Behind The Brilliance

Zainab Johnson is among the best and brightest standup comedians working today. Her perspective is unique, and her voice is fresh. During this winding chat, Zainab and I talked about how she found her way to comedy, what she's learned from failure, how she handles fear, and the role faith plays in her life. There is funny stories, inspiring gems, and excellent wisdom tucked away in this episode.  Behind Her Brilliance: Her Upbringing + Her Family  Say hi to Zainab on Instagram: @zainabjohnson

Lisa shares 3 illuminating questions and her thoughts on the importance of breaks, rest, and sabbaticals.

Therapist and Speaker Nedra Tawwab has amassed a following of nearly 300,000 on Instagram where she doles out inspiring, useful nuggets of wisdom about mental health, life, and personal development. Her perspectives on boundary setting and healing from past trauma continue to be lauded by followers from all walks of life. Now she's sitting down with me to talk about big mental health ideas, the value of therapy, and her take on what makes healthy relationships work. Behind Her Brilliance: Being Open + Sharing What She Knows Say hi to Nedra on Instagram: @nedratawwab

Charlie Gilkey is a brilliant strategist and author who's written an excellent book titled Start Finishing. The book helps creatives, entrepreneurial types, and professionals finish what they start. The book lays out practical advice for everything from managing project logistics to fending off procrastination. In this chat, Charlie and I talk about how to create work that matters. Behind His Brilliance: Tenacity and Generosity Say hi to Charlie on Twitter: @charliegilkey

Lisa offers illuminating questions in preparation for 2020.

Brian is the author of one of my favorite books of 2019 titled, The Geometry of Wealth. Brian’s work centers around helping us connect our pursuit and management of money to meaning. This to me makes his work unique because it’s not all about stacking as much as you can and it’s also not about pretending money doesn’t matter. There’s an important balance that has to be found if you’re going to build wealth AND be happy. Behind His Brilliance: Curiosity Say hi to Brian on Instagram: @bportnoy

After traveling to every country in the world, Jessica Nabongo joins Lisa to pull back the curtain on her journey from Detroit to Japan to trotting the globe. The dynamic entrepreneur opens up about her best experiences, why she's not afraid to see the world alone, and how she thinks about her purpose as a visible leader charting new territory.  Behind Her Brilliance: Confidence + Authenticity  Say hi to Jessica on Instagram: @thecatchmeifyoucan

Lisa recaps each interview from Season 9 of Behind the Brilliance. 

Elaine Pagels is a preeminent figure in the theological community. She is a religious historian at Princeton and the author of several books including her recent memoir, Why Religion? During this conversation, Elaine opens up about her winding journey with faith, the lessons she's learned about grief, and how she's remained optimistic through it all.  Behind Her Brilliance: Following what she loves with passion  Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB185

Vanessa K. De Luca is a brilliant and dynamic journalistic force who was the lauded Editor in Chief at ESSENCE magazine...and then she wasn't. With grace and resilience, she's charted a new path for her career and is creating a blueprint for other professionals who want to create lives that are rich with meaning and relevance. Behind Her Brilliance: The People in Her Life Say hi to Vanessa on Instagram and Twitter: @vanessa_kdeluca Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB184

Mandela SH Dixon is the founder and CEO of Founder Gym, an online training center for underrepresented founders. During our conversation, we talked about how flipped a talent for teaching into a dynamic career in Silicon Valley.  Behind Her Brilliance: Nature and Nurture  Say hi to Mandela on Instagram @mandelash and Twitter @mandelash TOPICS COVERED Mandela's perspective on failures and how to keep moving  Why Mandela started Founder Gym and what she's learned in the process  Mandela's thoughts on starting a company with a romantic partner  How Mandela went from teaching elementary school to empowering hundreds of founders  And much, much more! Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB183  

Lisa tees up the final block of Season 9 with a discussion on reinvention, a recurring theme in the forthcoming episodes.    Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB182

Lisa talks with longtime BTB listener Brandy Lucas about BTB's early days, her religious journey, her fitness regimen, and how her relationship with money has changed over time. Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB181

Laura Vanderkam is a prolific author whose TED talk, "How to Gain Control of Your Free Time" has been viewed more than 5 million times. Her books center on productivity and helping readers spend more time on the things they love and less time on the things they don't. During this conversation, she shares what she's learned in researching multiple angles of productivity and time management.  Behind Her Brilliance: Experimentation Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB180

Lisa answers a listener question about taming impulse buys and staying on budget.    Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTBQA179

Jamila Souffrant is one of the few Black women blazing a trail for herself toward financial independence and documenting the journey along the way. We talked about the nut and bolts of her stacking more than $150,000, rethinking how she designed her life, and setting herself up for the long game.  Behind Her Brilliance: Daring to do what she wants to do Say hi to Jamila on Twitter @journeytolaunch or follow her on the 'Gram @journeytolaunch  Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB178

This solo episode is the gateway for the next block in Season 9: Going Deeper + Leveling Up.    Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB177

Jonathan Jackson is a brilliant thinker. He moves through life with an intentional and authentic nature that makes you curious about how his mind works. He sat with me for this epic 2+ hour conversation to share his reflections on his career, how he makes difficult decisions, what he's learned about love and relationships, and much much more. Behind His Brilliance: Love + His Village + Curiosity Say hi to Jonathan on Twitter @Jon_Jackson or follow him on the 'Gram @jon_jackson    Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB176

Jonathan Jackson is a brilliant thinker. He moves through life with an intentional and authentic nature that makes you curious about how his mind works. He sat with me for this epic 2+ hour conversation to share his reflections on his career, how he makes difficult decisions, what he's learned about love and relationships, and much much more. Behind His Brilliance: Love + His Village + Curiosity Say hi to Jonathan on Twitter @Jon_Jackson or follow him on the 'Gram @jon_jackson  Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB175176

Paul Jarvis is back to talk with me about his new book, Company of One, what he's been up to since his last BTB appearance, and other topics like lifestyle design, money, and much more.  Say hi to Paul on Twitter: @pjrvs   Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB174