I'd like to acknowledge the traditional owners on which this episode is being recorded, the combo marry people. We pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Today I'm your host, Georgie Stevenson, and this is the
Rise and Conquer podcast. This is the podcast where which have mindset, self development and becoming your higher self mix soon with a lot of laughs, plus behind the scenes of my life running two businesses and being among Think of us as the perfect combo of brunch with your besties mixed with self development. No matter where you are in your journey, we're here to help you be curious,
pull yourself out, and embrace radical self awareness. If you're ready to get into the driver's seat of your own life and stop letting life past you by.
Then you're in the right place.
Hello and welcome back to the podcast.
Happy Tuesday.
We have such a fun episode for you today and it.
Is the final part of our Her Story.
Series and we're talking about the one and only Lizzo.
We love it so much.
We love Lizzo so much. So, guys, if you don't know in her story.
This is where we share the stories of iconic women who have made history or who we feel are currently making history. These women are trailblazers in their chosen careers and are doing things differently, which you know we love. We then unpack certain aspects and values that they model in everything they do and discuss how we can use this as an expander for ourselves. In the lastp we spoke about Whitney wolf Heard, who is the founder of Bumble, and how she has integrity.
In everything she does.
What we really want you guys to start thinking about through this series is what legacy or impact you are leaving. Could you do things differently, could you think outside the box? And how can you push yourself outside your comfort zone. But before we get into the show, a tea update us.
On your week.
I had a pretty fun week.
Tell us more.
I did a cooking class on Sunday with Jamie. It was so much fun. I'd love that for you too, so much. A pizza class and then I dropped my pizza before I went in the oven. And then the lady said, oh, this is like the first time that happened. I was like, great.
A tea I'm really just not surprised.
It's only embarrassed if you're embarrassed, and I'm not embarrassed, so it's fine.
I know.
I love it, And like, what did they taste?
Like?
Oh it was so young?
Yeah.
Yeah, we did the dough from scratch and everything, so it was really good. Pizza.
Wow, did you eat the whole thing?
No?
I had half, Jamie the whole thing.
Deliterious. That sounds amazing.
Yeah, so highly recommend. The oscars were yesterday and the speeches from some of the actors were so expanding, so we popped them up on the Instagram. So I'd highly recommend you guys check that out if you missed that going up last night, because it was just so heartwarming.
Yay, I love that so much.
I love that You're just such a pop like pop culture queen. Like when you're like the oscars were, say, I was like, what what of the else? Literally one of those? But look, you keep us. I feel like you keep us a bit current. Yeah, otherwise I would literally not know what's happening around me.
What about you? How was your week?
I had a fantastic week. I was the last half of last week. I was away on a business. I'm kind of just a new person.
I love that.
No, I just yeah, look, I'm still processing a lot. Yeah, very profound, very out of my comfort zone. Met some fucking credible people. We held so much space for each other, and I don't know, it was like this new fucking level and stand in that I had, like I hadn't experienced before, and so that in itself like life changing to experience like a I can't yeah, I can't really explain. I really want to unpack it with you guys, and I'm sure we will in an episode. Yeah, but it
was incredible. I'm so glad because I wasn't gonna go. It was like one of those I was like, oh, I don't know if it's for me, you know, in my head about it, and then I was like, oh, fuck it, I'll go and see what happens. Yeah, And I'm so glad. I like went, And I know this is like my theme right now. But guys, if there is something where you're like, I don't know, I don't know, but it's like pushing you and you know it's gonna
be outside your comfort zone, like just do it. I love that so much, and it's like because I'm like such this person of like, oh, I'm an introvert, like being around you know, seventeen old women for four days straight, like I just didn't know how it was gonna go, but it expanded me so much. And it also was such a cool like, fuck, I can do this, like I can you know, be, I can go internal and I can hold this sort of work for four days straight and I can actually fucking shot really well.
So it was really cool.
I love that so much.
Yeah, it was.
It was fucking amazing. I'm like on a bit of a high from it. But also I.
Fucking just feel so grounded.
I'm you know that feeling of like, oh there's big shit happening inside. Yeah, you know that feeling and you just like and they're smiling. Oh I can feel it. So look really excited about that. But on that note, let's get into this episode. It's so bloody good.
We're gonna talk about Melissa Jefferson, who's that also known as Lizzo, and she is an American rapper and singer.
Can I ask why Lizzo? So that makes sense.
It was actually a mix I think of Melissa and a song she wrote, or a song she liked, which was like Rizzo or something. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but that's where the nickname Lizzo came. And it was quite early in her career as well that she got that little nickname. Love that.
So she sif you'r a nickname, yes, it's currently just a dog.
What's yours? G G yeah.
G banger ga wagon. The guys were still going to make underwear. Sorry, we go on, we have way too much.
So she was born as the youngest of three children, and her parents actually worked in the mortgage industry. It's just a fun fact, not that. So she grew up listening mainly to gospel music in church, and at the age of ten, her family moved to Houston.
Can I ask what gospel means?
Gospel is like church music, so like the very like praise God, very big voices, singers that sort of have you watched Sister.
Act, Yeah, so that's sort of amazing.
And so at the age of ten, her family moved to Houston, where she began to be exposed to other music styles. So she also started training as a classical flautist until she graduated high school in two thousand and six. So from age ten to eighteen, she was being classically trained to play the flute. She spent years trying to break into the music industry as part of various girl groups both in and out of high school, so she
started trying while she was in high school. After graduating high school, she attended the University of Houston on a music scholarship and she continued to study the flute with the goal to eventually be in a professional orchestra.
Wow, I know, and that just like so beautiful, how like your journey can change.
So I know, and like she was training from when she was ten to do this thing, and she put in those hours and the ten thousand hours and she changed her mind, which I'd love. So in the second year of UNI for her, she actually ended up leaving. And this was due to the pressure she felt trying
to choose between rap and classical music. So basically like her singing career and being a flautist, and also her father was getting very sick, all of that together just put too much pressure on her to be able to continue. So in two thousand and nine, twenty one year old Lizzo actually ended up struggling with depression from the loss of her father, poor body image, and an overall lack of purpose. So during this time, for a period, she was also homeless, living out of her car or crashing
on friends couches and flows. I really remember this one clip where she was speaking about she actually slept on her drummer's floor, but her drummer lived in a sharehouse, so she was crashing on her drummer who lived in a sharehouse's floor in his one bedroom that he had, because that was just what she had to do at the time. And after that, she said that her life really started to turn around once she stopped comparing herself
to others and embraced who she was. So she got her first taste of success with her electro pop duo called Lizo and the Lava Ink, and also had success with an all female rap and R and B group called The Chalice. So this group actually started to really
elevate Lizzo's profile and her reputation. Once The Chalice the group became successful, her duo Lizzo and the Lava Ink started to fall apart because she was trying to juggle both at the same time, and Lozo struggled with having the continuing success of the one group, but having another fall apart and fall away because you're obviously losing the
people too that are involved in that. And once she began to gain more attention for her collaborations, Lizzo also started working on solo material, which she described as quote unquote feel good music. This music was always backed by an upbeat sound. Her songs often featured positive and sometimes funny lyrics that touched on issues such as race, body confidence, and low self esteem. She also featured her flute playing in the music as well, which I love just using
her little skill there. So her third full length album was called Because I Love You. In this she released the songs Juice, Jerome, and Tempo. I'll play a quick clip of Juice now, just so that you guys know, because I knew these songs when I listened to them, but I wasn't sure what they were by name. So we'll play a quick snippet of Juice for you. As part of the deluxe version, she also released the bonus track Truth Hurts, So we'll play a little snippet no man or.
The men of fighting.
This song, Truth Hurts actually became her first single to top the Billboard one hundred chart This deluxe version of the album also featured the song good as Hell, which I think a lot of you will know, but we'll play a quick snippet now too.
I do my.
Hat toms check my next, maybe how you feeling?
Hats check my next, maybe.
How you feeling? After this, Lizzie actually became the third female rapper to top the Hot one hundred without a featured artist with her, which is an insane achievement. She also became the first black solo female R and B singer to claim the top spot on the Hot one hundred since Rihanna's twenty twelve hit Diamonds, which just blows my mind that it took that long. Yeah what Yeah? And so the song Truth Hurts also won a Grammy
for Best Pop Solo Performance. And this album was very much a churning point Lizo's career and she began to garner more mainstream attention. Personally, I didn't know about her before this album either, Like these songs really were where I discovered who she was. And Lizzo's success continued with the album Special, which was released in twenty twenty two, which also became her first recording to reach number one
on Billboard's album Sales chart. So this is her most recent, most recent album, which has songs like about Damn Time and to Be Loved. I'm sure you've heard these. They went viral on TikTok, they were just everywhere. And who's currently touring with this album? And I have a little random fun fact about this tour which I love. She was given the opportunity to play a two hundred year old crystal flute while on this tour and it belonged to the fourth President of the United States, James Madison.
I just want to add a little clip of her playing that here. Will also share a clip of this on Socials because she actually tworked while playing the flute, which I just think is so iconic.
Happening right now, but I love it.
She's playing a two hundred year old crystal flute that no one's played before and just tworking in a sparklet body suit, and it's the best thing ever.
Just history tonight, making history, sting cool. History is.
So in this album. The song about Damn Time also went to number one and has won two Grammys, including Record of the Year. Georgie, I know you and I both personally adored her acceptance speech when she won these Grammys, and we just wanted to put a little snippet of that in here for you guys as well.
I want to dedicate this award to Princes. When we lost Prince, I decided to dedicate my life to making positive music. And I was like, I don't care if my positivity bother you, what's wrong with you? And this was at a time when positive music and feel good music wasn't mainstream at that point, and I felt very misunderstood. I felt on the outside looking in, But I stayed true to myself because I wanted to make the world a better place. So I had to be that change
to make the world a better place. And now I look around and there's all these songs that are about loving our bodies and feeling comfortable in our skin and feeling fucking good. And I'm just so proud to be a part of it. Because in a world that there's a lot of darkness and a lot of scary shit, I'd like to believe that not only can people.
Do good, but we just are good.
We are good inherently. Anybody at home who feels misunderstood or on the outside looking in, like I did just stay true to yourself, because I promise you you will find people, You will attract people in your life who believe in you and support you. I want to thank y'all for believing in me and supporting me.
I am literally obsessed with Lizzo mean too.
I just.
Oh, I think the reason why I love her so much because first of all, I remember, I feel like I've randomly found her on like TikTok or Instagram, actually found her on social media beforehand, and then I heard the songs and like put two two together and I was like, oh, that's Lisso I.
Think that might have happened for me as well. Actually, yeah, like.
One of her videos, like because her videos go viral because she is so authentically herself. Yes, And that is my favorite part about her is she is just like this is me, take it or leave it, and I'm not fucking listening to your shit. That is the vibe, Like that's the frequency, and I'm like, I just am so attracted to that in her and.
I really love too.
I feel like I haven't seen any artists like her before for sure, like completely. I even remember like looking at our social media and thinking, oh my god, she's so different, she's so herself and.
Just loving that.
Yes, Like even we were chatting about AuthoriTea of her acceptance speech where she think Beyonce and was like, you were my idol, and I feel like Beyonce's everyone's idole.
I know.
So I just don't life because I'm like, oh my god, we're the same Lisser. I love because she really reframed like women women of color artis Yes, completely, because even and definitely fight me on this point here, like even with Beyonce, amazing incredible women of color, Yeah, breaking the boundaries, but still you know, in the realm of society's ideals of what beauty.
Is, yes, very very I think, especially when it comes to like body image and size. Yes, she's very like your ideal fits. Yeah, And even if you look at other artists, female artists that a woman of color like Jennifer Lopez and Shakira and even Rhianna all very much fall into that even though their skin tone might not
be society's ideal, their body is. And the fact that Lizo not only defied that with her skin tone but also her body image is just I think amazing and it just goes to show like Beyonce would have definitely been an expander for Lizzo. But I think there's still like a lot of extra barriers that Lizo would have had to fight through, especially in the entertainment industry to get to where she has and have the success that she has had.
Yeah, And I think, especially like the theme of this episode is, you guys know, we love locking into expanders, we love finding expanders, and this is what this whole series is about. But the thing I love about Lizo is she maybe didn't even have an expander and she really created her own, her own realm of what she
wanted to be. Yes, Because I think sometimes and I've been very open about this, even me at the moment, with an expander, it's not like there's someone so specific that I'm like, I want my life to look exactly like this person, and even toying with the well what do I actually want and what does it mean to be truly authentically me? Yes, And I love that she's like just gone and done the.
Thing, Yes, exactly. And I think, like what you said on having an expander, it's a bit of a mind boggle, but you're almost limiting yourself or giving yourself a box to fit in, a box to fit in, and box.
Might be at box.
Yeah, and steps to take because you because that's what that person did to get to where they are, whereas your journey is going to be so different. Having an expander is almost also limiting yourself to a certain series of steps to get to your end goal, whereas your journey might be so different and could be even better.
I love this, and this is what you know. The thought provoking question of this episode is where are you even limiting yourself because there is no one around you who has modeled the thing.
And I think something I like to look at when I'm trying to find expanders for myself is not necessarily what they've done. It's more how far they've gone and the values that they like almost use in everything they do. So for example, obviously in the first episode of this series, we talked about Venus and Serena Williams, and I, by no means feel any pool to become a professional tennis player.
I'm quite sure I could teach it.
We'll get him in for a lesson every day six hours.
Yeah, you just need ten thousand hours.
But I admire their determination and their grit and that's what expands me, is I want to have that level of grit in whatever I do. Or Whitney Wolf heard with her integrity and how aligne she was in everything she did. I might not want to have a tech startup, but I want to have that level of integrity in everything I do and just have those values almost just
like come out of me where wherever I am. And I think Lizzo is just like a perfect example for anyone of you can admire people and have them expand you and have their journeys inspire you and remind you
that you can do anything you want. But at the end of the day, you are the only person that is going to do what you do in life, and in a way, you'll always be the first, so you're going to have that resistance and even if historically you might not be the first, Like Lizzo definitely isn't the first black woman to win a Grammy on that sort of stuff, but she is the first Lizo.
And to do it in her way.
Yeah, and so different to everyone else. And I know we had to chat about this too, and that Beyonce is amazing and so typical of like everyone's idol Quinn Bee and she's very polished and graceful and elegance, and Lizo is she's.
Like the opposite.
She's not polish, She's not polish, she's raw.
I actually I was singing to the other day.
I was like, I feel like so many you know, pop stars, and they like they would one hundred percent have people auditing their social media posts before they go up, Oh for sure, and they can just tell Lizzo does it, which I love because that's what I mean, Like, You're truly getting the most authentic her raw in the moment.
And I also love because I think, like, for example, Lizo can say something and then fucking do something different the next day, and I wouldn't care no, because I'm like, she is embracing her whole self in that moment, and I love that she shares It's like, shares it with us because it then gives me permission to do the same. And that's really what I get from her, of like
I'm allowed to change, I'm allowed to evolved. I'm allowed to feel this so deeply in this moment and not be worried about what people are going to think or if I might change my mind.
Or like if in five years time and opinion like that will be outdated or not. Yeah, because a lot of especially in like the media and that sort of stuff, anyone with a platform is very refined in what they say. So it's to not be controversial, yeah, not get canceled, not get canceled or the potential of getting canceled down the line. But she's not like that. But also, no one's ever had a problem with.
Her, No, And she she's so conscious and like she's like not hurting anyone. Yeah, she's just like so like so herself. And also can we talk about like her thing of just wanting to put out positive music, Like that was the bit who when it clicked for me in her acceptance speech, and I was like, that is so true. Like her music is so uplifting and so positive and so raw that that's what is so attractive for me personally in her music.
And I feel like there's almost been this massive shift in the music industry in these last few years of positive music now becoming more mainstream because when I think back to like I don't know, twenty twelve, when I was like in high school and all these songs were coming out, they were all either really sad, like depressing those love ballads your heart got broken or someone.
Dies, treating you like cheating you like shit was a massive because then can I just quickly interject here, Yeah, don't you also realize that that music was like normalizing than our experiences?
Yes, and that's why I love that.
She's like, no, we actually get to normalize things being fucking good and us owning our like power.
Yes, sorry, continue.
No, exactly that, and like it filtered through every aspect of your life, and like the other songs that you'd hear in the clubs, like break your Heart is the one that comes to my head by Taya Cruz, where he's like You're only gonna break my heart. You're only gonna break my heart, Like what kind of trust issues are you going to end up with after listening to that?
I love us fully being like be careful what music.
Said, but it's so true.
So I've really been playing with this concept of like what are you normalizing in your world with the music you listen to and the things you watch and the social media you consume.
It's those are like almost like not evily brainwashing, but brainwashing you.
Well that's even like because I had this huge realization we're going off a little we're going a little bit off topic here, but bear with us, guys, that I was really addicted to drama and like reality shows the drama.
And it's so interesting because I also.
Used to say this line of I don't like drama in my personal life, but I love watching it. And then I remember thinking, but why do I love watching it? Yes, and fully calling myself out and going there, there's something here. There's you know, a subconscious Georgie who fucking loves drama, and she gets to indulge in that, you know, with the reality TV, with the movies and whatnot. And I'm not saying that's bad or good. I'm not saying that.
I'm just saying it was very interesting to notice that I'm so curious.
I'm curious, not.
Curious, guys.
And then once I like acknowledge that, and I was like, I actually don't want to normalize drama like that or people like that or situations like that, so I'm actually not gonna watch it.
Well, it's funny you say that, because I've had a pivot sort of I'd say the last six ish months where I used to love like you said reality TV those sorts of things, and my parents would always say, oh my gosh, it's killing your brain. It's like it's mind numbing. You need to stop watching that. I'm like, no, like I would just shut up. I would always say like, oh, like I just need something mindless to watch, Like I don't want to absorb anything. I just want to watch
something that's easy to watch. That was like my excuse.
When I would yeah, like the one liner you have.
Yeah, that justifies what I'm doing. I'm like, oh, I just want to watch some trash TV because I don't want to like learn anything right now or watch something intense. Then I'm not gonna sa brain.
I'm from my exhausting job.
Georg, and I now cannot stand reality TV interesting like I used to love like we're the same person, maybe like married at first sight. I would love watching it because I'm like, oh my gosh, this is interesting. And even on that one, I'd use the excuse of like
it's just so interesting to watch their relationship dynamics. Yeah, But like now, I literally tried to watch it the other day because my friend loves it, and I'm like, I know, it was like five minutes and yeah, and I've just started filling my time with other things or like got into bed earlier. Yeah, and it's making that shift or like just going to sleep, even like the podcasts I listened to, Yeah, it's about.
Like what am I normalizing in my life and just bringing it back to Lizzo. Yeah, of like I love and I really had that aha moment when she did her speech of like, no, I actually want to put out positive music and that gets to be the normal even though it wasn't embraced mainstream. I truly believe she was on the forefront of positive music hundred percent and not just fucking talking about.
Some breakup or some shit so exhausting over it, and like not having everything be about pain all the time, or like good art coming from pain, it can come from any emotion and being amplified. And I adore her
for that reason. And I think that even though it wasn't normalized at the time, and she obviously did battle with a lot of things, trying to fit into boxes and being in these girls, she's very open about her battle with body image and her battle with herself, and I love that she said quite a few times of like her life changed when she accepted herself.
Yes, And I just I think it's so huge because I think so many of us and I even do this of even though I'm like, oh, I accept myself and I love myself, there would be certain aspects of me that I truly don't accept that I truly think should be different or should be a certain way. That is then leaking my energy, that is then limiting me, Yes, limiting you know, my full power of what I truly could be.
As whole Georgie.
Yeah, but I'm too worried about putting a mask on these certain aspects of me or wanting to change that.
I'm like, I'm linking energy.
M And it's almost like when you have those insecurities or you haven't embraced yourself, you will stop yourself from accepting opportunities when they come up because of those insecurities.
Yeah, or you just want to attract them.
Yeah, almost like how you were toying with best and Less. Yeah. And if say someone who wasn't as self aware had something come up like that and their body was an insecurity for them, they just wouldn't have done the campaign.
They would have said no.
They would have said no. But because you know how you think and you know how you are, and you didn't have that realization of like, oh my gosh, no, the reason I'm so uncomfortable is the reason I actually have to do this. You won't lose.
Yeah, yeah, it really like and that's I even look back at doing that Best and Less campaign and just so much good came for it, Like the most was just the internal awareness and me also doing something out of my comfort zone and then.
Getting to the point where you have that when you.
Let yourself lead and you have that self trust of I'm uncomfortable, but I'm going to do this thing. It's like strengthening that muscle. And I hadn't done that in a while. I had actually been very comfortable and you know,
just gotten on top of you know, motherhood. And it was such an amazing experience for me internally, like it shifted so much for me personally, and then also on the outside of you know, I had people messaging me being like, oh my god, you've actually just given me permission to completely rock my postpart and.
Body and stuff like that.
I hadn't thought of that, but I was like, oh my god, that in itself, like if one person feels like that because I did a campaign like that in itself. Yeah, yeah, Like I love that. It's like, you literally are never going to go wrong if you're looking into am I actually limiting myself? And where can I actually step out of my comfort zone and just like do the thing because it's wholly me?
Yeah, anything to add.
So, I think like what people can really learn from Lizo's journey is when you try to fit in a box, you're going to attract the opportunities and things and people into your life that align with that box. And it's never gonna feel right because that box is not you.
And you'll also struggle to get success in that box because one you're limiting yourself by trying to be somebody else that that spot's almost already in the world, Like you're not going to get to where that person went because they're already there and there's not any more like the space for one person to be exactly as where that person is. And you need to carve your own path and be you and attract the right things and
opportunities to yourself that align with who you are. And it might be similar like yes, you might still be an incredibly successful singer, but Lizo is not Beyonce, and Beyonce is not Lizzo.
So powerful.
Yeah, and I think just remembering that in that have your expanders, have your goals, have your dreams, but also remember that your journey will look different, It's not going to be exactly the same.
And absolutely embrace that.
Yeah.
I have loved this episode so much, and I have loved doing this series with you so much.
A tr mean too, I love it, guys.
Let us know if you want a few more of these, Yeah, let us.
Know because as you as you guys know, we love talking about these topics but really bringing them back to women that we found so inspiring and empowering and really bringing in the lessons and being able to be able to resonate but really question, yeah, you know ourselves and how we are leading our life has been so powerful and like, just within doing this a series a tear, I've had so many like aha moments and realizations and I'm like, wow, got some.
Work to do it give him a journal.
So we have absolutely loved doing this A tiar. Thank you so much for doing all the research on this. It has just been incredible to see do your thing and the RNC fam. I'm sure so thankful and yeah, definitely let us know. Come in the Facebook group. Did you like this series? What do you want us to do next? We want to bring you content that inspires
you and lights you up. I felt so inspired and lit up by this, so yeah, we hope you guys did too, And thank you so much, you know your supporters everything, Thanks, bye bye, Thank you so much for listening to another episode of the Rise and Conker Podcast.
If you enjoyed it and.
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