Reframing Glow-Ups, Authentic Success, and Upgrading Your Life with Jodie Taylor (Live Show)

Summary

Balanced Black Girl Podcast: Reframing Glow-Ups, Authentic Success, and Upgrading Your Life with Jodie Taylor (Live Show) – Detailed Summary

Release Date: November 12, 2024

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1. Introduction and Podcast Milestones

The episode kicks off with Les, the host of Balanced Black Girl, addressing the live audience at City Winery. She warmly welcomes the attendees, recognizing their dedication by selling out the show three weeks in advance. Les shares the podcast's journey, highlighting its evolution from humble beginnings to a thriving platform. Reflecting on the podcast's six-year milestone, Les recounts how she started Balanced Black Girl while working as a social media manager at a fundraising startup, an experience she describes as "most traumatic" ([04:30]).

Notable Quote:

"If you have an idea that has been put on your heart to create, create it." — Les ([04:50])

2. Guest Introduction: Jodie Taylor

Les introduces Jodie Taylor as a special guest, recalling their collaboration from episode 205, where Jodie discussed owning personal glow-ups and stepping into one's best self. The positive reception of that episode led Les to invite Jodie back for this live show, emphasizing the impact their collaboration has had on listeners.

Notable Quote:

"Exactly, one year ago, we recorded episode 205, and people loved that episode." — Les ([07:15])

3. Personal Growth and Glow-Ups

Jodie Taylor delves into her transformative year since their last recording. She shares personal challenges, including the loss of her father, a breakup, and a job layoff. Despite these hardships, Jodie highlights her resilience, noting significant achievements such as securing a senior director position at Sony Music, attending fashion weeks, and embarking on new relationships.

Notable Quote:

"Being able to, like, alchemize and organize around what's important to me during that time was really, really critical and special." — Jodie Taylor ([07:43])

Les echoes these sentiments, emphasizing the importance of staying ready and preparing oneself for unforeseen opportunities.

Notable Quote:

"When I create content, I tell them to start with the physical component because it begets how they relate to the world differently." — Les ([11:51])

4. Investment in Self

The conversation shifts to the theme of self-investment. Both Les and Jodie discuss various ways they've invested in their personal and professional growth. Les highlights her extensive use of coaches—personal, life, career—and the value of surrounding herself with experts to foster continuous development.

Notable Quote:

"Investing in your expertise around you. Experts and invest in opportunity and invest in education. Upskilling. Those are the most important investments you can make." — Les ([25:16])

Jodie shares her approach to self-investment, emphasizing therapy, appearance enhancements like Invisalign, and the importance of appearing confident both internally and externally.

Notable Quote:

"I smile a lot more because I feel more confident in how I walk around smiling." — Jodie Taylor ([37:12])

5. Balancing Self-Development and Enjoying Success

Les raises a poignant question about balancing continuous self-improvement with celebrating one's achievements. Jodie responds by acknowledging the societal pressure to constantly strive for more. She advocates for loosening the reins to enjoy the present moment, allowing oneself to relish successes without being tethered to perpetual goals.

Notable Quote:

"There was a time where I would not do anything if it was not the most practical decision on paper... I started letting myself actually enjoy my life even with where it is, even if it's not where I ultimately want to." — Jodie Taylor ([55:04])

6. Physical and Inner Development

The discussion delves into the interplay between physical appearance and inner growth. Les references the book Psycho-Cybernetics, explaining how small physical changes can significantly impact one's self-perception and interactions with the world. They emphasize the importance of aligning the physical glow-up with intellectual and emotional development to create a holistic transformation.

Notable Quote:

"The physical glow up is just about doing things that make you feel good and whatever that looks like." — Les ([36:27])

Jodie adds that seemingly minor tweaks, like improving one's smile, can have profound effects on confidence and how others perceive you.

Notable Quote:

"Since I did [Invisalign], I have noticed that I smile a lot more because I feel more confident." — Jodie Taylor ([37:12])

7. Audience Q&A Highlights

The live show features an interactive Q&A session, where audience members pose questions to Les and Jodie. Key topics discussed include:

• Stepping Out on Faith with Limited Resources: Les shares her experience of launching Balanced Black Girl with minimal resources, highlighting the importance of taking small, manageable steps to realize big dreams.

  Notable Quote:

  "If you were to start a startup tomorrow, you wouldn't launch Google tomorrow. You would start with a minimum viable product." — Les ([52:30])

• Balancing Self-Development and Being Present: An audience member asks about balancing the pursuit of self-improvement with enjoying current successes. Jodie emphasizes the need to celebrate achievements and not solely focus on future goals.

  Notable Quote:

  "I've started letting myself actually enjoy my life even with where it is, even if it's not where I ultimately want to." — Jodie Taylor ([55:38])

• Book Recommendations for Personal Growth: Les and Jodie provide insightful book recommendations, blending fiction and non-fiction to support intellectual and personal development.

  Notable Quote:

  "Psycho-Cybernetics... it allowed me to understand the psychology of how we perceive ourselves." — Les ([57:52])

8. Conclusion and Future Plans

As the show wraps up, Les and Jodie discuss their future endeavors. Les reveals her plans to launch a masterclass focusing on different elements of a glow-up, encompassing physical, social, mental, career, and spiritual aspects. She emphasizes the shift from content creation to building a structured business model aimed at empowering women to design intentional lives.

Notable Quote:

"Creating a space to help women and inspire women to design lives with intention... that's what I'm launching." — Les ([59:30])

Jodie shares her excitement about expanding her business, deepening her involvement with the church, and continuing her personal development journey.

Notable Quote:

"I'm really focused on growing spirituality, that is super critical and found everything else." — Les ([63:19])

Les concludes by expressing gratitude to the audience and City Winery, encouraging attendees to enjoy the evening and stay tuned for more empowering content.

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Key Takeaways

1. Embrace Continuous Growth: Both hosts emphasize the importance of investing in oneself through education, coaching, and personal development to achieve authentic success.

2. Balance Self-Improvement with Enjoying the Present: It's crucial to celebrate achievements and be present, not just focus on future goals.

3. Holistic Transformation: Physical enhancements can positively impact self-perception and interactions, but they should be aligned with intellectual and emotional growth for a well-rounded glow-up.

4. Start Small: When pursuing big dreams, begin with manageable steps to avoid feeling overwhelmed and to steadily progress.

5. Expand Intellectual Horizons: Encouraging reading, staying informed, and engaging with diverse perspectives fosters a dynamic and empowered mindset.

6. Shift from Content to Business: Transitioning from merely creating content to building structured business models can amplify impact and provide more substantial value to the community.

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This live episode of Balanced Black Girl provides a profound exploration of personal growth, resilience, and intentional living. Through candid conversations and actionable insights, Les and Jodie Taylor inspire listeners to embark on their own journeys of transformation and authentic success.

Transcript

[Les]

The following podcast is a Dear Media production.

[Jody Taylor]

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to City Winery. We will shortly begin this evening's performance, and we ask that you please take this time to turn off all cell phones and noisemakers. Thank you and enjoy the. Please, motherfucker. Please, mother.

[Les]

Please, mother.

[Jody Taylor]

Please, Please, motherfucker.

[Les]

Nice top 50.

[Jody Taylor]

Please, motherfuckers. Nice top 50. Please, Motherfucker.

[Les]

Nice top 50.

[Jody Taylor]

Please, motherfucker. Oh, my. Look at all of these balanced black girls in one room. Oh, my goodness, you all look beautiful. Okay, first things first. I have to applaud each and every one of you for the lack of procrastination and impeccable time management. Selling this show out three weeks in advance, very mindful, very demure, very proactive. We love to see it. Thank you so much for coming to our first New York City live show, which is kind of our first real live show. I actually did do a live show in 2019 in Seattle, not long after I started the podcast. But that was back when no one really listened to it, and it was like my mom and my dad were there. So to have actual listeners here is amazing. Now, I don't know if y'all know this, but over the weekend we had a very special birthday pass. It wasn't my birthday, cause everybody knows I'm a Leo, but the podcast actually turned six over the weekend. Now, when I started Balance Black Girl, I at the time was working as a social media manager at a startup. Most traumatic. If you want to be traumatized, take a social media management job at a fundraising startup. I made like $0 per year, and it was really, really challenging. But one day I was sitting at work and I got a download, clear as day, that said, start a podcast. Name it Balanced Black Girl. I didn't know anything about podcasting. I'd never done a podcast before. I'd never been a guest. None of that. I'd only listened. And that was probably one of the only times that I was like, obedient. God is like, girl, maybe if you did what I told you to do a little more often, it would work out. But that was the one time that I was obedient. Immediately went on Amazon, ordered a microphone, I bought the domain name, and I spent the next 10 days building the website and teaching myself everything that I could learn about podcasting. And it was the wildest time, but also the best time, because I could feel that I was on the cusp of a really good idea. Again, I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't really have Any guidance or direction. But I just had a feeling that if I didn't execute that idea right, then someone else was going to, and I would have been devastated. So I jumped right in and I started Balance Black Girl. And I also created this really terrible artwork. Can we show them my original podcast artwork in Canva? So if you've been listening to the show since this was the artwork, you are a real one. We have the Canva font. We have my heat damage. We have this terrible outfit. It was a lot. We've come a long way. But at the time, that was the best I could do. That was the best that I could execute, and it sounded terrible. Like, the first 10 episodes of the podcast were terrible. But I just kept going. And then eventually it started growing and we started getting more people listening. The artwork got a little better. Can we show them the next artwork? This is the next artwork. I think this is when a lot of y'all found the show was this era. This era was really balanced black girls adolescence. But that was when the show was really coming into its own. But I wasn't really coming into my own yet. And it still took a little bit of time from there for me to come into my own. But I was so grateful for this show and for this experience and for that one little bit of obedience that I had to try something new even when I didn't know where it was going to lead. So after taking a lot of time to grow the podcast, I focused a little bit more on growing myself, and both me and the podcast stepped into a different era. We can show them the current era, which is where we are now. But honestly, I would have never gotten here. I never would have gotten into this room without all of you, without that terrible Canva image and the heat damage and the Amazon microphone with the terrible sound quality. And I just think my experience creating Balanced Black Girl has been such a testimony of doing the best you can with what you have and just getting started and doing the thing and figuring it out as you go. So I share that story with you all. To say, if you have an idea that has been put on your heart to create, create it.

[Unknown]

Do it.

[Jody Taylor]

Even if you don't know how to do all the things, even if you don't have all the answers, you can figure it out as you go, but you will be devastated if you see someone else execute the idea that has been placed on your heart to create. Okay, so that's my little spiel. In honor of Balanced Black Girl's sixth birthday. Six years. I Haven't done anything for. I've never had a job that lasted six years. Certainly never had a relationship. Last six years, this has been my longest of both. But I'm so, so grateful to be sharing this time with you all tonight. However, tonight it's not a solo episode. I actually have an amazing guest who I'm bringing on to the show. Back to the show. Exactly one year ago, I recorded an episod with a wonderful woman who you may know, who I'm sure you've seen on your. For your page, named Jody Taylor. She and I got together. We recorded episode 205, a balanced black Girl. That was really about owning your personal glow up and stepping into becoming the version of yourself that you want to be. And people loved that episode. After that episode came out, that was the first time where I ever got, like, recognized or stopped off the street. Girls would stop me and be like, wait, you're the one who interviewed Jody? And I'm like, yes, yes, I have a sweet. And so as I was putting this show together and I was doing our first live show, our New York City show, I thought, what better guest to bring back to the show than Ms. Jody Taylor? So can you join me in welcoming Jody to the stage? And can we give it up for Jody's outfit? Hello. Yes.

[Les]

Oh, my God. This is amazing. Right? Wait, I'm nervous now.

[Jody Taylor]

No, tell me.

[Les]

It was on these people.

[Jody Taylor]

I didn't know till I came out here either. Oh, my gosh. So I was just sharing with them as we were talking about backstage, it's been exactly one year since we recorded last.

[Les]

Believe it. It felt like six months.

[Jody Taylor]

It did.

[Les]

Yeah.

[Jody Taylor]

And so much can happen in a year, girl. Yes, I know. A lot's happened for me in a year, but I would love to talk about how the year has been for you since we last recorded.

[Les]

Oh, my gosh. Well, one. How's everyone doing? Good. We about to get into it. I'm about to tell you. On my business. In the past year. Okay, so October of 2023.

[Jody Taylor]

Yes.

[Les]

Okay. So in October of 2022 was the worst season of my life. So I experienced a parental loss. My dad passed away October 6th of 2022. Then it gets worse. I broke up with my boyfriend in November of 2022 in Cabo. I packed up my bags and left because I stand on business. And then after that, I got laid off from my job. And that was in December. January. So it was back to back trauma. And so when we recorded our podcast episode, it was a year Past that, and so much had shifted. I had started my TikTok, so during that time, I ended up starting a TikTok. I got a new job. I was laid off at that point, but I'm now a senior director at Sony Music, so. And so much incredible. I've been to fashion weeks, I've met new friends. I've gotten into another relationship and exited that one, too. But it's been such an incredible moment of growth and development and thinking about the concept of glowing up. It's always just a perpetual change, like checking in with myself, seeing where I am, and then figuring out what's next, what's most important for me. Because your life can change in an. I mean, for me, in 2022, in a couple months, my life was totally different. So being able to, like, alchemize and organize around what's important to me during that time was really, really critical and special. So, I mean, a lot has happened. I'm, I guess, a year and a half into my role, once again, in a relationship, out of a relationship. But I think I have a. I'm also turning 33 in a couple weeks. Yeah. So also getting even more rooted in who I am and even more centered in who I am. And that's. That's sort of. Oh. And I'm launching a business, so I'm starting a masterclass for, you know, my TikTok and all of the content that I really share around upleveling and making sure that people can design their lives with intention. I am starting a masterclass from that. So a lot has changed and also a lot has stayed the same. And that's perfect.

[Jody Taylor]

Can relate to that so much. I mean, when we met last year and recorded last year, I was still visiting. I didn't actually live here yet.

[Les]

Oh, my God.

[Jody Taylor]

I thought I was gonna move back to la.

[Les]

I remember. And we snatched you up.

[Jody Taylor]

I guess I'm just not leaving. Still here. And so much can change so quickly. And I think it's just a reminder that no matter what your situation is, if it's a hard season like what you described in 2022 or anything in between, so much can change so quickly. And I think so much of what I love about your content is like, staying ready so you don't have to get ready. That's the foundation of what it is. You're saying, how can we prepare ourselves to step into those things that we are trying to call in that we want to step into?

[Les]

Yeah, I think I. I took a posing class, so have you Guys, ever heard of a posing class before? It's essentially a class. It's almost like ballet, right? Where you learn how to sit up and you're supposed to stand like this and pretend that a string is coming out of your head. And the reason why I did that class is because I was essentially manifesting the next season of my life. There's maybe right now, I'm not in a season where there's gonna be cameras and I'm taking pictures, but I'm calling that in and I'm preparing myself before that moment happens. And so a lot of what I think about is even today, I flew in this morning from another city, and I wanted to ensure that I was prepared and ready. So I did a lot of the things that I traditionally keep, like a maintenance schedule. So it's not last minute that I have to do all of these things. And so from the minutia to the really large, ensuring that I have just, like, foundational understanding of whether it's posing classes, whether it's taking classes to expand the aperture of, like, my knowledge and my intellect. Like, I'm always thinking of ways to innovate and grow because God is a God of suddenly. And you never know when your moment is gonna come, and you need to be ready for when that opportunity knocks. So I like to stay ready. And also staying ready calls it closer to you. You're. You're sort of sharing and expelling to the universe. I'm ready for this. I'm taking the steps. And it begins to alchemize once you actually start doing it.

[Jody Taylor]

That's so true. That's so true. Yeah.

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[Jody Taylor]

So much of what you talk about is just the various different ways that we can glow up or level up in our lives. And I think the term glowing up can be a little bit polarizing. And for some people it either can kind of rub them the wrong way or it can maybe trigger a feeling that's not as inspiring as I think the message is. Intended and I can understand why that is. I think when I think about something like glowing up, I don't think of it as, you know, I need to change myself. I need to become this or make myself more appealing. I actually feel like I'm becoming more of who I'm meant to be. It's more of like an evolution and being really proactive in my own evolution. So I would love to hear more about kind of what season of your personal evolution that you feel like you're in.

[Les]

Woo.

[Jody Taylor]

That's a good question.

[Les]

Yes. No, it's a great question. So in terms of glowing up and that being a little bit complex for people, I totally understand and empathize with it. I think the intention to your point. So for those who don't know, there was also a couple naysayers on TikTok who were like, this girl, she always is telling us to be better, do better. And I could totally understand their critique. But I think as I was like listening to, I go through the comments. So before anybody leaves me a comment, just know I go through all of them and I click on the profiles and see who it is. So before you do it, just note it. But I was like kind of scrolling through the comments and one of the comments was I'm so tired of hearing like I have to be better. And and I think that was really interesting that Glow up content can be perceived that way and to your exact point, it's all about returning back to your authentic code. It's not being a different version of yourself. Unfortunately, we have been receiving messaging from inception of look like this, do this, wear this. And you know, I used to wear wigs and weaves that were horrible looking but it was because that was what was in vogue and in fashion and that's what I was told to do. So all of Glow up content is just aligning closer to your personal and most authentic brand. And so sort of deprogramming some of that messaging. And also for me, a lot of Glow up content is expanding the aperture of what you think is possible for your life. I think oftentimes I didn't know. I grew up in the suburbs of Massachusetts. I didn't really see a lot of black women excelling in their various fields and having loving relationships and also showing up and being sickening at events. I didn't really have that experience. And so glowing up content is showcasing here are all of the things that you can do with your life. And you now have maximum optionality to decide and determine what suits you and what doesn't suit you. And like I said, I go through the comments and I actually click on the profiles to see what exactly. How can I be empathetic in this moment? How can I ensure that my messaging is reaching the audience that I want it to reach and also continue to understand if someone is pushing back or what I'm saying doesn't sit right with people. How can I build my muscle of empathy to better understand where they're coming from? And. And me being nosy and looking through the comments and going through their profiles and spending time in their profiles, I was able to see some themes of like, some people were really unhappy in their job. Some people were really like, one woman was struggling with her. She had three kids and she was really young and she was like, I'm trying to figure this out. And a lot of her content was like that. And that allowed me to understand that for some folks, your life might feel static. And if you feel like you're not totally happy or content and it feels like this is finite for you, this sort of content can feel friction, it can feel uncomfortable. But if you view your life as a mosaic. Right. I think of my life as I'm constantly iterating. Like where I am today is not always where it's going to be. Then the content allows you to be inspired versus being maybe offensive or abrasive. And so how I try and view glow up content is really as an inspiration because I believe my life is always sort of. I'm always adding a different color, I'm always adding a different texture, I'm always adding a different experience. And so because of that, I love seeing other people do well. I love seeing people iterate because it gives me inspiration. And for what doesn't work for me, I kind of leave it at the side. But I think that was really critical and really important to understand is that some people view their life as like, this is it, it's finite. And when you view it that way, this sort of content feels harsh and it feels abrasive. But being able to sort of like recalibrate your mindset to understand that like things are always in motion, like, what's happening today is not what's gonna happen tomorrow or in a month from now. And then to answer your actual question, where I am in my glow up season, that was it, right? Yeah, I am. There's a few things I'm thinking about. Number one is spirituality. I think I have. I grew up in a really. My mom is a deaconess. Okay. So I grew up in A very, very strict Christian household. I mean, Bible study multiple times a week. I was going to church every Sunday. I was a part of the force, which was our, like, youth program, Vows of celibacy, like that sort of hyper Christian experience. And it made it difficult for me to really have a relationship with God that wasn't punitive or that wasn't oriented in guilt. And so this version is me exploring on it in my own terms. So I often like to break up glow ups into different quadrants. Physical, social, mental, career, and then also spirituality. And so spirituality is a focus for me right now. And really thinking about how do I reorient my relationship with God that doesn't feel punitive or from a place of guilt or obligation. And then the next thing I'm thinking about from a physical perspective is sort of redoing. We were talking about this backstage, redoing our wardrobe. Like, I am 33 grown, and I want my wardrobe to reflect that. And so moving towards a different style and a different sort of season and space and how I'm showing up in my physical and then continuing to learn and grow in the other areas. But I think as my life shifts, that's sort of where my priorities are right now.

[Jody Taylor]

Yeah, that's really beautiful. What I noticed that you wove in throughout was talking about seasons and talking about how nothing is finite. Whether that is, if you're in a season where things feel really hard, that's not finite. And also those seasons where maybe you're working on yourself a little bit more or you're working towards a goal that's also not finite. Because I think when people push back on those types of content or messaging, it's like, why am I always working on something or fixing myself? And I think that there can be seasons. Maybe if there's a goal that you're working towards, that you're doing something to achieve it, or if there is potential that you feel like you can step into, you can do that. But also there's seasons where I think that you can enjoy where you're at and you can chill and you can have a good time too. You need both. Both of really important. Because what good is it to work on yourself or to reach a new level if you don't ever actually stop to enjoy it? And so really embracing that seasonality in both, I think is super important. Love it.

[Les]

Absolutely.

[Jody Taylor]

And I love what you said about the wardrobe, because we know I'm walking on a journey.

[Les]

Well, you've been on a style glow up too, girl. You came out on that skirt. I said, oh, she's not here to play.

[Jody Taylor]

It's because we're all girls. Yes.

[Les]

You look good. A little, you know what I mean? The physical. I feel like, you know, when you're like. So I'm, you know, slim, thick, like, you know. And so when you have a particular body shape, I think oftentimes you kind of get like, just forced into a style profile. And I want to start exploring oversize editorial. But I'm short and I'm cur and all of these things. And so I think part of my style evolution and part of what I'm thinking about as I'm getting older and more mature. I mean, part of it is one, decentering the male gaze. Because I think a lot of us have been indoctrinated with, like, we gotta show up physically, especially if we're single and at a particular age. We're like, every room we walk in, we're like, where he at? Is he in here? So, you know, a lot of it.

[Jody Taylor]

Is, he's at the gym.

[Les]

Yeah, he's at. Ooh, well, I'm not there, so join the gym. I'll never see him. So, yeah, that's sort of where I am, is being able to be comfortable in my body right now.

[Jody Taylor]

Absolutely. To that point, I've also been pushing back a little bit on this idea of flattering. And what is flattering versus what isn't? Because what does flattering mean? Oftentimes I think when people say, oh, this is flattering, it's like trying to look smaller or trying to look like something you're not. Trying to make your body appear to be something that it's not. And so I'm like, actually, my body is what it is, and I'm gonna wear what I like and not really care if other people think it's flattering.

[Les]

I agree. I love it.

[Jody Taylor]

And also adding the creativity to it.

[Les]

Yeah, adding some creativity, adding some fun, adding some elements. But I've worked with a stylist before who used to dress me for certain events, and I think there's a time and a place for everything. At the end of the day, I'm still gonna be sickening. So regardless of what it is, style or not, oversize or not, it's gonna deliver. But I wanna explore and experiment a little bit more. Like I said, I feel like oftentimes you're indoctrinated with the male gaze at mind. Like, there's some outfits, like these shoes, right? All my guy friends, man, repellers, they said, these Were so ugly, but I love them. But it's okay because I'm not centering what men think anymore. So if that means wearing man repeller Saint Laurent shoes, I'm gonna wear my man repeller Saint Laurent shoes, and that's what I'm gonna do.

[Jody Taylor]

Yep.

[Les]

Yeah.

[Jody Taylor]

Yeah. I would love to talk about investing in ourselves, actually. So it's funny, at the time that we're having this conversation, don't have an episode out about this, but by the time this episode comes out, I will have released an episode about investing in yourself. And I talk more about some of the ways that I've invested in myself, so be on the lookout for that. But I would love to talk about some of the investments that you've made in yourself or other investments that you're hoping to make in yourself.

[Les]

Oh, my God. I've made some. I have spent an inordinate. My favorite pastime is spending money on myself. I ain't got no kids. What else am I gonna do? I spend money on myself. I'm the child. Where do we begin? Well, in the pandemic, I had a coach for everything. This was, like, one of my favorite. I encourage everyone to go through this season. I had a personal trainer, a life coach, a career coach, a therapist, personal. There must be someone else missing. But all of it really coalesced in helping me understand, because expert advice. And something else that I'll add is a lot of my mentors who are really successful, they surround themselves with experts, and that's something that I learned from them. They are obsessed with personal development, and they understand that they never want to be the smartest person in their circle. So they will hire that trainer. They will. They call themselves like corporate athletes, so they will train like a corporate athlete. They will have mentors and advocates and sponsors. So I began to surround myself with experts because I could take myself here, but I really wanted to go here. And so investing in that you're investing in, like, a knowledge exchange. I think oftentimes we invest in depreciating assets. But. But what I've observed from the habits of a lot of my mentors is they invest in things that have a perpetual roi, which is information, which is knowledge, which is access, which is opportunity. So those are the sorts of things that I've moved towards investing in. So having education, coaches, things like that. Also investing in experiences is also really critical, I think oftentimes when we think about it, and even when I first heard the question, I was like, okay, I'm about to tell them about how I got Botox last week.

[Jody Taylor]

But.

[Les]

But it's different than that, actually. It's really centering on investing in experiences that can create perpetual opportunity year over year for you. And what I mean by that is going to events like an Afrotech or an Ad Color or a Can or Art Basel, being able to expand your network with intention, finding mentors, finding advocates. That to me is a sort of investment that I think net benefits so much more than focusing on like, okay, let me buy this bag or let me do these things. So focusing on things that have perpetual ROI for you, that can open doors, create education moments, create mentorship moments for you, create opportunity moments for you, whether that's joining a junior board or going to an event or being on a philanthropic organization that you love that will pay dividends more than something else. So that's the first type of investment. Forget everything else I'm about to say invest in your expertise around you. Experts and invest in opportunity and invest in education. Upskilling. Those are the most important investments you can make.

[Unknown]

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[Jody Taylor]

The investments that you can get a return on.

[Les]

Exactly.

[Jody Taylor]

I talked about that a lot in the Decentering Men episode. If anybody listened to that talk about a depreciating asset. I mean, nothing will depreciate fast more than putting all your energy into a man.

[Les]

That's right.

[Jody Taylor]

So put it into yourself.

[Les]

Yeah.

[Jody Taylor]

As I've also been in a season of Self Investment 2024, I've spent a lot of money on myself in a lot of ways. I've focused a lot on things that I know will impact multiple areas of my life. So I went back to therapy this year because I found that I was just getting in my head and it was impacting my work and it was impacting my relationships and I was resentful of things with family and I'm like, okay, my mind is touching every area and if I can do one thing that can help me in all these different areas, it's worth investing in. Or even a lot of the appearance related things that I've done this year. Honestly, it's because the podcast is on video now and all those years it was on audio and I didn't really know like what I look like or what my teeth look like. There's nothing like seeing yourself on video week after week to be like, oh wait, okay, yeah, that'll do that. Maybe, maybe I can just do a little. Maybe I can do a little something here and there. But then that helps with work and that helps with confidence. So that's like one area where you can begin to knock down different dominoes to help you feel better about where you're at.

[Les]

Yeah, there's this book that I love called Psycho Cybernetics. It's an incredible book. And the reason why I love that book is because it talks about the concept of self concept and self schema. And so anytime I'm like, I'm going to do a glow up journey or I do content around glow up journey, I always say start with the physical. And you're kind of hitting on this right now. I always encourage women to women and men, everybody to start with the physical component. And the reason is once I read that book, Psycho Cybernetics, it allowed me to understand the psychology of how we perceive ourselves and how we perceive other people perceiving us. So the concept behind that book is the man who's the author was a plastic surgeon and he would do these small changes on people, but they would have imperceptible changes. Like maybe you just get a little bit like the hump of your nose turned down or like shaved off a little bit. Or maybe you would do these small things that the person noticed but everyone else had no idea. But if you, what are they? Plastic surgeons usually have to do like a one year checkup. So they do the surgery and they check back in in a year. And he would check back in with his patients after a year. And their lives were totally different. One person, one man was a car salesman and he had once again like shaved down the tip of his nose ever so slightly. He had increased his sales by 3x and he was like, something interesting is happening here. So he left being a plastic surgeon and became like a social psychologist. And he began to study the phenomenon. And what he found basically was people, their self concept really showcases not only how they feel about themselves, but how they perceive other people perceiving them. So if I were to walk by you, Les, in the street of Brooklyn and I spilled coffee on you, if you had a bad self concept, you would say, oh, everybody ignores me, no one sees me. And everyone just has horrible things that happen to Me, but if you had a good self concept, which you do, and I spilled coffee on you, you'd be like, oh, okay, that was a mistake. And the universe is not conspiring against me. And you'd be able to move on throughout your day. So it's essentially changing your self schema. And why I say start with the physical is because honestly, that begets. You're living on a physical plane. And how people relate to you does shift depending on the physical attributes. And I'm not saying you have to adhere to a specific, specific set of physical attributes. But what I am encouraging you to do is just think about what makes you feel good. Whether that's moving your body, whether that's just getting dressed in the morning and putting on earrings or stretching, whatever that is. But something that honors yourself in the morning, first thing that you do, and that invests in your physical plane, you begin to relate to the world differently. And it's almost a self fulfilling prophecy. You relate to the world differently, therefore people relate to you differently. Therefore when people are relating to you differently, you're relating back to the world differently. It's almost like this bounce back mirror effect where you're constantly. We're always taking in information, but how we perceive that information actually determines outcomes. Like how we're perceiving me on this stage right now, I could be like, oh my God, I'm bombing, I'm tanking and then I'm just going to deteriorate for the rest of the evening. Or I can say I'm loving this and I'm having an amazing time. You'll feel that energy and sort of like reflect it back to me and then I'll continue on. So. So I say all that to say that the physical plane is really important. The physical glow up. So you mentioned seeing yourself on camera. We both did the invisigrills, which I think are the best thing.

[Jody Taylor]

I'm still on a journey, but I love it.

[Les]

I love an invisigrilla.

[Jody Taylor]

You took it out for you.

[Les]

You got a sponsorship though.

[Jody Taylor]

I did.

[Les]

See, I didn't get one of those.

[Jody Taylor]

I earned. I was like, what I paid to get this? I earned back. Quit. I was like, listen, I need to call them out. So many people got Invisalign. Cause I was talking about it, I.

[Les]

Was like, they're better. Yeah, run me some. I wasn't on my game.

[Jody Taylor]

Leaving here was summer.

[Les]

Yeah, exactly, exactly. I should have gotten a sponsorship from Invisalign. You right? Actually, yeah, matter of fact, let me go call Them now. Yeah, no, you're right. You're right. But all of that, like, once I got the Invisalign, once I cut my hair, baby, it was over. And I also related to the world differently, so. So I would say the physical plane is actually a really helpful place to start. And it's not, once again, adhering to the male gaze or beauty. It's just about doing things that make you feel good and whatever that looks like.

[Jody Taylor]

Yeah, it's a way to like fine tune your own energy. Something I've noticed since I've gotten Invisalign. I'm gonna stop saying it cause they paid me for my social posts. They. But since I did, I have noticed that I smile a lot more because I feel more confident in how I walk around smiling. And if you walk around smiling versus walking around with resting bitches, the world perceives that very differently. So that was like a really small tweak that I noticed almost right away. It can be profound.

[Les]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think it can be the smallest changes. Once again, that's not necessarily like. Is it somewhat adhering to a beauty standard? Sure, straight white teeth are. But at the end of the day, it helped you smile more and then the world sort of tilted in your favor because of that. And that's really powerful.

[Jody Taylor]

Yeah.

[Les]

Yeah.

[Jody Taylor]

I would also love to talk about some of the stuff on the inside because we've talked a lot about the outside. But what I also love about your content is you also talk about being well informed, being an interesting person.

[Les]

Yes.

[Jody Taylor]

Reading. You know, we love to encourage the girls to read. Can we talk a little bit more about why it's also important to have the inside match the outside. Ashley Blaine Featherson.

[Les]

Oh, absolutely. Nothing is worse than seeing a baddie. And she opened her mouth and you're like, oh, no, girl, nothing is worse. And I know no one in this room relates to that, but we've all, we've all, you know, had that experience. But what I. What I love is being intentional. I think there is. I don't know, I have this concept and I don't know if it's true or not, but you all tell me if it's true. I believe the most interesting thing is when a woman is polarizing. So I have like a really. I don't know, I do a deep dive on this all the time. But if you show up intentionally on the physical plane and then you're also like the most interesting person or the most dynamic person or you have conviction or views, or you have a You're able to talk about really complex geopolitical happenings in a really informed way that is sickening. Like, no one can truly. That is like a different level of power and authority and autonomy you can have in any room that you walk in. When, sure, you got dressed, but you look beautiful, as you all do. But then you're able to say, like, you have conviction and you're able to talk about things in it an interesting and dynamic and nuanced way that, to me is so powerful. Scroll on Instagram, there's a million beautiful people. Who cares. That's passe. No one cares about that. But if you're able to think independently, if you're able to have interesting points of views, I think that is so critical and so. And just so wonderful to hear. So I always encourage people to listen to a podcast every morning. When I say, not a pop culture podcast. That's the critical part of it. You have to listen to the daily npr, BBC, Bloomberg, something like that every single morning. Keep abreast of current events, geopolitical trends, all of that. I also encourage everyone to read, not an audiobook, read an actual book. And the difference between reading a book and audiobook is reading actually helps with elocution. So you begin to pronounce words better and you begin to understand sentence structuring a lot better. So audiobooks are great for entertainment, but it's not the same as reading. And then I also encourage people to share space with people that they disagree with. And I think that's a really. The hallmark of intelligence is being able to hold space for nuance and ambiguity. And so if you're able to be in a space with someone with totally different political views, and as long as it's not putting you in harm's way, but you're able to hold space for nuance, that is something that expands the aperture of your mind very, very quickly, is being able to be uncomfortable in the, like, black and white thinking is actually very, like, emotionally stunted and intellect, like a little intelligently bankrupt thinking. Like, if you're like, I'm only black, I'm only white in terms of the way that you think. But if you're able to exist in the gray and hold space for multiple opinions and debate people with multiple opinions without getting emotionally invested, you're smart. You're a smart person. So those are sort of the things that I encourage people to do, to just become more layered and dynamic. And the last thing I think women really need to lean into as well is being convicted. I love People with conviction. You could be. Whatever it is, do it and lean all the way into it. Like, okay, if you want to be something, just lean all the way into whatever your thing is. Being sort of ambivalent or wishy washy. Like, have a thing that you're wildly passionate about, you could talk about all the time, that makes you an interesting and complex person. Like being able to walk into a room and have a story. I call it a unique value proposition. So something that makes you interesting relative to everyone else in the room. That is where your social currency comes from. And that is just what makes you an interesting and dynamic person. Conviction and having that unique value proposition.

[Jody Taylor]

So much goodness there. What I loved especially was the encouragement to, like, physically read, because I.

[Les]

You're a reader.

[Jody Taylor]

I'm a reader, and I don't. I don't do that audiobook stuff. No, no. Shame. If you. If that's how you consume content, that's fine. But I find that the reason why I love to physically read so much is that is the only activity I do that gets me off my phone.

[Les]

Yes.

[Jody Taylor]

If I am watching TV and I see an actor come on the screen, and then I'm like, wait, who's that? And then I Google and where's her shirt from? And where's this? And the next thing I know, I'm on TikTok and. Yeah, Lord knows.

[Les]

Exactly.

[Jody Taylor]

Or anything. It's the one thing. When my Kindle's out or when a book is out, that is the one thing that I can focus on without pulling out my phone and getting distracted. And just the ability to focus your mind on something, particularly something that's helping you learn, whether that's fiction, nonfiction, whatever, is priceless. It's one of the only things we have that we can do uninterrupted. Yeah.

[Les]

Do you have a book that you're reading right now?

[Jody Taylor]

So I just finished the Acotar series, like, yesterday.

[Les]

What is Acotar again?

[Jody Taylor]

A court of thorns and roses.

[Les]

It's some freaky fairies.

[Jody Taylor]

It's a bunch of fairies matching each other's freaks for five long books. I don't know, y'all. I read it because of the hype. I wouldn't. Whatever gets people reading. But I wouldn't say that it was, like, the most amazing. But I actually did just start another book this morning called for the Culture by Marcus Collins. It's more so about. I do, too. He's an amazing marketer. So it's more so about the psychology of culture and how it impacts our Decisions and how we move around the world. So one minute, freaky fairies, next minute, society and culture. You know, we have range. We have range. Yeah, absolutely. So, Jodi, I would also love to talk about, you know, you have this amazing platform where I do think a lot of people see you as kind of a big sister figure. And I know a lot of people say that to me, too. Almost this, like, guru, like, figure that people can see you as. Do you ever feel sometimes a lot of pressure to maintain that? Do you ever have your moments where you're like, I don't. I don't know if I want to be the person with all the answers. I kind of just want to be Jody right now. And when you have those moments, what do you do to recalibrate and relieve that pressure?

[Les]

No, I never have those moments. I'm like, you're right. I do know it. Yeah. Y'all should come to me for advice, actually. Yeah, I think about that, and I'm like, no, I have spent an inordinate amount of money and time and resourcing, learning and studying and growing. Nah, I got it. Like, you can ask me anything. I could figure it out. So is there pressure? I think there's pressure in some ways. Like, sometimes I'll be raggedy in Trader Joe's, and then people will be like, oh, my God, are you the girl? And I'm like, ah, not right now. Not right now. So that pressure I feel sometimes, like, in terms of showing up in spaces and kind of being on and on, having an off moment, you know, things like that. But in terms of being the guru or in terms of being the expert, no. And I'm not proclaiming to know everything about everything. Like, that's certainly not the case. There are so many people who have different lived life experiences that are experts in things that I'm not an expert in. But I know a lot, and I feel like I have done my due diligence. I have studied. I learned. I think my favorite quality of myself is intellectual curiosity. You can be not that smart, but if you're intellectually curious and always in the pursuit of knowledge, you're the smartest person in the room. And so you don't have to be an expert. You just have to be curious about something enough to ask the right questions, to learn it, to absorb it, to watch that podcast, to listen to that piece of news. Now you have this breadth of information and knowledge that's so much more dynamic and complex than someone who studied at MIT for five years. So I've Also, there was this podcast that I listened to called Being a Generalist and Not a Specialist. And I think I'm a generalist. Like, do I study any one thing for five to 10 years? No. But am I able to know a lot about a lot of different things? Absolutely. And they actually found that being a generalist is much more productive than being a specialist. So oftentimes, they did this study with kids in middle school, and they essentially broke up the classroom two different ways. So there was one classroom that was kids who. They were teaching them math, and, like, this is the way to learn math. Step one, step two, step three, they were a specialist in math. This other classroom was, okay, we're going to throw a bunch of different problems at you, and you're going to have to figure it out. And at first, the kids who were the specialists performed better, right? Because they knew they saw a problem, they knew how to solve it. So classroom A performed better at first. However, over time, classroom B had better outcomes. The kids who just didn't know what to anticipate. And so I say all of that to say that you can, like, don't spend too much time refining your focus on one thing, become high competent in a lot of different things. And that's what I think I've done. And so that's why I'm like, yeah, I kind of know a lot. Like, you would ask me about quantum physics, and you could ask me about Botox, and I'm gonna know something about both of them. And, like, that I really pride myself on.

[Jody Taylor]

I love that. I feel like I needed to hear that. Cause I'll be honest. I struggle. I struggle. Really. I struggle with the guru pressure. Really.

[Les]

Why do you feel like you. Why do you feel like you struggle with it?

[Jody Taylor]

Because I just don't ever want to lead anybody astray. And I'm such a. Like, I answer every question with, like, well, maybe and nuance and, like, maybe this, maybe that. And so I Sometimes when I do get, like, more intense questions or people asking for more serious advice, I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, Savannah, slow down, because I don't want to lead anybody. I don't want to tell you to do something and then have it not turn out. And then you come in at less. Like, look at me. Like, well, you led me astray. And so I think sometimes I struggle.

[Les]

You just got to add that phrase at the end where it's like. But that's just my advice, though. Like, you know.

[Jody Taylor]

Yeah.

[Les]

What I think the disclaimer. Yeah, this is my Perception.

[Jody Taylor]

This is not legal advice.

[Les]

Exactly. Or have a disclaimer. I am not a medical practitioner. I'm not child. Do what works. Results may vary. I always say in all of my videos, but do what works for you.

[Jody Taylor]

It's true. Results may vary. Take everything with a grain of salt. Talk to your doctor. All the thanks, all the disclaimers.

[Unknown]

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[Jody Taylor]

So I think we're gonna have time for a couple of questions. Do we also. Do we have a mic out there that someone can run? I also can't see up here. We have a mic. Okay, perfect. Does anyone have any questions we raise? Okay, I saw a hand up here first.

[Les]

Hello, my name is Mia Hardy and I'm so excited to be here today. Whenever I think about dreaming and like, investing in yourself, I also think of Blake Newby when she says that it's expensive to dream. And Les, you mentioned that when you started Balance Black Girl, you were working at a job where you weren't necessarily getting paid your worth, but you still.

[Jody Taylor]

Decided, like, I'm going to start this for me.

[Les]

So can you talk more about how you were able to really, like, step out on faith and just invest in yourself when you didn't necessarily have as much of a financial investment as you probably would have, like, wanted or hoped for?

[Jody Taylor]

Absolutely. So the quotes and I'm going to.

[Unknown]

Butcher the actual quote, but the quote.

[Jody Taylor]

That was running through my mind during that particular season when I first created Balanced Black Girl was an excerpt from the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. It's probably pretty popular. A lot of y'all read it. Really great book for people who are interested in creative things. But one of the things that she said in that book was that creative ideas don't just exist in one place. Like, they. They go to a lot of people. And basically whoever executes it is who gets to stake claim to the idea. So if you get a great idea and you don't act on it, it's going to go to somebody else. And if they act on it, then it's theirs. And so I had recently read that book not long before that time period, and it was fresh in my mind. And I thought, okay, if I don't do this, someone else is going to. So me and this little Amazon microphone and Canva are going to have to figure it out until I can do something different. Because I just thought about the idea of someone else creating Balanced Black Girl and how devastated I was going to be because I believed in the idea that much.

[Les]

I would also add, sometimes dreams can feel like really big and lofty and difficult. So if you were to start a startup tomorrow, let's say you had this brilliant idea for a piece of technology, you wouldn't launch Google tomorrow. You would start with a minimum viable product. You would start with the smallest iteration of that. And so similar to what Les is saying, yes. Like, you don't ever want the opportunity to go to someone else. And if it feels too difficult for you to start on tomorrow, what is one small piece or one small step you can take? Maybe it's setting up the Instagram page, maybe it's telling people about it. But always start with your minimum viable product, the smallest iteration. Inversion. Because it's going to change so much. That dream that you have that's so big, once you actually start executing on it, you're gonna be like, actually, I don't want to do a podcast, or I actually want to do a TikTok, or I don't want to write a book, I want to do xyz. So continuing to just, like, iterate and refine your big dream over time, but taking a small step that doesn't feel insurmountable, that doesn't feel like it's going to overwhelm you, is like the first piece of action I would encourage you to do.

[Jody Taylor]

Do we have any questions from this side of the room, I just want.

[Les]

To make sure we get.

[Jody Taylor]

We mix it up a little.

[Les]

Hello.

[Jody Taylor]

Hello.

[Les]

My name is Tayla. Alfred. I'm from Boston. Alfred, Are we cousins? No, I was like, are you from Trinity?

[Jody Taylor]

We probably are.

[Les]

We probably are. So this is kind of exciting. My question is, how do you balance self developing but also celebrating the place that you kept wishing that you would get to and you're finally there? Because I find that as women, we just keep chasing and chasing and chasing and seeing what we can fix about ourselves, but then we forget to actually sit in the moment and be present. And what we work so hard to.

[Jody Taylor]

Get to such a great. Thank you, cousin. That was a great question. Oh, my goodness. That's a really good question. And honestly, it's something that I'm still working towards in a lot of ways. I mean, I think in so many ways, our society just constantly makes us want more and more and more. And the goalpost is constantly moving. And so I would say over the past probably year or two, I have. Lucy. Loosened up the reins in my own life just to let myself enjoy the fruits of my labor a little bit more. There was a time where I would not do anything if it was not the most practical decision on paper. You know, money saving A, then B, then C, then D. And I honestly just started letting myself do some things that just don't really make sense. Me moving to New York last year, it didn't really make sense.

[Les]

Honest.

[Jody Taylor]

On paper, it probably, like, financially definitely wasn't a good decision, But I started letting myself do things that I purely desire and actually enjoy it and gave myself permission to start enjoying things and not feeling like I can only enjoy when I reach some arbitrary goal. Because I operated like that for a really long time. And I've found that with every goal I would hit, it was never good enough. And so I've started letting myself actually enjoy my life even with where it is, even if it's not where I ultimately want to.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Jody Taylor]

Do you have anything you want to add?

[Les]

No, you got it. Honestly, that was perfect.

[Jody Taylor]

Thank you. All right, I think we have time for, like, one more question before. Okay. I saw a hand over here first. Hi.

[Les]

Hi.

[Jody Taylor]

My name is Hamita B. I'm from Philly. I also came down here just for your show. Oh, my gosh.

[Les]

Thank you.

[Jody Taylor]

And you guys had dropped a lot of suggestions for books, so I just wanted to kind of reiterate or kind of go back to that. If you kind of can just list some books recommendations that you Guys have. I did start reading psycho cybernetics along with the power of your subconscious. So I just wanted to kind of give this opportunity if you guys can just suggest additional books that we can read. And you know, I am an audiobook girl, but I. I typically use reading as escapism, so I like to read novels and stuff. And I just recently got into like reading, I guess you could say self help books or whatever have you. But any suggestions or additional suggestions that you guys can give us. Ooh, that's a great question. I'm pro fiction and nonfiction. I think both are very important. The first book that actually came to mind when you asked the question was a book called Worthy. It's called Worthy. Increase your self worth to increase your net worth. And it's a really great money book that doesn't kind of regurgitate the same information that we hear over and over about budget and this and that. It's actually about getting to the root of your money believing beliefs to help you unblock things. And I kid you not, literally the morning I finished that book and it also has like journal prompts and exercises that you do all throughout to help you work through your relationship with money. The morning that I literally finished that book, I logged on to work and was told that I got a promotion and got the exact salary that I had journaled about that morning. Reading the book now, results may vary. Savannah, slow down now. Don't come to me if you didn't. If it doesn't happen the same day. That's what I'm talking about. But it has been. It was an incredibly expansive book for me in terms of really reframing how I feel about money and just helping me release a lot of the scarcity that I had had for a really long time. And it's a book I don't hear people talk about, but it's a really good book. So that was the first one that came to mind.

[Les]

Life Entrepreneurship by I think his name is David Gergen. Essentially your life is the most important startup that you'll ever come in contact with. And so how can you be intentional about refining that startup, investing in that startup, iterating on that startup? So I think that's a really. If you're into like life design, that's a really great one. I also read a lot of fiction as well. So we can get into the fiction. I know you read a lot of fiction too, so we can get into that bag. Psycho Cybernetics. I will continue to love the Mountain Is yous is a really great book.

[Jody Taylor]

Rihanna Dragon. I guess every time.

[Les]

That book is really great. If you're like, it essentially iterates that every issue in your life is sort of oriented around your belief system. And, like, the mountain is you. You are the reason why, which is really empowering. It sounds sort of depressive, but it's actually really empowering because you have the autonomy and the capacity to pivot and change and iterate on your life. So that I love. And then also, like, black fiction is my bag. I've read every black fiction book. I'm also reading tomorrow. Tomorrow? Tomorrow. Right now. Have you read.

[Jody Taylor]

I haven't read that one yet.

[Les]

O. Oh, it's been almost forever. Good. It is great. So that's what I'm reading right now, and I'm almost done.

[Jody Taylor]

Amazing.

[Unknown]

Love it.

[Jody Taylor]

Love it. I also just started another fiction book called Between Friends and Lovers. Ooh, I'm already into it. One chapter in. I'm, like, already so into it. It's already got a cute little love triangle. I'm already into it.

[Les]

Okay, I'm gonna try it.

[Jody Taylor]

I'm already sold. Well, thank you all so much for your amazing questions. So before we go, Jodi, I'd love to wrap up with you and just learn a little bit more about what's next for you, what you're excited about. You teased a little bit about the new business you're starting, but can you tell us more about it?

[Les]

Yes. Oh, my gosh. Can I? I'll be honest with y'all. Something that I struggled with as particularly as I was creating content was it's a numbers game, right? And you can get. It's like, essentially a popularity contest in your face, which is scary, right? Like, oh, my God, I have these many followers, and then I have these. And then three people liked it, and then three people hated it. And this video only had so many. It is debilitating. But something that I was starting to orient myself around is intention. My intention was always service. Service of women, service of women of color. Doesn't matter how many followers I have. Right. I really want to be intentional about providing and democratizing the information I wish I had access to in my 20s and 30s and 40s. So I really want to be intentional about creating a space to help women and inspire women to design lives with intention that can be from a physical glow up, from a spiritual glow up, to career and finances, whatever you want to do in order to live your biggest and most authentic life. That is sort of the content that I provide. And so moving out of the game of content. I was like, what is even? I'm kind of stuck in this low level, uninspired way of thinking with vanity metrics. How many followers, how many people did I gain? How many people? But is there a way to be more thoughtful and intentional and be a businesswoman about TikTok and not just like, create content and send it out into the void? So because of that, and I think everyone, this is. Let me tell you a little something. Come close. If you are doing anything, there's like level A that you can do it in, and then there's the meta level that you could do it in. So at first I was creating content, which is level eight, right? Like, oh, I'm creating content. This is cute, this is fun. But then at some point you have to step back and be like, what's the economics behind this? What's the business behind this? Creating content is fine. It's a great. But content should be driving a business. It shouldn't be creating content for fun. So I say all that to say I decided to move towards a business model where now a lot of the content. I'm designing a masterclass in which we will go through the different elements of a Glow Up. So we talk about physical, we talk about bringing in a stylist to talk about building a capsule wardrobe and all of that. Then we go into social, joining a junior board, what galas, what events, what is your elevator pitch? When you meet someone and walk into into a room, how do you public speak? How do you capture an audience? All of that we talk about. And then bring in someone who is on a board or junior board to talk to you all about how to get involved in philanthropic giving and things like that. And then lastly, career. So I bring in entrepreneurs who have had successful careers. One person I'm bringing in has raised one of 200 black women who has raised over a million dollars in Silicon Valley to talk to the women. So it's kind of just aggregating this brain trust of really smart people and all the information and homework and its assignments, and it's really intense. It's essentially like taking a course. But that is what I'm launching. So everyone sign up. This is your official. So I'm doing the beta program now, but when we launch with the larger class, that's something that I'm thinking about. I'm 30. Well, I'm not 33 yet. I'm 32.99999. And this is my season. I'm calling in my husband. So when we do our second year reunion. I'm gonna be like, y'all, I did it. That's gonna be me.

[Jody Taylor]

So that's like a TikTok tonight and.

[Les]

Then finish it a year from now. So I'm calling in and manifesting really big things like that. But if it doesn't happen, y'all don't. This conversation never happened. Delete. This never happened. But, yeah, being intentional about growing business and also, like I said, growing spirituality, that is super critical and found everything else. I really feel like God has been calling me to get more involved with the church and join a ministry and being intentional. So that is, like, where I'm really focused and growing. So church every Sunday, Bible study, all of that is what's next for me.

[Jody Taylor]

I love it. It sounds like you have a beautiful year ahead.

[Les]

Thank you.

[Jody Taylor]

I would say I'm looking forward to. I mean, I'm just closing out my first year in New York, so moving into year two of living in New York and second year of full time entrepreneurship. I'm coming up on one year of doing. Doing Balance Black Girl full time. And I paid my rent 12 times. Listen, talk about the successful era. The new successful era is can I pay my rent? And I have done that. I've done that 12 times in a row. So let's do another. Let's hit another 12. No. But I am really excited to also continue expanding in a lot of business ways. I've been thinking more about the community that I've cultivated and the ways that I can better support people, but also ways that I can support people without burning myself out. Because I think I've done. I've done that a little bit.

[Les]

I've done a little.

[Jody Taylor]

We're working on it. And so I'm really excited to continue growing and expanding and really stepping into more of, like, a business Persona. And so with my own personal development, I'm really focusing more on, like, business acumen and financial acumen. Like, I'm good at personal finance, but, like, business finance is a totally different thing. And learning how to be less of a creator and more of a founder is, like, the role that I would love to step into. So that's what I'm excited for in the coming year. So stay tuned, y'all. Stay tuned. Thank you all so, so much for joining us. Thank you so much to City Winery for having us. My heart is so full. I hope you had a chance to mix, mingle, make friends. Please eat, finish your wine, enjoy. We can hang out for a little bit here. Thank you. So much to Jody for joining me tonight.

[Les]

Thank you for having me. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on. You know, I gotta get my TikTok popping. Do that one more time. Wait. All right. Thank you. Triple Platinum.

[Jody Taylor]

We gotta get the content, but. Yes. Thank you again. Enjoy the rest of your evening, and I appreciate you being here.

[Les]

I.

[Jody Taylor]

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