Our next guest in our Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire series is—get ready—Queer Eye’s delightful design guru Bobby Berk. Bobby walks us through the backstory we’ve all gotten glimpses of on TV: how he left home at 15, after realizing he was gay and knowing he would struggle against rejection and hatred in his small hometown. This began a tough journey where he worked multiple jobs, slept in his car, moving to Denver then eventually NYC, where he worked his way up at various design retailers before opening his own acclaimed design business. Bobby gives us the inside scoop on the nail-biting process of becoming part of the Fab 5 (and why Jonathan thinks Bobby would be the first to go in a zombie apocalypse!), and what gives him joy and fire being part of that crew and changing lives around the globe. Bobby tells us there’s enough love and success to go around, and in the spirit of reversing lies we’ve been told about ourselves, Bobby refuses to accept that we all aren’t capable of success. As Bobby’s story illustrates, we can make our dreams happen if we freely and fiercely go after them.
Podcast Category: Personal Development
Dr. John Townsend on Structure, Connection, & Boundaries in a Pandemic
On the best days, people are, well, a lot. They have feelings, they have opinions, they have needs—and as “responsible adults,” we have so many people relying on us at one time that sometimes it can feel like we cannot crumble, because who on earth knows what would happen if we did? Add in a virus, some upended lifestyles, extroverts and introverts forced indoors together, and well . . . let’s just say we need some guidance on how to get through this pandemic with our sanity intact. Thankfully, one of Jen’s favorite experts is here to lend a hand (and when we say favorite, we mean she’s quoted the book he co-authored Boundaries in *at least* six of her books): psychologist and NYT bestselling author Dr. John Townsend! Jen and Dr. Townsend go deep into all the pressure points we’re seeing in our relationships right now: how parents can walk teens through their hard feelings, how to spouses can learn to talk through their frustrations (especially since introverts and extroverts are responding so differently right now), even how to draw boundaries in a house where you’re stuck with a bunch of other people. Dr. Townsend’s chock-full of practical tips on how to emotionally care for ourselves and our loved ones well, even during a crisis.
Glennon Doyle on What’s True and Beautiful, and the Lies We’ve Been Told
We’re THRILLED to launch our new “Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire” series, and our first guest lives all three of those traits in such an inspiring way. Glennon Doyle is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love Warrior and Carry On, Warrior and she’s back with her rawest book yet: Untamed, which explores how women untangle themselves from the lies they’ve been told about their bodies, their voices, their minds and their places in the world. Glennon’s also an activist, and she’s the founder and president of Together Rising, an all-woman-led nonprofit that has raised over $22 million for women and children in crisis. Glennon recounts her own “untaming” through an unblinking examination of her upbringing, her first marriage, and her struggles with an eating disorder and alcoholism. She encourages all of us to examine what we want and implores us to lean into those things—not letting anyone tell us that what we want isn’t achievable. Glennon believes that because what most women want is true and beautiful, if we chased all we wanted, “dreams would be realized. Corrupt governments would topple. Institutions would fall so that we could rebuild lives and relationships and nations that are built on justice.”
Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls Co-Founder, Meredith Walker, On The Unscripted Path
Closing out our For the Love of Women Who Built series, we have Meredith Walker, the Co-Founder of Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, an organization which is dedicated to helping young people cultivate their authentic selves. They emphasize intelligence and imagination over “fitting in.” Meredith Walker began her television career producing the Peabody and Emmy award-winning Nick News with Linda Ellerbee, and then went on to head up the talent department for Saturday Night Live, where she met and became fast friends with Amy Poehler. They shared tales of their own upbringings and dreamed about how great it would be to create something to help girls get through their own awkward teen and pre-teen years. They started Smart Girls with a “mix of great planning, and luck, and not planning,” and now they help girls all over the world navigate the choppy waters of adolescence. Meredith shares her personal story of following the “unscripted path” and encourages those of us who have had an unconventional life’s journey to embrace what we care about and recognize the value we add to our world. ?
Sara Cunningham Gives “Free Mom Hugs” To LGBTQ Community
You spoke—we listened. Sara Cunningham was your nominee from the tribe for the last episode of our “Women Who Built It,” series and we couldn’t be more thrilled to hear about what she is building. When Sara’s son came to her with the decision that he was going to live as a gay man on his 21st birthday, Sara’s life went into a tailspin. After 20 years in the church and actively “praying the gay away,” with and on behalf of her son, she was at a crossroads. Her search for resources as a Christian mom turned up very little, but her research on the data and statistics out of the LGBTQ community devastated her. The rejection she saw from families, churches, and communities was more than she could bear. She needed to begin the work of accepting her son, and she started by getting involved with Free Mom Hugs. Showing up at a Pride Rally with a homemade “Free Mom Hugs,” button, she simply gave out hugs—some to young people whose own mothers hadn’t hugged them in years. Whatever your beliefs, you will want to hear Sara’s moving journey and her mission of spreading healing—not only to a community who often feels marginalized—but to their families in the church who are looking for answers. ?
Building Bridges Through Black & White Conversations with Latasha Morrison
Our fabulous “Women Who Built It” series continues with the founder of Be The Bridge, Latasha Morrison. Latasha’s mission is to encourage racial reconciliation among all ethnicities, to promote racial unity in America, and to develop others to do the same. She facilitates “Be The Bridge Groups” that provide a “safe place for white people and a safe place for people of color to communicate and share their hearts.” She and Jen share about the incredible experiences they’ve had by being a part of bringing these two groups together as one to ask questions, and describe the life changing nature of these interactions. Latasha believes that in order to bridge the divides, we need to get to know each other and strip away the misconceptions and stereotypes each group might have about the other one, building a foundation of trust and movement toward a new landscape of awareness and understanding.
A Time To Lead, A Time To Follow: Chasing The Next Thing With Nicole Walters
Episode 3 of the “For The Love of Women Who Built It” series features the feisty and funny Nicole Walters. At just 28 years old, Nicole was a top-selling executive at Fortune 500’s and was managing multi-billion dollar business relationships for an S&P International healthcare organization. With a six-figure salary, first-class flights, and fancy hotels, she thought she had arrived. She shares with us that her real “arrival” came when a family crisis jolted her into the realization that “life was too short to be comfortable, but unfulfilled.” She made a bold, and very public move (in front of 10,000 people on Periscope, no less) to leave her comfortable corporate situation and embark on a new course to “help everyday entrepreneurs live and work in their purpose.” Nicole shares how the tough experiences of “always being the minority,” allowed her to build a platform that welcomes people of all races, shades, and colors, ethnicities, and faiths, and how getting to “the next thing” revealed her true purpose.
An Enterprise for Women Built on Love with Becca Stevens of Thistle Farms
Episode 2 in our “For the Love of Women Who Built It” features the fearless and heroic (CNN even awarded her with nomination as a 2017 CNN Hero) Becca Stevens, the president and founder of Thistle Farms. Becca describes her “aha” moment 21 years ago when she no longer could stay quiet about what she was seeing regarding women who were subject to sex trafficking and abuse (before “trafficking” was even a widely-used term). She started the organization with the Magdalene Center which welcomed women who had been subject to sex trafficking or abuse by providing free residences; taking care of their housing, medical care, therapy, and education for two years. From this, she moved into a social enterprise that creates beautiful and healing products for the body and employs these same women in need. The global market of Thistle Farms employs over 1,800 women worldwide, and the national network has over 40 sister communities. Becca’s new book (and mantra for her entire organization) is “Love Heals.”
Leading Where You Live: Knowing Your Influence with Jo Saxton
It’s new series time, and we’re excited about this 6-part series featuring “Women Who Built It.” This series is filled with women who are slaying in their careers. They’re building amazing spaces in business, ministry, and culture, and they’re here to share with us the triumphs, heartaches and leaps of faith it took to build something important. Our first guest is Jo Saxton, one of Jen’s heroes in the leadership space. She’s an international speaker and an author who has a deep passion for leading women toward their full potential. Jo gives us insight, as women, into our sometimes complicated relationship with ambition and provides context for the current culture where women are acknowledging the unwarranted obstacles that have long been in their paths (and being heard) across all industries. Her ultimate goal is to show women of all kinds (mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, sisters, aunts, friends) their incredible influence on shaping lives.