LEAVE YOUR MARK: Freshly Brewed Career Advice with Aliza Licht Aliza Licht

In a world brimming with stories of success and determination, few are as captivating, hilarious, and inspiring as that of Jen Lancaster. Best known for her candid memoirs and inventive novels, Jen's journey from corporate vice president to bestselling author embodies resilience, wit, and an unmatched knack for storytelling. She is the New York Times bestselling author of nine memoirs, five adult novels, and one YA book.  Jen has sold well over a million books. After a corporate layoff in 2001, down on her luck, and stuck selling off cars, jewelry, and designer purses [which she says sucked, FYI] Jen launched a website to air her frustrations about unemployment. She began detailing her descent from designer clothing and spa visits to the unemployment line on her blog jennsylvania.com. 
 
Her acerbic wit quickly won the blog a massive following. Jen’s first memoir, Bitter is the New Black, was published in 2006. Since then, she has published [at least] one book a year, and her memoir The Tao of Martha was optioned for a sitcom by FOX. In this episode, she shares insights into her creative process, advice for aspiring writers, character development and the shift from non-fiction to fiction, her experiences with traditional and Amazon publishing, and the importance of personal branding and marketing in an author's career. Additionally, she discusses her recent projects, including her latest book 'House Moms', her work as a ghostwriter, editor, and her lessons learned along the way. Fun fact: Jen edited my latest book, On Brand!

In this episode of Leave Your Mark, I speak with the CEO at Fire Memos, career coach, and author Octavia Gorodema, who shares her expert insights on navigating career transitions and overcoming obstacles. Octavia, who founded the Twenty Ten Agency and has worked with major corporations like Google and Nike, discusses her mission to help professionals thrive in their chosen fields. Known for her impactful career development work and Audible original series 'How to Change Careers,' Octavia shares invaluable insights on navigating career transitions, defining personal success, and actioning immediate career strategies. Highlighting her initial conversation with her clients about what success means to them, she emphasizes the importance of understanding individual career goals and the subjective nature of success. We discuss the challenges of career advancement, the necessity of recognizing one's worth, the concept of a 'portfolio career,' and the implications of workplace dynamics, especially in relation to management. Octavia provides:

A six-step plan for preparing for career setbacks.

Advocating for self-documentation of achievements.

Recognizing the common mistake of underestimating one's worth.

The power of energizing and motivating others to leave a lasting mark in their careers.

Octavia also talks about her book 'Prep, Push, Pivot,' which offers career strategies for underrepresented women, dealing with changes at work, handling difficult bosses, and the mistake many make of underestimating their worth. The episode is packed with practical tips for career advancement, the value of tracking accomplishments, and the power of energizing others through one's work.

Leave Your Mark is like The Devil Wears Prada meets career advice. That's what I thought of when I wrote my book in 2015. And this podcast is a continuation of everything I started back then.
I'm your host, Aliza Licht. I'm an award-winning marketer, two-time author, and personal branding expert, and I am your trusted guide every week, bringing you career advice and stories that you really don't hear anywhere else. Because here's the difference: my podcast is keeping it real. And I want to make sure when you listen to these episodes, you walk away feeling like, I can do that. I can literally take that advice and employ it tomorrow. Because we don't need fluffy advice and we don't need to hear people just bragging about their careers.
We need to hear real information that we can use. So join me this season, Season 14. I am so excited to be back. We have a stellar lineup of guests and this season I'm going to be doing something new. I am going to start some solo episodes based on my new book, On Brand, on specific topics. And I think it'll be really fun to have those episodes too.
So subscribe to the show. I can't wait to have you listen. And please remember that whatever you're going through right now, if change doesn't hurt a little, it's not change. Keep on rocking.
Aliza x

How many journalists do you know who can simultaneously report a story and inadvertently become the story? Taylor Lorenz sits in a class by herself. As a technology journalist for The Washington Post, she doesn't just report on the latest trend but writes about topics with more significant meaning and what they say about the state of technology, media, and culture. 

But as a creator and internet personality, Taylor has often become the story herself and a target by many. The backlash comes swiftly, frequently, and usually from right-wing media. Tucker Carlson's favorite pastime is bashing her every move. Fox has held entire segments around Taylor, and #TaylorLorenz is often a trending hashtag on Twitter (now X). Elon Musk has gone after her many times. The minute she publishes a story, she'll start trending, and the trolling begins. None of it is slowing Taylor down.

Taylor Lorenz has been the authority on internet culture for over a decade, documenting its far-reaching effects on all corners of our lives. In her first book, Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet, debuts this week, she presents a groundbreaking social history of the internet—revealing how online influence and the creators who amass it have reshaped our world, online and off.

"It's important to set the record straight on where the "creator economy" emerged from because, in 2021, when Silicon Valley finally woke up and was forced to take internet culture seriously because of the pandemic, there was just so much revisionist history. They were talking about how MrBeast founded the notion of productizing himself — that's just not true. Beauty vloggers were doing that back in 2012. Mommy bloggers pioneered a lot of these revenue streams, so I wanted to also talk about that. No one has written that history. I want to tell the stories that have been written out of history by Silicon Valley," says Taylor. 

In this episode, Taylor and I map her journey from former aspiring fashion publicist to globally renowned journalist. We cover the state of the creator economy, how she follows trends and the future of tech, where she sees social media heading, and most importantly, setting the record straight on its birth and evolution. I am honored to be included in her book for my work as the former DKNY PR GIRL social media personality I created and was the voice of from 2009-2015.

I have loved watching Taylor's career. Fun fact: her first work experience was as a PR intern at DKNY in my department! She has an exceptional finger on the pulse of the internet and the ability to see patterns others don't. I truly admire her strength and resistance to her haters. In her new book, Extremely Online, she shares "the inside, untold story of what we have done to the internet and what it has done to us."

You don't need to invent something new to be a wildly successful entrepreneur. According to Liz Elting, one of Forbes's "Richest Self-Made Women in America," you only need to identify something you can do differently and better. Her new book, DREAM BIG AND WIN: Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a Billion Dollar Business, captures all her learnings.After living, studying, and working in five countries across the globe, Liz Co-founded TransPerfect out of an NYU Stern dorm room in 1992.
At the time, there were already 10,000 language solutions companies in existence. In fact, she was working at the biggest one. However, Liz saw flaws in their service offerings and set out to do it better. She succeeded and built the largest language-solutions company in the world. She served as Co-CEO until 2018. Following her departure, Liz founded the Elizabeth Elting Foundation to break down systemic barriers, bridge gaps, and foster systemic change for women and other underserved communities so that people of every stripe can succeed, thrive, and reach their potential.
In 2020, the Elizabeth Elting Foundation launched the Halo Fund, a comprehensive multimillion-dollar pandemic relief initiative to directly support medical needs, hunger relief, health equity, and on-the-ground efforts in underserved communities. When Liz was at NYU, she tried to find books on starting a business, but none resonated with her, and she read many. In DREAM BIG AND WIN, Liz reveals a counterintuitive approach to success and divulges practical and inspiring tips you can implement immediately. Her refreshingly frank and humorous recollections of lessons in life and entrepreneurship serve as a guide for anyone who seeks to fulfill their highest potential.
DREAM BIG AND WIN is for anyone who has ever dreamed of translating their passion into purpose and creating something bigger than themselves—from one of the most successful women in America.This episode is full of tactical and sometimes surprising advice. Liz shares everything from why your goal should be to replace yourself, the shocking question she asks every candidate she interviews, why you should never be a 50/50 partner, and so much more. 

In this special edition of LEAVE YOUR MARK, I sit down with Catherine Fisher, Vice President of Integrated Data and Consumer Communications for LinkedIn. Because who's better than Catherine to share the information we need right now to ensure we navigate our careers strategically?
Catherine is an established marketing and communications leader and has worked for some of the most notable consumer brands, including Netflix and eBay, with more than 20 years of experience. Currently, she leads the consumer communications strategy for LinkedIn and serves as the company spokeswoman educating and inspiring people on how to think about and grow their careers.