Female Disruptors: Content Creator Lillee Jean On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Be Proactive, Not Reactive: When the online bullying started, I did not know how to react. I mean you go through phases, like hurt, bewilderment that somebody could think they have a right to stalk, attack, defame and attempt to harm your life, your family, your reputation. I have learned through trial and error, it is better to be proactive in a situation, instead of reacting to a situation.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lillee Jean.
Content creator Lillee Jean is best known for her beauty, skincare, and lifestyle content published on her YouTube, website, and Instagram channels. She is also an accomplished writer, producer, director, actress, model, young entrepreneur, and blogger. The content Lillee Jean creates for her videos, are fun and entertaining for her fans. Her advocacy on online bullying, stems from her experiences with it on notable online platforms.She currently has a live web series, that is Season 2, called “Lillee Jean TALKS! Live” (IMDB accredited), and features well-known entertainers, as well as innovators in the arts. Her scheduled showtimes can be viewed on her media website.
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?
It’s in my blood to be involved with something in the entertainment industry. When I was little, my grandfather would sculpt and paint with me. It was this precious time, spent with him, that would inspire me to pursue my true passion, art. He passed away when I was 8, but the great love he had nurtured within me, coupled with my parents allowing me to have a laptop at such a young age, put me on the path I am on to this day.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
To me, a disruptor is someone who goes against all odds, shakes things up, and tips the scales back in their favor, no matter how bad the odds might look. As a disruptor, I strive to keep growing, learning, and teaching. I don’t let anyone’s disfigured vision of the world, or fantasies, deter me. That is really what disruptors do. Peacefully challenge and change what’s impossible to others.
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?
Off-set, while filming a video for a brand, I was joking around with the PR Manager and staff there on-hand, but I was not looking. I ended up tripping over the video camera wires, and it was suffice to say, lights out for me and everyone else.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
It has been an honor to be able to bounce ideas off the owner of Runway Rogue, Patricia Hartmann. Patricia is a former supermodel from the 1990s, who is not only business savvy, but beautiful inside and out. We are two peas in a pod, being Aries born on the same day. Throughout the years, she has given me amazing advice, when I was feeling down, knowing firsthand how it is to be bullied online and in person. As a result of her own experiences, I have learned about who I am as a person, what I want as a person, in the entertainment industry, and how to deal with the shaming and bullying I have experienced myself.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Shaking up an industry is never a bad thing, as long as it is done for the right reasons. Without different things that people add to the mix, it would be all stagnant and boring. Disruption is a diverse way of keeping everything moving and flowing in a positive way. Unless you are intentionally trying to be judgmental, or abusive, it is always good to bring new things to the table. For example, I love the beauty industry, but I do not consider myself a beauty guru. I consider myself an entertainer, who is an artist, that loves to express with makeup, however there is so much more to me than that. I define myself more as an entertainer who also is a director, producer, writer, actress, an advocate for a number of important causes. I love to share and teach, and I use makeup as one component of having that conversation with my fans. I like to take my fans on different journeys, such as my vlog on my orthodontic work, or talking about relevant subjects, without being overly political, since everyone has their own opinion. Being a disruptor can be bad if I distort my goal and make it one sided, of which I try not too. I always try to examine and put forth stuff that won’t betray who I am and what I want to project to the world, but it is a careful balance. My advocacy, if I was not so mindful of others, could end up on a level of disrespect to people in general. I choose to push myself to the limits, and keep that in perspective each day that I work.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
- Know yourself. A truer statement cannot be said. I know who I am, and what I stand for. As long as I am true to myself with that knowledge I can never go wrong;
- Always speak the truth. No matter what, always say the truth, it becomes harder to keep facts in place if you consistently tell a different story;
- Be Proactive, Not Reactive: When the online bullying started, I did not know how to react. I mean you go through phases, like hurt, bewilderment that somebody could think they have a right to stalk, attack, defame and attempt to harm your life, your family, your reputation. I have learned through trial and error, it is better to be proactive in a situation, instead of reacting to a situation.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
My advocacy for the internet holds no bounds. There was a time I thought for sure the cybercriminals that were attacking me would just stop. When that didn’t happen, I went through a phase of disillusionment, confusion, I just couldn’t understand why people, who don’t even know me, would act so judgmental, create fictitious, defamatory lies, and then continue to do so, non-stop day and night. It bewildered me to the point that I felt catatonic sometimes when I would get in front of the camera. Once I was able to access what was going on, I realized that it is true, that you are never given a burden too hard for you to bare.
Once I was able to identify these issues, I was able to channel the advocacy that I wanted to see occur for online platform behavior. I plan on shaking up the internet next year a lot. We are working on a documentary as well as pushing for federal law, not state laws, to combat any of this online behavior that needs to be monitored more.
At the end of the day, that is what a disruptor does. I refuse ever again to allow my life to be led by a crazed mob of people that pray to a Discord server, and talk about me, my family, my friends day and night. It is time for me, a disruptor, to show through the power of laws and education how things need to be handled better.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
I would say that men are taken far more seriously than women. This is only my opinion, but I feel that if a man is doing the same thing I am doing, they would be taken far more seriously, and in a faster time frame, than has been the case with me. We still live in the Men vs. Women universe. It is getting better, but I think a lot of work still needs to get done until women get more respected as to what they want and who they are.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
“The Art of War” by Sun Tzu is the book I think everyone should read at least once in a lifetime. It is not so much about military strategy, as it is lessons that even today can be applied to life, whether business or personal. Sun Tzu, although a magnificent military strategist, believed there was more power to be gained by knowing how to diplomatically end a fight. While you should always know your enemies’ weaknesses, it is better to find a way to break through the walls that cause the differences, instead of moving forward without a focus and a plan.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
It would be for people to start recognizing how they treat others, and show them a better way to act.
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 is “…he will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.”Sun Tzu,It is something I apply to myself on a daily basis. Nowadays, I focus on what I can change and what is good, instead of focusing on the negativity and darkness that can consume you when bitter people surround you.
How can our readers follow you online?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilleejean/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGQF-GZ2oWfgb1NN3QtJJlA (Lillee Jean)
Websites: https://www.lilleejean.com and https://www.lilleejeanbeauty.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/REALlilleejean/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealLilleeJean
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/LilleeJean
Digital Art: https://www.deviantart.com/lilleejean
Giphy: https://giphy.com/lilleejean
Tenor: https://tenor.com/official/lilleejean
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Female Disruptors: Content Creator Lillee Jean On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.