LEAVE YOUR MARK: Freshly Brewed Career Advice with Aliza Licht

I probably should have started this interview asking Hal Rubenstein what he can’t do. From reading at the age of three, teaching high school English, landing multiple magazine writing jobs out of college, owning his own successful catering business, being named the first men’s style editor of the New York Times, and defining high/low fashion as the fashion director of In Style, all while being a renowned food and fashion critic, author, and on-air personality, Hal has done it all. Hal’s passion is learning what he doesn’t know and hasn’t done. His upcoming mission is celebrating life after 50 with The Happy Grownup.   This episode is one big life lesson. Hal preaches why cancel culture has gone too far, the merits of acquiring joy each day, and why you should focus on one thing you can accomplish today. He warns about the dangers of following someone else’s opinion and why you’re being judged just like a book jacket no matter where you go. Hal’s pro tip: dress like a best seller. Most importantly, Hal is banishing aging gracefully and replacing it with aging with excitement. He’s just getting started, and after you listen to this episode, you will also be. 

“The path you are on is not necessarily the path you are going to stay on” is a lesson Zibby Owens wants to pass on but one she had to learn. Zibby always knew she wanted to be a writer, but when she tried her hand as an author, she was met with rejection after rejection– for years. Refusing to give up, she pushed past the pain and shame of countless nos and finally made her dream a reality. Her deeply personal book, Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, shares a transparent tale of her life, its ups and downs, and twists and turns, including motherhood, leaving the workforce for over a decade, divorce, and a surprising second chance at love at 40. As an award-winning podcast host, entrepreneur, publisher, author, reader, and mother, Zibby’s life has all the makings of a movie and enough inspiration for moms everywhere or anyone striving for something they have yet to attain. As the founder and CEO of Zibby Owens Media, Zibby is determined to help busy people live their best lives by connecting to books and each other. Her brand Moms Don’t Have Time To, is the home for Zibby’s award-winning podcasts (Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books and Sex Tok), publications (including two anthologies), and communities. Zibby Books is a publishing home for fiction and memoir, which she co-founded with Leigh Newman. She’s also a regular columnist for Good Morning America, Katie Couric Media, and Moms Don’t Have Time to Write on Medium. In this episode, Zibby transparently shares her advice for pushing through the pain of rejection, how every day she learns how to let go of her Type A personality, and why when things go wrong, it’s not the right time for them to happen. Zibby continues to make the joy of writing and her love of books the centerpiece of her own bookends.

Growing up, Laurie Segall felt like she didn’t fit perfectly anywhere. As her high school newspaper editor, she always found herself writing about the odd and outcasted. But it’s probably her keen sense of what’s weird, interesting, and emerging that has made her an award-winning investigative reporter and the founder of Dot Dot Dot, a media company focused on onboarding the mainstream into a new era of the internet, Web3. Beginning in 2008 at 23 as a newly minted assistant at CNN and as Wall Street was crashing down, she began discovering a group of scrappy misfits rising from the ashes of the recession to change the world: the tech entrepreneurs. Seeing this space as an area no one at CNN was covering, she wrote a job description and pitched it. Over a decade, Laurie became one of the first reporters to give airtime to many of these founders—from Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey to Kevin Systrom and Travis Kalanick —while tracking their evolution and society’s cultural shift in the CNN startup beat she created. By the end of her tenure at CNN, she had become its on-air senior technology correspondent. She had witnessed the rise of second-wave tech, from the boom to the “complicated years” to the backlash, as her misfits emerged as some of the world’s most influential leaders. Her book, Special Characters: My Adventures with Tech’s Titans and Misfits is a memoir detailing her career journey with early access to some of the most influential people in the world during a time when they still answered their own phones. In this episode, Laurie shares her rise in investigative journalism, her struggles with the silent death of a thousand cuts of sexism in her industry, and how she learned to fight for what she knew was rightly hers. She shares that to be successful at something, you must immerse yourself in it, have the guts to ask for what you want when an opportunity presents itself, say yes, and learn how to tackle it as you go along.

Amy Odell always knew she wanted to work in journalism. As a fashion and culture reporter, she has left her mark on countless publications, most notably New York Magazine's The Cut. But she got called to interview for a role at Vogue magazine during her time there. After an unsuccessful interview with the formidable Anna Wintour, she did not get the job. The truth was she probably wasn't right for it as fashion was still an industry she was trying to understand. But if someone would have told her then that she would end up writing ANNA: The Biography, the most comprehensive account of the life and reign of Anna Wintour years later, she would not have believed them. Because of my fashion background and experience with Anna, this episode turned into a very candid discussion covering the complexities of what it is like to work with Anna, who benefits from her loyalty, and who gets left in the dust when she decides that you're radioactive. Amy and I go deep into Anna's complicated and often controversial decisions, including the defense of the antisemitic John Galliano and Georgina Chapman during the height of the Harvey Weinstein #MeToo movement. Whatever you think you know about Anna Wintour, this book and episode will shed a different light on someone who has seized and held power for over 34 years and shows no signs of being dethroned any time soon.

When will I ever get this opportunity again? A question Nicole Jeter West asked herself when a new job opportunity arose out of the blue. Would she give up her dream of working in advertising to join the New York Knicks? The answer would set her on the journey of her career. Nicole has always followed her gut and curiosity, which has led her down a path she never anticipated. She is now the CEO of the Underdog Venture Team, an organization on a mission to change the game of sports business with a new "pay it forward" model that invests in unique, social-impact-driven business opportunities led by passionate passions and diverse leaders. As CEO, Nicole is responsible for the organization's leadership, strategic vision, and growth initiatives with a focus on empowering the next generation of women and BIPOC leaders to up-level the entire industry. With more than 20 years of experience in the sports and entertainment industry, Nicole joined the underdog venture team from the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, where she was the head of brand marketing and engagement. Before joining LA28, Nicole was the chief marketing officer for Legends, and Nicole spent five years as the managing director of ticket and digital for the United States Tennis Association (USTA). She started her career in marketing at Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks. She has earned Sports Business Journal's "40 Under 40" and "Power Players" honors while also being named one of Sports Illustrated's "100 Influential Black Women in Sports". In this episode, Nicole shares the secrets to her success which stem from what her husband calls her secret sauce: infinite tenacity and being indispensable. Nicole's journey is a lesson in taking chances and seeing the opportunity in everything, even if at the time it doesn't fit the exact mold of what you expected. We talk about the importance of shifting your perspective on what is best for the team instead of personal gain and why she believes in harmony over balance. Nicole got comfortable feeling uncomfortable years ago, and she shares why you should too.

Can you imagine what it would be like to be crazy rich? Liz Lange can. In her new podcast, The Just Enough Family, she shares her story of growing up in the Steinberg family, a name as famous as Bezos back in the day. After graduating from Brown, Liz didn’t need to work but started a career at Conde Nast in the features department. She dreamed of becoming a writer, but that’s not what happened. Instead, Liz became an accidental entrepreneur as the “first maternity wear designer”, catering to pregnant A-list celebrities. In the early 2000s, Liz gained recognition as a retail pioneer and a global trendsetter by forging multiple major licensing deals with Nike, Target, and HSN that catapulted her into a household name. But Liz wasn’t enjoying work-life balance and recognized that while we love to say women can have it all, the truth is, something always gives. In this case, one of her life areas that needed attention was her kids. She decided to sell her business to focus on her family. Entrepreneurship always runs under the surface, though. In December 2020, Liz acquired Figure, a New York-based luxury resort-wear brand, most notable for their kaftans, dresses, and soft separates, that she is a fan and customer of. Today, she is the CEO and Creative Director, intending to continue the brand’s legacy of dressing fashionable women around the world while also expanding its categories and reach. In this episode, Liz delightfully shares her truth- the good, the bad, and the scandalous. She transparently explains her rise from building her incredible brand with no design or business background to recognizing where she was falling short. We dive into her leadership style and expectations and how her childhood has shaped her perspective. She takes us on her new journey with Figure and why she believes her second act will be just as exciting as the first.

Deborah Lippmann, leading authority in the nail category, discusses balancing passions and pursuing a career in manicuring, expanding her product line, naming nail polish colors after song titles, blending singing and fashion, and launching a product while staying true to oneself.

After experiencing the utter bleakness of 2020’s ‘Work From Home’ life, Natalie Marshall couldn’t help but take to TikTok to poke fun at the current state of Corporate America. With 400K Followers on Instagram and over 375K on TikTok with 15.4 Million likes, she has made people around the world laugh and bond over the shared hilarity of ‘New Normal’ nuances. But while Natalie has experienced a growing social footprint, she has continued to balance her full-time corporate job. Natalie retains her anonymity to do just that! In this episode, Natalie shares her rise to social media stardom and how she balances her side hustle with her real corporate job. We also dive into the creator economy and what brands can learn from the creators who are native to these platforms. Says Natalie, “You have to speak the language if you want to be successful on Tik Tok.” We discuss the mental health aspects of being a public person and how she handles the haters and protects herself. She also shares the hard work of being a creator and the importance of outsourcing what isn’t your core competencies. Plus so much more!

Gabby Bernstein, bestselling author and spiritual leader, discusses her new book on healing trauma and finding inner peace. Topics include the importance of re-parenting oneself, understanding the difference between big and small traumas, creating a safe and supportive workspace, and maintaining a consistent path towards transformation.

You never know where your path will lead but when it shows itself, follow it. Thank you to my amazing guests and my season eight partner, Ever/Body! Catch up on episodes you’ve missed and stay tuned for season nine which kicks off 4/24!