Behind The Brilliance

This week's guest is the talented Christina Jones. She made the leap from graphic designer to full time writer without a publisher, agent, or a ton of time (she's a mom and wife). In this convo, we cover a lot of ground: -how Christina got her start as a writer -making the leap from amateur to pro at a creative craft -earning a living as a full time writer -managing time and energy as a creative -the calculated risk involved in putting your work out to the public -being present and authentic as an artist -marketing considerations for writers and creatives -and much, much more! Say hi to Christina on Twitter: @beingmrsjones Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTBChristinaJones

This week's guest is therapist turned entrepreneur Bea Arthur. The self-proclaimed Beyonce of tech joins me on my virtual couch to talk about a cocktail of topics including: -Bea's journey as the daughter of Ghanian immigrants -How Bea found her way as a startup founder -Being ripped apart on Shark Tank (and how she bounced back) -Bea's advice to folks who want to do the startup thing -Why Bea decided to freeze her eggs (I'm curious, she's open, it works) -Bea's advice to folks dealing with anxiety and depression -How Bea sees failure -Why burritos are better than salads sometimes -And much more! Get into this episode and let us know what you think! Bea's Twitter: @BeaArthurLMHC Lisa's Twitter: @LisaNicoleBell Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB93

This episode is a conversation with the smart, heavily tattooed, and awesome Paul Jarvis. Paul started his career as a freelance web designer and then started writing advice for people who wanted to figure out how to balance the business aspects of their creative work. Now he's created software and is continuing to push the boundaries of his work. In this conversation, we cover: -How Paul got his start -How Paul designed his life to reflect what he enjoys most -Why Paul has pet rats (I know, but stay with us) -How to differentiate yourself from competition in crowded fields -How Paul handles critics -And much more! Hit Paul up on Twitter @pjrvs to let him know what you think! Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTBPaulJarvis

In this solo episode, I answer two listener questions: 1 about my journaling process and another about how to deal with unsupportive family members.   I share a lot of thoughts: -Why I journal and reasons I think journaling is helpful for everyone no matter what you do professionally -How I approach journaling (time, location, frequency, etc) -Benefits of journaling -Why other people not supporting you is not about you -The most important part of feeling "supported" -And more!   Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTB091

This week's guest is attorney-turned-entrepreneur Rachel Rodgers. After realizing she didn't want to take a traditional path after law school, Rachel launched a virtual office and went on to make a business out of sharing what she knows. In this conversation, we cover a lot of ground including: -Why traditional careers don't have to be boring -How Rachel managed being the breadwinner in her home as an entrepreneur -How Rachel deals with critics -Rachel's advice for anyone trying to find their path -How Rachel bounced back from her darkest time -And much more! SHOW NOTES: http://bit.ly/BTB90 Follow Rachel: Twitter/Instagram - @RachRodgersEsq

This week's episode is a conversation with founder and superconnector Darrah Brustein. Darrah is the cofounder and CEO of Equitable Payments, and she is the founder of the fast-growing national networking event series, Network Under 40. In this episode, we talk about Darrah's journey to starting her business, her best advice for networking, and why she doesn't believe in ever being "too busy." Topics covered: Why Darrah studied Religion and Italian in college Why you should travel the world How Darrah found her path as an entrepreneur The hard truth about book publishing Darrah's networking advice (she runs the largest networking event in ATL) Darrah's approach to time management And more! Show Notes: http://bit.ly/DarrahB89

This week's episode features one of my favorite recordings - The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale. The recording lays out some compelling ideas about personal development and success. It's an older recording so some of the references are dated, but the core message is timeless. As something I listen to often, I decided it was time for me to share it with you. This week, Lisa Likes wardrobe capsules. Sometimes my schedule gets stacked and I need to reserve my cognitive space for important decisions. A wardrobe capsule helps me get up and out the door quickly without fussing over what I'll wear. I highly recommend it for busy people looking for extra time. Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTBSecret  

This week's episode is the annual birthday episode where I share what I've learned (and remembered) in the past year.   Show Notes: http://bit.ly/BTBbirthday

This week, Lisa Likes Night Shift, the Apple feature that automatically changes the color of your display to the warmer end of the color spectrum after dark with the intention of helping you get a better night's sleep. This week's guest is Elisa Camahort Page, cofounder of BlogHer and current executive of SheKnows Media. Elisa shares her journey as a founder and offers her perspective on taking risks, building teams, and much more. In this conversation, we cover: -How and why Elisa decided to forgo a steady paycheck to start BlogHer (she went 2 years without a salary!) -How Elisa approaches risk (and why she believes you should always take them) -The key lessons Elisa has learned about leadership and creating teams -Elisa's perspective on the current state of tech for women founders -Elisa's habits for success -More Show notes are available at http://bit.ly/elisacpage

This episode starts with a recap of my trip to Egypt. This week, Lisa Likes Global Entry - the trusted traveler program that lets you breeze through customs when you return to the US. This week's guest is Willie Jackson, an entreprenurial technologist who serves as technology lead for Seth Godin (renown author + marketer) while also running Abernathy Magazine, a digital publication for black men. In this conversation, we cover a lot of ground: -transitioning to doing work you love -how to create a new professional network when you want to make a career leap -the importance of self-care no matter how busy you are -developing work habits that support your goals and much, much more! This is the longest episode of BTB ever, but it's a worthwhile conversation. Details on stuff mentioned are in the show notes: http://lisanicolebell.com/behind-brilliance-085-willie-jackson/ Enjoy!

This week's episode is a Q+A session where I answer a question about dealing with overwhelm and how to manage new opportunities. This week, Lisa Likes Spider Oak ONE, a super awesome, privacy-enhanced backup system that stores your files on a hard drive and in the cloud for access anytime across multiple devices. A life saver if anything ever happens to your computer. This episode covers: -Why "no" is a complete sentence and why "hell yeah or no" is a great place to start -Values and how they inform a vision, goals, plans, actions, and measuring the return on choices -Rest + sleep and why they're so necessary (and generally awesome) -Priming the creative pump -Productivity: hacks for batching, email, time management, and efficiency -Assessing costs for an opportunity in terms of time, money, energy, and opportunity cost -Choosing projects that benefit the greater good -Aligning opportunities with goals -FOMO is a mofo (full stop) -Figuring out what really matters to you and having the opportunities you accept

It's the Season 5 kickoff of Behind the Brilliance! On this episode, I intro the season with what you can expect (more great conversations + solo episodes + surprises), how I spent the hiatus (traversing Europe trying not to become the next victim Liam Neeson has to rescue), and more. This week's guest is the international man of mystery, Colin Wright. He's a writer, full time traveler, and entrepreneur. Colin and I cover a lot: travel, meditation, how he makes money with a non-standard career, relationships, and much more. Show notes (and the pic of Colin butt naked with the laptop): http://bit.ly/colinreloaded  

I do recaps at the end of each season to share highlights and interesting tidbits from the most recent batch of shows. This is especially useful to folks who are new to the show and may be overwhelmed with the idea of catching up. This season's recap ep includes 8 episodes: Status Anxiety (ep 61) Roslynn Cobarrubias (ep 64) Meeting 52 New People: A Social Experiment (ep 68) Risk + Reward (ep 76) Erica Nicole (ep 80) The 2016 To Do List (ep 72) Lifestyle Design (ep 63) Uyo Okebie-Eichelberger (ep 75) If you have time, give these episodes a listen or you can just listen to the recap to get a flavor of the episodes highlights. Next season will be bigger, better and even more awesome. I'm bringing you a fun and interesting mix of guests, new solo episode topics, and giveaways of things I love. Mark your calendar for April 28, and in the meantime, get caught up on the archive or replay your favorite episodes at www.behindthebrilliance.com. ***SEASON 5 BEGINS APRIL 28!***

In this Q+A episode, Lisa answers a listener question about "finding more time" for creative endeavors. Lisa shares her past challenges with managing time and also breaks down her tried and true system for getting things done minus the drama and excuses. Ahead of her trip to Europe next week, Lisa likes Google Translate.

Serial entrepreneur Erica Nicole (Founder/CEO of YFS Magazine) joins my virtual couch to dish her secrets on startups, success, and life. During this convo, we cover how Erica grew YFS from a tiny one woman blog to a global leader in inspiring and practical startup information (she literally shared the 5 step process - I can't believe she broke it down for free!), Erica's approach to time management (don't waste her time!), and how to live a life that most resonates with your purpose. Besides being inspiring and sometimes funny, this episode is packed with practical advice on how to make big leaps, stay true to who you are, and become a winner. Also, based on one of Erica's comments, I decided that Juvenile should do a remix of Back That Azz Up called Back That Faith Up. You have to listen to get the joke. More on Erica + show notes at behindthebrilliance.com

You ask, Lisa answers. This Q+A episode features questions on how to transition into a remote work opportunity, what Lisa thinks of the 4 Hour Workweek, and how to find (and keep) great mentors. As usual, there are awesome book recommendations and shenanigans sprinkled throughout the episode.  

It's the second month of the year - the time when we start to lose steam and slack. This episode dives into habits - little choices we can make that move us closer to where we want to be. In this episode, Lisa covers gratitude, meditation, progress praise, thinking for a change, and conscious editing. Catch up on past episodes of the show at www.behindthebrilliance.com

Serial entrepreneur Maren Kate Donovan joins Lisa to chat about Maren's former startup Zirtual (what went wrong and how Maren coped) along with Maren's new venture, The Memento Mori Society.

Lisa breaks down an approach to taking calculated risks and why you should probably be taking way more risks in life.

Lisa interviews entrepreneur Uyo Okebie Eichelberger about her path to success, her approach to lifestyle design, and the reason Burlington Coat Factory is not a dream retail destination.