Voice Lessons Podcast
In this , Allison Eden talks about her journey as a celebrated creator in the world of glass mosaics. Allison shares insights into her creative process, the evolution of her career, and how passion drives her success. VOICE LESSONS SHOWNOTES: VOICE LESSOS ON INSTAGRAM:
info_outline A Lesson on Sharing Your Stories with Renee Bracey ShermanVoice Lessons Podcast
Renee Bracey Sherman is a Chicago-born writer and reproductive justice activist committed to the visibility and representation of people who have had stigmatized experiences. In this episode, we discuss why it’s so important to share your own story, how you can stand strong in speaking your truth, and how you can embrace the collective hug of support that comes along with joining a movement for change. Because your voice and story matters.
info_outline A Lesson On the Courage of Choice with Merle HoffmanVoice Lessons Podcast
Merle Hoffman is an internationally known leader in the struggle for women’s rights, opening one of the first abortion clinics pre-Roe in 1971. Throughout her activism career spanning over 50 years, Merle's mission remains the same; for women to fight for their own reproductive choices and to recognize that each individual woman can make a profound decision for her own life, and has the right to speak up for that choice. You just have to practice courage.
info_outline A Lesson On Saying It with Sugar with Becca Rea-TuckerVoice Lessons Podcast
Becca Rea-Tucker has been "saying it with sugar" since 2018 and now more than ever, this feminist baker is helping to shift the conversation and inspire change around women's issues by using a more unconventional platform: cakes.
info_outline A Lesson On Creating Joy with Jennifer FreedVoice Lessons Podcast
Jennifer Freed, Ph.D, M.F.T. is a psychological astrologer who believes that your cosmic DNA serves as a roadmap for your life. Even when we are experiencing oppression from our societies, if we learn to embrace our past traumas, use our unique gifts to create change, and incorporate movement into our day each day, we can make joyful choices that allow us to show up for ourselves and others during times of hardship.
info_outline A Lesson On Belonging with Dr. Sarah GaitherVoice Lessons Podcast
“What are you?” It’s a question Dr. Sarah Gaither was asked a child growing up mixed race. Now she studies the effects of that question and others related to identity at Duke University's Identity & Diversity Lab. In this episode on belonging, we talk about identity denial, identity accessibility, and why she’s using her own multiracial identity to help create a more inclusive world.
info_outline A Lesson On Seizing Your Upgrade with Dr. Louann BrizendineVoice Lessons Podcast
Dr. Louann Brizendine was among the first to explain why women think, communicate, and feel differently than men. Now she’s on a mission to rebrand the “M" word: Menopause.
info_outline A Lesson On Forgiveness with Ronit PlankVoice Lessons Podcast
Ronit Plank's mother left to follow the Indian mystic, some would say cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (also known as Osho) when she was five years old. Through the process of writing her memoir, When She Comes Back, Plank rewrote her definition of forgiveness.
info_outline A Lesson On Turning a Moment Into a Movement with Dana MarloweVoice Lessons Podcast
Dana Marlowe turned a moment into a movement. What began with the question, “What can I do with my old bras?” led to the creation of I Support the Girls, a national non-profit organization that provides a source of dignity, self-esteem, empowerment, and support to marginalized women via the donation of bras and menstrual hygiene products. As a human rights advocate in the intersections of feminism, menstrual equality, health, and dignity, Dana works tirelessly to better the lives of the most invisible populations.
info_outline A Lesson In Being You with Brandy GuearyVoice Lessons Podcast
Brandy G. of Authentically B wants everyone to know that it’s ok to be you. Because when you do, the divine might just present you with your heart’s desires. The moment Brandy decided to be visible as her authentic self was the moment that her transition from full-time school teacher to model and lifestyle influencer unfolded. And she’s owning it.
info_outlineWhere does creativity come from? And how do creatives, especially women, tackle failure? Ilana Ben-Ari talks about how she turned her creative vision into a business, despite the stigma that women and creatives are limited to just coming up with ideas. Why stop at invention, when you can build your own business? Find out how to tackle the fear of failure and use playful creativity and bootstrapping efforts to build something you can truly be passionate about.
TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:
- How to take the leap and start your own business
- Can designers be business owners?
- Risk tolerance and how it plays a role in predicting economic, social and personality outcomes among women
- Failure and how the notion of failure directly impacts women’s’ decisions for their future
- Negative gender stereotypes in the workforce today
- Why perfection shouldn’t hold you back
- The difference between running a business and maintaining a business
- How to nurture your creative gifts
- Creative women and the notion of feminine leadership
#LESSONUP:
(10:20) A massive new study of over a million people from 23andMe suggests that genetics makes some people more willing to take risks. More important than that though is that the research shows that environmental, demographic and of course cultural circumstances play a much more significant role in determining risk tolerance.
(11:24) High -achieving women in particular derive less confidence from positive feedback than men at the same caliber and negative feedback takes a greater emotional toll. From a cultural standpoint, when women are put in situations where they are aware of negative stereotypes about their gender, they become even more anxious about feeling and proving those stereotypes right.
(14:19 ) Calendar your creativity, calendar the blocks where you can have space because we need space as creatives to receive ideas. Now a lot of people will push back on that. I can't schedule my creativity and I'm like, yes, you can. Especially if you're running a business. It's part of your process and part of your creative discipline. You were given these gifts and so you have to nurture them in a certain way.
(16:06) My thinking and the reason why the failure toy exists is so that we can just start talking about all the nuances of what we feel like when we talk about failure and what does failure mean? Failure can only exist if we have the definition of success and that's all posts can move. When you introduce competition, when you introduce new people, literally the context of the room, you can feel like you're winning in one room and you're failing in another room. The spectrum of just human beings and how we respond to risk and competition and blame and all of those things. But also there's a spectrum to failure.
(17:34) Failure is simply the emission of required or expected action. It's not predictable, not boring. Failure can be a fluke. It's a pattern interrupt and sometimes it can be done right miraculous. Case in point, like these inventions that were made by mistake penicillin, the Slinky, post-it note, popsicles, the pacemaker and my favorite color mauve. Failure is not what you're looking for when you accept what is, but it will allow you to see.
(18:41) There's so much that we can do if we ... definitely, as a woman, if I don't give up my power so easily, I really hold it. But I'm also able to ask for help and bring other people in and learn from them.
(19:25) So I think that there's so much that we can actually accomplish and the biggest shift, I think the first step is just the mindset. You're allowed to start a business and you're allowed to have a successful business. There's a million obstacles in your way and it's important to be aware of those, but it's not impossible and I think a lot of people just opt out of that even being an option because they have this idea of what a real business person is.
(22:15) So I would say as a toy designer, I live in the world of contradictions and friction and the idea that you're holding multiple truths at the same time and how they butt up against each other is where get creativity. I really believe the greatest creatives are the ones that can hold multiple truths and multiple energies at the same time and it's the friction that they create that leads to some really exciting inventions.
(23:38) Designing a business is one of the most fascinating, exciting, interesting things to do and I think the majority of designers that exist, I don't know if they call themselves social entrepreneurs, but really true good designers search for the right problem so they don't ... our whole mantra is that you don't find a solution, you don't jump into the solution and go, this is what everybody wants and then sell and market it. You are constantly searching for the right problem and you're working towards the problem and really good design is human-centered.
More in-depth show notes and shareables available at voicelessonspodcast.com.