December 30, 2023 • 43 mins
Born in Cairo, Egypt with aspirations to become an archaeologist, Jovanna later shifted focus stepping into the world of business launching a career in consulting, eventually merging her interest in technology and retail leading teams at Apple and Rent The Runway.
In addition to being a highly motivated career driven individual, Jovanna shares how she entered a new phase in life in 2023, becoming a mother while being intentional with prioritizing self and family.
Jovanna is a woman of many hats that will leave you motivated to explore your untapped potential.
Topics Covered:
- How my American and Egyptian upbringing molded me
- Career: Following the impact and the importance of sponsors
- Transitioning into motherhood
- My Partner/Husband is my secret weapon in balancing life
- Utilizing systems to measure personal goals and outcomes
- Fitness for longevity, stamina, and mental health
- Acknowledging it’s ok if I didn't achieve the goal as long as I made progress
- Importance of keeping receipt of your wins
- Leaving space for the unknown/untapped opportunities in your life
Guest Info:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (00:00):
I'm here in this world today to prove to
(00:02):
myself what I'm made of.
this is it.
This isn't like a dressrehearsal.
This is life.
I don't want to look back andsay I had so much untapped
potential.
Stephanie (00:10):
I am Stephanie Evans and this is Diaries of a Modern
Trailblazer.
Take note of the journey and beinspired to forge your own
amazing path.
In this month's episode, I amdelighted to have my dear friend
Jovanna Youssef Hill, whom I metwhile living in LA, where we
(00:33):
both attended business school atUCLA Anderson.
And this woman is a force to bereckoned with, and you will
understand why during thisconversation.
So first and foremost, thank youso much for joining us today.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (00:50):
Thank you so much for having me.
Um, I'm so, so excited to behere.
Um, and like any chance to catchup and talk to you, it's always
the best.
Stephanie (01:00):
Likewise.
So before we dive into the now,give us context and background
of who jovanna is.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (01:11):
So I am the daughter of Egyptian
immigrants.
I generally leave with thatbecause I think it's like shaped
so much of who I am.
I was born in Cairo, both myparents are Egyptian.
They immigrated to the U.
S., shortly after I was born, solike as adults.
I have three younger sisters,that's also something that's
really shaped me as a person,um, you know.
(01:34):
And yeah, I I'm a daughter.
I'm a sister.
I'm a wife.
I'm a new mom.
And yeah, that's me.
Stephanie (01:44):
I learned something new.
I did not realize you were bornin Cairo.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (01:49):
Yeah, I was.
Um, I know that's a fun fact.
People don't really realize Ihave dual citizenship.
Um, I've spent some time there.
Uh, like, as an adult.
So I, like, I see that part ofthe world is, like, so near and
dear to my heart being fromthere, but also having, like,
spent a lot of time there as anadult.
Yeah, like, can't wait to goback.
(02:09):
I can't wait to take Ayla whenshe's of age.
And like, I think one of themost formative trips of my life,
I went back when I was 10, andmy parents took us on a two
month trip.
And I got to see all the thingsthat you read about in books,
like in history about Egypt.
And just to be like, wow, that'slike where I'm from, um, was
just like really impactful.
So I feel like really, reallyconnected to that part of the
(02:31):
world.
Stephanie (02:32):
That's amazing.
So you basically spent a lot ofyour life I mean, as we think
about your age today, most ofyour life in California in LA,
correct?
Or was it just, okay.
And then also it sounds like youhad the opportunity to spend
(02:56):
some time in Egypt.
How did living in both of thoseplaces and spaces help form who
you are?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (03:07):
I think this also just comes with being
the daughter of immigrants, Ithink, like being exposed to
one, like L.
A.
is just like a melting pot of aplace.
There's people from alldifferent backgrounds.
And like Egypt, just likeprimarily different, but it was
just, it's a very different likeculturally and, um, from just
like a life perspective.
But I think experiencing both, Ijust have a, I feel like a
(03:31):
deeper, like awareness andempathy for life outside of the
U.
S.
where like, if you haven't beenoutside of the U.
S.
or spent time outside of the U.
S.
or, like, lived outside of theU.
S.
Like, um, I think there's just asense, like, that this is, uh,
like, the best of the best, andthis is, like, the way life is
meant to be, and, like, this isa model, you know, place to live
and be, and I think just, like,being exposed to other places,
(03:52):
um, has just, like, expanded myworld view, and I think, like,
uh, it's also made me, like,really, I think, critical of,
um, Like anything and everythingof governments of, um, just like
ways of life.
The biggest things have been, Ifeel like I can deeply
empathize, uh, just throughbeing exposed to different
people and seeing different waysof life.
Stephanie (04:11):
So as you got older thinking about career, because I
always love learning aboutpeople's career trajectories.
What did you think you'd be whenyou grow up versus where you are
now today?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (04:28):
I actually have these distinct memories as
a kid of like me, like changingmy mind about things that I
wanted to be.
And I just remember them veryclearly.
But, there were like threethings I wanted to be growing
up.
The very first thing I remember,really being interested in was
archeology.
And I think that was just, causeI was so enamored by like egypt
and Egypt from there.
And at that age, when I was muchyounger, I hadn't spent a lot of
(04:49):
time there yet.
So I remember, thinking that waslike a career path that I
thought would just make me feelmore connected to that part of
who I am.
Stephanie (04:56):
Most definitely.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (04:57):
Yeah.
And then I think through likebrainwashing of my parents I
thought I wanted to be apediatrician, which like a lot
of immigrant parents are like alawyer, a doctor, engineer.
And I was like, okay, I'mdefinitely gonna be a
pediatrician.
I don't even really like sciencethat much, so I quickly outgrew
that.
And then I, I really rememberthinking, um, I want to be like
(05:18):
a business woman.
And I don't even think I knewwhat that meant.
I just equated a woman in a suitas like a boss.
And I was like, that's what Iwant to be, because that to me
was like— you are powerful, youare successful, um, you know,
you were, you made money andthings like that.
And I was like, okay, I don'twant to be a business woman
without actually even knowingwhat, what that, um, but those
(05:40):
are, I think the, the threedifferent like journeys I went
on as a really young kid ofthings that I wanted to be.
And now it's funny, cause like,I have this idea of like this
woman, or I had this idea of awoman in a suit and like, I
would never work in a placewhere I had to wear like same.
So like in that, in that sense,that has changed a little bit.
Um, but yeah, those are, thoseare like the three things I
(06:03):
remember thinking I was going tobe when I grew up.
Stephanie (06:07):
How did that evolve as you got older?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (06:10):
Yeah, I started out my career wearing
suits, in consulting.
And then my career journey hasbeen, I think I have, like, I've
lived a few different lives froma career perspective.
I feel like every few years Idecide to, like, change
functions, change industries,which now, having just done it
again, like 3 months ago, I'mlike, I don't know why I keep
doing this to myself.
(06:31):
It's like learning a new skillset.
Onboarding, honestly it can be,it can be challenging, but I've
really enjoyed it because I feellike I kind of like built this
diverse skill set.
My hope is eventually I want tobuild a company of my own, like
all of this, like really, youknow, becomes valuable.
But yeah, I started my career inconsulting, wearing those suits,
decided that wasn't really forme.
I didn't love client service andthe type of work that I was
(06:52):
doing.
And I went back to businessschool, and wanted to switch
into product management.
I loved the design tech businessaspect of that.
And so I went to Apple where Iwas like a lead for the Apple
store app, which is like the ecommerce app there.
So that was really my firstforay into like retail through a
tech lens.
Did that for a few years, hadthe opportunity to take more of
(07:13):
a product marketing function atRent The Runway, which got me
closer to like a passion area ofmine, which is fashion, but
still through a tech lens.
And I did a career pivot there.
I went to product marketing,kind of grew in product
marketing there and built up thefunction there.
And then eventually I expandedmy scope to oversee all of brand
and marketing at rent therunway.
And so that was like anotherkind of career change.
(07:33):
And I had to like really learnmore about brand and marketing
overall, like learn how tomanage and lead a big team.
And then most recently.
I started a role at Hims Hers.
I'm a category growth director,which is essentially like a GM
function overseeing the newweight management category that
we just launched.
So that's really fun.
(07:54):
That's like a zero to one kindof get to like launch and scale
a product.
I think the most rewarding thingso far in this, like, new role
over the past few months is thatI'm sort of seeing, like, the
fruits of my labor of all thetime invested in previous roles
and all of my experience of, youknow, now, like, the years and
years of, of working, um, and Isee, I'm seeing how, like, those
skills that I developed early onare directly applicable, and I
(08:16):
can quickly ramp up and addvalue in a new space and a new
industry.
And that's just been reallyrewarding.
Like I find the hit momentswhere I'm like, Oh, I kind of
like know what I'm doing," soit's a nice mix of challenging,
cause I'm learning a newfunction and a new space and
healthcare.
Um, but I'm also like findingthat my previous experience has
been incredibly helpful andrelevant, and allowed me to have
an impact.
(08:37):
So my consulting job was thelast job that I had wore suits.
And I'm probably never goingback to that.
And now I'm like, kind of inlike different spaces still
within tech though.
Stephanie (08:47):
I love that for you.
And I remember going back tobusiness school, I, I bought a
suit because I was like, I feellike I'm probably going to need
to wear a suit for something ina class.
And it was a challenge because.
I didn't like what I saw interms of suits and I mean, I
(09:10):
found something great at theory,but yeah, it's just not, it's
not the vibe.
It's not the look for me.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (09:17):
Yeah.
Well, it's funny.
I started wearing suits whileworking at Rent the Runway, but
like, more fun kind of out theresuits.
Yeah, colors and textures andpatterns and like with sneakers,
so I could have like a lot morefun with it working in fashion.
So that's probably like as faras I would take it, but like the
suits and kind of the theclothing that I wore like in
consulting, which was thetypical like blue black, like
(09:38):
really, um.
Just kind of what you expect,like working in consulting or
banking and stuff like that.
Um, yes, not, not my vibeanymore.
And I also just much that Iloved and didn't love the way I
looked in them and all that.
Stephanie (09:51):
I love hearing about your career journey because
you've done so many differentthings and it's.
It's refreshing becausesometimes we, we like to keep
ourselves in a box and try toclimb up a ladder within just a
(10:11):
linear path, you know, and notrealizing that we can get to
where we want to be, but it'snot necessarily a
straightforward path.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (10:20):
Yeah.
Stephanie (10:21):
And through those experiences you've learned what
you like and what you don'tlike.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (10:28):
Totally.
Which I think people don't talkabout enough, like that's like a
really important part of like,of, I think of the career
journey is figuring out.
I think it's just as importantto figure out what you don't
like and don't wanna do as it isto find out what you do wanna
do.
Um, and so I think there's likea lot of value in staying really
open and uh, one of my careerlike philosophies is to follow
(10:49):
the impact and that's actuallyguided a lot of these decisions.
And what that means is, like,I've always wanted to work on
the high priorities for abusiness or company, or the
areas with the biggest growthopportunities and things like
that.
For example, when I went fromproduct marketing to head of
brand, integrated marketing wasat a time where, um, the company
I was at was starting to investmore in that as a function and
(11:09):
to see the power of brand.
And I was like, Oh, great, thisis going to be a focus and
investment area for the company.
That's a space that I want to bein.
That's what generally guided alot of my decisions.
Uh, and I, it's just helped meone, just like be exposed to
really great work, but also workon like high priority parts of
businesses and have, like, havea big impact.
Stephanie (11:30):
Yeah, and then just circling back to around how this
diversity in experience hashelped you learn what you like
and what you don't like.
I think it'll be great to sharewhat's the best job you've had
and the context of why.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (11:50):
The best job I've had.
Stephanie (11:51):
Yeah, thus far might not be the best job in your
overall career, but yeah, whenyou think about it.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (11:58):
I hope the best is like, um,
Stephanie (12:00):
right.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (12:02):
I think like, it's hard to say.
There are the best elements ofdifferent roles.
Um, and I was just like exposedto different things.
I'd say the one consistentwhenever I've had a great career
experience is I have felt reallysupported and I've had people
that have like really pouredinto me.
And I've been fortunate thatI've like had sponsors at
different places that I'veworked and people that have seen
something in me that maybe Ididn't even see in myself.
(12:24):
And that's really instilledcompetence in me and that's
what's empowered me to likelearn new functions, take on new
roles and things like that.
And I've had that so far atevery career, like every job
that I've had.
Um, but I think they were like.
They were the best for differentreasons.
Apple was for me working on areally innovative company and
seeing the impact that thatcompany has on the world.
(12:48):
And anytime you'd launchsomething, it would go live, and
you know tens of countriesyou've launched in several
languages, it would touchmillions of people.
The sheer scale of the work thatyou were doing was so impactful
and that was just so incredibleto be exposed to at that age.
I think a little bit youngercoming out of business school.
At Rent the Runway it was soawesome because I got to, for
(13:12):
the first time in my life,really marry a passion area of
mine, fashion with tech.
And there were days I'd besitting in meetings and
thinking, like, I can't believethis is my job.
The things that you'll bereviewing or talking about, or
the research that I would do.
It just felt like easy and fun.
Um, and so like, that was areally awesome job.
And then now in my current role,it's awesome for some of the
(13:32):
reasons I mentioned earlier,which is like, I'm seeing how my
previous experience are allowingme to be impactful in a
different place and learning.
I just get so energized by likelearning a new function, uh, and
learning about a new industry,like healthcare is so
fascinating, and the weightmanagement space is so
fascinating right now.
It's just been energizing tolearn about something new, so
they all have had some reallypositive, aspects of them.
Stephanie (13:56):
That's great.
It's always great to be able topull out those most important
career shaping experiencesthroughout all of them, because
you can learn something when youmove from career to career or
role to role, and it's it'simportant to be able to do that.
And, you know, as I think aboutwhere you are now, you did make
(14:21):
a career transition, and it wasa really thoughtful one.
We spent some time offline, offthis conversation, discussing
the importance of going whereyou're valued.
So, when you decided to makeyour latest career shift from
Rent the Runway to Hims Hers,what made you decide to make
(14:44):
that transition?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (14:46):
Yeah, I think I was just generally at a
transitional period in my life.
As a new mom, had a lot of timeto think about, you know, how I
wanted to show up as a mom.
I had a lot of time to thinkabout that because I was, I was
on maternity leave for fivemonths.
And I think I just, knew thatthis next phase of life was
(15:07):
going to demand a different Jo,honestly, like a, or maybe a
evolved Jo.
And I think motherhood does thatto you.
And I, I think I just knew likemy day to day had to look and
feel a little different to allowme to show up in the way that I
wanted to show up in, like,especially like this initial,
like year of Ayla's life.
Um, so I, and, you know.
(15:28):
True.
And I've always thought aboutlike living other places and
stuff like that.
So this was like a remoteopportunity.
Um, so allowed me just to bemore present, I think as a wife
and mom, while still not feelinglike I'm letting off the gas of
my career.
And I think that was just likethe balance that I was really
looking for.
And that this job was kind ofable to afford me.
I was trying to think about mynext role as like, how can I
(15:49):
fill in any like gaps in myskill set or gaps in my, like on
my resume and things like that.
And, this role, there were some,it was going to stretch me, but
it was also allowing me to likeleverage the skills that I've
developed.
And, but I was also going to beable to fill in some gaps and
really energized and excited bythat.
And then I was like, okay, fastforward.
What do I wanna be doing in fiveto 10 years?
Um, potentially continue down a,like a corporate path, but also
(16:12):
potentially like start and buildsomething of my own.
And I was like, okay, whatskills do I need for that?
And I was like, oh, likelaunching and growing a
business, which is kind of likewhat I'm able to do in my
current role.
I'm gonna learn a lot aboutlaunching and scaling a
business.
And so that was an area that Iwanted to really grow in.
I took into considerconsideration like all of those
different aspects.
Stephanie (16:32):
It's a lot of different aspects there and, and
it does sound like you arestarting to fill in the gap in
those spaces where you'relooking to gain more of that
skill set.
So I want to circle back onmotherhood.
Uh, you mentioned that youbecame a mother, and you had
(16:55):
your first daughter, Ayla inApril, I believe.
Is that correct?
So with motherhood, I mean,that's, that's quite a
transition in life.
What has been the mostsurprising thing for you?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (17:14):
I think the most surprising thing is
kind of like how quickly youadapt to all of it and people,
you know, people talk aboutthat, but I think experiencing
it has been a different, acompletely different beast.
Like the human body and mind isjust so fascinating.
Things that I couldn't fathombeing able to handle pre baby,
um, you just kind of.
I was going to say seamlesslytransition to is not seamless,
(17:36):
but you just transition to andyou, um, you kind of figure it
out.
And I think that's just beenreally surprising.
I think I also, I expected likemuch more resistance and it's
not the easiest thing for sure.
Um, but you do just naturally,like, you, you kind of like,
you, you have to adapt.
I'm just kind of surprised howquickly it happens and how and
like women's intuition is like areal thing.
(17:57):
And you just there are thingsyou just know, and for
everything else you don't know,I Google things like, there's a
lot you don't know, um, andlike, Google's your best friend
and you just you take it day byday.
Like, I couldn't tell you whatAyla is going to need from a
developmental perspective likeat one year old, but I know what
she needs like over the nextmonth and then each month I'm
researching the next month andso you're just kind of like it's
(18:18):
just like milestone by milestoneand um and you're just kind of
adapting and how much theychange, which is why I think you
have to be adaptable.
They change so much and likereally fast.
It's like, as soon as you thinkyou crack something and figured
something out, there's like anew kind of challenge or
milestone or whatever, and youhave to adapt and quickly figure
that out.
So I think that's just beenreally fascinating.
Stephanie (18:39):
Yeah, I can't wait to meet her.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (18:41):
She's really sweet.
Stephanie (18:43):
And, and just a little insight into Ayla, like,
what would you say is thefunnest part about the stage
that she's in right now?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (18:56):
Her personality is really starting
to come through.
And it's so hard to wrap my headaround because like she's only
eight months old.
She's a baby.
She doesn't talk yet, but I canalready get a sense for like a
little bit of personality.
She's just like funny and she'scurious and she's really happy.
She's like a happy smiley baby,and it has been amazing to see
that come through.
Cause as a parent, you, you wanta happy kid, and I'm just
(19:17):
getting started, but it's justnice to see that she seems happy
and she's like really adaptable.
She can go on trips.
She's been flying since she waslike eight weeks old.
Um, so she's just, she just kindof rolls with things and she can
hang with, with people andshe's, you know, always smiling
and laughing at people.
Um, so she just seems like happyand curious and open.
(19:39):
But I'm starting to see, I thinkat this age, they're really
starting to make sense of theworld around them.
There's some really bigdevelopmental things that happen
at this age.
And so I'm, I'm seeing it live,like where.
She's just more curious, and youcan see things are starting to
like, click in some, in someways.
And it's just like, really.
Incredible to watch.
Stephanie (19:58):
Yeah, that's so cute.
And I love seeing the photosthat you share of her on social
media.
So I feel like I'm, I'm seeingAyla grow from a lens.
Yeah.
And personally, these eightmonths of motherhood, how have
they allowed you to evolve as aperson and change your overall
(20:21):
perspective in life?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (20:23):
Yeah, I was reflecting on this the other
day and I was talking to Druabout it.
I find myself asking myselfoften, what will my daughter
think of the things that I do ormy beliefs or the actions I
take, um, and like how I show upin the world.
And it's different than I'veever thought about the way I
move through the world.
(20:44):
Um, so I feel like I justapproach life in a more
thoughtful and intentional waythan ever before.
And the other aspect is, I thinkit's really like pushed me to
really pursue things that I'minterested in and passionate
about, um, one to continue togrow as an individual and I
think that that can be hard as anew mom.
(21:05):
But also, because I think one ofthe most important things that I
want to instill in her is tolike really follow her dreams
and her passions.
So I want to be able to likemodel those things for her.
So I think about that a lot.
There's going to come a timewhere I'm going to be giving her
advice and it's like— is shegoing to be able to look at me
and say, like, my mom took herown advice and my mom's like an
example of that advice, or isshe just gonna, you know, it's
(21:27):
just advice that my mom isgiving me.
And I think that it's importantthat I've modeled it for her.
Um, so I just think about thatkind of stuff a lot more.
And I feel like I work with alittle bit more of a sense of
urgency, um, because I want toshow up in a way that like, will
make her proud, and at leastshow her that I lived like, like
a full life, you know, formyself and it was an
independent, like individual inaddition to like being a mom.
Stephanie (21:51):
Yeah, definitely.
And that, that kind of goes intothe next question that I have,
which is really aroundprioritizing yourself because it
is so important to show up foryourself as an individual,
especially when it comes tobeing that role model to your
(22:12):
daughter.
We talked about your career— youknow, you balance a lot, you're
still learning a lot.
And this year you also became amother and you're also in a
marriage, you know, you'resharing your life with somebody.
So how do you prioritizeyourself and also prioritize
(22:38):
Evolving and creating a strongerpartnership while also being a
mom and working through thiscareer trajectory?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (22:48):
I think like my secret weapon is just
like an amazing partner, Dru.
And like, and I don't use theword partner lightly.
Dru has taught me so much aboutpartnership.
And I think part of being ableto be the mom that I want to be
being able to be, um, you know,the career first person that I'm
that I am.
Part of being healthy andprioritizing like my wellness
(23:09):
and things like that is, um,it's like, Drew's like my secret
weapon to that because he likerespects that.
He understands how importantthese things are to me.
He's really incrediblysupportive.
And so, we just, we reallyapproach things from a
partnership lens, um, and kindof just like have each other's
back.
So everything from justbalancing parenthood, he's super
hands on.
He learns everything as much asI learn it so that like, we can
(23:31):
both cover for each other, whichhas been the only way that I'm
able to, you know, go to thegym, go, you know, work
sometimes and things like that.
So honestly, he's my secretweapon and helping me balance
this, this, this new role as amom, um, and all the other kind
of dimensions to, to my life.
And then just being really,really organized, I think is
(23:52):
really, really critical.
I'm a really big systems person.
I have systems in place foreverything.
And that just helps me balanceall these different things.
And I have some non negotiableslike I think health and wellness
for me are really— if I'm nottaking care of myself, I'm like
not the best wife and mom, um,and like Dru knows that, so he's
very encouraging of making surethat I get that time to myself,
(24:14):
like every day.
But yeah, my non negotiablesare, you know— my husband, Ayla,
health and wellness.
I start there and theneverything else.
There's a lot of reallyimportant things, but those
three things have to be like ina good place.
Stephanie (24:30):
Yeah, absolutely.
You mentioned organization.
You're really good atorganization and systems.
What, what are the hacks or thetools that you utilize to help
you stay organized?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (24:43):
I have like, um, a variety of things,
some more sophisticated thanothers.
But if it's super important, uh,it has to have a system.
It's kind of just like mygeneral philosophy, so I
mentioned like health andwellness— I have, this is like a
little bit like lower tech, butI have like a Google spreadsheet
and I've been doing this since2019, um, where it kind of
(25:06):
starts on my goals.
Like I set goals for the year.
There's health and wellness, um,is usually a bucket, a theme or
a bucket.
If it's on my goals list, thereneeds to be a system for it.
I have basically a spreadsheetwhere I add in my workouts each
day.
It tallies up my averageworkouts per week and also my
total workouts for the year.
And those numbers, I actuallyset a goal for at the beginning
(25:26):
of the year.
So I really believe that I cansay that I care about health and
wellness all the time, but ifI'm not actually prioritizing
that, if I'm not measuring it tomake sure that I am truly
prioritizing it, then I'm like,how do I know if I've been
successful?
So it's kind of just like anexample of how I think— I want
to be able to measure if I'mlike, really making progress on
a goal.
(25:46):
Um, I also am like a big secondbrain person.
So I use like Apple notes forpersonal things.
I use notion, which is anotherproductivity tool for work that
basically it just helps me stayreally, really organized.
And I think, to me, the systemsare a method to get to, uh, I
guess an outcome for me, likehaving a really good work system
(26:07):
means that I'm not constantlythinking about work because like
it's all like in a system and Ican turn off my brain and it's
not like I'm going to forgetthings because I put it all down
somewhere.
So I use notion for that.
And my calendar, actually, Iswear by my calendar and Dru and
I send each other calendarinvites for everything.
And like everything is on there.
Um, we have like an actualfiscal calendar in the
apartment.
(26:27):
I need to just have, like, forme, things need to be on paper
or on a calendar and things likethat.
I don't rely on my own memorybecause with a little less sleep
than I'm used to these days it'snot a good thing to just rely on
my, on my, um, my own memory.
Stephanie (26:44):
And you have to do what works for you.
Um, because I can't rely on mymemory either, but sometimes a
little old school and write downthe things that I'm doing,
because I just like tophysically cross it out and be
like, I did it accomplished.
Like I have a list of thingsthat I plan on doing the rest of
(27:06):
the day, which includes gettingon my Peloton bike, doing my
hair.
And just a couple of otherthings for my business.
So I totally agree with that.
And I mean, there's so many waysaround doing the same thing, and
you just got to figure out whatworks for you.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (27:24):
Totally.
Totally.
Stephanie (27:27):
I do want to go back on goals.
One of the high priority goalsthat you mentioned to focus on
yourself revolves around healthand wellness.
Can you share a little bit morearound your health and wellness
goals and how you fit that inand what you're achieving with
(27:51):
it?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (27:52):
On health and wellness overall, I kind of,
I set goals, um, I kind of themeout my next year.
So, you know, for 2024, I'mstarting to think about like,
what do I want that year to beabout.
I've had different themes fordifferent years.
Different years have demandeddifferent levels of commitment.
For 2023, my health and fitnessgoals were really to, um, stay
really active until I gavebirth.
(28:13):
That was really important to me.
So I had goals around that.
It was to just like move daily,which was really important when
I was trying to stay healthybefore having a baby.
Then, I had a goal about thetotal number of workouts and
average times I was going towork out per week, which were
adjusted down knowing that Iwas, you know, I was having to
recover as a mom and things likethat.
So my health and wellness goalswere a little bit different this
(28:35):
year.
But I'm still so proud and happythat I set them, um, and using
my, my handy Google sheetbecause I feel like healthier
and stronger than ever— it'd beeight months after having a
baby.
And now I'm I'm training for afitness competition with Dru
that we're going to do inFebruary in Miami.
So I like having a goal to worktowards.
Last year I had ran a halfmarathon.
(28:57):
Um, but all of that is justbecause like, I want to be
healthy for Ayla.
I want, I want— this kind ofalso goes back to like setting
that good example.
Um, I can tell her that sheneeds to be healthy and, and,
you know, working out is greatfor her and eating well is great
for her.
Um, but if I'm not modelingthat, then that's going to fall
on deaf ears.
So.
I just want to be like a goodexample for her.
(29:17):
I want to be around for a reallylong time for her.
And working out is just actuallyreally, really, really critical
to my mental health to thepoint, like, if I'm not my best
self, Dru will literally belike,"Have you not worked out?
Maybe you should just go to thegym.
I'll watch Ayla." He even knowsit's so key to my mental health.
Um, so when I can work outregardless of what it is, I just
show up as like a much betterlike wife, friend, mom.
(29:40):
So that's why I really focus onprioritizing it and it gives me
the energy and the stamina to doall of the other things.
Like I have a lot of staminawhen it comes to like work.
I have a high threshold for workand, um, and like building, you
know, building something on theside in addition to my day job.
And like, you need to be healthyand you need the stamina for
that.
(30:00):
So I think like that's another,um, that's a big thing.
And then the other thing that Ithink it really does for me is
it really builds up confidencein setting goals and crushing
them is just like a really goodhabit to get into.
And I set ongoing goals, whetherit's like how much I'm going to
lift and things like that.
Achieving those thingscontinuously is just like, it's
so motivational for me.
And I think it really translatesin so many other parts of my
(30:21):
life.
Stephanie (30:22):
Yeah that's so critical.
As you reflect on 2023, wherehave you landed in relation to
the goals that you set foryourself?
Like even outside of the healthand wellness arena.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (30:37):
I knew when I was setting my 2023 goals
because I was pregnant that thisyear was just going to be
different, um, than any otheryear before.
Yeah.
And so I really, I set goalsaround career, financial, my
relationship, um, being a mom.
Um, and then just like in, I'vealso kind of set goals about
making sure that I prioritized,you know, travel and things like
(31:01):
that because I wanted to makesure that I, um, Really forced
myself to continue to prioritizethose things after becoming a
mom.
Um, and then I set goals aroundbuilding, you know, around my
career as well as like buildinga brand on the side, I was
actually going through my 2023goals, cause I'm getting ready
to set 2024 goals.
I hit a lot of those goals.
So that was great.
I think an area that I, um.
(31:23):
I won't say fell short, but it'smoving slower than I thought is
building a brand on the side.
Um, and that's like largelydriven by like, I'm learning
what it takes to do that.
And I, you know, became a mom.
I'm proud of the progress versuslike actually cross list.
Um, so like I didn't launchsomething this year, but I
(31:46):
definitely will next year and Ilike made a ton of progress more
progress this year probably thanin the past few years.
So I'm learning it's okay if Ididn't actually cross the goal
off, but it's as long as I'vemade progress.
I've actually learned a lotabout that from you.
I feel like you're so, you havesuch like a marathon mindset
versus like a sprint mindset.
Stephanie (32:02):
Oh, yeah, this is a marathon.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (32:04):
Yeah.
Uh, but I really, I like havelearned so much about that from
you.
I remember you showing me yourfirst design in like 2016 when
we were in business school.
Stephanie (32:12):
And like, I still haven't even launched that one
yet.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (32:16):
But like every time I talk to you have
like such a, you have like sucha sense of calm and peace that I
interpret as like confidencethat you will get there,
regardless of like when ithappens.
Um, and I feel like I've reallytried to like embrace and embody
that, with this brand building.
I'm generally so impatient withthings and can like quit before
I get things to a place I wantto be.
(32:37):
So like, I literally am like,okay, no, like Steph is like my
inspo with like this brandbuilding stuff and I'm like.
I'm like, okay, it just takestime, but like, I feel like in
your core, or maybe I in mycore, I know that like, you're
going to be super successful.
So it's like, not a matter oflike, if, but when, and just
like, and so like, it's okay ifit takes time, cause like,
you're going to get to thatdestination.
(32:59):
Um, so that's been reallyinspiring for me and guided a
lot of how I think about.
Stephanie (33:05):
Yeah, and it's important to have that type of
mindset because it's so easy togive up when things are not
going the way you want it to atthe time frame that you want it
to happen.
And I love talking aboutentrepreneurship, obviously, you
know building Pamoja is my baby.
And I know that you're workingon your own brand, so please
(33:29):
share more about what you'redoing.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (33:32):
Well, I've always wanted to build a brand
and build a company.
I didn't know exactly what thatwould look like.
And then I got just reallyinspired over the past several
years for a bag design that Iwanted for myself.
And so, I did a ton of research,didn't see it at all in the
market.
And so I wanted to build thisproduct.
I'm pretty far along in that.
I have a sample.
Um, but if I just like zoom out,I think the idea is I want to, I
(33:54):
just want to really want tocreate beautiful things that
people are excited to like own,um, and whether that's
incorporated for their wardrobesor their homes, you know,
there's a lot of directions thatI want to take this.
I'm starting with like oneproduct.
Um,
Stephanie (34:08):
yeah, one thing at a time, baby steps.
Yeah,
Jovanna Youssef Hill (34:10):
I've learn that from you.
Um, but yeah, so I'm excited.
I think it's like something I'vealways wanted to do.
And I've always wanted tocreate, and being like, really
just patient with myself on it.
But I think this is somethingwhere kind of going back to how
I think about like Ayla is goingto ask me questions and I've
always wanted to like build somesort of like fashion brand or
(34:32):
company.
Um, and she's going to ask meabout that at some point.
Regardless of the outcome, Iwant to be like, I did it.
I like, I talked to her and likethis with the outcome.
Um, and there was like a lot tolike learn from that.
So, um, yeah, I think 2024 isgoing to be the year for this to
come to life.
Maybe I'll have you back— wecould talk more about that next
year.
Stephanie (34:52):
For sure.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (34:54):
But yeah, I'm excited about that.
As I'm thinking about my 2024goals, I think this is going to
be, I kind of ebb and flowbetween like themes and the
priorities that they're going totake.
Um, so I think next year, thisone's going to be one that rises
to the top for me, and it'sgoing to be an area I invest a
lot of time.
Stephanie (35:09):
That's really exciting.
And you shared some of thesamples and prototypes that you
worked through and it really isa unique bag.
So I'm really excited to see thefinished product and also
looking forward to rocking ittoo.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (35:27):
Of course.
Stephanie (35:29):
Yeah.
Um, so, you know, we, we'vecovered quite a few things.
We talked about career.
We talked about your background,um, and being an Egyptian.
And like, I learned somethingnew that you were born in Cairo.
And really what it winds down tois having the power to write
(35:49):
your own story.
Your personal life, yourprofessional life, like it melds
together and it helps shape whoyou are.
And as you think about all ofthis, like, what motto do you
live by?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (36:04):
Oh, um, I think, so one kind of quote or
motto that I, that is, has beenconsistent, because I really
love quotes and things likethat.
I have a whole note of a ton ofquotes that either inspire me,
speak to me, whatever, but, um,This is the 1 that's just really
consistent and I think justapplies to so many aspects of my
(36:25):
life, but it's like theadaptable learn as much as you
can and be open minded todifferent viewpoints is 1.
And then I think the other thatI've been really internalizing
is like.
I'm here in this world today toprove to myself what I'm made
of.
Um, and so like, I don't know,that's, that's just, that one
specifically has helped me thinkabout Like, this is it.
(36:49):
This isn't like a dressrehearsal.
This is life.
This is your one shot.
I want to.
When I think about what I'mgoing to, you know, what I
could, this is so dark, but whenI think about like the end of my
life, I'm like, I don't want tolook back and say I had so much
untapped potential.
So I think this idea of like,I'm here to prove to myself what
I'm made of, just kind ofreminds me I'm the only person
that I'm trying to prove thingsto.
(37:11):
So that's been one that like,I've really just internalized a
lot lately.
Stephanie (37:15):
I love that.
I love both of those.
I'm going to write them down.
I always get good ones when Iask that question on here.
I, I just love asking thatquestion because I know that it
brings value to me personally.
And also just to the individualsour wonderful listeners, um,
tuning in onto the podcast.
(37:37):
And before we wrap this up, um,I know I touched on a couple of
things, but what's one questionyou wish I'd asked, and how
would you answer it?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (37:53):
Yeah, good question.
There was another one that I washoping to share, which is,
another thing that I've beenthinking about a lot lately, and
it's I can't remember who Iheard say this, but it's like,
we don't get what we ask for, weget what we believe.
And I was like, Oh, that isreally powerful.
(38:14):
So
Stephanie (38:15):
I have to think about that one.
I have to think about that one.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (38:19):
Yeah.
Um, but I think, um, we talked alot about, you know, like career
path and success and all ofthose things.
Um, uh, one thing we didn't,which I think.
When you reflect on, especiallyin like settings like this, it
can, you know, be perceivedreally positive.
We didn't really talk about likechallenges or what could be like
(38:41):
hard about those things.
And I think one thing that Istruggle with, and I think this
this why I love this quote somuch is like the feelings of
like imposter syndrome and likehow you combat those things.
So I've started putting systemsin place around that, um, where
I literally have a note in myApple folder anytime I get
really positive feedback, thatis really meaningful to me.
(39:02):
I jot that down in there, but Ithink it's important to keep
receipts of things.
Part of my goals, um, note inApple, has a top part that says
Wins.
Throughout the year, I put mywins in it and it could be
anything from like, got a newjob to stood up for myself in
this type of setting, and Ithink like when you are really
focused on personal growth andpersonal development, you tend
(39:25):
to focus on the areas ofopportunity.
I want to reflect on progressand your wins because it's also
just, I feel to keep going.
So those are just some tools forhow I do that.
And I think this quote about,"wedon't get what we ask for.
We get what we believe," forcedme to interrogate what self
limiting beliefs I might besubconsciously carrying.
So I've really started to sitwith those.
(39:45):
I journal think about thosethings, because I don't want to
be the one to get in my own way.
I think like systems of just,uh, of seeing your progress and
where you're doing well to helpcatapult you forward and keeping
moving forward, and alsothinking about your self
limiting beliefs are ways that Ikeep moving forward and kind of
combat some of the challengesand imposter syndrome and things
(40:06):
like that.
Stephanie (40:07):
Yeah, that's a really, really good point
because, you know, sometimes Irecognize that during this year,
there were quite a number ofthings.
That I did not achieve in termsof the milestones and the goals
that I set for myself, but alsolike sit back and reflect and
(40:28):
recognize that there is a lot ofthings that I did do that I did
achieve at the end of the day.
So it is important to recognizethat you're progressing.
Even though you're notnecessarily where you want to be
today at this point in time, butas long as you keep going and
(40:49):
progressing, it will happenbecause you are what you
believe, and that's what's goingto happen.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (40:57):
Yeah, and if you focus too much on, Those
goals that you wrote down andlike only those you don't leave
space for new things coming intothe picture that could be more
impactful, just new anddifferent.
So I try to with all my plans.
Also, plans are funny because,you know, they can always.
Yeah, you can't controleverything.
Right?
Um, but that's why I like lovewhat you said, you achieved
(41:18):
other goals.
Great, those are wins.
Document those, like you didn'thit this one milestone, but you
did these four or five otherthings that were not even on
your radar at the beginning
Stephanie (41:25):
And celebrate them.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (41:27):
Yeah, totally.
Um, so that's really important.
That's awesome.
Stephanie (41:31):
As we wrap this podcast off, I love to end it
off by asking in hindsight, whatadvice do you wish the younger
version of yourself knew?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (41:45):
I wish I really internalized this idea of
like a marathon versus a sprinton things much earlier.
I wish I knew that, you know, itcan take like over 10 years to,
uh, be an overnight success.
So I wish I had told my youngerself that, cause it's going to
take the time anyways, just getstarted sooner than later.
(42:07):
I don't beat myself up aboutthat.
I'm like, Getting started isbetter than not getting started
at all.
Stephanie (42:12):
Absolutely.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (42:12):
And I wish I just like internalized that a
little bit younger.
Stephanie (42:18):
Yeah, very valid point, but I see that you do
recognize it now, which isalways the great thing.
Better late than never.
So where can our listeners findyou?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (42:32):
I am currently on Instagram.
That's probably like the bestplace to find me, and LinkedIn.
And then look out for likeanother brand Instagram in 2024.
Stephanie (42:42):
Thank you, Jovanna.
I'm certainly going to share thelinks in the notes.
So yeah, I truly appreciate youcoming on today and sharing your
story.
I always love havingconversations with you and it's,
it's always inspiring.
So thank you so much.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (43:01):
Thank you for having me.
I feel the absolute same.
I love this podcast.
I love what you're building andI just feel like super honored
that you had me on.
So thank you.
Stephanie (43:10):
And that's a wrap.
So own it and make moves.
One day, I want to share yourjourney on this podcast.
I'm here in this world today to prove to
(00:02):
myself what I'm made of.
this is it.
This isn't like a dressrehearsal.
This is life.
I don't want to look back andsay I had so much untapped
potential.
Stephanie (00:10):
I am Stephanie Evans and this is Diaries of a Modern
Trailblazer.
Take note of the journey and beinspired to forge your own
amazing path.
In this month's episode, I amdelighted to have my dear friend
Jovanna Youssef Hill, whom I metwhile living in LA, where we
(00:33):
both attended business school atUCLA Anderson.
And this woman is a force to bereckoned with, and you will
understand why during thisconversation.
So first and foremost, thank youso much for joining us today.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (00:50):
Thank you so much for having me.
Um, I'm so, so excited to behere.
Um, and like any chance to catchup and talk to you, it's always
the best.
Stephanie (01:00):
Likewise.
So before we dive into the now,give us context and background
of who jovanna is.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (01:11):
So I am the daughter of Egyptian
immigrants.
I generally leave with thatbecause I think it's like shaped
so much of who I am.
I was born in Cairo, both myparents are Egyptian.
They immigrated to the U.
S., shortly after I was born, solike as adults.
I have three younger sisters,that's also something that's
really shaped me as a person,um, you know.
(01:34):
And yeah, I I'm a daughter.
I'm a sister.
I'm a wife.
I'm a new mom.
And yeah, that's me.
Stephanie (01:44):
I learned something new.
I did not realize you were bornin Cairo.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (01:49):
Yeah, I was.
Um, I know that's a fun fact.
People don't really realize Ihave dual citizenship.
Um, I've spent some time there.
Uh, like, as an adult.
So I, like, I see that part ofthe world is, like, so near and
dear to my heart being fromthere, but also having, like,
spent a lot of time there as anadult.
Yeah, like, can't wait to goback.
(02:09):
I can't wait to take Ayla whenshe's of age.
And like, I think one of themost formative trips of my life,
I went back when I was 10, andmy parents took us on a two
month trip.
And I got to see all the thingsthat you read about in books,
like in history about Egypt.
And just to be like, wow, that'slike where I'm from, um, was
just like really impactful.
So I feel like really, reallyconnected to that part of the
(02:31):
world.
Stephanie (02:32):
That's amazing.
So you basically spent a lot ofyour life I mean, as we think
about your age today, most ofyour life in California in LA,
correct?
Or was it just, okay.
And then also it sounds like youhad the opportunity to spend
(02:56):
some time in Egypt.
How did living in both of thoseplaces and spaces help form who
you are?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (03:07):
I think this also just comes with being
the daughter of immigrants, Ithink, like being exposed to
one, like L.
A.
is just like a melting pot of aplace.
There's people from alldifferent backgrounds.
And like Egypt, just likeprimarily different, but it was
just, it's a very different likeculturally and, um, from just
like a life perspective.
But I think experiencing both, Ijust have a, I feel like a
(03:31):
deeper, like awareness andempathy for life outside of the
U.
S.
where like, if you haven't beenoutside of the U.
S.
or spent time outside of the U.
S.
or, like, lived outside of theU.
S.
Like, um, I think there's just asense, like, that this is, uh,
like, the best of the best, andthis is, like, the way life is
meant to be, and, like, this isa model, you know, place to live
and be, and I think just, like,being exposed to other places,
(03:52):
um, has just, like, expanded myworld view, and I think, like,
uh, it's also made me, like,really, I think, critical of,
um, Like anything and everythingof governments of, um, just like
ways of life.
The biggest things have been, Ifeel like I can deeply
empathize, uh, just throughbeing exposed to different
people and seeing different waysof life.
Stephanie (04:11):
So as you got older thinking about career, because I
always love learning aboutpeople's career trajectories.
What did you think you'd be whenyou grow up versus where you are
now today?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (04:28):
I actually have these distinct memories as
a kid of like me, like changingmy mind about things that I
wanted to be.
And I just remember them veryclearly.
But, there were like threethings I wanted to be growing
up.
The very first thing I remember,really being interested in was
archeology.
And I think that was just, causeI was so enamored by like egypt
and Egypt from there.
And at that age, when I was muchyounger, I hadn't spent a lot of
(04:49):
time there yet.
So I remember, thinking that waslike a career path that I
thought would just make me feelmore connected to that part of
who I am.
Stephanie (04:56):
Most definitely.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (04:57):
Yeah.
And then I think through likebrainwashing of my parents I
thought I wanted to be apediatrician, which like a lot
of immigrant parents are like alawyer, a doctor, engineer.
And I was like, okay, I'mdefinitely gonna be a
pediatrician.
I don't even really like sciencethat much, so I quickly outgrew
that.
And then I, I really rememberthinking, um, I want to be like
(05:18):
a business woman.
And I don't even think I knewwhat that meant.
I just equated a woman in a suitas like a boss.
And I was like, that's what Iwant to be, because that to me
was like— you are powerful, youare successful, um, you know,
you were, you made money andthings like that.
And I was like, okay, I don'twant to be a business woman
without actually even knowingwhat, what that, um, but those
(05:40):
are, I think the, the threedifferent like journeys I went
on as a really young kid ofthings that I wanted to be.
And now it's funny, cause like,I have this idea of like this
woman, or I had this idea of awoman in a suit and like, I
would never work in a placewhere I had to wear like same.
So like in that, in that sense,that has changed a little bit.
Um, but yeah, those are, thoseare like the three things I
(06:03):
remember thinking I was going tobe when I grew up.
Stephanie (06:07):
How did that evolve as you got older?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (06:10):
Yeah, I started out my career wearing
suits, in consulting.
And then my career journey hasbeen, I think I have, like, I've
lived a few different lives froma career perspective.
I feel like every few years Idecide to, like, change
functions, change industries,which now, having just done it
again, like 3 months ago, I'mlike, I don't know why I keep
doing this to myself.
(06:31):
It's like learning a new skillset.
Onboarding, honestly it can be,it can be challenging, but I've
really enjoyed it because I feellike I kind of like built this
diverse skill set.
My hope is eventually I want tobuild a company of my own, like
all of this, like really, youknow, becomes valuable.
But yeah, I started my career inconsulting, wearing those suits,
decided that wasn't really forme.
I didn't love client service andthe type of work that I was
(06:52):
doing.
And I went back to businessschool, and wanted to switch
into product management.
I loved the design tech businessaspect of that.
And so I went to Apple where Iwas like a lead for the Apple
store app, which is like the ecommerce app there.
So that was really my firstforay into like retail through a
tech lens.
Did that for a few years, hadthe opportunity to take more of
(07:13):
a product marketing function atRent The Runway, which got me
closer to like a passion area ofmine, which is fashion, but
still through a tech lens.
And I did a career pivot there.
I went to product marketing,kind of grew in product
marketing there and built up thefunction there.
And then eventually I expandedmy scope to oversee all of brand
and marketing at rent therunway.
And so that was like anotherkind of career change.
(07:33):
And I had to like really learnmore about brand and marketing
overall, like learn how tomanage and lead a big team.
And then most recently.
I started a role at Hims Hers.
I'm a category growth director,which is essentially like a GM
function overseeing the newweight management category that
we just launched.
So that's really fun.
(07:54):
That's like a zero to one kindof get to like launch and scale
a product.
I think the most rewarding thingso far in this, like, new role
over the past few months is thatI'm sort of seeing, like, the
fruits of my labor of all thetime invested in previous roles
and all of my experience of, youknow, now, like, the years and
years of, of working, um, and Isee, I'm seeing how, like, those
skills that I developed early onare directly applicable, and I
(08:16):
can quickly ramp up and addvalue in a new space and a new
industry.
And that's just been reallyrewarding.
Like I find the hit momentswhere I'm like, Oh, I kind of
like know what I'm doing," soit's a nice mix of challenging,
cause I'm learning a newfunction and a new space and
healthcare.
Um, but I'm also like findingthat my previous experience has
been incredibly helpful andrelevant, and allowed me to have
an impact.
(08:37):
So my consulting job was thelast job that I had wore suits.
And I'm probably never goingback to that.
And now I'm like, kind of inlike different spaces still
within tech though.
Stephanie (08:47):
I love that for you.
And I remember going back tobusiness school, I, I bought a
suit because I was like, I feellike I'm probably going to need
to wear a suit for something ina class.
And it was a challenge because.
I didn't like what I saw interms of suits and I mean, I
(09:10):
found something great at theory,but yeah, it's just not, it's
not the vibe.
It's not the look for me.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (09:17):
Yeah.
Well, it's funny.
I started wearing suits whileworking at Rent the Runway, but
like, more fun kind of out theresuits.
Yeah, colors and textures andpatterns and like with sneakers,
so I could have like a lot morefun with it working in fashion.
So that's probably like as faras I would take it, but like the
suits and kind of the theclothing that I wore like in
consulting, which was thetypical like blue black, like
(09:38):
really, um.
Just kind of what you expect,like working in consulting or
banking and stuff like that.
Um, yes, not, not my vibeanymore.
And I also just much that Iloved and didn't love the way I
looked in them and all that.
Stephanie (09:51):
I love hearing about your career journey because
you've done so many differentthings and it's.
It's refreshing becausesometimes we, we like to keep
ourselves in a box and try toclimb up a ladder within just a
(10:11):
linear path, you know, and notrealizing that we can get to
where we want to be, but it'snot necessarily a
straightforward path.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (10:20):
Yeah.
Stephanie (10:21):
And through those experiences you've learned what
you like and what you don'tlike.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (10:28):
Totally.
Which I think people don't talkabout enough, like that's like a
really important part of like,of, I think of the career
journey is figuring out.
I think it's just as importantto figure out what you don't
like and don't wanna do as it isto find out what you do wanna
do.
Um, and so I think there's likea lot of value in staying really
open and uh, one of my careerlike philosophies is to follow
(10:49):
the impact and that's actuallyguided a lot of these decisions.
And what that means is, like,I've always wanted to work on
the high priorities for abusiness or company, or the
areas with the biggest growthopportunities and things like
that.
For example, when I went fromproduct marketing to head of
brand, integrated marketing wasat a time where, um, the company
I was at was starting to investmore in that as a function and
(11:09):
to see the power of brand.
And I was like, Oh, great, thisis going to be a focus and
investment area for the company.
That's a space that I want to bein.
That's what generally guided alot of my decisions.
Uh, and I, it's just helped meone, just like be exposed to
really great work, but also workon like high priority parts of
businesses and have, like, havea big impact.
Stephanie (11:30):
Yeah, and then just circling back to around how this
diversity in experience hashelped you learn what you like
and what you don't like.
I think it'll be great to sharewhat's the best job you've had
and the context of why.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (11:50):
The best job I've had.
Stephanie (11:51):
Yeah, thus far might not be the best job in your
overall career, but yeah, whenyou think about it.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (11:58):
I hope the best is like, um,
Stephanie (12:00):
right.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (12:02):
I think like, it's hard to say.
There are the best elements ofdifferent roles.
Um, and I was just like exposedto different things.
I'd say the one consistentwhenever I've had a great career
experience is I have felt reallysupported and I've had people
that have like really pouredinto me.
And I've been fortunate thatI've like had sponsors at
different places that I'veworked and people that have seen
something in me that maybe Ididn't even see in myself.
(12:24):
And that's really instilledcompetence in me and that's
what's empowered me to likelearn new functions, take on new
roles and things like that.
And I've had that so far atevery career, like every job
that I've had.
Um, but I think they were like.
They were the best for differentreasons.
Apple was for me working on areally innovative company and
seeing the impact that thatcompany has on the world.
(12:48):
And anytime you'd launchsomething, it would go live, and
you know tens of countriesyou've launched in several
languages, it would touchmillions of people.
The sheer scale of the work thatyou were doing was so impactful
and that was just so incredibleto be exposed to at that age.
I think a little bit youngercoming out of business school.
At Rent the Runway it was soawesome because I got to, for
(13:12):
the first time in my life,really marry a passion area of
mine, fashion with tech.
And there were days I'd besitting in meetings and
thinking, like, I can't believethis is my job.
The things that you'll bereviewing or talking about, or
the research that I would do.
It just felt like easy and fun.
Um, and so like, that was areally awesome job.
And then now in my current role,it's awesome for some of the
(13:32):
reasons I mentioned earlier,which is like, I'm seeing how my
previous experience are allowingme to be impactful in a
different place and learning.
I just get so energized by likelearning a new function, uh, and
learning about a new industry,like healthcare is so
fascinating, and the weightmanagement space is so
fascinating right now.
It's just been energizing tolearn about something new, so
they all have had some reallypositive, aspects of them.
Stephanie (13:56):
That's great.
It's always great to be able topull out those most important
career shaping experiencesthroughout all of them, because
you can learn something when youmove from career to career or
role to role, and it's it'simportant to be able to do that.
And, you know, as I think aboutwhere you are now, you did make
(14:21):
a career transition, and it wasa really thoughtful one.
We spent some time offline, offthis conversation, discussing
the importance of going whereyou're valued.
So, when you decided to makeyour latest career shift from
Rent the Runway to Hims Hers,what made you decide to make
(14:44):
that transition?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (14:46):
Yeah, I think I was just generally at a
transitional period in my life.
As a new mom, had a lot of timeto think about, you know, how I
wanted to show up as a mom.
I had a lot of time to thinkabout that because I was, I was
on maternity leave for fivemonths.
And I think I just, knew thatthis next phase of life was
(15:07):
going to demand a different Jo,honestly, like a, or maybe a
evolved Jo.
And I think motherhood does thatto you.
And I, I think I just knew likemy day to day had to look and
feel a little different to allowme to show up in the way that I
wanted to show up in, like,especially like this initial,
like year of Ayla's life.
Um, so I, and, you know.
(15:28):
True.
And I've always thought aboutlike living other places and
stuff like that.
So this was like a remoteopportunity.
Um, so allowed me just to bemore present, I think as a wife
and mom, while still not feelinglike I'm letting off the gas of
my career.
And I think that was just likethe balance that I was really
looking for.
And that this job was kind ofable to afford me.
I was trying to think about mynext role as like, how can I
(15:49):
fill in any like gaps in myskill set or gaps in my, like on
my resume and things like that.
And, this role, there were some,it was going to stretch me, but
it was also allowing me to likeleverage the skills that I've
developed.
And, but I was also going to beable to fill in some gaps and
really energized and excited bythat.
And then I was like, okay, fastforward.
What do I wanna be doing in fiveto 10 years?
Um, potentially continue down a,like a corporate path, but also
(16:12):
potentially like start and buildsomething of my own.
And I was like, okay, whatskills do I need for that?
And I was like, oh, likelaunching and growing a
business, which is kind of likewhat I'm able to do in my
current role.
I'm gonna learn a lot aboutlaunching and scaling a
business.
And so that was an area that Iwanted to really grow in.
I took into considerconsideration like all of those
different aspects.
Stephanie (16:32):
It's a lot of different aspects there and, and
it does sound like you arestarting to fill in the gap in
those spaces where you'relooking to gain more of that
skill set.
So I want to circle back onmotherhood.
Uh, you mentioned that youbecame a mother, and you had
(16:55):
your first daughter, Ayla inApril, I believe.
Is that correct?
So with motherhood, I mean,that's, that's quite a
transition in life.
What has been the mostsurprising thing for you?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (17:14):
I think the most surprising thing is
kind of like how quickly youadapt to all of it and people,
you know, people talk aboutthat, but I think experiencing
it has been a different, acompletely different beast.
Like the human body and mind isjust so fascinating.
Things that I couldn't fathombeing able to handle pre baby,
um, you just kind of.
I was going to say seamlesslytransition to is not seamless,
(17:36):
but you just transition to andyou, um, you kind of figure it
out.
And I think that's just beenreally surprising.
I think I also, I expected likemuch more resistance and it's
not the easiest thing for sure.
Um, but you do just naturally,like, you, you kind of like,
you, you have to adapt.
I'm just kind of surprised howquickly it happens and how and
like women's intuition is like areal thing.
(17:57):
And you just there are thingsyou just know, and for
everything else you don't know,I Google things like, there's a
lot you don't know, um, andlike, Google's your best friend
and you just you take it day byday.
Like, I couldn't tell you whatAyla is going to need from a
developmental perspective likeat one year old, but I know what
she needs like over the nextmonth and then each month I'm
researching the next month andso you're just kind of like it's
(18:18):
just like milestone by milestoneand um and you're just kind of
adapting and how much theychange, which is why I think you
have to be adaptable.
They change so much and likereally fast.
It's like, as soon as you thinkyou crack something and figured
something out, there's like anew kind of challenge or
milestone or whatever, and youhave to adapt and quickly figure
that out.
So I think that's just beenreally fascinating.
Stephanie (18:39):
Yeah, I can't wait to meet her.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (18:41):
She's really sweet.
Stephanie (18:43):
And, and just a little insight into Ayla, like,
what would you say is thefunnest part about the stage
that she's in right now?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (18:56):
Her personality is really starting
to come through.
And it's so hard to wrap my headaround because like she's only
eight months old.
She's a baby.
She doesn't talk yet, but I canalready get a sense for like a
little bit of personality.
She's just like funny and she'scurious and she's really happy.
She's like a happy smiley baby,and it has been amazing to see
that come through.
Cause as a parent, you, you wanta happy kid, and I'm just
(19:17):
getting started, but it's justnice to see that she seems happy
and she's like really adaptable.
She can go on trips.
She's been flying since she waslike eight weeks old.
Um, so she's just, she just kindof rolls with things and she can
hang with, with people andshe's, you know, always smiling
and laughing at people.
Um, so she just seems like happyand curious and open.
(19:39):
But I'm starting to see, I thinkat this age, they're really
starting to make sense of theworld around them.
There's some really bigdevelopmental things that happen
at this age.
And so I'm, I'm seeing it live,like where.
She's just more curious, and youcan see things are starting to
like, click in some, in someways.
And it's just like, really.
Incredible to watch.
Stephanie (19:58):
Yeah, that's so cute.
And I love seeing the photosthat you share of her on social
media.
So I feel like I'm, I'm seeingAyla grow from a lens.
Yeah.
And personally, these eightmonths of motherhood, how have
they allowed you to evolve as aperson and change your overall
(20:21):
perspective in life?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (20:23):
Yeah, I was reflecting on this the other
day and I was talking to Druabout it.
I find myself asking myselfoften, what will my daughter
think of the things that I do ormy beliefs or the actions I
take, um, and like how I show upin the world.
And it's different than I'veever thought about the way I
move through the world.
(20:44):
Um, so I feel like I justapproach life in a more
thoughtful and intentional waythan ever before.
And the other aspect is, I thinkit's really like pushed me to
really pursue things that I'minterested in and passionate
about, um, one to continue togrow as an individual and I
think that that can be hard as anew mom.
(21:05):
But also, because I think one ofthe most important things that I
want to instill in her is tolike really follow her dreams
and her passions.
So I want to be able to likemodel those things for her.
So I think about that a lot.
There's going to come a timewhere I'm going to be giving her
advice and it's like— is shegoing to be able to look at me
and say, like, my mom took herown advice and my mom's like an
example of that advice, or isshe just gonna, you know, it's
(21:27):
just advice that my mom isgiving me.
And I think that it's importantthat I've modeled it for her.
Um, so I just think about thatkind of stuff a lot more.
And I feel like I work with alittle bit more of a sense of
urgency, um, because I want toshow up in a way that like, will
make her proud, and at leastshow her that I lived like, like
a full life, you know, formyself and it was an
independent, like individual inaddition to like being a mom.
Stephanie (21:51):
Yeah, definitely.
And that, that kind of goes intothe next question that I have,
which is really aroundprioritizing yourself because it
is so important to show up foryourself as an individual,
especially when it comes tobeing that role model to your
(22:12):
daughter.
We talked about your career— youknow, you balance a lot, you're
still learning a lot.
And this year you also became amother and you're also in a
marriage, you know, you'resharing your life with somebody.
So how do you prioritizeyourself and also prioritize
(22:38):
Evolving and creating a strongerpartnership while also being a
mom and working through thiscareer trajectory?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (22:48):
I think like my secret weapon is just
like an amazing partner, Dru.
And like, and I don't use theword partner lightly.
Dru has taught me so much aboutpartnership.
And I think part of being ableto be the mom that I want to be
being able to be, um, you know,the career first person that I'm
that I am.
Part of being healthy andprioritizing like my wellness
(23:09):
and things like that is, um,it's like, Drew's like my secret
weapon to that because he likerespects that.
He understands how importantthese things are to me.
He's really incrediblysupportive.
And so, we just, we reallyapproach things from a
partnership lens, um, and kindof just like have each other's
back.
So everything from justbalancing parenthood, he's super
hands on.
He learns everything as much asI learn it so that like, we can
(23:31):
both cover for each other, whichhas been the only way that I'm
able to, you know, go to thegym, go, you know, work
sometimes and things like that.
So honestly, he's my secretweapon and helping me balance
this, this, this new role as amom, um, and all the other kind
of dimensions to, to my life.
And then just being really,really organized, I think is
(23:52):
really, really critical.
I'm a really big systems person.
I have systems in place foreverything.
And that just helps me balanceall these different things.
And I have some non negotiableslike I think health and wellness
for me are really— if I'm nottaking care of myself, I'm like
not the best wife and mom, um,and like Dru knows that, so he's
very encouraging of making surethat I get that time to myself,
(24:14):
like every day.
But yeah, my non negotiablesare, you know— my husband, Ayla,
health and wellness.
I start there and theneverything else.
There's a lot of reallyimportant things, but those
three things have to be like ina good place.
Stephanie (24:30):
Yeah, absolutely.
You mentioned organization.
You're really good atorganization and systems.
What, what are the hacks or thetools that you utilize to help
you stay organized?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (24:43):
I have like, um, a variety of things,
some more sophisticated thanothers.
But if it's super important, uh,it has to have a system.
It's kind of just like mygeneral philosophy, so I
mentioned like health andwellness— I have, this is like a
little bit like lower tech, butI have like a Google spreadsheet
and I've been doing this since2019, um, where it kind of
(25:06):
starts on my goals.
Like I set goals for the year.
There's health and wellness, um,is usually a bucket, a theme or
a bucket.
If it's on my goals list, thereneeds to be a system for it.
I have basically a spreadsheetwhere I add in my workouts each
day.
It tallies up my averageworkouts per week and also my
total workouts for the year.
And those numbers, I actuallyset a goal for at the beginning
(25:26):
of the year.
So I really believe that I cansay that I care about health and
wellness all the time, but ifI'm not actually prioritizing
that, if I'm not measuring it tomake sure that I am truly
prioritizing it, then I'm like,how do I know if I've been
successful?
So it's kind of just like anexample of how I think— I want
to be able to measure if I'mlike, really making progress on
a goal.
(25:46):
Um, I also am like a big secondbrain person.
So I use like Apple notes forpersonal things.
I use notion, which is anotherproductivity tool for work that
basically it just helps me stayreally, really organized.
And I think, to me, the systemsare a method to get to, uh, I
guess an outcome for me, likehaving a really good work system
(26:07):
means that I'm not constantlythinking about work because like
it's all like in a system and Ican turn off my brain and it's
not like I'm going to forgetthings because I put it all down
somewhere.
So I use notion for that.
And my calendar, actually, Iswear by my calendar and Dru and
I send each other calendarinvites for everything.
And like everything is on there.
Um, we have like an actualfiscal calendar in the
apartment.
(26:27):
I need to just have, like, forme, things need to be on paper
or on a calendar and things likethat.
I don't rely on my own memorybecause with a little less sleep
than I'm used to these days it'snot a good thing to just rely on
my, on my, um, my own memory.
Stephanie (26:44):
And you have to do what works for you.
Um, because I can't rely on mymemory either, but sometimes a
little old school and write downthe things that I'm doing,
because I just like tophysically cross it out and be
like, I did it accomplished.
Like I have a list of thingsthat I plan on doing the rest of
(27:06):
the day, which includes gettingon my Peloton bike, doing my
hair.
And just a couple of otherthings for my business.
So I totally agree with that.
And I mean, there's so many waysaround doing the same thing, and
you just got to figure out whatworks for you.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (27:24):
Totally.
Totally.
Stephanie (27:27):
I do want to go back on goals.
One of the high priority goalsthat you mentioned to focus on
yourself revolves around healthand wellness.
Can you share a little bit morearound your health and wellness
goals and how you fit that inand what you're achieving with
(27:51):
it?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (27:52):
On health and wellness overall, I kind of,
I set goals, um, I kind of themeout my next year.
So, you know, for 2024, I'mstarting to think about like,
what do I want that year to beabout.
I've had different themes fordifferent years.
Different years have demandeddifferent levels of commitment.
For 2023, my health and fitnessgoals were really to, um, stay
really active until I gavebirth.
(28:13):
That was really important to me.
So I had goals around that.
It was to just like move daily,which was really important when
I was trying to stay healthybefore having a baby.
Then, I had a goal about thetotal number of workouts and
average times I was going towork out per week, which were
adjusted down knowing that Iwas, you know, I was having to
recover as a mom and things likethat.
So my health and wellness goalswere a little bit different this
(28:35):
year.
But I'm still so proud and happythat I set them, um, and using
my, my handy Google sheetbecause I feel like healthier
and stronger than ever— it'd beeight months after having a
baby.
And now I'm I'm training for afitness competition with Dru
that we're going to do inFebruary in Miami.
So I like having a goal to worktowards.
Last year I had ran a halfmarathon.
(28:57):
Um, but all of that is justbecause like, I want to be
healthy for Ayla.
I want, I want— this kind ofalso goes back to like setting
that good example.
Um, I can tell her that sheneeds to be healthy and, and,
you know, working out is greatfor her and eating well is great
for her.
Um, but if I'm not modelingthat, then that's going to fall
on deaf ears.
So.
I just want to be like a goodexample for her.
(29:17):
I want to be around for a reallylong time for her.
And working out is just actuallyreally, really, really critical
to my mental health to thepoint, like, if I'm not my best
self, Dru will literally belike,"Have you not worked out?
Maybe you should just go to thegym.
I'll watch Ayla." He even knowsit's so key to my mental health.
Um, so when I can work outregardless of what it is, I just
show up as like a much betterlike wife, friend, mom.
(29:40):
So that's why I really focus onprioritizing it and it gives me
the energy and the stamina to doall of the other things.
Like I have a lot of staminawhen it comes to like work.
I have a high threshold for workand, um, and like building, you
know, building something on theside in addition to my day job.
And like, you need to be healthyand you need the stamina for
that.
(30:00):
So I think like that's another,um, that's a big thing.
And then the other thing that Ithink it really does for me is
it really builds up confidencein setting goals and crushing
them is just like a really goodhabit to get into.
And I set ongoing goals, whetherit's like how much I'm going to
lift and things like that.
Achieving those thingscontinuously is just like, it's
so motivational for me.
And I think it really translatesin so many other parts of my
(30:21):
life.
Stephanie (30:22):
Yeah that's so critical.
As you reflect on 2023, wherehave you landed in relation to
the goals that you set foryourself?
Like even outside of the healthand wellness arena.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (30:37):
I knew when I was setting my 2023 goals
because I was pregnant that thisyear was just going to be
different, um, than any otheryear before.
Yeah.
And so I really, I set goalsaround career, financial, my
relationship, um, being a mom.
Um, and then just like in, I'vealso kind of set goals about
making sure that I prioritized,you know, travel and things like
(31:01):
that because I wanted to makesure that I, um, Really forced
myself to continue to prioritizethose things after becoming a
mom.
Um, and then I set goals aroundbuilding, you know, around my
career as well as like buildinga brand on the side, I was
actually going through my 2023goals, cause I'm getting ready
to set 2024 goals.
I hit a lot of those goals.
So that was great.
I think an area that I, um.
(31:23):
I won't say fell short, but it'smoving slower than I thought is
building a brand on the side.
Um, and that's like largelydriven by like, I'm learning
what it takes to do that.
And I, you know, became a mom.
I'm proud of the progress versuslike actually cross list.
Um, so like I didn't launchsomething this year, but I
(31:46):
definitely will next year and Ilike made a ton of progress more
progress this year probably thanin the past few years.
So I'm learning it's okay if Ididn't actually cross the goal
off, but it's as long as I'vemade progress.
I've actually learned a lotabout that from you.
I feel like you're so, you havesuch like a marathon mindset
versus like a sprint mindset.
Stephanie (32:02):
Oh, yeah, this is a marathon.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (32:04):
Yeah.
Uh, but I really, I like havelearned so much about that from
you.
I remember you showing me yourfirst design in like 2016 when
we were in business school.
Stephanie (32:12):
And like, I still haven't even launched that one
yet.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (32:16):
But like every time I talk to you have
like such a, you have like sucha sense of calm and peace that I
interpret as like confidencethat you will get there,
regardless of like when ithappens.
Um, and I feel like I've reallytried to like embrace and embody
that, with this brand building.
I'm generally so impatient withthings and can like quit before
I get things to a place I wantto be.
(32:37):
So like, I literally am like,okay, no, like Steph is like my
inspo with like this brandbuilding stuff and I'm like.
I'm like, okay, it just takestime, but like, I feel like in
your core, or maybe I in mycore, I know that like, you're
going to be super successful.
So it's like, not a matter oflike, if, but when, and just
like, and so like, it's okay ifit takes time, cause like,
you're going to get to thatdestination.
(32:59):
Um, so that's been reallyinspiring for me and guided a
lot of how I think about.
Stephanie (33:05):
Yeah, and it's important to have that type of
mindset because it's so easy togive up when things are not
going the way you want it to atthe time frame that you want it
to happen.
And I love talking aboutentrepreneurship, obviously, you
know building Pamoja is my baby.
And I know that you're workingon your own brand, so please
(33:29):
share more about what you'redoing.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (33:32):
Well, I've always wanted to build a brand
and build a company.
I didn't know exactly what thatwould look like.
And then I got just reallyinspired over the past several
years for a bag design that Iwanted for myself.
And so, I did a ton of research,didn't see it at all in the
market.
And so I wanted to build thisproduct.
I'm pretty far along in that.
I have a sample.
Um, but if I just like zoom out,I think the idea is I want to, I
(33:54):
just want to really want tocreate beautiful things that
people are excited to like own,um, and whether that's
incorporated for their wardrobesor their homes, you know,
there's a lot of directions thatI want to take this.
I'm starting with like oneproduct.
Um,
Stephanie (34:08):
yeah, one thing at a time, baby steps.
Yeah,
Jovanna Youssef Hill (34:10):
I've learn that from you.
Um, but yeah, so I'm excited.
I think it's like something I'vealways wanted to do.
And I've always wanted tocreate, and being like, really
just patient with myself on it.
But I think this is somethingwhere kind of going back to how
I think about like Ayla is goingto ask me questions and I've
always wanted to like build somesort of like fashion brand or
(34:32):
company.
Um, and she's going to ask meabout that at some point.
Regardless of the outcome, Iwant to be like, I did it.
I like, I talked to her and likethis with the outcome.
Um, and there was like a lot tolike learn from that.
So, um, yeah, I think 2024 isgoing to be the year for this to
come to life.
Maybe I'll have you back— wecould talk more about that next
year.
Stephanie (34:52):
For sure.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (34:54):
But yeah, I'm excited about that.
As I'm thinking about my 2024goals, I think this is going to
be, I kind of ebb and flowbetween like themes and the
priorities that they're going totake.
Um, so I think next year, thisone's going to be one that rises
to the top for me, and it'sgoing to be an area I invest a
lot of time.
Stephanie (35:09):
That's really exciting.
And you shared some of thesamples and prototypes that you
worked through and it really isa unique bag.
So I'm really excited to see thefinished product and also
looking forward to rocking ittoo.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (35:27):
Of course.
Stephanie (35:29):
Yeah.
Um, so, you know, we, we'vecovered quite a few things.
We talked about career.
We talked about your background,um, and being an Egyptian.
And like, I learned somethingnew that you were born in Cairo.
And really what it winds down tois having the power to write
(35:49):
your own story.
Your personal life, yourprofessional life, like it melds
together and it helps shape whoyou are.
And as you think about all ofthis, like, what motto do you
live by?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (36:04):
Oh, um, I think, so one kind of quote or
motto that I, that is, has beenconsistent, because I really
love quotes and things likethat.
I have a whole note of a ton ofquotes that either inspire me,
speak to me, whatever, but, um,This is the 1 that's just really
consistent and I think justapplies to so many aspects of my
(36:25):
life, but it's like theadaptable learn as much as you
can and be open minded todifferent viewpoints is 1.
And then I think the other thatI've been really internalizing
is like.
I'm here in this world today toprove to myself what I'm made
of.
Um, and so like, I don't know,that's, that's just, that one
specifically has helped me thinkabout Like, this is it.
(36:49):
This isn't like a dressrehearsal.
This is life.
This is your one shot.
I want to.
When I think about what I'mgoing to, you know, what I
could, this is so dark, but whenI think about like the end of my
life, I'm like, I don't want tolook back and say I had so much
untapped potential.
So I think this idea of like,I'm here to prove to myself what
I'm made of, just kind ofreminds me I'm the only person
that I'm trying to prove thingsto.
(37:11):
So that's been one that like,I've really just internalized a
lot lately.
Stephanie (37:15):
I love that.
I love both of those.
I'm going to write them down.
I always get good ones when Iask that question on here.
I, I just love asking thatquestion because I know that it
brings value to me personally.
And also just to the individualsour wonderful listeners, um,
tuning in onto the podcast.
(37:37):
And before we wrap this up, um,I know I touched on a couple of
things, but what's one questionyou wish I'd asked, and how
would you answer it?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (37:53):
Yeah, good question.
There was another one that I washoping to share, which is,
another thing that I've beenthinking about a lot lately, and
it's I can't remember who Iheard say this, but it's like,
we don't get what we ask for, weget what we believe.
And I was like, Oh, that isreally powerful.
(38:14):
So
Stephanie (38:15):
I have to think about that one.
I have to think about that one.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (38:19):
Yeah.
Um, but I think, um, we talked alot about, you know, like career
path and success and all ofthose things.
Um, uh, one thing we didn't,which I think.
When you reflect on, especiallyin like settings like this, it
can, you know, be perceivedreally positive.
We didn't really talk about likechallenges or what could be like
(38:41):
hard about those things.
And I think one thing that Istruggle with, and I think this
this why I love this quote somuch is like the feelings of
like imposter syndrome and likehow you combat those things.
So I've started putting systemsin place around that, um, where
I literally have a note in myApple folder anytime I get
really positive feedback, thatis really meaningful to me.
(39:02):
I jot that down in there, but Ithink it's important to keep
receipts of things.
Part of my goals, um, note inApple, has a top part that says
Wins.
Throughout the year, I put mywins in it and it could be
anything from like, got a newjob to stood up for myself in
this type of setting, and Ithink like when you are really
focused on personal growth andpersonal development, you tend
(39:25):
to focus on the areas ofopportunity.
I want to reflect on progressand your wins because it's also
just, I feel to keep going.
So those are just some tools forhow I do that.
And I think this quote about,"wedon't get what we ask for.
We get what we believe," forcedme to interrogate what self
limiting beliefs I might besubconsciously carrying.
So I've really started to sitwith those.
(39:45):
I journal think about thosethings, because I don't want to
be the one to get in my own way.
I think like systems of just,uh, of seeing your progress and
where you're doing well to helpcatapult you forward and keeping
moving forward, and alsothinking about your self
limiting beliefs are ways that Ikeep moving forward and kind of
combat some of the challengesand imposter syndrome and things
(40:06):
like that.
Stephanie (40:07):
Yeah, that's a really, really good point
because, you know, sometimes Irecognize that during this year,
there were quite a number ofthings.
That I did not achieve in termsof the milestones and the goals
that I set for myself, but alsolike sit back and reflect and
(40:28):
recognize that there is a lot ofthings that I did do that I did
achieve at the end of the day.
So it is important to recognizethat you're progressing.
Even though you're notnecessarily where you want to be
today at this point in time, butas long as you keep going and
(40:49):
progressing, it will happenbecause you are what you
believe, and that's what's goingto happen.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (40:57):
Yeah, and if you focus too much on, Those
goals that you wrote down andlike only those you don't leave
space for new things coming intothe picture that could be more
impactful, just new anddifferent.
So I try to with all my plans.
Also, plans are funny because,you know, they can always.
Yeah, you can't controleverything.
Right?
Um, but that's why I like lovewhat you said, you achieved
(41:18):
other goals.
Great, those are wins.
Document those, like you didn'thit this one milestone, but you
did these four or five otherthings that were not even on
your radar at the beginning
Stephanie (41:25):
And celebrate them.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (41:27):
Yeah, totally.
Um, so that's really important.
That's awesome.
Stephanie (41:31):
As we wrap this podcast off, I love to end it
off by asking in hindsight, whatadvice do you wish the younger
version of yourself knew?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (41:45):
I wish I really internalized this idea of
like a marathon versus a sprinton things much earlier.
I wish I knew that, you know, itcan take like over 10 years to,
uh, be an overnight success.
So I wish I had told my youngerself that, cause it's going to
take the time anyways, just getstarted sooner than later.
(42:07):
I don't beat myself up aboutthat.
I'm like, Getting started isbetter than not getting started
at all.
Stephanie (42:12):
Absolutely.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (42:12):
And I wish I just like internalized that a
little bit younger.
Stephanie (42:18):
Yeah, very valid point, but I see that you do
recognize it now, which isalways the great thing.
Better late than never.
So where can our listeners findyou?
Jovanna Youssef Hill (42:32):
I am currently on Instagram.
That's probably like the bestplace to find me, and LinkedIn.
And then look out for likeanother brand Instagram in 2024.
Stephanie (42:42):
Thank you, Jovanna.
I'm certainly going to share thelinks in the notes.
So yeah, I truly appreciate youcoming on today and sharing your
story.
I always love havingconversations with you and it's,
it's always inspiring.
So thank you so much.
Jovanna Youssef Hill (43:01):
Thank you for having me.
I feel the absolute same.
I love this podcast.
I love what you're building andI just feel like super honored
that you had me on.
So thank you.
Stephanie (43:10):
And that's a wrap.
So own it and make moves.
One day, I want to share yourjourney on this podcast.
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