Category: Featured

Female Founders: Michelle Blake Wilson of ‘ Empower Onyx’ On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

You don’t have a boss, but it’s not this free, willy-nilly, environment, you are accountable to somebody, always. No matter how well your plan is laid out it’s going to get tough. It’s going to be dark. You just have to persevere.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Blake Wilson of Empower Onyx.

Michelle Blake Wilson is a recognized experiential brand and marketing strategist, who has helped grow national companies in the retail, luxury, sports, and entertainment sectors. With over 20 years of experience, Wilson has a proven track record of successfully delivering against project objectives by generating and executing marketing concepts utilizing cross-functional teams and brand ambassadors to implement companies’ key sponsorship strategies and positioned events that achieve profitability while at the same time raising brand awareness. She’s become an expert at driving innovation, creativity, and leadership to support partners’ vision and global strategies that have resulted in successful local and national campaigns in an organic and authentic way.

Over the course of Blake-Wilson’s career, she demonstrated and honed capabilities to be a success within the experiential marketing space: with the intellectual horsepower to synthesize data to inform creative decisions, the personality and communication skills to develop and sustain strong customer relationships, and the tenacity and wherewithal to overcome a project’s obstacles.

In August 2021, Blake-Wilson became the Co-Founder and CEO of Empower Onyx, a New York-based and Black-owned minority business community platform aimed at inspiring Black women and girls. They showcase the transformative power of sport, promote self-love, and encourage healthy living while allowing Black women and girls to be seen and heard through inspiring content.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I’ve been in sports my entire life. I was born into it; my dad was a crazy tennis dad before it was a thing. I was a competitive tennis player and an equestrian coming up and played collegiate tennis for a year. I always wanted my life to mean something. So, back in the day I had a little notepad, I wrote my ideas while moving through the city, sort of jotted them down. On the first page I wrote, I wanted to start a foundation that would help girls through sports. I always knew that sports were a platform to transform lives.

Fast forward, 2019 I had another company that I was trying to launch, the pandemic happened, my other company was in experiences, so all that went away. During COVID, while I was cleaning/home editing, I found that notebook and it seemed like the moon and the stars just aligned to get me to lean into this opportunity. So, I was in this place of complete rediscovery and redevelopment, ONYX came up and so that’s how I wound up here. I truly believe in manifesting your desires, putting it out in the universe, there’s something to be said for that.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

How open people are, more so how open people are to have a conversation around race, the intersectionality of race participation, engagement, and representation in sport. The most surprising thing is how people have really gravitated towards it. I was concerned it was going to be too niche, too small of a lens. But with the amazing people I have around me, their ability to see it bigger, and translate it in a bigger way, and it has.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Nothing’s funny right now, Nothing. Everything is so serious. (Laughs)

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?

So many, but my husband out of everyone. He’s helped me realize that I can sit in this role comfortably and securely. I have a mentor DA Abrams, who has really coached me through. Also, Katrina Adams, Former USTA President and author of “Own The Arena” talks about the concept of a personal board. This board is made of a beautiful array of people that will guide you, hold you accountable on your journey. My board consists of soooo many dynamic women and men; it’s just that overall village of people that are the wind beneath my wings.

According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

Money, money, money, time, and did I say money. So many women nowadays are the head of households, making less or equal to their partners; if they are lucky to have a partner. However, many women are still, running households by themselves. Unfortunately, with our healthcare system, not having universal healthcare, not having universal childcare, it prevents them from being able to step away from a guaranteed paycheck without the bottom dropping out.

That’s why I go back to crediting my husband, it’s only through our partnership that allows me to delve into this endeavor. Also, investors, VC firms, haven’t moved as fast as we would have hoped as it relates to women and their position in getting funded. There’s still a lot of hesitancy to put money into women, or diverse partners. All recognize the need to support these businesses, but changing a system to that has been in place for years takes time.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

Universal health care, updating the tax laws for single and working parents, those are very easy top-line things. The government did a good job raising the minimum wage. But it’s deplorable we are only just above Papa, New Guinea in the world for maternity leave and government support. So, there’s a lot of things our government can do to help increase entrepreneurship amongst women and work on those structural changes.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder, but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

It goes back to economic independence. I think we’re here because people recognize the need to create a work-life balance. This moment in time has shown us we need to be present, and our pre pandemic lifestyle didn’t allow for that. This has provided me an opportunity to be with my kids in a very different way, and for them to see me in a different way. They kind of knew what I did, now they’re like “oh wow, mommy really works hard and is good at her job”. Being an entrepreneur creates economic and life independence where you’re not always beholden to someone, don’t get me wrong, your clients are your new boss, but you get to dictate how that work gets done and when it gets done, working for yourself allows that.

Do you think it was intuitive for you to be a boss and owner entrepreneur?

No, I never saw myself in that regard. I wanted to, but I was too chicken s**t to do it full time. I felt like my husband wouldn’t respect me. I wasn’t at the golden handcuff level, but I was comfortable with paid vacations, a steady paycheck, and the accoutrements of working for a big corporation. I never saw myself here, an entrepreneur, but I think with the change in the way people can work and make money, lends itself to becoming successful. That pushed me and having great people in my circle, made me say, you could do this.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

You don’t have a boss, but it’s not this free, willy-nilly, environment, you are accountable to somebody, always. No matter how well your plan is laid out it’s going to get tough. It’s going to be dark. You just have to persevere.

Share some of the dark moments?

Right now? Making sure we have enough money to pay everyone. It’s a lot of stuff that nobody tells you. I had to go through writing policy, travel and expense policies, taxes, it is all giving me a headache. (laughs)

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

Not everyone is made to be a founder. If you have thin skin, if you need absolute security, you’re not cut out for this. If you think you’re above doing something, then you really aren’t cut out for being a founder. You need to have that scrappy gene. The other thing I go back to is that personal board, that squad, that team of people that are going to let you know when you are off track, that’s critical.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

That there are going to be dark days.

Networking, networking, networking.

To not be a micromanager. When you’re in a role, you take care of whatever that one function or area, you do it 24/7, you’re all in. So, letting go and letting folks handle and take care of things in the same vein you would have.

That’s three that’s all I got. (laughs)

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Well, we’re trying to change the narrative trajectory of black women and girls in sports and how they see themselves in sports. Also, through my authenticity, as it relates to storytelling by sharing my own personal story and journey. I’d like to think that it provides comfort to other women and girls that are looking to become founders or entrepreneurs and recognize the struggle is real, which is my favorite hashtag because it real. No matter what someone thinks about my life, it has not been all butterflies and sunshine. Let me tell you, there’s been straight up struggle and strife, but you can persevere.

If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be?

The Black equity excellence movement, by that, I mean, we are doing so much dope stuff the world must see us. The world must see us, understand us and pay us equally.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?

Well, it would be brunch with Beyonce. She has built her whole brand on female independence and ultra-femininity. There’s value there and I believe in the power of that. Also being a lady leaning into your femininity, not sexuality, but your femininity on handling, tackling some of the biggest issues. She’s someone who built a multimillion-dollar brand on her own. She’s supported women in a big way. So, it would be Beyonce, then we could just have a lot of great conversations about Jay Z because I love him. I don’t want to steal her husband, but we can have a whole conversation. (laughs)

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Female Founders: Michelle Blake Wilson of ‘ Empower Onyx’ On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Jordane Maree of ‘Girl & Her Moon’ On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Look for beauty — In the small moments, in the giant leaps, in every step between, intentionally look for the beauty, for the love, for the wonder — because otherwise, we so often miss it. It can be so easy to seek out the dark, the difficult, the pain, the injustice. We have been taught to seek it out. And we have been taught that to see anything but is ignoring reality. But reality is not one sided. Reality is not one perspective. Reality is not one experience.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jordane Maree.

Jordane Maree is a speaker, writer, astrologer, energy worker and founder of Girl and Her Moon, a nurturing online space for Soul, Astrology, Energy and Tarot.

Through Girl and Her Moon, Jordane continues to hold the space for others to reconnect with themselves, reawaken wholeness, and nurture the safety required for deep inner healing.

Find more of her sharing, writing, and services at girlandhermoon.com

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

It’s difficult to find a defining moment to begin my story with! My journey has been a step by step, very natural evolution to where I am today. It’s been a beautiful unfolding, with the usual ups and downs and messiness that life holds for each of us. I began Girl and Her Moon with that same very natural step by step journey with no idea that in the process I was creating a business, until I did realize. I desired, and still desire, to express. Beginning with social media and a blog, my intention was to express, to connect, and to feel a sense of belonging in a world that often had me feeling the opposite. To my absolute joy and gratitude, I found exactly that and so, so much more. What began as a blog grew into a global community. What began as one person sitting behind her screen pouring words onto a page grew into an international team of incredible soul-based women serving thousands each year though intimate and heart-led offerings. I still allow for that same natural unfolding in my life and business, resisting the tempting urge to control, micro-manage and over-plan. Meeting each step as it meets me, devoted to whatever is on my path. Excited for all that is to come.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

I think the most interesting story about my career and journey is that it wasn’t intentional. Like mentioned, I didn’t know I was creating a business, but looking back I can absolutely see that I was. The step into ‘business’ wasn’t actually my idea, either! It was my partners, Mustafa, who had the brilliant eye to witness the alignment of the community that I had built, with the talents and brilliance of his mother who is a tarot reader. That is when Girl and Her Moon was truly born, going from a hobby into a deeply impactful and service-based business. Girl and Her Moon now has three beautiful tarot readers, among others, holding the space for thousands every year. My main takeaway? The full picture doesn’t always come at first, sometimes we need to take the steps to allow things to really unfold before our eyes. And so, trust those steps, as big or small or clear or mysterious as they may seem.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

My biggest mistake has been a beautiful lesson, and truly a big part in the wholeness of reaching where I am today. Leaving myself to follow the processes, trends, and authorities of others. It can be incredibly easy, especially in the beginning of creating a business and brand, to look to everyone else to show you the way. It can be so easy to double, triple, quadruple guess yourself. It can be so easy to let the noise of business trends, how-to’s, ‘must-do’s’ get louder than the voice that guided you to begin in the first place. My biggest lesson has been that I began Girl and Her Moon because I knew the way (somewhere within me), because I saw the vision, and because I knew our community. I began my business because it was on my path. As much as support is needed, no one can tell me how to walk my own path, and my path doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s. There is incredible strength and power in differentiating between those who desire to tell you what direction to move in, and those who trust in your vision and desire to support you on it. The latter is where true magic happens, knowing that one person can’t hold an entire business, brand, or company (even though we sometimes try!), one of my greatest joys right now is witnessing how others can contribute to my brand through their authentic expression. There will always be moments where we are stumbling through what feels like darkness, confusion, believing we have no idea where we are or how to get to where we desire, especially in the early days, but somehow it all comes together, especially when we trust that voice that guided us to begin in the first place.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

What a beautiful question! And easily a favorite topic of mine to explore. I truly, truly believe that health and wellness begin from within. I truly believe that to make a greater impact we must begin within. I truly believe fulfilment, expression, safety, harmony, and honestly, just about everything else, begins within. And that is what everything we do at Girl and Her Moon is based on and designed to hold the space for, your return to self. Allowing you to witness yourself, in all your beauty and strength, and all that you may have picked up on, learned, and taken on as your own that perhaps isn’t your truth. Returning to self amidst what can be such a loud world can be a sacred act of rebellion, and one that we whole-heartedly encourage. I believe that we have incredible guidance from within, call it your intuition perhaps, that when we surrender into with trust guides us into our greatest health; whether physical, mental, or emotional, as well our wellness. When we are coming from a space of belief in self, trust in self, safety and belonging from within, wellness develops, balance develops, and our own path to create impact develops.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1 . Trust yourself. If something feels ‘off’ trust that. If something pulls you in one direction, trust that. If it feels like your body is trying to tell you something, trust that and create the space and quiet to listen. Trust that what excites you is right for you. Trust that you have all that is required to begin to create the beautiful life that you desire.

The best mirror for me in my life has been my business, for others it can their families, their physical health, amongst many other things. But for me, it has been Girl and Her Moon. Mirroring to me that when I trust and take steps based on my own guidance, it leads me in directions and into experiences that I couldn’t fathom the beauty of at the time. When I ignore my guidance, I find lack, I find roadblocks, disharmony, and sometimes, what can feel like total failures in the moment.

There are so many women that I have connected with that have experiences of trusting, before anything else, themselves, especially when it comes to their health. At 21 I was finally diagnosed with Hypothyroidism after months, and many doctors, telling me there was nothing wrong with me. After a year ~ in natural treatment my thyroid was and is healthy and balanced, after doctors telling me I would need to be on medication for the rest of my life. Another powerful mirror for me to always trust myself, my guidance, and my body.

2. Surround yourself with safety — I know, we see everywhere that we need to constantly step out of our comfort zone to grow, and I agree with this. But what I believe is missing is the presence of true safety within our comfort zone. The kind of safety that the body requires for regulation, for our nervous system to be able to navigate through the ups and downs and crazy sideways of life. The kind of safety that is required for our hearts to fully open, feel and trust life and self again. The kind of safety we need to be held in before we hold up a mirror and see all of ourselves; what we have labelled as good or bad or what we have accepted or haven’t. The kind of safety that gives us footing to stand on before we step out of our comfort zone.

Again, my business is my mirror. There were many times I tried to ‘step out of my comfort zone’ where my body would go into total shock, where I simply couldn’t, and wondered how and why it seemed like everyone around me was doing big bold things and I couldn’t. It’s only been when I’ve devoted to creating a sense of safety that I have been able to take the steps that I’m guided to take. I believe this is a lifelong process, but I have found it through simple, yet consistent, somatic practices like breathwork, meditation, slowly letting my guard down with others, expressing in the most natural way for me (writing, singing, yoga), trusting the signals of my body, and giving myself a giant permission slip to move at the pace that is right for me.

3. Simplify/Get back to basics — Does it bring you joy? Does it feel right for you? Does it nourish your body or self? Not only are we masters at complicating everything we can, but there is often this belief that the more complicated or complex something is, the more advanced or worthy it is (or we are, for pursuing it). I have found that when I come back to my basics, like nourishing my body, like following my excitement or doing things for the simple joy of them, things somehow begin to move into place around me. My life isn’t separate to my business, my life isn’t separate to my health, or my relationships, or any other category that we create to compartmentalize our experience of life with. I believe that when I feed myself, I am feeding the greater eco system of my life and all that I experience within my life. When I am getting back to my basics, my foundations, like my health, joy, and more, not only is that feeding my wellbeing, but it is feeding every other ‘category’ of my life.

4. Witness yourself — I was going to say ‘monitor’ yourself, but the action of monitoring can hold a sense of judgement — that one way is good, and the other is bad, or that we need to vigilant and micro-manage every thought, action, reaction. So instead, witness yourself, without judgement, with curiosity, with the knowing that healing and growth comes from the awareness of what is present.

Witness your thoughts, are they nourishing you and the life that you get excited thinking about creating? Witness your reactions, are they coming from your truth, or are they coming from a wound or something that is asking for your attention? Or are they coming from a belief system that perhaps isn’t true to you? Witness your habits. Again, are your habits feeding you, nourishing you, serving you? If you could see yourself as deeply worthy, beautiful, sacred even… Do the habits that you hold match this perspective? This is what you deserve.

5. Look for beauty — In the small moments, in the giant leaps, in every step between, intentionally look for the beauty, for the love, for the wonder — because otherwise, we so often miss it. It can be so easy to seek out the dark, the difficult, the pain, the injustice. We have been taught to seek it out. And we have been taught that to see anything but is ignoring reality. But reality is not one sided. Reality is not one perspective. Reality is not one experience.

Pain can be present where beauty is also. And so, we honor both. We honor all.

Leaning into the beauty that this life holds creates the safety that we require to navigate this human experience. From moments as simple as taking a walk and noticing a flower or stopping to witness the pure love in a child’s eyes, or the excitement in a puppies run, to moments as big as looking at how much we have grown through what was painful or seeking out the silver lining in each experience. How can you look for beaty? How can you intentionally seek it out in your day? Beauty is always present, around and within us, and it takes intention to undo the habit and belief that to witness it is ignorance.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I know I am repeating myself, but it would be learning to listen to self, listen to how your intuition guides you and how your body speaks to you. There is so much empowerment here. So much fulfilment here. So much self-trust that can be found here!

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Your journey is supposed to be joyous! — I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’ve found it can be so easy to get so serious about everything all the time. Especially in business! Or perhaps motherhood, or fitness — really any experience. For me, where there is joy there is alignment, and where there is alignment there is fulfilment. Two beautiful questions to witness when things are getting a bit heavy are; do I need to bring joy into this experience? Or, is this experience still what I desire?
2. Give things space/time to mature. — Including yourself, including your business, including every aspect of life. It can be so easy to rush through things, to see where others are and expect yourself to be there tomorrow. By nature, I haven’t always been the most patient person, it’s something that I continuously breathe into and bow my head in a reminder to — allowing things to evolve and unfold at a pace that is natural and allowing myself to go at a pace that nourishes me. So often we rush through our experience with this need to fit into a timeline that has nothing to do with us. So often we move at a pace that empties us, drains us. So often we judge and belittle ourselves for being where we are. It’s been a tough lesson, to accept that oftentimes, things just need the space to breathe, evolve, and grow. It’s been a beautiful lesson to accept that my body and energy doesn’t desire to always move at a million miles an hour, and in fact, when I force it to, I actually miss the whole point.
3. There is no pre-requisite for living your truth. — And by living your truth, I mean creating and experience what you desire for your life, no matter how far away that can sometimes feel. You don’t need to have it all figure out. You don’t need to have a major in business or know how to do SEO. You don’t need to be a master at accounting or understand every detail of social media algorithms. You don’t need to be an extrovert or know all the right people. If there are things that your path requires you to learn, you do so as you go. You don’t need to look a certain way or fall into a certain category; whatever that assumption may be for the life you desire to create. You don’t even need to understand the full extent of what you desire to create or be. It unfolds as we take steps. There are no pre-requisites. You can take a step as you are, who you are, with what you know and the experience, as little or extensive, you have.
4. Overworking doesn’t fill any internal gap — There is a deep seeded hustle mentality that feeds the ‘overworking from a sense of lack’ path. A sense of lack that often comes from a disconnect with self. A sense of lack that comes from a sense of unworthiness, or more accurately, an unawareness of one’s worth that objectively exists. Overworking does not feed any perceived internal lack. Outside achievement doesn’t feed any perceived internal lack. Which is why, I’ll repeat again (and probably forever!), returning home to self is the most empowering dedication we can make. Because it is here that we will begin to return to wholeness, where what we perceived as lack proves itself otherwise.
5. Listen/learn with discernment — There are a million and one business coaches available, and I’m grateful for it. There are a million and one mindset coaches, or healers, or readers — and I’m grateful for it. But just because someone has experience, or because they are confident in their process, or have created success in their terms, doesn’t mean that their journey is aligned with yours, and it doesn’t mean you should, ever, abandon yourself or your guidance, for theirs. I always do my best to listen with discernment. To filter the advice or guidance of others through my own filter. All experiences and perspectives can be different, opposing even, and still co-exist in truth. It’s about tuning into what is true and right for you.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

I would say mental health. And I would go a step further and say energetic and spiritual health, and I would also take it physical health, and nervous system health. I would also say emotional health, as I believe they are all interconnected.

Through witnessing myself and my journey, I think that when we are in a true, fulfilling, balanced and nurturing relationship with our mental selves, physical selves, and spiritual selves, we naturally have deeper compassion for the Earth and therefore sustainability practices and/or veganism. I also believe that a healing and balanced self on all levels creates more spaciousness to make change in one’s life and to make decisions that are toward the direction we desire to move in (e.g. Sustainability) instead of from habit or exhaustion.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

I would love to connect! You can find me and our team at https://girlandhermoon.com/ or follow along with us on Instagram & TikTok: @girlandhermoon, or Facebook & Pinterest: Girl and Her Moon.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Jordane Maree of ‘Girl & Her Moon’ On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Dr Mara Raden On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Make balance a priority. Remember: you own the business. The business doesn’t own you.

In order to be successful, you have to be passionate about it & put yourself out there — you have to be willing to embrace criticism.

Don’t try to do it all yourself — ask for help when you need it.

Focus on you/your business and know what you do best compared to your competitors.

Don’t be afraid to go against the grain.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Mara Raden.

Years of experience working in an ER and ICU helped Dr. Mara Raden come to the understanding that Western medicine as we know it is wonderful at providing acute care, but not so great at treating diseases at their root causes. Her search for solutions to chronic illness led to study environmental medicine, ozone therapy, and integrative approaches to health. Today, she specializes in innovative IV therapies and longevity medicine — empowering her patients to live happier, healthier, and more energetic lives. From working with corporate executives to create healthier work environments to guiding individuals along their unique wellness journeys. Dr. Mara is disrupting the status quo and ushering in the future of medicine.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

Growing up in South Florida, I always had a strong interest in health and wellness. With a family full of healthcare providers, I always knew I would one day work in the industry in some capacity. After completing a rigorous 9 years of education, I graduated with a PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) degree and went straight into a clinical role in a large hospital setting.

While I greatly enjoyed the one-on-one care I was able to provide patients, I became increasingly frustrated with the conventional model of matching “the ill to the pill.” Preventative care and lifestyle solutions were rarely ever discussed with patients. I began to use my lengthy commute each day to further my education and understanding of integrative medical approaches. During those 2 hour drives I would listen to lectures through an integrative fellowship in precision medicine, peptides, ozone therapy, and other innovative approaches to health. I knew there was a better way to patient care. Today, I empower my patients to live happier, healthier, longer, and more energetic lives through nutritional IV therapies, regenerative medicine, and other preventative health protocols.

In 2017 I, along with my husband, Dr. Donald Raden, MD, FAAOT, founded Raden Wellness, a progressive integrative medical practice. At Raden Wellness, we provide what traditional medicine often misses: a clear and complete picture of a patient’s health down to the cellular level. Through thoughtful investigation, comprehensive medical testing, and 100% personalized protocols, we guide our patients along their journey to true healing and optimal health.

While other medical practices utilize “standard lab panels” for every patient, we believe that because each individual is unique, so should each set of lab tests. This allows the team to look at the bigger picture and assess everything from imbalances in hormones, nutrient levels, and toxic loads to immune dysregulation and mitochondrial health, any of which may be causing your symptoms.

Since the practice’s inception, we have grown the practice to include over a dozen full-time practitioners ranging from Physicians and Naturopaths to Psychologists, Nutritionists and Integrative Physicians that specialize in Oncology, Psychiatry, Cellular Medicine and Hormone and Gut Health. Over the last year, we’ve expanded our practice beyond our physical location, including building a thriving corporate wellness program, providing at home services, and keeping consistent communication with patients wherever they are via telehealth.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

When I was 16 years old I was diagnosed with Mononucleosis, an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (or Mono, as most people know it.) I was very sick and being treated with conventional medicine. I was told that, even though I was so sick and my spleen was enlarged, that, with time, I would “be fine.” I recovered but, fast forward to 10 years later I was still having bouts of horrible fatigue and brain fog. I once again turned to conventional medicine for help and was told I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and was prescribed a pharmaceutical stimulant. Through my personal research, I learned that I had Reactivated Epstein-Barr. I then started a regimen of peptides and IV therapy to modulate my immune system. These, including other lifestyle changes, are protocols I continue to do today. The experience proved to me the undeniable power of integrative medicine and strengthened my belief that everyone should have access to it.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I first began to plan for Raden Wellness, my initial instinct was to handle everything myself. I was taking on too much responsibility, including aspects of the business that weren’t my specialty. I handled the build out of our first location, marketing, staffing, patient care — the list goes on and on. From this, I’ve learned that medical training does not incorporate the necessary tools to thrive in the business world or start your own practice. I’m strong in science, but I lack in operations and administration — hiring the right team of experts, gathering support from business advisors, and embracing change, allows the business to continue to flourish.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

At Raden, we empower our patients to invest in their health. We guide our patients in their journey, giving them a wealth of science-based knowledge regarding their health. We’re allowing everyday humans to make small to large changes in their lives — not waiting for illness to happen. Primary prevention is key.

Our patients come from all walks of life: currently healthy adults, children and seniors who want to optimize their overall health, individuals battling chronic pain or fighting disease, and elite athletes looking to reach the next level. No matter where you are in life, restoration and prevention are of paramount importance when it comes to your health.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Making Integrative Medicine a Part of Your Life: working with a practice that takes a full-body approach — surrounding yourself with a wellness team that is curious & getting down to the WHY.

2. Consider Peptides: Peptides are short-chained amino acids that have many functions in the body. Some act like neurotransmitters, while others act like hormones. Many control and influence how our bodies react to diet and physical exercise. As we age, production of essential amino acids and peptides decreases. As a result, our bodies begin to show signs of aging, and cease to perform at an optimal level.

3. Live By The Motto — Everything In Moderation

4. Focus on Nutrients: IV Therapy is a great way to accomplish this. One of the most unique elements of the practice is their on-site IV Center. Raden features a full-service infusion center staffed with highly qualified Registered Nurses who administer high-grade non-GMO vitamins, nutrients, amino acids and minerals as patients relax in a sleek and comfortable loft-like environment. Only about 20% of nutrients taken orally are absorbed by the body. IV therapy provides 100% absorption and ensures your system is receiving the ideal levels of vitamins, minerals and amino acids needed to look, feel and perform at your best.”

5. Make Movement Part Of Your Everyday Routine

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Adjusting people’s everyday eating habits to include time restricted feeding. This can reduce inflammation, brain fog, and insulin resistance. When we fast, we activate autophagy, which is the process of cleaning out damaged cells, reducing the aging process. The food we eat has an amazing ability to heal, but the timing of when we abstain from eating can have a major impact on our health and lifespan. The bottom line: time restricted feeding can slow the progression of diseases and aging and also improve long term health.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Make balance a priority. Remember: you own the business. The business doesn’t own you.
2. In order to be successful, you have to be passionate about it & put yourself out there — you have to be willing to embrace criticism.
3. Don’t try to do it all yourself — ask for help when you need it.
4. Focus on you/your business and know what you do best compared to your competitors.
5. Don’t be afraid to go against the grain.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental Health.

As a medical professional — and a human being — I’m so happy that mental health is becoming part of day-to-day discourse in our culture. Mental health is so much more than “how you feel” — it encompasses your emotional, psychological and social well-being and helps to determine everything from how we handle stress and relate to other people to the choices we make. Mental health is important in every stage of life.

At Raden, we are thrilled to provide a variety of services and therapies geared towards mental health. In addition to traditional talk therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy, we also offer cutting edge treatments such as IV Ketamine Therapy. Therapist guided ketamine sessions are an exciting, new modality in the field of psychiatry, disrupting everything we know about treating depression, anxiety and trauma.

Over the last few years, we have seen groundbreaking results from Ketamine therapy. Administered through an IV, Ketamine targets NMDA receptors in the brain. Ketamine binds to these receptors, thus increasing the amount of a select neurotransmitter called glutamate in the space between neurons. Glutamate activates connections in another receptor called the AMPA receptor. Working together, these NMDA and activated AMPA receptors release additional molecules that help neurons communicate along new pathways. This complex process is called synaptogenesis, and it affects mood, cognition, and thought patterns.

Ketamine influences depression in other ways as well. For instance, it appears to reduce signals that trigger inflammation (i.e. Il-6), which is linked to mood disorders. It also appears to facilitate communication across specific areas within the brain.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

• @Raden_Wellness
• www.radenwellness.com

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Dr Mara Raden On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: LEGO Education’s Dr Jenny Nash On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Share knowledge and do not assume others have it — I have held back so many times because I would think, “Well, this is obvious, everyone must know it.” But, I have actually found that many times others do not know that specific detail. The knowledge you bring to the table is powerful, and nobody wins or can move forward when you hold back.

As a part of my series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jenny Nash.

Dr. Jenny Nash serves as the Head of Education Impact for LEGO Education in the United States, where she provides direction and leadership in delivering meaningful education opportunities for students. LEGO Education works with teachers and educational specialists to deliver playful learning experiences that bring subjects to life in the classroom and make learning fun and impactful. Its solutions for teaching and hands-on learning inspire interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM), targeted at preschool, elementary and middle school. Dr. Nash has experience as a middle school teacher, professional development provider and educational specialist. As an advocate for hands-on learning for students, Dr. Nash aims to build confidence in students and teachers to build academic and 21st-century skills that will create active, collaborative, lifelong learners.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

While I did not begin my career in education, I quickly found myself here. My goal was to make a difference and have a meaningful impact, and I found education to be my passion. I was really excited to pursue science education because of the opportunities it creates for students to learn through experience. Unfortunately, I did not have many hands-on science classes growing up. As a teacher, I was able to change that for my students.

Fast forward a few years, and I was first introduced to LEGO Education while teaching STEM outreach programs and after-school programs at a university. I saw first-hand the incredible impact LEGO Education solutions have on students and teachers. Inspired to help teachers use these solutions, it was a no-brainer to join the LEGO Education team. I saw an incredible opportunity to extend the impact of hands-on learning to thousands of students and teachers around the world!

Today, I see my passion for purposeful play reflected in my work and can honestly say I am passionate about what I am doing. When I first started my career, I never thought I would be where I am now. That is why it is important to look for what you are most passionate about in life and chase it — no matter what your journey looks like!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?

LEGO is such an iconic brand, and it is rewarding to hear so many people share their own experiences and positive reactions when they learn that I work for LEGO Education.

Recently, we partnered with NASA (yes, that NASA!) to bring to life a free digital series, Build to Launch: A STEAM Exploration Series. Together, LEGO Education and NASA worked to design the 10-week curriculum specifically to engage and excite students about STEAM learning and careers by connecting the lessons to the real world through NASA’s Artemis I program. One of the exceptional aspects of these lessons is how accessible they are; all students can participate using common household or classroom items. The series is an incredible opportunity to bring STEAM concepts to life and introduce a whole new generation to the wonders of space travel. And, more importantly, students are getting exposed to a diverse set of careers at NASA. It really is amazing to see how many career options are open to students in STEAM. This was a great experience, getting to work with the NASA team, to learn how many people are working every day to solve problems and prepare for the Artemis launch.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Finding the meaning in failure is one of my favorite topics, so I love this question. I have made plenty of mistakes along the way and all have been outstanding learning experiences. Early in my career, I was traveling to provide training at a school district and found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time. I arrived early to set up for the training. I greeted the teachers, as they began coming into the room. Right before we started, I discovered that they were not only the wrong group of teachers, but the teachers I was supposed to be training were in a building 20 minutes away. I used to worry so much about making everything perfect, but these things happen. It turns out there was a last-minute change that someone forgot to tell me. I learned to be flexible in the moment and always do a final check-in. We started a little late, but it was still a great day of training.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Behind everything we do, our key motivation is the belief that students are the future. Most people recognize the iconic LEGO brick but are less familiar with LEGO Education, which brings learning through play to classrooms through the comprehensive LEGO Learning System. Our mission is to enable all students to succeed and to do that we need to rethink learning by providing playful and hands-on learning experiences that are engaging and meaningful. Specifically, we are focused on how to truly impact students by bringing purposeful play into classrooms to allow students to unlock their natural curiosity and get creative with their ideas. We are building their confidence in learning, so they can see themselves in the careers of the future. One example from the NASA and LEGO Education collaboration was a female student who became inspired and wants to be an accountant for NASA, while another now wants to be an engineer — that is the impact we want to have!

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

At LEGO Education, we are always focused on how we can impact learning and deliver engaging learning experiences for teachers and their students. We aim to infuse joy and play into education so that it generates enthusiasm, motivation, and a lifelong love of learning. You can always trust LEGO Education to rethink learning. I mentioned the Build to Launch series earlier, which is truly going to come to life with the upcoming Artemis I Mission launch. One exciting part of this program that is coming soon is the LEGO Education minifigures Kate and Kyle will be onboard Artemis I as it lifts off. It’s a once in a lifetime example of real-world application for the students who followed along in the series and we can’t wait to hear about their reactions.

Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?

There are many positive efforts underway to close the gap of women in STEM, but there’s still work to be done. Incremental change isn’t enough; it’s disruption that almost always paves the way to evolving the status quo. We need to look ahead to the future that we want, beginning at both the bottom and the top. From the early stages, we need to ensure female students do not feel siloed or limited by their ability or opportunity. With an older brother, I remember always having the mindset that if he could do it, so could I (and likely better). Within education, we need to ensure young students are not seeing barriers to what they can do and feel empowered to try everything.

I truly believe that giving students experiences that let them see what opportunities are out there is key. The saying you can’t be what you can’t see is true, which means students also need to see women and diversity in STEM roles. Educators have a responsibility to nurture student curiosity and get them excited about all the possibilities in STEM.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?

Unfortunately, I can personally recall many situations where I may not have been perceived as being as capable as my male colleagues, despite having more experience. I often had to prove my ability by highlighting my experience or working harder compared to my male colleagues. There have also been times where I have challenged an idea or shared feedback only to be labeled as “opinionated” and have had to go an extra step to prove myself just because I’m a woman.

These barriers are unacceptable, and unfortunately, they can start very early on. Whether it is a perception that girls are not good at math, the many STEM experiences that lean into the male experience rather than female, or another stigma that women have to push back against. And, beyond the significant challenges women face, there are even more complex barriers present for minorities and marginalized communities. Recognizing it is the first step, and then it’s about being intentional and purposeful when creating curriculum or edtech products that are designed for all students and to create more accessible learning experiences and opportunities — no matter a child’s gender, race, background or interest.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech. Can you explain what you mean?

There is a persistent myth that women cannot perform well in STEM. It can start early on in school, where someone might say that girls are not good at math or science. These generalizations catch on and become biases, but they are not supported by data or research. The research actually shows that girls not only are good at math and science, but girls will even outperform their peers in some areas.

What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

You are never too old to be playful or curious — It is important to always have a growth mindset. You are never too old to ask questions or be curious. In fact, by continuing to ask questions, throughout your life, you can promote lifelong learning. There will never be a way to know everything there is to know. I encourage everyone to be curious and make their learning playful whenever possible.

Lean into meaningful failure — You do not have to do everything perfectly on the first or second try. If you do not trip along the way, it can be difficult to learn. When we fail, we learn so much about where things went wrong, and we have the opportunity to develop new solutions. Women in particular often worry about having everything perfect. I recommend seeing failure as a chance to try a new solution, as opposed to becoming discouraged when everything does not work out. And, finally, it’s important to be open about failure so others can see that it is ok and help us all fail forward faster.

Productive sparring is okay — When your team engages in idea sharing, pushing back, and bringing in opposing viewpoints, ideas become stronger. Challenging an idea is an important piece of working as a team. Teams that allow for real sparring around ideas end up with a strong direction forward and great new initiatives to try.

Ask for help — I struggle with this one a lot. It is not a weakness to ask for help. We all have our strengths, and the benefit of a team is having the strengths of others. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn from someone else. The first step is to admit you need help and ask for it.

Share knowledge and do not assume others have it — I have held back so many times because I would think, “Well, this is obvious, everyone must know it.” But, I have actually found that many times others do not know that specific detail. The knowledge you bring to the table is powerful, and nobody wins or can move forward when you hold back.

What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?

First of all, lead by example. The culture and power you want your team to have will only happen if you are part of it and model the behaviors and actions you want to see from the team. Then, lead with confidence.

What advice would you give to other women leaders about the best way to manage a large team?

Lead from strengths. As a leader, you know your team and what they need to be successful. What are the unique superpowers that each person brings to the team? Rather than focusing all your energy on only developing the team’s areas of weakness, focus instead on making areas of strength even stronger. This will build a culture and working environment where everyone can thrive.

Great leaders take that knowledge and shape the environment to play to everyone’s strengths. Leading how you would want to be led will not work for everyone on the team. You need to think about what each person needs. And, if you aren’t sure — do not be afraid to ask!

With larger teams, it can be difficult to connect individually with everyone. However, you can influence the culture to allow for open communication and encourage a willingness to ask for feedback. By becoming a team where everyone is ready to support each other, the team will not be afraid to admit their flaws or weaknesses because they know that someone else on the team has strengths that will complement their weaknesses.

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 have been many influential people that I cannot thank enough for their support. One particular professor that I worked with early in my education career was Dr. Jane McKee. I look back at how she empowered me to lead from my position and think about where I can make a difference even as a graduate student. Many of the experiences I had working with her still hold true today. I often say that if you want a certain student outcome, then you better plan for how to prepare the teachers. The importance of ongoing, embedded professional development was instilled in me from her belief that we are always developing and that there is always more to learn about best practices. She ensured that no matter the number of years you were teaching, there was an opportunity to learn more from other teachers and to hone your practice. She truly instilled the importance of lifelong learning in me, which is important whether you are teaching or leading.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

It is so special to see the “aha” moment when kids “get” a STEM concept. That moment when a student discovers how to solve a problem. They are so proud of their solution, and I love that moment of “Look, look, look what I did!” I feel lucky that I get to see this reaction often.

Having the opportunity to see students solve a problem, think critically, and collaborate with classmates using the hands-on LEGO Education solutions is the most rewarding part of my job. Given the same challenge, no two students will solve it in the same way. Children always give us a diversity of ideas and are always so excited about their creative solutions. This is exactly what we need in the world — more diverse ways of thinking. I measure my own success by these moments when students are coding something that is working or bringing unique ideas to life. Even when I have to ask what it is because I am not sure exactly what they have built! There is this amazing moment when the student will explain it, and I get to see their thinking come to life. It’s an honor to be part of creating learning that allows students to turn their unique ideas and thinking into reality. And, to make learning fun.

You are a person of enormous 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 inspire a movement where women — and anyone, regardless of background — can have the opportunity to see themselves in careers in STEM. I have always tried to mentor and support women who are interested in STEM careers and inspire them. To me, mentorship is inspiring people to find what they love, and helping them pursue the career that fits the thing they love. Many people are unsure what they want to do when they first get out of school or enter their first job. I would love to see more people investing in mentorship — and this can spark a movement to open doors for more diversity in STEM and show individuals unique and different paths to success.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Don’t grow up!”

I think I find ways to not grow up every day… from finding opportunities to be playful in my day to just keeping a growth mindset. I feel like when I get playful, maybe just taking a brain break to build something with bricks, I let my mind wander for a minute. That is when I start asking questions like, I wonder… or what if. Also, I want to keep the curiosity that we have as kids alive. I want to stay open to always learning new things, and learning from other people. Even when I have a good idea, getting curious about it with others is what makes it great! I try to always stay curious and let myself wonder.

We are very blessed that 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 with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

Someone that I would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with would be Ashley Eckstein, the actress as well as Founder and fashion designer of Her Universe. Her Universe is a groundbreaking fashion brand that encourages fangirls, and she has always been an advocate for women to be their authentic selves. I find it very inspiring! In addition to her fashion brand, Ashley built a forum for fans to engage online. As the victim of online bullying from fans over her role in the Star Wars series, she stands against bullying and ensures that the fan forum is stringently moderated to create a safe space online. I would love to chat about how we can continue to spur movements like this and to expose girls to strong role models.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: LEGO Education’s Dr Jenny Nash On The 5 Leadership Lessons… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Being Supportive: Being there for each other is the most important thing as a couple. Each person has their own ideas and opinions, never shut your partner down right away. Always give advice when its needed and be genuine.

As a part of our series about lessons from Thriving Power Couples, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sofia and Michael of 2OAK Production. With over 18 years of experience in the Entertainment and Event industry, it’s safe to say they can crush weddings without using those corny or outdated approaches that you’ve seen from other companies.

They are trendy, open-format DJs who can play a wide variety of genres — bringing the party vibes — one wedding at a time.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you two to your respective career paths?

Michael: From the age of 15, I was always working in the customer service field. At 17, I became involved with a DJ company where I was a party dancer/motivator for events such as sweet 16s, communions etc. I really had no interest in being a DJ myself at that time. At one of the events, the DJ asked me to “just push play on the next song” because he had to step out quickly, and so I did. It was the coolest thing ever and I instantly fell in love! From there I borrowed a DJ system from someone, practiced in my basement endlessly day and night build my knowledge. After about a year, I ventured out with a friend of mine to do events on our own. With the passing years, I became more experienced and gained a following. I was so focused on growing as a DJ professional.

After meeting Sofia and getting married, we started our lives together and we both that knew we wanted something more. With my DJ Entertainment experience and Sofia with her Designing & Decorating talents, we chose the path

Sofia: Growing up, my family owned and operated a restaurant, which I was very involved in from a young age. I would spend all of my free time at the restaurant, hosting and chatting with our guests. Giving our customers an amazing experience was always my main priority. Decorating was always a hobby of mine, whether it was my for my own personal pleasure, a friend or family member. I was constantly changing something in my room, trying out different combinations of decor in the house or changing the look of the restaurant interior. In high school, I used to make party favors for children events and chocolate molds. When I was in my early 20’s, a friend of mine asked me to help her with a birthday party and I was SO excited! When it was all over, I knew this was something I wanted to do with my future. While I was still working at the restaurant and in the hospital as a Vascular Sonographer, I started venturing out to decorate and plan as many events as I could. After meeting Michael and getting married, we both had the idea to take his already established DJ Company to the next level by bringing me on board as his partner. With my Designing and Decorating in addition to his musical skills, we both felt ready to create something special for everyone. We now own our business together as a husband and wife super team which creates magical memories for couples and their families.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you two got married?

Everyday with us is interesting! We cannot even begin to explain or choose something so specific! We are always going somewhere or doing something that turns into our own little adventure. Whether in our personal lives or business related, we make the most out of all our days and always expect the unexpected. From driving 5 hours for one of our special couples and losing cell/gps service to going on vacation and having a flight get cancelled and driving 18 hours home, when we are together, we can handle anything that comes our way.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

At the age of 16, Michael had his first real DJ gig for a Sweet 16. At the time, we were using CDs and not a laptop. When it was time for the Sweet 16 girl to dance with her father, Michael nervously grabbed the wrong CD because all of the CDs had handwritten track names that you could barely read. Without listening to it before hand, he quickly hit play and it was the completely wrong song! They were supposed to dance to Hero by Mariah Carey but instead all you heard come out of the speakers was “ROB THE JEWELRY STORE AND TELL EM’ MAKE ME A GRILL” from Grillz by Nelly and Paul Wall. He was MORTIFIED!!!! It was so funny that everyone turned around to look at him and they all laughed together! Mike then waved his hands up and apologized. Needless to say 20 years later, Michael has not played “Grillz” since!

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Being a Husband and Wife Team. It is definitely not something you find in this industry too often. When we merged together, we found that our ideas were so different but meshed together so well. For example, at first when we were naming our company, Michael didn’t even like the name! We went back and forth for so long on it, but we’re both so glad on our decision! With being in DJ Entertainment and Event Design, we do not separate ourselves from each others professions. We are both fully involved in each others events and we have both taught each other one another’s trade! We bring two different aspects to the company, and without the both of us, our company would not be where it is today. That’s why we’re 2 Of A Kind (2OAK)!

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We are! We cannot say anything just yet but this will help our current 2OAK couples, clients and future 2OAK fam tremendously!

We are determined to make this upcoming wedding season the best one yet! We always say “Basic Weddings Aren’t Our Thing” and that rings true now more than ever! We’ve been working with our team on some exciting unreleased projects that will take our weddings to the next level. Stay tuned!

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

The most important piece of advice for anyone in a leadership role is to ensure a positive work environment. No matter the situation, keeping positive vibes will always increase productivity and help achieve the goal at hand, which in our industry is client satisfaction. In order to achieve and maintain this goal, our entire team needs to feel appreciated. Always make sure your team can feel the value that each one holds within the company. Expressing gratitude to your team can go a long way. When your team feels appreciated, it will show within their performance and give a wonderful experience to clients and their guests.

How do you define “Leadership”?

Leadership for us is making sure that everyone around us succeeds and not just us. We have found that if our team isn’t growing with us, we aren’t really growing.

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?

We’re so grateful to both of our families for sticking by us throughout the process of growing our business. No one realizes that throughout the process of success there are a lot of missed family events and weeks at a time where we aren’t able to see our loved ones. We’re so dedicated to our clients that we lose focus of our own lives sometimes, but that was the price of our success. Being a small business, we pride ourselves on always being at every event we do. It’s difficult at times, but we just want them to know how much we appreciate them for all that they do for us and growing with us instead of away from us.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

We bring goodness to the planet by using our abilities and skills to bring loved ones together and celebrate their most special moments!

What are the “5 Things You Need To Thrive As A Couple”? Please share a story or example for each.

Brainstorming: Decision making together is essential when being a power couple. From the tiniest things like what color plates to buy or giant things like buying a house, it’s something that you consult with each other about because ultimately you’re both affected by the decision.

Brainstorming together before agreeing on a final decision is part of the fun!

Having a Vision: Knowing what we both want out of life keeps us both on the same page and we motivate each other towards the goals we have set!

Being Supportive: Being there for each other is the most important thing as a couple. Each person has their own ideas and opinions, never shut your partner down right away. Always give advice when its needed and be genuine.

Communication. To be a successful couple, keeping an open line of communication is key. Listen to what each other is saying and always let your partner know if there is something wrong. Whether it’s personal or business, talking to each other will keep you thriving!

Teamwork: Working together as a team and supporting each other is super important. Neither of us can do this alone, it takes the two of us working together in every situation make us a successful couple.

You are people 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. 🙂

Our industry is based off of love, happiness and celebrating! If we could inspire a movement or create an event, it would be something that brings joy to someone’s life. We love to help people, no matter what their situation is. If we have the ability to host a large event where like-minded individuals can come together. We would be so thankful to be a part of something that special.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them” — Walt Disney.

We believe that if you have a dream or a goal in life, never be afraid to go after it. Always believe in yourself and give it your best shot. As husband and wife as well as business partners, we have our own goals that we want to achieve. It is okay to be different!!

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 with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

Mark Cuban! We absolutely love him and his leadership. Not only being smart in business, he also prioritizes compassion and empathy in everything he does. We would love to have lunch with him.

How can our readers follow your work online?

Learn more about us by visiting our website www.2oakproductions.com

Social Media Handles

Instagram: @2oakproductions

Facebook: @2oakproductions

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Sofia and Michael of 2OAK Production was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Catherine Berardi of ‘Prime Chief of Staff’ On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

You’re going to need a lot of mental fortitude. Your identity can easily get wrapped up in the business — it’s your “baby,” after all — so it’s easy to take to heart other people’s doubts or criticisms. I had to constantly weather my own doubts about whether this was something I should be doing or not. I had to lean into my passion and my experience, and trust myself.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Catherine Berardi.

Catherine Berardi, Founder and CEO of Prime Chief of Staff, is passionate about creating support ecosystems that allow leaders and organizations to be the best versions of themselves. Founded in 2014, Prime Chief of Staff specializes in placing, onboarding, developing, and coaching high-performing Chiefs of Staff for private sector and nonprofit organizations. Prior to launching Prime, Catherine served as Chief of Staff to the President (now co-CEO) of Ariel Investments, where she developed her paradigm for establishing “right hand” support and advisory across a variety of business functions, including strategic planning, sales and marketing, human resources, community initiatives, and special projects.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I always say my story has been more about climbing a jungle gym than a career ladder! I went to college to study saxophone and was planning on being a musician. I share that because there are many people like me who are good at one thing and initially think that’s what they have to do for their career. But I knew I was business-minded so I decided to try different corporate roles, from human resources to operations to marketing. I discovered I didn’t want to pick any one of those functions — instead, I wanted to navigate across them.

When the opportunity to become a chief of staff came, I knew this role was something that I could really embrace because of the breadth of my interests. So a huge reason for wanting to start Prime Chief of Staff was recognizing that there are a lot of people like me, who can play an important role in an organization and succeed, despite — or because — they don’t want to specialize in one area.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

When I was just starting Prime Chief of Staff, I went to talk to a very big VC person. He was a real naysayer when it came to my start-up. He insisted that I was way too focused on one role, that politicians might have chiefs of staff but that businesses didn’t work like that. He said, “I could never see myself having a chief of staff.” But guess what, a couple of years ago, he hired a chief of staff. I share that story to illustrate how important it is to have persistence and to believe in yourself. I had to believe in my idea even when people said no.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I remember one incident that was both funny and definitely taught me an important lesson. I had a standard contract that my lawyer had put together. I read it and thought, gosh, this is too much legalese; I don’t think we need all of this. So I chopped it by at least half. Then I sent it to one of my early prospects, who said, “You know, Catherine, you’re missing a lot of important language that should be in your contracts. Do you have a lawyer?” That was a good reminder that even when I call the shots, I don’t know everything and I need to rely on others’ expertise.

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?

That would definitely be Mellody Hobson. Mellody is the co-CEO of Ariel Investments and the chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation, making her the only Black woman to lead the board of directors for an S&P 500 company. I served as her chief of staff and I learned so much from her. Beyond anything else, what I learned from Mellody as a Black woman in finance was how to bring your authentic self to the table, even in an environment that doesn’t necessarily support you or understand you. Mellody was always unapologetic about who she was and I try to live my life as a person and professional the same way.

Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

I’d say it’s representation and investment. It’s not that women don’t have ideas or aren’t willing to go out on their own. But we can see who gets the funding, who gets the spotlight and it’s typically white men. Would you want to take a big risk without seeing others like you succeed?

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

We need to build a better environment for women to be successful as business owners, and in order to do that, we have to invest in more women-owned and women-led businesses. We need to provide more resources to women and underrepresented professionals to start their own businesses. We also have to spotlight more of these businesses and ensure they are represented in the public eye. That kind of representation will help propel more women into starting their own business as well.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

The question I’d ask is, what are we missing by not having diverse founders creating new businesses, whether that’s women or people of color or just people from different backgrounds? I can’t help but think of all the insights and opportunities we lose when only one group gets the attention, especially when businesses increasingly have to meet the needs of a diverse market.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

People typically think that it’s the starting that’s the hard part of being a founder. I disagree. I think it’s easy to start anything, but it’s the continuous operation of a business that’s difficult. You’ve got to keep it going, day after day, year after year. So I think we need to talk more about how important it is to sustain a business. To do this, it’s essential to recognize what you don’t know. That’s another myth as well — that because you’ve started something and you have the title of CEO next to your name, you somehow have all the answers. Absolutely not true. In order to start and sustain your business, you have to understand what you know and what you don’t know, and then surround yourself with people who can not only support you, but make sure you’re making sound decisions.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

I think there are certain characteristics that make people better suited for founding a business. Wanting to be a builder, to start something from scratch, is important. So is being willing to deal with an incredible amount of ambiguity. I remember sharing my initial business plan with a good friend, who told me, “Just know that what you have on paper today is not the business you’re going to have tomorrow. Your business will be informed and changed by the market, so if you go into it thinking you’re going to be building this business exactly as outlined, it’s not going to work.” Being adaptable is hugely important!

Here’s the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

You’re going to need a lot of mental fortitude. Your identity can easily get wrapped up in the business — it’s your “baby,” after all — so it’s easy to take to heart other people’s doubts or criticisms. I had to constantly weather my own doubts about whether this was something I should be doing or not. I had to lean into my passion and my experience, and trust myself.

You’ve got to listen. When I was in middle school, I won a “Most Respectful” award. The winners attended a workshop on listening. I thought that was strange at first but I grew to completely understand it. Listening is such an underrated communication skill. So even while you need to trust yourself, you’ve also got to listen to what people are telling you, as well as what the market is telling you. Think of listening as a sign of respect — this really changed my perspective on it.

You can’t be a team of one. You need a team of people who share your vision and passion, and who are better than you in certain areas to help you succeed. I don’t think when I started I understood how valuable the team was. I thought I could succeed because there was a market for my idea and I knew what I’m doing. But if you can’t get other people behind you and your mission, it’s never going to be successful.

Be bold. I have another story about making mistakes. My first band teacher (another close mentor of mine) always told our ensemble, “If you’re going to play on a rest, make it loud.” I love this philosophy in music and in life. If you’re going to make a mistake, make it confidently. Being fearful of mistakes holds back so many people — I see it all of the time. We build entire cultures around fearing mistakes. Ask yourself, when was the last time I made a big mistake? If it wasn’t recently, contemplate why and see where taking more risks can actually help you grow.

Get out of other people’s way. There are so many times I’ve caught myself swooping in to fix a problem rather than empowering others to identify and solve problems on their own. This habit can create the wrong culture and it’s simply unsustainable. You can’t do it all and no one expects you to. Select the right people, then trust and rely on them by getting out of the way.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Once I recognized the benefits and the impact of the chief of staff role, I wanted more people to experience it. I firmly believe that by having better support, people can truly become better, more effective leaders. Something as simple as adding a chief of staff can have an incredible impact on an organization, from helping to influence a leader to helping to create a more values-aligned environment for a team. What and how you operate as a leader matter, and a chief of staff holds you accountable to doing that successfully.

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.

My mission with Prime is to reshape leadership by elevating different kinds of leaders. I believe that supporting those leaders and celebrating the different perspectives they offer will do a tremendous amount of good for our society. Society tends to over-index the loudest voices, but positions like the chief of staff serve to model a different type of leadership. It may be a quieter leadership, but it’s one that is incredibly impactful for an organization. When we elevate this work, we’re elevating a different vision of what leaders look like, one that’s still very much underrecognized because they’re not front and center.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in business, VC funding, sports, and entertainment 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 with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Serena Williams! Having already created an unparalleled tennis career, she is only getting started. Now she is diving into investing and the start-up space, which I think is amazing. Working for a pioneering black woman was a life changing experience for me. I think the opportunity to work with someone like Serena would be invaluable. If she doesn’t yet have a chief of staff, I’d love to help her find one.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Female Founders: Catherine Berardi of ‘Prime Chief of Staff’ On The Five Things You Need To Thrive… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Fabiana Ford On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Spiritual life: align your mind and your body in the same mindset, because without alignment there will always be cognitive dissonance and a constant struggle to succeed.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Fabiana Ford.

Fabi Ford moved to Los Angeles just 15 days before Covid hit in 2020. Since then she has started her own personal fitness brand, comprised of personal training, semi-personal online classes and her own Brazilian-inspired fitness clothing line. She’s taking the world by storm and it’s only been 24 months.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

Thank you for having me! Well, I don’t believe my story is that different than a lot of young adults out there. After finishing law school, I promptly decided that I didn’t want to pursue a career in law and decided to move to the US to find something better! So many times, people start down a path that their parents wanted or that they thought they wanted and spend years wanting to do something different. I was scared and anxious about the next steps but decided better now than in 5 years when I was miserable. So, I took a leap of faith and moved to Los Angeles. Luckily, I had a good friend who came before me and he was able to connect me to my first friends and a great Brazilian network.

I wouldn’t say that work was the only reason I moved away from Brazil. Of course there was a boy, I realized that the relationship wasn’t heading in the right direction (or any direction for that matter) and decided to end it. But the area I was living in, the person I was becoming, slowly, over time, wasn’t the person I imagined to be as a young woman with big dreams and aspirations. So I decided to change. With all the intention that I could set forth, I moved here looking for a new career, new relationships, new opportunities, all because I knew I was ready to flourish!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

After months doing traditional personal training at a gym, I found my method of working was not sustainable. I was merely exchanging time for money and the only way to make more money was to wake up earlier, but I was already waking up at 4:30 am. I always had something in my head that spoke to me about doing some kind of online program. You hear it all the time to use the Internet to scale your business. After seeing my husband in front of his computer in online meetings all day, I thought that going online could escalate my business, and I wouldn’t be tied to one location. So, I started to build a business around serving people who needed my help, regardless of their location. The lesson is: believe in your intuition, believe in yourself and work hard until you get there! I could not be happier with my online workout family! The potential for the business is growing and proving this is the new way to build a business in the fitness industry.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Oh there are so many! The good part is that I am a fast learner! And I’ve been fortunate enough to have a very talented mentor throughout the process of rooting my business. But something so easy to do when you are first starting a personal trainer career (and I fell on that) is to allow others to dictate your time based on their schedules. At first, that seems like the right thing to do. I was desperate for clients, I needed the work and the money. But I quickly realized that I was doing a disservice to my clients by allowing them to pull me in all different directions throughout the day. I was super stressed and wasn’t focused on them. When I noticed that it wasn’t working, I decided to protect my schedule. I have time slots that work for me and my business and multiple alternative offerings for services if that doesn’t work.

One thing I would impress upon a new business owner, especially when your product is a service, is to be mindful of managing your schedule. I’m still waking up most mornings at 5:00 AM and getting all my “busy-work” done before I do classes and attend my mentor training and kick off the rest of my day. But I set boundaries so I can also enjoy life and not just work, work, work based on my client’s desires.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

Humbly, every day, I pray that it is… And I feel that is working everytime I receive feedback from my clients. My husband grew up in Indiana and while we were traveling back home to see his family, I noticed some things that really helped me understand what “Health and Wellness” means to the majority of Americans. I was starving, usually I eat about 5–6 times a day, and we were on the road. I asked him to pull over and find something for us to eat. As we searched all we found was fast-food burger places, Chinese Food, Mexican Food, etc. When he finally got fed up, he said “Here is the healthiest restaurant we have: Subway”. For one, Subway is not “healthy” and this is when I realized the health expectations of typical Americans are way different than what I preach to my clients and my followers. On top of working my clients out, I am constantly reshaping their mentality about what it means to truly be healthy.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

● Discipline: doing it even when it’s hard to get out of bed. A healthy disciplined routine will take you where you want to be.

● Spiritual life: align your mind and your body in the same mindset, because without alignment there will always be cognitive dissonance and a constant struggle to succeed.

● Gluten free: substitute normal products for gluten free options. Why not? Do you really notice the difference? Try it, you will feel so much better.

● Eat less sugar: Sugar is one of the most addicting and treacherous additives to so many foods. It doesn’t break down easily and it provides little to no substance in your diet. When you eat sugars it may also trick your body into the wrong state, producing insulin spikes that can lead to Type II Diabetes and other diseases.

● Exercise regularly: exercising will increase your endorphins and serotonin rates, which give you more energy and self confidence!

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I would challenge everyone to cut out “added sugars” from their diets. Don’t get me wrong, I eat a good amount of fruit and other things that have natural, healthy sugars in it. But when it comes to added sugars, people just don’t realize the impact it has on their bodies.

The main problem is added sugars are extra calories with no extra nutrition. They are empty calories that can lead to weight gain, high triglycerides, heart disease risk, unhealthy teeth, high blood pressure, liver disease and more. What you need to be careful of is the many names in which added sugar presents itself in the grocery store. I bet there are more than 50 different names, but the most common are corn syrup, high fructose, dextrose, barley malt syrup,

glucose, lactose, maltose. For example, a single 12-ounce can of soda has 39 grams, or about 9 teaspoons of sugar, close to a day’s worth by any measure. I would suggest that you start with small changes, and observe how your body reacts. I’m sure you will feel way more energized and happier!

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

– You will work more than 8 hours a day — I may have decided I wasn’t ready but I’m so glad I didn’t know this one. — You will work out more than 3 times a day — This seems like a lot, but it’s very energizing to be leading such powerful women toward their goals.

– You will have to eat healthier — Being a model of what you promote is super important. Of course there is a pressure to look and feel good in all industries, but it is even more important when your industry is healthy living. — You will need to study more about nutritional facts — There’s always more to learn and I’m enjoying the journey. — You will fall in love with the profession — It feels good to be in love with my work again and I’m happy I didn’t settle for less.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

That’s a great question, those are all very important topics for our society to embrace! One that is particularly dear to my heart is mental health. There is such a stigma on mental health and really for no reason except that everyone’s ego is involved. I hired a therapist from Brazil and I talk to him an hour a week. Some days it’s about heavy matters, sometimes it’s not but it’s so important to talk to someone about how I’ve been feeling. And honestly, even though I have a very understanding husband and supportive friends, it’s not enough to really move the needle when it comes to making great suggestions and helping me get out of my own head about things. I believe that physical health and choosing the right things to put into our bodies is directly related to positive mental health as well. My clients that are working hard each day to lose weight or build muscle are transforming their confidence and mental clarity with every workout. I love seeing them glow after a great sweat!

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Well, I’ve just gotten onto TikTok, I know I’m late to the game but it’s so cool! It is way easier to make videos than Instagram. But I would say that Instagram is still my go-to for communicating with people directly.

IG: @fabi_ford

Facebook: Fabiana Ford

TikTok: @fabi_ford

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Fabiana Ford On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Dr Kimberly A Lemke On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

The first thing I wish people told me was to just start and stop waiting and overthinking. Whether it is getting better sleep, working on improving your health, increasing confidence, finding a better job, or anything else that requires change I tell people just start moving in the direction you want to go. Use the following visual to see what I mean. Imagine needing to climb a ladder to the top of a tall building. There are two ladders that you can choose from. One is made up of small steps that you take one at a time until you reach the top, and the second one has only a few steps, but you cannot even reach the first step to start moving because it is too high. Hopefully you would start on the ladder with the small steps so that you are at least moving closer and closer to where you want to be.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Kimberly Lemke.

Dr. Kimberly Ann Lemke is the creator of the online sleep course “Drift” and winner of the Prestigious 2020 Enterprising Women of the Year Award. She is a licensed child/adolescent & adult clinical psychologist trained in CBT-I for insomnia and is also a Certified Sleep Science Coach. Dr. Lemke owns a group private practice where she specializes in anxiety, depression, and life transitions with her patients and she serves many corporate clients by providing sleep, stress and other wellness workshops and programs to help minimize fatigue and burnout. You can find out more about Drift and Dr. Lemke at www.driftcourse.com.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

First of all, thank you very much for allowing me to share my story with your readers today! So many of our journeys are filled with ups and downs and I love being able to normalize that for people.

As I said I am a licensed adult and child clinical psychologist. My mom always told the story about how when I was a young girl, maybe four years old, she walked by my room and I had my Barbies sitting on a couch and was asking them how they felt. Talk about foreshadowing of what my career was going to be!

The thing that still amazes me is that I didn’t even know what a psychologist was until high school when I took my first psychology class. I remember sitting in class and thinking how much I loved learning all about how our brains worked and ways to help people. From that point on, I was hooked. I went on to major in psychology and pre-med in college and then knew that I would have to get a graduate degree to be able to impact the most people. I received my master’s and doctorate in clinical psychology with a minor with children and adolescents. Due to the amount of sleep issues I started seeing people struggle with, I began studying and getting training in CBT-I (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia) and took classes to become a certified sleep science coach. The ironic part is that pretty much every day, I go into my private practice and have people sit on my black couch and ask them how they are feeling and how I can help just like when I was four years old!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

I think one of the most interesting and exciting things that has happened to me was winning the 2020 Enterprising Women of the Year award, but not because of why you might think. I remember being so excited to have won until I started reading about the other women that would also be there and self-doubt started pouring in. The crazy part was that even though I won the award, I started comparing myself to the huge successes of some of the other women there. I talk to people in organizations and in my office all the time of something that many of us feel called imposter syndrome. This idea basically means that you feel less competent than others believe you to be and that you don’t want to be ‘found out’ by those around you. I see this in presidents of companies, CEO’s, parents, people at new jobs, and basically everyone! We keep telling ourselves messages about how we aren’t good enough in some capacity.

I remember being on the plane to Florida to go get the award and there was an empty seat next to me. I am a very visual person, and I created this image in my mind of what my self-doubt travel partner looked like and her strapping herself into the seat next to me. She had a perfectly done updo, was all dolled up and had these very judgmental eyes with eyebrows that went up as she was looking at me in my window seat. When I pictured her gaze, I just felt like I was shrinking or getting smaller in my seat. I decided in that moment to literally ask her to leave. I told her that she would not be coming with me and that she was not the travel companion I wanted or needed on this trip. I pictured her undoing her seatbelt with a huff, grabbing her very overpriced bag from under the seat, putting on her dark sunglasses and walking off the plane without looking back. Then I sat there alone and smiled and finally felt excited about going to get the award that I won.

Even though I do this for a living day in and day out, I forgot for a moment that WE GET TO CHOOSE who we want to be our travel companion on our life’s journey. The best part is that if you look at the person YOU strapped in that seat next to you and you don’t like what you see or hear, then choose again. And if you still don’t like what you hear them saying about you, then choose again. And choose again and again and again until you both look at each other and smile, take a deep breath and think this is going to be one heck of a ride.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I think the biggest mistake I made when I was first starting out, and even until recently, was that I didn’t want to make mistakes. I didn’t want to step out of my comfort zone because I didn’t want to fail.

When I had the idea for my sleep course “Drift,” I came up with a million reasons why not to do it. Even though I knew that the program could help thousands of people start getting better sleep immediately, I knew nothing about how to even start the process of making a sleep program for people. I would have to find a production company, figure out marketing, social media, branding and a whole bunch of other things that I knew nothing about. I did know that I knew how to get people to sleep though. I just didn’t want to make a mistake or fail. Then the best thing happened. I got a rejection letter from this organization about not being able to afford my sleep workshop. I remember thinking that email could serve two purposes for me…Proof of failure that causes me to give up or proof of failure that motivated me to move forward and learn from it. After all I “failed” and was still ok! So, I printed out the email, used a black marker and blacked out the company name and taped it to my wall. I remember my daughter asking why I would put that up and if she could take it down. I tried to reach her a life lesson in that moment that took me way too long to learn…fail and then fail again and keep failing. Weird lesson to want to teach a child but once I learned that I didn’t have to be afraid to fail then it opened a whole new world for me. I started taking steps towards making “Drift” a reality and now it is! My mistake was not being willing to make mistakes. Fail and fall and get back up and keep moving. Leaning into failure versus away from it was the best lesson I ever learned.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

I started my focus on helping people get better sleep because I found that if I asked anyone the following questions the answer is unanimously yes either for themselves or someone they knew.

I ask people have you ever wished you could sleep better? Do you ever lay awake in bed and wish you could fall asleep? Have you ever woken up tired and wondered how you were going to make it through the day? Again, the answers to these questions were overwhelmingly yes, and I wanted to begin helping more people on a larger scale by giving them access to effective and simple sleep strategies that they could use immediately to fall asleep and stay sleep starting the same night. People who struggle with sleep have felt like they have tried everything and are just tired of not being able to sleep. Sleep is one of the most important things in our life. It affects our mood, relationships, work life, concentration, immune system, and general enjoyment of our life.

There is a quote by Desmond Tutu where he states, “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.” Things like burnout, stress, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, obesity, and so many more issues are linked back to poor sleep. Helping people with sleep is going upstream to keep people from falling into the river of psychological and physical despair that often accompanies insomnia and poor sleep.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing?

Great question! I love the word “tweaks” because it does just take small shifts to improve our wellbeing. I truly believe that sleep is the cornerstone to our overall health and happiness. When it comes to sleep specifically there are a few “tweaks” we can make that can help us get better sleep and feel better immediately.

First, make sure you are getting up and getting sunlight. Our brain is made to sense the sun, and when it does, it alerts our body and mind that it is time to wake up. Your body will then start to produce sleep chemicals that we need to use that evening order in to fall asleep and stay asleep. So…get up, open the curtains, and let the sun in!

Secondly, pay attention to noises that may be interrupting your sleep. For safety reasons, the auditory system is the one system that does not completely turn off at night so that it can wake us if it hears anything. If you have a tv on and the programming changes in the middle of the night your brain will wake you up just to make sure that everything is ok. If you need to sleep with some form of noise at night, white noise machines or fans are better. Ear plugs or headphones work as well if you just want to fall asleep to silence.

Thirdly, be very careful about what you put into your body. Foods, caffeine, and alcohol can all poorly affect sleep. For example, consuming alcohol too close to bed may make you feel like it has a calming or sleepy effect, however, it can wreak havoc on your sleep cycle causing fragmented sleep and possible nightmares.

Fourth tweak is not catastrophizing a poor night’s sleep. So many people have a few nights of poor sleep and panic about their sleep being off and take matters into their own hands. They will engage in behaviors that actually will make them sleep LESS such as staying in bed after the alarm goes off or going to sleep earlier. In Drift, we talk about what a Sleep Balloon is and how these small behaviors can actually worsen sleep. Your body is made to compensate for a poor night’s sleep on its own. Let it do its thing!

And the fifth tweak is to take control of your thoughts at night. So many people lay in bed thinking about things they don’t want to be thinking about. If you are lying awake in bed for more than 15 minutes leave the bed and move to a separate part of the house and do some relaxing activities and then return to your bed when you are sleepy. Journaling a few hours before bed can get some of those worries or thoughts out of your head or even just telling your brain relaxing or enjoyable things you want to think about like a beach, a good book, a fun time with a friend, etc. You DO have control of your thoughts.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I 100 percent think that a movement prioritizing sleep awareness would bring the most amount of wellness to people. The emotional and physical consequences of poor sleep are astronomical. It raises healthcare costs, causes safety issues on the job, increases anxiety and depression, and can lead to an overall dissatisfaction with life. The great news is that there are very simple things we can do to get our sleep back on track and start feeling better immediately.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

The first thing I wish people told me was to just start and stop waiting and overthinking. Whether it is getting better sleep, working on improving your health, increasing confidence, finding a better job, or anything else that requires change I tell people just start moving in the direction you want to go. Use the following visual to see what I mean. Imagine needing to climb a ladder to the top of a tall building. There are two ladders that you can choose from. One is made up of small steps that you take one at a time until you reach the top, and the second one has only a few steps, but you cannot even reach the first step to start moving because it is too high. Hopefully you would start on the ladder with the small steps so that you are at least moving closer and closer to where you want to be.

The second thing I wish I knew earlier was that I had control of that travel companion idea we talked about earlier. Sit down and visualize who you want with you on your wellness journey and if you don’t like how you feel when you are with that person you created next to you, then start again. In that very next moment create the best travel partner that inspires you to keep moving and does not judge you when you fall.

The third thing I wish someone told me was to fail early and get it over with. I tried so hard to not fail for so many years that it kept me from taking steps that I needed to because it was out of my comfort zone. Become comfortable with failure. Failure is just information. Take that information and pivot.

The fourth thing I wish I knew was not to compare my journey to anyone else’s. Your journey is your own. I talk to people every day that struggle with their own insecurities, but post on social media all the things that are going wonderfully in their lives. Remember, we all have wounds, some are visible but the most painful ones we keep invisible.

The fifth thing I wish someone told me about was the power of self-forgiveness. I can guarantee that you will slip up at some point on your journey. Remind yourself that it is ok to lose your way in a moment. Write down specific and manageable steps that are leading you towards your best self. Post it on your fridge, on the mirror in your room, on your phone, anywhere that keeps your wellness journey and dreams front and center. This way when you step off the path all you need to do in the very next moment is look at any one of those steps and take the next best step, not the perfect one, just the next best one for you. I truly believe that sometimes it is only when we are lost that we find out exactly where we are supposed to be.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

These are all very important topics, but for obvious reasons mental health is dearest to me. I feel privileged and honored to be allowed to walk with people during their darkest times in my profession, and I know the strength it takes to make changes in our lives and to challenge our deepest fears and insecurities. One of my colleagues told me, “It’s not time that will tell, it’s what you do with time that will tell.” Time in and of itself doesn’t create change, but what you do with that time does.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Thank you for such a fabulous interview and such thoughtful questions. Your readers can follow me on Instagram at drkimberlylemke, on Facebook at Drift or my website www.Drkimberlylemke.com and www.driftcourse.com.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Dr Kimberly A Lemke On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Plants build a sanctuary — Breathe new life into your home, both literally and figuratively, by incorporating houseplants. Not only do plants have positive health benefits by emitting oxygen and increasing a sense of connection with nature (biophilia), they’ve also long been used to enhance even the most stylish of interiors.

As part of my series on the “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Edyta Haligowska

Edyta is a renowned interior designer and owner of HE Space Design based in Chicago, IL. Edyta specializes in full home remodels as well as interior design. She most recently completed a 16,000 sq ft home in Forest Glen, where she designed the entire home including the aesthetic of a rooftop deck. She is an expert in design taking inspiration from her personal experiences traveling the world, bringing a wide variety of offerings to clients.

Thank you so much for joining us in this series! 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?

When I was growing up there was no profession like interior design so I never thought about it. It’s a relatively new field. After graduating with a bachelor degree in English and history I need it to decide what’s next– law or Interior design/architecture. I picked design and know now I made the right choice. My father was an engineer and he designed, drafted and built our house. He had such incredible talent that it was inspiring. I was always around the creative energy of architecture and design growing up. It was a natural trajectory for me to end up as an Interior Designer.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

The job itself is the most interesting. I am learning constantly, and there is never a boring day no matter what I am doing. Interior design has the technical aspects as well as the creative ones, so I get challenged on both. I am always trying to polish the design process of planning and executing with each project. Also, every home and client is different and demands different attention, so it keeps you on your toes. It’s very rewarding when you know your design has captured the energy and essence of the family that lives there.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The last mistake I made was when I sent the drowning of the backsplash to a fabricator, and I wrote my measurements by hand. The tile specialist read my 7 as 1. We did not know it until we got the tile, and it was not enough. Luckily, the tile was rushed and came within a week. The very important lesson I learned through the years about mistakes is to first check, check and check again before you pass information into production or purchase. Second, when you do make a mistake, it’s all about how you handle it. Be honest and find creative ways to solve it in a timely manner.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now or recently completed?

I truly loved every project I did because it made me a better designer and the designer I am today. The most exciting project is the project I did last. The last space I design is a first floor of a house starting with a foyer, front room, dining room, kitchen and family room. The house feels open but each room has a strong identity and seemingly connects one space to the next. The space turned out to be livable, beautiful, quiet, and refined yet relaxed. It’s pretty with calming effects. It’s rich in layers of texture and pattern with a natural color palette with hues of white and cream. The white walls’ dramatic blank canvases serve as artwork. The artwork offers the rooms the splash of color shades of blue, green, orange and pink.

What are your “5 Things you Can do to help your living space spark more joy? And Why? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Color — The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of joyful interiors is color. Color should create a natural connection between rooms. However, you can create the unexpected accent room or wall with wallpaper or paint for a pop of color. Pick your favorite color in a subdued palette that seamlessly flows through the room. Another way to introduce color to a neutral or white room is to add accent pieces like colorful pillows, blankets, rugs, and drapes.
2. Artwork — Artwork inspires, motivates and gives the space character beyond the furnishings. Art is food for the soul and can transform your home by telling a personal story. Invest in a few pieces of art, either from your local gallery (support your local artists!) or online like from 1st Dibs or even Etsy. Or, if you’re feeling creative, make your own heirloom piece that you can pass down to members of your family. Quality is the key as it will grow with you, your family and your home.
3. Be Organized — A joyful home is a well-functioning and well-organized home. We all have a room (or rooms) in our homes that get cluttered with stuff. Fortunately, this is easy to solve by adding stylish storage solutions. If your family room gets overwhelmed with gadgets, kid’s toys, etc., decorative storage, like a bench with a patterned fabric seat cushion, will conceal your clutter while adding an extra seat to the room. Also, get rid of the stuff that you do not need or love. Only keep the pieces that you use often or that mean something personal to you and your family, keeping in mind that space is luxury!
4. Create a photo wall — Create a photo wall in your house to show your family’s life journey. Frame the memories that make you laugh, or a beautiful moment that takes you to a happy place. Choose interesting frames that fit the style of your home.
5. Plants build a sanctuary — Breathe new life into your home, both literally and figuratively, by incorporating houseplants. Not only do plants have positive health benefits by emitting oxygen and increasing a sense of connection with nature (biophilia), they’ve also long been used to enhance even the most stylish of interiors.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favorite quote in my career and life is by Charles Eamer.

“The details are not the details. They make the design.

In personal life, dreams or goals are not achieved in one day, it’s the small steps towards it every day that will bring you there.” In professional life as a designer, it’s the details in space that creates the big picture.

None of us can 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 it?

The people who helped me along my way were my parents. My parents taught me how to be kind, resourceful, driven, and determined. I don’t remember specifically telling me who to be but showing me by their example. They exposed me to art and culture. As a child, they signed me up to ballet school and conservatory school, where I played piano learning the discipline and benefits of its efforts. My parents were always there for me growing up and later in life supported my choices. I moved to the US from Poland and my parents followed me with my siblings, giving up their comfortable life of retirement in Poland. That love, dedication and selflessness motivates me and keeps me going.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start 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 start a movement that people are conscious to show kindness and compassion to everyone every day.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational!

Designer Edyta Haligowska: “Plants build a sanctuary” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.