Speaker 1: Hello Sunshine, Hey fam Today, on the bright Side, we're
Speaker 1: sitting down with the newest member of the Real Housewives
Speaker 1: of Beverly Hills, Bozima Saint John. She's walking us through
Speaker 1: the power moves that earned her the title of Forbes
Speaker 1: Number one most Influential Chief Marketing Officer. Plus she's revealing
Speaker 1: why she said yes to housewives, how she's navigating life
Speaker 1: in front of the camera, and why she's more unapologetic
Speaker 1: than ever.
Speaker 2: Treats your intuition.
Speaker 3: She's your best friend, the one who's going to never
Speaker 3: see her you wrong, who has your best interests at heart,
Speaker 3: and who's always going to take care of you.
Speaker 2: The more you do that, the more successful you will be.
Speaker 4: It's Thursday, December fifth.
Speaker 5: I'm Simone Boyce, I'm Danielle Robe and this is The
Speaker 5: bright Side from Hello Sunshine, a daily show where we
Speaker 5: come together to share women's stories, to laugh, learn and
Speaker 5: brighten your day.
Speaker 1: Danielle, we have a true rock start on the show today,
Speaker 1: Bozama Saint John.
Speaker 5: Yes, she really is a powerhouse and pert. Particularly well
Speaker 5: known in the marketing world. She's represented some of the
Speaker 5: most recognizable brands in America. I'm talking Netflix, endeavor Uber,
Speaker 5: Apple Music, Pepsi Co. Have you ever heard of these
Speaker 5: little companies before? I mean huge, And she's behind some
Speaker 5: of their most memorable marketing campaigns as well. At Pepsi,
Speaker 5: she was part of the team that brought Beyonce's iconic
Speaker 5: Super Bowl halftime performance to audiences around the world.
Speaker 1: I mean, how many people can say that they were
Speaker 1: an instrumental part in bringing Beyonce to the super Bowl stage.
Speaker 4: It's incredible. Yeah, if that learn enough.
Speaker 1: She's been inducted into the American Marketing Association Hall of Fame,
Speaker 1: and there's a Harvard Business School case study written about
Speaker 1: her career. She's crafted entire workshops outlining her signature badass
Speaker 1: approach to business, all while living an urgent life. See
Speaker 1: Bosma's life is the stuff dreams are made of when
Speaker 1: you look at all the successes and awards and the
Speaker 1: brand that she's built on being unapologetically badass. But she's
Speaker 1: no stranger to deep, profound grief. Millions of readers have
Speaker 1: found comfort in her raw, honest reflections on loss after
Speaker 1: the deaths of her firstborn daughter and her husband Peter.
Speaker 5: She's really turned all of these experiences into powerful lessons
Speaker 5: like you said, she's even crafting workshops that teach her
Speaker 5: signature badass approach to business and life, all while living
Speaker 5: with the sense of urgency and purpose. I feel like
Speaker 5: today we're getting a mini masterclass inside the mind of
Speaker 5: Bozoma's Saint John. And here's some really exciting news. After
Speaker 5: conquering success behind the scenes in boardrooms in Hollywood, she's
Speaker 5: stepping in front of the camera. This year, Bozama joined
Speaker 5: the cast of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and
Speaker 5: I feel like she's already spiced things up. I'm excited
Speaker 5: to continue watching and see what her storyline is. But
Speaker 5: I think she's changed the energy of the whole franchise.
Speaker 5: They've never had somebody in the boardroom the way she's been,
Speaker 5: and so I'm excited to see the energy she brings from.
Speaker 4: The boardroom to Beverly Hills. They better watch out, Elle.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well let's bring her in, Bozma, Saint John, welcome
Speaker 1: to the bright side.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I feel bright and happy and amazing. So
Speaker 2: thank you for having me.
Speaker 5: We're so happy you're here. Congrats on the Real Housewives
Speaker 5: of Beverly Hills.
Speaker 2: Thank you. It's so great. Look I got so much
Speaker 2: to say.
Speaker 1: Well, let's get into it, Bosma. I have been following
Speaker 1: you four years, and I gotta say, every time you speak,
Speaker 1: it's like I'm listening to a sermon. Whether the message
Speaker 1: is about marketing, about pivoting, about self worth, grief, parenting,
Speaker 1: it's always a bar. Hey, what made you decide to
Speaker 1: join the Church of the Housewives.
Speaker 2: I see what you did there. I see what you
Speaker 2: did there, and it's clever. I like it.
Speaker 3: Gosh, Well, I mean, should we say it's a congregation
Speaker 3: or is it a cult?
Speaker 5: Both?
Speaker 1: Okay, yes, it's a cultigration? Well yeah, did you just
Speaker 1: make up a new term? We do it sometimes, we do.
Speaker 2: Okay, we got bars from you too. I like that,
Speaker 2: you know what?
Speaker 3: So here, that's the thing is that I, as you know,
Speaker 3: have been in corporate America for a quarter of a century. Ooh,
Speaker 3: bitch is old. Okay, I've been out here, I've been outside,
Speaker 3: but you don't look it. We thank God for the blessings,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean? We thank God. Those are
Speaker 3: my hater's tears that morturized my skin. And I have
Speaker 3: had a surprising career. I would say, not one that
Speaker 3: many people would have predicted. I certainly would have predicted it,
Speaker 3: and so in this season, I just looked around and said,
Speaker 3: you know what, there are a number of things I
Speaker 3: want to do, and being even more transparent about my life,
Speaker 3: about the everyday's things that happen did not feel.
Speaker 2: Scary to me when I was approached to do the show.
Speaker 3: You know, it didn't feel like, oh, this is such
Speaker 3: a crazy departure, like why would I do it? Because
Speaker 3: it's not like it was like a super strategic thing.
Speaker 3: But the truth of the matter is that I'm simply
Speaker 3: living a very urgent life which is very intentional based
Speaker 3: on my desires and wants it needs. And so I
Speaker 3: don't know that I could say that like, if this
Speaker 3: opportunity to come five years.
Speaker 2: Ago, I would have done it. Life was different.
Speaker 3: Then why do you think that is because I had
Speaker 3: different objectives? Let me be very specific. Five years ago,
Speaker 3: where was I? That was what twenty nineteen. I was
Speaker 3: at Endeavor, So as a chief marketing officer Endeavor, which
Speaker 3: oversees WME, the UFC New York Fashion Week, Miss Universe
Speaker 3: above conglomerate, and I was doing really exciting things there
Speaker 3: that I felt was taking up all of my time.
Speaker 3: My daughter was also ten. You know, it's just a
Speaker 3: different life. And so again I think that, and maybe
Speaker 3: in five years from now, if I had been approached,
Speaker 3: I would mean in a different place, so I'd be like, oh,
Speaker 3: I'm too busy.
Speaker 2: There's too many things going on. I don't think I
Speaker 2: have time.
Speaker 5: Well, when you say you're following your desire, I'm curious
Speaker 5: what that is now because we know you as CMO
Speaker 5: of Uber, of Netflix, I mean, crazy resume, the hugest
Speaker 5: companies in the world. But reality TV is a different story.
Speaker 5: You're still selling an idea. But what is the desire now?
Speaker 3: The desire is to be more seen for the fullness
Speaker 3: of who I am. I mean, people see me and
Speaker 3: they think they know me, you know, but they know
Speaker 3: a slice. They know me as a corporate baddy who
Speaker 3: drops bars.
Speaker 2: You know who.
Speaker 3: And even in my personal life people think they know
Speaker 3: me because I talk about my past a lot. You
Speaker 3: don't know anything about right now. You don't know who
Speaker 3: I'm dating, you don't know if I can cook. You
Speaker 3: have an idea about the conversation I have with my kid.
Speaker 3: So it's hard for me to truly articulate.
Speaker 2: Like, why did you do this? I did it for
Speaker 2: a lot of reasons and no reason at all.
Speaker 1: That's the thing you don't have to Your answer is
Speaker 1: your answer. Your answer is a complete sentence like it
Speaker 1: was an easy yes for you. Yeah, for whatever reason,
Speaker 1: it just like it was in alignment with where you
Speaker 1: are right now.
Speaker 3: But this I'm telling you is that every decision I
Speaker 3: have made about my career has been an easy yes.
Speaker 3: And it's an easy yes because I've listened to my intuition.
Speaker 3: I've not had to go in and check in with
Speaker 3: and sometimes people call like your mentors and whatever, like
Speaker 3: a border directors.
Speaker 2: I don't check in with those people.
Speaker 5: I don't have that.
Speaker 2: That's actually the downfall.
Speaker 3: Okay, that's what actually will get you in trouble, lead
Speaker 3: you to failure, lead you to being stuck in the middle.
Speaker 3: You go asking too many people for their opinions about
Speaker 3: your own life, and you should know better. And so
Speaker 3: why you out here asking people what they think you
Speaker 3: should do? Why do you ask you people what they
Speaker 3: think you should wear? Why are you ask them what
Speaker 3: do you think you should have for lunch?
Speaker 2: Make those decisions yourself.
Speaker 3: The more you trust your intuition, I swear, the better
Speaker 3: you'll be And the more successful you'll be. And so
Speaker 3: for me, it's like every career decision, every career pivot,
Speaker 3: all those things I've made because I've decided I just
Speaker 3: wanted to and I went.
Speaker 5: I'm a proclaimed Housewives fanatic fanatic. I don't know. I
Speaker 5: watch every single season.
Speaker 2: Yes, I do, every single franchise.
Speaker 5: Yeah. The only one I didn't watch was Dallas, and
Speaker 5: that was like, it only lasted two seasons. It wasn't
Speaker 5: very good. So I watched last night. I know you're
Speaker 5: going to add so much to this show. You and
Speaker 5: Derwit sort of have like an immediate love fest. I'm
Speaker 5: going I'm curious to see where that goes, and I
Speaker 5: have some curiosity. We're gonna do some Real Housewives superlatives.
Speaker 2: Okay, oh okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 5: Okay, before starting, who were you most excited to me?
Speaker 2: Oh, Kathy Hilton.
Speaker 5: Who were you most nervous to meet face to face?
Speaker 2: Kind of make me nervous?
Speaker 5: I love that answer. Okay. Who's the life of the party.
Speaker 2: Life of the party, Jennifer Tilly?
Speaker 5: Who's the potstar?
Speaker 2: The pot star? Sutton?
Speaker 5: Who has the best style? Besides you?
Speaker 3: Oh, besides me, Erica Jane. We're sure, she's ok one
Speaker 3: who gave me a run for my money and I
Speaker 3: and she's gonna have to run far.
Speaker 5: Who gives off main character energy.
Speaker 2: Aside for myself? Right?
Speaker 5: Yeah, obviously? Actually I think you got to give you
Speaker 5: that one.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I feel like I'm the main character. Like, how
Speaker 3: do they come in like thirty seconds to take over?
Speaker 2: I mean, seriously, it's for real.
Speaker 5: Okay, I'm gonna be shady for one second and then
Speaker 5: I'm gonna pull it back. Who do you think benefits
Speaker 5: most from an edit?
Speaker 4: An edit?
Speaker 2: See?
Speaker 3: Now, this is shady. This is shady because you know
Speaker 3: it is DT. Okay, but let me but let me
Speaker 3: just let me explain myself. Okay, it's only because I
Speaker 3: think she loves to give context. But sometimes it's like, girl,
Speaker 3: you just need to tell me exactly.
Speaker 2: What you're saying. That's it, you know what I mean?
Speaker 5: The rest?
Speaker 2: Yes, but you know, I'm not mad at her for
Speaker 2: wanting to give context. I love it. But I'm glad
Speaker 2: that you're a fan though. That's so great.
Speaker 5: Oh, such a fan. I'm so happy you're on the show.
Speaker 5: You're really stepping into a world that thrives on big drama.
Speaker 5: And even though you are a dramatic person in a
Speaker 5: beautiful theatrical way, but yeah, I don't really like see
Speaker 5: you as being into the nitty gritty of like talking
Speaker 5: behind people's backs.
Speaker 3: Now, no, no, no, If I talk behind your back,
Speaker 3: it's because you deserved it. And I've probably said it's
Speaker 3: your face already, you know what I mean. But to
Speaker 3: that point, it's like the drama is really real, and
Speaker 3: I don't know that I knew that before, you know,
Speaker 3: I didn't think that, like, oh everything has manufactured, Like
Speaker 3: I wasn't one of those people who's like conspiracy theorists, like,
Speaker 3: oh my gosh, the producers must like set you up,
Speaker 3: Like I didn't think that. But I have to admit
Speaker 3: that I was one of those people who judge people
Speaker 3: when they fall in love on TV after three weeks,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean, and just like, okay, now,
Speaker 3: how you just decided to marry this person.
Speaker 2: I was definitely judging. Okay, But now I understand. I
Speaker 2: think I would have married somebody on this damn show,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: Because the thing is it like you're in such intense
Speaker 3: conversations all of the time. We go to lunch or
Speaker 3: go to somebody's house and we are boomed in I'm
Speaker 3: telling you about the things that are going on with my kid,
Speaker 3: or I'm telling you the thing that's going on with
Speaker 3: the ferst time I'm dating, or oh my god, you're
Speaker 3: going through a divorce, girl, let me help you get
Speaker 3: an attorney. My god, when do we do that in
Speaker 3: normal friendships? Everyday friendship And sometimes you know, you want
Speaker 3: to go to brunch with your girlfriend. You just want
Speaker 3: to get drunk, you know what I mean, You just
Speaker 3: want to sip some champagne and then go home tipsy.
Speaker 3: But in this case, it's like we sit down and yes,
Speaker 3: we still drink in some champagne, but we're also talking
Speaker 3: about very deep things. And so I was really surprised
Speaker 3: by the depth of relationships that, like, I really care
Speaker 3: about these women in a way that has surprised me.
Speaker 1: What happens when the cameras stop, really did anything about that?
Speaker 3: Surprise you? You mean during the season life? When yeah,
Speaker 3: during this taping. I'll just speak for myself right as
Speaker 3: a fan before I joined, which was that I thought
Speaker 3: that they can't possibly.
Speaker 2: Be really real friends, you know what I mean?
Speaker 3: But yeah, you end up like your friends and so
Speaker 3: the same thing that happens anytime.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: It's like if Erica came over to my house and
Speaker 3: we were talking about something deep and personal, if she cried,
Speaker 3: if I cried, if we got mad, whatever, I'm calling
Speaker 3: her tomorrow, you know, or I'm texting her later.
Speaker 2: I'd be like, girl, you all right, you know, I'm
Speaker 2: just checking in on you. How you doing?
Speaker 3: Or when things were popping off with Kyle to you
Speaker 3: best believe I was texting her like, hey, do you
Speaker 3: see what your man did?
Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Like, So, it's it's not just for the camera all
Speaker 3: the time. I just think that the cameras get lucky.
Speaker 3: Of course, the situation is that, okay, look, the two
Speaker 3: of you are going to go talk or have lunch
Speaker 3: or whatever, and so cameras are there, but I think
Speaker 3: that the conversations are happening anyway.
Speaker 5: I read an article that said that you were surprised
Speaker 5: that Housewives is run like a boardroom.
Speaker 2: I'm surprised it behaves like a boardroom.
Speaker 5: Okay, so tell me what you mean.
Speaker 3: So here's the thing. Okay, another big, big surprise. I
Speaker 3: felt like, you know what, this is gonna be casual
Speaker 3: because these are women, they're friends, they have this agreements, yes,
Speaker 3: but you can get over it, right, It's not really
Speaker 3: a big deal. But boardrooms are more intense than that,
Speaker 3: meaning that the conflicts are there, the conflict resolution.
Speaker 2: Sometimes does not exist.
Speaker 3: The politics of who sides with who and who's got
Speaker 3: who's back is there in boardrooms. It's like, look, you
Speaker 3: might find yourself cut in a boardroom. All of those
Speaker 3: dynamics exist, and so I feel like the last twenty
Speaker 3: five years has prepared me for this room. You know
Speaker 3: that this is not that different. There's this conflict of
Speaker 3: miscommunication that's causing a tumult, and therefore there's no solution
Speaker 3: being made. Hella, I've dealt with that in so many instances. Okay,
Speaker 3: don't get me talking about the tech boys in Silicon
Speaker 3: Valley and the kind of conflict I have with them.
Speaker 3: So these ladies, I was like, oh, okay, I understand this.
Speaker 3: I understand this room. I can deal with these women.
Speaker 5: That makes sense.
Speaker 4: Don't go away.
Speaker 1: We've got to take a quick break, but we'll be
Speaker 1: right back with Bozima Saint John.
Speaker 4: And we're back with Bozima Saint John.
Speaker 1: Well, I want to talk about the last twenty five
Speaker 1: years before Housewives, Forbes named you the number one most
Speaker 1: influential CMO number one.
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, number.
Speaker 1: One, number one baby crown holder number Oh no. I
Speaker 1: think about how much has changed since you launched your career.
Speaker 1: I think about the fact that many of us never
Speaker 1: planned to be marketers, but now, thanks to social media,
Speaker 1: it feels like we're all mini marketers in our own right.
Speaker 1: So I'm coming to you, coming to the expert here.
Speaker 1: What is your trademark marketing philosophy? Give us the trade secrets? Ooh,
Speaker 1: the trade secrets.
Speaker 3: Well, here's the thing is that even when I started
Speaker 3: my career, the delineation between like what a marketer did
Speaker 3: and didn't do was very very clear, very stark. Marketers
Speaker 3: were the mathematicians. They're the ones who are dealing with
Speaker 3: the data. They are cutting and slicing consumer behavior and
Speaker 3: then saying, oh, they like green, so put the product
Speaker 3: in green. Or they like to get something to drink
Speaker 3: at noon between noon and two, so our messages are
Speaker 3: going to go between noon and two. When I started,
Speaker 3: you had to be an expert at that in order
Speaker 3: to be successful as a marketer. What I really liked
Speaker 3: was pop culture, the kind of like put your finger
Speaker 3: to the sky and feel the wind and be like, oh,
Speaker 3: people are moving that way. Okay, nobody likes drink anymore,
Speaker 3: all right?
Speaker 2: Why you know?
Speaker 3: Like answering the larger cultural question, which then would allow
Speaker 3: me to play the messaging in the right stream of
Speaker 3: consciousness for you to believe that you like the same
Speaker 3: thing I like, or you like the thing I'm telling
Speaker 3: you like. I feel like the success I've seen has
Speaker 3: only been because I was ahead of the curve.
Speaker 2: Is it?
Speaker 5: Like?
Speaker 3: I believed that culture should drive the message before a
Speaker 3: lot of people believe that as markers.
Speaker 1: I feel like black women are uniquely positioned to approach
Speaker 1: marketing in the way that you're talking about, because black
Speaker 1: women are the forebears of culture, like we have defined
Speaker 1: culture for decades.
Speaker 3: Yes, And also because we have to pay attention to
Speaker 3: what is happening. I think there's like this beautiful diagram
Speaker 3: for us right where it's just like, as women, we
Speaker 3: often have to pay attention to everything that's going on
Speaker 3: around us in order to stay safe, you know, and
Speaker 3: I mean save from a physical standpoint, from an emotional standpoint,
Speaker 3: all the things, right, we're paying attention When people say
Speaker 3: that we have intuition better than men. It is true biological.
Speaker 3: So we have that. Then you add women of color
Speaker 3: who lord. Then you have black women at the center,
Speaker 3: who to some degree are the most challenged. And I
Speaker 3: don't mean that they have challenges, I mean culture challenges them.
Speaker 3: So they are always battling to find the right word,
Speaker 3: to find the right place, to find the right thing
Speaker 3: to do, the right way to be, and so they
Speaker 3: are constantly creating messages so that the world treats them
Speaker 3: a certain woman. So imagine if the boardrooms were fair
Speaker 3: places where more women of color, more black women could
Speaker 3: have leadership, I think we'd have a very different world.
Speaker 5: From everything I've heard you say publicly, it seems like
Speaker 5: you've really efforted that at every place you've been too.
Speaker 5: And yes, not without challenge, girl, Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3: Mostly with a lot of challenge, because I mean, look,
Speaker 3: I know that there are all these cash phrases. People
Speaker 3: always just like, oh, be unapologetic, and I roll my
Speaker 3: eyes because I'm like, no, if you were really unapologetic,
Speaker 3: you really would walk in and say the thing that's
Speaker 3: on your mind and say it with your chest without
Speaker 3: being afraid that somebody's gonna punish you. Because that's what's
Speaker 3: gonna happens. You're gonna get punished for the thing that
Speaker 3: you said that goes against the grain in the room.
Speaker 3: And you better have some metal inside of there that's
Speaker 3: not gonna let your voice shake and not let you quiver. Because,
Speaker 3: let me tell you, baby, I've been in plenty of
Speaker 3: rooms where the people you think are championing you are
Speaker 3: sitting there quiet and they come outside and they start
Speaker 3: yapping their mouths. But I'm like, the real change happens
Speaker 3: when you leave a place and your fingerprints are still
Speaker 3: on there.
Speaker 5: Right, that unapologetic attitude is that from your mom?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 3: Yes, it's from my mom for sure, from both my parents, honestly,
Speaker 3: but also from myself. I give them credit. I give
Speaker 3: myself credit ye for being who I am.
Speaker 5: So you're an expert in sales. And no matter what
Speaker 5: the product is you're selling or the person is that
Speaker 5: you're selling, what you're really selling is a story. And
Speaker 5: not everybody knows this unless they've read your book. But
Speaker 5: you started your career with Spike Lee. You worked at
Speaker 5: an advertising agency.
Speaker 2: Yes, that's right. A brilliant storyteller.
Speaker 5: One of the most brilliant of all time, and also
Speaker 5: unapologetic in a lot of ways.
Speaker 2: That part he says the thing yes with his whole chest.
Speaker 5: I'm curious what you learned about storytelling and selling a
Speaker 5: story from him.
Speaker 3: You know what honesty's really simple is tell the truth
Speaker 3: and tell your truth. I think it's very difficult to
Speaker 3: sell a story that doesn't belong to you, because what
Speaker 3: happens is that you end up guessing about how the
Speaker 3: person would feel or what they would do in said situations.
Speaker 3: I can't tell you how many times in leadership positions,
Speaker 3: I looked around at my team and it's just like, Ooh,
Speaker 3: we don't have enough of this type of person. And
Speaker 3: I'm just talking about a raise and ethnicity. I'm talking
Speaker 3: about socio phonomic I'm talking about diverse experiences.
Speaker 2: I'm talking about sexuality. I'm talking about all the things.
Speaker 3: And this is why I'm a champion of diversity and inclusion,
Speaker 3: not because I'm a DEI executive at all. I didn't
Speaker 3: go to school for that, none of that. I'm a pragmatist,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean. I'm practical. I'm like, Okay,
Speaker 3: we need to tell a story to our consumer. I
Speaker 3: have the experience of being a black woman, immigrant in
Speaker 3: United Stations America who grew up in college France, Colorado.
Speaker 3: I happen to be tall, I'm athletic, and I'm cute.
Speaker 3: You know, it's a very specific experience, and so I
Speaker 3: don't expect to be able to tell the story of everyone, right,
Speaker 3: And so one of two things needs to happen.
Speaker 2: One.
Speaker 3: I think it's very important for leaders to be empathetic.
Speaker 3: And I'm not saying sympathetic pathetic that you're able to
Speaker 3: put yourself into shoes that are not yours fully and holy,
Speaker 3: without holding back and without judgment. And then you do
Speaker 3: need to surround yourself with people who have different experiences
Speaker 3: from you and listen to them. You know, they need
Speaker 3: to actually contribute to the conversation, so not everybody can
Speaker 3: be like you. It's like, I can't tell you how
Speaker 3: many times I've stepped into leadership roles and had to
Speaker 3: have that conversation with my team to say, Okay, I
Speaker 3: know I wore sequence on Tuesday. Okay, but that doesn't
Speaker 3: mean you have to in order for me to hear you,
Speaker 3: to see you. Yo, you you can wear black all
Speaker 3: day long if you want to. You can wear your
Speaker 3: hair pulled back in a. butN okay. Just because I
Speaker 3: have these tendrils coming down to the middle of my
Speaker 3: back does not mean you have to do the same thing,
Speaker 3: you know, But I feel like as leaders, you have
Speaker 3: to do that in order to cultivate a culture where
Speaker 3: people are allowed to say the things, to have an opinion,
Speaker 3: and the work will be better, the environment will be better,
Speaker 3: and you will be better.
Speaker 1: Bosma, you wrote a book called The Urgent Life, and
Speaker 1: you speak about living life urgently in your workshops. Yes,
Speaker 1: I want that. I think we all want that. I
Speaker 1: think everyone listening wants that. What is one thing that
Speaker 1: we can all do this week to embody urgency in
Speaker 1: our own lives?
Speaker 3: Yes, oh, thank you since for this question. I said
Speaker 3: this a little bit before, but I want to just
Speaker 3: nail it for you for everybody listening, which is that
Speaker 3: I cannot emphasize enough how much your intuition impacts the
Speaker 3: urgency in your life, meaning that you have to pay
Speaker 3: attention to what your spirit is telling you all of
Speaker 3: the time. The way that you do that is by
Speaker 3: listening to yourself. Now, I know that that's a big
Speaker 3: type of word life, Oh, listen to your intuition, but
Speaker 3: it is much much harder to execute. It gets to
Speaker 3: be disciplined in it, and so yes, it means that
Speaker 3: from the small things, you have to listen to yourself.
Speaker 3: That's the only way it impacts the big things like
Speaker 3: your brain and your body. In your spirit doesn't know
Speaker 3: the difference between when you ask somebody their opinion about
Speaker 3: what you should eat for lunch and when you ask
Speaker 3: somebody their opinion about what kind of career move you
Speaker 3: should make. Your spirit doesn't know the difference, and so
Speaker 3: your intuition is going to get quieter and quiet on
Speaker 3: quieter the more that you ask external inputs on what
Speaker 3: is a very personal decision. And so what I am
Speaker 3: imploring of you is to be disciplined about your intuition.
Speaker 2: Treats your intuition.
Speaker 3: She's your best friend, the one who's going to never
Speaker 3: see you wrong, who has your best interests at heart,
Speaker 3: and who's always going to take care of you.
Speaker 2: The more you do that, the more successful you will be.
Speaker 1: I've actually started to do something like this because I
Speaker 1: totally agree with you. I think we often neglect and
Speaker 1: ignore our own desires as women in society. I have
Speaker 1: started just vocalizing what I want and the phrase I
Speaker 1: want is so powerful. So in my own head, I'll
Speaker 1: just be like, I'm feeling something. You know, I'm feeling
Speaker 1: an emotion come up? What does that mean? Does that mean?
Speaker 2: Okay?
Speaker 1: That means I want community right now. I don't want
Speaker 1: to be alone, so I'm gonna go find my friends.
Speaker 1: Maybe I just want to zone out and doom scroll.
Speaker 1: I want a doom scroll. There's power in actually vocalizing it. Yes,
Speaker 1: that's correct, there is power in vocalizing it. I have
Speaker 1: to warn you that sometimes you're not gonna get the
Speaker 1: thing that you want, but only because there's something greater
Speaker 1: coming for you, you know, and you actually have to
Speaker 1: believe that and be disciplined in that as well, which
Speaker 1: is like, hey, look, I want this thing that I
Speaker 1: didn't get it. Okay, I could be sad and upset
Speaker 1: about it, but with the belief system that something that
Speaker 1: I did not know that was meant for me, that
Speaker 1: is better for me, is actually coming. And if you
Speaker 1: believe that, then you will fall into the right track.
Speaker 1: For this intuition that I believe is just your destiny
Speaker 1: waiting to be revealed to you.
Speaker 5: It's the idea of this or something better.
Speaker 3: Always, yes, exactly, always, always and that's also why I
Speaker 3: have such a positive outlook on life, because look, I've
Speaker 3: suffered enough grief in my life to I don't think
Speaker 3: anybody would be surprised if I was like, Hey, look,
Speaker 3: I'm gonna just crawl into a cave right now and
Speaker 3: never come back out. I don't think anybody people would
Speaker 3: be like, yep, understood, that's no problem. But I have
Speaker 3: a pausitive out look on life because really, I do
Speaker 3: believe that there is greater in the world, and there's
Speaker 3: greater in my experience as a human that even though
Speaker 3: terrible things happen to me and have happened to me,
Speaker 3: that I am able to get to the next place
Speaker 3: because I recognize that this experience is all laddering up
Speaker 3: to something really enormously wonderful for me. Maybe it's that
Speaker 3: I'm an optimist, but I don't think that our experiences,
Speaker 3: grief or otherwise, should keep us from being optimistic about life.
Speaker 5: Okay, Bose, we have to talk about your new hair
Speaker 5: care and wigline, eve By Bows.
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker 3: I started the company because it's like, why why do
Speaker 3: we not have good wigs, especially as black women and
Speaker 3: women of color, Because eighty percent of the consumer base
Speaker 3: is us, and we just have been suffering this whole time,
Speaker 3: being offered products that aren't with us in mind. And
Speaker 3: not only that, it's insulting. You go to shop for
Speaker 3: these things online and you're placed with these images that
Speaker 3: are like these ugly ass a mannequins, and then you
Speaker 3: get the product and it's a terrible plastic bag. It's
Speaker 3: like the disrespect of it all, Just like, I'm spending
Speaker 3: so much money. Why why am I not in the
Speaker 3: center of the conversation, and why am I being treated
Speaker 3: like this?
Speaker 2: You know?
Speaker 3: And so when I thought about what to do next,
Speaker 3: I don't want a company that would serve all my
Speaker 3: needs with me in the center of it, think about
Speaker 3: the things I want. And so I got up and
Speaker 3: went to Asia, went to go discover, Wow, why it
Speaker 3: is that we're not serviced? And I didn't get a
Speaker 3: good answer, Like the answer was so simple that I
Speaker 3: was like, oh, shoot, you know what, I think. I'm
Speaker 3: gonna start my own company. I don't want I don't
Speaker 3: want a white label. I don't want to put my
Speaker 3: name on somebody else's brand. I'm gonna start my own.
Speaker 3: So I built a factory.
Speaker 5: You built a factory.
Speaker 3: I built a factory in Ghana, that's correct, So I
Speaker 3: source the raw goods from Asia, so every product has
Speaker 3: created in Ghana. Then the product is processed with with
Speaker 3: wet goods. Black hair care that I also made. That
Speaker 3: I also formulated with the partner of this amazing black
Speaker 3: woman chemist.
Speaker 2: She's worked for all of the big companies.
Speaker 3: And it is shipped to Dallas, which is where my
Speaker 3: fulfillment company is, and then you go online.
Speaker 2: And you purchase and then it ships all around the world.
Speaker 3: So the hair comes to you in a bonnet, you
Speaker 3: take it out of the bonnet, you put the bot
Speaker 3: on your head.
Speaker 2: And go to bed.
Speaker 3: The fabric I made myself partnered with a textile company,
Speaker 3: the oldest textile company in Ghana. The pattern is luxury,
Speaker 3: so you know, it's like you know when you see
Speaker 3: the repeated pattern on Gucci or Louis or any of
Speaker 3: these other companies. So I took the E off of
Speaker 3: my logo. You know, we made the pattern and it
Speaker 3: actually makes a dincer symbol and the dinner symbols are
Speaker 3: old symbols and Ghana they represent tenements of like culture
Speaker 3: and so the one that is created out of my
Speaker 3: pattern is meaning mother Earth, like basically like the weight
Speaker 3: of the earth.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So I've made bonds with the fabric I made and
Speaker 3: shipping it everywhere.
Speaker 1: You like to really just start small, don't you? Huh?
Speaker 1: Just just bite sized.
Speaker 2: I just feel like why not? You know, if you're
Speaker 2: gonna do it, do it big. You know, are saying,
Speaker 2: do it big.
Speaker 5: What's been the biggest gift of this so far? Because
Speaker 5: when you see someone where or use your product, it's
Speaker 5: just magical.
Speaker 2: Oh, it's so wonderful.
Speaker 3: I think the biggest gift is just to know that,
Speaker 3: like you don't have to guess about the intention in
Speaker 3: which the product that you have purchased was made.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: I think sometimes you purchase something and you don't know,
Speaker 3: you know, if it's good for you, You don't know
Speaker 3: if they lie in to you, You don't know anything.
Speaker 3: I'm like, I made this, these two hands made the
Speaker 3: product that you have. The love in my heart was
Speaker 3: poured into this every step of the way. When I
Speaker 3: tell you that, like the elastic that was used inside
Speaker 3: the bonus, I tested it on my own head before
Speaker 3: I ever made it. The dozens of times that I
Speaker 3: went to Asia and talked to people and felt hair
Speaker 3: and talk to about why the laces like this? Why
Speaker 3: can't it be brown? The amount of times I use
Speaker 3: the wet good of products, the hair care and shampooed
Speaker 3: and watched the condition had enough slip on it?
Speaker 2: Would it last? Would it tangle?
Speaker 5: Girl?
Speaker 3: I put love in this, and so I feel like
Speaker 3: when I see somebody rocking one of my products, I'm like,
Speaker 3: that's just a hug from me.
Speaker 2: That's just me telling you I love you.
Speaker 4: Foes, You're the best.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much, God, thank you, thank you, thank
Speaker 3: you have a great one.
Speaker 5: Thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Bozma Saint John is a marketing executive, entrepreneur and the
Speaker 1: author of the memoir The Urgent Life. You can watch
Speaker 1: her now on the new season of the Real Housewives
Speaker 1: of Beverly Hills Tuesdays on Bravo and the following day
Speaker 1: on Peacock.
Speaker 5: We have to take another short break, but we'll be
Speaker 5: back in just a minute.
Speaker 1: Don't go anywhere, and we're back, Okay, Danielle. We are
Speaker 1: mere weeks away from the holidays. Have you nailed down
Speaker 1: your holiday plans yet? For like, let's say, New Year's
Speaker 1: what are you doing? Oh?
Speaker 5: I don't know. New Year stresses me out some own
Speaker 5: it feels like so much pressure. How about you? Are
Speaker 5: you ready for your trip back east? And more importantly,
Speaker 5: are you ready to officially host on Airbnb and have
Speaker 5: another family in your house for a week?
Speaker 4: Yes?
Speaker 1: On both accounts. Besties. You know this has been a
Speaker 1: long time coming. We've talked about it on the show before. Yes,
Speaker 1: I am actually hosting guests at my home through Airbnb.
Speaker 1: But you know, I lived in New York for several
Speaker 1: years and it is like a second home for me.
Speaker 1: So we try to go back to the East Coast
Speaker 1: as often as possible, especially when it feels all magical
Speaker 1: this time of year. So my family and I are
Speaker 1: headed to the city and then driving upstate for some
Speaker 1: Christmas ey things, And while we're away, we are going
Speaker 1: to be hosting our space on Airbnb. And it's kind
Speaker 1: of perfect because this time of year, you know, it's
Speaker 1: so expensive to travel, and the cash ro making is
Speaker 1: actually going to help cover the cost of our trip.
Speaker 5: Wow.
Speaker 1: Also, La is pretty magical this time of year, right, Danielle, Hmm,
Speaker 1: I've actually never been in LA for the holidays. I
Speaker 1: think I'm going to be here for the first time
Speaker 1: this year. Well, there's so much hype surrounding the snow
Speaker 1: and the Northeast and the Midwest around the holidays, and
Speaker 1: it is beautiful, don't get me wrong. But a nice, warm, breezy,
Speaker 1: seventy two degree La Christmas is also pretty great too.
Speaker 5: I just love a slower pace wherever you are spending
Speaker 5: your holidays. I just hope you have a slower pace.
Speaker 5: But you are such an La girly. So what are
Speaker 5: your go to rex for people traveling to LA for
Speaker 5: the first time.
Speaker 1: Well, it's funny you asked, because I actually just wrote
Speaker 1: out a bunch of recommendations in this guest guide that
Speaker 1: I'm leaving for the families who are going to be
Speaker 1: staying at our place.
Speaker 4: I would say a few of the highlights are.
Speaker 1: Griffith Park, It's kind of like our central park here
Speaker 1: in southern California. Wine Country in Santa Barbara is spectacular,
Speaker 1: Joshua Tree for the desert vibes. We've got theme parks, Disneyland,
Speaker 1: six Flags, Universal Studios, and of course Malibu.
Speaker 4: What would you add to the list.
Speaker 5: Ooh, Malibu's my absolute favorite. I love the Malibu Country
Speaker 5: mart I usually spend my birthday there. I get breakfast
Speaker 5: there in the morning. Okay, adding maybe a hike on
Speaker 5: Runyon Canyon if you want to see all the Instagram
Speaker 5: girlies take photos of themselves hiking, I would add I'm
Speaker 5: a restaurant girl, so I would add a few West
Speaker 5: Hollywood maybe like LA hotspots like Craigs, you'll definitely have
Speaker 5: a celeb siting.
Speaker 1: I did include some restaurants in there, so I should
Speaker 1: add Craigs. I love what you're doing with this guest guide.
Speaker 1: It's so nice of you. What else are you doing
Speaker 1: to prepare? Well, we have a fire pit outside, so
Speaker 1: we're planning to leave a cute little s'mores kit for
Speaker 1: the guests to use. And then I've been incorporating some
Speaker 1: other little touches that I've seen in other airbnbs that
Speaker 1: I've loved. So we're putting coffee cups, mugs, and a
Speaker 1: French press in the bedroom so you can have coffee
Speaker 1: in bed. We're gonna have the pool toys set out
Speaker 1: all the heater instructions so you can take a dip
Speaker 1: in the winter.
Speaker 5: Well, I feel like you've been hyping up your Airbnb
Speaker 5: hosting moment for months and it is finally here. I'm
Speaker 5: very excited for you.
Speaker 1: You know what's funny, A lot of people ask me,
Speaker 1: are you really doing it? Are you really hosting your
Speaker 1: home on Airbnb? And I'm like, yes, I'm actually doing it.
Speaker 1: The whole process has actually been less intimidating than I thought.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's been super user friendly. Airbnb has a
Speaker 1: new feature called co hosting, So I was able to
Speaker 1: connect with a local Airbnb host who's way more experience
Speaker 1: with this than I am, and she helped me get
Speaker 1: set up with my listing. And they also have this
Speaker 1: great support team that's super responsive. They sent out a photographer,
Speaker 1: got the photos all done, They have checklists for hosts
Speaker 1: to help you get ready, and then also the platform
Speaker 1: just makes it really easy to communicate with your guests.
Speaker 1: I've been using the app on my phone and it's
Speaker 1: way easier and straightforward.
Speaker 5: Well, I cannot wait to hear about your experience after
Speaker 5: all of this, and it's making me think about a
Speaker 5: girl's trip Airbnb in Chicago for Saint Patrick's Day.
Speaker 1: What do you think I have never been to Chicago
Speaker 1: during Saint Patrick's Day?
Speaker 4: Is it a site to see?
Speaker 1: I'm down the river is green? Simone, Oh, I got
Speaker 1: to see this. Your home might be worth more than
Speaker 1: you think. Find out how much at airbnb dot com
Speaker 1: slash host.
Speaker 5: That's it for today's show. Tomorrow, we're popping off with
Speaker 5: New York Times best selling author, comedian, and screenwriter Danny Pellegrino.
Speaker 1: Join the conversation using hashtag the bright Side and connect
Speaker 1: with us on social media at Hello Sunshine on Instagram
Speaker 1: and at the bright Side Pod on TikTok oh, and
Speaker 1: feel free to tag us at Simone Boyce and at
Speaker 1: Danielle Robe.
Speaker 5: Listen and follow The bright Side on the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 5: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: See you tomorrow, folks, Keep looking on the bright side.