On this episode of Professional Troublemaker, host Luvvie Ajayi Jones is talking to legendary shoe-designer and President of Fear of God Athletics, Jason Mayden. In this episode, they discuss Jason’s journey from designing girl’s names in bubble letters to designing shoes for Nike at 21. 

Jason describes his design strategy as “looking for the narrative”. Instead of looking at other products for inspiration, he sees products as artifacts that tell a story. And when it comes to presenting these ideas, he has had to kill impostor syndrome and advocate for himself. They converse about the urge to give in to impostor syndrome, the process of recognizing mediocrity, and the realization of belonging in a room. 

Jason describes Professional Troublemaking as being an accomplice--not an ally---and believes the world needs Professional Troublemakers in order to take risks and say the inconvenient thing at the inconvenient time. Kick back in your favorite kicks and enjoy this episode of Professional Troublemaker with iconic Chicagoan, Jason Mayden. 

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Follow @Luvvie everywhere – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Check out her New York Times best-selling book I’M JUDGING YOU: The Do-Better Manual! 

And be sure to order PROFESSIONAL TROUBLEMAKER: The Fear Fighter Manual, Luvvie’s second book, at ProfessionalTroublemakerBook.com or wherever books are sold.

Have thoughts about the episode? Share on social media using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker. Also, follow the podcast on Instagram! Email [email protected] with feedback or questions!

📕 Grab a copy of Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual

🔗  Connect with Luvvie Ajayi Jones

• Instagram & Threads (@Luvvie)
• LinkedIn
• Official Website (Luvvie.org)

🗣️ Engage

• Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker.
• For episode transcripts, check out Luvvie.org/podcast

If you're an aspiring writer, explore The Book Academy, Luvvie's masterclass for aspiring authors! 📚✨

On this episode of Professional Troublemaker, Luvvie is talking to CEO of PMM Promotions and communications powerhouse, Kimberly Blackwell. As another honorary “almost-doctor”, Kimberly talks about her pre-med beginnings and journey to entrepreneurial success. We engage in conversation about building wealth and legacy,  working toward meaningful goals, and trusting your team. 

Kimberly also delves into being an advocate for community, having positive women to be vulnerable with, and the strength she has found in her friends like Luvvie. We get into the good and the challenging parts of living in your purpose unapologetically. Grab a notebook and a pen, and get your life with the latest episode of Professional Troublemaker. 

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Follow @Luvvie everywhere – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Check out her New York Times best-selling book I’M JUDGING YOU: The Do-Better Manual! 

Order PROFESSIONAL TROUBLEMAKER: The Fear-Fighter Manual (NYTimes bestseller) at ProfessionalTroublemakerBook.com

Have thoughts about the episode? Share on social media using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker. Also, follow the podcast on Instagram! Email [email protected] with feedback or questions!

📕 Grab a copy of Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual

🔗  Connect with Luvvie Ajayi Jones

• Instagram & Threads (@Luvvie)
• LinkedIn
• Official Website (Luvvie.org)

🗣️ Engage

• Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker.
• For episode transcripts, check out Luvvie.org/podcast

If you're an aspiring writer, explore The Book Academy, Luvvie's masterclass for aspiring authors! 📚✨

This week on Professional Troublemaker, I’m talking to superstar basketball player Sue Bird.

You may know Sue as one of the most recognized and heralded basketball players of all time, which is reason enough to have a conversation. But my team and I wanted Sue on the podcast because Sue was one of the forces behind the “Vote Warnock” t-shirts the WNBA was wearing this summer to throw their support behind now Senator Raphael Warnock after his opponent Kelly Loeffler (and co-owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream) came out against Black Lives Matter. 

During our conversation, we talk through Sue’s experience coming up through high school and college, and how she’s committed to helping the players who are coming up behind her. She also touches on how team sports taught her valuable lessons like how to be disciplined, how to get along with others, and what it means to set and achieve goals. 

Listen and enjoy as we talk with Sue Bird about using your platform as a Professional Troublemaker! 

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Follow @Luvvie everywhere – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Check out her New York Times best-selling book I’M JUDGING YOU: The Do-Better Manual! And be sure to order PROFESSIONAL TROUBLEMAKER: The Fear Fighter Manual, Luvvie’s second New York Times best-selling book, wherever books are sold.

📕 Grab a copy of Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual

🔗  Connect with Luvvie Ajayi Jones

• Instagram & Threads (@Luvvie)
• LinkedIn
• Official Website (Luvvie.org)

🗣️ Engage

• Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker.
• For episode transcripts, check out Luvvie.org/podcast

If you're an aspiring writer, explore The Book Academy, Luvvie's masterclass for aspiring authors! 📚✨

On this episode of Professional Troublemaker, Luvvie is talking to Nicole Walters. Nicole is the founder and CEO of a multi-million-dollar personal development and business education empire. After quitting her corporate job on livestream in front of 10,000 people Nicole uses all the skills and knowledge she learned in the corporate world and specializes in business development training and strategic coaching for emerging entrepreneurs and established business owners. She works with everyone from stay-at-home parents to small business owners, and her transformative resources help everyday entrepreneurs build a legacy they will be proud of.

Nicole is blessing us with the information she shares in this episode. Just effortless gems dropping all around. You see her out here running her business and on her new show on USA Networks, but in this episode she shared some amazing stories we’d never heard from her before. How she’s been this professional, gifted entrepreneur from the time she was small, how she strategically mapped out her corporate career before quitting her job to step into her real purpose as the CEO and Founder of Inherit Learning Company. And we cannot wait for you to hear the story about her experience during #ShareTheMicNow. It’s too good. 

📕 Grab a copy of Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual

🔗  Connect with Luvvie Ajayi Jones

• Instagram & Threads (@Luvvie)
• LinkedIn
• Official Website (Luvvie.org)

🗣️ Engage

• Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker.
• For episode transcripts, check out Luvvie.org/podcast

If you're an aspiring writer, explore The Book Academy, Luvvie's masterclass for aspiring authors! 📚✨

How would our lives be different if we were given permission to be disruptors for the greater good? How far will we have gone if we already knew that our jobs aren’t to shy away from big things but to run towards them? How dope would our legacy be if we knew that FEAR is natural and we’re actually supposed to do the things that scare us? 

You can’t have courage without fear. You’ve already got the first step to having courage – you’re afraid. Don’t stop there. Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t put shame around being afraid. It’s natural, so move forward anyway. Fight your fear.

Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual is out today, everywhere books are sold.  

***

Follow @Luvvie everywhere – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Check out her New York Times best-selling book I’M JUDGING YOU: The Do-Better Manual! And be sure to pre-order PROFESSIONAL TROUBLEMAKER: The Fear Fighter Manual, Luvvie’s second book, wherever books are sold.

Have thoughts about the episode? Share on social media using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker. Also, follow the podcast on Instagram! Email [email protected] with feedback or questions!

📕 Grab a copy of Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual

🔗  Connect with Luvvie Ajayi Jones

• Instagram & Threads (@Luvvie)
• LinkedIn
• Official Website (Luvvie.org)

🗣️ Engage

• Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker.
• For episode transcripts, check out Luvvie.org/podcast

If you're an aspiring writer, explore The Book Academy, Luvvie's masterclass for aspiring authors! 📚✨

On this episode of Professional Troublemaker, Luvvie is talking to comedian and social media sensation Elsa Majimbo. Pre-global pandemic, Elsa was a journalism student with just over seven thousand followers. Fast forward a few viral videos later, and Elsa is out here with a Fenty endorsement and major corporate partnerships, taking meetings with actors and musicians she's looked up to for years, releasing her own ASMR song about snacks on Apple Music and Spotify, all while millions of people around the world waiting for her to drop her next video. 

Elsa is making her voice heard through her comedy, which is amazing. And she’s one of those people who was born to speak out in the world - which is why you might be surprised to hear her talk about how she’s actually shy and quite reserved. But her sense of abundance and gratitude and joy for everything she has the opportunity to do right now is infectious and such an example of what is possible if we feel the fear and start doing the thing we want to do regardless.

***

Follow @Luvvie everywhere – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Check out her New York Times best-selling book I’M JUDGING YOU: The Do-Better Manual! And be sure to pre-order PROFESSIONAL TROUBLEMAKER: The Fear Fighter Manual, Luvvie’s second book, wherever books are sold.

Have thoughts about the episode? Share on social media using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker. Also, follow the podcast on Instagram! Email [email protected] with feedback or questions!

📕 Grab a copy of Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual

🔗  Connect with Luvvie Ajayi Jones

• Instagram & Threads (@Luvvie)
• LinkedIn
• Official Website (Luvvie.org)

🗣️ Engage

• Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker.
• For episode transcripts, check out Luvvie.org/podcast

If you're an aspiring writer, explore The Book Academy, Luvvie's masterclass for aspiring authors! 📚✨

In this episode of Professional Troublemaker, Luvvie is talking with someone who is the literal walking definition of what a professional troublemaker is. She’s a truthteller, she’s a disruptor, she’s a trailblazer and a change agent – activist, author, and speaker Tarana Burke.

In this Fear Fighter February conversation, Luvvie and Tarana talk about what it was like for Tarana growing up and all the paths she walked down to end up on the one she’s on right now, the pain of being misunderstood when you’re trying to make the world a better place for everyone and how Tarana has learned to lean into vulnerability more as she continues to do her work. They also discuss Tarana’s upcoming anthology co-edited with Brené Brown, You Are Your Best Thing as well as Tarana’s memoir, coming later this year in 2021.

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Follow @Luvvie everywhere – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Check out her New York Times best-selling book I’M JUDGING YOU: The Do-Better Manual! And be sure to pre-order PROFESSIONAL TROUBLEMAKER: The Fear Fighter Manual, Luvvie’s second book, wherever books are sold.

Have thoughts about the episode? Share on social media using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker. Also, follow the podcast on Instagram! Email [email protected] with feedback or questions!

📕 Grab a copy of Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual

🔗  Connect with Luvvie Ajayi Jones

• Instagram & Threads (@Luvvie)
• LinkedIn
• Official Website (Luvvie.org)

🗣️ Engage

• Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker.
• For episode transcripts, check out Luvvie.org/podcast

If you're an aspiring writer, explore The Book Academy, Luvvie's masterclass for aspiring authors! 📚✨

On this episode of Professional Troublemaker, Luvvie is sharing the audio from an IG Live conversation she had with Because of Them We Can founder Eunique Jones Gibson. Part of Fear-Fighter February, this conversation was so filled with inspiration to help people fight their fear and live audaciously, we had to share it here on the Professional Troublemaker podcast as well. Eunique is the publisher and creative mind behind not only Because of Them We Can, but the creator of the wildly popular game #CultureTags. She was our first guest on the podcast, and we’re thrilled to have her back on the show. 

In this episode, Luvvie and Eunique discuss how they show up and give each other courage, why no one can really steal one of your ideas, why it’s important to run your own race when it comes to going after your dreams, and what steps to take first when you’re bringing one of your ideas to life.

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Follow @Luvvie everywhere – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Check out her New York Times best-selling book I’M JUDGING YOU: The Do-Better Manual! And be sure to pre-order PROFESSIONAL TROUBLEMAKER: The Fear Fighter Manual, Luvvie’s second book, wherever books are sold.

Have thoughts about the episode? Share on social media using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker. Also, follow the podcast on Instagram! Email [email protected] with feedback or questions!

📕 Grab a copy of Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual

🔗  Connect with Luvvie Ajayi Jones

• Instagram & Threads (@Luvvie)
• LinkedIn
• Official Website (Luvvie.org)

🗣️ Engage

• Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker.
• For episode transcripts, check out Luvvie.org/podcast

If you're an aspiring writer, explore The Book Academy, Luvvie's masterclass for aspiring authors! 📚✨

This week on Professional Troublemaker, Luvvie is talking to award-winning actress and writer Gabourey Sidibe. After breaking on the scene as the title character in the Academy Award-nominated film, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, Gabby has gone on to create memorable characters on several seasons of the Emmy Award-nominated anthology series “American Horror Story.” She has also appeared in the Golden Globe Award-nominated series “The Big C,” and on the smash-hit series “Empire.” Gabby is also a director, with several television episodes and short films to her credit. Her critically acclaimed first book, "This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare," was released in 2017.

In this episode, Luvvie and Gabby are discussing the amazing story of how Gabby became an actress in the first place, the wild connection through a viral video they didn’t realize they had until this conversation, why vulnerability is vital and the need for self-care and boundaries in tumultuous times.

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Follow @Luvvie everywhere – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Check out her New York Times best-selling book I’M JUDGING YOU: The Do-Better Manual! And be sure to pre-order PROFESSIONAL TROUBLEMAKER: The Fear Fighter Manual, Luvvie’s second book, wherever books are sold.

Have thoughts about the episode? Share on social media using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker. Also, follow the podcast on Instagram! Email [email protected] with feedback or questions!

📕 Grab a copy of Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual

🔗  Connect with Luvvie Ajayi Jones

• Instagram & Threads (@Luvvie)
• LinkedIn
• Official Website (Luvvie.org)

🗣️ Engage

• Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker.
• For episode transcripts, check out Luvvie.org/podcast

If you're an aspiring writer, explore The Book Academy, Luvvie's masterclass for aspiring authors! 📚✨

On this episode of Professional Troublemaker, Luvvie is reflecting on the recent passing of her therapist of four years, and how that has caused her to reflect on the importance of therapy in her evolution over that time. Luvvie is talking through some of the feedback and comments she has received after writing about her therapist’s death on AwesomelyLuvvie.com, and how things are going now as she continues to figure out how to process the death of the person who helped her process life. 

Luvvie is also talking all about the importance of therapy for everyone trying to show up as their full selves in this world and shares the reasons everyone should get therapy, how to find a therapist (including resources on finding one) and challenges listeners to start therapy if they aren’t already working with someone.

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Follow @Luvvie everywhere – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Check out her New York Times best-selling book I’M JUDGING YOU: The Do-Better Manual! And be sure to pre-order PROFESSIONAL TROUBLEMAKER: The Fear Fighter Manual, Luvvie’s second book, wherever books are sold.

Have thoughts about the episode? Share on social media using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker. Also, follow the podcast on Instagram! Email [email protected] with feedback or questions!

📕 Grab a copy of Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual

🔗  Connect with Luvvie Ajayi Jones

• Instagram & Threads (@Luvvie)
• LinkedIn
• Official Website (Luvvie.org)

🗣️ Engage

• Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #ProfessionalTroublemaker.
• For episode transcripts, check out Luvvie.org/podcast

If you're an aspiring writer, explore The Book Academy, Luvvie's masterclass for aspiring authors! 📚✨