Tracee Ellis Ross: Intentional Living, Career, and Building Pattern Beauty

Summary:

Tracee Ellis Ross discusses her journey to self-assurance and living intentionally [00:01:40].
Ross emphasizes the importance of purposeful language and manifestation [00:04:49].
She credits her mother, Diana Ross, for teaching her the value of independence and hard work [00:07:32].
Ross shares advice for young women on dating, career, and personal growth [00:11:50].
She also reflects on the challenges and strategies for managing Pattern Beauty and balancing life [00:43:11].

Tracee Ellis Ross as a businesswoman, surrounded by her Pattern Beauty products. [ 00:00:17 ]

Introduction [00:00:00]

Emma Grede introduces Tracee Ellis Ross as an intentional businesswoman who believes in the power of words to shape reality.

Ross reflects on her journey to self-assurance, noting it took many years to truly know and live as herself.
She emphasizes the importance of courage in aligning actions with one's sense of self.
Ross shares that purposeful engagement with her interests and curiosity has shaped her life.

Ross believes in the power of manifestation and the importance of being intentional with language.
She shares a story about dog-earing magazines as a teen and later manifesting those styles in her life.
Ross discusses using therapy to clarify her desires, ensuring she manifests the right things.
She balances intentionality with allowing for the unexpected and letting go of control.

Ross's upbringing was abundant but grounded, with her mother prioritizing family life despite a demanding career.

A young Tracee Ellis Ross with her mother, Diana Ross. [ 00:00:45 ]
Diana Ross instilled the values of hard work and being in charge of one's career.
Diana Ross emphasized the importance of starting from her shoulders, and not her shadows.
Beauty and glamour equated to having agency and a sense of power.

Tracee Ellis Ross performing on stage with her mother, Diana Ross. [ 00:00:48 ]

Ross clarifies her views on relationships, emphasizing that while she values partnership, she doesn't believe one needs a man.
She shares an anecdote about her mother's advice to either marry rich or get a great job to afford her lifestyle.
Ross stresses the importance of living choicefully and not postponing joy while waiting for a partner or a certain life stage.
She values chosen family, or her friends, immensely.

Ross advises women to question whether their desires for marriage and children are truly their own or societal expectations.
She encourages them to dream of a full life beyond just a wedding, focusing on their gifts and purpose.
Ross gives practical dating advice, including distinguishing facts from fantasies and assessing how a partner makes them feel.
She suggests that the questions you ask are more important than the answers.

Ross believes in making space for negative emotions rather than trying to avoid them.
She shares her experience with reading Pema Chödrön's When Things Fall Apart, which taught her to be present with her feelings.
Ross emphasizes the importance of knowing and honoring one's feelings to facilitate moving forward.

Emma and Tracee emphasize learning how to be who you are first.
They suggest starting a journal to reflect on daily experiences, identify patterns, and uncover deeper truths about oneself.
Ross describes a journaling practice of identifying and circling key words to write a prayer about it.
They emphasize that the world will be built around the way one shows up.

Ross started Pattern Beauty to address a gap in the hair care industry for products catering to textured hair.
Ross knew from the start it was going to be a beauty brand, and not just a hair brand.
She prioritized creating effective formulas and addressing the needs of her community over simply putting her name on existing products.

A display of various Pattern Beauty hair and body products. [ 00:51:36 ]

Ross shares her experience facing numerous rejections while building Pattern Beauty, including being told to create wigs instead.
She emphasizes that no's can often provide you more clarity.
She realized many people didn't culturally understand what she was trying to do.
She used each "no" as an opportunity to refine her vision and messaging.

Ross emphasizes Pattern Beauty was born out of her consumer experience.
Ross did not use her own money, rather, brought business partners who liked her already established ideas with retail partners.
She advises being wary of people that are trying to shame you into doing something different, which is the number one advice from Diana Ross.

The two discuss the need for organization and discipline while managing a company and a career.
Ross emphasizes the need for a good team because data and operations are the expertise.

"Most emergencies do not require ambulances". Time sensitive is not an emergency.
It's better to do less right than more sloppy.
Ross highlights that she is not a micro-manager but will get involved if she doesn't trust the process.

The lack of scalability is not understood by people.
There is a cultural currency, not a dollar amount, that we must get better at as an industry.
What is the goal of the business? To build, or to sell?

Tracee Ellis Ross states that it's more important to learn who you are rather than get what you want.
She emphasized loving and enjoying the current situation.

It is how she lives out loud.
It is a way for you to ask yourself what you consider fun, not someone else.
Through solo traveling, she discovered what does and doesn't bring her joy.

Tracee Ellis Ross relaxing by a pool, enjoying a solo trip. [ 00:01:09 ]

What messages would Ross want to send out?
- May you be comfortable in your skin.
- Find what makes your heart sing.
- Discover your purpose and be of service.

First thing she does when she wakes up?
- Scrape her tongue.
Last thing she does before she goes to bed?
- Check her phone.
One solo trip that everyone should take at least once.
- To their dream spot.
A book or film that changed her perspective on life.
- When Things Fall Apart.
Something that you valued 10 years ago that you don't value now.
- A flat tummy.
What is something that you value now that you didn't value 10 years ago.
- Sleep.