On Purpose with Jay Shetty - LA Lakers President, Jeanie Buss ON: Empowering Women in Leadership On & Off the Court

Episode Date: July 5, 2021

Jeanie Buss sits down with Jay Shetty to talk about believing in your own strength in an industry with more male leaders, how you can learn from your own mistakes and take the lead, and that gender doesn’t matter, it’s the people and the talent they have. Jeanie Buss is the controlling owner and president of the Los Angeles Lakers. She is the daughter of Jerry Buss, a real estate investor who later owned the Lakers and other sports businesses. At age 19, she started in the family business as general manager of the Los Angeles Strings professional tennis team, and later became the owner of the Los Angeles Blades professional roller hockey team. What We Discuss with Jeanie: 00:00 Intro 03:46 A memory that you have from being a young girl 06:22 Respect people no matter what their circumstance is 09:05 What are some of those leader's parallels that you're seeing in your journey? 12:59 Don’t let critics and outside detractors feed the outcome 15:33 You can’t sit by the sidelines when you see something is wrong 20:26 If there are people in our community that is suffering, what can we do? 23:44 When a big decision is to be made, everybody looks for a scapegoat 28:54 Overcoming your biggest personal challenge 33:07 Internal rituals for yourself to help stay calm in the chaos 36:22 Gender doesn’t matter, it’s the talent that matters 42:28 What can you learn from LeBron James? 44:44 The best memories shared with Kobe Bryant 50:50 Jeanie on Fast Five Like this show? Please leave us a review here - even one sentence helps! Post a screenshot of you listening on Instagram & tag us so we can thank you personally! Episode Resources: Jeanie Buss | LinkedIn Jeanie Buss | Instagram Jeanie Buss | Twitter Achieve success in every area of your life with Jay Shetty’s Genius Community. Join over 10,000 members taking their holistic well-being to the next level today, at https://shetty.cc/OnPurposeGeniusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Conquer your New Year's resolution to be more productive with the Before Breakfast Podcast. In each bite-sized daily episode, time management and productivity expert Laura Vandercam teaches you how to make the most of your time, both at work and at home. These are the practical suggestions you need to get more done with your day. Just as lifting weights keeps our bodies strong as we age, learning new skills is the mental equivalent of pumping iron. Listen to Before Breakfast on the I Heart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. What do a flirtatious gambling double agent in World War II?

An opera singer who burned down an honorary to Kidnap her lover, and a pirate queen who walked free with all of her spoils, haven't comment. They're all real women who were left out of your history books. You can hear these stories and more on the Womanica podcast. Check it out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. When there's big decisions that need to be made, it seems like everybody looks for the scapegoat. Hey everyone, welcome back to On Purpose, the number one health podcast in the world. Thanks to each and every single one of you that come back every week to listen, learn, and grow.

I love the community we're creating, the purposeful conversations we've been having over the past few weeks have just been absolutely phenomenal. And today's guest is going to take us to another level. I've been looking forward to this conversation for quite some time since we connected on Instagram and through a mutual friend. And today I'm getting to hear about a story that I think a lot of us may know very little about, but has had such a big impact on our lives. Today's guest is the one and only Genie Bus,

one of the most respected names in all of Boschable. She's the controlling owner of the beloved MBA franchise, the LA Lakers. Genie started her stellar business career at a young age, learning from her father, who's widely considered to be the greatest owner in the history of the sport. She's also shown that she's unafraid to make big moves and under her leadership

the lake is won the 2020 NBA Championship, their first championship since 2010. Please welcome to On Purpless, Jeannie. Jeannie, thank you so much for doing this. And Jay, thank you for all the inspiration that you provide on an everyday basis, you know, little gems that sometimes just write when you really need to hear something. Your voice is so inspiring and your messages are well received and very appreciated. Well, that means the world coming from you. You inspire so many through the work that you do. And so if my work's touched you in any way, I feel extremely blessed and grateful. But I wanted to start off, first of all,

by thanking you for the championship from last year. And all the success I've been a... I always talk about this. There's very few teams that are known internationally. I was born and raised in London. And so the only two teams we ever really heard about were the Chicago Bulls and the LA Lakers. Those were the two biggest teams.

I've been a Lakers fan since. And when I moved to LA only two years ago, I think I moved here at the same time. LeBronk came across and I was thinking, oh, this is, I was like, this is great timing for me. And it was absolutely amazing to watch. But I saw that Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, recently called you NBA royalty. What does that mean to you?

How does that feel? I guess you could say I was born into this position. And so maybe that's how royalty fits into the equation because I don't feel that I've privileged or have just been given something without a lot of work. But to have Adam Silver say that about me, I think it's just because I've been around 40 years in this business. No, I completely agree with you and that's what I want to dive in today. I think from what I know of you, what I've learned about you, you have so much depth and such a journey to share with us today. And you're absolutely right that often in the media and the news, like in the three minute interview, you miss that context of

someone and who they are. And today, I hope we get to learn that. I wanted to start with your childhood. And because I think childhood is so important in framing who we are. Tell us about a memory that you have from being a young girl that you feel has had such a big impact or impression on your life today. Growing up, I always wanted to work in the family business that I loved being around family and being connected and contributing some way to the whole, to the unit, to the family. You know, I think my dad saw that passion that I had for work. At that time when he was building his wealth, he was in real estate.

That's how he made his money. And so I always thought someday I would be working in real estate and development. But as soon as he had the opportunity, sports was his love. And he felt that if he could buy the Lakers, he also bought the King's hockey team and the forum where they played, that he wanted the opportunity to build a team and make them successful. He wasn't born in Los Angeles, but he moved here, like so many people who live here, have. And the city embraced him and he loved the city. And he wanted to give back and do something that he felt was important.

And he felt at that time there was such a bias for teens on the East Coast. We heard about the Boston Celtics and the New York Nigs and the Philadelphia 76ers. You know, he wanted to make the Lakers great. And that would be his love letter to the city of Los Angeles. and that would be his love letter to the city of Los Angeles. And that's what he did. And in 1979, I was a high school senior. And he purchased the team and our family business pivoted from real estate and to sports and entertainment.

And that's when I started to work. I've loved it ever since. I had never thought I would be sitting here today as the reigning controlling owner of a championship team, but here we are. That's beautiful. What do you think was one of the biggest lessons or skills you obviously have so much love for him

and the work he did and the path he took? What was one of the biggest things you learned from him? And what do you think one of the biggest things you taught him that maybe you shed back with him? He taught me how to treat people, how important it was to give people respect no matter what their circumstance was. You know, I still to this day, I love hearing stories of people who met him along the way. He treated, you

know, the most powerful business tycoons the same way he treated the guys pulling up his car at the ballet, always treated people with love and respect and kindness. That was something that, you know, I will continue to carry on and still that value in me. I think when you asked me, what did I teach him that? No, it never asked me that question before. I would say that he was always inspired by my sense of calm about myself, about learning through different kinds of therapy, kind of taking responsibility for me as a person and being disciplined.

And I think sometimes he kind of said, you work too hard, take a week and off. Don't, you know, as my dad, I think he kind of got a kick out of how much I worked and how much I applied myself, I think he appreciated that. Yeah, that's wonderful. I always think that teaching and learning is an exchange, isn't it? Whoever it is, whether that person's your parent or your partner or your friend, it's always a two-way thing. And I'm sure he was so inspired by you and learned so much from you as well.

So thank you for sharing that with us. I'm really glad that we went there. Now, I read that you obviously became general manager of the LA strings at the age of 19 and I'm thinking to myself, wow, that is, that's, that's incredible. First of all, at that age, at that time to do that. Has there been a similar experience from that time that has felt very true today? Like have you found some connection or parallel where you're like, oh, we went through that when I was 19 and I'm experiencing the same thing today.

What are some of those leadership parallels that you're seeing in your journey? When my dad named me General Manager of the LA strings at the age of 19, you know, I was like, oh great. I now I've got a team to run. And Team tennis consisted of four players, two men and two women that you drafted and they played each kind of tennis, meaning women singles, men singles, men's doubles,

women's doubles, and mixed doubles, five sets. And the scoring was cumulative. So it was the brainchild of Billie Jean King, who's one of my mentors, because it was a way of men and women competing together where they equally contributed to the outcome of the match. And that's the kind of thinking that she does about gender equality, and I so appreciated it.

So now I'm in charge. I go to my dad and I say, hey, dad, I have to draft a team. Let's go over the draft and let's pick players. And he said, I really want you to pick the team. I want you to know what it feels like to have success and also if it doesn't work out what it feels like to fail so that you'll learn that lesson. And I was kind of taken aback by that. He wanted me to either own the success or experience the failure.

And that was such a gift because he wasn't going to try to, you know, put training wheels on me. He wanted me to take responsibility to feel that position. And I so appreciated that. Luckily in that first year, I drafted Martina Navratilova and we won a championship that year. So, I guess I got a taste for winning early on, but I really appreciated the faith that he had in me and that he empowered me. And when I look back and I think, wow, that he took a big risk,

because he really didn't know how things would turn out. But there's people along the way who believe in you and that that changes your whole dynamic of how you envision yourself. And so you know I learned that lesson of when people see you a certain way that you know you can accept that and believe it yourself. Sometimes you're your own worst critic and your own fears are what holds you back and you know, allow to be people's opinion of you to be reflected and accepted. Yeah, I love what you just said that.

There were so many things that you said and I hope everyone who's listening is taking notes right now. There was a beautiful thing you said, your father shared with you, which was he wanted you to own the success and experience the failure. And when you said that, I thought, wow, what a powerful lesson to allow someone to do

and to learn to do. Where we own our success, we celebrate it, we value it, we take responsibility for it, but that we experience our failure. And then what you just said there at the end, Jeannie, I feel you're so right that we live in a world today where everyone has an opinion about everyone and everything. And it can be really hard for our self-esteem because we already have an inner critic and now on top of that, we have external critics. And that can become a really loud voice.

You started leading so early on, what was one of the first times you experienced that, you know, far before where you are now, where you started to realize that your relationship with yourself had to be a priority? I truly believe that, and you said it so well. I mean, I've been inspired by so many great leaders, you know, Bill E. Jean King, David Stern, Phil Jackson, people who didn't let the critics or the outside detractors feed the outcome. In other words, it's like you have to be fearless and sometimes it's hard to do

and sometimes you could, you, what you might say, I got to put on a face today for the people I'm leading and maybe I have some doubts, but they can't see that. And I have to be strong and I have to stand my ground. I learned that because believe me, I had many failures along the way on my path and I'm sure I'll have more the way on my path and I'm sure I'll have more coming up in my future. That's just part of being a leader and not being afraid to stand up for what you believe in. You have to know what direction you're going because if your doubts might be about which decision you're making and you can't you can't be a leader like standing on two different sides of the fence. You have to be decisive and you have to believe and stand for what your values are. And, you know, I feel like I'm a values-oriented leader that my values dictate my decisions. And when you are clear about what you value

and the decisions become very easy. I love that you just spoke about values. I, in my book last year, my first chapter is entirely about setting and defining your values. So, hearing you say that rings so true. How did you, Gini, develop your values? Because I think a lot of people hear that today, but they don't really know how someone chooses their values, how you define

them and, and also then how you use them. And it sounds like you're absolutely right. As a leader, you have to make some really big decisions. You don't get to kind of tow the line and sit on the fence, as you said. Tell us about what your values are in leadership and how did you develop them? Where did they come from? I think the most important value that drives me is integrity and it's about being truthful. Do what you say and say what you do. You know, like that you are consistent in your decision-making. You know, you don't look for excuses. If you didn't live up to your expectation that you can accept it instead of trying to find someone to blame.

In this day and age, you can't sit by the sidelines. You can't see something that's wrong and ignore it. That's really important to me. And that's like integrity throughout an organization, throughout society. And that's really holding yourself accountable. And speaking the truth and not trying to lay off blame if things don't go your way.

Such a powerful quality, such a hard thing to truly embody every day and it takes work. I'm sure it takes work to even practice that on a daily basis and the amount of attention it takes. I think we all continue to evolve. And that's why what you bring to the world is so valuable because you help people learn about themselves and continue to evolve just from all the social unrest

that we experienced this past year. And I had to make a decision. I posted on my social media a letter, horribly. And I get a lot of them, unfortunately. But it was a letter using words that, you know, discussed me, and I decided to post it on my social media with the words blacked out so that it didn't defend anybody, but I did that because I wanted my white friends to see that racism exists in this world, and that we can't turn a blind eye anymore. And living with that example, and whatever I'm willing to do because I think it's important. And I think that so many people just, you know, if it doesn't affect me, then what do I care?

Well, if it affects one person, then it affects us all. Like, we have to realize that we're all part of a community and that if there's unfairness, then we're not living up to what we can truly be as human beings. I'm so glad you raised that. I'm so glad you shared that. I saw you post that letter. And if anyone hasn't seen it, first of all, I highly recommend you follow Junior on Instagram. But then go and see that piece too because I love sports. But I felt that the NBA and the Lakers did a phenomenal job of standing up with integrity as activists through the

sport. I really felt that. I mean, when you're consuming this sport, you could see the NBA had taken a really clear stance. And then, of course, the lakes have taken such a clear stance. And then that's not an easy decision. And it's a big decision. But as you said, it came from a powerful place.

But you just said, it's like, you know, a lot of people can say, well, yeah, it's not our space, but as you said, it came from a powerful place. What you just said, it's like, a lot of people can say, well, yeah, it's not our space. It doesn't affect me. Why did you and the Lakers feel it was so important to be a part of that messaging in the sense where you felt we feel this is gonna have an impact? Were you thinking about younger viewers? Were you thinking about all of you?

It's like, where was your mindset when you're making a decision like that? Well, you know, and when I talked about my dad, you know, and what I learned from him and the values that he instilled in me and the respect for human beings that he had no matter what their circumstance was, you know, this is just the next step. This is what, you know, the Lakers are champions of the NBA and a well-known brand around the world. But we also belong to a community and there are people in our community that are suffering.

And if there are people who are suffering, then what can we do? And we can stand up for what we feel is right. I don't think of myself or organization as activists, I think we're just illuminating what needs to be known and what needs to be seen, you know, to have a player like LeBron James, who I am so proud of and so honored to stand beside in so many things. I think he represents so much of what the Laker stand for. He is our leader, he has, you know, led us back to the top of the NBA, you know, and when we lost our beloved Kobe and Gianna Bryant, he was there to lead us through the darkness and the painting and

the broad-laker nation together so that we could mourn our favorite song, Kobe Bryant. Our 20s are seen as this golden decade. Our time to be carefree, full in love, make mistakes, and decide what we want from our life. But what can psychology really teach us about this decade? I'm Gemma Spagg, the host of the psychology of your 20s. Each week we take a deep dive into a unique aspect of our 20s, from career anxiety, mental health, heartbreak, money, friendships, and much more to explore the science and the psychology behind our experiences, incredible guests, fascinating topics, important science, and a bit of my own personal experience.

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time management and productivity expert Laura Vandercam teaches you how to make the most of your time, both at work and at home. These are the practical suggestions you need to get more done with your day. Just as lifting weights keeps our bodies strong as we age, learning new skills is the mental equivalent of pumping iron. Listen to Before Breakfast on the I Heart Radio app, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah, no, and this is why I love hearing you speak

about these themes and topics. It shows me what an incredible leader you are and what breadth of vision you have. Like it's such a wide vision. It's, you know, we could be sitting here just talking about sports and stats and numbers and, you know, that kind of stuff. And obviously we knew we weren't going to talk

about any of those things. That's why we did this. But I love hearing that because I think anyone who's listening and watching right now can see that becoming a leader of an organization in an industry doesn't stop you from illuminating on things that are meaningful to you. It doesn't stop you from being who you are and caring for people.

I think often we feel that when you become a leader, you have to kind of tow the line and be really specific and then you can't go out of your area. But what you said there beautifully, you don't see yourself as an activist, you see yourself as illuminating things that are important to your community. And I'm guessing that you felt a lot of support, but I'm sure the players also felt a lot of confidence knowing that the team felt that way, knowing that you felt that way. Like I'm sure that builds a lot of trust. How have you built trust over the years? Because I think that's one of the hardest things in leadership.

You can have a group of people that win, you can have a group of people that succeed, but trust, especially these kind of themes require a lot more trust. Tell me a bit about what you've learned about trust over the years, Junion, how that's been built. Well, I think in my business, there's a lot of ego involved. And when there's big decisions that need to be made, it seems like everybody looks for the scapegope. Unfortunately, the media can be complicit in hosting a reporting on an unnamed source. What I've seen in my experience is I've seen

when a team has to trade a player. And what if that player goes on to the next team and does better? Well, then that's going to make me look bad. So now they have to create a narrative that this guy doesn't work hard enough or this guy you know was bad in the locker room and that I cannot tolerate. I cannot tolerate a person you know destroying someone

else's character to pump up their own value. And, you know, so when the media quotes, you know, unnamed sources, I throw that out the window. Like, I don't listen to that. I would never be a part of that. But I know even in my own organization, when we were struggling for a few years, there were so many leaks in our organization that now you can't have integrity,

you can't have trust because when you're bringing your leadership together to talk about something and then the next thing, there's something in the media that was spoken behind closed doors. Now nobody trusts each other. Well, who was it? Finger pointing, it's completely undermining to an organization to try to build any kind of success. So we have extinguished the leaks. We have built a level of trust. And now we don't have that, you know, who's stabbing me in the back?

Who's supposed to be on my side, but is setting me up for failure. With all that distraction aside, now, this is what can be accomplished. You can accomplish great things. And it doesn't mean that, oh, we have the formula of how to win a championship. But what happens is is that we experience each other in the best way possible, that we can let down our guard and rely on one another and allow each other to complement my skill set with your skill set because I know you're not gonna make me look bad.

That's how the pieces come together to be stronger than the sum of its parts. We got lucky that we won a championship because it does take luck, it takes injuries, avoiding injuries and all that. But we came out on top. We've got a really special thing going, a team that truly cares about each other in LeBron signing an extension, in Anthony Davis signing an extension, is really a great reflection on that,

what we're building here, and that that's what is the fulfilling part of it, is the trust and the connections and the relationships that we build and then the winning happens. Yeah, that's your metric of success. Winning the championship, of course, is an incredible metric of success. But the deeper metric of success is that trust that rebuilding together, that desire for people to want to commit and stay on. Those are the real signs of something truly being created,

is what I'm hearing. And what you were saying around, it sounds like you've just created really clear boundaries of what your expectations are, because I feel when you were talking about the idea of, having people around you that don't, you know, having people around you that don't trust you or having people where there are challenges and conflict,

I think anyone who's listening and watching can relate to that in whatever workplace they're in. Like everyone goes through that on a daily basis where you don't know if that person's gonna stab you in the back to get promoted or that put, and so I feel people can relate to that, but it sounds like you've just created really clear boundaries for you and your team and you're trying to hold

everyone to a high standard. What do you think, Ginny's been your personal biggest, and I used to work challenge because I think failure often paints a negative view, but what would you say has been your personal biggest challenge in your life and how have you worked to overcome it? Where have you had to go internally to overcome that challenge? That's a great question because I recently experienced that. It was when Magic Johnson

stepped down as the head of our basketball. It really took me by surprise. And again, like that, I don't know really what's happening right now. And that's when, you know, the people that I truly trust that are close to me said, you have to have an organization that reflects what's important to you. an organization that reflects what's important to you. And you can't fight what's happening out with all the speculation and the media. Don't fight it. Just be quiet and do your work. And that's what we did. And it was the hardest thing I ever did was, you know, reading horrible things about me or other people I work with. And your first instinct is to punch back. You wanna, you know, you wanna tell people to shut up

and my end, you know, so, but, you know, what for as much as they know, that's very acting to what they see. So you have to let people own their opinion, but you know what the truth is. And so I had to just keep my mouth shut and not react to the negative and do the work. And again, we were the fortunate winners of the championship, which is always the goal, but really what I learned was the goal, but really what I learned was that I could trust the people that I'm surrounded with.

And that was always what was important to me to have was that trust that I give, that I would get back. And it's such a pleasure to work with the people that I work with now. And there was a moment when magic stepped down because he was such an important part of why LeBron came to the Lakers to begin with, that I thought LeBron might decide, hey, this isn't what I signed up for. I wanna be traded.

He didn't do that instead. He knew what the truth was. He knew what the truth was. He knew that the organization was well run. He believed in what we were doing. He believed in me. And that was such a turning point. I can't imagine the levels of uncertainty when something like that happens.

Like the questioning and the insecurity about what an if and what's this person gonna think and say and how's this gonna react to them when you're dealing with all of that, I wonder what does Genie have to do before she's in the boardroom, right? It's like what do you have to do behind closed doors behind the seats?

What are your practices in some of your habits, maybe Genie, that you do that, that allow you to stay. You were saying that the biggest thing your father loved about you was your ability to work hard but be calm. And he liked your calming presence. And even today, I feel such a... You have...

And I've seen interviews with you before. I've seen you celebrate and I've watched you many times. But you have this beautiful calming energy about you, even through this screen. And I wonder, what are some of your practices and habits? What are some of the internal rituals that you've created for yourself that are not there in the boardroom, that aren't there on the news, but that you're doing every day or every week

or every month that are helping you be calm during that chaos? Having a routine in the morning is really important and before you go to sleep. I think that's valuable. But I was with Phil Jackson for over 15 years living with him. You know, they call him the Zen Master. So, you know, I got a lot of my kind of clarity about what's important and how to focus watching him.

You know, there's a lot of ups and downs in our business, you know, just in everyday life, there's ups and downs. And he's so consistent in how he approached things. He never, he always looked forward. There was always a path. He never dwelled on what had just happened. If the team had lost by 60 points, it was forgotten about or not forgotten.

It was, you know, okay, well now we have another game coming up. It's always looking forward. And I guess that's the beauty is that we always have the next day. We always have the next day. We always have do our morning routine. We deal with what we deal with in the day. And then we go home, we have our routine,

and we go to sleep to the next day, and we can make things better. So I guess there's like an optimism with that, but also that stain in the moment that a routine allows you and you know that you're going to have the next moment and you're going to do better and you're going to have another opportunity. So there's no reason to collapse now because you're going to have another chance. I guess that's where the calmness comes

because there isn't anything that we can't overcome or take on, things might not always go our way, but we have another day. Yeah, I really appreciate you saying that. I think that's something we often forget, that we often forget, that we often forget that there's another opportunity. You can take another shot. You can try again. You can rebuild. You can recreate. You can change this. You can adapt. And sometimes we

live two in the moment where we're just like, Oh, no, this is all there is. And it's not going right right now, not realizing that there's always a growth. Now, one of the areas we don't see growth is that, there aren't many other women yet that are general managers of franchises. And I think that that's something that we are gonna see change. It is something that you're a forefront leader in and will inspire so many.

Do you ever feel though that, and this is an honest question, do you ever find that lonely or do you find that inspiring? Like how do you see that? Do you see that as like, oh no one understands me and no one can relate to me because there's not many of us. And as you said, you've had such amazing mentors in that space who've also felt that loneliness

or inspiration. How do you process that? I know what it meant to me as a young person to see women in positions of power and how inspiring that was for me. You know, in the last 40 years, I've seen a lot of change in women having powerful positions in all areas of sports and entertainment. And, you know, it's just my advice to young women is to follow your passion. And, you know, that will lead you to where you want to be.

And, you know, if you feel that being a woman, you know, it's such a competitive business that if somebody wants to get an edge on you and they think that if they can push your buttons because you're a woman, because you might think you're less than they are, than a man, then they found your button. They found a way to get to you. So, you know, I can tell you that gender doesn't matter. You know, people are what matter, talent is what matters, and that's what you know, will take you to where you want to go.

How much of you engaged with Genie, with whether it's therapy or mindfulness in your own practice and your own life? Like, how much of that has been useful to you because of the extreme pressure you've had to handle throughout? Has that been a tool that you've reached into your toolkit that has been powerful for you? Absolutely. I think therapy has been a huge benefit for me. I even had the experience of going through group therapy, which was really, really valuable. And I, there are so many opportunities for people now, you know, before it was like therapy was something that people kept quiet or didn't talk about. But I think the more we can shine a light on it and show how valuable a tool it is about

learning about yourself in group therapy. One of the things that I learned was it was a co-ed group probably about 10 or 12 people forget. And these are people you knew or people you didn't know? No, didn't know. Oh wow. I just like around the same age and you know experience I was going through my divorce and So a co-ed group was good for me people just dealing with everyday problems and Finding a place where they could discuss it or there was there was one guy that no matter what, I couldn't connect with him. Like, everything I said, he made a face-add, he just didn't like anything. And I knew it was, I was coming to a point where I was going to have to confront him and

ask him, what is it about me that you don't like? Because it was driving me crazy. It was haunting my dreams. Like, you know, like like I could always find common ground with people, you know, I finally, you know, got up the courage to say to him, like I just get the feeling you don't like me no matter what I say or what I do or, you know, can you tell me about that?

And he said, oh, it's not you. It's just that you look like someone that I went to high school with that I asked out and she didn't go out with me. He was kind of surprised that he did realize that he had an attitude towards me, not for anything that I did just because I reminded him of somebody he had a situation with and that just like I was like, oh wow, you know, it's like the whole world revolve around me. It's not always me, that's the problem, right? And so you just kind of opened my eyes to like, you know, you know, sometimes people aren't going to like you and it has nothing to do

with you. And you can't spend all your time worrying about making sure everybody does like you and it has nothing to do with you and you can't spend all your time worrying about making sure everybody does like you because it just may just not happen. I'm Mungesha Tikular and to be honest, I don't believe in astrology, but from the moment I was born, it's been a part of my life. In India, it's like smoking. You might not smoke, but you're going to get secondhand astrology. And lately, I've been wondering if the universe has been trying to tell me to stop running and pay attention. Because maybe there is magic in the stars, if you're willing to look for it.

So I rounded up some friends and we dove in and let me tell you, it got weird fast. Tantric curses, major league baseball teams, cancelled marriages, K-pop! But just when I thought I had a handle on this sweet and curious show about astrology, my whole world can crash down. Situation doesn't look good, there is risk to father. And my whole view on astrology, it changed. Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, I think your ideas are going to change too. Listen to Skyline Drive and the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your

podcasts. The therapy for Black Girls Podcast is the destination for all things mental health, personal development, and all of the small decisions we can make to become the best possible versions of ourselves. Here, we have the conversations that help black women dig a little deeper into the most impactful relationships in our lives, those with our parents, our partners, our children, our friends,

and most importantly, ourselves. We chat about things like what to do when a friendship ends, how to know when it's time to break up with your therapist, and how to end the cycle of perfectionism. I'm your host, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. And I can't wait for you to join the conversation

every Wednesday. Listen to the Therapy for you to join the conversation every Wednesday. Listen to the Therapy for Black Girls podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Take good care. I'm Danny Shapiro, host of Family Secrets. It's hard to believe we're entering our eighth season. And yet, we're constantly discovering new secrets. The depths of them, the variety of them, continues to be astonishing. I can't wait to share ten incredible stories with you, stories of tenacity, resilience, and the profoundly necessary excavation of long-held family secrets. When I realized this is not just happening to me this is who and

what I am. I needed her to help me. Something was annoying at me that I couldn't put my finger on that I just felt somehow that there was a piece missing. Why not restart? Look at all the things that were going wrong. I hope you'll join me and my extraordinary guests for this new season of Family Secrets. Listen to season eight of Family Secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. That's such a good story.

I love that. Thank you for sharing that. That's such a good story. Yeah, it's such a truth not to take things personally and not to make everything about you and and what you just finished with that even if you did everything right, not everyone's going to like you and that's just not possible and that that addiction we have to hoping that every person we meet loves us.

Giving that up allows us to receive love from the people who do love us and love the people who do love us in our lives. It really frees up so much mental space because otherwise we're just pursuing this one person or two people that we want to impress and we want them to think we're amazing and it can be a whole life can be wasted doing that. I was gonna ask you the same question that I asked you earlier about your father and you've mentioned Lebron a few times. What's something that Lebron's taught you and what do you think you've taught Lebron? I wish I could teach Lebron something.

He's, I need it. Off the court, off the court, or on the court, or on the court. He is fearless. Everything he says or does has a purpose. You know, it isn't just wasted words or to get on camera. It's like if he says something, he's thought about it and it means something and he's very consistent in his message. And I think he's like a real life superhero because he fights for what he believes in.

And he's the strongest person I've ever seen on the court. And you know, he's just, he's been just an inspiration and I've enjoyed getting to know him as a person. And he has inspired me. And I hope that I've inspired him because he has a daughter. And I hope that as a father, he sees what is possible for his daughter

because the collaboration that we have in winning the championship. Yeah, thank you for sharing. Yeah, it's beautiful. And I love hearing the genuine friendship you have with so many of the team and the players. And I wanted to ask you because it's such a deep and dear memory of mine and obviously such a big impact

on Hall of Lake A Nation. When I think about Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant, it's when I sat with him for the interview, I've never felt that energy in the room before. It was different. It was completely different. And I say that to people and I said that as soon as I'd interviewed him,

but and I'm not, and I just want everyone to know, I am not over amplifying it. It was that in the moment. It is not based on the events afterwards that make me say that it was very real. What was one of your memories with him that you think people may not be aware of or something he shared with you or a moment you guys shared

that you think really embodies just who he was and how important his legacy and messages. You have to remember like we met Kobe when he was 17. And he grew into this. He evolved into this great man, this great leader. And he learned so much about himself through basketball. And his lovely Oscar-winning film, Dear Basketball, where he talks about that love

and what experience he had. I guess the story I would share is when he had made the decision to retire from the game. And at that time, I didn't oversee any of the basketball, but I obviously ran the business side of the team. And Kobe asked to meet with me privately, and he'd never done that before. And you know, it was unusual because I didn't run the basketball side. I mean obviously a new Kobe, but it was my first, you know, meeting that he asked for. And at that meeting, he, you know, shared with me that he wanted to announce his retirement from the game he loved.

And he had a very specific way he wanted to do it. And it required planning and logistics to make sure, because he wanted a letter to be given to every fan in attendance at the game. I think it was two weeks in advance that we had. He wanted, nobody would know anything that he was going to make this announcement until he made it. There was no weeks, there was nothing. And I knew who I could trust in the organization to execute this, that it wouldn't get out

and that it would, the announcement would be on his terms. And that's when I think he really, he knew that I was there in his corner for him. And you know, that, that gift that he gave us by announcing his retirement at the end of November of that season allowed the whole NBA to pay tribute to him. So every town we went to, it was, you know, because the team at the time was, you know, we were in last place, we were not doing well. But the Lakers sold out every arena that we went to because the fans that booted him and didn't want him showed him their love. And I think he was so moved by that. I don't think he even saw that coming.

But he gave all of us such a gift because he shared with us something so personal and allowed us to show him our love, you know that that just meant the world to me that you know that he trusted me and he knew that I would do the right thing so that he could retire on his terms which was so important for his mental well-being to leave the game on his terms. I know the energy that you're talking about. He had the charisma, the knowing who he was, and you know we all know the mama mentality and the tough, but it all was from love. Everything from love, the competitiveness, he loved playing, he loved winning opponent,

you know, was, you love playing Celtics, you know, it was all love. That was, that was an anger and you know, that determination just was who he was, like he wanted everybody to challenge him because it brought out the best in him. And that was such a beautiful part about him was appreciating the journey and appreciating the game

and appreciating the opponents that were willing to lace him up and take him on and try to stop him from scoring 81 points. Yeah, that's amazing. Thank you for sharing that. And thank you, just this whole interview, I appreciate your candidness, your open-heartedness, you've been raw and vulnerable and open.

And I'm always going to remember this interview for having felt that I've experienced heartfelt and ego- less leadership from you. And I really appreciate that. Like, I think that's very rare today. And often we think that that doesn't exist. And even the mentors you mentioned or the people in your life you mentioned, it's amazing to see that the people that have risen to the top have all had that income. And they were fighting for something greater than themselves. They were working for a purpose higher than themselves and that it was all heartfelt and it was ego less and fear less. And so I want to thank

you for your time. We end every interview with a fast five. This means these questions have to be one word or one sentence answers. So these are your fast five genie last five minutes. You've been so generous with your time. You usually do short interviews. You gave us a whole hour, which I really value. But these are your fast five. So Genie, what's the best piece of advice

you've ever received? Tell the truth. You know, face the camera, just own it. Amazing. And what's the worst advice you've ever received? I don't have a good answer for you. I'm sorry. No, that's fine. You just don't remember it. Right.

You don't remember it. That's fine. The third question is, what's been the biggest surprise in your career? What's been the biggest moment where you felt an element of surprise? When in that championship, my goal was to see the team do well in the playoffs and to be the last team standing in what LeBron has said was one of the hardest championships ever to win after living in a bubble during a pandemic that the championship

of 2012. I love that. Question number four, what's something that you're so confident about but other people may disagree with or may they may not understand yet, but what's something you're so sure about? You got to have passion. You got to have passion. That's what will attract people to you. You have to find what inspires you and be authentic about it. You can't create that. Great answer. All right. Fifth and final question for you is, if you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be? No line.

Just I can't stand liars. I can't stand hypocrisy and, you know, stop lying. Tell the truth. All in the truth. It'll set you free. Amazing. Everyone that is Jeannie Versteini. Thank you so much for doing this interview on

on purpose today. I'm so excited to share it with my community. I loved your lessons on leadership. I thought the insight you gave about making difficult decisions and overcoming failures was huge. And it's so wonderful to get to know you on a deeper level. And I hope everyone's felt that today to hear your heart, to see your tenacity and relentless desire for success and growth, but also balanced with this idea of doing it with integrity and love. I think that's such a beautiful tapestry and message you're creating with your life. And I hope everyone takes a moment to get to know you at that level because I think when we look at what

we see in news and little clips and everything, you don't really understand a human. So thank you for allowing us to spend this much time with you. Well, Jay, I'm a fan. I count myself as one of your listeners and I look forward to meeting you in person and hopefully hosting you at a Lakers game if we're ever allowed to get back to staple center and play with fans. I just, I really appreciate what you do keep up the good message. Yeah, thank you so much.

Now I look forward to that too. I really, really do. And I can't wait to see you go from strength to strength. And for you to hopefully one day share all of your lessons in many different ways and teach classes, write books and help other people because it's really special the way you're doing what you're doing. And I think that's what I admire so much is your way and that's what we need more of. So thank you so much, Deany, from the bottom of my heart.

Everyone who's listening and watching, share on Instagram on Twitter or on Facebook Whatever you're learning from this conversation Make you tag Jeannie and I so we can see the incredible insights you've gained from this conversation And as always we will see you again next week for another episode Thank you, Jeannie and thanks everyone for listening. Hi, I'm David Eagleman. I have a new podcast called Inner Cosmos on I Heart. I'm going to explore the relationship between our brains and our experiences by tackling unusual questions like, can we create new senses for humans? So join me weekly to uncover how your brain steers your behavior, your perception, and your reality.

Listen to Intercosmos with David Eaglement on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. video app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Munga Shatekler, and it turns out astrology is way more widespread than any of us want to believe. You can find in major league baseball, international banks, K-pop groups, even the White House. But just what I thought I had to handle on this subject? Something completely unbelievable happened to me. Am I whole view on astrology changed.

Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, give me a few minutes because I think your ideas are about to change too. Listen to Skyline Drive on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Debbie Brown, host of the Deeply Well podcast, where we hold conscious conversations with leaders and radical healers and wellness, around topics that are meant to expand and support you on

your well-being journey. Deeply well is your soft place to land, to work on yourself without judgment, to heal, to learn, to grow, to become who you deserve to be. Deeply well with Debbie Brown is available now on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Namaste.