Calling all girlbosses! After an inspiring couple of nights about creating a good future and creating good art, #CreateGood 2018 got down to business with an evening all about creating good hustle. The panel — which featured interior designer Genevieve Gorder, alice + olivia CEO Stacey Bendet, and comedian and writer Phoebe Robinson — was streamed live from New York City’s Build Studios at 7 pm ET. But if you missed it in real time, you can watch the entire thing below, or catch up on all the highlights in our recap. And don’t forget to tune in Thursday and Friday at 7 pm ET for more can’t-miss guests and panels.
Genevieve Gorder reminded us to take time to celebrate our own accomplishments.
Gorder, an interior designer who stars in her own Netflix show, Stay Here, and has worked for the likes of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, spoke with Brit + Co CEO and founder Brit Morin about giving ourselves permission to enjoy the fruits of our labor. “We so rarely — I think as women, specifically — pause to take in the reward. We’re just hustlin’,” she explained.
She also stressed the importance of trusting your gut.
Gorder had what Oprah Winfrey would call an “a-ha moment” in college, when she realized without a doubt that she wanted to pursue design as a career. But not everyone is lucky enough to find their passion like that. “I think there’s a sense of intuition that you have to embrace, and a lot of people can’t do that until they’re much older and they start to trust their gut. I have trusted my gut since I was five,” the former Trading Spaces star shared.
Later, sharing her advice for other women, she reiterated that point: “However cliché this sounds, follow [your] gut. And listen harder so that you can do more. I think often we just talk ourselves out of doing 90 percent of the things we innately should be doing.”
Stacey Bendet inspired us to go big or go home.
Bendet, the CEO and creative director of the celeb-loved brand alice + olivia, had some similar advice for young women with big dreams. “I look back and I remember my dad saying to me at one point, ‘I don’t know if you’re fearless and brilliant or crazy.’ And I don’t know, maybe it was a little of both,” she told Brit. “But I think anytime a woman has an idea and really has a passion, you’ve gotta give it a chance, you’ve gotta try it, you’ve gotta go for it. The best advice I give to people is, if you can take something you love and turn it into your career, you’re going to be successful no matter what.”
Phoebe Robinson explained why fear isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Robinson is a comedian, author, and actress who has appeared on 2 Dope Queens, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and The Daily Show, among many, many others. But even she’s not immune to nerves. Over the years, though, she’s learned to embrace that fear and make it work for her instead of against her.
“My biggest thing has been making fear and self-doubt your friend, and being like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna work together,'” she told Brit + Co editorial director Annette Cardwell. “Because it’s keeping you focused, it’s keeping you energized and making you think and make sure you’re doing the right things for yourself. So I would say, don’t be afraid of the fear.”
And lastly, she gave us a lesson in feminism.
“I think right now is a really critical time for feminism to really be intersectional. We’ve been saying it a lot, but we have to follow through on it,” she said. “I am trying to educate myself as much as possible. I’m trying to make sure I’m not speaking for other people.”
That means giving a platform to people like Buck Angel, a trans man Robinson recently interviewed on her podcast, Sooo Many White Guys. “It was really great to have a conversation with him and have him share his experiences and his stories, as opposed to me being like, ‘Well, I’m going to say everything about trans issues.’ It’s not my place,” she shared. “I think that’s a good way we can all sort of educate ourselves and also connect. Because once you talk to someone, it’s hard to not see their humanity.”
Tune in tomorrow for #CreateGood Wellness Night, live-streamed here on Brit + Co and on the Brit + Co Facebook page.
(photos via Brittany Griffin)
