EPISODE 9: Meaghan B. Murphy, Woman’s Day Magazine
Want the book? Get a copy of Your Fully Charged Life on www.meaghanbmurphy.com!
[INTRODUCTION]
[00:00:20] KK: Hey everybody, welcome to Risky Business. We are the Coverage Queens. I’m Kathy Kaehler —
[00:00:25] BL: And I’m Bliss Landon.
[00:00:28] KK: Welcome back. Welcome back to another fabulous episode. We're excited to have you and I am so excited about my guest today, our guest today.
[00:00:36] BL: Me too.
[00:00:38] KK: So fun. How have you been?
[00:00:39] BL: I've been great. How about you?
[00:00:41] KK: I feel like it’s months –
[00:00:42] BL: I haven't talked to you in a little while.
[00:00:42] KK: I know, but it's only been seven days. It seems like seven months.
[00:00:47] BL: Right. Exactly.
[00:00:49] KK: So, crazy. We have so much to talk about.
[00:00:51] BL: We do.
[00:00:52] KK: We have estate sales to talk about, a great article I found that we're going to discuss.
[00:00:58] BL: Yes.
[00:00:58] KK: Skins.
[00:00:58] BL: Many topics.
[00:01:00] KK: We’re talking about skin. I like how the camera is only showing the right side because the left side literally a deep freeze zap from the derma. I thought my cheek was going to explode. Remember, I told you this thing has been here?
[00:01:13] BL: Oh, yeah.
[00:01:16] KK: So, we'll talk a little bit about –
[00:01:17] BL: Your glasses are hiding it, so you're fine.
[00:01:18] KK: Thank you. A new fashion tip. Anyway, well let's introduce our guest.
[00:01:25] BL: Okay.
[00:01:28] KK: So, today you guys, we have the fabulous Meaghan B. Murphy. She's the Editor-in-Chief of Woman's Day. I have known her for a long time. We actually did a piece together. She was just reminding me back, let's just say a few years ago, with another fabulous actress. We're doing a piece on health and healthy foods and working out. But Meaghan, I have been watching for the last years and her energy is insane. She is everywhere. She's got a podcast. She's on all different kinds of shows. Today's Show and with Maria Menounos and she has a fabulous new book, Your Fully Charged Life. I’m getting a copy. I will find her I will get her to sign it.
[00:02:21] BL: I don't want too.
[00:02:22] KK: But let's welcome Meaghan. Meaghan, welcome.
[00:02:27] MBM: Thank you for having me.
[00:02:29] BL: Yes.
[00:02:29] BMB: Your green chair is giving me life. I just love your green chairs.
[00:02:35] BL: Thank you. We’re glad you like it. Colors make you happy, right? They really do.
[00:02:39] BMB: True. This is in the extra charge of my book.
[00:02:42] KK: This girl wears amazing colors. If you follow her on Instagram. The outfits are just – they brighten my day. They're fully charged.
[00:02:50] BMB: I write about that in the book. I call it dopamine dressing. I think you need to dress the way you want to feel and my life is a party not a funeral.
[00:02:59] KK: Oh my god, I only wear black. You've just deadened me.
[00:03:05] BMB: I mean, wear what could be the fun factor? Could you have a really great shoe or a state earring –
[00:03:09] BL: She does. She always wears great shoes and great jewelry. So, there’s that.
[00:03:13] BMB: So, that's the key. You don't have to be completely flashy. But I think the point of dopamine dressing is to dress the way you want to feel. So, even if you are in a full stuffy suit, maybe you have happy socks on because there's that one happy maker that says to the world, “Yeah, I'm here and life is good.”
[00:03:30] KK: I love it.
[00:03:31] BL: Yeah. It’s so true. That takes me back, Meaghan, you probably don't know this about me. But I worked for my father and my father is my business partner with this business venture and so I've been working for him for a really long time and I've been his daughter for a really long time. But I remember, back in the day when we weren't such a casual society in business, I came in kind of casual and he said, “Why are you dressed that way?” And I said, “Well, I'm comfortable.” He said, “Yeah, but you got to dress the part, man. If you want to be successful, you got to dress successful.” He said, “I'm sorry, but my mood is different. When I dress a certain way. It changes everything about me and I think you will experience the same thing.” That was a lesson he taught me a long time ago. It's really true. There is something to be said about being comfortable. But then also you also want to feel happy at how you look and your energy that you're portraying to other people, right?
[00:04:32] BMB: I think a lot of people realize this during the pandemic. I mean, if you change from pajamas to pajamas, or anything that buttoned or didn't take a shower. I mean, how did that change when you did shower, when you did put on a sweater and mascara, when you did blow out your hair, when you did wear pants that buttoned? I know that I feel better when I do those things. I carry myself differently. I enter the world differently. I think it's important to really understand that what you wear does impact your mood.
[00:05:01] BL: I think so. Absolutely. And kind of tells about your character and your personality and –
[00:05:05] BMB: Exactly. It can also be an invitation for conversation.
[00:05:10] KK: Well, speaking of COVID, yes, we did experience and people are still experiencing this dramatic shift in how we live our life. You have three kids who are by the way, absolutely adorable.
[00:05:27] BMB: Thank you.
[00:05:30] KK: But you go through like most with the in-home schooling? And how was that for you? I know I watched you and just at times was quite humorous. But share a little bit about that.
[00:05:41] BL: But as a businesswoman, you're so busy. How did you cope with all that?
[00:05:45] BMB: In the beginning of the pandemic, it was really tough because I started the job as the editor-in-chief of Woman's Day, in March, last March, a year ago. I hadn't really hired or met my team in person. I hadn't cleared out my good housekeeping office yet. So, I was starting that new job from home and it was also turning in my book. My book was due in April. So, it was this whole moment of, “Oh, my gosh, I'm now homeschooling three children finishing a book and starting a new job.” It was very, very daunting.
[00:06:15] BL: Wow.
[00:06:15] BMB: Meanwhile too, like all my TV had come to the home base. So, like, we're doing the Today’s Show at my kitchen table with my husband filming. I mean, everything just became at Tim Murphy Central. I mean, all of my work was happening here and it was very surreal. I mean, there were certainly days where I was crying in the shower. But there were also days where I'm like, “Wow, and thank God, I wrote this book, because this is a toolkit to build resilience and find joy and remain optimistic, even in the hardest of times.” I used all of those strategies, especially when my whole family got COVID. I mean, my three kids, myself, my 71-year-old mom, we went through COVID.
[00:06:55] BL: Wow, you all got sick?
[00:06:58] MBM: Yeah.
[00:07:00] BL: Oh, geez.
[00:06:59] MBM: Yeah, three weeks before my book came out. So, that was like, really, really super fun. I was about to record my audio book. The next thing I know, I have COVID. My publisher is telling me, we're going to have to hire a narrator and I'm just like crying because I have COVID. I just want to record my audio book. Thankfully, we pushed the deadline to the very last second and I did get to record my own book. Thank goodness, because that was so important to me. But I'm asthmatic. I have history of pneumonia. I've been in the hospital for pneumonia before so I was scared.
[00:07:30] BL: How did you do? Obviously, you're okay now. But was it really tough?
[00:07:34] MBM: Yeah, it was brutal. To be honest, it was brutal. I tried very hard not to get COVID. I swear. The upside now is I have antibodies. So, I feel a little bit of relief. But it was hard because all of us were sick simultaneously. So, I can barely get out of bed. I'm exhausted. And frankly, I had GI issues for six days where I lost 10 pounds. Yet, I have to care for a 10-year-old, a 9-year-old and a 7-year-old who have 103 fevers, who are projectile vomiting, that are fine, that are sick. I mean, I don't want to sugarcoat it. Wear damn masks, social distance, be smart, because we took all the precautions and we still got sick. It was pretty brutal. I mean, it was no fun.
[00:08:15] KK: I’m so glad your guys are okay.
[00:08:16] MBM: I'm so grateful that I didn't want to be in the hospital on and we did get through it. I have friends who lost parents. I mean, COVID is no joke. But once again, I mean, I think that the silver lining of it and the timing of it was kind of great, because it gave me – it just reinforced that the tips and tricks and strategies that I outlined and you're fully charged life work, and I was able to weather, a COVID times six with optimism and joy and resilience, because I know how to do that. I have the skills. I have the toolkit.
[00:08:53] BL: Wow. That's amazing.
[00:08:53] KK: Everybody needs to get Your Fully Charged Life, book. I can't wait to read it.
[00:08:59] BL: I think I should have got it last year though.
[00:09:02] MBM: Again, I keep saying, because like as an author, no one wants to release a book in a pandemic where I can't go on a book tour, I can't do in person signings and everything is virtual stinks, in that regard. As the author, it's hard to sell books, in a pandemic. But on the flip side, I think that this message is needed now more than ever. This advice is helpful now more than ever. It's all based on positive psychology and neuroscience and it's really about – it’s a training regimen. And Kathy, you’ll appreciate this. I say the same way I trained my body to feel strong and fit and healthy. I trained my brain. I retrained my brain to prioritize positivity and and to out think bad days.
[00:09:45] BL: Well, and I think a lot of people of all ages are suffering still from depression from the pandemic and just being isolated and alone, still seeing the repercussions from it. As we're pivoting into opening up again, still, there are some people that are stuck in fear and at home, and they don't know how to get back to their old lives. So, a book like that will be really helpful to give you the tools to get in the mental state of mind that you need to be to move on with your life again, get back out there.
[00:10:18] KK: Absolutely.
[00:10:19] MBM: That's what I'm hearing. I mean, that it's been been fun now that it's out in the world to get feedback from people who say, “Oh, my gosh, I tried that trick of how changing my half to’s to get to’s. And oh, my goodness, it works.”
[00:10:32] BL: Wow, that’s fantastic.
[00:10:33] MBM: That’s a simple way to trick yourself into practicing gratitude, because gratitude is the secret sauce in life. But if you don't have the bandwidth to keep a gratitude journal, because that feels like homework. What if you simply change your half to’s to get to’s? And how does that change the way you approach things? I don't have to work out, I get to. I mean, I was telling myself that after COVID/ I get to work out today. I mean, I couldn't. A week ago, I couldn't stand up a week ago, but now I get to. I get to work out.
[00:11:01] KK: Love it. Love that three-letter word. Get. So, Meaghan, I was going to have Bliss tell a little bit about the business here, which is about educational devices that kids are using, that we're using a little bit before COVID. But now for sure, during COVID and with your three, share a little bit the coverage.
[00:11:28] BL: So, what we do is we provide coverage for the at home learning devices that your kids are probably using every day for the at home school that they've had to pivot to. And so, we're insuring those devices, against loss and damage, spilling their cereal on it, or dropping it off the counter.
[00:11:45] MBM: Or bringing it into the bathtub?
[00:11:48] BL: Yeah, that would be covered. That would be covered.
[00:11:50] MBM: I'm going to tell you the Chromebook couldn't be repaired after a bathtub incident.
[00:11:55] BL: Really? Okay, so tell us your experience with that. What happened?
[00:12:00] MBM: Oh, my goodness, when my daughter's 10 and she's become a bit of a beauty girl. She loves bath bombs and like soaking in the tub. It's like a source of relaxation and calm for her and like, “Hey, listen, anything goes right now.” You want to take a two-hour bath with 900 bath bombs and that gives you some stress relief, right? Please just don't bring your stinking Chromebook. Because she had – she was taking her luxurious bath, and I mean, like, she's 10. It was like she had a little bit of lavender oil. A candle not lit, because she's not allowed to light a candle, but like the candle is sitting there, unlit and all the things. And had her Chromebook propped up onto the bathtub. We're not sure how we got soaking wet. But we do know it got soaking wet and could not be repaired. So, there's that.
[00:13:01] BL: So, did you have to take it back to the school or how did you do that?
[00:13:02] MBM: So, it was something we had purchased. So, I'm very lucky right now. I did hack my life a little bit. I put my kids in an in-person Catholic school this year. So, they are in-person school from 8 AM to 3 PM every day. We've had to obviously do home learning when we've had to quarantine, when we had COVID, and moments like that. The school has done like, at home learning days, et cetera, et cetera. It’s not now is bad for us, as it was at the end of last – like this time last year was impossible because it was three kids, all all of us learning how to virtually learn, et cetera. So, we have a little bit of a better scenario now because they are physically in a building a chunk of the day. But I will say they're obviously using their devices –
[00:13:58] BL: How much was it for you to buy a new Chromebook for her?
[00:14:01] MBM: We didn't want to go on the Chromebook route again. We wound up getting a Microsoft Surface.
[00:14:06] BL: Okay, and how much did that cost?
[00:14:09] MBM: I think it was like 800 bucks.
[00:14:12] BL: Yeah, they're expensive.
[00:14:12] MBM: I think it was probably 800 bucks.
[00:14:14] BL: So, on the Chromebook, had you spent 20 bucks to insure it for the year and for $20 you could have gotten a new one. That would have been a good deal, right?
[00:14:23] MBM: I mean, yes. Well, it was also like the energy of we took it to one of those, like fix any device stores and they were like, “We can't fix this.” So, it was like, “Drop it off.” Pack it. So, it was also wasted time which was annoying to me because time is my most precious commodity, frankly.
[00:14:48] BL: Exactly. So, we would have mailed you a box, you would have stuck it in the box and it would have gotten sent to a repair facility, who said it’s a total loss and we would have covered it for you. We would have sent you a new one.
[00:15:00] MBM: I think that’s high value. Because I mean, I think most parents are in the same boat of me, as me too, where we're allowing more devices than we ever would have pre quarantine.
[00:15:12] BL: We have to.
[00:15:13] MBM: With the gaming, I mean, for me with my boys, like that's social, right? If they’re playing Fortnight and they're playing with their friends and they're on their headsets and they're all – it’s like a playdate.
[00:15:24] BL: It is.
[00:15:26] MBM: So, I don't think a year, like pre quarantine, pre pandemic, I don't think I would have been like, “Yeah, go play Fortnight.” Okay, it's social. You need social interaction. So, I'm in a different boat with technology, frankly.
[00:15:41] BL: Yeah. I think we've all learned to accept more of it, now. We have to.
[00:15:45] MBM: There's no choice.
[00:15:48] KK: Amazing. Well, we've been hearing different stories about just like your kids, dropping it in a backpack, it gets run over. All of these scenarios are throughout the country. The thing that I've just learned kind of stepping in here, because as you know, I'm from the health background and fitness and nutrition, I was so interested to connect here, because I'm now looking at ways that we can be more healthy in our lives on kind of what we do. How well are we organized in our closets? Our devices, there's so much about health, connected with our devices.
So, tying in here with Risky Business, with my friend, who's right here, having a good time. It really makes you want to step back and look at your life. What can I do better? What can I be more aware of, become more educated, and make those conscious changes? So, that's what was so interesting about this and learning that something right there, you experienced something that caused stress, what took time, cost money, but here's something that people don't know about, that they can get these devices insured. Not the warranty, but insured, and make that transition from an accident, a damaged item so easy, so seamless. So, anyway, just thought I'd share my connection to this and why I was so interested.
[00:17:28] BL: I have a question, Meaghan. For all the things that you're doing, are you doing something specific for kids too?
[00:17:36] MBM: My kids are a big part of everything I do. So, if I'm doing a celebration segment, for instance, we did backyard fun and Live with Kelly and Ryan, my team Murphy were involved in part of the segment if I’m doing – last year, we did Easter for the Today’s Show, Mother's Day for the Today’s show. They're often a part of my segments.
[00:17:57] BL: Yeah, that's so fun. I think that's great that you can have your children with you. I think that also has been part of this pandemic, too, is busy working moms. You're incorporating your children more than you did before and that's a positive thing, right?
[00:18:12] MBM: Yeah, I mean, I talk about it in the book about treating your family like a team and approaching life as a team and striving for synergy, versus harmony and certainly not balanced, because there's no such thing as balanced. But how can you create synergy, where the pieces of your life work together, and understand each other and complement each other, and support each other. Then that's really – it’s been a whole new world. I now work from home. My husband now works from home. So, I do a podcast from home. I write a magazine from home. I finished a book. I'm doing a virtual book tour from home. My husband is doing his banking job from home. I mean, it's like a whole world and when he's not working on his finance job, he's filming my Today’s Show segments. So, it's like –
[00:19:02] BL: But isn't that great, though? I mean, don’t you kind of like that, though?
[00:19:06] MBM: Yeah. I mean, frankly, like we were having a conversation, I was having a conversation with my superiors yesterday about return to work and what that looks like. I'm not I'm not super jazzed about commuting again, and hauling my body to New York City. Now, between Zoom calls, I throw in a little laundry or I go pick up the kid’s vitamins or I go get my Ziplock. I'm more efficient. I love that. That's much better. My life works better this way. I mean, I do sort of miss the camaraderie of the office and collaborating visually in person. But the tradeoffs are big, because what I gained in terms of family dinners, and picking up the kids from school and being able to hear so and so said this today and so on said, I love being on the front lines with my kids, in a way that I wasn't before as a commuting working mom.
[00:20:08] BL: And as working mothers, we’re always feeling guilty about not spending enough time with our kids. Like you said, you mentioned balance, there is no balance even though you're striving for it all the time. It's impossible, but at least, through the pandemic, we've been able to spend some really good quality time with our kids.
[00:20:26] MBM: It's about appreciating that. I mean, balance is like a dirty word to me. Because balance suggests that two things could be equal at all times. My family and my job are never equal. Sometimes my family is more important because my son needs to get his tonsils out, and sometimes work does take precedence. That tips the scales because I'm on crazy deadlines. Right? So, it's never equal. It's never equal. There's no such thing as balance.
[00:20:49] BL: You're right.
[00:20:49] MBM: I also don't have any guilt though. I think guilt is a dirty word. I don't experience guilt.
[00:20:55] BL: It is. Well, okay. I mean, that’s – kudos to you.
[00:20:58] KK: We’ll strive for that.
[00:20:59] BL: I know. I’m going to strive to not feel that way. Because I have always felt that way because I've been working from day one. But I love your positive outlook on everything. I mean, just every word, every thought, you're just a super positive, dynamic person.
[00:21:16] MBM: That's sort of the beauty of the book, though, is because I'm not inherently this way. My nickname was Grumpy as a child. My negativity bias is strong. I had some very tumultuous years and I was a pessimist. Like a solon, miserable –
[00:21:33] BL: Really? I can't imagine. I don’t believe you.
[00:21:38] MBM: That's why you have to read the book because I trained to live this way. That's why when I was writing an article for Cosmo, and I was the first sort of taste of positive psychology I got, where I absolutely for the first time, realized that happiness was an active state of doing versus a passive state of being. You can never be happy unless you learn to do happy. What does that look like? What are those daily actions that we can all take to move the happiness needle? Once that started to click for me, and I began to practice and prioritize positivity, my world changed. I changed the neuroplasticity of my brain. I changed the way I carry myself on this planet. Even when really crap things happen, like my dad getting diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and dying, five months later, I was equipped. I had the tools to move through with resilience and grace. It didn't mean it didn't hurt, it doesn't mean didn't suck. But I knew how to forge onward because I now have the tools.
[00:22:38] BL: Wow, that's amazing.
[00:22:39] KK: I heard somebody say that those who seek happiness aren't happy. It's even like in the Constitution, the pursuit of happiness. It's like when you just are happy, that you settle –
[00:22:52] BL: You decide.
[00:22:54] KK: I decide, I'm happy, I'm fine. I'm not looking for it. Then you feel it.
[00:23:01] MBM: Well, that's the thing. It's also once you realize there is – when you sort of make this flip the switch and understand that happiness is a state of doing that really, truly means there's always something you can do to move the happiness needle. So, if I'm not feeling happy right now, well, it's not like, “Oh, happiness is so elusive.” It's like, “Oh, I need to do something that makes me happy right now, and maybe that something is making my bed because that small sense of accomplishment powers me. Or maybe it's putting fresh cut flowers in the house, because I understand all that great Harvard research that says, ‘Wow, they ease anxiety, fresh flowers are magic.’ Or maybe it means, ‘Oh, my goodness, I'm not protecting my sleep. Maybe I need to go to bed earlier and get myself on a sleep routine. Oh, my goodness, maybe it means I didn't move my body today.” Once you understand that there is always something you can do to move the happiness needle, it's no longer so elusive. Because happiness isn't like this thing out there, like someday maybe you’ll have.
[00:24:04] BL: Yeah. It’s like you can do it right now.
[00:24:06] MBM: You can’t find it unless you start doing it.
[00:24:08] BL: Just do it.
[00:24:08] MBM: Exactly. It is absolutely a state of doing.
[00:24:12] BL: Wow. That's so awesome.
[00:24:14] KK: Well, I tell you, we're happy that you were here today.
[00:24:16] BL: Absolutely.
[00:24:19] KK: I love it so much. Meaghan, thank you so much.
[00:24:22] BL: Thank you so much for being here. It's been such a pleasure to get to know you and I can't wait to read your book and just wish you all the luck in the world with everything you're doing.
[00:24:30] MBM: Thank you so much.
[00:24:31] KK: Where are people getting your book girl?
[00:24:33] MBM: I always love to encourage people to shop local. So, if you have a small hometown bookstore or a little bookstore that could potentially be struggling during quarantine pop in there. If they don't have it, ask them to order it. Otherwise Barnes and Noble, Amazon, all the big guys have it. But I'm like such a big fan of shopping local and supporting local.
[00:24:54] BL: Especially now, yes.
[00:24:55] MBM: If you do get it on one of the big dogs, authors love a report card. So, if you rate it and review it, that's a super big deal for authors. It really means a lot to me to hear feedback from people.
[00:25:07] KK: I love it. I love it and follow her on Instagram. She's hilarious.
[00:25:14] MBM: My life is very fun filtered. I use a filter. It's a fun filter. We always have a good time.
[00:25:20] BL: I want a fun filter.
[00:25:22] KK: We have so much to do.
[00:25:24] BL: I’m going to do that.
[00:25:24] KK: We’re modeling after Meaghan. All right. Listen, thank you so much. Have a great rest of your fully charged day.
[00:25:30] MBM: You too, ladies.
[00:25:31] BL: Thank you, Megan.
[00:25:33] MBM: Thank you so much.
[00:25:34] BL: Bye-bye. Thank you.
[00:25:37] KK: So great.
[00:25:37] BL: Oh my gosh, she's awesome.
[00:25:38] KK: Super fun, right?
[00:25:39] BL: I love her.
[00:25:40] KK: Super, super, super fun.
[00:25:42] BL: So fun.
[00:25:44] KK: Also, I was just thinking as she was talking. There are so much that was reminding myself of what I've done in my career. She wrote an article for Cosmo. That was one of my very first things that I did when I was working for Jane Fonda. And then all of my years on the Today’s Show, one episode that I did. We were in the plaza, and it was family fitness and Walker, my youngest, was maybe toddling around it too, but he could shoot a basket. So, he had the one of those play school plastic basketball things and the twins were doing sit-ups and push-ups on a mat. It was really the – I look at the same message, we're still talking about the same message. We're still trying to find those ways to have better quality of life. So –
[00:26:41] BL: Be happy.
[00:26:43] KK: It’s so cool.
[00:26:43] BL: Be happy and just trying to keep her happiness going. We've been through a real tragedy.
[00:26:47] KK: I love what she's doing.
[00:26:48] BL: I love it, too. I can't wait to read her book.
[00:26:49] KK: I’m so proud of her and inspired. Anyway, well –
[00:26:56] BL: There's another one down in the book.
[00:26:57] KK: Yes. Great episode. So, I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I hope that you do go out and look for her book. Your Fully Charged Life by Meaghan Murphy. Like she said, you can go shop local, or Barnes and Noble, and then find her on Instagram. So, so funny. Yes, Amazon too.
So, thank you for joining us right here, at Risky Business. Any questions or thoughts or just ideas that you want us to look for and talk about, we're at riskybusiness@thecoveragequeens.com. Email us and we'll see you in our next episode.
[00:27:40] BL: Thanks for watching.
[END]