What We Learned from The Important Things with Bobbi and Anjali

The Important Things with Bobby Brown and Angelie Kumar. Today on this episode of the Important Things, we're going to be reflecting on this season and our conversations with these ten incredible guests talking about what's important to them coming out of this pandemic and what they're really focusing on in this next phase of their lives. And also I get the fun task of turning the tables on Bobby to hear what's important to her. I hope you enjoyed

the conversation. Hi, Bobby, Hey on Julie, how are you? I'm so good? How are you? Um? I don't like when people say hanging by a thread, but that thread that I'm hanging by is starting to unravel. But it's fine. So I'm just taking a moment to breathe. No, just you know, when there's too much going on and it's like I can't even get answer a text or an email, and there's just so much. For some reason, it's just happening now, and it's humid on top of it. It

is so humid. I'm like, what's the word? What's the sort of vetching? I don't know how to say it. Convetching, Yeah, that's thing that means complaining. I thought that it was like also sweating, and that just means cavetching. Stop cavetching, that means stop complaining. But isn't there a good Edish word for sweating? I thought there was one that you're like fitz saying, that's what I said. Yeah, I'm shit saying, thank you for clarifying my I'm a Hindu, you know

that's about me. I like to pretend like I'm Jewish, me too, um, but you're actually Jewish. But yeah, that's but but we are very similar. I mean, I I know this firsthand at you know, having an Indian daughter in law. Her relatives are just like mine, except way way way better dancers, way better dancers. We can we can start you out of My daughter is taking some serious Bollywood lessons and she just had like a seventeen hour recital over the weekend, and I gotta tell you,

she's got some moves. I was very impressed. Yeah, she's only twelve, but she can she can bunger with the best of them. I was pretty impressed. Yeah, you'll you'd be impressed. I'm very impressed. And all I've ever wanted to do is take hip hop lessons. Oh so she started with hip hop. That's what we're gonna do. Forget it. This podcast is not over. This is not the last episode.

You and I are going to go on the road and do hip hop and maybe we'll video record that for the people I like, they might like to see that. Not a chance, darlin, I'm not a chance, my my. I've I've already been you know, danced on stage with flow Ride, I've danced on stage with Salt with Salt and Peppro So no, no, no, not for not for public guys. Okay, fair enough, then we'll just do that. That'll be our date at the end. Um. Well, speaking of Florida, I know we talked about your your nickname

in our last episode. And I would love to just start this episode kind of reflecting back on the last ten episodes, and we've had such incredible conversations with I feel like iluminaries from every field, which has been such an honor and so fun to really dive deep with these folks that I personally admire so much and like know them in many cases just from their work and so to be a fan to go to being at

least a friendly acquaintance on Zoom was really nice. And I have a lot of reflections just on these conversations. But I would to hear what some of your favorite takeaways were, well, certainly starting with Glorious Steinhum. I mean, come on, who gets to start with Glorious Steinhum? And you know that was really cool. Yeah, I would say

that's a definite highlight for me too. And I think my favorite moment of the entire season was actually from our first episode with Gloria when we were explaining to her what an O. G was like, I think that's gonna be one of my top ten moments of life. Was just her being like what is that? She's like, okay, I'll take it. I was like, wait, no, that's amazing being I think I'm gonna change my Twitter bio to say that I am once explained to Gloria's Steinhum, what

O G means? That's going to have to be a big highlight. And I kind of like the Jennifer Fisher where she actually made us cookies and delivered him to our house. I mean, yeah, I mean that cooks of this job. We're significant for sure. Definitely that was a good one. It's been like, you know, a total interesting fun you know, times like recording I keep saying, shoot, but it's recording these podcasts with you because we are very different the way we, you know, deal with things.

You are much more of a of a researcher and knowing everything, and I just kind of step in and hope for the best. So, you know, I just want to know, like what else you're thinking of doing? Oh well, you know, in terms of outside the next things, who knows. I think one of the things that I've learned, um in my career and certainly just from you know, folks like you, from people that I admire, is um, some

of the best things that happen are really unplanned. And so whenever I try to really think about what's next and be super strategic and intentional. It doesn't always go that way, and it's always led to something better than I could have imagined. I'm not always, i should say, but like you know, most most of the time, it's the the best laid plans kind of thing. UM. So I have learned just to kind of let things go.

I think, you know, somebody of the lessons just from a season, and certainly from the folks that we've talked about that we've talked with, UM kind of validate that. But you know, these times were so uncertain and so there's so much shifting sound underneath all of our feet, and everybody's kind of gotten through it in a way

that they couldn't have anticipated. And on the other side of it, what I hope is largely on the other side of it, um, where we're all better a little bit, you know, like that we're willing to deal with uncertainty in a different way. We kind of know that that's just that that's the only thing you can plan for, is uncertainty. UM. So yeah, I don't know. I'm going

to keep advising companies. I'm going to keep writing, UM, keep talking on the internet, and some fashion probably tweeting a little less if the acquisition goes through with Elon Musk, But you know, I'll find other ways to just say what I'm thinking or what's on my mind. Um what about you? You got your hands full? Well, I definitely have my handsful, and I have you know, I always have new interesting projects that are on the horizon that

I'll either i'll do or I won't do. And you know, I get bored really easily, and I jump into things and you know, so I'm gonna just keep keep going and keep doing things. And and probably the hardest thing I'm going to be doing is figuring out what I'm not going to be doing, because sometimes things are like, okay, not working. Why are they not working? Like? How can I do? How can I do it better? How can I do it less? Yeah? So you know, I I

even take that um, you know train of thought. Like in my home, Like I just showed a friend my my new home and I was so embarrassed. I didn't know she was coming over. My closet is a mess, and I'm someone that likes things really organized. My bathroom is a mess, and I was I was embarrassed. I kept making excuses and I'm like, all right, Bobby, this is something you have to deal with. Don't leave your house like this because you know it doesn't make you feel good. So I need to slow down a little

bit and be more present. So that's kind of what I'm working on. Yeah. I like that we need to get you to meditate, Bobby. That was like the key theme of every single I think every single person we talked to. I think basically everybody said that they meditate, which I was really surprised by. So maybe we can

get you to meditated. I forget. I forget, and I know I have an app and I once did an Instagram live for the Sole House with the founder of Calm, the Calm app, and I was like, Okay, this is great and I signed on and I just haven't done it, Like I just forget, So you know something I gotta work on. Yeah, Well, you gotta give yourself some grace about that closet because you were recording the podcast in the closet too, so I feel like that's your excuse

for that. Yeah. Well, I want to take us through a couple of questions that I have for you that I think our listeners want to know. So starting with John's Road, just because I am a big fan of the product. So this is not product placement. I'm not pushing. It's just because I really do, genuinely love what you've created, and I really would love to know just really what

inspired you to start the line and start again. I mean, you had all this incredible success and in the middle of this incredibly insane time, you were like, yeah, I'm going to be a start up founder, like I'm gonna do That's what inspired you? Well, I didn't think I was done, you know. When I left Bobby Brown Cosmetics, I was done and I just couldn't imagine doing it again. And I did all these other projects that were creative outlets for me because I'm someone that likes a challenge

and likes creative things. And then I started doing makeup and just you know it shoots and in general, and I really loved it. And I realized how much has changed in in our world, in me personally, you know. And this was way before the pandemic, just about how I saw beauty and how I saw confidence, and I knew I had something else to teach, which was how to use makeup to make yourself really look like you're

not wearing it, but that you look better. And um, I kind of seized the opportunity with one simple little product and that led to two, and then I hired someone and then I hired someone else, and then I launched and now it's crazy. We have another year and

a half of products in the pipeline. That's crazy. That's amazing. Yeah, well, I love that, And I love that you were willing to revisit something that you had so much success and and that by any measure of people would be like she knocked it out of the park, Like that's what else can you achieve? And that you're able to like reset,

start again. Um. I think that's something that I've always admired about you, that you're willing to be uncomfortable, um, and that you're able to have so much as and be like I'm just gonna start it again and see if I can do it in a different way, and like what would I tweak and how would I do this differently, and how would I change this? And I think that's just a theme that I see with you just generally, I mean, even with this show in a way that I really admire. It's a lot of people

will be like, oh, well it's working. Let's just keep doing that again and again and again. Let's just keep playing our greatest hits again and again and again. And you're like, no, I'm gonna do this other thing and trying a slightly different way, and I'm not gonna lie. I was. I was nervous. You know. It's like, are

people gonna think the packaging is too crappy? Are people going to think you know, there's not enough promise, there's not bells and whistles, there's not a high price point, there's not it's not fancy, but you know what it's for me, it just feels real and authentic and and not wasteful. And that was what was most important to me.

Besides I think it's the best formulas I've ever used. Amazing. Well, I think for all those reasons that you just said, are people going to think this in a negative way? I think those are all the things that personally I really like about it, and I suspect other people agree. So yeah, just my two sounds not that people need that recommendation for me, but just you know, but what it's worth. Um, okay, So I want to know how you spend your days because your days are so hectic.

I mean, you really are one of the busiest people I know in business and with you know, a grand kid on the way, with the house full of dogs and children and everything, like all the moving pieces in the hotel and everything. What does a typical day look like for probably Brown? Well, you know what, I wish I could say there was a typical day, and there isn't. And I'm not saying that I like it, but it is the way it is. I know, certain things are not negotiable in my calendar, my trainer. I need to

at least be with my trainer twice a week. I need to, um, you know, of course, be with my husband every night. I mean I rarely go out at night without him. I also need time to check in with my friends and see my friends. And when it comes to work, sometimes work in life get very much intertwined in my life where I walk into a you know, a meeting, but my father's calling me and there's something

going on. I mean, I'm you know, not that I'm not professional, I'm just trying to fit in so much at once that sometimes it does get in the way. So um, I try and I'm working towards it that Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays are full on Jones road scheduled days, mostly in person, and Wednesdays are my days too to do everything from you know, get my hair colored, which I do every two weeks, to see my trainer, to if a doctor's appointment, and then fit in things in between.

And I'm trying, especially for the summer, to not have anything on my calendar for Friday except personal things. Oh I love that. Trying Okay, I'm yeah, but it's it's such a good idea. And we used to do this at Google where we had no meeting Fridays. We still work all the time, but we had like no meeting Fridays, which was such a revelation at that time. And I know a lot of companies have adopted similar things. But even personally, I've taken a page from your book where

I had a m my therapist. I think that said to me to create one day a week that was just my creative day, because I was having a really hard time finding space to write or to you know, think about these other projects that you and I have discussed offline, um and I just didn't have the mental kind of space to do it, and she's like, just block a whole day and you can't do anything but creative stuff, no meetings, no other stuff. And it's made

a huge difference. I've been doing it since September, and every Tuesday is my creative day. I was taking a ceramics class. You'll be amused to know I'm terrible at it, but I was taking a ceramics class like every Tuesday morning. So it sort of forced me to stop and really ground myself something. What time your class was? That class wasn't until ten thirties, so it's kind of a weird time.

But it's like I would do other stuff in the morning and like you know, go on a walk or do whatever, or do some writing, and then I would go to ceramics. It was two and a half hours when I signed up. I actually I know when I signed up, I thought it was a four week class

because it was actually really inexpensive. It was at the community center in my neighborhood, and it turned out to be a ten week class, which I didn't know that I already paid for it, and I was like, wait, how are the only charging like forty bucks or whatever for this cloic. That's insane and it um and so then I it was too late already given them the money.

So I started going and I really found myself looking so forward to this time because it really was just about being super present, you know, turning off my phone, were like in the seller of this like this, um, what's it called? The community Center? And so there was nothing, you know, nothing else to do, and you can't touch your phone, you can't do other things, and you've got clay all over yourself. And it was really good for me. But it was a way to sort of get myself created,

grounded um and at a midpoint in the week. And it's been really helpful. But I like the idea of taking a whole day that's just also nothing else, Like that's all I can do is stuff for myself. I might have to incorporate that most I'm working. But even now on the podcast, you know, I'm looking at at a picture of myself, I'm half cut off, and I noticed that I'm wearing the ring, the Aora ring, and in my head, I'm like, oh, I gotta remember because

I'm going to the to my beach house. I'm like, ship, I have to remember the charger. But then I'm like, how am I going to remember that? Because I have so much and I'm sitting up here at this desk. I don't know if Emily's listening, but I'm like, I just made myself a tower. So Emily is gonna come up here and say, why did you make this tower of makeup? I'm gonna say, you know why because I would you please write a note to remind me to

get my or ring? Like I did that so I would remember because I looked around, and this is an entrepreneur. I looked around. There's no paper, there's no pencil, I don't have my phone. Do I write it in a you know, a face, Bob, you know, a Jones road face on your table? You know, Like, I'm just gonna give myself something to remember. But that but that's who

I am. That's really funny. So know that's that's so funny because that's like the equivalent of like tying a piece of string on your favor to remember to do something, and instead you're like, let me make a tower of lipstick to remind myself to tell some need to do something. That's amazing. Yeah, that's meditation. Bobby but but you're probably better at this than I am. I will write a sticky of something I have to remember, I'm a giant to do list. I then I write on my on

my app on the notes. Then I also text or email Emily. Then I leave a voice memo and I and I'm I'm kind of all over the place where I can't just sit down and focus and say, all right, Bobby, do one thing and put it all in one place. So I'm and I know meditation will probably help that too, but it might, but you know, I think it is just the sign of the times. It's like we're being

pulled in too many directions and it's just hard. You know, there's um you know, and especially like post pandemic brain, like I forget a lot, Like if I don't write it down right away, it's gone out of my mind and then I forget. But I've yeah, I've gone into like the reminders on my calendar is the only way

I can get stuff done. It's super irritating, but you know, there's actually I'm gonna send you a book, well, not that you have time to read a book about about organizing yourself, but listeners, if you would like a resource. I had read this like super cheesy book. It's like a you know, ten dollars in Amazon called Getting Things Done. It's the cheesiest cover. It's like this guy was like a consultant who's on the cover of it, and but you read it and he doesn't give you a process

to remember how to do things. Not really, it's really about you having to come up with your own system because whatever works for somebody else won't work for you. And it's like, however your brain works. Have you ever read this? You know? I would give I would give it a try. But I'm laughing because I once bought a book about adult a d d and how to organize everything, which is great, but I couldn't focus to read it. There was no pictures. I'm like, this is great.

Like I'm not going to send you this. I mean, you know what am I supposed to do? I'm for me, it's visual. If there's like a recipe and I'm like, oh, I could make that, but I can't follow the recipe. I guess it's it's a thing. So O, They're like getting down to brass tacks and the real important things. What's in your smoothie? You ask everybody. I know what every single one of our guests that has in their smoothie.

I would like to know what's in your smoothie. In my smoothie, it starts with a liquid, and it's been almond milk. Sometimes I do um, walnut milk because I read that walnuts are good beer brain. I mean basically, it's just taste the same. I always have ice, I have something chocolate I've been doing, uh, coconut and coconut, um, chocolate, collagen powder from my body green. I try to throw spinach in and I try to even do frozen because it makes it nice and icy. I also put in

peanut butter. I tried almond butter. I just I know almonds are better for you than peanut butter. My doctor would not be happy, um, you know, having peanuts. But I have peanut butter because it just makes it taste good. And I always throw two dates and some chia seeds or zen zen basil seeds and that's my smoothie. Yeah, okay, I need to write that down. I'm gonna go back and listen to the tape. What's in yours? Uh, it's going to be what you just described you can also

put frozen cherries in. That's also really good, like cherry and chocolate. That's a nice idea. Yeah, I'm not a consistent smoothie drinker. I'm really bad about breakfast. I have to admit, like I'm kind of a hard boiled egg like savory breakfast person. So that's been my breakfast of late, which I know is like not very exciting, but that's good. That's good. Okay, you should eat two eggs, not just so yeah too too hard boiled eggs, a lot of hot sauce, probably not the best choice, but um yeah,

I love the idea of a smoothie. I wish I was a smoothie person. And for some reason, I can never get into consistent habit. I think I just haven't figured out like the formula that I like that doesn't taste like just protein powder, because like that stuff really excuse me. On and deer eggs, do you make them hot or do you make them ahead of time? Do you peel them? Do not peel them? What I do not peel them. I keep them peeled in the fridge. And I used to boil them every day, and then

I realized that that was deeply inefficient. So now I boil like maybe four at a time, so like two days worth. But I won't boil like the entire twelve yea, because I really like them hot. But then yeah, I like them warmed, so I don't like yeah, yeah, I don't like it when they're like ice cold, like it's weird. I had to bring them up to room temperature. It's

like a whole thing. And I also like the yellows when they're not quite hard yet but not jammy egg yeah, but not not the hard boiled eggs, not too jammy, just a little jammy. So it's a tough one, yeah, it is. I have a tip for you, so based on Jennifer Fisher, because I do still read all her

cooking stuff. You apparently put all the eggs in cold water, bring it up to a boil, leave it uncovered, which I did not know, Like, bring up to boil, turn off the heat, leave it uncovered for six minute exactly, and then pour it out and like cold water on top, and then it is like just the right amount of jammy without being like that kind of runny icky jammy. Right, I think that's the check. Seven um, okay, and your workout routine. You mentioned your trainer twice a week. What

are you doing? Um, he does strength and conditioning, so a lot of you know, posture things and weights, and you know, I'm definitely stronger, and he's incorporating some really nice neck stretches, which is he wasn't before, so that's been really helpful. I do that twice a week. I walk twice a week, if not three times a week for like an hour and a half, and then I do I do little bits like I take the dogs

in the park in the afternoon or after dinner. My favorite things is to take a walk, which depending on time, we do or we don't do, so you know I would. I'm going to maybe try at Tracy Anderson class this summer because she's in sag Harbor. Now I'm gonna try. So I don't know, Please report back. That's a lot of like micro movements and like harm bounds. I feel like everybody stresses me out. Yeah, I don't know if

I can handle that, but people swear by it. I have. Yeah, two of my really close friends are obsessed with it and they go and Trebeck all the time and they love it. So let me know. I'm not going to do it. It's fine, you don't have the time. My kidding, you know me, I'm trying to pretend like I'm that girl. It's not gonna happen. UM your cocktail of choice. I think we already know the answer to this, but I

want to hear it from you anyway. Well, it's usually vodka, but I on the weekends I will have vodka on the rocks, and I always ask for a side of rocks with three olives, and I love that. And then during the week I've been putting in UM a touch of soda with the vodka and fresh lime juice, sometimes fresh cucumber juice if I can get it, or just modeled cucumbers cement and just more of a hydrating vodka. And that actually does work really well for me. I

love it. And then do you, UM, do you have this like a special vodka that you love or like a brand of vodka that you love? Well. I've always been a Tito's girl. And my chiropractor who tests like muscle testing on me, he said, you know you don't react well to corn. Why don't you try potato vodka? And I said, all right, So I've been drinking chopin. I don't feel any difference chopin or tetos. They're both good. Okay. So I did not know about that it was made

from corn. I didn't know you can make vodka from corn. I'm not like a big I didn't know much about vodka. But I just read that today on Jennifer Fisher's Instagram that it was corn and I was like, wait what? And I need to find a different vodka. So chipon was what she recommended to Hot Tip. Okay, I'm gonna check it out. Any guilty pleasure, it's not like food based guilty pleasures, but like anything else, like do you have like a do you remember in sects in the city?

If you watch that, Like there's a whole episode where Carrie Bradshaw was talking about her secret single behavior and like what she would do like when nobody was around, Do you have any like secret boppy behavior when everybody's gone, Well, my secret guilty pleasure are things like arms clogs about you? Yeah, I mean I don't buy you know, fancy expensive pointy high heels with red bottoms anymore that were so uncomfortable

I couldn't walk. But I do own a three pair of arms clogs, and I am now wearing a pair of Chloe, um, basically rubber shoes platforms that you know, if anyone's listening to this podcast and knows how much you know Airmes or Chloe costs, it's stupid. But I am wearing rubber shoes by Chloe right now and they're really comfortable. So that those are my guilty pleasures because they do make me feel guilty how much these things cost. Yeah,

they're just crazy expensive. But you know, I feel like you're not like spendy, you know, I think if those are if those are what you're spending on, I feel you're don't okay and that's not hurting anyone. So definitely I'm okay. Any daily habits that help get you through your day, um, checking in with my husband, honestly, you know that really helps a lot. And no, just hopefully drinking water, which I haven't done a good job of

today either, But it's that in meditation. If I would just stop everything else and focus on those two things for a week, I bet it would be the most

life changing, epic week for me. I love it. Okay, you're gonna report back on that too, So Bobby you had this favorite question that you've asked all season long of every one of our guests, and now I would like to turn the tables to you and ask you, Bobby Brown, if you could tell someone that's listening one thing that would change their life for the better, what would it be. It would have to be be true, Just be true, be your authentic self, and just be yourself. Helf.

That's there's really no better advice I can give anyone. Well, I love that advice, and I think that's a beautiful note to end on. I love you so much, Bobby. Thank you. I love you too, Thank you too, And I look forward to having our chit chats on and our walks in the Hamptons. So me too. Yeah, thank you for so much for taking the plunge and doing

this with me. And hopefully a lot of our listeners will have discovered you and find you whatever you're doing, and I'll be back here at some point doing the next version of whatever the important Things becomes, because unlike you, I have no idea what it's going to be. I'm just gonna do it. Launch an iterate. It's just that's the tech one oh one. Bobby, You're definitely an entrepreneur. Well, thanks and thanks Thanks Angelie, Thank you Ryan our amazing producer.

Thank you Ryan, Thanks Bobby, love you even n