Media Messages – Page 3 – Jess Weiner Blog

Conquer Negativity With #LoveGame16

I feel so blessed for the amazing people and opportunities in my life. Gratitude has become such an integral part of my own personal journey.

So this year I’m focusing on giving back the good energy and positivity I’m fortunate enough to be surrounded by. I want to be conscious and intentional about the love I give out and the love I give myself. So I’m working on stepping up my game. And I’m asking you to join me.

I’m excited to introduce our first week’s #LoveGame16 challenges! Are you ready to step up your LoveGame in January?

This week we’ll focus on countering negative thoughts with positivity and appreciation.

Sure, it sounds simple, but think about it… How many times a week do we look at our reflections in the mirror and complain about something we see? How many times do we let others influence or discourage our ideas? How often are we hard on ourselves? We’re our own worst critics.

Challenge #1: Retrain Your Brain

(January 4 – 7)

For every negative thought that creeps in, take a minute to think about (or write down) 2 positives. It isn’t just an encouraging sentiment – it’s scientifically proven to be effective!

How do you feel once you begin the challenge? What are the positive thoughts you chose? Share with us on social media using the hashtag #LoveGame2016.

Challenge #2: Positive Intention

(January 8 – 10)

Be proactive. Decide what direction or feeling you want to achieve and weave it into your daily routine. When you feel like you’re getting off track or you encounter negativity (whether self-inflicted or beyond your control) take 60 seconds of meditation and self-care – take deep breaths, close your eyes if that helps, remember that intention and refocus your energy.

What happened after you rebooted your brain? What intentions did you choose? Let us know how you’re feeling after the first week using the #LoveGame16.

Remember, this isn’t just a resolution, it’s a commitment to changing our energy and intentions. Good luck with the first week’s challenge! I can’t wait to hear from you along the way. I’ll be giving my own updates on social media, too!

Not on social media? No worries. Send your #LoveGame16 feedback to info@jessweiner.com.

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January 4, 2016April 5, 2016

Women Who Lead – She Should Run’s National Conversation

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to moderate She Should Run’s National Conversation in Washington DC to help women find a way to run for office.

Their message: Sometimes we need to tap each other on the shoulder and ask one another to run.

Joining me were several brilliant women (and one amazing 12-year-old girl!) who spoke from personal experience about their paths to leadership.

I shared with the audience how the lack of representation of women in the media is what fueled my passion for storytelling and working to create social change.

But when it comes to political and public office – the time for getting women to take a step up and lead is now. We have to find a way to become better represented in our government.

I was thrilled to interview Councilwoman Brianne Nadeau from DC and Representative Susan Brooks from Indiana, both of them leaders with a strong vision for making change in their communities.

“We need more women on the ballot. We need to do better.” – Representative Brooks

“Women make sacrifices everyday … And we have to demonstrate that we’ll make those same sacrifices at work.” – Councilwoman Nadeau

I then interviewed one of the most inspiring 12-year-olds I’ve ever met! Christian Herald.

Christian is an amazing girl. She’s smart, vibrant and full of life. She is a leader in her student council and I’m sure will be our next President one day.

I also had the pleasure to interview the highest-ranking Republican woman in Congress, Cathy McMorris Rogers from the state of Washington. Congresswoman Rogers was elected 11 years ago and has served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

We ended the night interviewing two of my favorite dynamos: Reshma Saujani, CEO of Girls Who Code, and Julie Ann Crommett, Google’s Diversity Manager, to talk about the intersection of politics and technology.

We talked about the need to create systemic change and how we all work from within corporate and political systems to do so. Reshma and Julie Ann agreed that technology can help disrupt the standard playing field of politics by making new and viable candidates more visible and bringing about more diverse voices.

Overall, it was amazing to be in the presence of women and girls who are so motivated to rewrite the narrative for women in leadership roles.

I have to give incredible kudos to the leaders of She Should Run, CEO Erin Loos Cutraro and Executive Director Clare Bresnahan as well as She Should Run’s national board. The theme of the night was #FindAWay – and we did. We found a way to start an important conversation about women in leadership. Now we have to keep that conversation going!

All photos by Neshan H. Naltchayan

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December 21, 2015April 5, 2016

Resist the Urge to be Afraid

Resist the urge to be afraid. I know what you’re thinking – easier said than done. The media certainly doesn’t do a good job of putting our minds at ease.

With recent attacks in Paris, the refugee crisis in Syria, and persistent acts of terrorism, how can we not be afraid?

With marketers telling us we should feel a certain way, our televisions telling us we should look a certain way, and the constant pressure to compare ourselves to others, how can we not feel inadequate? No one can possibly feel secure when given impossible standards.

The odds seem stacked against us. The world wants us to feel afraid. So how do we resist?

At the end of the day, the choice is yours. You can choose to let the negativity inundate your life and consume your thoughts, or you can choose to focus on all the positives that don’t seem to be nearly as newsworthy.

We can’t control what goes on in the world outside ourselves, but we can control our thoughts and our interactions.

In light of the upcoming holiday season, I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude. I’ve been thinking about the people who are there for me and who matter most to me. I’ve been focusing on peace in the midst of chaos and soaking in the feeling of gratitude every chance I get.

On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve been thinking about the love, energy and intention I emit back to the world, and I’m working on stepping up my game.

In a time when the world wants us to be afraid – Choose love. Choose bravery. Choose trust.

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November 25, 2015April 5, 2016

Spreading Confidence with #PearlxChange

This past weekend I had the incredible opportunity to join Nicole Richie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marianne Williamson and few hundred other new friends at the first ever Pearl xChange conference in Los Angeles.

The event gathered a diverse room of women (and some men) to collaborate, inspire, and take action on a personal, professional, and even a global level. Together we explored our varying paths to success and confidence.

Taking my place on the not-so-red carpet before the show! I’m joined by speakers: Nicole Richie, Psychic Dougall Fraser, Event Producer Ramey Warren and Astronaut (and bad ass) Jeanette Epps.

Nicole did a lovely job hosting and offered a few wise words of her own throughout the day. In her opening remarks she discussed the power of collaboration and openness as a source of empowerment.

“When you’re open, the world is your oyster, and you can create whatever you want…Your mind + my mind is going to help us evolve” –Nicole Richie

I was first up at the mic, which was exciting because I had the opportunity to set the tone for the day – the women in the audience were so receptive, warm, and affirming.
We spoke about that messy path to confidence!

“It does us no good to be resentful of the path that got us here…Forgive, elevate, and move on” — Jess Weiner

Shadi Mehraein gave some solid advice to the entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs in the audience citing her ups and downs along her journey to becoming a successful venture capitalist, investing in women-led markets.

“You’re only going to fail when you give up” — Shadi Mehraein

Marianne Williamson is incredible. If you’ve never been in her audience, know that she speaks with enough power and conviction to mobilize a nation. Marianne discussed the importance of showing up and being there to support one another.

“How are you changing the world & how can I help?” — Marianne Williamson

Dougall Fraser has a gift – but he won’t attribute this to his psychic abilities – no, his gift is reaching people at a vulnerable level and guiding them to their own intuitions. According to Dougall, fear diminishes our power and our power is within our own intuitions.

“We have to carve out time to be still” — Dougall Fraser

Jeanette Epps offered an amazing perspective about both advocating for yourself and your responsibility beyond yourself. Her insightful perspective on the world stems from the fact that she’s seen the world from a few vantage points – including from space and within the CIA.

“I didn’t let anyone define who I would be… I defined who I would be in the world.” — Jeanette Epps

Gwyneth Paltrow took the stage to answer some questions from the audience. She spoke candidly about her divorce, her business, and her philosophy of friendship (even bestie Cameron Diaz was there to support!)

“As soon as I can put a pause in between the negative voice in my head and what I’m feeling, I can get back to myself.” — Gwyneth Paltrow

The diverse paths of each speaker and attendee reminded me that no one’s journey to success or confidence will look the same – nor should it. Life’s twists and turns are often what help us to move forward.

As Nicole Richie summarized in her closing, “Pearls are beautiful on their own…but when you add more pearls to the strand, you become more valuable.”

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November 10, 2015April 5, 2016

Change One Thing

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Each of us can probably rattle off a part of our appearance we wish was different. So it may not surprise us that the latest research from Dove reveals 9 out of 10 girls want to change at least one thing about the way they look. Where this becomes problematic is that we know 60% of girls will stop doing something they love based on how they feel about the way they look. We can change this by shifting the way we speak, think, and act around the concept of beauty.

This is the foundation behind Dove’s latest campaign #ChangeOneThing. We’ve been conducting self-esteem workshops and helping women and girls think more critically about beauty stereotypes. I’ve spent the last month kicking off workshops from Minnesota to NYC, Cincinnati to Arkansas.

Our main message: It’s not girls who have to change, but our culture!

At our NYC launch event, I’m joined by Franchesca Ramsey (host of MTV’s Decoded), Sarah Hammer (Dove Brand Manager), and Dr. Jen Hartstein to help lead an inspiring workshop for girls and their mentors.

Before the event, I was interviewed about how we can change our culture by changing the way we post and share on social media.

Here I am leading the workshop! We also announced Dove’s partnership w/ Pinterest to reveal 80 new self-esteem pins designed for Moms, Mentors and Educators. Dove has reached over 17 million girls with self-esteem programming with workshops just like this.

We had the girls and mentors make real-life Pinterest boards to share their positive messages with the world.

This wonderful girl standing next to me is 10-year-old Olivia Allen. She is the founder of the “I Can Be” Girls Confidence Conference – an event for girls and their parents to develop higher self-esteem. Can you imagine creating a conference like this when you were 10?

The next day, I flew out to Cincinnati to film a news segment with Good Morning Cincinnati !

Then we hosted two back-to-back workshops with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cincinnati.

Their wisdom and energy had me thinking about this:

We can help redefine what is beautiful by using our social media platforms to spread positivity and acceptance. Within our families, friends, classrooms, and communities, we’re constantly shaping the world by what we post online.

It could be one word or comment.
One image or video.

Being mindful about what we communicate is what creates opportunities to shift our culture in big and small ways.

We all have the power to #ChangeOneThing.

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October 13, 2015April 5, 2016

Confidence Is Fashionable

What a fabulous day!

I never thought I’d find myself strutting my stuff down a runway at New York Fashion Week – yet, here we are!

Today I walked in designer Carrie Hammer’s “Role Models, Not Runway Models” fashion show! The vision of this show is to create a “runway revolution” by featuring a variety of bad ass professional women – from all different backgrounds, sizes, shapes, abilities and nationalities.

Woke up bright and early—bare faced and full-hearted—feeling excited and inspired and overjoyed. Watch my morning pep talk here!

First stop: Hair and make-up! That’s Tiffany and she did an excellent job glamming me up.

Luckily, I had the opportunity to rehearse my fierce walk before the real thing and totally didn’t fall! (Which was my biggest fear)

Showtime!! (At this point I’m thinking “Is this really happening?” and “Please don’t let me fall!”)

AND BAM! There I am!! Today I wasn’t just talking about confidence; I was literally walking the talk in what one lovely Tweeter described as “Jess Weiner serving up some sass!” Yes, indeed.

I was also joined by some incredible role models including CEOs, entrepreneurs, editors, and more – all celebrating inner and outer diversity and confidence. (Left to right: Michelle Herrera of Cosmo Latina, Melissa Miranda of PepsiCo, and Tolu Olubunmi of DREAM Act)

After the show: Camera flashes! Press photos! Meet-n-greets! Just like that, my fabulous runway adventure had come to an end. Of course, a celebration wouldn’t be complete without my sweet husband there to root me on and the influx of love and support I received in person and on social media.

I love mentoring and role modeling because it also leaves me feeling inspired and supported and reminded that we’re not alone as we travel through this life.

So wherever you are in life – let’s all just take our place on the runway and WORK IT!!