Behind The Brilliance

CEO of Lifeway Kefir Julie Smolyansky joins Lisa to discuss her path to becoming CEO of the company, growing the sales to $130 million, and finding balance among the chaos. We also discuss her work with the UN and her work to end violence against women.

Pando Daily editor and soon to be venture capitalist Michael Carney drops by to discuss his career path, his approach to life, and his observations about entrepreneurship.

Emmy award winning director Evita Castine stops by to discuss her work as a filmmaker, identity, race, creativity, and her approach to overcoming fear.

Leading business expert Melinda Emerson kicks her shoes off with Lisa for a candid, funny, and inspiring conversation about her path to becoming the "Small Biz Lady" and successfully building a life and career she loves.

In this solo episode, Lisa shares her perspective on why the stories we tell ourselves are important. She tells a random story about monkeys on a pole, recommend a new book and also shares a framework for rewriting the stories we tell ourselves and others.

No matter how old or young you are, you have to deal with change and transitions at some point. This week, I discuss Transitions (and how to make them easier) at the request of a couple of listeners.  

Actress Mara Marini (Parks & Rec) joins Lisa to chat about her career, why she loves comedy, the annoying parts of dating in LA, and why she credits her family for her brilliance.

In this episode, Lisa serves Tony Robbins/Oprah Winfrey love child awesomeness as she discusses the elusive idea of "success" and how to define it in a way that feels authentic and personal. She also shares books she loves on the topic (surprise, surprise) and offers a framework for redefining success.

In this episode, previous guest Benoni Tagoe graces my digital sofa again to talk about a mashup of topics including passion vs profit, personal branding, dating, and more.

I kick off Season 3 of the show with a recap of the highlights from Season 2 and a special announcement.

In this solo episode, I share my thoughts on Amazon's new show, Transparent, and discuss the importance of getting back to basics in preparation for the new year. I cover reading, writing, sweating, connecting, building, and eliminating. And of course, it just wouldn't be me if there weren't book recommendations. #nerdlife

The funny and smart Issa Rae joins me to chat about her path to creating the hit webseries, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl along with her new project, Color Creative. Shenanigans and laughter abound as we discuss personality types, shifts in the entertainment industry, our deep love of The Wire, overcoming insecurities, and why we won't let people pick our brains.  

Mega talented actress and playwright Jozanne Marie stops by to share her breathtaking story of overcoming poverty and abuse to deliver an award-winning one woman show that's been hailed by the LA Times, the NAACP, and many others.

In this solo episode, I answer listener questions on multitasking, my favorite books and resource, and finding new friends when you've made a positive life change.

In this episode, the amazingly smart Chris Dannen (writer for Fast Co, Maxim, Wired + technologist) graced my virtual couch with his thoughts on overcoming personal resistance to achieve goals, unleashing one's inner badass, detaching your identity from your title at work, and tricking yourself into forming good habits. This is one of my favorite episodes ever. Listen with a pen and pad handy - it's that good.

Like the bottomless mimosas at a well-done brunch, ideas tend to flow and flow and flow...and flow. Sometimes it's hard to decide what to pursue next. In this solo episode, I share my experience of trying to choose among any given group of ideas and the things I consider before I make moves.

In this episode, I share thoughts on habits - the little things that make a big difference in our lives and careers. I also explore ways to form new habits and hack daily routines to make change easier. And of course, I shared a couple of book recs because #nerdlife.

In this episode, social media director and editor-at-large for Revolt, Julian Mitchell, talks with me about his career, music, his legacy, and what motivates him. He also explains the impact Ralph Emerson had on his life and shares his philosophy on social media.

In this solo episode, I talk about my recent 3 day cleanse and digital detox. I also dive into what I call the "joy formula", how to create yours, and how I discovered mine. Lots of happy thoughts and inspiration in this episode...kind of like a trip to Target.

In this solo episode, I share thoughts on the interesting and complicated ways relationships change when one person experiences success. I discuss my experience on getting rid of the green eyed monster (we've all been there) and how to deal with jealousy.