The Future Of Beauty: “An App That Can Help You Find A Beauty Artist” With Courtney Summers of VaultBeauty
It seems that between social media, filters, and apps that make Photoshop so easy, women aren’t able to see the beauty in their own faces. Scrolling thru social media women start looking the same. It’s sad to see so many people ignore their own beauty. I can’t imagine how hard it makes it for young girls trying to figure out how to be comfortable and love who they are.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Courtney Summers, the Founder & CEO of the innovative VaultBeauty app available in the iTunes store. After 10 years working as a makeup artist, mostly in the pageantry and sports industries, Courtney sought to provide a solution to easily connect beauty professionals with clients (and vice versa!). When she was 8 months pregnant, unable to travel with a client, Courtney was tasked with finding another artist in the area — except she couldn’t. Shocked by how difficult it was to find beauty experts in a specific area, Courtney worked to create a new era of expert sourcing. Thus, VaultBeauty was born as the ultimate solution to finding local professionals across the cosmetics industry for all your beauty needs
Thank you so much for joining us Courtney! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
As a makeup artist always traveling to various locations, it became difficult when I was 8 months pregnant. A valued client asked if could recommend a reliable artist in the area she would be going. I searched for days and couldn’t believe how hard it was to find an artist in a specific area. I could not find anyone for her. It made me realize how many clients I was missing because they were having the same issue. It was a problem I couldn’t ignore, so I started working on a solution.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Switching roles from freelance makeup artist to launching an app was very interesting to say the least — especially when you add in adjusting to being a new mom. Good times and hard times for certain. I was just in New York City for our first launch event. It was incredibly fulfilling to be able to talk to this group of women and hear their excitement regarding VaultBeauty! Even though I knew we had created something great, it was amazing to be able to finally introduce it to users and see their reaction.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?
The first month VaultBeauty was live in the app store we didn’t want to do a big PR push. We wanted to just reach out to users, slowly get artists on the app so we could eliminate any “bugs”. We had to figure out the best way to connect with our users but once we did, we started getting amazing feedback. VaultBeauty is still VERY new, but that one moment just reminded me that if something isn’t working, to keep trying till you find what does.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
100% my parents. They started their own company when I was very young, so I grew up seeing their work ethic, how they never gave up, and how they treated their employees. At that time, I didn’t realize everything they sacrificed when I was younger and looking back, I have no clue how they did it. I’m am so incredibly grateful I have them to look up to and to go to when I’m stuck in a crossroads.
The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the” cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?
I think people have become accustomed to being able to find out anything from the palm of their hand, and VaultBeauty takes that one step further for the beauty industry. With VaultBeauty, we have simplified finding an artist. We want to save clients time by helping them know exactly who they will be working with, while the artists will have confidence knowing through VaultBeauty, they are not lost in a sea of hashtags. Although we are still in beta phase, we have an ongoing list of features we will be adding in the upcoming months to make our platform better for both artists and clients.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
It seems that between social media, filters, and apps that make Photoshop so easy, women aren’t able to see the beauty in their own faces. Scrolling thru social media women start looking the same. It’s sad to see so many people ignore their own beauty. I can’t imagine how hard it makes it for young girls trying to figure out how to be comfortable and love who they are.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?
It’s exciting thinking about the future of beauty and how the tech industry will impact it.
I have always loved skincare and can’t wait to try out 3D printed sheet masks! An app maps your face and takes skin diagnostics to find what you need, and the printer creates a mask that perfectly fits your face.
L’Oréal is coming out with a system, Perso. It creates on-demand, personalized formulas for skincare, lipstick and foundation.
I’ve also seen different apps/smart mirrors that do everything from trying on different makeup shades to telling you your hair type.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
I would love to see people stop photoshopping their photos — or at least overusing it!
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good filter (especially if it works on my dogs) but there are so many filters that completely change your face.
I wish more people would think about what they are promoting to their followers that put all their trust in them. There is a reason these brands pay certain people to post their products. Because their followers will buy without even thinking about it. But some of these products aren’t good for you.
You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)
Appreciate your body and take care of it — Going thru a pregnancy has made me appreciate my body so much. It’s incredible what your body is capable of.
Fall in love with yourself and your life — One of the most important things I’ve learned is how to love myself. It’s hard to allow someone else to love you if you can’t be happy with yourself.
Embrace your originality, your quirks, imperfections, and talents. — I love seeing a person who has accepted themselves and is comfortable in their own skin. It’s so beautiful.
Do at least one thing a day for yourself — Whether it’s a bubble bath and a mask, or taking 10 mins in the morning to stretch and mentally prepare for your day.
Good brows and the right haircut — Bad brows and a bad haircut are two things that are really hard to cover up…. I’ve had both, and neither help you feel beautiful. Haha.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I wish everyone could be just a little more empathetic. Everyone is going through their own struggles that you might never know about. A tiny bit of kindness has the ability to completely change someone’s day.
Can you please give us your favorite” Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
This is a pretty generic response but, “Treat others the way you want to be treated”. Growing up, I’ve never seen my parents treat someone poorly no matter what kind of a day they were having. That’s definitely something I try to do. It doesn’t matter how successful you are, or how much money you have. The way you treat people is everything.
There are people who refuse to post any image of themselves online without altering the image in some way. We really need to think about how it is affecting our mental health or self-confidence, if it is causing mental disorders that we’re not even aware of. There’s a fine line between using technology to make yourself look better and feel better about yourself, and then there’s the extreme of becoming obsessed with these technological aids and this obsession with beauty turning into a mental illness.
As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Mark Youssef.
Mark Youssef, MD is the Medical Director and Founder of YOUnique Cosmetic Surgery, located only steps from the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, California. As a Diplomate of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery with more than sixteen years’ experience, he specializes in surgical enhancements of the face and body, as well as minimally invasive cosmetic procedures. Recognized by his peers in Plastic Surgery Practice Magazine as one of the most distinguished cosmetic surgeons in the country, Dr. Youssef has become the cosmetic surgeon many celebrities, entertainers, business executives and even fellow physicians rely on for precision cosmetic enhancements and natural-looking results. Dr. Youssef graduated with honors from the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. He completed his residency and training at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, where he went on to become a staff physician. Dr. Youssef is also an active member of the American Society of Laser Medicine and Surgery, the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, the American Society of Cosmetic Breast Surgery and the American Medical Association.
Thank you for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
How did I become an expert in this Brazilian Butt Lift? The popularity of this procedure has been rising over the past two decades. And because we’re in Santa Monica, we’re in the mecca of Southern California, the mecca of cosmetic surgery. This is where people come to seek out experts in this field. After doing scores of these lifts, I decided to write about it in order to dispel the many myths that exist about the procedure as well as some of its risks and dangers. I think people need access to this information so that they can make well-informed decisions about their own body, about their own health. So that’s what led me to write the book, The Art of the Brazilian Butt Lift, and I must say that it’s really nice to be recognized by my colleagues as being an expert in this field. It’s a small niche, one that people like Kim Kardashian, Iggy Azalea, Jennifer Lopez, and others have helped make so popular, and in turn, the medical procedures to mimic these looks have become more popular. That’s really what dragged many of us into this field of cosmetic surgery.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
In my book, I refer to one patient as Flat Booty Judy, but this same scenario has happened in many types of consultations, not just when it comes to the rear end, our caboose. When patients come in, many are often self-conscious about some part of their body they feel is disproportionate. It’s very nice to be able to tell a patient who’s nearly in tears because they don’t fit in jeans well, or their butt looks flat when they wear certain clothing, that you can move fat from where they genetically have too much and transfer it to the buttocks to accentuate what they want to accentuate and really boost their self-confidence. So Flat Booty Judy comes in and she’s a typical patient who’s self-conscious, maybe a little depressed and down, wearing baggy clothing because she doesn’t like how she looks in clothes. After the consultation, she decides to do the procedure. We picked areas of fat where she doesn’t want them and took that fat and transferred it during the surgery to make her buttocks more lifted, rounder, and give her a bit more of that hourglass shape. A few months after the surgery, she came in to the office and she’s almost unrecognizable! She’s walking taller, she’s more confident, she has a smile on her face, she’s wearing the type of clothes she’s always wanted to, and that’s what makes my job the most rewarding in seeing not only how people look after their surgery, but how they feel.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways of lessons that others can learn from that?
It’s kind of weird because my career really started sixteen years ago, but this wave of the Brazilian Butt Lift’s popularity is more of a recent phenomenon. So it’s not necessarily about the popularity of my career, but the popularity of this procedure.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are several people, several great mentors I’ve been privileged to know along the way. One of the people who really inspired me, and was kind enough to write the introduction to my book, was Dr. Michael Salzhauer, also known as Dr. Miami. He has a wonderful and busy practice in Miami, Florida and he has been an inspiration to a lot of us. He’s probably done more of these procedures than anyone in the country and I really take my hat off to him. He’s been a very dear friend and colleague of mine throughout the years.
OK super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?
This actually does have a particularly recent development in the Brazilian Butt Lift. Some of these developments are even more recent than the publication of the book. Over the last few months, there have been advances in technology that have helped doctors make this procedure safer. One of the criticisms of the BBL is that it has had a higher risk factor than other cosmetic surgeries. In fact, the risk of death in Brazilian Butt Lift is about one in 3,000, which is considered fairly high compared with other types of liposuction and other types of procedures. And the reason is that when you’re injecting the fat into the buttocks, there is a risk of introducing that fat into the venous system and you can get a pulmonary embolism, and that can be lethal. Over the last several months, there have been new ultrasound techniques that show how the fat is being injected, and new studies that show how certain regions of the buttocks are safer to inject than others, which areas we should avoid, and certain depths that we should avoid beneath the gluteal muscles. So there have been some recent technologies both in studies instructing doctors on how to do these procedures safer and better as well as new equipment that we can use that reduces the danger, especially ultrasound-guided injections.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
Yes, I believe the drawbacks pertain to all of these apps that are related to social media. Instagram has filters, Snapchat has filters, you can find filters that change your face, alter your body, make you thinner, make your hips wider, or whatever you want. There are people who refuse to post any image of themselves online without altering the image in some way. We really need to think about how it is affecting our mental health or self-confidence, if it is causing mental disorders that we’re not even aware of. There’s a fine line between using technology to make yourself look better and feel better about yourself, and then there’s the extreme of becoming obsessed with these technological aids and this obsession with beauty turning into a mental illness.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?
I think what’s exciting about our industry, particularly in cosmetic surgery, is that it’s always changing. There’s always new technology, there are always new procedures, always less invasive ways to get better results, new things that come out that help us reduce recovery time, accomplishing results that used to be surgical and making them non-surgical. New devices. It’s always a fun, exciting field. I never do the same thing day after day. I always get to do something different every day. And every year, I do things differently than I did them the year before. That, for me, is very exciting.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
One thing that concerns me is the sheer amount of misinformation that is being thrown out there for public consumption. Especially with social media. Almost anyone who is not credentialed can talk about any subject, give people advice, recommendations on cosmetic surgery and we even see some people who are not licensed physicians at all doing illegal procedures in their backyards. When a procedure becomes popular, when a certain celebrity makes something popular, we start to have a lot of black market stuff pop up related to that procedure. I think that’s what concerns people like us the most because this is what makes some of these procedures dangerous and even life-threatening. When misinformation is given online — and that’s where many people go first for information — and people go to someone who is not licensed in a particular procedure and may practice in an unsafe way, that’s one of the biggest concerns in this field.
You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”?
1. Practice good posture — standing tall makes you feel more confident and conveys a better image to others.
2. Stop worrying about what others think of you — caring too much about what others think might negatively affect how good you feel about yourself.
3. Exercise and good diet — a balanced, healthy diet and regular exercise have been proven to make you feel better inside and out.
4. Hydrate — drinking water helps keep the skin looking vibrant and younger. Being dehydrated can make wrinkles more prominent.
5. Always wear a smile — studies show that people who smile more feel better about themselves.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would love to make people feel good about themselves without necessarily changing their appearance. Yes, that could put me right out of business, but right now, a lot of people come to me for the wrong reasons. They come to me because they’ve caught their husbands cheating with younger women and now they want to look younger themselves. Or they are being bullied at school about their big nose and they want to change that nose. What I would love to see happen is a movement of people feeling great about themselves and having the self-confidence to come in for the right reasons, not because they feel as if they have to, but because they want to as sort of an add-on, even though they’re eternally happy to begin with. I think when people come to my office for the wrong reasons, they wind up not always being happy with the external change because the external change doesn’t always improve the internal image. So I’d love to start a movement of making people happy with themselves. I feel that especially with the younger generation, when they’re so focused on how they look and how they present themselves, and how many times they Photoshop or Facetune or filter their images, I feel that could lead to feeling a bit unhappy with yourself before you even do anything. Let’s try to be happy and self-confident first before we alter our appearance.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Personally, I like Abe Lincoln’s famous quote: “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Or, we could combine a number of other more recent philosophies and come up with this suggestion: “You don’t have to look perfect to feel perfect.” That’s really an important life lesson to learn, I think.
One big concern for me is the excessive use of plastic in the beauty industry. Plastics have improved life for us in so many ways — from lifesaving pacemakers to increasing the longevity of many stored foods. But as is often the case, there’s been an abusive level of consumption without attention to balance. As an industry, we are already making strong moves to reduce the unnecessary use of plastics, but people still buy from companies that use tons of plastic, and until that changes, the industry won’t really change either. We only use plastics when there is no other viable option. For example, the pumping mechanisms that dispense our products are plastic, but the bottles themselves are made of glass and metal, and the vast majority of our packaging materials are made from FSC certified, sustainably sourced papers.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Agatha Luczo and Kim Walls of Furtuna Skin.
International model, author, speaker and Founder of Furtuna Skin and Bambini Furtuna, Agatha Relota Luczo has been immersed in the beauty industry her entire life. Starting her modeling career at age sixteen, she has had access to world-renowned celebrity makeup artists and skincare experts from a very young age.
The Manhattan-born head-turner has graced the pages of Vogue, W, L’Officiel, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and the runways of Ralph Lauren, Chanel, YSL, Oscar de la Renta and Terry Muglier. She has been the face of numerous campaigns for Patek Phillippe, Chanel, YSL, Hermes, Nina Ricci and many more. Her poise, confidence and extensive knowledge of beauty and wellness have made her a sought-after expert for speaking engagements, editorial interviews and podcasts.
Agatha and her husband are landowners in Sicily, where they built an organic farm and co-founded Bona Furtuna, an organic olive oil brand produced on their Estate. When Agatha met Kim Walls, a clean beauty pioneer, the stars aligned and so did their like-minded dreams of creating an organic skincare line that was cleaner and higher performance than the rest. The wealth of wildly potent plants on Agatha’s private Estate in Sicily led to the creation of Furtuna Skin. Agatha has always gravitated towards an organic lifestyle believing that whatever you put on your skin is just as important as what you eat. When she became pregnant, she became increasingly aware of the products she applies topically.
As Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Furtuna Skin, Agatha oversees the creative aspects of the luxury natural Italian skincare brand and is involved in developing the products to create the ultimate aesthetic experience and performance. Additionally, Agatha’s natural beauty radiates as the face of Furtuna Skin showcasing the brand’s transformative effects on the skin.
Kim Walls is the CEO and Co-founder of Furtuna Skin and Bambini Furtuna and a clean beauty pioneer who lives with her family in Los Angeles, California. Born into beauty as the daughter of a renowned skincare founder, she grew up learning how to formulate topical healing remedies.
After graduating from the University of California Santa Barbara with honors, Kim joined a wellness tech startup as their skincare guru. She then pivoted to starting skincare companies of her own, carrying on the family legacy as a founder of natural brands that garnered international recognition. She expanded her beauty repertoire as the former General Manager of Lime Crime Makeup, working with the team to turn it into one of the most rapidly growing indie cosmetic companies.
Named one of New Hope Media’s “9 Wonder Women of the Natural Industry”, Kim has been at the forefront of the clean beauty movement, galvanizing brands to remove unsafe ingredients and create more eco-friendly standards. A skincare innovator with broad experience as an educator, esthetician, nutritionist and formulator, she has worked with doctors, nurses and lab chemists to research and develop breakthrough clean beauty products that lead the industry forward. She combines her commitment to wellness and organic living with expertise in clinical skincare and nutritional science to provide resources and guidance for men and women worldwide. In the non-profit sector, Kim has served as leader of the Retail Advisory Committee for the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
An industry advisor and authority on safe, natural ingredients, Kim has lent her voice to beauty and empowerment podcasts such as Gloss Angeles, American Made Beauty, Support is Sexy and countless others. Kim and her brands have appeared on numerous morning news programs including CBS Early Show and Good Morning America with interviews from major publications including Vogue, Allure, Refinery 29, Poosh, Maisonette and WWD. Kim has contributed to Real Simple, Skin Inc, Huffington Post, Kidsinthehouse.com, StrollerTraffic.com, Natural PregnancyPros.com, MomTrends.com and more.
An animated speaker, she educates and entertains audiences for events like Create & Cultivate, the Girl Cult Festival by Galore, and the Albright, an international women’s club. A member of the Female Founders Collective, CEW, Hey Mama in NYC and The Jane Club in Los Angeles, Kim mentors women on how to grow their business. Having been an early leader in international eCommerce and a business partner to such retailers as Whole Foods, Target, Ulta and Sephora, Kim has been tapped to speak on new trends at conferences like Shop.org and led the Retail Advisory Committee for the Environmental Working Group.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Sometimes I feel like the luckiest person on earth when it comes to my career. I was born into the beauty business as my father founded a luxury skincare brand shortly after I was born. I was obsessed with helping him from as far back as I can remember. One of my favorite memories is sitting on the kitchen counter while he blended together novel ingredients that had never been used in skincare before. I hung on his every word about biochemistry and took his lead — eventually creating my own products. His library was always overflowing with original research about skincare ingredient performance and new methodologies. I could never get enough, and I still can’t. The opportunities to create new products, using wildly potent plants from La Furtuna Estate, combined with techniques like our trademarked Soundbath Extraction Method, has made me more appreciative of my career than ever before.
— Kim Walls, Co-Founder and CEO of Furtuna Skin
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Before breaking into the beauty business I was an international supermodel. At the height of my modeling career when I was gracing the campaigns for Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Nina Ricci, to name just a few and was given the opportunity to be cast in a movie, and then tragically my lung collapsed 3 different times which led to 2 different emergency surgeries. One day during recovery, I turned to my mom and weakly scribbled on a paper that I thought I was going to die. I felt my life slipping away. While on the edge of consciousness I could hear the voices of the nurses calling me to stay with us. I went from CCU to ICU and by the grace of God and amazing health professionals, I made a full recovery. My career was interrupted on-and-off for a few years as a result and it was a long road back to the top of the fashion world. Because of this experience I always keep life in perspective and count each day as a blessing. Now, more than ever, I strive to seize every opportunity and make the best of every situation.
— Agatha Luczo, Founder and CCO of Furtuna Skin
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?
I’ve always loved what I do, so in that way, I feel like I’ve been successful since the beginning.
By the same token, I’ve learned a lot the hard way — by making mistakes. I don’t know that
I make fewer mistakes now than before, but I do learn faster. The problem with loving what you do is that it doesn’t feel like work, so it is easy to go and go and go. One day I realized that money matters more than I realized, and that my time and experience have value and decided to stop working for free. I committed to myself that I would only donate about five hours per week of doing work for free, and that would be mostly donated to young entrepreneurs who are just finding their way. Once I made that decision I still did the work I love, but I started making more money doing the same thing. Go figure.
All that said, there was definitely a tipping point in my ability to conceive of and execute on creating products that performed far better than anything in my past. This all began when I met Agatha. She had a huge vision, enormous confidence in us as a team, and plants on her farm that were so powerful they seemed magical to me.
A great example of this is our Anchusa Azurea, which we debuted into the skincare world. The Anchusa Azurea is a wildflower that grows on the farm and has super high concentrations ofVitamins C and E, polyphenols, flavonoids, and fatty acids, which shield skin against environmental stress with the highest antioxidant activity of any wild edible Mediterranean plant. This powerful plant helps heal surface inflammation and blur imperfections as it restores skin, and it’s at the heart of our Splendore Anchusa™ complex, which is in many of our Furtuna Skin formulas.
Learning how to work as a true team member instead of a solo flyer completely changed my life, and was my biggest tipping point.
— Kim Walls, Co-Founder and CEO of Furtuna Skin
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
When I was in high school, I was stopped on the street by a modeling scout and agent to become a model. My parents weren’t a hundred percent behind the idea and they had me go seek advice. When I shared my story with Sister Catherine, a nun and my high school guidance counselor, she told me, “Agatha, go, run and take the opportunity and never look back”. Her advice gave me the confidence to go and take a chance which brought me to where I am today.
I am forever grateful to her.
— Agatha Luczo, Founder and CCO of Furtuna Skin
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?
We use a trademarked Soundbath™ Extraction Method to extract wildly potent bioactives from the plants on our farm. This particular technology was adapted from the pharmaceutical industry because it delivers the most consistent and reliable results. In previous years, other companies couldn’t get reliable results from truly natural bases because the industry was using old fashioned methods like ethoxylation or leaving things in the heat or sun to extract too slowly over time. Now that we’ve incorporated higher-performance methods, we are able to reach new levels of benefits for skincare aficionados.
— Kim Walls, Co-Founder and CEO of Furtuna Skin
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
At Furtuna Skin, we have benefited from the law of unintended consequences because we have looked first to the land and not the labs for our greatest inspiration. The magic that happens in plant communities may someday be explained in plain scientific terms, but until then, we don’t need to wait until the wisdom of the ages yields meaningful results in our skincare routines. We’ve found divine combinations of plant components that are included in our products like the Splendore Anchusa Complex that are so powerful they can block 100% of free radical formation on the skin.
— Kim Walls, Co-Founder and CEO of Furtuna Skin
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?
Personalization and the ability to best cater to our clientele.
Processing methods — cutting edge science.
Testing methodologies — how to identify the potential of any ingredient to benefit skin specifically. Historically the testing used in beauty was food and nutrient-based testing. Skin is different from the digestive system.
— Agatha Luczo, Founder and CCO of Furtuna Skin
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
1. One big concern for me is the excessive use of plastic in the beauty industry. Plastics have improved life for us in so many ways — from lifesaving pacemakers to increasing the longevity of many stored foods. But as is often the case, there’s been an abusive level of consumption without attention to balance. As an industry, we are already making strong moves to reduce the unnecessary use of plastics, but people still buy from companies that use tons of plastic, and until that changes, the industry won’t really change either. At Furtuna Skin we only use plastics when there is no other viable option. For example, the pumping mechanisms that dispense our products are plastic, but the bottles themselves are made of glass and metal, and the vast majority of our packaging materials are made from FSC certified, sustainably sourced papers.
2. Another concern is the use of new invasive procedures and new skincare ingredients without proper testing. Fundamentally, the skin has been viewed more like a cellophane wrapper than the dynamic body organ that it is. Historically, people didn’t approach skin procedures from the perspective of “How will this affect my overall health and body, not just my look?” In the early 2000s, I was so excited about laser hair removal and had it done myself to save time on shaving. Then, just a couple of years ago, I was doing a deep-dive on new stem cell technologies for skincare and learned that a great deal of our skin’s wound healing abilities come from stem cells that thrive in the base of the hair follicle. By engaging in laser hair removal, I damaged the stem cells in my hair follicles — the very cells that have the greatest healing potential for my skin. I undermined the potential of my body’s entire immune system for the convenience of not needing to shave. My personal experiences of seeing potentially dangerous new technologies come and go has made me, and our entire team at Furtuna Skin, deeply committed to doing the proper testing to prove that our products are helpful, and also not harmful.
3. My last concern is the industry standard for the definition of what “beauty” truly means. There are many factors that go into this concern, but we also need to look in the mirror as individuals and see that we make conscious choices in our purchasing habits, and that those choices have consequences. Marketers will continue to market what sells. So I challenge us all: let’s buy a vision of beauty that reflects the reality we want to see in the world. Vote with your wallet.
— Kim Walls, Co-Founder and CEO of Furtuna Skin
You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)
I wake up each morning counting my blessings and remind myself how special life is and to cherish what you have. Having said that, I do have a ritual and use the below five things on a daily basis that make me feel beautiful in their own way.
Large Sunglasses
Borsalino Hat
Scarves
Mascara and Eyeliner
Furtuna Skin Porte Per La Vitalita Face and Eye Serum
— Agatha Luczo, Founder and CCO of Furtuna Skin
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I am honored to be where I am and think if I could inspire a movement I would wish to provide equal access to education to all the children around the world.
— Agatha Luczo, Founder and CCO of Furtuna Skin
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I have two life lesson quotes that I follow and are my favorite: “Everything in life happens for a reason” and “Live life with no regrets.”
I believe you should always follow your instincts and your heart. You wouldn’t be where you are today if it wasn’t for the choices you made and the things that happened to you along the way.
— Agatha Luczo, Founder and CCO of Furtuna Skin
How can our readers follow you online? @agatharelotaluczo @kimwallsla @furtunaskin
Start byidentifying your inner critic. This process begins by identifying when you are in fear, and getting clear about the critical part of yourself operating in those moments. When you get a good picture of your inner critic, start to approach them with curiosity: What’s the 2% of the information coming forward that’s actually useful? Is there a new way the fear can be instructive? If you can be gentle but firm with this part of yourself, it will ultimately dissipate the energy and allow you to get back to the important work of making change happen, with the critical rap on low volume.
As a part of our series about how very accomplished leaders were able to succeed despite experiencing Impostor Syndrome, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gia Storms, PCC, Executive Coach.
Gia Storms is a professional coach and leadership expert specializing in developing employees and catalyzing change. She brings to her work more than 15 years of strategic communications and marketing in the corporate and non-profit worlds, inspiring teams and individuals to overcome their fears and step forth with courage. Gia previously served as the Chief Communications Officer at the Hammer Museum at UCLA, one of Los Angeles’ leading contemporary art Museums and cultural centers. She led the museum in understanding communications styles and facilitated trainings across the museum to help improve outcomes in internal communications, employee engagement and departmental collaboration.
As coach and leadership facilitator, Gia brings strategic communication and storytelling to all her clients working to develop their organizations and futures. Presenting in front of groups and one-on-one, she helps individuals to realize their future path and pave the way for transformation in business and careers, with particular focus on mindfulness and co-active coaching.
A native of Seattle, Gia is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University, with a bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies. She graduated from the Coaching Training Institute, one of the world’s oldest coaching universities, with a certification in professional coaching, and has been trained with Coro’s Leadership New York, and certified in Interpersonal Leadership Styles, leading workshops with teams across dozens of organizations. She currently lives in Los Angeles where she runs coaching workshops and is a graduate of the University of Santa Monica’s Spiritual Psychology Program.
Thank you so much for joining us Gia! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
Nine years ago, when I was first introduced to coaching, I was rocked by a deep and instant calling to help individuals and teams connect to a new form of leadership. After spending a more than a decade and a half working in strategic and crisis communications in New York City and Los Angeles’ most competitive environments, I was ready to help leaders and teams find a new way to inspire, engage and achieve better workplace outcomes. Today, I support my executive coaching clients by helping them to make strategic shifts towards their best professional life. I work with leaders and organizations facilitating workshops that bring clarity, connection and improved communication to the workplace. I love living in Los Angeles, where I’m surrounded by dreamers, and regularly scheme new ways to push myself out of my own comfort zone (this year: travel to Algeria, motorcycle school, book in progress). My dream is for every person in the world to have a coach who helps hold space for deep connection, self-awareness and lasting personal and professional transformation.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I have recently come to understand that my life purpose is to walk the invisible bridge to make it safe for others to follow. To walk the invisible bridge means to go forward, even if you would rather hang back and blend into the crowd. To walk into the unknown, trusting that the net will appear; to speak out and step forth, even when the path looks uncertain and the territory hostile.
This has not always been my story. My own journey into courageously stepping forth was marked by small, early acts of resistance: Shaving my head in college to better understand gender norms, initiating private, courageous conversations in and out of the workplace when I saw bad behavior from coworkers, and finally leaving the full-time job and pension behind to enter the vast unknown of solo-preneurship.
Now that I have been on the invisible bridge of this new path — examining and embracing it from all sides — I have been able to call back over my shoulder in a clear, strong voice: “You guys! It’s real! It’ll hold! Come on out!” Today, I call clients forth with the certainty of one who has walked this path.
In careers today, most people I talk to wrestle with this feeling of disempowerment; shackled by the external circumstances — underpaying jobs, tyrannical bosses, financial burdens of dependents — that keep them from pursuing the scary dream or taking full charge of the journey.
Others I speak with cannot imagine what might lie beyond the ridge of the known, and so the safer choice becomes to stay on solid footing, inching our way forward and crossing our fingers that we will one day be rescued, recognized and rewarded.
But the cost of waiting is too high. As the stakes get higher in an increasingly complex world, as old institutions and old ways of being crumble, as more and more of us begin to answer a deeper call, it gets harder to ignore the thing inside of you that is yearning for freedom.
A new era of courage is dawning.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
My coaching inspires clients to imagine their best lives and courageously take the action needed to make it happen. For example, when a client comes to me stuck, or paralyzed by procrastination, or longing for more meaning and purpose in their life, I push them to shorten the distance between dreaming and doing, and arm them with the tools and techniques to create meaningful, swift change in all areas of their lives.
In general, my clients are leaders craving balance and meaning, creatives looking to take their careers to the next level, managers seeking tools to overcome resistance and make change happen now. Together, we dare to dream up the fullest expression of that best life — then take solid, direct steps to make it a reality.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I had early champions who saw my full potential and relentlessly advocated for journey as a coach — my parents, as well as some of my first teachers and bosses were all my main cheerleaders. When I was first introduced to coaching, I found a dear mentor and friend who had built her own vibrant coaching practice that was transforming the lives of leaders. Christie Mann became an inspiring friend and role model on this path, pointing me to a way of walking forward with courage and vulnerability to effecting tremendous change.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the experience of Impostor Syndrome. How would you define Impostor Syndrome? What do people with Impostor Syndrome feel?
Impostor syndrome is a reoccurring sense of inadequacy or self-doubt that negatively impacts the way we show up to perform. Impostor syndrome typically shows up as a doubt that you will be found unworthy or exposed as a fraud, that you don’t belong, despite external evidence like credentials, experience and personal or professional qualifications. When I think of this syndrome, I visualize it as an inner critic that constantly tells us we are faking it, and making us feel like pretenders at whatever task we are attempting.
What are the downsides of Impostor Syndrome? How can it limit people?
Impostor syndrome is not always a bad thing. It typically shows up when we are attempting to change, or moving out of our comfort zone, which can signal you’re on the right track. According to some leadership experts, if you are not experiencing the impostor syndrome regularly, you are not taking big enough risks in your life. However, it needs to be managed correctly when it does show up. When it is not dealt with consciously, it can sabotage our ability to create the impact we want at work and in our personal lives.
Generally, when the impostor syndrome shows up, our thoughts of “I don’t belong here” quickly transform into physical fear, anxiety, and self-doubt and move us into a parasympathetic response of fight, flight or freeze. When we’re in this kind of response, our ability to respond creatively and impactfully to a situation decreases. If we are interested in making powerful and impactful choices, we need to begin to recognize how this process works inside of us and find new patterns of behavior to interrupt these thought patterns and move into action.
How can the experience of Impostor Syndrome impact how one treats others?
When we are in the grips of the inner critic, we are focused on ourselves, paralyzed by fear and inclined to either shut down to self-protect or overextend ourselves by boasting and getting defensive. Typically this kind of response produces disastrous results in the workplace.
Almost everyone will experience the impostor syndrome at some point. When I lead workshops on it, the simple act of sharing about these feeling creates vulnerability, connection and they become a universally shared experience. When we remember that these feelings are universal we can start to connect to others and ourselves with compassion, remembering that at any moment someone else in the room has at one point felt like a fraud.
We would love to hear your story about your experience with Impostor Syndrome. Would you be able to share that with us?
Starting my own business was nothing if not an exercise in overcoming impostor syndrome. For months at a time in the early days of venturing out, I I could hear my inner critic on repeat, complaining: Who do you think you are, you don’t belong here, this will never work.
In reality, of course, not only was the business thriving, but I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing, and could point to half a dozen well-earned credentials that would serve as measures of my expertise in the field. So why wouldn’t the voice let me off the hook?
At different points, all of the leaders I work with must identify and move past their own feelings of impostor syndrome. It may show up as a nagging feeling of inadequacy, or a persistent fear that you will be discovered as a fraud or a failure. For most of us, the impostor syndrome shows up as a vicious inner critic that keeps us from truly owning our power and our weaknesses, from taking up space and from doing the brave thing in the face of old patterns that would have us seek safety over risk, familiarity over discomfort.
I have been a hyper-achiever my whole life. Let me re-frame: I have had a hyper-achieving inner critic my whole life. This particularly insidious, relentless critic in my head has claimed energy and space in my life for as long as I can remember. The activity, achievement, success, accolades or action I have done in given period of time is never. ever. enough.
Inner critics at their most basic are coping mechanisms, developed when we were young to ensure we survived childhood and adolescence, assisting us in critical moments to attract the right kind of attention or navigate potential threats to keep us safe. However, at a certain point, we outgrow our need for these basic protection mechanisms and are able to navigate our complex and largely non-threatening adult lives with some degree of psychological maturity.
And yet, the voices persist long past their usefulness — getting in the way of our effectiveness as leaders in our professional and personal lives. As adults, the inner critics are persistent, annoying, and sneaky and they rob us consistently of the joy of being in the moment. What’s more is they can rob us of taking needed, essential action steps to move into change.
Inner critics are fear personified. They can be harbingers of the exciting and constructive change that is on the horizon; a sign that you are moving out of your comfort zone. Yet, the fear-based thinking only ever serves to keep us in paralysis and negativity.
Did you ever shake the feeling off? If yes, what have you done to mitigate it or eliminate it?
If you are up to big change — if you have just accepted a promotion, or are managing a team for the first time, or are about to stand on stage to give a speech — it is time to get familiar with how your impostor syndrome operates and reduce the amount of time you spend listening to your inner critic.
At the end of the day, the inner critic driving the impostor syndrome cannot prevent us from making change if we learn to identify it and work with it, instead of against it. We are moving forward, and we get to decide who we want to listen to and put in the drivers seat. Over time, we will find ourselves increasingly free from self-doubt, leading from a place of confidence and courage, acknowledging the voices that pop up with patience and curiosity.
In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone who is experiencing Impostor Syndrome can take to move forward despite feeling like an “Impostor”? Please share a story or an example for each.
1. Start byidentifying your inner critic. This process begins by identifying when you are in fear, and getting clear about the critical part of yourself operating in those moments. When you get a good picture of your inner critic, start to approach them with curiosity: What’s the 2% of the information coming forward that’s actually useful? Is there a new way the fear can be instructive? If you can be gentle but firm with this part of yourself, it will ultimately dissipate the energy and allow you to get back to the important work of making change happen, with the critical rap on low volume.
2. Get creative about managing your fear. After you’ve identified the core critic and the way that it operates, you can playfully and creatively approach different ways to shift away from it. I’ve had clients imagine muting the volume of their inner critic, putting them on an imaginary bench, shrinking them down to three inches high, writing out a dialogue with them, or drawing an exaggerated cartoon sketch to add humor and definition to the irrational, insatiable energy and learn to laugh at it when it appears.
3. Call forth your confident inner leader. It is important that you work to identify your confident inner leader — the part of you that emerges when you are at your most confident, powerful and impactful. Create a clear vision of your confident inner leader and think about how they would react to any given situation. For example, if Michelle Obama is your confident inner leader, how would she handle a challenging work conflict? How would she stand? What would she say to prepare?
4. Take one small step of action. When the inner critic pops up — and they will until the end of time, if we are living into our full potential — you can use it as a moment to propel one step of action that would help you feel more solid inside yourself. Is there more education, experience or practice needed? For example, you might enroll in a course, recruit a friend to practice with you, or make a plan to get more experience to inspire more graceful confidence.
5. Tell on yourself to others. There is no tonic to bust the impostor syndrome wide open like telling on yourself. Have the courage to confide in someone you admire or trust. Share what is going on with you and you likely will find that they not only reassure you of your own abilities but that they will share with you their own similar experience. Dare to share and you will find that it gives you the ability to own your areas for growth as well as your strengths with confidence and wisdom.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
My vision is for every person in the world to have the inner tools they need to make confident, compassionate, courageous choices in the face of fear and the great unknown. When we can connect with our full potential even at challenging moments we can effect radical transformation of our external world.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
My heroes are creating radical transformation in the world working from the inside out: Byron Katie, Martha Beck, Robert Holden, Ekart Tole, Oprah, Michelle Obama, adrienne marie brown, Brene Brown, Elizabeth Gilbert. They exhibit courage, vulnerability, integrity, and messy, loving commitment to change in our world.
Personal growth is something I am extremely passionate about. After spending ten years doing interviews with people at the top of their fields — from the arts to science to sports- I noticed that these super achievers had many things in common from their ability to be self-aware of their potential to their daily habits and need to give back.
As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gaby Natale.
Gaby Natale is a triple Daytime EMMY® winner, TV personality, bestselling author and motivational speaker. She is the executive producer and host of the nationally-syndicated TV show SuperLatina on PBS’ VME network.
One of the most prestigious media personalities in Spanish-language television, Natale is among a few women in the entertainment industry who owns not only the rights to her TV show but also a television studio. This unique situation has allowed her to combine her passion for media and her entrepreneurial spirit.
People magazine named Natale one of 2018’s “25 Most Powerful Latinas”, highlighting the inspirational story of how she went from a local TV show that started out of a carpet warehouse to becoming the only Latina in US history to win triple back-to-back Daytime EMMYs. Her popularity grew even further when her first book, “The Virtuous Circle” by HarperCollins, became an instant bestseller, topping Amazon’s New Releases charts in 3 different categories (Business, Inspiration and Self-Help).
Natale is also the founder of AGANARmedia, a marketing company with a focus on Hispanic audiences that serves Fortune 500 companies such as Hilton Worldwide, Sprint, AT&T, eBay and Amazon. In the digital world, she has a thriving fan base with over 52 million views on YouTube and 250K+ followers on Social Media.
In 2019, Natale launched Welcome All Beauty, her own hairpiece and extension line dedicated to women who need to be camera-ready on the go.
A tireless advocate of gender and diversity issues, Natale is a sought-after bilingual speaker and a frequent collaborator with nonprofits such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign and Voto Latino. She has keynoted conferences from the United Nations to tech shows and trade gatherings across the US and Latin America. Natale has been featured in Forbes, CNN, Buzzfeed, NBC News, Univision and Latino Leaders magazine. She is the recipient of NALIP’s Digital Trailblazer Award and of a GLAAD Media Award nomination for her portrayal of Latino LGBTQ youth in media.
Natale holds a bachelor’s in International Relations and a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of San Andres and Columbia University. Prior to starting her career in television, Natale taught Communication and Journalism courses at the University of Texas. Originally from Argentina, Natale holds triple citizenship from the United States, Argentina and Italy and has lived in London (UK), Mexico, Washington DC and Buenos Aires.
Thank you so much for joining us gaby! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?
My name is Gaby Natale; I am a 3-time EMMY award-winning journalist, author, speaker, and entrepreneur. I am originally from Argentina, where I graduated in 2001 with a Master’s Degree in Journalism ready to take over the world but had to face the harsh reality of graduating in a country that had a record 20% unemployment rate, a severe economic crisis, and an unstable political landscape that led us to have five presidents in ten days.
I endured almost two years of unemployment without much hope of a better future. One day I volunteered to work pro bono as a helper at an international marketing conference. A few hours into that day, we learned that the translator had canceled last minute. I was bilingual and asked to replace her. To make a long story short, I translated for a delegation of professors from George Washington University that would eventually end up offering me telework -first- and a full-time position — many months later- in their PR agency. I went from unemployed in Buenos Aires to public relations executive in Washington DC in a matter of months. That’s why I believe you should always bring your ‘A’ game to work even if you are doing something pro bono. The truth is you never know when opportunity will knock on your door.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I am working on many exciting projects. I just launched my first product line. It is called Welcome All Beauty, and it’s the first hair extension line with a focus on women’s productivity. Every single style is carefully crafted to be done in five minutes or less without professional help or special hairstyling skills. 21st-century women are achieving incredible things, but they are also time deprived like no other generation before.
The idea came when I was doing a book tour and realized that I was spending a lot of time and money on getting my hair ready for keynotes, TV interviews, or meet and greets. I felt that there should be a better way than spending 40 plus minutes in front of hairstyling tools. I was a frustrated customer who could not find the product she needed. So, I decided to create it!
Our Welcome All Beauty clients are using our hair solutions all of the time to look great in just a few minutes…from business meetings to destination weddings to right after showering post workouts! They realize that our hair solutions give them back 3–4 extra hours per week. By streamlining their hair routines, they now have more time for what’s meaningful in their lives.
In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?
We truly care. We want our projects to be an authentic expression of what we want to put into the world, and we want to do it with excellence. We apply this principle to whatever we do, whether it is a TED talk or a hair extension line that will boost women’s productivity by allowing them to be ready-to-go in five minutes. I am convinced that a job done with love will never go unnoticed.
Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?
Absolutely! I just finished a TED talk that was exactly about that. It is called “PIONEER: How to be what you can’t see,” and it’s all about believing in your vision even BEFORE you have the results to validate it.
As an immigrant Latina, I frequently encounter people who want to put me in a box. Accentism — the perception that certain accents are inferior to others — is very real in today’s world. Even to this day, I come across people who mistakenly assume that I am uneducated only because English happens to be my second language. That’s C-R-A-Z-Y! It makes no sense. But if I believed someone else’s low expectations about me, they would become self-fulfilling prophecies.
Let me give you a personal example of people trying to put you in a box.
I started my media career in local news when I was in my twenties. As an aspiring journalist, one of my greatest hopes was to share who I was with the audience authentically.
But it soon became very clear that as a young Latina working on camera the industry had only two types of media personas that I could embody: the sexy reporter or the formal news anchor. The first one was only expected to navigate shallow waters. The latter was expected to trade spontaneity and individuality for authenticity.
I soon realized that if I wanted to grow in the local news sector, I would need to erase part of who I was in order to fit into one of these two stereotypes. But I didn’t want to be a ‘wannabe,’ I wanted to be me!
So to make a long story short, I quit my job to start creating authentic content for multidimensional women. We started doing a show in a local market out of a carpet warehouse. We grew to become a regional show and eventually a nationally syndicated one. We now have three Daytime EMMY awards and were the first independent production to win in our categories (including Best Talent, twice!).
But it all started with the deliberate decision to recalibrate my belief system.
In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂
I don’t even remember them. I don’t believe in doing things to prove people wrong. My motivation is my own growth.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are many. Of course, my family and my parents played a crucial role in supporting me so I would have a good education and allowing me to grow in a loving environment during my childhood and formative years. My husband is very supportive and has been a champion for me since we met almost 20 years ago.
Also, I am a big fan of Dr. Wayne Dyer’s work. He is the friend and mentor I never had the chance to meet. He is also the person I never met in real life that I cried the most for when he died. His books have been by my side since I was 16 years old. I wholeheartedly recommend his work to anyone who wants to start the journey of personal growth and development.
It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?
Starting from the bottom in a new country is a humbling experience that teaches you a lot about resilience. You don’t have the friends, family, or safety net you had back home. You can really feel that you are in a vulnerable position when you are a newcomer. Some people want to help you. Others take advantage of you.
When I first arrived in the United States, I was financially abused by my first employer. He took advantage of me, forcing me to pay for both my taxes as an employee AND his taxes as an employer. My already modest 37K gross salary shrank so fast I still don’t know how I managed to make ends meet in a city as expensive as Washington DC.
What he did was not only immoral but also illegal. But -at the time- I was in no position to demand what was fair. My job depended on an employment-based visa that his company had sponsored. And that visa allowed me to legally work and live in the United States ONLY if I was able to keep my job. Basically, I had to endure financial abuse so I would not become undocumented.
Time has passed and things have changed for the better for me. I am now a US citizen and an entrepreneur, and I have used my position to speak up for social justice in many stages from TEDx to the United Nations to the Daytime Emmys.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)
Personal growth is something I am extremely passionate about. After spending ten years doing interviews with people at the top of their fields — from the arts to science to sports- I noticed that these super achievers had many things in common from their ability to be self-aware of their potential to their daily habits and need to give back.
I summarized these patterns in my upcoming book “The Virtuous Circle” which will launch in June in partnership with HarperCollins Leadership.
I am the first Latina to be signed by HarperCollins Leadership, so I am thrilled to open the doors to many more minority authors. I am joining a roster of bestselling authors such as John C. Maxwell and Rachel Hollis, so I am very happy.
Below there’s a summary of how people can use The Virtuous Circle in their own lives:
The Virtuous Circle is made up of seven archetypes that live within ourselves. Each one constitutes a phase and corresponds to a particular action. The seven archetypes and their respective actions are the dreamer (visualize), the architect (plan), the maker (execute), the apprentice (perfect), the warrior (persevere), the champion (achieve) and the leader (inspire).
1. The Dreamer: The dreamer’s stage is one of thought and visualization. It begins with the possibility of imagining something that is not yet present in reality. It represents the spark that starts The Virtuous Circle. This is the time to connect with the essence of our inner child, the one who danced happily and carelessly, without wondering how the dance steps came out or if their toddler companions had better rhythm than they did. It is an opportunity to begin to unlearn external conditioning and self-limiting thoughts in order to let our minds fly and see beyond the apparent.
2. The Architect: In this phase, an action map is created with the ideas and concepts that were born in the dreamer’s stage. It is time to make plans, evaluate options, and analyze what the best ways to bring our visions into action may be.
3. The Creator: This is where theory and reality meet. The architect’s plan is put into practice. It represents the moment in which the world returns to us a sometimes unexpected reflection: The challenges may be greater or different from those we anticipated, the skills we have may not be sufficient, or we may underestimate the time it takes to achieve our dream. We may realize that sometimes even the most “perfect” plans end up being “ferpect” and we need to reassess the next steps.
4. The Apprentice: It is time for improvement. The apprentice stage represents the moment of listening to the internal GPS that asks us to recalculate some aspect of our path to continue moving forward. Now that we’ve seen our ideas in action, it’s time to make adjustments. In the creator stage, we saw what happened when we began to put all of the plans and ideas of the architect and the dreamer into practice. Now, the apprentice has to undertake the search for excellence along the path that makes them a teacher. What talents need to continue being polished? What skills have to be learned to keep moving forward? What strategies worked, and what strategies need to be changed?
5. The Warrior: Here, our commitment to the dream is put to the test. In the apprentice stage, we improved our skills and adjusted the plan of action. Now is the time to strengthen our tenacity and resilience. We have the skills we need to achieve our goals, but the opportunity we dreamed of has not arrived yet. The frustration and the feelings of injustice for not having achieved it remain close by. The temptation to abandon our dreams is great. It’s the time for the brave, the bold, and those who keep going when others throw in the towel. We have reached the last mile of the dream, but we still don’t know it — and we constantly wonder if it’s worth so much effort. At this stage, we will learn that sustaining a dream over time requires a true warrior.
6. The Champion: The preparation and all of the work of the previous stages finally meet the opportunity we so longed for. It is time for laurels, achievements, and recognition. However, beware of success, because not all that glitters is gold. After achieving the dream, champions can lose their way, succumb to new temptations, and become a magnet for bad company.
7. The Leader: One who has become a champion and, at the same time, inspires us. The champion achieves their goal. The leader not only achieves it but goes one step further by making it something bigger than themselves. The leader not only obtains triumphs, but they also lead by example. Not all champions are leaders, but all leaders are champions.
And it is called The Virtuous Circle because with your next idea you go back to the first archetype “The Dreamer” and the process starts all over again. The Virtuous Circle is all about embracing life as an opportunity for constant learning and evolution.
What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?
“Don’t Jump to Permanent Conclusions Based on Temporary Circumstances” is one of the things I like to remind people the most. When we are feeling low or going through a bad phase, it is easy to underestimate our potential and possibilities.
When I was 23 and living in Argentina, a country with a 20% unemployment rate, I almost gave up prematurely on my dream of working in media. I almost gave up based on a circumstance that was only TEMPORARY. Time proved that the dream I almost gave up on was within my reach. That’s why we have to be very careful not to jump to permanent conclusions based on circumstances that will change.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I want to invite everyone to embrace a PIONEER SPIRIT. How does it work? It is very simple. You look around, you see what everyone else LIKE YOU is doing and you open yourself up to the possibility of doing something no one LIKE YOU has ever done before. You open yourself up to the possibility of BELIEVING IN YOUR VISION even before you have the results to validate it. You open yourself up to the possibility of becoming a PIONEER.
Because there are moments in life when you must take a leap of faith, step into the unknown and DARE TO BE FIRST.
DARE TO BE FIRST in your family, DARE TO BE FIRST in your school, DARE TO BE FIRST in your community. Because it doesn’t matter how big or small the step you are taking is… EVERY TIME YOU CHOOSE TO PIONEER, YOU MOVE THE WORLD FORWARD.
And this is a concept that is important for everyone, but it is particularly relevant for communities who have been treated as outsiders because they look, sound, love, or pray differently. And if you are reading this and you have the privilege of not having to ask yourself whether or not to pioneer, use that privilege for good. Staying on the sidelines only perpetuates the problem. BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION. We could really use more allies!
The Future Of Beauty: “Facetite, Bodytite, & Venus Bliss” With Dr. Farah Naz Khan
I heard this quote during my training and I’ve never forgotten it since: ”If you want to see a rainbow, you have to put up with the rain”. Owning a private practice is hard work, and I often say the easiest part of my day is operating. But when you’re running a business, you also have to oversee and manage employees, marketing, networking, and the day to day operations. Physicians also have to make sure they keep up with their CMEs (continuing medical education) so it can be overwhelming. But, the satisfaction of having your own practice and being your own boss so you can treat your patients the way you want to makes it all worthwhile.
As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Farah Naz Khan, MD
Dr. Farah Naz Khan is a board certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon practicing in Dallas, Texas. She performs a full range of cosmetic surgery procedures, including 24 hour recovery® breast augmentation, mommy makeovers, body contouring, liposculpting, facial surgery, and breast revision surgery.
Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Dr. Khan was raised in both California and New Jersey, experiencing life along both coasts. Excelling both athletically and academically, she received a full scholarship to The College of New Jersey and graduated Summa Cum Laude and with Honors with a degree in Biology in only 3 years.
She then continued her education at the prestigious Duke University School of Medicine where she immersed herself in basic science and clinical research at the Kenan Plastic Surgery Laboratory. This resulted in several publications in peer reviewed journals as well as presentations at both the national and international level. She also received an NIH medical student research fellowship to further her interests.
After observing her plastic surgery mentors, she realized that the best surgical results were obtained by those who were able to recognize and appreciate often subtle differences in symmetry, shape, and form. She enrolled at the world renowned Parsons New School of Design in New York City where she sketched, painted, and sculpted human models and learned to appreciate the nuances of the human form. Earning a Certificate in the Fine Arts, she then returned to Duke University to complete her final year of medical school.
Graduating with Honors from Duke, she continued her education at Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital under the tutelage of Dr. Aldona Spiegel, an expert breast reconstruction microsurgeon. Completing both a clinical and research fellowship in breast reconstruction and microsurgery, Dr. Khan knew she had found her calling and was admitted into the highly competitive integrated Plastic Surgery residency training program at the University of South Florida.
During her 6-year residency, she rotated through several highly acclaimed institutions, including the Moffitt Cancer Center and Tampa General Hospital. Training in the full spectrum of all that plastic surgery has to offer, including hand surgery, burn reconstruction, cleft lip/palate surgery, lower extremity reconstruction, maxillofacial trauma, head and neck surgery, microsurgery, and cosmetic surgery, she knew she was more than ready to enter the world of private practice in Dallas, Texas.
Joining first as an associate of Dr. John B. Tebbetts, Dr. Khan was fortunate to begin her practice under the guidance and mentorship of a world-renowned plastic surgeon. She quickly mastered Dr. Tebbetts’ 24 hour recovery® breast augmentation technique, which when combined with her vast surgical skill set, allowed her to become one of the most sought after aesthetic plastic surgeons. After Dr. Tebbetts’ retirement, Dr. Khan established her own state of the art office in the Turtle Creek neighborhood of Dallas.
Ultimately, Dr. Khan believes that it is an honor and a privilege to be a plastic surgeon. “I am truly blessed to have found such a wonderful career. Every day, I am inspired by my colleagues and patients to give 110% to whatever I pursue. Every day I learn something new and that allows me to provide my patients with the latest and most innovative procedures to correct both function and form.”
Dr. Khan strives to provide her patients with the safest and most up to date surgical technique. She regularly attends national Plastic Surgery meetings and is a diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS), and a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the Dallas Society of Plastic Surgeons. She is nationally recognized for the 24 hour recovery ® breast augmentation, and is routinely featured as an expert contributor for Fox News Radio and various media outlets, including NBC, CBS, ABC and the CW network.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
During my 2nd year of medical school at Duke, I fell in love with surgery. I enjoyed the immediate gratification of identifying my patient’s problem and “fixing” it in the operating room. But my plastic surgery mentors inspired me the most, and I remember one particular day in clinic when I decided I wanted to be a plastic surgeon. This attending plastic surgeon was a craniofacial surgeon and the clinic was full of kids with various craniofacial anomalies, including cleft lip and cleft palate. The first patient was a young child with a cleft lip and instead of taking photographs to document the child’s condition, the surgeon sketched the child’s lip and explained to the parents, via drawings, how he would correct the lip. I was amazed at how well the surgeon understood this child’s anatomy and how well he could appreciate the subtleties that would need to be corrected. The next child in clinic was a postop cleft lip correction and the parents were simply ecstatic with the results. The young child was able to feed properly and was thriving because he was gaining weight, all because of a simple corrective surgery. By the end of that clinic day, I knew I wanted to make a difference in the lives of my patients just like my attending plastic surgeon.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
After I decided that I wanted to be a plastic surgeon, I realized I needed to expand my training beyond just the science. The practice of medicine, after all, is not just a science but an art. The best plastic surgeons I observed had great surgical technique but were also able to recognize and appreciate often subtle differences in symmetry, shape, and form. Therefore, during my third year of medical school, I enrolled at the world renowned Parsons New School of Design in New York City. I learned to appreciate the nuances of the human form through sketching, painting, and sculpting human models. While this certificate in the Fine Arts program was a far cry from the rigors of Duke Medical School, I found my time at Parsons to be quite formative in shaping how I assess my patients. This training allowed me to focus on restoring both function AND form, and I find it interesting that patients still tell me they feel more comfortable with me as a plastic surgeon because of my art training. In fact, a majority of my new patients cite my time at Parsons as the reason why they come see me instead of another plastic surgeon.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?
After I finished my plastic surgery training, I moved to Dallas to start in private practice. I had never lived in Dallas prior to this move and I had no “roots” in this area. I moved because I had a wonderful opportunity to join a world renowned plastic surgeon in practice. Private practice is challenging to start off in because there is no guaranteed salary. I remember my partner telling me that the patients will come, I just needed to make sure I did good work. The first month I saw two patients and the second month I saw four. I heeded my partner’s advice and took on the hard cases and made sure I did my very best to give my patients the best possible result. I also scrubbed in with my partner regularly and learned additional surgical techniques to polish my own skills. Perhaps most importantly, I learned the 24 hour recovery® breast augmentation technique because I was willing to learn from my partner. Even though I had 8 years of surgical training under my belt, I knew I still had a lot more to learn and I was committed to finding the best surgical techniques for my patients. This helped me attract a lot of patients to my practice and within 18 months, my clinic and surgical schedules were full! The takeaway is work hard and continue to better yourself. The success will come.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I will always be grateful for the time I spent with Dr. Tebbetts. Even though he was my “partner” in private practice, he acted more like a mentor to me. I learned from him not only surgical techniques but also life lessons and the business of private practice.
When I first met Dr. Tebbetts, he asked me if I knew my worth. At the time, I was confused by the question but he explained to me that everyone should know their worth so they are never undervalued. Needless to say, I quickly figured out my worth and to this day, I keep that in mind whenever I’m setting my prices for a new procedure or evaluating a new business proposal.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?
I am best known for providing my patients the 24 hour recovery® breast augmentation. This procedure allows my patients to look their best with minimal downtime so they can return to their busy lives ASAP. In fact, patients fly from across the country (and even across oceans) to get this procedure because they can return home within a day or two while enjoying their new figure. Traditional plastic surgery procedures have several weeks of downtime and recovery but our aesthetic practice recognizes that in today’s world, patients do not have the luxury of taking a lot of time off. Therefore, our procedures are designed to give patients the best possible results in the least traumatic manner possible. Facetite and Bodytite are two such procedures that allow us to deliver results that previously were only possible with traditional surgical procedures involving lengthy incisions and several weeks of downtime. Instead of a traditional facelift/necklift, Facetite uses radiofrequency to tighten and contour the lower face and neck. Small pinpoint incisions are used instead of the traditional facelift incisions that go in front of and behind the ear. For the body, Bodytite is used, often in conjunction with liopsuction, to simultaneously remove excess fat AND tighten skin. So, instead of a traditional arm lift, which requires a long upper arm incision extending from the elbow to the armpit, I am able to fully contour upper arms with Bodytite and liposuction (which only requires 2 small liposuction scars that are easily camouflaged). In the past, liposuction would remove the fat but the excess skin would still hang, necessitating surgeons to excise the skin with a long incision. However, the amazing technology of Facetite and Bodytite allows us to get maximal skin tightening and contouring in the safest way possible.
Perhaps even more exciting are the latest advancements in noninvasive technology. One such device is the Venus Bliss, a diode laser that has shown significant fat reduction results after only 3 sessions. This procedure is comfortable and takes less than 30 minutes to perform with almost no downtime. Most patients opt to do work or watch TV while undergoing this procedure! And although liposuction with Bodytite allows us to remove larger amounts of fat in one setting, the Venus Bliss allows us to comfortably contour a patient’s “problem area” over several sessions. Patients often prefer noninvasive devices because of the very little to no downtime, significantly reduced cost when compared to surgical procedures and their ability to undergo these procedures despite having certain medical conditions that would disqualify them from being surgical candidates. Similarly, facial resurfacing procedures using noninvasive technology, such as the Venus Versa, have gained popularity because they allow us to target MULTIPLE skin concerns in one platform/device with minimal downtime for patients. Even more impressive, the Venus Versa is able to use radiofrequency, Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), and/or an Acne Dual Head IPL to combine multiple treatments in one setting for patients of ALL skin tones. In the past, lasers were often contraindicated for use in dark skin patients because of the risk of hypopigmentation but radiofrequency based technologies with the newer IPL allow us to treat darker skin patients with precision and confidence.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
I always remind patients they need to have realistic expectations when undergoing noninvasive procedures. So, although a fat reduction device like Venus Bliss can improve the appearance of a patient’s problem area after 3 sessions, patients should not expect surgical like results. And, if a patient has deep scars or wrinkles, they may need several facial rejuvenation procedures (including Venus Versa, chemical peels, and/or botox and fillers) to get the best possible results.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?
We are always looking for newer technology that delivers better results in a safer and more efficient manner.
We are getting surgical like results from minimally invasive devices like Facetite and Bodytite.
Treatments are becoming more affordable because there are more options so there is something for everyone.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
False advertising (i.e. promising results that are not possible with the procedure being advertised)
Practicioners (including physicians, nurses, and aestheticians) using misleading credentials to boost one’s own reputation
Misleading before/after photos (using flash, different backgrounds, or photoshop to show differences that may not be present)
3 ways to reform or improve the industy:
Promote ethical advertising standards by making sure ALL professional societies (for doctors, surgeons, nurses, etc.) hold their members accountable for their advertising
Patients should do their due diligence when selecting their provider so they understand the difference between a plastic surgeon vs. a cosmetic surgeon or an aesthetic doctor. Board Certified Plastic surgeons undergo at least 6 years of surgical training in plastic surgery, followed by an intensive oral and written board certification process. The only plastic/cosmetic surgery board recognized by the ABMS (American Board of Medical Specialties) is the ABPS (American Board of Plastic Surgery).
Social media allows anyone to post videos or before/afters so he or she can look like an “expert”. Again, patients should always check an account’s website to see what credentials the practicioner has (i.e. training, board certification, expertise, etc.)
You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)
Have a daily skincare routine and use a mask once a week. This will give your skin that “glow” that helps us all feel beautiful.
Get monthly facials and/or peels. Again, when your skin looks its best, you tend to feel most beautiful.
Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Your skin will be hydrated and your makeup will look even better.
Treat yourself to a blowout before a party or a big event. You (and your hair!) will look and feel beautiful.
Take a relaxing bath and use bath bombs with essential oils that leave your skin feeling soft and moisturized.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
In this day and age, we are under constant pressure to look and act a certain way. People often hide what they are really feeling in hopes of putting forth the perfect image on social media. Since we never know what another person is really going through, I make a conscious effort to smile at whoever I run into. If we all just remember to smile a bit more, we can make this world a friendlier place for all.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I heard this quote during my training and I’ve never forgotten it since: ”If you want to see a rainbow, you have to put up with the rain”. Owning a private practice is hard work, and I often say the easiest part of my day is operating. But when you’re running a business, you also have to oversee and manage employees, marketing, networking, and the day to day operations. Physicians also have to make sure they keep up with their CMEs (continuing medical education) so it can be overwhelming. But, the satisfaction of having your own practice and being your own boss so you can treat your patients the way you want to makes it all worthwhile.
How can our readers follow you online?
My practice is very active on social media and readers can follow me on Instagram @khan_plastic_surgery, on Facebook at Khan Plastic Surgery, and on twitter @KhanPlasticSurg. For more information about specific surgical or noninvasive procedures that I offer, feel free to visit my website at www.khanplasticsurgery.com
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
The truth is that I have never really paid attention to the haters. Many of the people who said I wouldn’t ever make it now hit me up trying to meet their favorite artists, or ask me if I can help someone they know make it in the business. I always listen to everything everyone sends me because you never know what you might discover. And I do my best to stay cool with everyone.
As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Emile Ghantous.
Grammy-Nominated and NAACP Award-Winning Producer Emile Ghantous is no stranger to making hits. As the mastermind behind award-winning tracks by names ranging from Chris Brown to Snoop Dogg, Prince Royce to Pitbull, and legends such as Charlie Wilson — Ghantous does not shy away from a challenge. And so when he was tasked with producing a 15-person global hit virtually, he rose to the occasion. And the results may be changing the industry as a whole.
Emile Ghantous recently teamed with internet ultra-sensation, Now United, to produce their most recent hit, “By My Side”, which resulted in a total knockout, garnering an impressive 330K streams and 3.7M video views in under one week. Although these numbers are remarkable, it’s the way in which “By My Side” was created that is catching the attention of industry professionals, sparking conversations and molding expectations of just where the industry is headed in years to come.
Amidst the Stay At Home restrictions due to COVID-19, the “By My Side” producer found a way to create this track, consisting of the vocals of 15 individual members, all from different parts of the world, via separate iPhone voicenotes sent to him via text. Ghantous then took the low-res recordings and worked tirelessly on engineering them to sound like a high-budget, in-studio, collaborative piece.
“I took the recordings and moved everything around manually until they lined up in Logic, and started equalizing and creating vocal chains for each singer according to the room they recorded in. Some lines were even split into 5 tracks to get all the tones to match,” explains Ghantous.
And hundreds of thousands of streams later, the song has proven to be a major hit, and the industry is taking notes on the new production style. With COVID-19 showing no signs of letting up on Stay At Home restrictions, this production style has started a trend. With “By My Side” proving to be such a major success, Ghantous is now working on a number of other songs for Now United and other artists.
It’s an understatement to say the world is facing some difficult times right now. In the music industry, artists are feeling the effects no matter what capacity they part-take in it. The traditional processes of music-making are being challenged, and activities such as record-producing, which, from the beginning of time, have depended heavily on studio sessions with hundred-thousand-dollar technology, are threatening artist’s livelihoods and futures. But as they say, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”. And Ghantous proved once again, he is as tough as a veteran Hollywood producer comes.
“I didn’t want to let physical boundaries stop us from creating something we love. In this industry, you have to adapt to survive. We took what we were given and made something great of it. It was tricky but we made it work,” says Ghantous. “You have to find a way to get things done. I believe there should never be an excuse for why you can’t get things done, and if you are waiting for someone else to do them for you, then you will most likely be waiting for a long time. You should NEVER have any excuses. Technology should be your best friend, and if you want to take this business seriously, you need to put in the work.”
Rather than letting this put a halt on the hits, he once again proves why he has risen to success time and time again in an ever-changing industry; by adapting to the circumstances, using some creativity, and lots of hard work. Thanks to this work ethic, artists will continue to work, listeners will continue to hear the songs they love, and hopefully people will remain hopeful for better times to come.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?
Thanks for having me! I’ve been writing and producing records for more than 15 years. I got my big break while living in Chicago working with artists like Public Announcement, Boyz II Men, Jojo, 3LW, Bobby Valentino, etc.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I’m currently working on a lot of new things, but I’m focusing most of my energy primarily on new artists. Recently I’ve working a lot with Now United. The group consists of 15 artists from 15 different countries. So that’s been a lot of fun. I’m also working with Baby Goth, Carly Gibert, WanMor (whose father is Wanya Morris from the group Boyz II Men), Charlie Wilson, Celina Sharma, Haven, Angel Taylor, and a lot of others.
In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?
Well I do my best to focus on delivering great songs and making sure I have great sounding vocals from the artists I produce. Even though I make beats, I also am a true producer who can finish a record and make it sound radio ready. A lot of people are good at making beats, but don’t know how to properly take an idea and turn it into a record. I have a lot of experience and can always deliver a high-quality product.
Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?
I think anyone who follows their dreams and becomes successful gets bashed by others on their way up. When I first started, I was waiting tables while trying to make it as a producer. I had people tell me that I would never make and that I should stop telling people I was a producer because I was never going to be anything more than a waiter. I also had a big hit record a few years back and one of the people I showed the song to told me it sucked and would never work. But I followed my instinct and continued working on it and the song became one of the biggest songs of my career.
In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂 Well, success is the greatest revenge isn’t it? ☺
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Well in my situation, I didn’t really have anyone help get me to the next level. When I first started, I used to email A&R’s and managers pretending I knew them. I would create an email chain between us and fake a conversation. I would make up names of people I was working with and attach my music to the emails. Well, my music was good enough to get them interested and I slowly started selling songs that way. I have worked with some of the biggest managers in the industry and none of them have ever worked harder for me than I have worked for myself. And none of them really did much for me.
It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?
The truth is that I have never really paid attention to the haters. Many of the people who said I wouldn’t ever make it now hit me up trying to meet their favorite artists, or ask me if I can help someone they know make it in the business. I always listen to everything everyone sends me because you never know what you might discover. And I do my best to stay cool with everyone.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)
Don’t take no as answer! Don’t take no as answer! Don’t take no as answer! Don’t take no as answer! Don’t take no as answer!
What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience? Anything is possible if you just believe!
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
More collaborations with people who bring out the best in each other.
Can our readers follow you on social media? Yes. I’m on Facebook and IG @emileghantous
Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success! Thanks! ☺
Laura Freebairn-Smith of Organizational Performance Group: “Five Things We Need To Do To Close The Gender Wage Gap”
…A third factor is an emphasis on having children as a critical life achievement. More women and men are choosing not to have children but there is extraordinary societal pressure to do so. It’s a cliché but true — as soon as a couple gets married (hetero, gay, or otherwise), people start asking, “When are you going to have kids?” Children have a major impact on at least one partner’s income, and the world is overpopulated. We don’t need more children, but as a species that is biologically programmed to reproduce, we are driven to have them.
As part of my series about “The Five Things We Need to Do to Close the Gender Wage Gap,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Freebairn-Smith.
Laura Freebairn-Smith is a co-founder and partner at Organizational Performance Group (OPG). Laura helps leaders redesign their organizations and create strategic plans through organizational development guidance. Laura also teaches at Yale’s School of Drama and the Yale Office of International Affairs.
Prior to this work, Laura served as Yale’s Director of the Organizational Development and Learning Center, which she helped create in 1999. In addition to her work with OPG’s clients, Laura teaches leadership, diversity, and team building at Yale’s School of Drama.
Her work and career have three major foci:
Leading the creation of extraordinary organizational cultures
Guiding groups, large and small, to greater effectiveness and impact
Consulting on organizational development issues with a special emphasis on strategic planning and organizational redesign
Laura’s background includes a BA from UC Berkeley (Philosophy and Political Science) and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She holds a doctorate in Organizational Systems and has published articles and chapters on organizational development topics, most recently the impact of gender on inequity in compensation.
Prior to joining Yale, Laura founded Good Work Associates, a consulting firm providing strategic planning and organizational development services. Before that, she served as Managing Director for the Gesell Institute of Human Development, as Chief Operating Officer for Jobs for the Future, and as Education Coordinator for the International Rescue Committee on the Thai-Cambodian border. In addition to her teaching position at Yale, Laura has taught at the University of New Haven, Georgetown University, and Central Connecticut State University. She has received several leadership awards.
Laura is committed to being a catalyst for the planting of one million trees in her lifetime.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us the “backstory” that brought you to this career path?
I became interested in organizational issues when I was working in a Cambodian refugee camp on the Thai-Cambodian border as the Education Coordinator for a camp called Khao-I-Dang. I had 1,000 Khmer staff and about 10 Thai and expatriate staff working for me. I reported to the International Rescue Committee’s Bangkok and New York offices, as well as to the UNHCR in Bangkok. I was struck with how difficult middle management and communication was. As a result of those challenges, I ended up at the Yale School of Management where I discovered the field of organizational development. I also discovered accounting and finance. Those two organizational “languages” became powerful sense-makers and tools for me in my career. I went on to be a Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director, Director of Organizational Development, Professor, and Partner in a variety of organizations ranging from a small nonprofit called Jobs for the Future to Yale University.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this career?
I do not have a most interesting story; that’s impossible to choose from the events and experiences of 40 years. I have had the honor and privilege of working with CEOs and front line staff on a wide range of challenges that mattered to them greatly. I’ve flown in helicopters to retreats, skied down a mountain at night with emerging leaders, and watched multiple staff grow and flourish. It might sound corny but it is true for me that every single day that I spend growing OPG is interesting and meaningful. At my core, I’m an entrepreneur. I love creating jobs and value by creating great organizations.
Can you share a story about the funniest or most interesting mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
This is not so funny as much as a powerful learning. One of my favorite bosses of all time, Peter Vallone, once said to me, “Don’t get out ahead of your boss.” It was such a great lesson about not taking initiative or saying things in a public space without being sure your boss was on board. I had done this many times, I’m sure, before he taught me that phrase.
Ok, let’s jump to the main focus of our interview. Even in 2019, women still earn about 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. Can you explain three of the main factors that are causing the wage gap?
Netflix has a great new series, “Explained.” One of the topics is the pay gap for women. In the series, based on Rwanda’s success at decreasing the pay gap, one effective approach to change the pay gap is to have a majority of women in political and other leadership roles. Women, in general, seem to create and approve more policies that decrease the gender gap. They vote for free or inexpensive childcare. They vote for income equality.
Another factor in the pay gap is the idea that childcare and home management are women’s work. In Arlie Hochschild’s book, The Second Shift, written in 1989, she documented how women do 80% of the house work and management. Men tend to do the once a week, once a month, or once a year house tasks such as mowing the lawn, taking the garbage out. Women are cooking multiple meals a day, feeding the dog, bringing in the mail, and getting children ready. For some younger generations in developed countries, this imbalance is shifting as young men have begun to see house care and childcare as part of their relationship contribution.
A third factor is an emphasis on having children as a critical life achievement. More women and men are choosing not to have children but there is extraordinary societal pressure to do so. It’s a cliché but true — as soon as a couple gets married (hetero, gay, or otherwise), people start asking, “When are you going to have kids?” Children have a major impact on at least one partner’s income, and the world is overpopulated. We don’t need more children, but as a species that is biologically programmed to reproduce, we are driven to have them.
Can you share with our readers what your work is doing to help close the gender wage gap?
We work with leaders in our client organizations. As part of our work, we ask them to consider how they can use their power and influence to change the world for the better, not just their organization. Through those dialogues, we hope that our client leaders will make changes to pay scales, promotion tracks, and equalize expectations across gender about who needs what kind of support (men need parental leave too).
Can you recommend 5 things that need to be done on a broader societal level to close the gender wage gap? Please share a story or example for each.
Here are five things we can do on a societal level.
As mentioned above, based on Rwanda’s success at decreasing the pay gap, one way to change the pay gap is to have a majority of women in political and other leadership roles.
Model shared house care. Be sure that you and your spouse divide up all the work that it takes to run a house in an equitable way.
Model gender equity in your home. Don’t allow or use language or ideas that make women second-class citizens with fewer rights.
Encourage your daughters, nieces, and other young women in your life to question the images they see in the media.
Run for office.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I have a few ideas here:
Every second Sunday, everyone would stop using their cars, flying, or using any individual vehicle with emissions. They would walk, bike, take public transit. Twenty-four hours of decreased emissions world-wide, once a month, would help global warming.
14x Pay Differential: Every company would commit that the pay differential (including all forms of compensation) would never be more than 14x between the highest paid and the lowest paid worker. OPG’s differential is 6x.
“I have more than I need” — My son once asked me if we were rich. I said, “We have more than we need so, yes, we are rich.” If we could all focus on using less resources, sharing more, and voting in the interest of others, not ourselves, I think it would continue to improve the global condition.
Every company would commit to Paul Hawken’s guidelines for a responsible free market economy from his book, The Ecology of Commerce, with some modifications:
Reduce absolute consumption of energy and natural resources in the North by 80% within the next half century
Provide secure, stable, and meaningful employment for people everywhere
Be self-actuating as opposed to regulated or morally mandated (for me, this needs modification)
Honor market principles (for me, this needs modification)
Be more rewarding than our present way of life
Exceed sustainability by restoring degraded habitats and ecosystems to their fullest biological capacity
Rely on current income
Be fun and engaging
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson” quote? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I use the five rules of life in my teaching and my own life.
Show up
Be present
Speak your truth
Don’t be attached to an outcome
Be open to all possibilities
For me, speaking my truth has been an ongoing practice — how to speak the truth without anger or sarcasm or fear. This is hard work.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Warren Buffett. I’m intrigued with his deep commitment to sharing the wealth. I’d love to talk to him about how capitalism can be changed to reduce income inequality, at a system level, not just individual by individual. How do we reduce greed? Increase ethics? Increase sharing? I think he’s worked hard on these issues his whole life.
