The More We Know by Meer

Welcome back to The More We Know! Because the more we know, the more we grow. Your mentor today is Bushra Amiwala. 

Bushra Amiwala is one of the youngest elected muslim officials in history and daughter of immigrants who truly appreciates diversity in its many beautiful forms. As communities across our nation – the working poor, religious and ethnic minorities, and young changemakers who are ignored by political establishments – are pushed aside, Bushra is a committed voice for underrepresented citizens. She seeks to ensure that our nation’s future is in good hands by building a compassionate, politically-engaged generation. 

Amiwala was born in Chicago and lived in the Rogers Park area until she was 10. Her family then moved to Skokie, where she graduated from Niles North High School.  She began her political career as an intern for Republican senator Mark Kirk, and was encouraged by her field office manager, Benjamin Polony, to run her own campaign for the Cook County Board of Commissioners as a college freshman. She came in second in the Democratic primaries, earning 14,988 votes, a total of 30.6% of the vote in a three-person race.  Amiwala began an annual service project on her birthday, and in 2018 made and distributed hundreds of care packages in the Chicago area with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who endorsed her campaign.  Amiwala was named one of Glamour Magazine's 2018 College Women of the Year.  Amiwala is an avid public speaker and has spoken in many events such as TEDxDePaul University and Harvard University to name a few.  She is one of the subjects of an original documentary called And She Could Be Next on PBS.  She is also the female candidate on Amazon Prime's RUN The Series. She is currently the subject of an original Hulu documentary called Our America: Women Forward.

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30 Minute U is a series under The More We Know Podcast featuring Sameer Sawaqed, Host of the top mentorship platform The More We Know Podcast together with Carmen Rossi, a top CEO and entrepreneur who is the genius behind 8 Hospitality Group. Carmen owns some of the biggest night clubs and restaurants in Chicago and is also a professor. 30 Minute U aims to prepare you with skills for the real world in just under thirty minutes.

In this episode, Meer and Carmen discuss about what's going on with the economy, job market and lay-offs, how to deal with lay-offs and what you can do about it.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
1:03 Layoffs, How to go through a layoff and what's happening in the industry
5:33 The Year of Efficiency
14:15 What can someone avoid being first on the list in layoffs?
21:44 Performance vs. Enthusiasm
25:58 Layoffs and what can you do about it
27:22 Carmen's Hot Take on laying off a friend

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Welcome back to The More We Know! Because the more we know, the more we grow. Your mentor today is  BILLION dollar financial advisor Ross Gerber.

Ross is the Co-Founder, President and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management.  Ross has become one of the most influential investors on social and in traditional media.  He is a regular on Bloomberg, Reuters, Fox Business, Yahoo Finance, CNN, CNBC and Cheddar TV.  He has appeared on many of the most popular podcasts including Meet Kevin, HyperChange TV, The Dave Portnoy Show, The Pomp Podcast and many more. Ross and the Gerber Kawasaki team oversee $2.2 billion of investments as of 1/03/22 focused on technology, clean energy and transportation, consumer discretionary, media, and entertainment companies for clients and the firm.  

GK has grown to over 10,000 clients and was listed in 2020 as one of the fastest-growing companies in Los Angeles according to the LABJ. GK received several Diversity and Inclusion Awards in 2020 within the financial industry and prides itself in representing the diverse community of Southern California. GK is a leader in providing investment advice for the younger generation through its Get Invested program. GK is the first major RIA to partner with Gemini and began offering Digital Assets to clients in April 2021. Ross is an expert in online marketing and social media as well as a co-developer of the company’s app for IOS, my-moneypage. 

In the 10 years since its founding, Gerber Kawasaki has grown to 46 employees and $2.2 billion in AUM as of 1/03/22. Ross received his BA in Communications from the Annenberg School at the University of Pennsylvania concentrating in Business Law at the Wharton School of Business, graduating class of 1993. Ross also received a second concentration in Classical Music Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and attended the Grove School of Music. Ross was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, and attended Brentwood High School with the graduating class of 1989. Ever since he was a child, Ross has had a passion for investing and music. 

He began learning and following investments as a 13-year-old after receiving Apple and Disney stock as a gift for his birthday. His passion for learning and investing grew as he followed the bull market of the '80s throughout his high school education. During college, Ross pursued his degree as well as his passion for music, forming several local bands. Upon graduating college, Ross returned to Los Angeles in 1994 and joined an independent investment firm affiliated with SunAmerica Securities. In 1998, at the age of 27, Ross received the Archon and Million Dollar Branch Award* and was the youngest million-dollar branch manager in SunAmerica's history. In March of 1999, Ross began overseeing 15 branches and over 200 advisors for SunAmerica securities/ AIG Advisor Group. 

In 2008, the financial crisis caused the collapse of several major financial institutions and the government bailout of others, challenging the existing state of affairs within the financial industry. Navigating these trying times, Ross understood the importance of focusing on the client's best interest utilizing a modern and unbiased approach to serving the client community. It was during this time that Ross developed his vision for a new type of investment firm, one free of conflicts of interests and focused on serving a diverse client base using technology and leveraging new media. 

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Welcome back to The More We Know! The More we know, the more we grow. Your mentor today is  award winning marketing executive, Melissa Rosenthal. 

Melissa is an award winning marketing executive and the Chief Creative Officer at ClickUp ($4 billion software start-up), focused on making the world more productive through best in class SaaS marketing!

Previously Melissa was the CRO/ Executive Vice President at Cheddar, a live video media company at the intersection of business news and culture. For her brand work, she was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30, Business Insider’s 30 Most Creative People Under 30 and as one of Digiday's "Changemakers."

Prior to Cheddar, she led BuzzFeed's Global Creative Team. Joining the staff in 2010, Rosenthal was a key contributor to the creation and early success of BuzzFeed's branded content native advertising model.

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Welcome back to The More We Know! The More we know, the more we grow. Your mentor today is legendary hollywood special effects Guru who worked on the coolest movies like IRON MAN. 

Raffael Dickreuter is a creative and technology enterpreneur based in Los Angeles, CA. Originally born in Switzerland he has a diverse professional background in film visual effects, design, AR, advertising and photography.

He is CEO of Superba AR, a company specializing in Augmented Reality and Machine Learning.

As designer he worked on feature films such as Man of Steel, Furious 7,Terminator Salvation, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and others and for companies such as Snapchat and DreamWorks SKG.

He has worked for directors such as Steven Spielberg, Zack Snyder (300), Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Goldeneye) and Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean).

Creations:

He founded XSIbase.com in 2002, which became the world’s largest social online community for Softimage visual effects software in a time before Facebook.

In 2009 he developed a virtual camera system which allows directors to scout virtual film sets and action sequences. It has been used on films such as Green Lantern (2011) and Man of Steel (2013).

He created two viral photo projects called “Black Mirror” (2016) and “Iron Man Grounded” (2015) which were featured in the media around the world.

In 2017 he founded Superba AR, focusing on Augmented Reality, 3D and Machine Learning.

Learn more at www.superba.biz 

In Los Angeles he is the founder and organizer of the Swiss Hollywood Meetup

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Welcome back to The More We Know! The more we know, the more we grow!

Your Mentor Today is legendary economist, Professor John List.  You are in for one of the best master classes on economics ever!

John A. List is the Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. His research includes over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and several published textbooks. Previous to The Voltage Effect, he co-authored the international best seller, The Why Axis, in 2013. He is currently the Chief Economist of one of the largest companies in the world, Walmart. 

His research focuses on combining field experiments with economic theory to deepen our understanding of the economic science. In the early 1990s, List pioneered field experiments as a methodology for testing behavioral theories and learning about behavioral principles that are shared across different domains. To obtain data for his field experiments, List has made use of several different markets, including charitable fundraising activities, the sports trading card industry, the ride-share industry, and the education sector, to highlight a few. This has lead to collaborative work with several different schools and charities, as well as firms including: Lyft, Uber, United Airlines, Virgin Airlines, Humana, Sears, Kmart, Facebook, Google, General Motors, Tinder, Citadel, Walmart, and several non-profits.

John was elected a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011, and a Fellow of the Econometric Society in 2015. List received the 2010 Kenneth Galbraith Award, the 2008 Arrow Prize for Senior Economists for his research in behavioral economics in the field, and was the 2012 Yrjo Jahnsson Lecture Prize recipient. He is a current Editor of the Journal of Political Economy.

 In November 2014 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Tilburg University. Tilburg University calls him "a true pioneer in experimental field research," whose innovative work has "finally made it possible to test behavioral economic theory in everyday practice...He has raised this research area to a higher level with his originality, expertise, and impact, and he is an inspiration to many." 

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Had the chance to meet Garyvee in person and did a 20 second BONUS podcast with him for you all . 

Next time you think about giving up or failure listen to this!!

As always 

Meer <3 

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Welcome back to The More We Know! The more we know, the more we grow!

Your Mentor Today is podcast star, AKA Podcast Princess, Hala Taha! 

Hala Taha is the host of Young and Profiting Podcast, frequently ranked as a #1 Education podcast across all apps. Hala is also the CEO of YAP Media, a full-service social media and podcast marketing agency for top podcasters, celebrities and CEOs. Her firm does over $4 million in revenue a year as a NEW company! She is well-known for her engaged following and influence on Linkedin, and she landed the January 2021 cover of Podcast Magazine. She is known as one of the LARGEST influencers on Linkedin. 

Hala started her career in radio production while in college at HOT97 on “The Angie Martinez Show.” Later, she launched an entertainment news blog site, “The Sorority of Hip Hop,” where she led an all-female team of 50 bloggers. Together they ran the popular site, interviewed celebrities, produced radio shows, hosted parties/concerts, and nearly snagged a reality TV show on MTV! 

When the blog site boom slowed down, Hala took a temporary exit from the entertainment industry to get an MBA. She has 7 years of corporate marketing experience at HP and Disney Streaming Services. She started Young and Profiting Podcast and YAP Media as a side hustle, and now has dozens high profile clients and over 60 employees. Hala is an expert on networking, personal branding, Linkedin marketing, side hustles, entrepreneurship and podcasting. Hala is a sought out thought leader in the podcasting space and has brought on amazing guests on her platform like the co-founder of Netflix, Ex CEO of Chipotle, Famous Award winning actor Matthew McConaughey and MANY more. 

Check her out here: 

Instagram: @yapwithhala 

Website: https://www.youngandprofiting.com/

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Welcome back to The More We Know! The more we know, the more we grow!

Your Mentor Today is one of my favorite coaches, Drew Valentine. 

In a word, Drew Valentine is a winner. He has played a huge role in Loyola University Chicago’s rise to national prominence over the last five years and was named the Ramblers’ head men’s basketball coach on April 5, 2021. In nine seasons on coaching staffs in his career, Valentine has guided teams to the postseason seven times, including three NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, two of which wound up with trips to the Final Four. During his five seasons at Loyola, Valentine has helped lead the Ramblers to a 124-44 overall record, three NCAA Tournament berths, a trip to the National Invitation Tournament, three regular-season Missouri Valley Conference championships and three MVC Championship titles. At 30 years of age, Valentine, a native of Lansing, Mich., is the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball. In 2017, he was named to the Under Armour 30-Under-30 Team, presented by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), as one of the top coaches under the age of 30.
 
Valentine made quite a splash in his first season as Loyola’s head coach in 2021-22, setting a program record for wins by a first-year Rambler skipper (25), while also becoming the only first-year coach in program history to lead Loyola to a NCAA Tournament appearance. 
 One of only three first-year head coaches to steer his club to 25 or more wins in 2021-22, Valentine also became the youngest head coach since Todd Bozeman in 1993 to lead his team to a national ranking. Loyola earned a No. 22 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll in mid-January. 
 
Valentine put his twist on the Rambler program in 2021-22 and once again Loyola ranked among the nation’s top offensive and defensive teams in the nation, while also establishing a single-season school record by knocking down 293 three-point field goals. Under Valentine’s tutelage, five Ramblers collected All-Missouri Valley Conference accolades, including guard Lucas Williamson, who was tabbed MVC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, and also garnered first team all-league recognition.
 
In four years as an assistant coach on Porter Moser’s staff at Loyola, Valentine played a pivotal role in the program’s ascension to national prominence, helping the Ramblers to a 99-36 (.733) overall record and a 56-16 (.778) ledger in Missouri Valley Conference action. =
 For his final two seasons as an assistant coach at Loyola, Valentine served as the de facto defensive coordinator for a Ramblers unit that ranked 21st in the nation in scoring defense in 2019-20 (62.7 ppg) and first in the country (56.1 ppg) in 2020-21. During his four seasons on the Loyola staff as an assistant, Loyola ranked in the top six in the nation in scoring defense three times but it wasn’t just the defense that thrived. Although defense has been Loyola’s calling card, the Ramblers have also ranked among Division I’s best in field goal percentage in each of the last five seasons. A proven winner, Valentine has helped lead Loyola to five consecutive seasons with at least 20 wins, including a school-record 

Follow Drew on Instagram: @CoachDrewLU

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Welcome back to The More We Know! The more we know, the more we grow!

Your Mentor Today is one of my favorite actresses, Deirdre Lovejoy. 

Deirdre Lovejoy is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Assistant State's Attorney Rhonda Pearlman on HBO’s The Wire. She is also known for her roles as a serial killer Heather Taffet on the Fox series Bones and White House Counsel Cynthia Panabaker on NBC’s series The Blacklist.

Theater, TV and Film actor Deirdre Lovejoy is perhaps best known for her portrayal of States Attorney Rhonda Pearlman for five seasons on HBO’s critically acclaimed  THE WIRE. The show is often cited as one of the most influential and realistic television dramas of all time and continues to thrill fans on HBO On Demand.

She is also a popular character on Netfix’s Raising Dion, Charlotte the mysterious mentor to the series’ lead character Dion. On the Blacklist Dede is known for her long stint as wise cracking White House Counsel turned senator Cynthia Panabaker. Her star turn as the brilliant/evil lawyer/serial killer, Heather Taffett, aka “The Gravedigger”on the medical procedural Bones is still a fan favorite.

Dede has played murderers, mothers, detectives, doctors, lawyers, social workers, and weeping versions of all of the above. She’s been lobotomized, arrested, jailed, killed by cars and peanut oil, witnessed successful face transplants and had her head exploded off of her body by sniper fire (one of Bones’ most popular GIFS to date).

She recently made waves with her searing portrayal of real life kidnapping psychopath Wanda Barzee in the critically lauded “I am Elizabeth Smart”.   For a complete acting resume please click the “Resume” tab in the drop down menu above.

Feature film work includes acting under the direction of award winning artists like  Ang Lee, Sydney Pollack, Stanley Donan, Anthony Minghella, Jake Kasdan, Anthony Hemingway, Timothy Van Patten, Mark Platt, Mark Tinker, Nelson McCormick, Andrew Bergman, Anne Fletcher, Larry David and John Singleton.

Make sure to follow her on instagram @ ddlovejoy and check her website out here: https://deirdrelovejoy.com/

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