of the things that I'm seeing is more and more trends toward talking to people about how they feel. Yes, I've never had so many conversations about feelings. You know, I'm working with one client right now and we're doing a large transformation program. And a lot of our conversations are, do you feel competent? Do you feel empowered? What are the things you're struggling with? And how can I help you? So it is a much more honest move toward what I would call true coaching and development and away from some of the performance management. And some of those organizations wind up being my favorite clients because they're really interested in elevating the business's performance and the people providing it. That doesn't mean you don't have to deal with some specific performance situations. But it's a very different philosophy around, let's look at your metrics, and let's talk about how to make them better. As opposed to, here's the threshold and that's where you have to be.  Andi Simon: I love what you're talking about. A great transformation, isn't it? Because slowly we are recognizing what can mobilize people. We're learning so much from the neurosciences, the cognitive sciences, everything from the curiosity quotient, and the emotional intelligence and all the ways the amygdala and the brain works and what really gets people excited about what they're doing. You couldn't have done this without the pandemic, generating this great transformation. And now we're changing how we're managing people, asking them to feel the way we'd like them to. People didn't know what those words meant before but now we decide with the heart and the eyes, and how it feels. How does it look? And then intellectually, we can look at the numbers that come out of that. It's interesting. One of the podcasts I did with Lisa McLeod was about purpose. And Joey Ryan's work on purpose, purpose-driven companies. If you have purpose with mastery and autonomy, you mobilize people to do far better, and any other kind of ratcheting down to data-driven metrics, the data comes from being happy. And that's not so terrible.   Melissa Copeland: I would add, though, that for many organizations, it's a really difficult shift. People have been rewarded for a long time for complying with the process, doing the right things, and being where you're supposed to be. There's enormous opportunity in this transformation. But there's also a lot of fear and support required. And so, I think the other interesting trend is, many organizations, whether you call it change management or organizational change management, or you just call it transformation, or I have been known to call it whatever I need to call it to get it done so we can call it process work. But really thinking through, how do you help people through that difference? Because particularly tenured employees will have a lot of trouble making the move.  Andi Simon: I want to add something and then we'll wrap, because the points you're raising for our audience are very important. We live the story in our mind. The way humans survive is that we create a story in our mind and that becomes our reality. And Melissa says something very important because the tenured employees have a story that registered well for them in the past. They really knew how to do that and keep their jobs and keep the boss satisfied. They played it really well, it was like a role on stage, where they knew how to play Macbeth really, really well. And now they have to play Hamlet. And they don't have a clue what the script is or how to perform. And it isn't that they resist the change, they don't really know how to. If you put them on stage and told them to play a new role, they don't know what to say or how to say it. They don't know how to behave with each other. They don't know what to expect. It's very scary legitimately. And the brain hates to change, it's got a lot of cortisol floating around up there. So as you're looking at your employees, don't get angry. Figure out how to hire Melissa to come help you invent new ways to show them how to come to the new. We used to say, if you want to change, have a crisis or create one, because if not, your brain doesn't pay attention. I never expected this kind of crisis. I don't really want another one. But don't waste it. It's a great time. Listen, this is such fun, tell the listeners two or three things that you don't want them to forget.   Melissa Copeland: Number one, whether or not the customer is right, finding that collegiality and collaboration is critical to customer experience moving forward. So figuring out your service design and how to deliver it is absolutely paramount. The second point would be employee enablement, and letting employees lead but giving them the tools to do so. So freeing them from some of the process compliance of prior iterations is a terrific tool to do it. And you know, I'm happy to brainstorm or chat with anyone about those. And then one more item that your last comment made me think of is, I myself had one of these epiphanies in November. My daughter and I went from Chicago to New York, and we saw Six on Broadway. And so for those that aren't familiar with Six, it's about the wives of Henry the Eighth, many of whom wound up decapitated or died of illness, had all these extraordinary adventures. And we brought my aunt with us. So we covered multiple generations, and my aunt knew the history better than anyone and loved the show for the history. My daughter loved the pop music, and the takeoffs of Beyoncé and Adele, and the music that was there, and I got about half of each, and still loved it. And so I think of that as inspiration for listeners. You don't have to be at any one extreme, but you do have to find a way to find some of the fun in it. And if you can find the fun, then you can move the culture forward.  Andi Simon: That's a beautiful metaphor for everything you do for life, in fact, because it is the same experience seen through very different eyes. The lenses were completely different. The story was exactly the same. You all sat in the same seats and watched it and had very different experiences. How better can we wrap up our conversation today? If they'd like to reach you, what's the best way to get ahold of you?  Melissa Copeland: I'm easy to find on LinkedIn, you can find me, Melissa Copeland, or my firm Blue Orbit Consulting, or by the website, theblueorbitconsulting.com.  Andi Simon: That's terrific. And we'll put all of this together on our blog. This is such fun, you and I could talk a great deal about the dilemmas and the opportunities. Remember, don't waste a crisis and you're coming out of a very unusual one, but this is a time that has pushed us to transformation, great transformations. Some of us love it and others can't figure out how to get back to what was, but you can't. I doubt we'll ever see what was, we don't even remember what it was. So it's hard to go back. But instead, it's a time to create your future. So don't waste it. It's a great time to do it. And this has been terrific today. For all of you who come, thank you for joining us. You come from around the globe. I mean, we're ranked in the top 5% of global podcasts. I'm honored. You send me great people to interview. info@andisimon.com is where you can get to me. But the most important thing today that I'd like to share is, buy my books.On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights and Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business. You can get them on Amazon or Barnes and Noble or wherever you like to buy books. But the point of the books is to help you see, feel and think in new ways. And this podcast is here to do the same. My job is to help you get off the brink and soar. And sometimes you need a little catalyst, a little push, a little nudge because as we know, we get attached to that shiny object and we don't want to let go but the times are changing. So enjoy the trip. Stay well and enjoy your day. Have a good one. Bye now.

After returning from vacation Hollywood Nicky and Mike Fresh recap their weeks (4:41) breakdown the Meg Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez saga (12:00) discuss Beyoncé's acting criticism (24:41) deep dive into Kevin Samuels latest post (30:30) analyze the current hottest sports take Kevin Durant and Lebron James (1:02:35) and criticize current sports analyst like Stephen A. Smith for their aggressive and disrespectful way addressing athletes who don't fit a status quo (1:15:20)

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The fashion designer and artist Osman Yousefzada tells Michael Berkeley about his childhood in a strictly religious Pashtun community in Birmingham. Osman Yousefzada shot to fame when Beyoncé wore one of his designs to the 2013 Grammy Awards. Lady Gaga, Thandiwe Newton and Taylor Swift are among his many other celebrity clients. He is also an acclaimed artist, curator and film-maker, and the creator of one of the world's largest ever pieces of public art: the ‘wrapping' of the Selfridges building in Birmingham in geometric patterns inspired by Islamic art. Educated at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Central St Martins and Cambridge University, Osman grew up in a community described by the Daily Mail as ‘the Jihadi capital of Britain'. His newly published memoir, The Go Between, is a fascinating account of his childhood and his first steps into the outside world while navigating both racism and family expectations. He tells Michael Berkeley about his beloved mother, a talented seamstress who inspired him as a designer: she was married at 14, had her first child at 15 and lived most of her life in Birmingham, but remained illiterate and never learned to speak English. She hardly ever left the house. Osman's sisters were taken out of school at the age of 11 and also shut away inside the family home. Osman chooses music inspired by the Sufi tradition of Islamic mysticism by Abida Parveen and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and a song by the Grammy-winning Pakistani-American Arooj Aftab, as well as pieces by Philip Glass and by the Canadian composer and cellist Zoe Keating. Producer: Jane Greenwood A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 3

Playlist: Leikeli47 - Money (hwas remix)Ka Hernandez - AjayoWhitney Houston - It's not right but it's ok (remix)Earth, Wind & Fire - September (Maddow remix)Jeremy Cricket - Daft Punk TributeKiesza - Hideaway (Jerome RObins remix)Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence (remix)KAHSH, Smoke Bass - Move my BodyDakar, Martin Solveig - Hold Fast Hello (Tom Forester VIP)Mary J Blidge - Work that (Futura remix)Rod Stewart - Do ya think I'm sexy (remix)Shakedown - At night (Volcan remix)Haddaway - WHat is Love (Kubi remix)Yung Joc - It's goin down (remix)Benny Benassi - Satisfaction (RAAF VIP remix)Beyoncé, Jay Z - Crazy in Love (clavette & Racket Club edit)Ciara, Sidepeice - 1, 2 step vs Together (CHAAP edit)LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem (Gernno remix)Ram Jam - Black Betty (Jimmy Disco Remix)Dismantle - Smack The DoorNauuda - PartyNick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand (Remix)

Si hi ha una artista que ha dominat aquest mil

Si hi ha una artista que ha dominat aquest mil

Xangô (the god of thunder) and Paso Ñañigo', composed by the Cuban Moises Simons, were two of the numbers performed by Elsie Houston in the clubs of Paris in the 1920s. Also able to sing soprano in Portuguese, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian, Elsie's performances in Afro-Brazilian dialects chimed with the fashion for all things African. Adjoa Osei's essay traces Elsie's connections with Surrealist artists and writers, (there are photos of her taken by Man Ray), and looks at how she used her mixed race heritage to navigate her way through society and speak out for African-inspired arts. Adjoa Osei is a researcher based at Trinity College, Cambridge. She was selected as a 2021 New Generation Thinker on the scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to turn research into radio. You can hear her discussing the career of another singer Rita Montaner in this episode of Free Thinking https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0010q8b and taking part in this Free Thinking discussion From Blackface to Beyoncé https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000tnlt Producer: Ruth Watts

Beyoncé once posed the question, “Who run the world?” The resounding answer was, “Girls!” At one point in history this was true for the Holy Roman Empire. Between 904AD and 964AD, the papacy was controlled by the Theophylacti family which was led by Theodora the Senatrix. This era was known as the Papal Pornocracy or The Rule of the Harlots. That's what @coopnukem and @joelrbenner will be discussing on this episode of the Iconoblast Podcast! Join us in the live chat at 9PM CST on the Drinkin Bros History channel on YouTube to learn all about how a pope had so much sex it killed him. Audio episode is available on all your favorite podcast platforms.   Presented by Ghosted.com #pope #holyromanempire #papacy

It's Beyoncé or Bust… The ladies head to Coachella Music Festival for their last hoorah before Tiffany's baby arrives. Issa has some adult fun on the Ferris wheel, Molly's obsession with work sends her in a spiral, Kelli gets tased in the name of Beyoncé, and Tiffany worries about her place in the group after her little “weed baby” is born.

Imagine this scenario with me… You didn't grow up watching a galaxy far, far away like a lot of kids. Instead, you spent most days reading your mom's People Magazine and US Weekly. What does that lead to as an adult? You become TMZ reporters and street interviewers like Adam Glyn and Dax Holt. This conversation is basically off the rails from the beginning, but you're going to love it. Adam Glyn grew up in New Jersey just outside of New York City. Like many college graduates, Glyn had difficulty finding a job, so comedy found him. He became a staple in the New York Comedy scene performing at clubs all over the city and opening for headliners around the country. In 2010, Glyn was approached by a rising entertainment news outlet looking to expand into NY. He changed the paparazzi scene into “street journalism.” He interviewed the biggest politicians, musicians, actors, athletes, and social influencers in the world. Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump, Jimmy Carter, Tony Robbins, Tim Ferris, Floyd Mayweather, Connor McGregor, Shaquille O'Neal, David Letterman, Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder, Kevin Hart, Derek Jeter, Usher, Rihanna, Ronda Rousey, and many many more. Beyoncé even put him in her music video for the hit song, “XO.” Shaquille O'Neal is known for picking him up wherever he is, putting him in his car, and making him hang with him for the day. Widely cited for his journalism in the 2014 “Ray Rice news conference” with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, making the Yale Public Library for #4 Quote of 2014.Joining Adam is his co-host on Hollywood Raw Podcast, Dax Holt. During his 11 years at TMZ, Dax quickly became one of the most recognizable faces of Warner Brothers' hit entertainment show. While with the organization, he earned two Emmy-nominations for his work and became their top on-air correspondent. Dax has appeared on countless other programs such as Access Hollywood, The Talk, Dish Nation, and more notably Live! with Kelly. His engaging personality led him to become a finalist during the widely publicized national search to co-host alongside Kelly Ripa. Dax's wild sense of humor, contagious laugh, and presence on both the internet and television set him apart.Check out Dax and Adam and their podcast, Hollywood Raw at hollywoodraw.com!GET YOUR FREE DOWNLOAD of the First Act of "The Hero's Journal!"https://theherosjournal.co/pages/tatooinesons

What in the TR-Hell is going on here!? It's the 74th EP of PODCAST KILLED THE VIDEO STAR! And we BEYONCÉ excited! This ep is filled with GAGGY music videos including Beyonce - Single Ladies, Beyonce - Run The World, & Beyonce - Countdown! Listen to 2 Qweirdos (Oscar Montoya & Mano Agapion) on a quest to find the 100 best music videos ever made!! Join us! I DIDN'T EXPECT THIS KIND OF GAGGOTRY! GO TO our IG & vote on which one of these should make it to the next round! AND- you can watch along with us if you want to on Youtube! EPISODES DROP EVERY FRIDAY! FIND US ON IG & YOUTUBE! #PKTVS INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/podcastkilledthevideostar YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6rdmUYOnHqSGJ90BbyW-Jw SUPPORT & FORCE US TO WATCH YOUR VIDEO: https://anchor.fm/podcastkilledthevideostar/support MANO AGAPION: https://www.instagram.com/manoagapion/ OSCAR MONTOYA: https://www.instagram.com/ozzymo/ APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-killed-the-video-star/id1539892212 RATE & REVIEW US WHEREVER YOU POD! LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, & COMMENT ON YOUTUBE! ALL THAT SHIT! Sound Engineer/Video Editor: Matthew Brian Cohen Music By: Twinkids Art By: Jack Manion --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/podcastkilledthevideostar/support

On this episode of Legends of VFX we have Vico Sharabani is the Founder and Executive Creative Director of multi-award-winning creative studio The-Artery. We talk about building a creative company, NFTs, and The Future of our Digital Landscape. Vico is one of the most notable Flame artists in the world, and winner of the first ever Autodesk Flame-Award recognizing his vast contributions to the visual effects industry over the past 25 years. Vico's portfolio includes a wide range of commercials for fortune 500 companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Nike, and AT&T, music-videos for Beyoncé, Coldplay, Niki Minaj, Kanye West, Bob Dylan and work on dozens of films such as Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, Marriage Story, The Farewell, and Ocean's 8 to name a few. We hope you enjoy this incredible episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/legendsofvfx/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/legendsofvfx/support

Britney, Beyoncé, and Rihanna all had the desire to succeed. But it was their inner power, their decisiveness, their willingness to be seen, and their absolute commitment to being the sovereign authority over their careers – that led to their success. I'm sharing what you can learn from these 3 women, and exactly what qualities you need to create your wealth and rock your career.

Black Terry Cat by Xenia Rubinos is a magical album drawing on many influences and described by the artist herself as "a punk Beyoncé". However, is it enough to impress one of Scotland's finest, Fern Brady?

What a rollercoaster. We talk about Italy's win over Fiji in the 1987 World Cup, with extra chat of qualification. We also talk Beyoncé, Charlie Chaplin, weird commentary and introduce a new section of the podcast, entitled "Bloody SuperBoot Story Time". Robbie also loses his mind at one point.Thanks as always to Tom Rosenthal for our theme music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kevin “Kwiz” Ryan is a musician, producer, composer, audio engineer and artist development specialist from Bronx, NY. His professional resume begins as a vocal arranger for Jeff Redd's "I Found Loving" (Uptown/MCA) with his first production release, Brazilian Lady, appearing on Redd's debut album. Since then, Kwiz's professional resume has continued to evolve and expand over 25 years with credits including numerous Grammy Award winning and platinum selling artists that rival the top producers in today's music industry. His musical goal is to make you dance, love, and cry, think, hate, make love, make babies, seek therapy, give therapy, hug your mom/dad/sister/brother/son/daughter and scream. Kwiz's production credits include Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, T.I., Slick Rick, Earth Gyrlz, The Family Stand, Tashan, Tiffany Moníque, Bliz Kardai, Flight School Alumni and many more. In the areas of mixing/mastering, he has lent his expertise to artists such as Pit Bull (2012 Tour), Papoose's 2015 album “You Can't Stop Destiny”, The Goodfellaz, Earth Gyrlz, Dark Skinned Assassin, Tiffany Moníque, Bliz Kardai and more. Kwiz has also operated as Recording Engineer for BET's “Black Girls Rock” award show and notably, Multi-Platinum Grammy-award winning superstar, Beyoncé, for her last four world tours, as well as her historic 2013 & 2015 SuperBowl Halftime Performances. In the world of television, Kwiz has been a freelance composer for ESPN since 2000 with credits including the theme for "NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad" as well as ABC's "NBA Inside Stuff", the closing theme for HBO's "The Execution Machine". He's also has done various production work for Capitol, MCA, Universal, Columbia, Avatar/A&M, Sutra, Tu Da Beat (indie), Lucy Kool (indie), Smoke/Universal record, Rhythm 252 (indie) record labels. Over the span of his musical career, Kwiz has operated as a writer, vocal arranger, remixer, Director of A&R (Gutter Keys Records), audio programmer and a technical consultant. Subscribe to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/roadie-free-radio/id1115332289 The Following links are affiliate links! Each sale helps our channel out at no additional cost to you. My VLOG & Streaming camera: https://amzn.to/3nEuIh2 The VLOG Lens: https://amzn.to/2y4Zrjd The ALL PURPOSE lens: http://amzn.to/2vPGayB My OTHER lens: https://amzn.to/38OVlfb My MAIN PODCAST mic: https://roswellproaudio.com/products/mini-k87 My OTHER podcast mic: https://amzn.to/3nK9oGQ Create ‘n Cast Bundle from SHURE & Focusrite: https://amzn.to/2LTUTTv The camera CAGE I use: http://amzn.to/2fWUwI2 My DESKTOP mixer: https://amzn.to/39yiSzZ My AUDIO interface: https://amzn.to/2LRF53W BEST FIELD recorder: http://amzn.to/2wfzCYI My FAVORITE mic stands: http://amzn.to/2xnBn6d Roadie Free Radio Merch: http://www.roadiefreeradio.com/merch/ RFR Website: http://www.roadiefreeradio.com

Episode 28: Today's guest is Sarah Uslan. Sarah is a celebrity and editorial makeup artist that has worked with Beyoncé, Florence Pugh, Emma Roberts, and more. Her work has been featured on the red carpet and in magazines like Allure, Harpers Bazaar, and Elle. In 2022, Sarah launched LULA—a clean beauty company that provides natural products made with nourishing botanicals and essential oils that give the skin a healthy glow. LULA's packaging is made from recyclable materials and as part of their broader commitment to sustainability, they use a zero waste platform to keep empty jars & bottles out of landfills. In this episode, Sarah shares her career journey as a celebrity makeup artist including working with Bobbi Brown, what inspired her to create LULA, and her mission to create multi-generational good.  Sarah's Mom, Nancy Uslan, also joined this episode to discuss her organization NEU Global, which supports clean water initiatives in the U.S. and Rwanda. They're partnering with LULA for a great cause during the month of April!  Use the code EARTHDAY for the LULA lineup at wearelula.com to get 20% off your order and $5 will go to support NEU Global's clean water initiatives in Rwanda.

In this episode, you'll also hear:What inspired Elesha to create a movement to help people discover their life purpose The importance of hiring the right person to help with your book – and what can happen if you don'tHow to balance patience and action in following God's will How trusting God with the outcome of your obedience can open doors you never would have thought possibleElesha's advice for those who feel discouraged and aren't sure how to move forward into their life purposeBe sure to read all the way to the end for important links and information!For many of us, there have been seasons when it was really easy to see that God was moving in our lives, and there have been other times when it was more difficult. In those times, we find ourselves having to be very intentional about noticing His handiwork, because of the setbacks and trials we're in the midst of. It's important for us to look for ways that God is moving, even in difficult times. When we do, we grow in our faith, and we learn to trust God even when times are tough. And as we learn to trust God, we move closer to fulfilling our life purpose.Elesha Storey is no stranger to difficult times. Her story encourages and inspires us to see God moving, because God is always working for our good and His glory, even when things seem to be going wrong. Elesha challenges us to trust in Him – to have hope and peace, even in the midst of trial – and to make the most of the time God has given us, because we are here to make a difference.What Does It Mean To DASH?Elesha's message came to her in a unique way in 2015. While placing flowers on the graves of her family members at her father's funeral, something caught her attention. “I just looked at that small dash between their birthday and the day that they passed away and went home to be with the Lord,” Elesha recalls. “And I thought, ‘That is such a small representation of some grand, awesome people.'” As Elesha thought about the impact these people had made in such a short time on earth, she asked herself what she was doing with her own “dash.” What was her life purpose that would make a lasting impact on people around her? Those questions led to another idea, which eventually became her central message: “DASHING” to Elesha means “Dying to Achieve Success and Happiness IN God.”“A lot of people don't want to talk about it, but we're going to die one day,” Elesha explains. “So you've got to remember there's a life here, but there's another life on the other side of that. ASH, ‘Achieve Success and Happiness.' That abundant life is promised by God, and it looks a little different for everyone, and it's best achieved when you're IN God – ING.” Elesha defines DASHING as a call, not just to exist or to live, but to pursue a higher level and to chase after one's true life purpose. At a time when she was experiencing great loss, Elesha realized that God was calling her to breathe life into something new.That's an important message for us all: when something leaves the scene – when one dream dies – there's an opportunity for something new. While we shouldn't downplay the importance or the value of what we've lost, we should also remember to look for what new thing God is creating instead.A Movement Comes Through ActionElesha's initial vision for her DASHING idea was to use apparel to inspire people every time they looked in the mirror. But through the advice of coaches and mentors, and through prompting from God, she realized that it needed to be much more – it needed to become a lifestyle. It needed to become a movement that would help and encourage people to seek and live out their life purpose. “We're going out there inspiring, equipping, and helping people to find their dash and live it,” Elesha says. “God has had a purpose and plan for your life – for your dash – from the beginning. And he's just waiting for you to add “ing,” which is now you're DASHING, and you're doing more than just existing and living. And it's not just about this life, but it's the life beyond.”Think about it: words that end with the letters “ing” usually mean that an action is taking place. With DASHING, Elesha reminds us that it's not enough just to understand that you have a finite amount of time on this earth to make an impact – you have to make a decision to do things differently. You have to act on the purpose and the plan that God has for you. Choose the Right PeopleAt first, Elesha had no intention of writing a book. Even after a consultant compiled a written version of things Elesha had said during their conversation and asked her to finish it and turn it into a book, Elesha didn't feel those words captured what she really wanted to say, so she pushed the idea off for another year. Then, having been laid off due to COVID and taking care of her mother, she found the time and the inspiration to write. “What I wanted to do was do something totally different to inspire people based on things that I know and what I've gone through in my life,” Elesha recalls. It took her several months to complete the book, a 30-day devotional, and the end result surprised even her: “There are some things in there I would have never even thought I could think of. The book is structured in a way that it makes sense, that it flows, that it is relatable. And I didn't think I had that in me. And that's God, again, working through my dash.”Still, there were difficulties to navigate, especially when it came time to get the book edited. Elesha reached out to her network to find an editor, and chose someone she knew. But again, the work that was returned didn't reflect her voice or the message she wanted to convey. Eventually, Elesha found an editor who, in her own words, “wouldn't just tell you how to do it or tell you what you're doing wrong, she would teach you. So she would push back on me and give me options and resources.” But though the experience was frustrating and discouraging, Elesha learned the valuable lesson that sometimes, the people you know aren't necessarily the best people to work on your book. She learned that it's important to carefully vet anyone you work with, even if you already know them. The Balancing Act: Patience vs. ActionElesha also learned to be patient with herself when the process took longer than she wanted it to, and to stand by her vision even when others tried to convince her to change the direction of her work. She had to trust that the way her book needed to be written and formatted would appeal to the right people, instead of altering it to appeal to most people. “We all know the definition of dash,” Elesha says, “but when you add ‘-ing,' that definition changes. It changes to ‘stylish, bold, and full of spirit.' So you need to put ‘-ing' on your dash. Then you are bold, and you don't have any fear about doing what God has called you to do. When you look like God, you look dashing. So you're stylish. And you're full of the Holy Spirit.”As Elesha has learned, writing a book – and building a business – is a balancing act between patience and taking decisive action. Sometimes we can be in such a rush to get something done based on a timeline that we have set, that we may not allow enough time for us to truly hear what steps we are to take. We shouldn't be afraid to be still, to take some time and really discern whether the steps we are about to take are the right ones. But we shouldn't go too far to that extreme, either, because sometimes waiting can be just a fancy way of procrastinating. Sometimes we know we should be taking action, but we say, “I'm praying about it” as an excuse for not taking that action. Instead, we must find that balance between patiently looking to God for inspiration and guidance and stepping out in faith-driven action toward our life purpose and calling.Trust God with the OutcomeThe good news is that even when we get off course, God can use it all for good. Even when we don't take the best path, we can learn from the experience, and those lessons can not only help us in the future, but also be a testimony that prevents others from making the same mistakes we did. Despite all the missteps, frustrations, and naysayers, Elesha was able to get her book finished and into the hands of the people who needed to read it. “I was the poster child for what not to do and using those setbacks as a reason to procrastinate,” she admits, “so it was just phenomenal that I finished it. It just made my heart open, and made me want to do more. Because now I've had a successful book. I've had a successful song. I know that DASHING is something that's going to impact lives.”Though some people told her the book would never make an impact, Elesha has seen that it resonates with exactly the people it's supposed to resonate with. “I just have to move forward, regardless of what anybody thinks or says, because God has the people who I'm supposed to impact ready for me to do so,” Elesha says.That's not to say she wasn't apprehensive about putting herself out there. Elesha knew that if she shared personal experiences, she was likely to receive judgment and negative feedback, but to her relief, that didn't happen. She believes this is yet another example proving that she's fulfilling her life purpose and doing exactly what God wants her to do. Elesha's story is a great example of being obedient and trusting God with the outcome. If God is leading you to share a certain message, then it's going to be a blessing to someone. And what happens after you share it isn't on you at all – that's up to God. Ultimately, we don't control our own reputations or how people respond to our stories. As Elesha says, “You're responsible for the ‘what,' and God's responsible for the ‘how.'”God Provides Right on TimeElesha's journey has been one of many ups and downs, but through it all, God continues to show His faithfulness. She shares one particular story about His provision during a time of great need. Having just lost her father and her job, Elesha found herself in a difficult place financially, especially as hiring the wrong people for her book ended up costing her extra. While searching for business funding, Elesha applied for a $10,000 grant from Beyoncé's BeyGOOD Foundation and the NAACP, not really expecting to win – but she did. That money supplied what she needed to publish her book, continue building her business, and sustain her finances. “God was just right on time with that, like He's always been,” she says. Recalling another incident when she was in a terrible car accident as a teenager and yet walked away unscathed, Elesha says she now knows her life was spared for a purpose. And 40 years later, she's living that life purpose. “I didn't appreciate it back then,” she explains, “but now I know He spared me for this. That He took me right back to a place of loss, where I can learn from my losses and move forward.”These stories are just two examples of the ways God has shown His faithfulness in the midst of adversity in Elesha's life. Now, she's committed to sharing those stories with others, and inspiring them to keep moving toward fulfilling their own life purpose. “These days, it's all about ‘YOLO' and ‘living my best life,'” Elesha observes. “But this ain't your only life. There's more on the other side. And you need to remember that your dash has a purpose. You fulfill that purpose, and it will move you towards your place in heaven.”Don't Give Up on Your Life PurposeMaybe you, like Elesha, have experienced struggles, setbacks, and pain, and you're discouraged because it's hard to believe that something good could be waiting on the other side. If that's you, Elesha wants you to know first and foremost that you are valuable, that you are worth it, and that God loves you and has put you on earth for a reason. “Failure is not final,” Elesha says. “It's never too late. And I know these all sound cliché, but they are true. And God has a purpose and a plan for you, and He loves you. He has your best interest at heart, and everything that you've gone through – your test to get your testimony – any setbacks, any hurts, God uses those.”We're often taught that we need to be independent, but Elesha adds that God didn't intend for us to be alone. No matter what you're going through right now, there are people and resources available to help you through it, so don't be afraid to reach out. And above all, keep moving forward toward the life purpose that God has given you, even if you aren't totally sure what it is just yet. “You never know how close you are to your breakthrough,” Elesha concludes. “It can be the next day, it can be the next minute, or the next hour. So don't give up. Just keep moving forward, in little tiny baby steps… God has a plan for you, and He wants you to reach it.” BIO:Elesha Storey is a passionate creative who after losing her father re-evaluated her life and found her purpose. God turned tragedy into victory when He dropped DASHING (Dying to Achieve Success and Happiness IN God) into her spirit. Elesha took that revelation from God and created a business (dashing apparel®) and a movement (The DASHING Nation™) inspiring and equipping others to start Dashing. Addressing mind, body and spirit through books, music, apparel, media, and conferences and changing the definition of apparel to include clothed in Christ head to toe inside and out. She has one son, is a Human Resources leader, and an active member of her church in Plano, Texas. Elesha's mission is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, inspiring and equipping others to find and embrace their purpose and abundant earthly and eternal life IN God.  GET CONNECTED:Website: www.dashingapparel.comInstagram: www.instagram.com/eleshastorey/Twitter: www.twitter.com/dashingnationFacebook: www.facebook.com/eleshastorey

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are cynically toying with the emotions of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, an insider alleges. Jennifer Aniston has dealt with years — even decades — of sleep problems. Billie Eilish took a moment in the middle of her performance to thank fans for coming — as well as question her own place in the lineup. Rob is joined by his dear pal Garrett Vogel from Elvis Duran and the Morning Show with all the scoop. Don't forget to vote in today's poll on Twitter at @naughtynicerob or in our Facebook group. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yrsa is an author, actor, model, storyteller and screenwriter. She is most known for her debut book, Bone and her autobiographical novel, The Terrible, which won the PEN/Ackerley Prize. Yrsa also co-wrote Black Is King, Beyoncé's musical film and visual album. As Saturn is associated with boundaries and discipline, this episode demonstrates how important these principles are for our creativity. Paradoxically, when we plan out and structure our days, and are disciplined with our daily rituals, we create more freedom and space for self expression and allow inspiration to flow. Caggie and Yrsa talk about fear, how to get out of our own way, the alchemy of writing, vulnerability, and share their own sobriety journeys. Sign up to our Saturn Returns newsletter https://www.saturnreturns.co/newslettersignup for Saturn Returns live show early access. For more Saturns Returns content, head to: saturnreturns.co