Nancy started her career at Goldman Sachs — but she always knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur. She had grown up helping her grandmother and her mother make natural home-remedies for hair and skin, and realized there was a gaping hole in the beauty market. But she didn’t quit her day job right away: instead, she stayed on the trading room floor for another four years and worked evenings and weekends to run her own business, Briogeo, on the side. Talk about time management skills. 

In this episode, Nancy talks about:

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This week, we’re throwing it back to one of our favorite episodes from last year.

What does it actually mean to know your worth at work? This week, we asked the queen of confidence (and of morning TV), Gayle King, how she found hers. She told us her self worth came from years of salary negotiations, building strong support systems, navigating setbacks, and dealing with tough bosses. 

In this episode, Gayle shares: 

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Lindsey Vonn isn’t just physically tough – she’s also known as one of the most mentally strong athletes. She started competing in international skiing competitions when she was just nine years old, and went on to become the most decorated female skier in history, including winning three Olympic Winter Games medals. And along the way, Lindsey dealt with a number of terrifying injuries, which challenged her mental and physical strength. After retiring from professional skiing, Lindsey’s switched arenas, starting her own production company, writing a memoir and leading her own foundation.

In this episode, Lindsey talks about:

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Melissa Wood-Tepperberg went from working in nightclubs and modeling to becoming one of the first people to start streaming workouts online. That turned into her own health and fitness app, which now has thousands of paying subscribers. Today, Melissa has almost one million Instagram followers and her app, Melissa Wood Health, is a case study at Harvard Business School — despite the fact Melissa never went to college herself.

In this episode, Melissa talks about:

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Fran Lebowitz found fame as a writer in the 1970’s, when she started out writing movie reviews and magazine columns. She went on to publish two essay collections containing her observations of New York City and the people around her — cementing her as a definitive voice of a generation. 

In this episode, Fran talks about:

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Dana Canedy is a Pulitzer-winning reporter who’s set goals for herself since her first internship. But halfway through her career as a reporter Dana lost her fiancé, which shaped the rest of her life and her career. And Dana figured out how to keep going — becoming the first person of color, the youngest, and first female administrator of the Pulitzer Prize and the first Black person to head up a major US publishing imprint. 

In this episode, Dana talks about:

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Sheila was at Harvard Business School, rifling through the Yellow Pages to find care for her infant son and her elderly father when she realized finding care should be easier. But unlike some Silicon Valley founders, Sheila wasn’t in a rush: instead, she prioritized building her leadership and management skills before she launched Care.com. 

In this episode, Sheila talks about:

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Carly worked her way up from management trainee at AT&T, going from fighting for respect from her male colleagues to taking the top job at Hewlett-Packard and becoming the first female CEO of a Fortune 50 company. She oversaw a contentious merger, job and pay cuts. And after she was fired, Carly served as an advisor to John McCain and Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns — in between beating breast cancer and running for President herself. She’s no stranger to criticism and tough feedback, and this week, she shared how learning to take feedback has helped her on her journey. 

In this episode, Carly talks about:

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Brooke Shields has been a household name ever since she did her first commercial, at just 11 months old. As a teenage model and actress being managed by her mother, Brooke found her own image sexualized — but refused to play along with the media’s expectations. Since then, she’s acted on Broadway, starred in sitcoms and TV dramas, raised two daughters and written two memoirs. We spoke to Brooke about how to survive and stay sane amid intense public scrutiny.

In this episode, Brooke talks about:

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Shawna Thomas has always stood out — from winning a prestigious college scholarship when she was 13 years old, to working her way up the ranks at NBC News from intern to senior producer. Over the course of her career, she’s won multiple Emmys and a Peabody, among other awards. Today, she’s in control of one of the nation’s top morning news shows, CBS Mornings. Listen to this week’s episode, where Shawna talks about how to shine in front of your boss and potential employers.

In this episode, Shawna talks about:

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