Aspire with Emma Grede - Kristin Cavallari on the Business That Set Her Free

Episode Date: July 7, 2026

Kristin Cavallari became a household name before she'd even graduated high school, and spent the next two decades building a life, a business, and a family under constant public scrutiny. But this conversation isn't just about the version of her life you've seen on screen. In this episode, Kristin sits down with Emma for a candid conversation about money, financial independence, and what it actually took to leave her marriage on her own terms. Together, they unpack the financial planning most people never talk about, the power of building something that's truly yours, and why Kristin believes money isn't about lifestyle—it's about freedom. Kristin shares: Why knowing her "number" changed the way she thinks about money and success How the success of Uncommon James gave her the confidence to leave her marriage Why she walked away from her divorce giving up money instead of taking it—and why she'd do it again Why she recently replaced her entire C-suite—and the leadership lesson every founder eventually faces How she's building Uncommon James on her own terms while raising three kids How twenty years in the public eye taught her to stop living for other people's approval How much freedom does financial independence really give you? And what would change if you knew you could always choose yourself? Drop your thoughts in the comments. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My debut book, Start with Yourself, is available now. You may have seen the headlines or the clips on social media, but this book is exactly what I intended it to be, a conversation that will make you think, and it's a blueprint for anyone pursuing success without the toxic positivity. Everywhere I go, women ask me how I got to where I am. But what they're really asking is how can they get there to? Start with yourself is my answer, and it will be your answer to.

Today I'm having a conversation with Kristen Cavalera, Most people first met Kristen when she was 17 years old on Laguna Beach, but since then she's been a reality star, a mother, a divorcee, a podcaster, and someone who has had almost every chapter of her life watched and judged in public. But what I find so interesting about Kristen is not the public narrative around her, it's what she quietly built beneath it. Today, she's the founder and CEO of Uncommon James, a business she started with $50,000, without a big team or a perfect plan, but a very, clear understanding of her customer. We talk about building that company while raising three young kids, why its success gave her the confidence to leave a marriage that no longer fit, and the mindset that shapes the way she thinks about money, freedom and work. Here's Kristen Cavaleri. When you're running between meetings, calls, events, and everything in between, the moments between meals can quietly derail

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Stars and Honey Protein bars are now available at Target stores nationwide. Pick up a box during your next Target shopping trip. Kristen Cavaleri, welcome to Aspire. Thank you. I'm excited to be here. I'm so happy to have you here. Honestly, when I think about you and I've been thinking about you nonstop for the last couple of days, like I just said to you, I feel like you've always been on a screen in my life, my entire life. I'm sorry.

Which can't be true because I'm much older than you. But I feel like you've just lived such a big life. There's like, you know, you as a teenage reality star, you as an adult reality star, there is you as the businesswoman, as the mother, as the divorcee, as the podcaster, you've just done so much. And what I want to ask you is like almost what is the through line? What is the one thing that has never changed in your life throughout all the stages that you've been in? Wow.

I love that question. We're just starting off strong. That's gone. Wow. The one through line, probably authenticity. And I really credit that to having a lasting career. I think when I, you know, gone in the entertainment world on Laguna Beach when I was 17, I was authentic then without even realizing it.

I think it wasn't a conscious decision. I just have only ever known to be myself, to fully be myself. And that's lasted throughout well into adulthood. And now I'm 39 years old. and I can sit here today and still tell you, I've always been authentic. Everything I've done, it's because I've wanted to. And, you know, even launching businesses, brand deals, the podcast,

like anything I've ever done, it has to be something that I fully encompass and I'm fully on board with and excited about. And I think that the audience can tell through all of that. 100%. I think it really shows. I heard you say recently that this is the first time in your life where you literally don't give a shit what anyone thinks. which I love that for you.

After 20 years of public opinion, what do you think has changed? I think it's a combination of growing up, maturing. I think when you get into your 30s and now that I'm almost in my 40s, I think you start to understand what's important in life

and people's perception of you. When you can finally understand it actually has nothing to do with you, I think that's a really beautiful place to be. And I mean, listen, I've dealt with public opinion since I was 17. And I think at the time,

that was really hard. And I used to go into the chat rooms and read what people were saying, saying. This is before social media where now people have a direct line of communication. And it's kind of hard to avoid. But I think when your life becomes so much bigger and I've got kids and I've got the business and I've got beautiful friendships, who cares what Jane and Montana thinks of me? I mean, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. And I really do fully understand now that her opinion of me has nothing to do with me. It says more about her than it does about me. And that goes for

everybody. And so I think when you can really start to understand that and embody it, it's very freeing. And it makes you be able to move throughout your life how you want to rather than what other people's opinions are going to be. I completely agree with that. And I think that what I see with you is that you've built a ton of resilience. And people often ask, like, where does that come from? And I always think that resilience comes through going through so much and coming out at the other end. And you have been through a lot. Like you've done, and we're going to talk today about all of the successful things that you've done and this beautiful business that you've built.

You've also done a lot of things that haven't worked. And I guess I'm trying to really understand how you just keep everything going. What allows you to keep going? Yeah, I would say I am definitely resilient. And that started in childhood. I mean, and I think you understand that more than anybody. That's not something that all of a sudden

when you're 18 and on TV, you develop that. Like, that started just from parents, divorce, step families, different things that happened in my, my early life. And I learned at an early age also, if I wanted something, I was going to have to do it myself. And so that has carried me through. And even when I got on TV, like I was always a new girl. I moved around a lot. And so I was always forced into these new situations where it was sink or swim. And I knew how to swim. I was always really good at that. And that has carried through. And I think that's really helped me as a

business owner. And I think being in the entertainment world, too, you have to learn how to be resilient. You get told no, every single day pretty much. And you can't let that stop you. You have to brush it off. You have to pick yourself back up and keep going. Yeah, I mean, it feels like you've done that so much. I mean, we have literally been watching you since you were 17 years old. And it's so funny because I feel like there has been this narrative that's followed you around for 20 fucking years. Yeah. What would you say that narrative is, Emma? I just don't know. I'm going to let you talk about that. But it's so interesting, right?

Because even as though we fuck around and do TikToks, it's like there are these things that everybody assumes that they know about you. Yeah. And I just wonder, like, what is the thing that you know about yourself? Like, what have you learned about yourself, having gone through all of these years of, like, public scrutiny and people thinking that they know you way more than they actually do? Well, first of all, I know that the public perception about me is not fact. And I think I had to really wrap my head around that because it's an interesting thing, getting on TV at 17 years old, overnight my life completely changed.

And people knew who I was. And all of a sudden, paparazzi is following me everywhere. And I'm on the cover of every tabloid. How quickly did that happen to you? I mean, it happened fast. So I was a junior in high school when we started filming. It aired my senior year. So in a way, I will say that first year, I was still able to sort of be in this bubble in Laguna Beach, still going to high school.

the only difference was I would literally be in class and MTV would call me and be like, hey, we need you to get on a plane and be on TRL tomorrow. And I'd be like, oh my God. It was so crazy in my life. And then I graduated high school. I moved up to L.A.

and I started pursuing this career in entertainment. But I mean, I never got to have your typical, you know, college experience or like those ages like 18 to 23, those formative years. I was on TV and people knew who I was. every move was being followed. And so that was, that was interesting. And I think those years, no one really knows who they are, right? You're still figuring it out. And I think for me, it was, it was weird because the public had this opinion about me. And I remember being like,

I really, I don't know who I am, but I don't think I'm that girl. But I think in a lot of ways, what it did do was it made me take a hard look in the mirror and be like, I definitely know I don't want to be that girl. So it really did make me grow up. And I just, I remember, I met with a producer and he said, my best advice for you is to meet as many people as possible because I was so different than how I was portrayed on the show. Because he saw that in you and he was that you need to get around. Yeah, he's like, you need to get in front of as many people as possible so that people can see that you're not this girl.

And so it was just an interesting time of trying to figure out who I was aside from public perception. But I think trying to almost disassociate from public perception was important for my own mental health and my own maturity and just trying to grow into the woman that I ultimately wanted to become. But you were so young. Did you ever find yourself like playing into the character? Was there any part of it to you that was actually quite, because you were getting so much attention, I can imagine that being like quite alluring in some ways? Well, on camera, absolutely. So I took a break between Laguna Beach and the Hills, but when I joined the Hills, I remember saying to them,

listen, I know the character you want me to play. I'm all for it. I mean, and it is fun playing the villain, you know, I got to live it up. And I knew at that moment, it would be easier for me to lean into it than try to fight it because ultimately these producers are going to get what they want anyways. So I may as well be on board and have a good time with it. Totally. Do you think that growing up in front of the cameras actually gave you like an advantage to, I almost mean like when it comes to like understanding the dynamics, the part you have to play, what the audience or a customer wants, like, was any of it actually quite informative to you as you've moved into becoming like more of your own business.

Oh, that's a good question. That's interesting. I've actually never thought of that. I would say no, only because that's never been a conscious thought or decision for me. Again, I think it goes back to that authenticity piece of I've never tried to put on a show, not even a show, but I've never tried to like be this character or this person, even as the founder of Uncommon James or on this, on a podcast, or whatever it is. I've always just been myself.

and it's just never even occurred to me to carry that over into everyday life. I'm so glad, because I can imagine when you're so young, and I've been in situations myself where something's expected of you and so you kind of play into it. And sometimes it's hard to make that,

you know, almost like the distinction, when you're there and you're playing a character and you're getting so much love for that and then wait a minute, you've got to step into this other side of your life. It must have been like a really, just like a really taxing time, I imagine. Yeah, I mean, I think because I had a separate life.

Like, I really think of the hills when I think of these types of situations. I had a very separate life. So I was dating off the show. I had friends that weren't on the show. So I was able to really look at the hills as a job. You had some separation. And I think for my own sanity, that was really important. Because I remember when I first joined the hills, there was a gray area with a lot of people.

They didn't know it was real anymore, what was fake. And that scared the shit out of me, quite honestly. So I just knew I wanted to keep everything separate. And I think that ultimately saved me. No doubt it saved you. It's like 100%. I wonder when you look back at your younger self, are they things that you've had to like unlearn to become the person and the woman that you are today?

I would say most of that would be just work personally that I've had to do. I think when I look back at like 17-year-old me, I was a mess. And I was ultimately really insecure. And so like my biggest thing that I've had to learn over the last. however many years is like a mantra that I used to tell myself is I am whole. I've had to learn that I am whole, just like we all are. We all are enough. But I have a narcissistic dad.

And I think it really affected me. And I always felt like nothing was ever good enough. I was never enough. And that's ultimately been like my healing journey. And that carries over into business and to everything else that I'm doing. I think now where I'm sitting in front of you, I can tell you I'm very much comfortable in my skin. I'm at peace. I'm happy. Do you feel whole? I do feel whole. And I think the difference too is in my early 20s, we'll say, I was working so hard and chasing all of these things that ultimately never

fulfilled me. And I found my worth in my resume where now it's very different. I actually feel like I'm good. Like I can almost kick back. But I do have that fire in me still. I'm a Capricorn. Like I do love working. And I, you know, I get so much out of it. But it's a different sort of chase now that I find, where now it's more just like, I know what I'm capable of. And there's so much more that I want to do with Uncommon James or whatever else it may be, where before I was like chasing this open-ended thing that was never going to fulfill me. It could never be satisfied.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just being like really narrow-minded when I think about you. Like, even as you say, like, I have a mantra. Like, I never think about you and put you like as a super-spirited. person? Is that a part of you that I've like completely missed? Like where did you even learn to have a mantra? Who told you that? Okay, so it's so funny because I've become so spiritual and I tried to do this whole spiritual thing on my podcast and it did not resonate with my audience. I'm like, you guys, come on. They were like, they wanted some day. They were like, what? Let's go back to talking

about dating. You can do it. It's fine. I actually am so interested because when you've said that, I was like, really? She has a mantra? Oh my gosh. I, my spirituality, not to be like, you know, cliche or cheesy, but it's really become everything for me. Really? So what happened was my brother passed 10 years ago. I'm so sorry. Thank you. And that was what sort of like jump started my spirituality and the journey that I've been on.

And I think really when you lose someone, you start asking a lot of questions, right? And questions about life and what are we all doing here? And where do they go when they die? And so it's been this evolution of it. And then I started doing hypnotherapy. And I've just done a lot of work in the spiritual world. And that's given me so much peace. and really, I don't know, I just, I really look to spirituality now for guidance. And ultimately,

I think what spirituality does for people, it allows us to trust ourselves and know that we are our own best compass. It's that gut feeling or whatever you want to call it. I just think it's your best guide in life. And I've really leaned on that a lot. I love that for you. I mean, it's so interesting because I think that we all need something like in times like, and again, it can just be a time when things get really difficult in your personal life, in your business life, but you always need something to go back and something to go home to. Yeah. So I love that you've found that for yourself because, you know, you know more than anyone,

life will throw a pile of shit at you at some point. Exactly. And being able to say, okay, there's a, like, I'm that, you know, cliche where it's like, I think everything has a meaning and I'm always looking at it like, what's the lesson in this? It's like, okay, this sucks. No doubt. But what's the lesson doesn't come so immediately, but you're like, But you're like, I will find a lesson in this.

Exactly. It can be hard. But I really do think ultimately there is a reason for everything, and that has helped me in every facet of my life, whether it's romantic partners, you know, business, friends, kids, being a mom, I think it really, it's helped me a lot. Cotton is one of those fabrics that does a lot of quiet work in your wardrobe. It breathes, it lasts, it goes with everything.

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cotton range. The same fabric does the job across your whole day. The cotton family is what happens when you treat the most foundational fabric like it deserves real thought. Shop all of my favorite skims pieces at skims.com. After you place your order, be sure to let them know that I sent you. Select podcast in the survey and be sure to select Aspire in the drop-down menu that follows. Hey y'all. Poodle and Maddie here from Reality Gays. Grab your favorite thong because for the first time, we're heading to the villa for the new season of Love Island USA. Maddie, I can't wait to watch Ariana babysit these shiny, oiled up adults, so I'm pretty sure aren't there for the right reasons.

From the homewrecking bombshells and the Casa Amor trauma to the absolute wreckage of movie night. We're judging it all. Pull up a daybed and join us every Wednesday for all the Love Island USA drama. Find reality gaze wherever you get your podcasts. I'm so interested to talk to you about Uncommon, James, because I don't know if you remember. I met you for the first time. I don't know if it was like three or four years ago.

We were in New York and we were both on a thing. And you look so gorgeous. You're in like, you know, fit and lovely and toned in in a good outfit. I was like, oh, look as good as she does on the telly. So nice when someone's not a disappointment. And then you were so, like, cute and lovely. And I heard you speak. And if I'm, again, just being super honest

because we were on a very serious, like, business type panel situation for a very serious client that we love. And you spoke so eloquently about your business and you spoke so thoughtfully and, again, very honestly. And I was really impressed. I was like, oh shit, she's like really doing a thing. And I really want you to talk just a little bit

about uncommon James because my audience is always, you know, they're the most entrepreneurial, they're the people that want to start things. and your start was really interesting because you had all of these opportunities. You were doing a deal here, a deal here, a bit of an endorsement, but you actually decided to go out and start on your own. And to this day, you're still 100% self-funded. It's your company.

You own it 100%. But I'm interested to understand, like, A, what led you there and how all of the smaller opportunities that led to this? Like, how did that actually inform the business that you've got today? Well, first of all, thank you. Okay, so I first, my first, my first, intro into the branding world was I had a shoe line with Chinese laundry who I loved. I grew up wearing them and I'm really thankful for them to this day. And I had it for I think five, five and a

half years. Oh, that's pretty good going. Yeah, it was substantial. You were selling some shoes. I was selling shoes, slinging shoes. And I learned so much with that experience. The biggest takeaway for me was that I know my girl. I know my customer. And the shoes that I felt so strongly about were always my top sellers. But because I was working with a team of people, a well-established company, they know what they're doing. They're the experts. I would bend sometimes and I would listen to what they wanted me to do. Those shoes never performed. So I got to see very quickly, I've got a really good handle on who my girl is. And that is invaluable, as you know. And so I, while I had final say, I sort of didn't, right? I was working with a team of people. And I had this

fire in me to prove to myself and everybody that I could really do a lot more. in the branding world. And so, yeah, I decided to launch Uncommon James at the time. I was essentially a stay-at-home mom. I mean, I would pop into L.A. and do some hosting for E. How old were your kids at that point? Well, Saylor, my baby, she was only a year and a half when I launched Uncommon James. I mean, they were all little.

Babies. Babies. But you had like babies. Yeah, yeah. All under five, essentially. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

That's a fucking nightmare. But, you know, because I was home all the time. Yeah. And I have always. But that's so hard. Like, that's a crazy time to even have the headspace to think about. Right. doing something. That's just who I am, though, is like, I always have to be doing stuff.

Like, I'm not the kind of person that can sit on the couch and watch TV. I'm always like, there's so much more I could be doing. Like, I just, I don't like downtime. I got to be moving. I got to be going. So I launched Uncommon James and I launched it in, you know, my house. It was pretty small potatoes at the time. And so I was able to do it. I had a girl who had come over and help me ship out boxes, but that was it. I'd always sort of toyed with going back to reality, but I wanted it to be on my terms and I wanted it to really serve me. I always knew. I always just say I can go back to reality in 20 years if I want. It'll always be there.

So when I launched Uncommon James, I just thought this is a really good opportunity to go back to reality TV, show everything that it takes to launch a company, pull back the curtain, good and bad. And yeah, I pitched it to E and E was excited about it. So let's go. Let's go. Let's go back to the beginning, right? Because you actually launched the company with $50,000 of your own savings. Yeah. You had no team.

It was just you. You were like shipping out of your own house. Talk to me about what that first year actually. looked like. Well, so the $50,000 came because I had a jewelry line with one of my good friends at the time, and she bought me out of the company with that $50,000. So I use that $50,000 to launch on Common James. Did you feel, I think that's, it's a really important part to think about because I'm assuming that you didn't just have lots of $50,000 like hanging around. And you're like, loaded at that point. Yeah, well, I mean, a risk for you because, again, I think some people find it very difficult to seemingly think about like putting

a bunch of money into something that's unproven. Well, right. And how I sort of looked at it was it wasn't $50,000 coming out of my pocket, right? I mean, we had this jewelry line that wasn't doing well. I actually tried to buy her out of it. Again, thank God, one of the best things that's ever happened, she was able to get $50,000 to buy me out of it. So yes, I mean, to me, that was money that would be easy to start the company with because again, yes, it wasn't coming out of my pocket. Fair. With that $50,000, I think 20 went to the photography. I mean, a big chunk.

You in the campaign? Yeah, I was. And I still use that same photographer to this day for every single campaign. Dennis Leopold, he's the best. That's so nice. He's the best. But I knew, I just, I mean, images are everything.

Your content, your images, they really are what's conveying, the feeling, the message, your whole aesthetic. And so I knew that I wanted to definitely put money behind that. Obviously, product, which I think I launched with like eight or nine skews, and ordered not, I mean, I probably, I don't remember exactly,

maybe it was 500 per each skew, because I think that was a minimum at the time, which I probably would have done lower if I put up. And then I hired someone to create my website, and that was it. I had no business plan. I didn't, I've never really taken a step back to think about anything. I'm someone who just goes off of gut instinct, and if I have an idea, I just go and I execute it. So there was no, like, grand vision. I'm going to start a lifestyle empire.

I'm going to be in these categories. It's going to, you know, eventually. be bricks and mortar and a store. Nothing. Literally nothing. I know my customer. I can sell shit. I'm me. I'm going. Literally, that's it. Wow. Yeah. It's just so crazy. I created our Instagram and I think the first, you know, nine photos were just the image, the vibe that I wanted to convey. And that was it. That was it. What was your ambition? Like, do you remember if you go back to when you started, do you remember what you were trying to get to? Like, did you have a number? Did you, like, what was there? No. I had no number. I just.

knew I could do so much more than I was. I just had this fire in me to prove to everybody that I could make it in the branding world. Wow. And I think again, because with Chinese laundry, I felt very limited. And then with the jewelry line that I had with my friend, it was called Emerald Dove at the time. I also felt really limited because she was involved in all of the operations. She was designing. Essentially, she was doing everything and I was just marketing. And I just, I didn't love it the way that I knew I could love it because I wasn't as involved. I'm also a bit of a control freak. You wanted the involvement. You wanted to get like...

To this day, I've always said, I'm the heartbeat of Uncommon James, the same way every founder is the heartbeat of their company. I've seen, because I've had Uncommon James for nine years, when I've tried to take a slight step back, it shows.

And when I come back in, guns of blazing, and I'm excited and I'm fired up, it shows, and everyone can feel that energy. And I just, yeah, because, you know, at the end of the day, no one's going to care about your company as much as you do. And that's just the truth. No, but I mean, it really is the truth.

I'm interested to understand, like, what you actually learned about yourself as a founder, like when you were just like this one-man band that you couldn't have learned any other way. Like, what actually happened to inform you and the type of leader and businesswoman that you would eventually become? The learning lessons for me have actually happened later.

And I think, I think for me, one of the biggest things is, because during COVID, I hired my whole C-suite team, you know, and I got some of the best people, and I used recruiters and did the whole thing, and these are the experts. These are the people that have, you know, tons of experience. And I really felt like they know what's best. And they do in a lot of ways.

There's a lot that I can still learn, and especially with, like, you know, warehouse functionality and some of these things, I don't really know what I'm doing, right? I'm going to lean on the experts for these things. But when it comes to anything that's the heartbeat of the company, the marketing, the product, you know, anything customer facing, I have learned that actually I don't think you need all of these years of experience to be an expert. I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but I would say I do know what's best for my company. And I think a lot of founders could probably attest to that.

Just because someone has 30 years experience doesn't always mean that they have the answer. So I think you heard Jennifer Fisher say if you could fund you. it yourself, don't take outside money. It must have been, I don't know if I was about to launch on Common James or right after I saw an interview that she did. And yeah, she said, if you can do it yourself, do it. And that for some reason just stuck with me. And have you ever even considered raising capital? Yeah, I have. And I do think there may come a time when we do. For me, there is so much more that I still want to do before I bring on an investor. To me, the reason to bring on an investor is to grow it, to sell it, right? And I think really, really,

for us, what that would mean is open 75 stores. You know, stores are expensive. And we continue to open stores. We're about to open Austin. But because it's just me putting money back into the company, it's slow and steady. You know, stores are expensive. And so that would be the reason why. I just feel like I'm not quite there yet because there's so much more I want to do still.

Fair. Yeah. No, listen, and I think it's so interesting to like have a business that is actually tracking and doing really well. And for you to be making the decisions and going at your own pace. That's the thing. It's really not having anyone to answer to as a dream come true for me. Especially also, I think at this point in your life, when you had three young children, like that's not all you're doing, right?

It's not just about the business. And so having an element of flexibility, of not being answerable to shareholders, of making the decisions of you deciding if and what and when and how is, you know, that's the thing. That's the thing. And it's not like I just have the kids and uncommon James. I also, how I look at it is I've got two buckets. I've got my family bucket and my work bucket.

And work almost never spills over into family. But we're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about that. But work, it's not just uncommon James. I've got the podcast. I'm doing TV things. I've got, tell me.

So let's actually go through. What is your professional life? You have the brand and there's a whole team and we're talking 100 people all in. It's bricks and mortar. It's direct to consumer. And that is an. And how much of your time are you, like, working on that brand every day? I go into the office every single Tuesday and I'm there all day and I'm going to start going, I think, now twice a week.

Got it. But I was in Cabo last week with my kids and we were just talking about this and I was up before them on the phone with general contractors for our Austin store and on emails and trying to do all the things. You know, so I am very much involved and my emails are outrageous, you know, just sort of is what it is. You mean outrageous. They stress me out so about like, that is the one. thing. I hate email so much. If I don't look at my phone, I'll come back and it's just, it's hundreds. So what happens on the other three days? So you're two days a week in the office. Yep. And the other three days, what does that look like? A lot of podcast work. So, and with my podcast,

I have an incredible producer, but really, I'm the one doing all the prep work. I'm, of course, obviously, taping the podcast. I do a first pass listen at it. And then I'm going through and approving all of the clips. I mean, I'm doing, I'm doing a lot of it. People don't realize how much work a podcast is. No, they don't. They do not realize. It's a lot of work. I definitely didn't. But I do think if you're really hands on with it,

and you have a partner, right, you're with Dear Media. Yes, yes. But you have a producer and your hands on and you're like in the studio. You're like doing that from home. So luckily I have a studio in my house, which is incredible so I can just walk on out there. But yes, a lot of the times I am prepping.

Because what I'll do is I'll come out to L.A. and I'll bank, you know, four or five, six podcast. But yeah, it's a lot of prep work and then the past. But so it's, it's podcast, it's uncommon James. I just launched a new sparkling juice with protein called fizzin. I'm working on a... How much protein is in? I should have brought you one.

You definitely should have. It's actually rude, not yet. I'm not the protein freak. Like, every day, I'm like, and I had 125 grams. Okay, I got you. I can't eat another fucking thing. You don't need chicken anymore. I got you.

I'm like, I'm getting some fizzing with cottage cheese. Like, I can't go. But I'm also working on, I'm launching a company called True Bakes, and it's not, because I've got cookbooks. So some of my recipes, ready-to-bake baking mixes that you just add egg and oil or whatever to it. So you're doing the most. I'm doing the most. And why are you doing, like, tell me what is it that drives you to doing all of these different things?

Is it about the money? Is it about satisfying different parts of your creativity? Like, I really want to understand. Like, why are you doing all of those things? Great. Fair question. I get something different from all of them. My real passion is actually in the health world.

I would say. I've had four books, but three of them are cookbooks, and they're all very healthy. And when people come up to me on the street, this has happened more when my cookbooks came out. It's been a few years. But people would come up to me and say, I've started cooking how you cook and I've lost 20 pounds. It's like that for me is everything. And because I have three kids and I've always been so conscious about everything I'm putting in my body and used to be their bodies now that they're older, I can only control so much. But when I'm at home, you know, I'm cooking very healthy. And so these recipes that I'm doing for true. they all have a hidden added benefit. So like my zucchini almond butter blondeies, they have zucchini in them. I have green banana muffins with spinach in them and you can't taste it. But so I just want all of this to be really accessible for moms, that specifically for moms,

where it's easy to actually get some nutrition in your kids without it becoming this huge battle. Are you driven by Monito? Absolutely. I would be lying if I said it. I always have been, by the way, my whole life. And I think so, so my perspective, parents got a divorce in third grade. And my dad moved to California. My mom got remarried and we moved to

Chicago. And my mom at the time wouldn't give me anything, anything. I remember one time I wanted a $40 pair of jeans and she wouldn't buy it for me. And it, I mean, it drove me crazy at the time. But I'm so thankful now because it taught me that if I wanted something, I was going to have to work for it, I was going to have to make it happen myself. And then I moved to California, my freshman year of high school and I moved in with my dad. And it was a very different situation. My dad didn't throw money at me, but it was never an issue. If I wanted money, I could have money. And I didn't, for some reason, I didn't like it.

I didn't want to take his money. So I went and got a job when I was 16 because I wanted to, not because I had to. And I remember that was interesting for my dad. My dad kind of brought that up, like, why are you working? I've just never wanted to take money that wasn't mine. And I saw with my stepmom at the time, they had a very toxic dynamic around money.

My dad used to have to give me money in an envelope. He would lie to her about it. And I just knew I never wanted to be in a relationship, an unhappy relationship or a toxic relationship because of money. To me, I knew at a young age, money was freedom. Money gives you choices. And especially as a woman, I just think it's so important. And so I've always wanted the option to stay or leave. There's a real conversation happening right now about how disconnected people feel. About half of Americans say they're feeling lonely or disconnected from the people around them. It's something a lot of people are noticing in their own lives, in their communities,

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I'm just thinking you were famous, like, so young. Yeah. And had so much more money than, like, probably a regular 20-year-old would have access to it. Well, my dad, I lent my dad money, I mean, hundreds of thousands of dollars in my early 20s that I'll never see. Which, you know, listen, is it fine? I don't know. It is what it is.

And I've had to grapple with it, you know, and I've ultimately put it to bed and made peace with it. But I think as a parent now, I can't imagine asking my kids for money, especially that amount of money and putting that on them. And I think at the time, I didn't know how to say no to my dad. That's also been sort of like a big life lesson for me. And I've ultimately cut my dad out of my life. So I really figured out how to say no to him.

But it was really hard for me when I was younger. And so that's probably like the biggest, the biggest thing that stands out in my mind. In terms of like how you think about teaching your kids about money, is that even something that you're thinking about? Yes. Because you were raised in a very specific way, but very differently between your mother and your father. So now that you, I mean, you're a single mom. Like, what are you telling your kids? Yeah. Well, I really value how my mom raised me with money. So my kids don't just get whatever they want. And if they want something, they have to work for it. So good example is last summer, both of my boys created their own little businesses. So one of my boys was washing windows, people's windows. And the other one was watching people's garbage cans because if they want something, they got to go work for it and they got to make it happen.

I try to be very hyper aware of that because they are growing up in a very fortunate situation. And I want them to know, this is my money. It was not your money. And, you know, something as small as they fly coach,

I'm flying in first class. That was important to me when they became old enough that they could. It's so difficult to do that, isn't it? No, it's not when they're older. No. I'm all, bye. Bye.

Bye guys have fun back there. Yeah, later. No, I think when they're younger, you know, like four kids, but you can't because, first all, I couldn't put my three in the back and I'd be like, please don't fight, please don't like, who knows what's going to happen back there? But now, you'll figure it out. They'll be fine. Yeah, and it's good for them.

And I think it's little things like that as a parent that make ultimately, I think, a big difference in the long run. So tell me about, like, I understand how you're spending your time in your businesses, but I'm really interested in the way that you look at, you've got three kids, your single, you've got all of these businesses. How do you even approach financial planning? Like, are you sitting here going like, okay, I expect my podcast to make XYZ, and I need to start this new thing, and I have an expectation over there.

I'm just interested, like, what your relationship looks like to money and how you're figuring out, like, where you're spending your time. Well, I have a financial advisor who I do meet with, of course, and he helps me with all of that. But, yeah, I mean, I know how much my, I know, I know, I have a guarantee for podcast and then I can of course make more. So I know that that is set. I have my salary at Uncommon James. I have these set incomes, which is great. And then anything else I do on top is just icing on the cake. So, and I know what it takes to live my life annually without changing anything, right? I think that's the beautiful thing of having a financial advisor. I wouldn't be able to do that on my own,

but he can sit here and tell me what it takes. And so I know in my head, okay, I've got X amount coming in and it takes X amount to run my life. So, but I also am thinking about in 10, 15 years, what that looks like. And so, you know, I do need a certain amount of money if I want to maintain my lifestyle and I do have to keep working. And so that is a driver for me. I have a certain amount in my head that I would like to make, but then I could actually kick back and not have to worry about any money for the rest of my life. You've spoken quite a lot about the need for financial independence. I think it's really interesting because, again, it sounds like that wasn't necessarily something that came from your childhood. That's something that you've decided for

yourself. I think it started with seeing my dad and my stepmom in that dynamic and just knowing how unhappy they were together, but she was staying because I don't think she had another option. Which happens to so many women. I know, and I think about that all the time. And I hate that. If I could go out there and help every woman and be like, this is what we have to do. I just, yeah, I knew I never wanted to be in that situation. And especially having a daughter, I mean. And you've never found yourself in that situation? Because again, you've had money from such a young age. I did. I will tell you that what ultimately gave me the confidence to leave my marriage was the success of Uncommon James. Really? Yeah. That gave me the confidence to be like, yeah, I don't know. I know what

I'm doing and which is interesting because if I didn't have Uncommon James, I could have taken half of his money, right? But because I had this company, there was a really large asset on our balance sheet, I didn't get anything, which I'm so happy about now. But I don't get any money from my ex-husband. I had to give them half the value of uncommon James and cash and properties and everything else. Yeah, isn't that interesting? Yeah, interesting is one word for it.

I was really pissed at the time. And now I'm so thankful because I think for me, I've needed these things in my life to keep going. And I have found that that is an instance where I was like, I'm going to fight harder. Those little moments push me and I actually come out the other side stronger. What advice would you give to other women

that end up like in a situation where obviously there's like financial entanglement? Like now having the benefit of hindsight, would you have done anything differently? I don't know what you can do differently. I mean, I will say I don't believe that just because you're married to someone, you're entitled to half, man or woman on either side of it.

Unless your blood, sweat and tears are in it too and you can prove that you start something together, it's different. That's very different. But if it's just because you were married, I don't agree with that at all. I think those laws need to change. But other than that, I mean, no, I don't know what else I could have done differently. I mean, I'm still so thankful that I started on Common James to begin with.

I'm glad I did it all, you know? It just sort of is what it is. But it's kind of amazing and freeing to think that you actually started the very thing that ultimately has given you freedom. Absolutely. The fact that you were able to create a company that meant that you could, leave an unhappy relationship that meant that actually you could uncouple yourself from that man and still come out on the other end. Exactly.

With the one who has the asset. Exactly. It's pretty impressive. Thank you. Do you have a relationship with your ex? Just a co-parenting relationship, you know, I'd say that's pretty much it. Did you have to make a lot of trade-offs like during that period, like other trade-offs in terms of like your ambition and the things that you wanted to do?

You know, I look at that time period where, my life, like right before my divorce, during my divorce, or I guess I should say right before, I felt just so overwhelmed with everything. I was hosting, I had launched on Common James, I was doing a reality show, I was doing cookbooks, my three little kids, my marriage was falling apart. Like, I felt like I couldn't breathe. And so when, when we finally split, I felt like I I could breathe again. Like I had a minute. And that felt like all of a sudden

I had some freedom. And it was during COVID also, which I think was a- timing. It was a huge blessing. And so I just felt like I could come up for air again. Or to gift. I needed that.

Yeah, really badly. And I felt like I found myself again. I got my spark back. Like I was a shell of who I was. And I didn't even realize it at the time. but then when I started to get my spark back, even my mom and all my friends were like, oh my God, I can't even, you're back, you're back to your old self. And so that time period felt like just freedom and refining myself, which is like, it's huge.

And I also, I hired my C-suite level in the exact same time in the height of COVID. Like I think- Because the business was exploding. Exploding. Exploding. And so I think the last episode of Very Cavalry aired in March of 2020, I filed for, or we announced our divorce in April of 2020. My C-suite level started in May of 2020. It was just like, boom, boom, boom. The world just shut down.

I don't even know what is happening. And in the same breath, then I think because my C-suite level came in, it allowed, not only did I have a little bit more time now, because at the time, Jay and I did 50-50 with the kids, that has since changed, but we did at the time. So I had every other week where... You could pull yourself into it.

What am I doing with all my time? It was amazing. And I also now have people helping me with a company. And so I'm not on email. else till 10 p.m. every night. And I just, I just needed it so bad. It was, it was a huge blessing. I really want to talk to you a bit about you touched on like the way you have the business or your business is and then you have your family. And one doesn't encroach on the other. Let's talk about that. Let's talk about it. Let's talk about that. How do you think, I mean, again, because, you know,

while you've been running this business, you've always had kids, right? Because you started it when they were really, really little. What does it actually look like running a business that is growing, doing all of these things? What's the reality of how you're able to mother in a way that seemingly you're making the decisions and you're deciding? So I think we talked about this when you came on my podcast. You can't be the best at everything that you do. That is true. There's just not enough as much time in the day. I have chosen, this might be a little bit different than most of the people who have sat in this chair. I have chosen to be the best mom that I can be and be a good business owner. And that's the trade-off. I would love to sit here and tell you,

Uncommon James is a $100 million company and it's not. But I am the best mom and my kids would tell you that also. And that to me was more important than being, you know, the best, the best business owner on the planet. So what does that look like? Like, as you say that because you're essentially saying your trade-off as actually being your professional career. You've decided that actually you're going to put 110% in to your kids because that's the most important thing. Consciously, what does that decision look like? You're saying no to opportunities.

I say no to a lot of opportunities. Yeah, and I think because I live in Tennessee, a lot of things are in L.A. or New York or wherever they are, and I do say no to a lot. And I also think that's a good thing because it puts everything in perspective. it makes you only do the things that you absolutely want to do. And by the way, I don't know what else I need to be doing.

I feel very fulfilled and I feel on the business front, I'm doing everything I want to do. So I don't know what else I would even say yes to. So that's actually been really easy for me to turn down opportunities. I think also my kids are in school all day, right? I have full days where I can do all of the work things. I'm very efficient. I'm very organized. I'm very on top of it.

I can be doing 20 things at once and they can be done perfectly. But you're walking out of that office. at four o'clock because you go home earlier. My kids get home at like 3.20 every day. Shut out. Tuesday, sometimes I will stay a little bit later. Usually sometimes I'm home like 3, 45, 4, but no, I mean, I'm like, yeah, I'm pretty adamant about it.

I think there are so many ways to come into being a businesswoman and a mother, and there is no one-size-fits-all. And what works for me is very different from what will work for you. But I do think it's really important to be honest about the things that give, an honest about what it actually takes, what your infrastructure looks like, like all of the things, right?

Because I'm sure how you were doing things, perhaps even, you know, in the first two, three years of the business, is very different from what you're able to do now. So give me an idea of like what it actually look like for you. Yeah, I mean,

and that's the thing is my days are never the same. I mean, I can run you through a Tuesday, okay? So the day that I go to the office, I wake up and I make breakfast and lunches for my kids. We are out the door. at 730. I'm home at 805, 810. I'm not working out that day.

You know, I'm just not. I don't have time for it. I get ready. I'm in the office by like 9.45. I also live 45 minutes away from my office, which is... I could do. Brutal.

It's brutal. It's brutal. That is not ideal. I would build a house in the office if I could. It's really not ideal. It's a lot of time wasted. It's really not. But I can do phone calls.

I was going to say you can do phone calls and you can listen to yourself on your podcast. You could do that first pass. Oh, wait. I don't know what I haven't been doing that. What the fuck? Well, you want to know what? Because I'm highlighting stuff to take out. Oh, okay, fun.

You need a hand. You need a hand. This is it. And I also, but I also value that time to listen to music. Oh, that's so nice. Do you like singing in the car? Yes. I need to check out.

Yeah, I need that too. What glorious 45 minutes you have. But my Tuesdays, I'm in meetings the entire day. Sometimes I'm shoving food in my mouth in between meetings because that's just how it is. Yeah. I will leave usually like 315, home by 345, 4. And then I'm making dinner. I'm off.

My kids are also so active right now. I mean, we're in summer break. But right before my boys are playing basketball, my daughter's playing volleyball, like we are just on the move constantly. And then I'm in bed like nine, nine, 15. Wow. Sleep is the most important thing to me.

What a mom. What a girl? I'm not doing any of that. But I'll tell, what time were, oh, I think I asked you this too. What time are you going to bed? I'm going to bed around, like I like to be in my bed at 10.

That's right. Right? Like, that's like, but I'm, I just am not someone who has ever slept particularly well. Like I can sleep anywhere. Like, you know, it's like I could sleep here. But I don't like have, you know, I'm not very, very good at sleeping. But also I'm not doing all the things that you're doing.

Like I'm not up and making the breakfast and cooking the lunches and fairing them around. It's like that bit I miss. Like, and that is, you know, again, that's like my truth. It's a straight off. I sit and I eat breakfast with my kids and I eat dinner every night with my kids. Even if I'm going out for dinner, it's like I'm going to sit. and like be with them at the table, but I don't cook the dinner. I've thought a million times.

I should get a private chef. But I do love cooking. Well, that's like, but that's your passion. I love that. I really understand. So then on the flip side of that, what have you outsourced to be able to, because your company's not a small, right? I've read that your company was like $50 million.

Yeah. Yeah, we're just shy of $50. So you're just shy of $50 million. It's not a small business. There's 100 staff. What bits of the business are you outsourcing that enables you to be really hands-on at home? Well, first of all, my team. is phenomenal. I mean, they really are. But really where I sit within the company is everything

product related and marketing. Those are the two areas that I absolutely love. Do you have a CEO? So, okay, I just recently, I am, and I just recently let go of my entire C-suite. What? Yeah. No, you didn't. All of them? On the telly, on the, on the, on a shirt. Did you do this as part of it? You got to go. It sounds like it, right? You know what? It really says, who lets go of all of this C-suite at once? Like, I'm like, do you need me to come?

Should I do something? If you want to, I would be more than happy to have you come. I'm really panicked for you. Yeah, it was time. And I am not going to reh- Well, so I let my C-O go about a year ago. And then hired my VP of Merch, who I am promoting to CMO. She's phenomenal.

I just like go of my CFO and my CMO, my marketing. And I... Like why? What is the reason? They're all terrible. I don't want you to talk about individuals. If I can't justify why I'm paying you, yeah. I'd say if I'm doing your job, not finance, but I still have three people on the finance team.

I think with marketing, I'm so passionate about it. I love it so much that I'm so involved with it. We have a huge... Most of our team is on the marketing team and they're incredible. And I just, I realized we don't have a need for that role anymore. I won't be rehiring that. And we had four people on finance. We're a small company.

Yeah. That's outrageous. And you would have to. She's like, that's outrageous. I'm like, yeah? Yeah. Right. I had to take a step back and really evaluate everything.

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And I do understand that. So you got to a point actually where you were just like, this is not the company that I want to run. I sort of stepped away for a few years, if I'm being completely honest. And about a year ago, I started getting really involved again. And I've just been taking it all in, seeing it all. And yes, now I'm cleaning a house. What was the reason you stepped away? time, quite honestly. And you know, because you hire these people, these experts who have all this experience and you think, great, I can lean on them. And I can, and I was still designing all of the jewelry and I still was doing, you know, all product related things, developing skincare and doing all these things. But I wasn't involved in the day to day like I am now or like I was.

And it makes a difference. It makes a difference. And when I started to get more involved again, yeah, it was, it is. It's like you wake up and you're like, hang on a second. How did we get here? And why are we spending so much money? And because, you know, the thing is, too, because it is my money. It's just me, right? And no one is going to appreciate your money the same way that you do. And even like looking at softwares and apps that we're using, I'm like, what is going on? Everyone has all their own apps.

I'm like, hey, we got to allocate this guys. Like, this is crazy. And so I just think periodically you have to take an assessment of what's going on and reel everybody in. Honestly, I think that that's such a great piece. of advice because, again, I feel like I've done that systematically in almost every company that I've ever been a part of. And there comes a point where you really have to make a decision about what type of business you want to run. And if you're very clear about that and you're in it day to day, like you do know. You build it. What's interesting is like you have to then be willing

to go back in and do it. So I think that's why I didn't for so long because I knew it was going to make my workload a lot more. And that scared me. a little bit. But ultimately, this is my baby. You know, I care the most. And I am so passionate about it. For me, that's when the trickiest part, though, was like allocating all of my time on the business front. And it scared me. But now I'm, I'm so fired up about it. And it's exactly what I needed. And we also talked about this, the same people who get you from 50 million are not the same that get you to 100 million. And unfortunately, in business sometimes, I do think you need fresh blood. You need to kind of shake things up a little bit. And you outgrow people.

It's just the nature of the beast. Is there anything in you that struggles with those decisions? Yes, because when I personally like someone, it makes it really hard. I had to let someone go recently, and it was really hard because I really loved her. But ultimately, I have to do it's best for the business. I'd say that's one of the hardest things about owning a business, is having to make decisions sometimes solely based on the business and removing your emotion from it. How are you thinking about growth differently, I guess, like in this chapter of your life,

both in the business but also personally. Yeah, there's this pressure now, right, for the growth. When you launch, you're like in La La Land. Like, again, I never even thought about it. But now it's like, you always just feel it. It's always on your shoulders. And part of selling excites me to let go of that. Like, just let that go.

I do feel this pressure to continue to grow. And I do want to be a $100 million company one day. I just, I don't know, because again, it's allocating my time. If I was in the office every day, I think we could easily do it. Of course. And that's not just crediting my team whatsoever. Again, I just think as the founder, when you live and breathe this, and I think it's an energy, right, it trickles down to everybody and everyone can feel it.

And when you're fired up and excited, everyone is. And I just think, again, I just can't do it right now. How much pressure do you feel from the outside? Because, again, I think when you look at where you started, you're the one who's kind of like the shiny bright star that has. has this, like, fantastic business and a big career still. And I wonder if there's any part of you that's like, I have to, like, keep that up, you know? No.

And I can honestly tell you that. I would be okay. I mean, this is not going to happen. But if the world fell apart, right? An uncommon James just, I would be okay just being like, I don't know, I couldn't do it anymore. I don't want to do it anymore because I want to be home and just travel the world and whatever it may be. I would be okay with that. I think because I've experienced enough failure publicly that that doesn't scare me, which thank

God, because I would not want that to be my driver. No, totally. What would you say to somebody that is sitting at home and listening to your story and hearing the way that you have slowly built this business that really feels so intrinsically like you and you've had like great moments with it and you've had moments where you know you've needed to step back in for someone who's kind of already decided like, what she's supposed to be doing and what her destiny is. What's your advice? I would say, go for it and just give it 110%. And I think, you know, I didn't even go to college, right? Like,

I don't have any degree whatsoever. I do have passion and drive and an incredible work ethic. And I think if you have those things, you can do anything, truly anything. And you can't let some nose stop you. you can't let people get in your head and tell you not to do it. Listen, people are always going to tell you no and you can't let that stop you. And I think I hope that I can be inspiring and show people that if I can do it, you can do it truly. Like if I can create a business and make it work for me, you can do it. I also think you have to, we're living in this society now where unless you're a $250 million business, it's like you're not successful. I make a salary every year from Uncommon James. It's a really good salary. I am making money every single. single year. That's a good thing. That's a great thing. It's more than a good thing. Exactly. Like to me, that's successful. I don't think that every business needs to be like a unicorn or it needs to be something so insane that the whole world knows about. You could literally have a business that pays you, that pays a couple of people that gives you a nice life. And like, that is not just good. It's enormously successful. Exactly. Enormously successful. Yeah. And so

don't let society tell you that you're not successful. Looking back, Is there anything that, and this is not about regret, is there anything that you would do differently? You've been such an open book. You had the bloody show. You've, you know, again, you've lived your life in this very open way. And there are things that you're like, ah, I would probably not do that. My career as a whole. I mean, I've essentially grown up in front of the public. I've done and said really stupid things, but I was growing up as a kid. Or I'm also just figuring it out. I've never been a 39-year-old woman before. Like, I'm still figuring it out. You know what I mean? Like, we're all figuring it out.

And I think learning how to have more grace for everybody in general, I think is really important. I've had to learn that myself. But it's just a wild ride. I will say this. When I look back at my life, while there's been a lot of hard times and things I'm not proud of, it's been a really great life. I've had a lot of fun. I've gotten to do really cool, amazing things.

Meet incredible people. I've got three of the most amazing kids on the planet. I have creative freedom. Like, I'm doing the thing. And I'm really proud of that. and I'm really thankful every single day for that. Oh, what a great place to be. I have one last question for you before I moved to Rapid Fire.

What are you still aspiring to now in your life? Ten years ago, I've been such a different answer. Right now, for me, what really fills my cup is my kids. Like, truly, and I think we were talking before we started rolling. I have five more years with my oldest Camden in the house. That wrecks me when I think about it. I've got eight years total with all of them. And to some people, that probably sounds like a lot of time.

You know how fast that goes as a mom. And so I am trying to just take it all in, be around as much as possible. And by the way, they also already want to be with their friends all the time. So, like, my time with them is pretty precious. And if I died today, I could look back and be like, I did it. I really did it. I think I want to travel the world, but I think I'll do that later in life. I would like to get married again.

Dating has, you know, slipped by. That is one area that's really suffered. But I'm okay with that because it's working kids right now. And I know this is a phase and that won't be forever. and when the right guy is supposed to come into my life, he will. But yeah. I love that. I have absolutely no doubt.

I'm going to take you to some rapid fire. Okay. What is the one healthy habit or routine that you swear by? I feel like I have a lot. But, okay, the one. Give me the good ones. I want to know. Well, I really think the infrared sauna and meditating in the sauna is...

Meditating in the sauna. In the sauna. So kill two birds with one stone. I only do 20 minutes, so it's quick. But the physical detox, it's also because I'm meditating, it feels like a mental detox as well. That for me is something I can't go without.

How often are you in this sauna? Only probably three days a week, but it makes a difference. Meditating really, as much as we all hear it and say it, I can tell a huge difference when I'm active and when I'm not. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Do you have like a specific meditation that you go to? So I used to love Headspace, and then because I've done a lot of hypnotherapy, now it's more of a visualization, but hypnotherapy essentially is a deep meditation and it's a visualization. And so I think because I've done a lot of that,

I sort of tap into that. And it's three days a week for you that you're meditating or three days a week in the sauna. Both. Yeah. I wish I could meditate every day. No, no, no, me too. I never get to it more than three or four times a week,

but similar to you, I 100% know when I go without. Like I start getting like the edges of me, start fraying. Exactly. Yeah, huge difference. Yeah. Way more fries old. What's something 17-year-old... I'm laughing at my own question.

Actually, this is very sweet and heartfelt. What is something 17-year-old you desperately needed to hear? That I am enough, that I am whole. I was such a mess. I was so insecure. And I was overcompensating for that, which is why people thought I was so confident on the show, but I was not at all.

What's something that you spent your life thinking you needed, but you realised you actually did not need it at all. Any sort of outside validation from anybody, everything that we need comes from within. This is a fucking question from the fucking team. I'm just blaming you lot right now. I'm scared. It's a really good one.

I really rate you wishes, but still, I'm going to point two over if we did it. I was going to actually change the end of it, but we're going to do both. I'm going to do both. Lauren, Heidi, or Spencer, who would you call first if you need, If you needed a favor.

I'll never live any of this down. A favor. A favor. Well, Heidi, I talk to the most for sure. So I guess I would say Heidi. Cute. Depends on the favor, I guess. Depends on what you need.

Yeah, hand, what do I need? What is a book that changed your life? The four agreements. I think it's a book I've read, I don't know, 15 times over the years. But I think if you can really apply these four things, it really makes a difference in your life. It's an easy read. I think everyone can. read it. Have you read it? I've read it so many times. I even have the little mini version in my bag,

which I think is so cute. Yeah. I just think it's a good book for everybody, and I think everything in it, it's so true. And you can apply it. It makes a difference. It's heaven. Preston, thank you so much. Thank you. You're a diamond. So good. If you're loving this podcast, be sure to click follow on your favorite listening platform. While you're there, give us a review and a five-star rating and share an episode you loved with a friend who would be so grateful. with Emmer Greed is presented by Odyssey. I'm your host, Emma Greed. Our executive producers are Ashley McShan, Derek Brown and me. Executive producers from Odyssey are Asha Saluja and Leah Reese Dennis.

Producer KK. Siblime. Stephen Key is our senior producer. Sound design and engineering by Bill Schultz. Angela Paluso is our Booker. Original music by Charles Black. Video production by Phil Sweetek and Carlos Delgado. Social media by Olivia Homan. Catherine Bale. Special thanks to Brittany Smith, Sydney Ford, my teams at the lead company and WME. Josephina Francis, Hillary Schuff, Eric Donnelly, Kate Hutchinson Rose, Tim Mekyll, Evan Cox, Kirk Courtney, Andrew Steele, Sean Cherry and Lauren Vieira. If you have questions for me, you can DM me at Aspire with Emma Greed. Greed is spelled G-R-E-D-E, that's AspI-R-P-I-R-E with Emma Greed. Or you can submit a question to me on my website, emigreed.me.

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