Professional Growth

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You have to be at least a teen to be considered for the U.S. Olympic bobsled team. But there’s no maximum age. So, you could essentially bobsled forever. But for Steve Mesler, after three <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/20-olympic-quotes-to-inspire-you-to-do-better-and-be-better/">Olympic games</a> and one history-making gold medal in 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, that was his sign to retire from the sport at just 31.



But the transition to post-Olympian life was challenging. “You went from being the best in the world; you’ve been on television; you’ve met presidents. We got to fly in an F-16; we did the Top 10 on Letterman; we met Tom Hanks; we were on the cover of Sports Illustrated,” Mesler says. “Then, you have to go back and start over because there’s no way to jump the line. That was humbling.”



A single conversation shifted Mesler’s perspective. “My best friend asked me, ‘What does it feel like to have written the first line of your obituary at age 31?’ I didn’t want that to be the case,” Mesler says. “You have a couple of choices: You could just live off of it and do… speaking [engagements] and try to make that work. Or you can start over.” Which is what he did. By that point, he’d already had to start over once before.



At 22, Mesler was in his fifth year of college and about to start an internship—while dealing with the aftermath of a career-ending elbow injury. The former track and field star remembered that one of his former University of Florida coaches had an athlete in the 1998 Winter Olympics.&nbsp;



Although he wasn’t familiar with bobsledding, his mind was sparked. “I literally got my computer out and I emailed—with my bad left hand—the Olympic Committee and said, ‘I’m this big, this strong, this fast, and can I do this?’” Mesler recalls. “Next thing I knew, I was training for bobsled.”







Mesler describes his Olympic teammates as castaways from college athletics. “Here I was, a formerly broken track athlete, trying to become a different person. No one in bobsled knew that I had been an injured track athlete. We just showed up,” he says.



There’s some carryover, Mesler explains, when you go from one intense sport to another. “The way you run and the speed and strength and size. I had all the right tools. I had to gain weight. You need to be… stronger as a bobsledder. Then, I hit my cruising altitude, and it was a very reasonable transition,” Mesler recalls.



While on the verge of being inducted into the U.S. Olympic &amp; Paralympic Hall of Fame, class of 2025, Mesler describes his typical day in Calgary, Canada, now that he’s made the ultimate pivot from Olympian to consulting, coaching and building Classroom Champions, a nonprofit for children to thrive academically thanks to the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-become-a-mentor/">mentorship</a> of world-class athletes.



“I work with CEOs and founders to help them perform better at their jobs and in their life with a sense of well-being,” Mesler says. “My coaching work is my bread-and-butter work, but I left my role as an athlete behind so I didn’t have to just do one thing,” he adds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-day-in-the-life-of-steve-mesler">A Day in the Life of Steve Mesler</h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-45-a-m-wake-up-work-out">4:45 A.M. | WAKE UP, WORK OUT</h2>



Right when Mesler wakes up, he starts the day with healthy greens and breakfast. Next up is his daily workout. (You can take the man out of the Olympics, but you can’t take the Olympics out of the man.) “I either go for a run—we live not far from the river, so I’ve got a handful of beautiful running options—or I work out in our basement gym. It depends on the day. Two to three days a week, I’m doing body circuits, legs, lower body and a lot of core. I beat my body up a lot over the years, so my back and core strength is really important,” he says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-7-a-m-dad-duty">7 A.M. | DAD DUTY</h2>



When his two children wake up, they have breakfast and get ready for their own days. Mesler gets them to school before he gets his own workday started in his home office. “I tend to hold my mornings for writing, thinking and creativity, especially post-workout,” Mesler says. “There’s a lot of science around how that is when the creative juices are best.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-noon-lunch-date">NOON | LUNCH DATE</h2>



Like so many entrepreneurs, Mesler doesn’t always have the luxury of an actual lunch hour. But he is committed to keeping this one appointment on his calendar: “My wife and I have lunch scheduled once a week,” he says. “Otherwise, you’ve gone far too long without doing that.”&nbsp;



When you have young kids at home, sometimes date night becomes date day, and that seems to work for Mesler and his wife, Rhiannon, a tenured associate professor at the Dhillon School of Business at the University of Lethbridge.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-p-m-client-time">1 P.M. | CLIENT TIME</h2>



While his mornings are mainly for thinking and theory, his afternoons have him connecting with peers and clients. “I might get on a Classroom Champions’ call. Sometimes, our CEO will want me on a call to a donor to tell our story. Or I’ll have <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-hire-a-business-coach/">coaching</a> sessions with clients. Then, I will get a proposal out to a potential new client,” he says. “There is this idea that, in order to get a new client, you need to spend seven hours across 11 touchpoints in four different mediums. That is the 7-11-4 rule.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-p-m-get-social">4 P.M. | GET SOCIAL</h2>



“I was very big in social media at the dawn of Twitter [now known as X]…. In 2010, I was literally the fourth most-followed athlete from the Olympics that year. It was Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Ohno,” Mesler says of the three who came before him. “But it had no purpose after that.” Fifteen years later, he is leaning in once again, with a university student who helps him edit content. His clients don’t discover him on Instagram, per se, but that presence comes with the job if you’re your own boss.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-p-m-dinner-hour">6 P.M. | DINNER HOUR</h2>



The dinner hour isn’t just about what’s on Mesler’s plate. It’s about the official end of his workday. “In the summer, I’ll pick up the kids and go to the pump track. It’s a BMX-style kind of thing, and the kids are super into it,” he says of the breather he takes from his job. “Once we come home, we’ll have dinner at 6 p.m., and then put the kids to bed.” That’s when he has time to himself to read or watch The Daily Show, so he can bookend his day with that peace and quiet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-9-p-m-power-down">9 P.M. | POWER DOWN</h2>



Shutting off your laptop is only one part of signaling the end of your day. The other part is shutting off your mind. “I experienced a really gnarly depression in 2019. I never want it to happen again…. I’ve had numerous bad concussions and unlimited micro concussions,” Mesler says. “So, I’m basically done working by 6 p.m., outside of outlier scenarios. I’m turning my brain off at night, and when things pop into my brain, I will action them right away—sometimes that just means throwing myself a calendar invite for the next day. I do my best to not ruminate.” A savvy tactic for anyone, but especially for a business owner who still approaches <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/importance-of-healthy-work-life-balance/">work-life balance</a> with the discipline of an Olympian.&nbsp;



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Photo courtesy Sports Illustrated

Olympic bobsled champion Steve Mesler shares how he shifted from sports to leadership coaching, building balance, resilience and success.

Olympic bobsled champion Steve Mesler shares how he shifted from sports to leadership coaching, building balance, resilience and success. | SUCCESS

Olympic Gold Medalist Steve Mesler Shares How He Shifted From Sports to Leadership Coaching

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Steve Mesler: From Olympic Gold to Leadership Coaching | SUCCESS

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Alison Bonaguro

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Dana Perino’s workday consists of three parts: consuming news, reporting news and analyzing news. Yet she still finds time to take a breather from the news. It’s almost a mandatory part of her job as a FOX News Channel anchor. She knows when to lean in and when to lean out.



She may not have known exactly where she’d end up after getting her graduate degree in public affairs reporting, but she saw herself as being visible. “I couldn’t do what I’m doing now if I hadn’t done all the other things: worked on Capitol Hill, met a guy on an airplane, married him, lived in England, moved to San Diego, moved to Washington, D.C., worked in the Justice Department, moved over to the White House, came to FOX and moved to New York [City],” she tells SUCCESS. “None of what I’m doing today would’ve been possible without all of that.”



We sat down with Perino in New York City to find out what her weekdays look like now that she’s very visible as a co-host of the most-watched cable news show.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-45-a-m-pray-for-grace">4:45 A.M. | PRAY FOR GRACE</h2>



Since Perino doesn’t have the luxury of waking up with the sun, she opts for the <a href="https://amzn.to/4dvbvdm">Hatch Sleep</a> app, which uses lights to get her up before dawn. “I love mornings. I think that’s my natural disposition but also because [of] my family: We’re ranchers,” she says. “The first thing I do is have a quiet moment of <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/meditation-for-productivity/">meditation</a> and prayer…. I ask for grace and mercy…. I start the day with that intentionality.” Then, before she even turns on a light, Perino scrolls through news compilation emails for domestic news, Middle East news, editorials and op-eds. “I wish I had time to read hard copies. My favorite thing to do is have a hard copy of the Wall Street Journal on Saturdays,” she says.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-30-a-m-workout">5:30 A.M. | WORKOUT</h2>



Forever a multitasker, Perino has a Peloton in her Manhattan apartment so she can exercise while she digs deeper into the day’s headlines. “I can do a 20-minute ride and 30 minutes of weights. And then I’ll check my phone,” she says. Three podcasts that Perino manages to pack in before the sun even rises are The Daily Punch, The Headlines and The Daily. “I listen at 1.5 speed,” she says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-30-a-m-shower">6:30 A.M. | SHOWER</h2>



Her morning shower is part of the disciplined routine. “My husband makes my mushroom coffee. I have coffee while I scroll through the websites: Fox News, Daily Mail, Drudge Report and National Review as I look out over the Hudson River.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-45-a-m-the-rundown">6:45 A.M. | THE RUNDOWN</h2>



Like clockwork, at 6:45 a.m., Perino gets on a call with her America’s Newsroom co-anchor Bill Hemmer and her executive producer for a rundown of the two-hour live show. After that wraps, she leaves for the studio. “I have a car service, so it’s only a 10-minute drive. With my long workday, I couldn’t do a long commute. I wouldn’t be able to do this work,” Perino shares, “and I love my job.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-7-45-a-m-connect">7:45 A.M. | CONNECT</h2>



Right when she gets into the office, Perino has her favorite part of her day. “My assistant and I have a chat about all kinds of things… when it’s just the two of us in the office. That’s when I have breakfast: Qi’a with berries and a splash of almond milk.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8-a-m-hair-makeup-coffee">8 A.M. | HAIR, MAKEUP, COFFEE</h2>



Perino’s hair and makeup team works together to get her camera ready in less than 45 minutes. “I’m uncomfortable with this much makeup, but I know that, on camera, I look my very best,” she admits. “Then, I grab another coffee.” By 9 a.m., she’s ready to wake up the rest of America with the news she’s had on her mind since 4:45 a.m.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-11-15-a-m-exit-the-building">11:15 A.M. | EXIT THE BUILDING</h2>



After the morning show wraps, Perino has a break until she’s on the air again for her evening show. She uses that time to walk away from the studios. “I have a 2:30 p.m. private pilates appointment at Columbus Circle. It’s about a 20-minute walk or I can take the subway. On other days, I have ballroom dancing lessons. I get <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/the-best-fitness-plans-for-busy-people/">exercise</a>, and I get off my phone,” she says, even though she uses the time on the way there to listen to more podcasts, like Ruthless or The Ben Shapiro Show.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-p-m-forming-opinions">4 P.M. | FORMING OPINIONS</h2>



“The thing about The Five is that it’s a different show [because] you’re giving your opinion. I’ve learned how to do news in the morning and opinion in the afternoon. It’s a balancing act,” she says. So, in the hour leading up to that, Perino’s asking herself (and others) how to report, analyze and opine on the issues of the day. After a quick hair and makeup touch-up, she’s on the set of The Five at 4:50 p.m. “When I was the press secretary (for President George W. Bush), nobody ever cared what I thought personally. I hid behind that, speaking on behalf of the president,” she says. “But now I’m live on the air. And I work at a place where I’m not going to get canceled or fired for anything I say. Ever.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-p-m-home">6 P.M. | HOME</h2>



As soon as she can, Perino heads for the comfort of home. She’ll either walk or take the car service. “I wash my makeup off. I do some sort of stretching—there’s a new app called STRETCHIT, and the stretches are only six or eight minutes long,” she says. By the time she’s done, her husband Peter has made or ordered their dinner. “There are so many things to do at night, and I have FOMO, but I know that time goes by very quickly. And I have so much I want to do…. But I only go out one weeknight a week.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-7-p-m-tv-hour">7 P.M. | TV HOUR</h2>



The relaxing hour between dinner and bedtime has just two unofficial rules: It is only one hour, and it can’t be the news. “I have to be very disciplined. So Peter and I watch together. We just finished Landman,” she said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-9-p-m-lights-out">9 P.M. | LIGHTS OUT</h2>



When Perino finally goes to sleep, she means it. No middle-of-the-night scrolling, no checking for breaking news and no early-hours brainstorming for the day ahead. To stay true to that, she has a timer on her phone that kicks her off Instagram. “I have a time limit so I’m not tempted to buy something or watch dog videos,” she says.



When the weekend finally rolls around, that’s when Perino, Peter and their beloved-by-all dog, Percy, can truly unwind. Usually at their beach home in Bay Head, New Jersey. “I save all of my book writing for the weekends. I’ll have great mornings with Peter and Percy on Saturday and Sunday. And then usually from noon to 4 p.m., I’m upstairs writing.”



Perino’s brand-new book, <a href="https://amzn.to/44sQwno">I Wish Someone Had Told Me…</a>, is out now.&nbsp;



Photo courtesy of Fox News. This article originally appeared in the<a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/subscriptions/"> September/October 2025 issue</a> of SUCCESS magazine.

From 4:45 a.m. wake-ups to opinion segments on The Five, Dana Perino shares how she balances news, fitness and life off the air.

From 4:45 a.m. wake-ups to opinion segments on The Five, Dana Perino shares how she balances news, fitness and life off the air. | SUCCESS

Inside Dana Perino’s Daily Routine as a FOX News Anchor

Inside Dana Perino’s Daily Routine as a FOX News Anchor | SUCCESS

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Business &amp; Branding

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Without even looking it up, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/colneedham/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Col Neeham</a> knows that Nicole Kidman was born in Honolulu in 1967.



That’s what 50 years as an obsessive film fan with an attention to detail and an engineering degree will get you: an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the entertainment industry, right at the apex of the internet supernova.



But Needham’s story about the 35-year-old IMDb is so much better than just right time, right place. It started with a deep dive into the world of movies, just out of the goodness of his heart—and then out of the goodness of the hearts of others around the world.



That’s what separates his story from so many others who were lured into the Internet startup era by the coveted idea of generational wealth. That did come for Needham, eventually, but it wasn’t his guiding force. His was just a love of movies.



“I’m a lifelong film fan,” Needham says. “My first experience in a cinema was when I won a coloring competition when I was five, and the prize was two tickets to go see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” What came next was Jaws, Star Wars and then so many others that he says those films of the 1970s formed him as a person.



Two things were starting to happen at once for Needham: his thirst for film was insatiable, and his interest in home computing was ignited.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-origins-of-imdb">The origins of IMDb</h2>



“By 1981, the origins of IMDb came from a very practical problem, which was this: I was seeing so many movies that I could no longer keep track of what I’d seen and what I hadn’t seen,” he says. ”Back then, the classic film-geek thing to do was to get a paper diary and write down what I saw on what day.”



Unlike other cinema zealots, Needham was paying close attention to the credits—all of them. “The 14-year-old me didn’t know what a cinematographer or an editor did, but I would notice patterns in the credits,“ he says. “I’d see that this editor often works with this director, or this producer seems to produce films by this writer. But my paper diary only had enough space to write the title down.”



His solution? A database.



That genesis gave him ample room to create a living record of everything he’d seen. “Ridiculously geeky,” he acknowledges, “but that kind of worked out all right in the end.”



From there, his story is standard-issue ’80s internet success: Dial-up modems led to message boards that allowed him to interact with other film lovers who wanted to add to Needham’s database, all on a strictly volunteer basis.



“I would always say yes, because if there was somebody willing to give up their time to manage that data, then it was worth adding,“ he says. “Then, in 1993, I got an email from a Ph.D. computer science student at Cardiff University in Wales. He said he’d installed the database software and thought it was really cool, but he asked if I’d heard of this World Wide Web thing?&nbsp;[He said,] ‘I think it might be quite big, and we could have a website interface to the database.’” 



That student was Rob Hartill, who did exactly what he’d volunteered to do. Within two weeks, <a href="http://imdb.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMDb.com</a> was up and running.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-a-passion-project-to-a-business">From a passion project to a business</h2>



As soon as the site’s blockbuster growth became palpable, Needham and his volunteers had decisions to make. “We could either say, ’We can’t do this anymore because it’s consuming all our spare time,’ or we could <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/3-steps-to-take-before-you-turn-your-side-hustle-into-a-full-time-business/">incorporate as a business</a>, sell some advertising, and one or two of us could work part-time,” he recalls.



They had the website traffic to warrant that kind of leap of faith, but as with any non-e-commerce sites, there wasn’t revenue correlating with that traffic—yet.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized"><img src="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/imbd-ceo-Col-Needham-Photo-by-Rich-Polk-Getty-Images-for-IMDb.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-85933" style="width:400px;height:auto"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">IMDb founder and executive chair Col Needham. Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb</figcaption></figure>



“In 1996, we incorporated as a U.K. company, and we figured out a formula to divide the shares in the newly formed company according to how long you’d been involved and how much work you were doing,“ Needham says. “We bought our first web server on a credit card, and we launched IMDb.com in time for the Oscars in 1996. 



“After we signed our first advertiser—DEC, Digital Equipment Corporation—we paid off the credit card within the interest-free four-week period,” he explains of the brand’s first burst of revenue. “Thus, IMDb.com became the world’s first profitable Internet company.”



The revenue run rate continued to expand, allowing Needham to leave his day job at Hewlett-Packard and cover additional salaries as time went on. “I would call up the next volunteer shareholder and say, ‘We can afford to pay you now. Quit your job,’” he says. “None of us had really ever met, you know? By and large, we’d all done this all by email.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-leveling-up">Leveling up</h2>



As Needham continued to convert volunteers into employees, the brand-new online retailer Amazon.com was watching his every move. In 1997, Amazon founder <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/2013-success-achiever-of-the-year-jeff-bezos/">Jeff Bezos</a> requested a meeting with him, and Needham assumed it was just about Amazon’s advertising on IMDb. But during that London meeting, Bezos explained how Amazon was going from selling books to music and then VHS tapes and DVDs. 



“He painted such a clear picture of how IMDb could operate within the Amazon group of companies. Amazon had never acquired anybody at this time,” he says. “It was such a compelling vision. So on the 24th of April, 1998, IMDb became a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com. It was a massive investment in the future of IMDb.”



Amazon promised Needham that they’d be as hands-off as possible in order to avoid disrupting the magic that IMDb had created. As a result, Needham had permission to keep doing what came naturally to him. “There’s nothing written down to that effect,” he says, “just a verbal agreement between us, 27 years ago.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-needham-s-key-to-success">Needham’s key to success</h2>



Needham credits his <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/what-makes-good-customer-service/">relentless customer obsession</a> as essential to his success. That’s what guides him still, all these years later. That, and saying yes to those volunteers in the early days.



“What we need to do is listen to what customers want from IMDb. And the great thing about the Internet is that there’s no shortage of people telling you how you should do your job,” he laughs. “Every complaint is an opportunity to solve another problem for a customer.



“When things aren’t quite going as planned,“ he adds, “you just apply that engineering mindset, which is, ‘Well, that didn’t work. Now, we’ve learned how to not do that. Let’s see what learnings we can take from that and try again.’”



Needham knows that this mindset is what allowed him to be so fortunate with the career path that he chose—or, in some ways, the one that chose him. “It’s a tremendous honor to be part of the industry that I remain a fan of,” he says, “but [that] I’m now in myself.”



This article originally appeared in the May/June issue of <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/magazine/">SUCCESS® magazine</a>. Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for IMDb

Learn how IMDb's CEO, Col Needham, became a talisman for volunteer film geeks—and later made an early handshake deal with Jeff Bezos.

Learn how IMDb's CEO, Col Needham, became a talisman for volunteer film geeks—and later made an early handshake deal with Jeff Bezos. | SUCCESS

Col Needham Retraces His Path from Film Fan to IMDb Creator

IMDb Founder Col Needham’s Gateway to Success | SUCCESS

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AI &amp; Technology

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AI &amp; Technology | SUCCESS | What Achievers Read

No matter how advanced technology may get, especially in health care environments, every new <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/10-inspiring-quotes-on-innovation/">innovation</a> comes down to one simple premise: You see a problem, and then you solve that problem. And in most medtech cases, that solution is packed with years of next-level genius thinking.



As is the case with <a href="https://frontlinemedtech.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Front Line Medical Technologies</a>, maker of the innovative COBRA-OS (Control Of Bleeding, Resuscitation, Arterial Occlusion System), a device that temporarily blocks the aorta during emergency situations. We turned to Asha Parekh, Ph.D., cofounder of Front Line and the biomedical engineer behind COBRA-OS, to find out more about this device and the future of medtech.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Frontline_COBRA-OS-Brochure_final-2-988x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-83553" style="width:302px;height:auto"/></figure>



Parekh says she and her co-founder Adam Power, M.D., had the idea for COBRA-OS when she saw there was no surefire way to get patients from point A to point B when they are bleeding out. “The COBRA-OS provides circulatory support in emergency situations. It can be used in a variety of applications,” Parekh says. “The intent is to keep a patient alive until they can get the definitive care they need…. So, it’s a temporary measure to keep a patient in good standing, whether that’s within a hospital, from the ER to the OR, or it’s a motor vehicle accident or on a military battlefield.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-lives-beyond-the-hospital">Saving Lives Beyond the Hospital</h2>



The device has a wide variety of applications and environments, according to Parekh. It’s used by trauma surgeons, vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, cardiologists and emergency physicians. So, it’s not just something you’d need in the hospital. You might actually need it on your way there.



“Unfortunately, for 1 out of 10 of those patients who suffer from cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, it’s not likely that their heart will even start again. They won’t get the return of circulation,” she explains. “So, this is one application where we’re trying to bridge that gap and give patients a chance to even get to that definitive care.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-recognizing-the-need">Recognizing the Need</h2>



In any industry, the best solution architects are the ones who have their eyes wide open. They see the problem, and then they find the solution. Which is what Parekh and Power did when they observed patient care.



“I was talking to people who were working with paramedics, ambulances, emergency rooms, and they said they were just grabbing for anything trying to make it work. There’s not really been anything they can do in the instance of cardiac arrest other than just keep on doing CPR,” she said of the clinical need she kept seeing. “We saw that there was an opportunity to bridge those gaps in care and ask, ‘How can we make this better?’”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-medical-success">Measuring Medical Success</h2>



Patient outcomes are the primary measure of a medical device’s success, but factors like feasibility, patentability and financial benefits also define medtech achievements. Launching a device like the COBRA-OS, a Class II device with mid-level risk, begins with obtaining a license from the FDA or Health Canada.



Parekh says that, because the health care industry is so heavily regulated, there are no shortcuts. “We have to make sure that the outcomes are favorable. But there is a little bit of a gray area because our tool is giving a patient a chance at survival—when they’re already in a situation where they might die and you are giving them a last-ditch effort sometimes.” The extent of injury varies, as do the people. “There are guidelines, however; when and on whom we should be doing this is not completely set or accepted yet.”







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pioneering-the-next-generation-of-medtech">Pioneering the Next Generation of MedTech</h2>



When Parekh was in her first year of her undergraduate engineering studies, she estimated that there were 10% women. In graduate school, she says that jumped to about 20%. And, now, in the biomedical engineering lectures she’s given, she happily reports that classes have been almost 40% women. “Biomedical engineering, especially, has gained a lot of traction for women,” Parekh says.



The way she sees it, not everyone should be encouraged into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. “We need to create awareness and bring out the passion in people who are truly interested in it. That’s what’s going to drive the field forward. We can get the best out of people when they truly love it,” she says, “and we want people like that to grow into their passions.”



That aligns with <a href="https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/stem-employment.htm">recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>. Their projections are that STEM occupations will grow 10.4% between 2023 and 2033 (a much faster rate than the predicted overall workforce growth of 4%).



But what’s driving all of it—the facts, figures, awareness—is a passion for problem-solving.



There are always things in the pipeline, says Parekh. Then it becomes a matter of too many problems and not enough time to solve them all. “We wish we had time to work on every project that we wanted to,” she says. “COBRA-OS is a passion project. We truly, truly love, love, love it.”&nbsp;



 This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/subscriptions/">March/April 2025 issue</a> of SUCCESS magazine.



Photo courtesy Asha Parekh, Ph.D.

Discover how COBRA-OS transforms emergency care with cutting-edge tech, bridging gaps in patient survival and advancing medtech innovation.

Discover how COBRA-OS transforms emergency care with cutting-edge tech, bridging gaps in patient survival and advancing MedTech innovation. | SUCCESS

Revolutionizing Emergency Care with COBRA-OS Technology

Revolutionizing Emergency Care with COBRA-OS Technology | SUCCESS

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Lifestyle

Lifestyle Archives

Elevate your lifestyle for success and happiness

After decades as a professional dancer and choreographer, <a href="https://www.meninafortunato.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Menina Fortunato</a> decided to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/career-pivot/">pivot</a> to the actual business of dance. That’s when Menina Entertainment was born. In the 15 years since, she’s taken everything she knows about that world and transformed it into a thriving movement. From the very first step, Fortunato has been working on in-person dance events, dance productions, instructional videos, music videos and the big number at awards shows.







Throughout her career, she’s shared stages with Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Carrie Underwood, Paula Abdul and more. And in her role as a producer, she was an associate choreographer for X Factor and America’s Got Talent and a guest judge on Dance Moms.



But when the pandemic hit in 2020, Fortunato knew she had to find a new rhythm. “I started a virtual dance event that I produced from my bedroom while holding a newborn baby,” she tells SUCCESS. “Switching to online programming was very challenging. I struggled financially for almost two years trying to work from home with my virtual dance programs.”



Looking back on it now, Fortunato knows that those challenges became the stepping stones she needed to explore a whole new way to bring dance to the masses. And that transition paid off. “(That) eventually led to restructuring my business to focus on a high-ticket coaching program called ‘<a href="https://www.bizofdance.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Business of Dance</a>’ where I mentor dancers and help them create their dream dance careers.”



Now, Fortunato is giving us a look at a typical day in the life of her well-choreographed empire.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8-00-a-m-up-and-out">8:00 a.m. — Up and Out</h2>



Like every other busy parent <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-balance-work-and-family-without-feeling-like-a-failure/">juggling work and family</a>, the first thing on Fortunato’s to-do list is&nbsp; to get her three kids to school. “Once I get home, I drink an herbal tea and make an organic superfood smoothie. I might do a quick yoga, pilates or dance-based workout,” she says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-10-00-a-m-get-in-touch">10:00 a.m. — Get in Touch</h2>



This is when Fortunato’s business really gets going. “I have a small team of approximately 10 people and growing. I usually start my computer work, check in with my team on Slack and take Zoom calls.” Doing one-on-one kickoff Zoom calls with every new client she has is one of the ways she differentiates her business by being involved every step of the way.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-11-00-a-m-create">11:00 a.m. — Create</h2>



This is the time of day when Fortunato devotes herself to creating content that will connect her to followers, podcast listeners, students and other clients. “I primarily work remotely from my home office where I have lights, a backdrop, a laptop and sound equipment, so I can record podcasts and film content. I also have a mobile office where I bring my laptop, podcast mic and ring light, so I can work remotely from hotel rooms when I am traveling.” As the pandemic finally started to take a back seat, Fortunato says her business started calling for trips all around the country. She is on the go attending live events, masterminds, dance conventions and more, so she often uses her time in-flight to catch up on sleep. Or on work. “I love creating to-do lists on the plane, especially if I am coming home from a live business event where I am inspired to take action.” Her carry-on is packed with vitamins, supplements, maca and cacao nibs, magnesium, probiotics for gut health, herbal teas, melatonin and roll-on essential oils.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-12-00-p-m-break">12:00 p.m. — Break</h2>



“Balancing work and breaks is crucial,” Fortunato maintains. She takes a lunch break and/or a break to spend time with family during after-school hours or on weekends. “Since my office is at home, I can juggle both family and business life under one roof.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-00-p-m-outsource">2:00 p.m. — Outsource</h2>



Whatever you call it—delegating, outsourcing, calling in favors—Fortunato knows where she shines and where she might need a hand. “I outsource certain tasks such as video editing and public relations. I use Slack, Basecamp, Monday, Fiverr and other platforms for outsourced work. I ensure that everyone is aligned with our goals and tasks for the day,” she says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-00-p-m-school-pick-up">3:00 p.m. — School Pick-Up</h2>



When you run your own business, there are a few mini perks along the way. And for Fortunato, that means she can pick her children up from school and connect with them on the ride home.&nbsp; They have after-school lessons too. While they are busy with those, she can take her dogs for a hike or take her youngest to the park. She calls this time “my outdoor time.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-30-p-m-sales-calls">4:30 p.m. — Sales Calls</h2>



“Selling new clients involves a mix of social media marketing, direct engagement and speaking to prospects in the DMs, primarily focusing on Instagram and Facebook. I built my business organically for two years and recently started adding Instagram DM ads. Both sales strategies start in the DMs, then lead to a phone consultation and interview with my talent recruiting team. Additionally, I pitch my programs during live dance events. Engaging with my audience on various platforms helps in maintaining a consistent online presence and attracting new clients.” It’s a reminder that no matter what your business card says, every successful entrepreneur is in sales.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-7-00-p-m-dinner">7:00 p.m. — Dinner</h2>



According to Fortunato, shifting back into personal life involves setting boundaries. “I schedule my meetings and calls when my kids are at school,” she says, “and block off time after school so I can be present for their lessons, homework, dinner with my family and bedtime.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8-00-p-m-an-unhurried-bedtime">8:00 p.m. — An Unhurried Bedtime</h2>



Babies grow up. And when they do, as Fortunato has seen through the lens of motherhood, they need more than just a lullaby. With three kids under 13 years old, she knows that bedtime lasts a little bit longer now. There are conversations and homework and showers and snuggles, she says. So she doesn’t rush the process. That’s key to getting children of all ages accustomed to a nighttime routine of their own.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-10-00-p-m-catch-up">10:00 p.m. — Catch-Up</h2>



“Since I come from the entertainment world, the artist in me likes to work late,” the self-proclaimed night owl says. “It’s usually quiet at home or in my hotel room, where I have fewer distractions and can focus. I am also most creative at night.” That solitude allows her time for extra work, emailing and planning for what’s to come. “If I have deadlines to meet, I work relentlessly to ensure that it gets done.”



Fortunato has made a living not only as a dancer, but as someone who helps dancers build their brands, which ultimately allows them to transform into success stories of their own. That’s when she can take a virtual bow, knowing she’s done her job.



Photo from Menina Fortunato

Get to know the daily life of dance coach Menina Fortunato as she shares how to balance work and family while building a business.

After decades as a professional dancer and choreographer, Menina Fortunato decided to pivot to the actual business of dance. That’s when Menina | SUCCESS

A Day in the Life of Dance Coach Menina Fortunato

A Day in the Life of Dance Coach Menina Fortunato | SUCCESS

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When your success comes from others' success, there’s no such thing as a typical day.



Nobody knows that better than <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brownlee" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Brownlee</a>, one of the country’s leading business coaches. His work with companies like McDonald’s, Amazon, HP, CVS, Google and more happens behind the scenes. But his fingerprints are all over the steps those brands are taking for success in sales, service and scales.



Brownlee founded his own firm, The Brownlee Group, in 2012 after working for one of Tony Robbins’ companies for a decade. Now, Brownlee’s work is everywhere it needs to be: on his YouTube channel, in his bestselling books, on the LinkedIn Learning platform, in his keynote speeches and in one-on-one sessions. Whatever he’s teaching, he’s learned the lessons himself and puts them to good use with a disciplined approach to his own work-life balance.



After years in the entertainment industry, Brownlee found himself at a crossroads. “It was a lot of stress but a lot of fun,” Brownlee says. “But I felt like I was missing purpose in my life…. That’s when I discovered coaching. There was something cathartic about helping somebody else.



“We all set goals,“ he adds, “but you need to be able to close that gap between the goal and where you’re starting…. Trying to figure out a system has been the science project for the last decade.”



In a video call from his office in Pacific Beach, California, Brownlee broke down his <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/5-strategies-for-your-most-productive-workday/">workday</a> into specific blocks. This is his way of guiding his purpose and productivity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-30-a-m-pray">5:30 a.m.: Pray</h2>



When Brownlee wakes up, he’s careful not to touch his phone. Instead, he prays—not intercessory prayers but prayers of sincere thanks.



“I pray to God and give Him actual gratitude,” he says. “Whether it’s the people in my life or the material things I have, when you put yourself in that gratitude space, there’s something real about connecting with <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/55-quotes-about-gratitude/">gratitude</a> that affects how you feel.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-a-m-meditation">6 a.m.: Meditation</h2>



Brownlee sets aside 16 minutes for meditation to quiet his mind. “It’s detaching and not having to think about anything else, which is hard for me,” he says.



He admits that his mind was all over the place when he started. “Whether you’re religious or not, something that’s spiritual connects you to something higher.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-7-a-m-fathering">7 a.m.: Fathering</h2>



Since Brownlee’s wife is a professional athlete, she is out of the house by 4 a.m. So every morning, he makes breakfast, wakes up his kids and gets them to school.



“I was a latchkey kid in the ’80s, so I was 8 years old and my sister was 4,“ he recalls. “I’d put her on my banana seat bike and ride her to preschool before going to my elementary school. My parents were teachers, so they missed a lot of stuff.“ He made the choice then not to miss a thing. “I want to bring them to school every day, make them breakfast, chaperone events—everything.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8-a-m-gym-time">8 a.m.: Gym time</h2>



“I believe in the MBS rule of mind, body [and] soul,” Brownlee says of his fitness routine. He lifts weights and does cardio before heading to the office. “I’m as ready as I can be for anything that’s coming.”



He is also an avid stand-up paddleboarder, which means that if the California weather cooperates—which it often does—he might work that into his wellness regimen as well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-9-a-m-goals">9 a.m.: Goals</h2>



There have always been and always will be goals. “I’m such a believer in goal setting, but it comes with a caveat,“ Brownlee says. “I have an annual goal, quarterly goals, monthly goals, weekly goals and then daily tasks. They’re all connected to the bigger goal.“



He meets these goals using his blocking system. “I block time as if it’s a meeting, usually in one- or two-hour blocks. And those don’t move…. They are inked.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-12-p-m-calls">12 p.m.: Calls</h2>



Putting “calls” on his workday schedule frees Brownlee up to make calls at their designated time. This almost guarantees that calls don’t interrupt morning and afternoon blocks. Talking one-on-one with clients is always his top priority, as it should be—but he’s at his best when he’s had a productive morning first.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-p-m-lunch">1 p.m.: Lunch</h2>



It’s an old-fashioned concept, but a full lunch hour can still work in a modern entrepreneur’s day. “Where I have lunch will change, but I always have lunch blocked out for an hour,” he says. “If somebody’s local and I can do lunch, then it’s like a double whammy. I can eat lunch and have a meeting.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-p-m-content">2 p.m.: Content</h2>



When he’s focusing on his morning workout, Brownlee’s mind often comes up with new ideas that he wants to share with his followers. He hopes that whatever has inspired him will inspire others. Afternoons are his time to create this content with his production team. “I tell my video, lighting and sound people that I’m going to shoot content… and then they'll start working on editing it,” he says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-p-m-strategize">3 p.m.: Strategize</h2>



Brownlee takes a bit of his own advice when it comes to taking a moment—or more—to bask in and build on a success. “If you’re a high achiever, you’re achieving, you’re achieving, you’re achieving—and even if you hit your goal, you don’t take time to celebrate it because you’re on to the next goal,” he says. “I was talking to executives today, and I had them take an assessment so I can see where the disparities are between who they are and who they have to be at work.” Once you can determine that, you can find a better balance between the two.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-p-m-family">6 p.m.: Family</h2>



Family always comes first, especially after a busy day for the kids, mom and dad. “You have time for yourself and time for family,” he says. ”I take my daughter to gymnastics, I take my son to basketball or soccer, then we’ll do homework together. Once the kids are down, my wife and I really get our alone time.”



He’s working on bringing his A game to date nights with his wife. Up next is Lady Gaga in Las Vegas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8-p-m-review">8 p.m.: Review</h2>



While so many busy executives might go to bed thinking of what the following day holds, Brownlee “end[s] the day by reviewing the day. If something rough happened during the day, I think about what I could have done differently. Then, I always try to pick out something good that happened in the day, too,“ he adds. “Because when we go to bed, the last thing that’s in our mind is the thing that we’ll think about in our subconscious when we’re sleeping.”



Photo courtesy David Brownlee

Explore a day in the life of leading business coach David Brownlee. Discover the lessons he’s learned from teaching others to succeed.

Explore a day in the life of leading business coach David Brownlee. Discover the lessons he’s learned from teaching others to succeed. | SUCCESS

A Day in the Life: David Brownlee

A Day in the Life of David Brownlee | SUCCESS

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The CEO of Mekanism Jason Harris answers interview questions on stage.

The name “Jason Harris” might not be a brand you know well, but the brands he’s been busy building are all bona fides you need to know. His clients include top-tier consumer names, like Ben &amp; Jerry’s, Peloton, OkCupid, Charles Schwab and many more. As the co-founder and CEO of <a href="https://mekanism.com/work" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mekanism</a>, an award-winning creative advertising agency whose methods have been <a href="https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=41700" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studied at Harvard Business School</a>, Harris has tapped into an innate ability to persuade consumers. Harris shared his masteries when it comes to building brands in a new and complex era of media in his bestselling book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Soulful-Art-Persuasion-Habits-Influencer/dp/0593136071" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Soulful Art of Persuasion: The 11 Habits That Will Make Anyone a Master Influencer</a>.



Part of his success is the way he leans into the idea of fierce entrepreneurship at Mekanism. “We like to hire people who are <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/are-entrepreneurs-born-or-made/">creatively entrepreneurial</a>. We have this idea that the company was founded by entrepreneurs, and we want everyone who works here to have autonomy and feel like they’re entrepreneurial,” Harris says. “You don’t have to be an entrepreneur to be entrepreneurial….”



“This spirit is pervasive throughout the company…. It’s motivational, and it creates this layer of thinking that we empower you to be responsible and we’ll support you, but we’re not going to micromanage you. We want people to have the freedom to go after their work as if it's their own.”



And day in and day out, that is how Harris operates. He shared a typical work day with SUCCESS®, from his absolute morning must-haves to his end-of-the-day indications. “Every day, I have three daily practices that are my personal imperatives: <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/why-is-meditation-important/">meditation</a>, <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/make-fitness-a-priority-on-your-daily-to-do-list/">movement </a>and <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/from-the-archives-the-power-of-reading/">reading</a>. I try to do two in the morning and one at night,” he said. These bookend the core steps to Harris’ success at Mekanism.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-7-a-m-move">7 A.M. – MOVE</h2>



Harris starts his day with discipline by working out, no matter what. “I have a trainer I train with, and I do yoga one day, weights one day, and boxing one day. And then, on my own, I do rowing or Peloton. It’s something different every day. If I don’t do the movement activity in the morning, it’ll never get done. It has to be the first thing I do,” he maintains.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8-a-m-meditate">8 A.M. – MEDITATE</h2>



After the movement activity, comes the time to sit perfectly still. Harris learned about meditation when he started working with the <a href="https://zencare.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care</a>, helping them with their brand identity, positioning and advertising. “To handle the stressful work, I’ve taken up daily meditation practice…. I started to incorporate that into my everyday routine,” Harris says. “It has had a really outsized difference in me managing my stressors and being more present.” After that, comes his shower, where he starts to mentally prepare for the day ahead of him.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-10-a-m-work-from-office">10 A.M. – WORK FROM OFFICE</h2>



If there was any silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the new normal of workplace flexibility. So, even though Harris comes into Mekanism’s New York office every day, his staff is allowed to work from home three days a week. “Every day is different for me, but usually my first meeting is with someone on my leadership team. I have blocks of time for critical thinking, but most of my day is spent on Zoom or in-person meetings. I try to stack meetings from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., then I have the last few hours set aside for working.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-noon-power-through">NOON – POWER THROUGH</h2>



Lunch hour? What’s that? It’s almost an archaic notion these days, and Harris is living proof. “I’ll usually have Sweetgreen ordered in. When I’m in the office, I want to power through the work, but I do love to [go out for] client lunches. When I do, I almost always go to Balthazar in SoHo,” he says of the classic Manhattan spot, his favorite near his office.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-p-m-creativity">1 P.M. – CREATIVITY</h2>



Once you’ve worked your way up into the C-suite, you don’t always get the chance to do the things that led you there. But for Harris, being creative is still on his to-do list. “The place where I get to really be in the work is when we pitch new business, and that’s something I do a lot of—formulating our strategy, our ideas and the creative platform—all of which I’m heavily involved in. Once we have the account, then my job is to check in with [the] CMO or work with [the] team,” he explains. “Pitching new business is kind of the dream scenario, and the blue-sky thinking—that is the best part of the job. And that’s going on all the time. It’s part of every day. It’s constant.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-p-m-engage">3 P.M. – ENGAGE</h2>



Social media—like it or not—has become a very necessary part of any entrepreneur’s career. And while some executives use it sporadically, Harris is committed to a more strategic approach. “I do a two-hour block a week. I write posts and create video content, and then work with my marketing team to edit and post all of that for the week ahead,” he says. The result is nearly <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jason_harris/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">20,000 followers on Instagram</a> alone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-p-m-check-in">5 P.M. – CHECK IN</h2>



All too often, the idea of being a mentor can be somewhat of an empty promise. It’s something you say and not necessarily something you actually do, but it’s important to Harris to follow through at every level of Mekanism. “Mentoring is one of the reasons why I spend the bulk of my time with the agency leadership team, along with one-on-ones I do with each person on that team and with everyone in the company throughout the year,” he says. “I want that holistic view of the company—not just the view of the company from the leaders.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-7-p-m-wrap-up">7 P.M. – WRAP UP</h2>



There was a time when Harris worked until the work was finished. It’s kind of that “you’re-done-when-you’re-done” mentality. But, now, he knows better. “By the end of the day, your to-do list is never finished,” he explains. “So, I try to wrap up my day based on the clock on the wall. I shut down by 7 p.m. I used to power through and keep going, but now I realize that’s not healthy.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8-p-m-the-reading-chapter">8 P.M. – THE READING CHAPTER</h2>



It’s a nonnegotiable, end-of-day routine for Harris. When he gets home from the office, he sits down with a book before he does anything else. “When I am done with the day, I have to read for at least 20 minutes. It is just personal reading and development. And then I can stream some shows and do something less productive. That’s my at-home immediate thing I do.”



Now, when Harris reflects on the success he’s had, he does so with an appreciation for the road that brought him here. “To be honest, I really like my job,” he says. “My favorite part is when I’m pitching a client, and I walk out super pumped about the team and the work and the chemistry. That’s when I’m reminded of the fact that I have been in business for 20-something years for a reason.”



Photo courtesy Jason Harris

CEO of the ad agency Mekanism, Jason Harris, has mastered the art building brands. Learn how he spends his day and builds a brand of his own.

The name “Jason Harris” might not be a brand you know well, but the brands he’s been busy building are all bona fides you need to know. His clients | SUCCESS

A Day in the Life of Mekanism CEO Jason Harris

A Day in the Life of Mekanism CEO Jason Harris | SUCCESS

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Mikayla Nogueira has a <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-write-your-personal-mission-statement/">mission statement</a> for her brand, and it’s this: Be yourself. That’s the all-day-every-day mindset that guided her when she started her TikTok makeup artist empire four years ago.



In her <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mikaylajmakeup/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">social media bios</a>, the Massachusetts resident defines herself as a MUA (makeup artist). But the way the world and her nearly 16 million <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mikaylanogueira?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TikTok</a> followers see her is so much more than that. She’s an artist. She’s a comedian. She’s a straight shooter. All the qualities that have made this one-woman show into a household name for anyone who knows the difference between a lipstick and a lip stain.



Her initial viral moment—almost overnight—meant there was no time for creating any kind of manufactured identity. Hers was already cemented. “I came right out the gate and threw my whole personality out there. I was super honest, whether it was about beauty products or my personal life,” Nogueira says. “I think that has really helped me grow a community. I don’t just have followers—I have a community.” A self-described workaholic, she structures her days like an executive, from strategy to execution. “I never half-a-- anything,” she says. “That’s very important to me.”



So, to that end, her work week actually starts Sunday evening. That’s when she creates a filming schedule she can stick to, shooting five videos every day.



Here’s what a typical weekday might look like for Nogueira:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-7-a-m-morning-routine">7 a.m. Morning routine</h2>



Nogueira’s business requires her to start with a blank canvas every day. So, the first stop on her to-do list is the shower. “I always want to start every day with a fresh face and fresh hair,” she says. “I have to put time into my hair and accessories and outfit because that’s the pre-prepping for filming.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8-a-m-studio-session">8 a.m. Studio session</h2>



Nogueira sets up her own studio equipment—tripods, lighting, microphones. Then, she’s ready to shoot, which she does without a script. “When I film, I find that there is a sense of authenticity when you’re getting my first reaction. A lot of my videos are first takes and never-been-done-before moments,” she says. “You get a genuine reaction out of me…. I have to be raw for the videos to be authentic. I work best by myself, so I handle all of the filming and editing. I’m very type A.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-p-m-building-community">1 p.m. Building community</h2>



Nogueira’s day is often planned down to the minute, so her rule is to post her first video at 1 p.m. Once it’s live, she spends about 20 minutes replying to her followers. “I make sure I respond, answer and thank them. It’s hard to picture 15 million people in your head,” she says. “So, I look for ways to engage with my followers as much as humanly possible.” And so it goes with every video she posts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-30-p-m-staying-up-to-date">1:30 p.m. Staying up to date</h2>



“People say don’t turn your passion into your job because then it’s no longer your passion. But I am someone who truly bleeds makeup. It’s the world to me,” she says. So, she devotes a robust amount of her afternoon looking at what’s new on the Ulta and Sephora apps. She searches for trends, innovations, the essentials and the not-so-essentials to stay up to date on industry news. “I add things to my cart all week, and then, at the end of the week, I check out,” she says. “If you’re a large influencer like me, it’s super important to do that. And, then, when those packages come, I already have video ideas ready to go for the next week.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-30-p-m-mentoring">2:30 p.m. Mentoring</h2>



Nogueira built her business organically, so aspiring beauty influencers often come to her for advice. If she sees potential in what that person has done so far, she’ll do what she can to help them navigate the unpredictable nature of social media. “It requires so much research… because it’s not a well-known career,” she says. “I will tell them how you can find management, how you can get paid and how to improve videos. I love giving that kind of advice to people. People want the influencer space to be a community, so I try to put in the effort to make it one.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-p-m-delegating">3 p.m. Delegating</h2>



It’s not all just makeup tutorials for Nogueira. She has to find time in her week to work on the business of beauty: meetings, phone calls, media, podcasts and any sort of administrative work. And it also means giving a handful of people on her team their own to-do lists. She has public relations professionals, a financial adviser and managers to help her behind the scenes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-30-p-m-monetizing">3:30 p.m. Monetizing</h2>



Nogueira has several different income streams, and she counts on the relationships she’s built with makeup, fashion and lifestyle brands to be the biggest part of her paycheck. <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-create-strategic-partnerships/">Everybody wins with brand partnerships</a>. “They send you the product they want you to promote, you test it out and then you move forward with a contract. That contract has a scope of work,” she says. “So, say a beauty brand wants me to create one TikTok about their product: I create the video, send it to the brand, they approve it and we set a date for it to go live.” After that, she sends the brand her analytics and an invoice. Other sources of income include the creator payments she receives directly from TikTok and the earnings from her Amazon storefront and from her affiliate links. “There are a lot of ways to make money,” she says. “You just have to be smart about it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-p-m-family">4 p.m. Family</h2>



The late afternoon is when Nogueira switches gears and starts getting ready for time with her husband. She cleans their home, starts dinner and then is fully present when they are together at the day’s end. “My husband and I have dinner together, and that is my most cherished moment of the day,” she says. After that, they spend time with their dogs and have some much-deserved downtime for books, shows or games.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-9-p-m-rest">9 p.m. Rest</h2>



Early to bed; early to rise. That’s the way Nogueira is wired. “I am an old lady in that I go to bed around 9 p.m. Getting eight hours of sleep is so important. I can’t function without eight hours,” she says.&nbsp;



These events were taken from a typical day, and some illustrate the highlights of Nogueira’s life as a beauty influencer and content creator.



Photo courtesy Mikayla Nogueira

Explore how influencer Mikayla Nogueira's achieves balance in her daily routine and her secrets for turning an identity into a brand.

Explore how influencer Mikayla Nogueira's achieves balance in her daily routine and her secrets for turning an identity into a brand. | SUCCESS

Beauty Influencer and TikTok Sensation Mikayla Nogueira’s Daily Routine

Beauty Influencer Mikayla Nogueira’s Daily Routine | SUCCESS

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Money

Money Archives

Achieve financial success and freedom

It’s hard to argue with <a href="https://helloseven.co/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hello Seven’s</a> mission statement: “<a href="https://amzn.to/3QdelJr" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">We should all be millionaires</a>.” With an emphasis on all.



It’s a solid plan and one that the business coaching consultancy’s <a href="https://rachelrodgers.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rachel Rodgers</a> is manifesting day in and day out. With all the talk about leaning into a career, Rodgers is teaching professionals how to lean into their worth—especially groups such as women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. When it comes to earning six figures, men are earning those salaries more often than women. Only 6% of women earn six figures, compared to 13% of men, according to a <a href="https://today.yougov.com/economy/articles/25663-how-much-money-earned-poll" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2019 YouGov survey</a> of more than 2,000 people. For Black women and other people of color, the statistics are even worse.



Rodgers, CEO and founder of Hello Seven, is not just helping people make the most of their capacity for earning—she is leading the millionaire movement. It’s her mission to teach diverse entrepreneurs how to make more money and build real, life-changing wealth.



Never having to worry about money may be the most beneficial way to look at your own value. Because it’s not just about the luxury of indulgence—it’s about the luxury of security. There’s so much freedom in having that security. And it comes from having a clear-cut vision, determining what that vision will cost and assessing your existing skill set to help you navigate your way there.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-q-amp-a-with-rachel-rodgers">Q&amp;A with Rachel Rodgers</h2>



SUCCESS:&nbsp;Before we talk about the origin of Hello Seven, what were you doing before you launched the business coaching firm?



Rachel Rodgers:&nbsp;I was a lawyer. I went to law school, and then I read <a href="https://amzn.to/4d38W1v" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich</a> by Tim Ferriss. It was all about, like, how to work online or start your own business and have flexibility. That sounded very appealing because working at a law firm wasn’t what I thought it would be.



S: So, then, what kind of job did you land after law school?



RR: I was looking at different places to work, but this was during the 2008 recession, so there were more lawyers graduating than there were actual jobs. That led me to wanting to do my own thing. I had a clerkship lined up with a judge, and at the end of 2010, when my clerkship ended, I started my own law practice. I had a license to practice law, and I’d spent a lot of money to get it. I just asked myself, ‘How could I show up differently?’



S: The salary jump from law clerk to private practice lawyer had to be significant. And, then, from that to a seven-figure business. Was all of that more of a slow climb or overnight sensation?



RR: Definitely a slow climb, because I was figuring it out as I went. It’s not like I had <a href="https://coaching.success.com/">a mentor</a>. If I had had the me that I am now, it would’ve been faster… I didn’t necessarily want to build a million-dollar business when I started. I just wanted to replace my $41,000 salary. My first year in my own law practice, I made $65,000. But by the end of 2013, I made $300,000. When I wasn’t working with clients, I was doing all of these marketing activities. It all starts to come to a head when all of your efforts start to work together.



S: What was an important part of your marketing strategy?



RR: I created a product, and this was critical. I would talk to entrepreneurs all day long, but a lot of them could not afford me. A lot of them had lost their jobs because of the recession, so I still wanted to serve them but without working for free. So, I created a digital product that was a guide to running your business from a legal perspective. It was 10 chapters called Small Business Bodyguard. I launched that in July 2013… [and] earned $80,000. And, then, it just kept selling. I was earning a 90% profit every time it sold. The following year, I almost doubled revenue again. By the time I stopped practicing law, I was making around $700,000 a year.



S: So, you left the law behind for this new mentor role. How did you know it would be profitable?



RR: My legal clients were asking me how I was getting my practice to grow so fast. I didn’t even realize I was good at it…. And I wanted to share that with everyone who was asking, but then a mentor of mine told me to stop giving it away. I started charging for this business coaching side hustle, and my clients were very successful. Before I knew it, I was able to wind down my law practice and wind up my business coaching. I offered one-on-one coaching packages, retreats and events. I <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/stressed-5-simple-ways-to-prevent-burnout/">exhausted myself</a>, though, and I realized I needed to streamline so that I was only offering a few services related to intellectual property.



S: At what point did you realize that it was women and people of color who were not getting to millionaire status as quickly as men?



RR: I was actually focused on the underserved category even in my law practice. So, I already knew that a lot of the people who were getting laid off were [white] women and women of color. And I remember coming across a stat that said that most women-owned businesses will never make more than $50,000 a year. I was horrified. I was like, “Oh, hell no.” When I watch women who have these brilliant and profitable ideas but can’t get anyone to give them a business loan, you see how there is just not as much available to them.



S: Is there a difference between making seven figures and actually being a millionaire?



RR: They are linked. If you have a business that generates a million dollars a year, even if you don’t take home a million dollars a year, you are a millionaire. The million dollars does not have to be liquid to count. If you have an asset worth a million or more, then you are very likely a millionaire.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rachel-rodgers-steps-to-success">Rachel Rodgers’ steps to success</h2>



It probably takes at least a dozen steps to get from your current net worth to your dream net worth. But you have to start somewhere. Here are Rachel Rodgers’ first three:



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Create your million-dollar vision. “It does not have to be a purely altruistic thing. I wanted to be able to pay my mom’s rent so she didn’t have to stress…. Whatever those things are that currently drive you to show up to work every day. It might be monetary, notoriety or better opportunities.”</li>



<li>Monetize that vision. “What will it take to get there? Once you put a dollar amount on it, you ask yourself what you can do to make that. There are so many money-making opportunities. And if you under earn, you can <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/no-matter-how-busy-why-you-should-always-make-time-for-brainstorming/">start brainstorming ideas</a> and then take action in order to train your brain. We’re conditioned to believe that we go to work, we get the paycheck and that’s it.”</li>



<li>Take stock of your skill set. “What were you good at as a child? What kinds of things do people ask you to help with? What do you have degrees in? We all have secret skills. Your resume shouldn’t be about the companies you worked for, but what you did while you were there and how you were an asset to that company.”</li>
</ol>



This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://store.success.com/by-media/success-magazine-may-june-2024-tony-robbins.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">May/June 2024</a> issue of SUCCESS magazine. Photo by Dale May; Courtesy of Rachel Rodgers

Learn Rachel Rodgers' tips for helping women and other marginalized groups become millionaires in the making.

Learn Rachel Rodgers' tips for helping women and other marginalized groups become millionaires in the making. | SUCCESS

Hello Seven’s Rachel Rodgers Is Showing Marginalized Groups Become Millionaires in the Making

Q&A with “The Millionaire Maker” Rachel Rodgers | SUCCESS

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Ashley Gorley will ai replace songwriters

As of right now, the people who make their living penning songs seem to be decidedly undecided about artificial intelligence. And a little uncertain about the implications and expectations in the world of music. Can it make a songwriter’s job a little easier? Absolutely. But will AI replace songwriters and all their heart and soul? Not likely. In any kind of creative industry, most are in a wait-and-see mode when it comes to AI.



That said, it’s not as if technology hasn’t already given music makers tools that have greatly impacted their world. Think of Andy Hildebrand, the geophysical engineer and mathematician who changed the game significantly more than 25 years ago when he invented Auto-Tune to correct the pitch of someone’s voice in a song. So here comes AI, which tech experts are saying will be as game-changing as the internet was nearly four decades ago. And if the list of AI contenders in the songwriting space so far—<a href="https://www.beatstars.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BeatStars</a>, Audoir, Boomy, Jarvis, Splice, <a href="https://www.bandlab.com/?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BandLab</a>, Soundful and <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-use-chatgpt-for-business/">ChatGPT</a>—is any indication, it’s nearly impossible to downplay AI’s impact on the music of the future.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-grammy-nominated-songwriter-ashley-gorley-weighs-in-on-ai-and-songwriting">Grammy-nominated songwriter Ashley Gorley weighs in on AI and songwriting</h2>



SUCCESS turned to prolific hit songwriter <a href="https://www.taperoom.com/writers/ashley-gorley" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ashley Gorley</a> for insight into what some are calling the future of creative-leaning jobs. As of press time, Gorley has written 67 No. 1 songs, many for countless country artists—a feat no one else in any genre has ever accomplished. He’s worked with an array of artists, ranging from Blake Shelton and Chris Stapleton to Morgan Wallen and Carrie Underwood.



When someone is so clearly killing it without help from technology and has been doing so for more than 20 years, how much value <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-use-ai-to-make-money/">can AI add to the creative process</a>?



“Somebody I’m writing with might pull up a loop, and I don’t ask where it came from,” Gorley says. “I know I’ve probably written to a Splice loop or an Arcade loop, and I’ve been in rooms with producers and track-based writers who’ve pulled up a guitar loop, bass loop or drum loop. We’ve used that to inspire melodies.



“There are times when producer-writers draw from that, as opposed to me looking for licks and loops and then building a vibe around that,” he says of the first-generation of AI loop tools.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ashley-gorley-on-how-a-song-gets-off-the-ground">Ashley Gorley on how a song gets off the ground</h2>



For every 100 songs you hear, they might’ve come to life 100 different ways. It all depends on the songwriter. Some start by putting pen to paper. Some by sitting down at the piano. But for Gorley, he’s an iPhone Voice Memo kind of songwriter even when he’s with other writers.&nbsp;



“I’m more scattered. I have to pace around the room and yell out whatever comes to mind. We talk through ideas first, or someone starts a vibe, or even has a full instrumental of a song. But it doesn’t have words yet,” he explains. “Once I lock into an idea, I can see all the way to the end of the story. That’s when I’ll start using the Voice Memos app… to sing out what I think the song could be, and we iron it out from there.”&nbsp;



Gorley considers himself a topliner: the one who comes in after a track-based writer has created a base for the song. “The topline is the melody and lyrics. That’s what I do.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-ai-write-songs-with-heart-nbsp">Can AI write songs with heart?&nbsp;</h2>



A great song can come from anywhere. That’s the general consensus among the people who make those great songs. It can drop into your lap without even trying, or it can come from long hours of blood, sweat, tears and a blank sheet of paper. That’s when keeping an open mind about the tools of the trade can help.



“I’m not gonna lie: I’m open to it. If I thought I could type in ‘break-up ideas,’ and it would give me 200 randomized things, then that’s fine. It can be another form of idea inspiration, which will only benefit everyone,” he says. “It might spit out a song title, but it’s not gonna have the melody, the lyrics and the flow. There are no rules on the tools we use. You can change the production stuff, but you can’t change the melody and what the song is saying.”



It’s possible for AI technology such as VoxBox and <a href="https://lalals.com/">Lalals</a> to go one step further than Auto-Tune, Gorley says, because they can make you sound almost exactly like a different singer. It could make Carrie Underwood sound like Adele. Or vice versa.&nbsp;



“A sound engineer can manipulate the tone of my voice with a plug-in so I sound like a pop singer,” he says. “You could make me sound like Drake. It would sound pretty close and fool people, but I don’t know what the endgame of that would be.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-will-ai-replace-songwriters">Will AI replace songwriters?</h2>



Since the very early mentions of AI in music and AI songwriting, people have been reluctant to accept the notion that a computer could do their job. Or at least do it well. But Gorley hasn’t seen anyone running scared about AI replacing songwriters. “No one is freaking out,” he shares. But in the same way that Auto-Tune gave creatives a useful tool, AI could do the same for the next generation.&nbsp;



“You can already adjust the tune and the tone of a singer’s voice with Auto-Tune,” he says, adding that this can help sell the song. Because when you’re not thinking about the pitch being off, you’re focusing on the melody and lyrics.



“I’m down for that. In a way, it’s a reminder for songwriters to not write generic songs like AI could,” he says. “You just have to find ways to use it for good.



“The world is yours. You have the internet; you have AI,” he maintains, “but people are still going to stand out by writing better songs.”&nbsp;



This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://store.success.com/by-media/success-magazine-jan-feb-2024-steve-aoki.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">January/February 2024</a> issue of SUCCESS Magazine. Photo by ©Katie Kauss/courtesy of Ashley Gorley.

Prolific songwriter Ashley Gorley dishes on AI and songwriting, and gives his two cents on the debate around AI replacing songwriters.

Prolific songwriter Ashley Gorley dishes on AI and songwriting, and gives his two cents on the debate around AI replacing songwriters. | SUCCESS

Wise Words: Will AI Replace Songwriters, or Will It Be a Hit? Ashley Gorley Weighs In

Will AI Replace Songwriters? Ashley Gorley Weighs In | SUCCESS

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Personal Development

Personal Development Archives

Personal Development | SUCCESS | What Achievers Read

She’s been a star for more than 50 years. You name it, Rita Wilson’s done it. And she’s done it so well, in fact, that she has now woven herself into the worlds of TV, film, theater, music and journalism seamlessly and courageously.



From her first shot at acting in 1972 (The Brady Bunch) to her latest film (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21103300/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3</a>) to her recent album release (<a href="https://amzn.to/40Oi301" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Now &amp; Forever: Duets</a>), Wilson has succeeded at everything she’s put her mind to. And no one appreciates how much bravery that takes more than Wilson herself. She’s never just pursuing a passion project as a one-off—she goes after it with alacrity. It becomes a part of the tapestry that is <a href="https://ritawilson.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wilson’s creative hallmark</a>.



Wilson shares how she’s been able to give herself permission to try new things. “It’s been so creatively satisfying to be able to do that,” she says. “Acting in some ways is very solitary, so it feels easier when you’re part of the process from beginning to end.”



SUCCESS:&nbsp;With a little bit of age and a lot of experience comes the confidence to do more than just be the person reading the words on the script. Do you agree?



&nbsp;Rita Wilson:&nbsp;Well, I think I’ve exhausted the canon of warm, kind, nurturing mother, wife, sister, friend, daughter. It’s like if you asked someone to keep writing the same song, saying, “I really love that song. Just write that song again, but maybe change some of the words.” That’s what I feel like I have done. I love the work that I’ve done. I’m proud of it. But I also feel that I’m done playing those characters.



So you’re giving yourself permission to move on from those roles. Have you ever been reluctant to pursue artistic endeavors outside of TV and film? RW: Never reluctant. Always eager and always curious to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/13-quotes-to-inspire-you-to-try-new-things-in-the-new-year/">try something new</a>. But maybe with songwriting I felt that way, because I didn’t even think it was a possibility. It was something I always wanted to do, but I never did it because the acting thing took over. When you’re new at something, you’re always going to be assessing whether you’re good at it or not. Like, “Can I do this? Am I good at this? What is the vibe here?” I don’t really want to do things that aren’t challenging or exciting or scary on some level. When you look back on the career you’ve had, if there was a highlight reel, what would be the moments that would stand out to you?&nbsp;



RW: Everything I did with <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/11-inspiring-quotes-from-extraordinary-women/">Nora Ephron</a>, Nancy Meyers, Steven Soderbergh, Wes Anderson and Larry David. Plus doing Chicago the Musical, too. It was, in a way, life-changing, because it was the first time that somebody said, “We’d like you to do this job and you’re going to be singing in it.” And with my music, I feel like I have worked with the best people. I’ve written with the most accomplished, iconic songwriters. I’ve performed with an array of artists who I am so in awe of. Those things have all kept me creatively so satisfied. And then in terms of movies, it would have to be discovering that little play, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and watching it go from a 99-seat theater to the success that it’s had.



That reel would tell the story of all the creative pursuits you’ve chased since 1972.&nbsp;



RW: What I’m realizing now is that I would rather do less and have it be more meaningful than do something that is just a lot of the same thing.



Do you feel that way about producing films, like you’ve just done with My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3?



RW: Yes. That’s creative because you’re overseeing everything. When you’re putting a movie together, it’s very hands-on and it’s very immediate. And sometimes things take a while, but every time you get together to discuss a project and work on it and develop it further, you’re part of that creative process. And that’s what I love so much.&nbsp;



Sometimes it’s hard to define success when you’re in a creative field. There aren’t always numbers to measure it, so you have to find your own definition of it.&nbsp;



RW: <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/what-does-success-really-mean-to-you/">Success is such a curious thing</a>—especially in music—because the people I admire who are making music today often don’t get played on radio. So if the barometer is getting played on the radio, then I would not be successful. But if the barometer is people coming to my shows and streaming my music, then the answer is yes. And working with people I admire and respect—I consider all of that success.



And have you ever felt the opposite of success? When something you went after was a little bit of a fail?



RW: Everything that I’ve ever done has failure in it, really. It’s not like I just go off and do it. Everything is a test. Everything is a process of just getting better. And the only way you get better is by putting yourself out there consistently and braving whatever those things are. There’s so many rejections and parts you don’t get. That’s your life if you’re an actor.&nbsp;



What lessons have you learned about your own creativity?&nbsp;



RW: I learned one thing years and years ago with my <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/products-and-services-for-traveling-with-kids/">family on a vacation</a>. As the mom, you’re planning everything, and you bring games, books, projects and all of that so that everybody’s got their thing that they’re doing. And then I realized, “Wait a minute. I don’t have a thing, because my job was to plan their things.” So I had always loved watercolor painting, and I thought, “You know what? I’m gonna do this.” I took a class from September to June every year for five years. And I learned something very valuable: If you do something consistently, you do not get worse at it. You really learn. If there’s something you want to do, don’t give up. Just do it consistently and you will not get worse at it. So now I’m going to take piano and try to learn a few of my songs on the piano, because I thought I should learn these to play them on stage sometimes just to see if I could. Check in with me in a few months.&nbsp;



You’ve said before that creativity never stops. Does that mean that you’ll never stop acting, writing, producing, singing, painting and hopefully, playing piano?



RW: Exactly. I believe people are more creative than they give themselves credit for. And I think everybody needs that in their life. How that creativity manifests itself is so individual. I remember when I was growing up, my mom was always doing something creative: sewing, crocheting, cooking. She was never bored. My mom never uttered the words, “I’m bored.” And I feel that way, too. I never will say “I’m bored.” There’s always something creatively to do.&nbsp;



Listen to Wilson’s latest single, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjMLX1jAyRQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OLI MAZI (We Are All Together)</a>” from My&nbsp;Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 – which she co-produced.



Photo by Harper Smith courtesy of Rita Wilson.

In this interview, superstar Rita Wilson shares the secret to her diverse success: trying new things, no matter the obstacles.

In this interview, superstar Rita Wilson shares the secret to her diverse success: trying new things, no matter the obstacles. | SUCCESS

Outgrowing Hollywood: Rita Wilson Is Taking On New Passion Projects

Q&A: Rita Wilson Can Do Anything She Puts Her Mind To | SUCCESS

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Meg Piercy host of Renovation Goldmine on HGTV kneeling in front of her MegMade furniture

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure—or in this case, one woman’s destiny. Nearly 12 years ago, Meg Piercy found a discarded dresser in an alley behind her Chicago home. She successfully refurbished it and sold it on Craigslist—a chance encounter that started her on a path to becoming the co-founder (along with her husband, Joe) and CEO of <a href="https://megmade.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MegMade</a>, a brand that’s become the gold standard in furniture restoration.



The business was just furniture at first, but over the past 12 years, MegMade has added more to its offerings. The Piercys now have a production facility, a warehouse and two storefronts, with more to come in the next year, and an estimated 20,000 restored furnishings under their belts.&nbsp;



The secrets to her success? Meg swears by these three rules:



<ol>
<li>Don’t be jealous of somebody else’s overnight success.</li>



<li>If there’s a problem, have an open-door policy and work through it together.</li>



<li>Making money does not equal joy and fulfillment. (“Even when Joe and I had nothing, we had each other,” Piercy says.)</li>
</ol>



SUCCESS: I know about your origin story. But even before that, what did you and your husband do for a living?



Meg Piercy: My husband Joe opened a shoe store in the Chicago suburbs, and I worked for a not-for-profit called <a href="https://bythehand.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">By The Hand</a>, which helps kids in Chicago’s highest-risk neighborhoods. And then on the side, Joe was also flipping houses.



S: Let’s go back to the dresser that started it all—how did that happen?



MP: We were living on the North Side of Chicago, and we found the dresser in the alley behind our house. It was a yellow maple one with wood knobs. Our plan was just to sell it and use the money to buy a new one. So, we brought it inside and painted it. At that time, we didn’t feel like we even had the money to buy nice paint. So we bought one of those extra cans—a miscolored tint—from Home Depot and added plaster of Paris. We painted a stripe down the middle and added brass knobs. We put it on Craigslist, and literally in 12 minutes, we had an email saying, “I want to buy this.” We made $80.



S: Were you immediately hooked?



MP: Yes. We put a tarp in our living room, and we would watch TV while we painted. It was therapeutic. It was an escape. It was creative. We were using our hands. My mom always said, “Don’t turn your hobby into your profession. Keep it as a hobby.” But <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-turn-your-hobby-into-a-career/">we took this hobby</a> and turned it into a full-blown profession.



S: Surely you couldn’t find furniture in alleys every day. How did you source all of your pieces?



MP: We really did find good stuff in the alleys—like Baker, Henredon. Then, my husband became friends with the garbage men. He’d tell them to call him if they saw anything. I think he has 40 garbagemen in his phone as “(First Name) Garbage Man.” We also got to know local thrift shops and resale stores.



S: Chicago apartments are not exactly spacious. Where were you keeping inventory?



MP: We had one long hallway, and we could fit six dressers in it. People would come over to buy something, and Joe would say, “Meg made that. Meg made our dresser. Meg made our coffee table.” That’s where the name came from, and that’s what we called ourselves on Craigslist.



S: When did you pivot from working out of your home?



MP: When we were too big for our apartment, we rented our next door neighbor’s garage, and we started selling out of his garage. And this was still all done by hand. We hired some help: my cousin, along with students from the Moody Bible Institute. Then, we signed a lease for our first 700-square-foot store. We thought, “What if we can’t do this?” But we outgrew that store in six weeks.



S: At some point, you must have realized you needed to delegate. Was that hard?



MP: It was. But one of our mentors told me, “You need to be able to spend 80% of the time on your business and 20% in your business”—meaning I needed to be spending only 20% of my time painting and 80% on <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/you-have-a-responsibility-to-market-your-small-business-heres-how/">marketing</a>. I like to get my hands dirty—much more than looking at Excel spreadsheets—but that’s not going to grow your business.



S: Did you have anyone try to buy the business out from under you?



MP: We did, but we never took on an investor. We’ve been scared to take on investors and that pressure of growing too fast. We have a small but mighty team. We pay our people well because we’re hiring people who are very capable.



S: Was your HGTV show <a href="https://www.hgtv.com/shows/renovation-goldmine" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Renovation Goldmine</a> kind of similar to bringing on an investor?



MP: In a way, it was. We did eight one-hour episodes. It gave us so much more credibility than we already had. We might consider doing another show in the future, but we’ve realized that what we want to make is a <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/mario-badescu-brand-legacy/">legacy</a>. We want to give something to our kids to grow. And it’s this business. It’s not a TV show.



S: Your initial business was simply finding something someone discarded and making it beautiful again. But now you do custom pieces. How much of each do you do?



MP: About 30% of what we do are the pieces someone already owns. We’ve rescued a lot of DIYs gone wrong. Or it might be something that looks really bad but means something to that client. People trust us to give something new life. But the majority of what we do is our own pieces [that we’ve found]—and it’s not just painting anymore. Our upholstery business is growing, our lighting business is growing, and we’ve moved into doing high-end lacquers. All of that has allowed us to switch from being focused on selling one piece at a time to selling whole rooms at a time. That has completely transformed our business. Our annual revenue is over $2 million. In just the last three months, we’ve doubled the previous year’s revenue for those three months.



S: How do you go about keeping that <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/good-leadership-stems-from-finding-your-purpose/">sense of purpose</a> as successful as the business itself?



MP: We’re still just as passionate about the before and after. And our purpose is so much bigger than MegMade. We really use what we make here, and we give so much of it away to help other organizations that are doing worthy work.



S: With a husband-wife business and three sons at home, how do you both leave work at work? MP: Our system is to get home in the evening, have dinner, spend time together, put the kids to bed at 8 p.m.—and then we can go back to work. Those are protected hours. Our kids only have one childhood, so we’re not going to mess it up. My mom always told me, “It’s easier to raise a good man than to fix a broken one.”



This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://store.success.com/by-media/success-magazine-nov-dec-2023-tamron-hall.html">November/December issue</a> of SUCCESS magazine. Photo by ©JGP/Courtesy of MegMade.

After "Renovation Goldmine" host Meg Piercy found an old dresser in a Chicago alley, she realized she had stumbled upon her destiny.

After the "Renovation Goldmine" host Meg Piercy found an old dresser in a Chicago alley, she realized she had stumbled upon her destiny. | SUCCESS

Q&A: How "Renovation Goldmine" Host Meg Piercy Grew Her Hobby into a TV Show

Q&#038;A: How &#8220;Renovation Goldmine&#8221; Host Meg Piercy Grew Her Hobby into a TV Show

Q&A: How “Renovation Goldmine” Host Meg Piercy Got Her Start | SUCCESS

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Photograph of Lexie Phillips, Jack Daniel's first female assistant distiller. She is a white woman with long curly blond hair in a black shirt, smiling in front of an old fashioned piece of distilling equipment

Being the first woman to make it to the top of your industry makes you a pioneer. But to do it in the alcohol beverage industry makes you something even better: the torchbearer for all the other whiskey-making women watching you. That’s the case for Lexie Phillips, who was named assistant distiller in early 2020, and has since cemented her status as a woman who knows Jack. 



Every single bottle of <a href="https://www.jackdaniels.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jack Daniel’s</a> is made in Lynchburg, Tennessee, and there are a lot of bottles. Last year alone, the company sold 126,000,000 liters of the whiskey throughout 170 countries. And Phillips is the first woman in the distillery’s 150-year history to helm the ship.



While Phillips was earning her college degree in agribusiness—because, as she tells SUCCESS, without agriculture, the world would stop turning—she signed up for a class called Chemistry and Wine. “We saw all the ins and outs of the process: using yeast, converting sugars into alcohol, and that’s where I kind of fell in love with the process. So that brought Jack Daniel’s back to my mind,” she recalls now.



Find out how Phillips went from learning about the process to running it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-success-i-m-guessing-you-re-not-the-first-person-in-your-family-to-work-at-jack-daniel-s">SUCCESS: I’m guessing you're not the first person in your family to work at Jack Daniel’s. </h2>



Lexie Phillips: I’m the fourth generation. That started with my great-grandfather in the 1940s and then trickled through the family from there. My great-aunt was working in bottling and helped me get my foot in the door. After bottling, I moved into quality control on the finished product side, where I got to work with several past whiskey makers. And there was one woman, Jessica Hartline, who inspired me to go to the stillhouse. She told me, “Lexie, it is hot, dirty work. You have to be very mechanically minded. It is right up your alley.” 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-so-you-knew-that-s-where-you-wanted-to-be-but-how-did-you-make-it-happen">So you knew that’s where you wanted to be, but how did you make it happen?</h2>



LP: In 2014, I had my first big-girl interview. I was in a roomful of people from human resources, the distillery managers and the master distiller. I told them, “I’m dressed very nice for y’all today, but I’m a jeans-and-T-shirt kind of girl. I can work on John Deere lawn mowers without a YouTube video. I change my own oil.” And my manager said that’s when they knew that I was ready for the stillhouse. That was my dream. I became the sixth whiskey-making woman—as a distillery operator—to ever work at Jack Daniels. People think it’s a boys’ club, but that’s not the case at all. The work is hard manual labor, and just one of those things that not a lot of women want to do.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-then-came-your-job-as-jack-daniel-s-very-first-female-distiller-that-must-be-an-honor">Then came your job as Jack Daniel’s very first female distiller. That must be an honor. </h2>



LP: When I first got this job in 2020, part of the world was shut down. It was a weird time to be coming into this role. But one of our tour guides came up to me at a local concert venue, and she said, “Girl, I’m so proud of you for what you’re doing for women at Jack Daniel’s.” That’s when it sunk in that <a href="https://pressroom.jackdaniels.com/bios/lexie-phillips/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">I am the first woman to hold this job</a>. I was on cloud nine. I’m still on cloud nine. It’s very humbling to feel like a trailblazer for women who will come after me. I sure as heck will not be the last.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-some-of-the-responsibilities-that-you-have-as-assistant-distiller">What are some of the responsibilities that you have as assistant distiller?</h2>



LP: You become a brand ambassador, so you travel around and tell people how the whiskey is made. And I still get to spend time in the stillhouse, because that’s what I absolutely love.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-without-getting-too-detailed-about-how-jack-daniel-s-is-made-can-you-explain-the-basics">Without getting too detailed about how Jack Daniel’s is made, can you explain the basics? </h2>



LP: Every bottle starts with the ingredients. Our mash bill [mix of grains used] is 80% corn, 12% malted barley and 8% rye. Our grains are the highest quality. Then comes the water. Every drop of water we mix with those grains comes from our cave spring hollow. It pulls 800 gallons of water from miles below the earth’s surface every minute. And our strain of yeast can be traced all the way back to prohibition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-so-the-recipe-is-grains-spring-water-and-yeast-then-is-it-jack-daniel-s">So the recipe is grains, spring water and yeast. Then is it Jack Daniel’s? </h2>



LP: Not yet. Once we bring all of those ingredients together, it ferments, and that is where your spirit is born. We have a three- to seven-day fermentation, and then we put it through stills made of 100% copper. That produces a cleaner spirit, holding onto the sulfurs that are naturally produced during fermentation. Then we distill off at 140 proof, and then it filters through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-does-the-whiskey-you-ve-made-go-into-the-barrels-to-age">When does the whiskey you’ve made go into the barrels to age?</h2>



LP: First we have to make the barrels. Ours are toasted and charred. The toasting heats up the oak, breaking down a lot of those wood sugars that make up wood. Then we fill the barrels and put them up in the barrelhouse, which is where they live the entirety of their lives.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-it-sounds-like-so-much-work-goes-into-just-one-barrel-of-jack-daniel-s-and-you-aren-t-exactly-running-a-small-batch-operation">It sounds like so much work goes into just one barrel of Jack Daniel’s, and you aren’t exactly running a small-batch operation. </h2>



LP: The distillery owns about 3,000 acres. And about 300 of those make up the main distillery and the cave spring. How much we make on any given day changes, but our maximum is 2,500 barrels filled in a day.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-you-think-about-the-success-you-ve-had-in-the-decade-since-you-started-in-bottling-is-there-one-thing-that-you-re-most-proud-of-in-your-jack-daniel-s-history">When you think about the success you’ve had in the decade since you started in bottling, is there one thing that you’re most proud of in your Jack Daniel’s history?</h2>



LP: One moment that stands out is when my husband—who also works at Jack Daniel’s—and I did a <a href="https://www.jackdaniels.com/whiskey/limited" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Distillery Series</a>. That’s our experimental line that we sell just in Tennessee. So about a year ago, we both had a bottle with our name on it. They were both rye whiskeys, but they were finished in two separate kinds of barrels. Mine was a high-toast oak barrel, his was a high-toast maple barrel. The whole experience really represented the family feel of Jack Daniel’s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-are-there-other-ways-that-the-company-makes-you-feel-seen-as-a-leader">Are there other ways that the company makes you feel seen as a leader?</h2>



LP: We have an event called Women of the Grapes and Grain. We bring together women from within Brown Forman who hold positions similar to mine, and we talk about the women who’ve mentored us, the ones we’ve mentored and how we came into our jobs. We all have different stories. None of us ever dreamed we would be in the leadership positions in the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-this-wine-making-couple-keep-grit-and-passion-on-reserve/">alcohol beverage industry</a>.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-you-re-on-brand-ambassador-trips-you-must-meet-so-many-jack-daniel-s-loyalists-what-have-you-learned-that-stays-with-you">When you’re on brand ambassador trips, you must meet so many Jack Daniel’s loyalists. What have you learned that stays with you?</h2>



LP: My favorite part of talking to consumers is hearing how Jack has touched their lives. Like, “I met my husband over a Jack Daniel’s at a bar.” Or, “Let me tell you about my first Jack Daniel’s tattoo.” Or, “I used to sip Jack Daniel’s on the back porch with my grandpa.” I get hard chills when I hear that. Because we’re here in this small town making whiskey and you forget how big it is. There’s so much more to Jack Daniel’s than just the whiskey, and hearing those people’s stories proves it.&nbsp;



Photo courtesy of Jack Daniel's Distillery.

Lexie Phillips, Jack Daniel's first female to hold the coveted assistant distiller job, considers it an honor.

Lexie Phillips, Jack Daniel's first female to hold the coveted assistant distiller job, considers it an honor. | SUCCESS

At Jack Daniel’s, Distiller Lexie Phillips Is Making Whiskey—and History—Every Day

Q&A: Lexie Phillips, Jack Daniel’s First Female Assistant Distiller | SUCCESS

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Portrait of Women Presidents Organization CEO Camille Burns

When Camille Burns joined the Women Presidents Organization (<a href="https://www.women-presidents.com/about-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WPO</a>) in 2000, she was fresh out of New York University and energized about her new role as program assistant. Now, 23 years later, she’s still passionate about the WPO—and hard at work making the nonprofit a valuable resource for women presidents, executives, leaders and entrepreneurs. Comprising 2,000-plus members and nearly 140 chapters that meet monthly across 10 countries, it provides a professional environment for women to seek business advice and feedback from a village of noncompetitive peers.



“When you look at women-owned businesses, only 4% of them generate over a million dollars,” Burns says. “When I started at WPO, that number was 2%. So we’ve seen a lot of progress with women taking companies public and women in the C-suite running Fortune 500 companies—but we have a long way to go.”



Burns spoke with SUCCESS about the road that led her to the top of Women Presidents Organization and her hopes for the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-women-are-rising-in-business/">future of all women entrepreneurs</a>.



This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tell-us-about-your-background-before-you-started-at-the-women-presidents-organization">Tell us about your background before you started at the Women Presidents Organization.</h2>



Camille Burns: I grew up in Chicago, and I went to Regina Dominican High School. I am dyslexic, so my mom ended up sending me to a Catholic school, so I’d have smaller class sizes. Then, I went to NYU; years later, I got an MBA from Baruch College. While I was at NYU, I worked in human resources at a law firm. And at the end of that, I decided I really wanted to work for a women’s organization because I’d taken a lot of gender studies courses. So, I looked for a job, and this [program assistant] one popped up. And, at the time 23 years ago, it was a tiny organization—about 200 members and only a handful of chapters around the U.S. It’s been great for me to be part of this journey of growing the organization. I honestly had zero interest in business, but I liked the idea of women in leadership positions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How does WPO help women in executive-level positions network with peers and mentors?</h2>



CB: Women can always <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/the-perfect-recipe-for-networking/">go to networking events</a> and <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/8-proven-networking-strategies-of-successful-entrepreneurs/">build a community</a> of women entrepreneurs, but the nice thing about organizations like WPO is that you can step into a ready-made group of women—ones who understand what you’re going through and have had similar issues and challenges.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What life lessons have you applied to your professional career?</h2>



CB: The biggest lesson I learned is from having a learning disability. It taught me to build up other skills, to realize that I’m not going to be good at everything. Now, as an adult, it’s easy for me to accept what I’m good at and what I’m not good at, and then <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-delegate/">surround myself with people</a> who have skills better than mine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Are there professional vulnerabilities that disproportionately impact women?</h2>



CB: Research shows that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7174434/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">impostor syndrome is real</a>. Even <a href="https://womensleadership.kpmg.us/content/dam/womensleadership/pdf/2020/2020wlsstudy.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">among really successful women</a> running multimillion-dollar companies. She might feel like, “Am I really the right person for this? Do I deserve this?” We have to acknowledge and address that.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">There are so many equity gaps in the workplace: gender, racial, age. What can entrepreneurs do to close them?</h2>



CB: We all need to work harder to enhance the profile of women. I see the younger generation of women being more comfortable asking for more of their career, so that’s hopeful. And the gender equity gap is just one. There is also a significant racial equity gap, and that is worse for women. For example, it is hard enough for women to access capital. Then, you find that <a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/FedSmallBusiness/files/2021/sbcs-report-on-firms-owned-by-people-of-color" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research on minority groups</a> shows it is 10 times as challenging for them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Can you talk about how women at the executive level often get pulled in too many different directions?</h2>



CB: With all the demands on a woman president’s time, something has to give. And when you join a group like WPO, you’re committed to showing up. That’s an opportunity for women to get out for a few hours and escape everyone needing them. It’s healthy to be around peers you can learn from. Other women will <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/6-things-to-do-if-you-feel-overwhelmed-with-work/">have workaround solutions</a> for extremely busy lives, because women still have more of the burden outside the office and in their personal lives. Juggling all of that is challenging, but you still have to do things for you.&nbsp;



This article originally appeared in the July/August 2023 <a href="https://store.success.com/by-media/success-magazine-july-august-2023-chance-the-rapper.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">issue of SUCCESS magazine</a>. Photo courtesy of Women Presidents Organization.&nbsp;

Women Presidents Organization CEO Camille Burns shares her hopes for women in leadership and how to close the gender equity gap.

Women Presidents Organization CEO Camille Burns shares her hopes for women in leadership and how to close the gender equity gap. | SUCCESS

Women Presidents Organization CEO Camille Burns Shares Her Hopes for Women Leaders

Women Presidents Organization CEO Talks Gender Equity at Work | SUCCESS

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On a sunny March day in his hometown of Chicago, Chance the Rapper makes his way to The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center for our interview and his SUCCESS photo shoot. Students there on field trips watch with palpable excitement as Chance emerges from his car in his signature snapback with an embroidered “3” on the front and “Chance” on the back.



Chance—full name Chancelor Johnathan Bennett—has been well known in Chicago since he was in high school, then a nascent rapper with a small but loyal following. As that following grew, so did Chance’s fame. And as that fame grew, so did his fortune—which he immediately started giving away, first in a hefty donation to Chicago Public Schools in 2017, then to the county’s mental health services. In 2016, he co-created the Warmest Winter project, which created coats that doubled as sleeping bags for the homeless.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chance-the-rapper-never-had-a-plan-b">Chance the Rapper never had a Plan B.</h2>



Since 2012, when Chance released his first mixtape after graduating from Jones College Prep in 2011, his promise has attracted attention from established artists eager to collaborate. Childish Gambino (Donald Glover), Justin Bieber, John Legend, Shawn Mendes, Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj, Vic Mensa, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz are just a fraction of the circle of artists who were quick to jump into the studio with Chance.



Everything was going according to plan—likely because there has only ever been one. “I never had a plan B. Since I was 10 or 11, I knew I wanted to be a rapper…. I was always under the impression that if I had a fallback plan, I would fall back,” Chance says. “Neither of my parents finished college…. College was important, <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/is-college-still-worth-it/">but it wasn’t something</a> that was fully attainable in my mind.”&nbsp;



People had mentioned the idea of Chance following in his father’s footsteps and pursuing a future in politics. (Chance’s father, Ken Williams-Bennett, served as Barack Obama’s state director when the former president was an Illinois senator.) “None of those things ever really interested me,” Chance says. “They actually scared me. The idea of being anything other than a rapper always scared me.”



That one-track mind led Chance from making tracks in his cousin’s recording studio for fun to making mixtapes to hand out in high school. Then came the shows.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-chance-the-rapper-defines-success">How Chance the Rapper defines success</h3>



“I made four mixtapes when I was in high school, and I would try to put together shows at different makeshift spaces,” Chance remembers. “I feel like my first big success was the first show I produced. I was a freshman in high school, and I did a show called ‘The Final MCs.’ I was new to the school, didn’t know anyone, and I organized a show with all the rappers and comedians and singers from the school. And I closed out the show. It was cool. It was really cool to be able <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/side-hustle-smarts-5-metrics-to-measure-success/">to gauge my success</a> that way.”



And that’s still how Chance gauges his success. Having finished a big <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/chance-the-rapper-vic-mensas-black-star-line-festival-ghana-recap-1235195561/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">festival in West Africa</a> this January, he says he likes being able to put together safe, exciting events with free tickets: “That’s what gives me <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/what-does-success-really-mean-to-you/">the feeling of success</a>.”



Even with those high school highs, Chance had both naysayers and cheerleaders. “There was probably more discouragement than encouragement when I was getting started,” he says. “The way I speak now, people typically tell me that I’m articulating my points and that I am well spoken. And I’ve always been good at reading (not necessarily good at school), so the avenue of rap music wasn’t aligned with how some people saw me. That confused me, because I would think, If you think that I sound smart, doesn’t it make sense for me to have my job be around words?”



But a handful of encouragers he worked with along the way gave Chance the lessons necessary to succeed. He says an after-school program at Chicago’s Harold Washington Library Center gave him the education he needed. The program focused on digital media, crafting and collaboration—and it had an open mic. “That was a really, really big part of me gaining my fanbase…. I learned how to use Pro Tools, how to record myself and how to EQ [equalize] my vocals a little bit from Simeon Viltz and another mentor who passed away, Brother Mike Hawkins,” he says.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monetizing-his-music">Monetizing his music</h2>



After mastering the art of making music, though, there was a need to master the art of monetizing it. That’s where his merchandise came in.



“My dad was the one who was really trying to take it seriously and trying to put together my [debut mixtape] 10 Day,” Chance recalls. “He was paying for the CDs that I was burning my music onto. And then I would stand at different popular spots around Chicago… just trying to disperse the music and get it out there. I always felt like the best way to get it to somebody and make sure that they were attached to it—and would really listen to it—was that there couldn’t be a paywall. So, I made sure that I gave the mixtapes away for free. I would start with a conversation and say, ‘Please listen to it. If you like it, send me a message on Facebook or Twitter, and if you don’t like it, send me a message on Facebook or Twitter. But let me know what you think about it.’ I created these real, lasting relationships. There are people who still have those CDs with my handwriting on them.”



Once the music started reaching more and more people through Chance’s grassroots approach, he and his father started arguing about what would come next. You can’t make a living giving music away for free. Especially as an independent artist with mixtapes, streaming-only albums and no studio support.



“What we ended up agreeing on was that merchandise would be the best way to monetize my music. We paid my friend’s older sister who had a printing press to make a bunch of shirts with my Twitter name and some with the name of my latest song. I would sell those at my shows and at the library…. That idea ended up snowballing,” Chance says. “I realized the power of <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-create-strategic-partnerships/">working with other brands</a> and the exposure that comes with that. I realized <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-build-a-personal-brand-9-tips-for-making-a-mark-that-lasts/">the importance of branding myself</a> and being able to create something like the ‘3’ hat, which is now synonymous with me. My music is kind of like the commercial for the hat or the T-shirt or a concert ticket or any of the ways that my fanbase can engage with what I make.”



<div class="wp-block-uagb-image uagb-block-ee857b58 wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-none"><figure class="wp-block-uagb-image__figure"><img srcset="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/chance-the-rapper-full.jpg " sizes="(max-width: 480px) 150px" src="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/chance-the-rapper-full.jpg" alt="Chance the Rapper" class="uag-image-71081" width="700" height="980" title="" loading="lazy"/></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focusing-on-what-he-loves-to-find-success">Focusing on what he loves to find success</h2>



It wasn’t just Chance’s own brand that landed him on the Forbes 30 Under 30: Music list in 2015 and the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2017. (His estimated earnings in 2017 were $33 million.) It was all the brands that came calling: Red Bull, H&amp;M, MySpace, Nike, Doritos, Kit Kat, Dockers, Ben &amp; Jerry’s and, most recently, NBC’s The Voice.



Only in his 20s, Chance had already accomplished major goals he’d set for himself, including <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/10/saturday-night-live-chance-the-rapper" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hosting and performing</a> on Saturday Night Live and winning Grammys.



The goal of becoming a millionaire wasn’t on Chance’s list, but it happened anyway. “I’ve never really ever judged my successes by how much money I had or how much money I made…. There’s never been a moment where I looked at my bank account and felt bigger. That’s just never how I felt,” he says.



In fact, Chance is happiest on stage, where the revenue, by comparison, is somewhat paltry. “I’m very much into performing. That’s my favorite part of making music. I love to write, and I love to record,” he says, “but I really love to actually play at a concert or a festival. And, so, I just accepted that I’d make little to no money playing shows, because I wanted the exposure and because I love the feeling of being onstage. Once you get to a point where you’re opening for major acts—like Donald Glover [Childish Gambino] or Mac Miller [who passed away in 2018] or Eminem—I got paid $1,500 a night. And I had to pay for my own bus, food and lodging.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chance-the-rapper-an-independent-artist">Chance the Rapper: an independent artist</h2>



And while—on an album’s liner notes—collaborations with other artists may look like a coterie of friends happily singing together, Chance thinks they can present other challenges. “It can be a tough thing, as an artist, to collaborate. It either means that you couldn’t finish the song, or you made it and were inspired by another artist, and then you have to convince them to get on board. To try to create that magic again is difficult sometimes,” he adds.



Then, there’s the issue of sharing the revenue. If one person writes and sings the song, they keep the profits. But, just like sharing in any other industry, the more people on a song, the smaller everyone’s paychecks are.



“The cool thing about collaborating with me, versus collaborating with artists that are on a record label, is that beyond the 50% royalty split between masters and publishing, there’s also a 50% split between the label and the artist on that master royalty,” Chance explains. “For me, if I do a song, I’m my own label…. So, if you ask me for 15% of the artist net, you’re getting 15% of 50%. As opposed to 15% of 15%.”



One potential downside of being an independent artist, although it’s not one Chance ever criticizes, is that with self-releasing music comes self-promotion. Take music videos, for example. That’s usually a record label expense. But when there’s no label, the production costs come out of Chance’s pocket.



“I pay for my own videos…. It’s good to be able to create those experiences for everyone around me. None of us had been to Venice, none of us had been to La Biennale di Venezia,” he said of his video for The Highs &amp; The Lows, shot in Italy and France. “Those experiences make you a better artist. They make you a better person. And being in control of that—being able to decide when I want to take that on, what my budget is for my song, my video or my album art—is an autonomy and agency that I would never want to give up.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-paving-the-way-for-like-minded-artists">Paving the way for like-minded artists</h3>



Likely because Chance’s eyes are wide open when it comes to the most troublesome side of the music business. “[The music industry] is not designed for the benefit of the people who produce the work. The idea of somebody who isn’t you owning your masters is a crazy thought. The reason why that was initially the case was because labels had cornered the market on the printing presses of vinyl,” Chance explains. “Now, there are not a lot of mechanical copies being made. But a label is still contractually owning the voices of people who spent their whole lives honing their craft and becoming great writers, great vocalists and superstars.”



While most artists accept the fact that the music industry can be fickle, Chance isn’t one of them. His peers are signed to record labels, but Chance’s insistence on maintaining his independence has paved the way for other like-minded artists. And it’s earned him a serious cache of awards and nominations. Among them are <a href="https://www.grammy.com/artists/chancelor-bennett/19614" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the three Grammys</a> he won in 2017, breaking records by being the first streaming-only artist to win best new artist, best rap album for Coloring Book and best rap performance for the song No Problem. (There’s some poetic justice in winning a Grammy for a song about being chased by record labels.)



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-chance-the-rapper-pays-it-forward">How Chance the Rapper pays it forward</h2>



Chance kicked off 2023 by organizing a free music festival in Ghana for around 52,000 people, and he’s planning an encore performance in 2024 in Jamaica. “When I believe in something strongly, I do my research on it and try to be as vocal about it as possible,” he says. “There are times when you have to insert yourself in the situation to create the change that you want to see.”



For Chance, part of that change comes through his nonprofit organization SocialWorks, which “aims to empower the youth through the arts, education and civic engagement,” according to their website, and raises funds to support its five community initiatives.



“It’s a heavy responsibility to be endowed with being a good person,” Chance says when discussing his ongoing philanthropy. “But it comes from the inside, so there’s nothing you can do about it other than stay on your path.”



This article originally appeared in the July/August 2023 <a href="https://store.success.com/by-media/success-magazine-july-august-2023-chance-the-rapper.html">issue of SUCCESS magazine</a>. Photos by Nick Onken.

Chance the Rapper shares his definition of success, why he's an independent artist, the importance of giving back, and more.

Chance the Rapper shares his definition of success, why he's an independent artist, the importance of giving back, and more. | SUCCESS

Chance the Rapper on Achieving Goals as an Independent Artist & Paying It Forward

Chance the Rapper on Achieving Goals as an Independent Artist &#038; Paying It Forward

Chance the Rapper on What Success Means to Him | SUCCESS

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Everybody has a kitchen. But <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/best-healthy-cookbooks-and-books-about-food/">are they actually using it</a>—and do they know how?



When Kevin Yu discovered that many culinary resources didn’t cater to people with no knowledge of cooking, he set out to change that. With a background in tech—and the haunting memory of one disastrous Valentine’s Day dinner of strawberry spinach salad, mushroom soup and seafood pasta—Yu realized there was an opportunity to create a brand that could become the heart of the heart of the home.



Yu started SideChef in 2013. The app, which offers interactive recipes featuring hands-free voice commands, step-by-step photos, built-in timers and more, has become an award-winning home-cooking platform, recently featured on <a href="https://www.sidechef.com/articles/1601/sidechef-ranks-2137-on-the-2022-inc-5000/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Inc. 5000’s list</a> of fastest-growing companies, showcased as a favorite cooking app in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/technology/personaltech/give-your-smartphone-a-kitchen-apron-too.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a New York Times article</a> and named “Best App of 2017” by Google Play. SideChef currently has more than 13.5 million users and brought in $1.5 million in revenue in 2021.



Yu himself is now a three-time TEDx speaker on vision-driven design. He’s partnered with brands including Walmart, Amazon Fresh, LG, GE Appliances, Samsung and Sharp and <a href="https://www.sidechef.com/partners/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">brought in influencers</a> ranging from professional chefs to popular foodies.



Yu sat down with SUCCESS to talk about the brand’s origin story and how he’s built his business by constantly adding more assets to SideChef.



This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.



<h2 id="h-let-s-talk-first-about-the-dinner-fail-that-fueled-your-passion-to-make-cooking-at-home-less-of-a-disaster">Let’s talk first about the dinner fail that fueled your passion to make cooking at home less of a disaster.</h2>



Kevin Yu: Well, my background is very much not in food. So about 10 years ago, I wanted to make a nice dinner for my girlfriend at the time. I was trying to use a recipe from YouTube, another one from a website and then another one from a blog. The worst part, and what made it so complicated, was that I was trying to make everything at the same time. And timing is everything in cooking. So the thought came to me: How come there isn’t cooking guidance like there is for driving?



Say I gave you gas money, a car and Google Maps and told you that you could drive from San Francisco to New York. You’d eventually get there, and there is confidence in that. I wanted to give people that same confidence to get through a dish.



<h2>Is that what happened?</h2>



KY: We immediately had a huge success rate: 95% of people could make any dish they’d never seen before, as long as they followed the step-by-step instructions.



<h2>How did you continue to build SideChef from there?</h2>



KY: We knew that people weren’t cooking as often as they could, because so many things made it difficult for them: planning the meal, getting groceries, figuring out what dishes go together and more. That was why they weren’t cooking. Our idea was to solve all of those problems with one click.



<h2>And how has SideChef evolved since its inception?</h2>



KY: The entrepreneurial experience is not a straight line. In 2014, we built the app. In 2016, we realized that even though we had an award-winning app, it was hard to monetize that. We wouldn’t survive without that. So, we pivoted our business model toward smart kitchen appliances until we became a kitchen operating system. Today, we work with most of the top 10 kitchen appliance manufacturers. In 2018, we saw the rise of voice assistance. So everything just continued to change toward a guided kitchen experience.



<h2>Where did you go from there, and what’s next?</h2>



KY: The latest chapter is working with most of the top consumer packaged goods brands. How do they take their brands and contextually offer them as solutions to problems? The SideChef recipe leads you to the products, and you add them to your cart in seconds. It’s a unified experience. That allows us to monetize our idea with different groups in different ways, because food is such a fragmented industry.



<h2>With technology advancing so rapidly, how do you keep your competitive edge with SideChef?</h2>



KY: People have asked us who our competitors are, but it’s hard to say. Maybe recipe sites, maybe smart kitchen companies, maybe food delivery apps? <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/what-is-blue-ocean-strategy/">We’ve become unique</a> because we’re the only one-stop destination for all of those components. That path became <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/7-types-of-competitive-advantages-and-how-to-develop-yours/">our competitive edge</a>. Our mission from the beginning was to allow anybody to be able to cook. And chasing after that has evolved, but it’s always been about being the single destination—like Netflix, Spotify, Uber. Solving “What’s for dinner?” has never had that until now. Every house has a kitchen, but not everyone cooks at home.



<h2>What lessons did you learn growing up that you still lean on today?</h2>



KY: I grew up in a Chinese immigrant family, and my parents wanted me to be a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer. Very clichéd. So, I was kind of the black sheep, because I was following different pursuits, and I had to learn to be comfortable in my own skin. But as you grow up, you find people in your life who give you validation about who you are and what you’re doing. Those are the stepping stones you build up to give you confidence as you face adversity. And that helps you make your own way.



<h2>With life’s daily distractions, how do you keep focus at work and at home?</h2>



KY: Focus is so important on the company level, but I try to understand it within myself first—figuring out how I stay focused and then how can I apply that on a macro level. It’s a combination of the people and the plan, but a plan that can change. You need to know—and I share this with our team and our investors—that somebody will build the Netflix of food. It might as well be us, because we are in the lead. 



This article originally appeared in the May/June 2023 <a href="https://store.success.com/by-media/success-magazine-may-june-2023-jairek-robbins.html">issue of SUCCESS magazine</a>. Photo courtesy of SideChef.

Kevin Yu founded SideChef after his own disastrous kitchen experience. Now, his app gives anyone confidence to be a home cook. Here's how.

Kevin Yu founded SideChef after his own disastrous kitchen experience. Now, his app gives anyone confidence to be a home cook. Here's how. | SUCCESS

How SideChef Founder Kevin Yu Is Helping People Learn to Cook at Home

How SideChef Is Helping People Become Home Chefs | SUCCESS

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Miranda Lambert holding a can of Lone River in a barn

Now this is how you fix a drink. Just add one part tequila, one part entrepreneur and one part country star. Mix it up in Texas. And voila, <a href="https://www.loneriverbevco.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lone River</a> premium brewed beverages are ready to make their mark on the world of refreshing canned cocktails.&nbsp;



Lone River founder Katie Beal Brown and fellow Texan native Miranda Lambert have just <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lone-river-saddles-up-with-superstar-and-texas-native-miranda-lambert-for-a-multi-year-partnership-301785701.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced a multiyear partnership</a>, not just <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/brand-storytelling-guide-7-ways-to-make-your-brand-pop/">to promote the brand</a>, but to promote the dreams of other small businesses with like-minded women at the helm.&nbsp;



“Miranda Lambert is the kind of person who makes me proud to be a Texan. Through her iconic career in country music and beyond, she’s played such an important part in modernizing the ideals of the American West,” Beal Brown says.&nbsp;“She sent me a note describing our partnership as ‘right and real’ and I had the exact same feeling. She is the embodiment of the trailblazing spirit that built our business, and it is a dream to have the opportunity to see our brand through her eyes.”



Beal Brown <a href="https://cowboylifestylenetwork.com/katie-beal-brown-founder-of-lone-river-bev-co/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">started Lone River</a> in part to combine the traditions of the West with the spirit of modern country, and manifested the brand with her do-it-your-own-way ethos.&nbsp;



“Lone River Ranch Water comes from a real place and real people. My family settled in West Texas over 100 years ago. We are deeply rooted here in the birthplace of the ranch water cocktail and we set out to tell the story of where it comes from and the culture it represents,” Beal Brown explains. “I think there is an authenticity to the story behind our brand that is hard to replicate and something that has really resonated with consumers. There isn’t a lot of storytelling in our category,” she shared, “and it is something I believe has helped us deepen the connection with consumers to build loyalty. As I started to see the cocktail popularized throughout Texas and across the U.S., I wanted to ensure that where it comes from and the culture around it did not get lost.”



Here, Lambert shares <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-create-strategic-partnerships/">how she knew her collaboration</a> with Beal Brown was “right and real.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-for-anyone-who-doesn-t-know-your-story-how-would-you-describe-your-career-since-you-started-singing-at-the-reo-palm-isle-dance-hall-in-texas-when-you-were-still-in-high-school">For anyone who doesn’t know your story, how would you describe your career since you started singing at the Reo Palm Isle dance hall in Texas when you were still in high school?&nbsp;</h2>



Miranda Lambert: It’s definitely&nbsp;been an amazing journey! <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/3-steps-to-manifest-your-goals-in-life-yes-it-really-does-work/">I’ve gotten to achieve</a> so many of the goals I <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-set-goals/">set out to achieve</a> and do some things I never thought I would get to do. I can’t believe it’s been 25 years since I started down this path, but to be honest, sometimes I feel like I’m just getting started. I still have a lot more to do.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Along the way, it seems like you’ve used your fame for good works, mainly with MuttNation. So this is a switch for you, to partner with a beverage brand. Have you been approached by sponsors before? How was this opportunity different?&nbsp;</h2>



ML: I love that I get to use my platform for something I’m really passionate about. MuttNation is so important to me. It’s been really fun to see how my fans rally around our cause for shelter animals. As far as partnerships go, it just really has to make sense and feel authentic if I’m going to team up with another brand. I want it to align with everything we are about and be something I truly enjoy. And timing is everything. Sometimes things just fall into place because they are meant to be.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Was the fact that Lone River mirrored your own career—a woman from Texas building something big that leans on her deep Texas roots—one of the deciding factors?&nbsp;</h2>



ML: Yes, the Texas connection was definitely a big factor. It seems like we have a lot in common as far as our ethics, our drive and staying <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/be-true-to-your-life-guiding-principles/">true to who we are</a>.&nbsp;I think a lot of that comes from how we both grew up, knowing the value of hard work and having a sense of pride in what we share with the world.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/katie-beal-brown-lone-river-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-70405"/><figcaption>Katie Beal Brown, founder of Lone River</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">And you’re not just loaning out your name, right? It sounds like you and Katie [Beal Brown] will be planning luncheons and networking events for female entrepreneurs all over the country. What are your hopes for that part of the partnership?</h2>



ML: I’m very excited to meet other amazing women and learn about their paths and stories.&nbsp;I’ve always tried to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/the-many-faces-of-empowerment/">lift up other women</a> within the music industry, and I’m thrilled that we’ll have the chance to do that in even more ways. There is so much we can all learn from each other, too.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Katie only launched Lone River four years ago, and from the start, she wanted to get you to collaborate. That says so much about her determination and conviction. How does that make you feel, knowing you were on her wish list from day one?&nbsp;</h2>



ML: It’s an honor to know that the brand we’ve built over the years and everything I stand for is something she respected so much that she wanted to join forces. I’m very proud she thought of me and I hope this leads to a lot of cool things we can do together.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Your Texas roots really matter to you. It’s not just where you’re from; it’s who you are. Can you talk about why your upbringing in Lindale [, Texas] still means the world to you?&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>



ML: I’m a very proud Texan!&nbsp;Lindale was such a great place to grow up. It was a&nbsp;typical small town with Friday night football and church on Sunday morning. I think that foundation is the reason I’ve been able to stay grounded and really push through some of the hard parts of this career path.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Outside of the music and the rescue-dog philanthropy, you’ve had side hustles along the way: your Red 55 Winery in Lindale, your Pink Pistol shop, your Idyllwind line of apparel and, most recently, your Nashville [, Tennessee] bar Casa Rosa. Is this new venture just one more way you’re branching out and making “Miranda Lambert” stand for something even bigger than the music you make?</h2>



ML: For me, it all starts with the music and everything else is an extension of that. I’m proud of what we’ve built in country music and that we are able to use that to branch out and share a complete lifestyle with our fans. It also allows me <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/12-creativity-hacks/">to stretch my creativity</a> in new ways and stay inspired, which benefits the music, too.&nbsp; &nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How do you maintain the coveted work/life balance when so much of what you’re doing is work-related: making country music, working on these outside ventures, seeking out passion projects and now helping give women in and out of Texas something to strive for?</h2>



ML: I have learned to balance a lot better in the last few years than I did in my early days. It gets hard sometimes to figure that out, but it’s so important to live a little and really take a breather.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What’s your favorite Lone River Ranch Water? And how do you drink it? Out of the can, over ice, with a splash of something extra?</h2>



ML: I like them all for different reasons! I love that we can have a great drink in a can because it makes it easy to stock up backstage or when we’re out in the Airstream—and I’m excited to have them to float the river this summer. They also work as a great mixer with a little extra something!&nbsp;



***



This new partnership is just further proof that the women of Texas have all kinds of things in common. In Lambert and Beal Brown’s case, there’s the love of Texas, ranch water and music.



“It is such a dream to have the opportunity to work with someone I not only respect but whose music has inspired so much of my journey,” Beal Brown says. “Her album <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRtzWXSdUQv-p9_tNv8p3dZJjsyCQ1OMp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">[The] Marfa Tapes</a> hits close to home for me (it was recorded just miles from our ranch) and will always be a favorite.”



Watch Lambert sing the praises of Lone River’s main ingredient in Tequila Does:



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAmD9U2hH4A
</div></figure>



Photos courtesy of Lone River

Miranda Lambert shares how she knew her collaboration with Katie Beal Brown on Lone River was the right decision for her.

Miranda Lambert shares how she knew her collaboration with Katie Beal Brown on Lone River was the right decision for her. | SUCCESS

Miranda Lambert’s New Partnership with Lone River Is a Toast to Her Texan Roots

Miranda Lambert Partners with Lone River | SUCCESS

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Jamie Fiore Higgins worked on Wall Street for nearly 20 years—from 1998 to 2016—and by the end of her career, she’d amassed a small fortune. But as lucrative as that was, it pales in comparison to the riches she shares in her candid book <a href="https://amzn.to/3IFiYqW" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs</a>.



Her stories detail the good, the bad and the very, very ugly: the toxic culture of the literal good ol’ boys club, the undeniable sexual harassment at every level, the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/tori-dunlap-founder-of-her-first-100k/">gender disparities in pay</a> and promotion, <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/bringing-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-into-the-workplace-with-dr-tina-opie/">the lack of diversity</a>, the unapologetic discrimination and the constant feeling that she was trading her good character for a massive paycheck.



It was the kind of paycheck that Higgins looks back on now and calls “sinful excess.” In her first year at Goldman Sachs in the late ’90s, at just 22 years old, she made $135,000. By 2016, she was making 40 times more than her house cleaner and 10 times more than her doctor. It’s a situation she thinks of with both satisfaction and shame.



Thinking of her husband and four kids at home, Higgins invented a “Spreadsheet of Freedom” that allowed her to bank her seven-figure bonuses so that she could walk away from the golden handcuffs of Wall Street at a time when Wall Street desperately needed to get out of its own way.



Higgins spoke with SUCCESS about that decision <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/quitting-isnt-the-enemy-weve-been-told-it-is-heres-how-to-know-when-the-time-is-right/">to quit her job</a>—and the decision to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/everyone-has-a-story-heres-how-to-make-yours-resonate/">share her uncut story</a>.



This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.



<h2 id="h-before-we-talk-about-why-you-left-wall-street-can-you-talk-about-why-you-started">Before we talk about why you left Wall Street, can you talk about why you started?</h2>



Jamie Fiore Higgins: When I got the directive from my parents to get the best-paying job possible in 1998, that was Wall Street. I interviewed everywhere—at all the different banks—and I had a lot of job offers. But the Goldman Sachs woman who came to my college [Bryn Mawr] had impressed me so much that I said, “If I get a job at Goldman, that’s where I’m going.” Even though their process took so much longer: My first interview was in November, and I didn’t get the offer until March.



<h2>The benefits there seem to be very female-friendly, with eight rounds of IVF being covered and 20 weeks of paid maternity leave. Did you know when you took the job that women rarely rose to the upper ranks?</h2>



JFH: No. I was fairly clueless. I didn’t even understand what Goldman Sachs did. I didn’t come from money and a world of high finance. One summer during college, I’d worked on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange, and I’d had some experience with catcalls. But Goldman seemed so highbrow to me that I didn’t think it was going to be like the floor of the Merc. When I started, though, I did observe that there weren’t a lot of women, and I saw how much of a locker room it really was. But I felt like I’d won the lottery, so I pushed that out of my mind and kept my eye on the prize.



<h2>When was your first epiphany that your work environment was not normal?</h2>



JFH: The first day, when they locked the doors. At 7 a.m. they’d lock [the doors].... then they’d ask us all questions, and if you didn’t know where the Dow closed or the spread between the pound and the dollar, you were kicked out. It was such a very punitive environment, so that made me feel a little bit off. But then there was the pride I felt in making my family proud. They all said to suck it up, <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/4-ways-to-build-grit-when-you-need-it-most/">push through the pain</a> and persevere. My spidey sense was tingly and telling me that this was not my world, but I’d tell myself to tune it out because I felt that obligation to my family.



<h2>Do you wish someone would’ve given you permission to quit earlier?</h2>



JFH: <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-become-a-certified-coach/">Now that I’m coaching people</a>, I tell young people that sometimes the paycheck isn’t worth the pain—and that they have autonomy to make choices. You are the CEO of your own career. This is at-will employment. Just like they could fire you at any time, you could quit at any time. I want my four kids to have their own sense of agency. Everyone has to <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/10-ways-successful-people-make-smart-decisions/">make their own choices</a>, and I <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/the-pandemic-sabotaged-our-decision-making-abilities-heres-how-to-start-regaining-that-self-confidence/">want them to feel empowered</a> without any obligation to anyone else.



<h2>When you titled the book, were you thinking that it’s inevitable that money and misogyny go hand in hand up and down Wall Street?</h2>



JFH: The higher the stakes, the more opportunity there is for ugly behavior, like misogyny and straight-up discrimination. There is an inverse relationship between money and character. So, on Wall Street, it’s not even the absolute money; it’s the way the pay is structured. If you make a million dollars a year, it’s $200,000 a year, and then you wait all year for the other $800,000. It’s that carrot that they keep dangling that allows people to be manipulated. And that environment brings out the worst in everyone.



<h2>And with the problem going deeper than just sexism and into ageism, racism and homophobia, were there any positive changes that happened in all of your years at Goldman Sachs?</h2>



JFH: The firm keeps trying to make changes. The problem is that there’s a disconnect between having the right things and modeling the right behavior. That’s where firms fall short: in the execution. Not just in finance either; any industry that has wealth is the breeding ground for this kind of behavior. Power imbalances happen everywhere.



<h2>What do you hope your book will accomplish?</h2>



JFH: It was a way for me to make amends and then reframe my experiences. And now, if it’s striking a nerve with people, then that’s getting people to talk about it. That means they’re thinking about it. People need to stop minding their own business and tell people with bad behavior to knock it off.



<h2>In the book’s epilogue, you outline some very specific steps that Fortune 500 companies can take to right these wrongs in the culture, the diversity, the toxicity and more. If a company did away with all of those, would you ever consider returning to Wall Street?</h2>



JFH: Yes, if I knew that I could help move companies in better directions. When I was on Wall Street, I knew that you couldn’t complain about a problem unless you had a solution. No empty rants were allowed. There needs to be metrics for the problems. There’s no reason a firm can’t say, “By 2025, we want half of our managing directors to be women.” And there should also be metrics for an employee’s contribution to the culture. <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamMGrant/status/1113062665943801858" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Like Adam Grant says</a>, a great culture is one with zero tolerance for a--holes, even if they’re stars.



This article originally appeared in the March/April 2023 <a href="https://store.success.com/by-media/success-magazine-mar-apr-2023-lewis-howes.html">issue of SUCCESS magazine</a>. Photos by ©Julia Mlaoof Verderosa

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