This is the artificial intelligence voice of Jay Shetty narrating this pod slice summary of the On Purpose Podcast.

This part of On Purpose podcast features Jay Shetty and his eminent guest, Emma Grede, a powerhouse in American fashion and business world. Emma Grede, co-founder and CEO of Good American, discusses the exciting offshoots, challenges, and learnings from her remarkable journey. She perceives failure as a stepping stone rather than a setback.

Emma opens up about the fears and inhibitions she dealt with in the early stages of her career, describing a heavy portion of her life as having been held back by debilitating fear that affected her personal growth.

In the conversation, Emma outlines her journey towards establishing Good American alongside Khloe Kardashian in October 2016. It originated with the world’s largest denim launch and has now proliferated into an iconic inclusive fashion range featuring denim, ready to wear, swim apparel, shoes, and active wear. Apart from Good American, Emma is also deeply invested in Skims, a brand focused on creating the next generation of underwear, lounge-wear, and shape-wear.

Emma emphasises the importance of her upbringing in East London in shaping her character and ambitions. She indicates her origins as free of privileges, glamour, and ambition, components that later became instrumental in shaping her journey towards entrepreneurship. Even amid her modest surroundings, Emma displayed early signs of ambition and a desire to explore beyond her familiar ground.

Emma’s mother played a pivotal role in shaping her worldview. She encouraged her to respect others, instilled the belief that no one was inherently better or worse than her. This upbringing played a role in Emma’s ability to stave off imposter syndrome. She claims that her ambition and desire to strive were built within her from early on and her positive disposition helped her undertakes challenges head-on.

Emma discusses her professional trajectory, starting with humble beginnings working jobs without pay. Her journey was not one of overnight success but rather a painstaking process persisting over decades. Emma managed various jobs such as working in delis, restaurants, clothes shops, and doing several fashion gigs. However, she highlighted extracting the maximum learning from all her jobs, taking pride in all of them, and seeing their potential applicability in her future ventures. She discusses how her hard work entailed doing unenjoyable jobs with the hope of orienting herself towards her end goal.

Emma underscores the importance of maintaining a positive disposition during difficult times and recommends shifting the focus from the dislike of one’s job to learning from it. This encapsulated a major theme in Emma’s story, viewing challenging situations as means to an end rather than obstacles in the path.

In this part of the conversation, Emma Grede vividly recounts the jobs that had a significant influence on her professional development before eventually metamorphosing into who she is today. One such job was her role in a fashion show production company. She found the work initially discouraging when putting tremendous effort into building stages and conceptualizing events that would climax in a mere 10 minutes. However, she transitioned into sponsorship, a move she credits as foundational for her first business. Her job involved persistent cold calling and dealing with numerous rejections—an experience that was disheartening but highly educational.

Emma asserts that the skills of sales and storytelling are indispensable attributes that every founder must possess. For her, the power to sell and craft coherent stories is pivotal in securing investors, attracting customers, and ultimately crafting a successful brand.

Reflecting on her early life, she admits the profound psychological impact that dropping out of school had on her. This reality bred insecurities concerning her educational background and fostered an internal fear about fitting in with her London-based colleagues who were mostly Cambridge and Oxford graduates. However, Emma claims to have converted this fear into fuel and uses it as an instrument to drive her ambition and creativity, a principle she upholds even today.

Interestingly, Emma considers fear essential for personal and professional growth. Fuelled by an aversion to stagnation, Emma actively embarks on ventures that intimidate her, believing that the ability to tackle fear enables her to improve and evolve.

Emma also introduces her unique formula for managing difficult situations—the ‘rule of thirds.’ To her, life often floats among being content a third of the time, feeling okay another third, and feeling unhappy for the remaining fraction. Maintaining balance among these disparate thirds, Emma believes, is crucial for sustainable professional development and personal growth. This philosophy serves as her coping mechanism during challenging periods, offering her the resilience and strength needed for her unconventional journey.

Moreover, Emma reflects on her personal life revealing her constant need for companionship. She admits to having had significant others throughout her journey and doesn’t regret settling down early in life. She believes that the early start to her literary nightlife compensated for anything she might have missed out on by starting a family at a young age.

Emma Grede delves deeper into her personal life, touching on the transformative journey she embarked on with her husband. Recalling the various chapters of their relationship, she fondly summarizes their early years of unfettered exploration and globetrotting, their transitional phase of building a family, and the maturity and understanding that grew from experiencing these shared life events. Emma greatly values the unique partnership she shares with her husband, praising his understanding of her ambitious spirit and unwavering support in her career endeavors.

She also speaks candidly about her younger years, highlighting a period characterized by what she describes as an escapist lifestyle. Nights spent clubbing and being part of a close-knit community had an undeniable impact on Emma, providing her with an escape from the mundanity of everyday life and opening her up to alternative experiences and fresh perspectives. This chapter in Emma’s life was pivotal to her personal formation, serving as an avenue for expanding her horizon and introducing her to unfamiliar practices, such as yoga.

Discussing her motherhood journey, Emma emphasizes the necessity of reducing self-imposed expectations and the importance of honesty about one’s capabilities. She dismantles the idea of maintaining perfect balance in life, admitting to the trade-offs required to navigate her responsibilities as an entrepreneur and a mother. Emma maintains that she does not subscribe to conventional motherhood norms, stressing the importance of children witnessing their mother’s pursuit of their passion.

Emma also elaborates on her parenting approach with her own children in contrast to the larger family environment she was part of. She strives to spend quality time with each of her children individually, tuning into their individual needs and personalities. Emma accentuates the significance of dispelling the idea of attaining constant balance in life, labeling it as unrealistic.

She notes the importance of not being over-critical of oneself and finding enjoyment in spontaneous, unplanned moments. These memorable moments are rarely those that are meticulously strategized or planned but rather the unexpectedly joyous instances that happen naturally. She encourages reflecting on these sincere moments to make peace with any conflicts or imperfections one may face.

Emma connects this idea to her mothering philosophy, emphasizing that the best experiences and memories do not stem from perfection. She shares this insightful perspective to provide reassurance to mothers struggling with the stress of striving to create a constant sense of balance and perfection. Every parent is bound to make errors, but Emma urges parents not to judge the moment harshly, as no one else is scrutinizing them as closely as they scrutinize themselves.

In this uniquely captivating segment, Emma Grede and Jay Shetty delve into a variety of topics that resonate deeply with anyone juggling various aspects of life. Emma recalls moments from her exciting entrepreneurial journey, maintaining a loving relationship with her husband while raising their children, and embracing life’s movements to cultivate personal growth.

As they discuss parenthood and balancing professional ambitions, Emma affirms her non-traditional approach to motherhood. She relays the momentous experience of her first child’s birth, which she describes as a unique turning point in her life. This event gave her the impetus to strive harder in her professional realm, a perspective she keeps alive by acknowledging that women are multidimensional and can pursue diverse paths successfully.

Reflecting on maintaining a strong relationship with her husband, Emma emphasizes love as the foundational cornerstone. She enthusiastically discusses their shared projects, from raising their children to their mutual business ventures, and small fun activities like acquiring a cold plunge. Situations that allow them to continually make shared memories, keep their connection vibrant, and constantly enrich their relationship.

Coupling elements of her professional and personal life, Emma believes that practicing daily honing skills and attitudes is essential, a view she extends to her personal life. This ongoing practice cultivates her enduring evolution as an individual.

Emma expresses her openness to acknowledging past unflattering behaviors, demonstrating her commitment to growth and personal improvement. This willingness to confront and learn from past occurrences is a reflection of her drive to be the best version of herself.

In discussing societal expectations of women, Emma reiterates that women can function successfully in various capacities, negating the idea that they must subscribe to singular roles. She calls attention to society’s traditional view of gender roles, noting the disparity in expectations imposed on men and women, especially in areas such as imposter syndrome and work-life balance.

This conversation encourages individuals to challenge societal norms, cherish shared memories, and remain open to life’s evolutions and opportunities. It celebrates the multifaceted essence of individuals, emphasizing the importance of growth, love, shared experiences, and the pursuit of personal and professional ambitions.

Emma Grede, while discussing various societal perceptions and instances she dealt with, provides insights into how she navigates her world. She emphasises how each stakeholder can have distinct ambitions. Some seek more than just a paycheck, aligning themselves with the company’s mission, vision, and values, while others commit to their responsibilities diligently, expecting nothing but remuneration.

Emma’s journey to entrepreneurial success was out of sheer frustration at not being paid what she felt she deserved. The fear of failure never deterred her, though she recognises now that the voice inside her, urging caution, did play a significant role.

She highlights the vital role self-confidence can play in decision-making, recalling how her belief in herself secured investors’ faith. At the same time, she is quick to admit her failures and setbacks. Emma discloses that she has had more losses than wins, with many in the form of public embarrassments and bad business decisions. However, she believes these losses to be stepping stones to her three successful companies, reaffirming her resilience and continuous self-belief.

Her mindset manifests her approach towards failures and picking herself up following disappointments. Growing up in challenging circumstances has significantly shaped her outlook, making her more resilient and focused on overcoming obstacles.

Emma’s words echo sentiments of people subjected to societal norms and pressures. Stigmas attached to women, like being selfish, being ambitious or failing, are barriers that she’s grown to disregard. She embraces the idea of learning from past mistakes, promoting growth and self-improvement, navigating societal expectations, and maintaining a balance across her personal and professional life.

Emma provides a refreshing yet grounded perspective on societal norms and persisting in the face of failure. She lays bare the double standards prevalent in the world of business and encourages people to continue to strive for success, despite societal pressures or failures along the way. For Emma, rising from the ashes was not an option—but a necessity.

With a remarkable self-awareness on display, Emma Grede articulates her understanding of the internal voices guiding her thoughts and actions. She points out that these voices represent different facets of her consciousness, understanding them as separate from her essence. Acknowledging their influences, she clarifies, “I know their voices. I know they’re not me.” This distinction, she admits, is largely a result of the teachings absorbed from Oprah’s shows and books like “The Power of Now” and “Conversations with God”, demonstrating the profound influence of external resources on her personal growth.

Emma’s entrepreneurial mindset is further revealed through her approach towards identifying and solving problems. She bases her solutions on personal experiences, believing that if she finds something problematic, other individuals like her possibly face similar difficulties. This approach is reflected in her ventures’ core values, particularly inclusivity, a concept she insists being more than just a buzzword.

A firm advocate for diversity and inclusivity, Emma echoes the sentiment that serving more people makes good business sense. Her entities, Good American, for instance, were born out of the realization that many women, particularly women of color and plus-sized ones, were often overlooked in the fashion world. This forms the foundation of her mission to serve as many customers as possible, making them feel seen and acknowledged.

Specifically discussing some prominent fashion faux pas, she links them back to a flawed decision-making process. She emphasizes the importance of diverse representation at the decision-making table that extends beyond race to factors like age and education.

Emma’s past experiences influenced her current approach significantly. When it comes to pitching her ideas, she admits she had not found the right people yet rather than doubting herself. Emma’s perspective reveals a steadfast belief in her ventures and an understanding that navigating unexplored, undefined spaces is inherent to entrepreneurial pursuits. The insight she shares puts forth an exemplary testament to resilience, determination, and calculated risk-taking. The faith in her ideas fuels her to stay hungry, relevant, and innovative in her endeavors, keeping an eye on the competition while pushing the boundaries of convention.

Emma Grede brings a dynamically multifaceted approach to the concept of winning now. She defines it through experiences that excite her and move her business ventures forward without sacrificing the foundational principles they’ve been built on. With a particular anecdote about her new push-up bra at Skims spreading the buzz, she describes the thrill this gives her, clearly taking delight in the recognition and enthusiasm her innovation produced.

Furthermore, Grede shares the inherent challenges and stress that come with entrepreneurship, likening her job to a “series of problems.” The strain of high expectations, particularly in high-profile businesses and the scrutiny accompanying them, also adds to the stress pool. To manage it, she leans towards rituals like early workouts, meditation, and practicing gratitude, thereby regulating her mental space amidst chaos.

However, beyond these stressors, her responsibility towards the marginalized sections, particularly young black and minority women, and the economically humble, seems to be her driving force. It’s the idea of extending opportunities they’ve historically been denied that she identifies as real success. Her chairmanship of the 15% pledge embodies her endeavor in this regard.

Grede also sheds light on smaller, impactful stories that offer her joy. Stories like an entrepreneur growing her business with Emma’s advice often feed her drive. This underscores her intent to concentrate her efforts on a larger, more systematic scale to reach more people.

In a candid self-reflection, Emma admits that she’s always been one to appreciate small pleasures in life, a trait she asserts has been crucial in keeping her centered. Speaking with Shetty, she recognizes her clarity of purpose has been instrumental in her journey and success. Despite the external influences and circumstances influencing one’s life, she insists that there is an essential self that remains constant, hinting towards an inherent resilience in individuals. This resilience for Emma translates into her continuous elevation in her thinking and capabilities, allowing her to impact a much larger network of people and businesses.

In the ensuing part of the conversation, Emma Grede engages Jay Shetty in deeper introspection of her values, focusing on overcoming mental barriers and fostering a supportive community. One of the key takeaways from this session is the power in making decisions promptly without getting stuck in indecision, pointing out how this practice vitalizes both her personal life and business pursuits.

Succinctly, Emma shares the worst advice she ever received – “stay in your lane”. For her, maintaining a static stance might be comfortable but is hardly as rewarding as exploring new prospects or spheres. She quips that her unabashed ventures outside ‘the lane’ catalyzed her personal growth. Interestingly, she shares that people who don’t know her well perceive her as a mix of kindness, ambition, and toughness – signifying assertiveness in her persona.

Touching upon her personal life, she discloses the daunting task of being a parent; she strives to inculcate kindness in her children, emphasizing that it doesn’t cost much yet has far-reaching implications in human interactions. For Emma, being kind is a living testament of her parenting skills.

Shetty rounds off the podcast on a high note, appreciating the insightful exchange with Emma. He urges his audience to adopt these takeaways, be it making a shift in their careers or reconsidering their choices and decisions. Emma echoes his sentiments, voicing her gratitude for the inclusive conversation and emphasizing the importance of looking at oneself, knowing who they are, and disregarding unconstructive criticism.

The conversations offer a crisp picture of Emma as a strong yet sensitive individual who values kindness above all. Her tales are inspiring and uplifting, surely leaving a lasting impression on Shetty’s audience.