It's Important To Speak Up

and pay attention to who we're following.

The biggest influences in my life are my kids. They are my North Star. I left a career in an industry I’d been in for almost 2 decades because I didn’t feel my actual job was making the world a better place for them and their future. 3 years ago when I was in the hospital for 5 days with a pulmonary embolism, I kept thinking about my children and how I wanted to be able to see them grow up and be there for them. Yesterday, I sat at the Stanford Cancer Center for over 2 hours. I had 3 mammograms with multiple images and 2 ultrasounds. My husband was traveling and all I could text him was “whatever they tell me, it can’t be something that will worry the kids.” I got the “looks clear, come back in 6 months”…thank God! But in these instances and this past week, all I can think about is my kids…their safety, their education, their futures, their livelihoods.

My reason for wanting to share the stories of others is to simply make the world a better place. A place in which we empathize with others and what they’ve experienced because we may never be in their shoes, but at least we can listen to them and hear them. What’s more beautiful than simply listening to another human share themselves with you?

I’ve always shared how I try to be active and involved when it comes to my local government and issues I feel strongly about. This week I’ve been sharing ways you can get involved when it comes to our government because I want each of us to know the power we have in making a difference…for ourselves, our kids and our neighbors.

I’m sure there are people who read this newsletter or follow me on social media and wonder (or think) I should only talk about podcasts…hosting, guesting, pitching. Yes, that is what I do, but podcasts are about so much more. They’re how we tell stories, gain knowledge, become educated on topics, are entertained, escape, meditate and so much more. Podcasts have become an essential communication medium and they aren’t going anywhere.

I want to see more politicians and those running for office be interviewed on podcasts. They don’t have to be only ones that reach their constituents. They should be sharing their stories, experiences and reasoning with everyone, not just where they stand on issues, but to truly allow us to get to know them. If done right, they’ll also use those interviews as their own marketing materials…a win-win. I want to see more mom political advocates sharing tips and tools with all of us, to learn from one another (more on this one in the near future!).

All of this is why I am sharing more of what I know how to do and who I listen to with all of you. Together, we will build a community of people who are all working towards the same thing…the inclusion of everyone, the rights of everyone…

If you’re wanting to learn how to share more and be a “micro-influencer”, my friend Liz Minnella is hosting a free series of classes on this that will start in the next couple of weeks. She’s collecting sign ups right now! You might recognize Liz’s name from Women for Harris! She’s a fundraiser, a mom and all around badass filled with information!

Books That Build

Podcasts, books and people are what I love which is why I’m so excited to launch the Books That Build Book Club! Our first book is Democracy In Retrograde by

sami sage

and

Emily Amick

(it’s less than $15 and I highly recommend the hardcover because I’ve written all over mine!). This book is your guide on making changes in our country and lives and guess what??? You don’t have to run for political office, you don’t have to canvass neighborhoods. You are most likely already doing things in your every day life that is helping make change and build community.

We’ll be having a virtual meetup the last week of February with details coming. I am SO excited that Sami Sage is going to join me in conversation and attend our book club!

If you’d like to be kept up to date with meeting details and maybe even some thoughts around the book beforehand, please sign up for the book club here!

Life Lessons On The Pod

I had two fun conversations this week with Stephanie Kiser, author of Wanted: Toddler’s Personal Assistant and Traci Thomas, host of The Stacks podcast.

Stephanie and I bonded over our previous careers where she was a nanny for the most wealthy families of New York while I was making sure the most wealthy flew their private jets with plenty of fuel! Stephanie’s book shares her journey of being the first person in her family to go to college and how once she left home, her eyes were opened to how our government works and much more! The life lesson in this interview was about how she knew when it was time to move on from her job as well as how she has had conversations with her family when they don’t see eye to eye politically.

Traci and I chatted about what else…books and podcasts! She shared her journey with me of how her reading habits have changed, how and why she launched her podcast, how literature influences her parenting and more. One of the big life lessons we discussed was around the importance of asking for help and how critical it is when you are in a new industry.

What I’m Reading

I’m thoroughly enjoying my advanced copy of Everything We Thought Was True by

Lisa Montanaro

in which Lena’s father comes out as gay after years of marriage and two children. I already know which part of Lisa’s life she’s pulled from to add her personal experience to this book and can’t wait to share it with all of you!

I just finished reading Mel Robbins’ Let Them…as I started the book, I got a weird feeling that something was off with Mel. I haven’t followed her for long but her personal journey of randomly being asked to speak at a small gathering that paid for her and her husband’s cross country flights and suddenly turned out to be a TedX talk seemed off. Then I had a Substack digest in my inbox with an article by

Sage Words

which shared that Let Them is originally a poem by Cassie B. Phillips. Cassie was also the first to get the Let Them tattoo and start a small movement which took off when Mel swooped in and claimed it was hers. As if that’s not enough to make you feel gross about the book, this excerpt just might…

“Every business has a formula. Follow it. I say that because one of the things I see people get hung up on all the time is this belief that ‘I need to be different’. That is a fancy way to say that you’re afraid other people will think you copied them. This is an example of how your fear of what other people think holds you back from following the most obvious, easiest and most proven path to success.

Let Them think you copied them. Because you did. And they copied the formula from someone else. Because they did. Formulas exist because they work time and time again. You will make it unique because you will be putting yourself into the formula. Do not reinvent the wheel. Follow the formula and use it to your advantage.”

I do not agree with this thought process at all. Be original. Be yourself. It’s people like Mel and Rachel Hollis who use the ideas of others and call it their own and profit from them and it just disgusts me. Somehow 7.7M people follow her and Oprah had her on the other day. All the while, the person who originally came up with Let Them remains in the background with no credit given and now facing a legal battle.

I do like the idea of letting people be who they are and remembering that you can only control yourself. That’s a great lesson but using someone’s idea as your own is not a lesson I will take note from.

Now, I’m off for a weekend of Pinewood Derby car races and flag football!