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cover art for Ep 85. Morra Aarons Mele: The Hermit Entrepreneur

Work and Life with Stew Friedman

Ep 85. Morra Aarons Mele: The Hermit Entrepreneur

Morra Aarons-Mele is founder of the award-winning social impact agency Women Online and The Mission List, a social change influencer database. She is an Internet marketer who has been working with women online since 1999, when she helped Hillary Clinton log on for her first Internet chat. Morra has launched online campaigns for President Obama, Malala Yousafzai, the United Nations, and many other leading figures and organizations. She’s the host of the popular podcast Hiding in the Bathroom and her book is Hiding in the Bathroom: A Roadmap to Getting Out There (When You'd Rather Stay Home). Stew and Morra talk about the narrow view of success that persists in our society and its costs, both financial and human, which have taken their toll on her. Morra rails against the false glorification displayed in what she calls “entrepreneurship porn.” They explore middle-ground alternatives, such as giving ourselves time to breath; the importance of accepting, acknowledging, and embracing anxiety; and how anxiety can actually be an asset at work because it helps attune us to others’ sensitivities and needs. Stew and Morra discuss the stigma of of mental illness, how to be successful on one’s own terms, and the value in telling your true story.

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