The hunt is on for a vaccine for the current COVID-19 pandemic — and vaccination for other diseases is now commonplace. But did you know that Catherine the Great, the famed Tsarina of Russia, was one of the early champions of inoculation?

Catherine the Great is Russia’s longest-serving female leader in more ways than one. She embraced new medical advancements and was an early endorser of vaccines. When she came to power in 1762, Russia was a poor, struggling country. In 1767, a smallpox epidemic swept Siberia, swiftly killing some 20,000 people. Smallpox was one of the worst diseases in history — killing nearly 400,000 people every year, 60 million in all — during the 18th century. (And it is the only human disease that has been successfully eradicated.) The Royal family was no exception — Catherine’s husband, the emperor Peter III, survived a severe case of smallpox when he was 16, which left him with disfiguring scars and very little hair.

In 1767, wanting to spare Russian lives, Catherine invited Thomas Dimsdale to court. He was a distinguished British physician who had built upon existing knowledge and created an experimental technique to immunize people to smallpox. It involved deliberately infecting a person with fluid from smallpox pustules, taken from a patient with a milder form of the disease, which resulted in a very mild smallpox infection that was less dangerous than if one contracted the disease by natural means, providing immunity to future attacks. He published his findings in a paper titled: The present methods of inoculation for the smallpox in 1767, which impressed Catherine at a moment when a smallpox epidemic was ravaging Russia.

She became convinced that she and her 14-year-old son, Paul, should be inoculated — and also wanted to prove to the Russian people that this was a safe and effective procedure. She and her son were quietly inoculated on October 12, 1768. The procedure was a success: Catherine developed a mild case of smallpox after but recovered fully two weeks later. She herself then donated pus for the inoculations of various members of her court. They all survived — and inoculation quickly became widely accepted. By the end of the century, nearly 2 million Russians had been inoculated against smallpox. Her belief in science saved the lives of millions of Russians, making Catherine quite

Great indeed.

My objective was, through my example, to save from death the multitude of my subjects who, not knowing the value of this technique, and frightened of it, were left in danger.

Catherine the Great

About the author.
An award-winning creator and digital health, wellness, and lifestyle content strategist — Karina writes, edits, and produces compelling content across multiple platforms — including articles, video, interactive tools, and documentary film. Her work has been featured on MSN Lifestyle, Apartment Therapy, Goop, Psycom, Pregnancy & Newborn, Eat This Not That, thirdAGE, and Remedy Health Media digital properties.

MARCH 26, 2020 — Freelancers typically have none of the federal or state benefits and protections that regular employees or small businesses do — but the new coronavirus is putting a spotlight on how we work today — and freelancers have been included in an unprecedented manner. Here’s what’s being done now.
black-and-white-photo-of-a-young-woman

There are 57 million freelancers in the United States who are feeling financially squeezed by the growing coronavirus pandemic — but who don’t typically have the same resources or protections as traditional workers. This group includes gig workers, contractors, project-based workers, temporary and part-time hires — who generate $1 trillion in income a year. According to Intuit, about 43% of the workforce will be freelancing in 2020 — nearly half of all American workers. While being your own boss has lots of upsides, it has generally meant missing out on benefits that traditional employees can get on the job, like paid leave when you’re sick or to care for an ailing family member. Until now.

The New Deal brought us unemployment benefits, one of the chief safety nets in tumultuous times of job loss. The system does not usually cover people who are not classified as “employees” — but the COVID-19 stimulus bill that just passed has some really great news. This legislation extends unemployment benefits to a much wider pool of people than ever before, ensuring that all workers — including freelancers, sole proprietors, and gig workers — are protected. Under the new legislation, unemployed workers will collect bigger unemployment checks, along with an additional payment of $600 per week, and will receive those payments for a longer period of time. Details will vary state by state.

As well, another piece of good news for freelancers is that the current stimulus package will provide a one-time payment of up to $1,200 (more if one has kids) to all that make under $99K. Yes, that includes fashion stylists, graphic designers, Uber and Lyft drivers, bartenders, baristas, nannies, house cleaners, web developers, and more. That one-time payment won’t be enough to cover rent or mortgage payments, food, medicine, or other basic necessities (like cleaning supplies) — but it’s a step in the right direction.

Several states already offer paid-leave programs that can help freelancers in times like these — but will not provide immediate help for those that have not yet signed up. Essentially, provisions in the new law, signed by President Trump, will provide a refundable tax credit of up to 100% sick leave pay for self-employed individuals, including freelancers, gig workers, and independent contractors, to help make up for lost income due to the novel coronavirus — which is something. But it won’t directly give self-employed workers paid leave if they or their families become ill.

At the moment, three states — New York, California, and Washington ― offer paid a family and medical leave benefit programs that freelancers can opt into, which typically replaces some portion of a person’s income if they can’t work due to illness or injury that is not job-related, or if they need to care for a sick family member, among other things. Participants typically pay regular premiums to be part of the plan. It offers a measure of assistance, but one that you must pay for yourself. Several other states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington D.C., are setting up family and medical leave programs that will also cover self-employed workers. The program in D.C. will begin paying benefits in July, but the others will only take effect in coming years.

But there’s a catch: these state-sponsored programs are often poorly publicized and are not so simple to access. While requirements for these programs vary state by state, people are typically not eligible to collect benefits right after signing up — which means that these programs won’t help people who want to join now, when COVID-19 is upending their lives.

We are making incremental steps towards greater inclusion of all workers in economic policies, and the new unemployment insurance, stimulus check, and proposed tax credit for sick leave is a huge win for freelancers and the self-employed. Perhaps we will emerge from this pandemic crisis with a more humanistic view on how to better care for all the citizens of this country.

About the author.
An award-winning creator and digital health, wellness, and lifestyle content strategist — Karina writes, edits, and produces compelling content across multiple platforms — including articles, video, interactive tools, and documentary film. Her work has been featured on MSN Lifestyle, Apartment Therapy, Goop, Psycom, Pregnancy & Newborn, Eat This Not That, thirdAGE, and Remedy Health Media digital properties.

Back away from the internet, dear reader. If you want to get more done, you may have to do less. It seems the greatest life hack we have for improving brain function, is giving it a goddamn break. As a productivity-focused society, we often want to be more efficient and focused. All anyone wants is to get more done, but the science has come back to let us know that in actuality, it’s our rest states that boost creativity and mental output.

When we are actively focused, the dorsal attention network, or DAT, is what’s actively firing away. When the mind wanders and we are awake but not necessarily focused, we slide into the DMN, or default mode network, and a ton of brain activity occurs there, too — like most of our processing, daydreaming, etc. Our brain functions best when it has the space to oscillate between these two states (which it does via the temporal circuit) so if you’ve ever felt bad for getting distracted in the middle of number crunching, coding, or planning and feel guilty about it, you may be comforted to learn your brain was designed to work that way.

Not all distractions are created equal. There are ways to get in your rest and distraction in a way that nourishes your mind and body better than say, binge watching stand-up comedy clips on YouTube or scrolling through Instagram. Our mind needs flexibility and freedom from screens and certain stimuli to truly tap into essential downtime. Here are a few ways to tune in and drop out of your mental mind games.

Take a specific nap

To get a several-hour-long energy boost, 5-15 minutes will suffice. Any more and you risk getting into that weird groggy zone because the brain will start a sleep cycle. If you want something deeper, like a high performance creative boost, REM is required, so a solid 90 minutes will be necessary. That’s enough to dream and move into wakefulness before the next cycle starts. Don’t go longer that that or else you end up in those weird “what dimension am I in?” places. Yikes.

Go for a walk … but let loose

Giving your brain time to unravel while the body moves can boost creativity for most (and increase test scores for some). If you can get outdoors, the effects increase, so think outside the box if you don’t have immediate access to nature. Maybe there’s a rooftop or park you can frequent (or you can be like this French guy and run a marathon on your balcony). It’s important to allow yourself to wander and observe what might delight you instead of going out with the goal of solving a problem.

Make some art

Whatever you like — painting, music, writing, dance — it’s all got benefits! Art can help us express things we don’t have the language for. There’s a deeper subconscious mode of expression you can tap into without having to think in a focus talking way. Through dance, you can let your body do the talking and processing. Journaling can help get thoughts and feelings down that may be crowding the mind. Music — both making it and listening to it — also has profound effects on healing, relaxation and mood. Beyond providing a venue to express yourself and allowing the DAT space to play, art therapy has been proven to shorten hospital stays and help patients with chronic fatigue. If you need a break to brighten your day, and even boost your immune system, try making, listening to, or gazing upon something beautiful.

Switch up your meditation style (or start meditating)

If you’ve been meditating with fixed attention (or not meditating at all), open-monitoring meditation (OMM) might be an interesting way to switch things up in your neurons. Instead of keeping the brain active, OMM encourages awareness of whatever comes to us internally or externally. So you could work with feelings or sensations inside your body like where you’re holding tension, flutters in your stomach, and relaxing muscles. Or you could stay open to the world around you noticing a breeze, sounds, or sources of the like that may affect even closed eyes. This is best for amplifying creating states and is closely related to vipassana meditation.

Conversely, focused attention meditation requires a specific point of focus and requires the mind to stay sharp as a razor on a particular point of focus. One of my favorites includes watching the flame of a candle, but you can also use the sensation of breath or counting breath. This improves attention and discipline. That’s great, but if you’re trying to tap into DMN, OM meditation is your best bet. It’s typically easier to see benefits for beginners and allows the mind to ungrip, without the emphasis on focus.

Many meditation practices like mindfulness, body scans, and loving kindness include combinations and play with the natural variance our mind likes to pop through — so be sure to try a few out to see what creates the best playground in your mind. (I love Journey Live as a place to try something different, but Headspace and Calm are also great places to start.)

Dream a little daydream

Maybe meditation is not for you right now. No problem. There are other ways to let the mind rest without even setting specific rest time to do so. Whether you’re distracted by a thought or simply allow the mind to wander, daydreaming has massive benefits for the psyche. After periods of focus, allowing thoughts to pop up — yes even the silly ones — can inspire creative problem-solving and new ideas. Need help tapping into this liminal space? Simple tasks like washing dishes, showering, and folding laundry can free up the mind while keeping your hands busy, so your next breakthrough idea can shine through.

Your mind needs space to process data, interactions, and all the stimuli of the day. Our minds are wildly active. So have your daydream, take your walk, and step away from the internet. Your brain will thank you.

About the author.
Alessandra is the mentor, educator, and writer behind Boneseed, a private practice devoted to deep self-inquiry through a range of physical, energetic, and mental modalities. She has over 500 hours of yoga, mentorship, and facilitation training and can be found slinging knowledge on her website, newsletter, and @bone.seed.

I’m sure, by now, you have settled into the new normal, you have stocked up on provisions to the best of your ability, you’ve considered your pet for employee of the month at your new office, and if you’re living with a partner or roommate, you’ve come up with an imaginary co-worker to blame everything on. Your office is a stable and friendly environment now that Sarah is taking all the blame for the dishes.

As a creative freelancer, the most valuable resource has always been “time.” Oh, how I always dreamed to just have enough time in a day to work on the projects I am assigned, as well as any personal artistic ventures I’ve left on my “Someday” shelf. So what happens when the assigned projects slip away as companies shutter their operations, your “Someday” shelf suddenly becomes your “Right Now” shelf, and you have all of the time in the world?

The first and most important thing to consider is the idea of prioritization. In a completely unstructured environment, priorities become the most important structure you can have. Make a list of your immediate concerns and goals for the foreseeable future and order them based on importance. This will help you at least compartmentalize the issues so they don’t get overwhelming.

I imagine money will fall at the top or near the top of that list, and as it should. For us creative professionals, with a lack of work comes a lack of money, and it’s a great idea to start thinking about that right away. You will not be able to create transcendent art if your mind is overcome with financial stress, so take a moment to do an inventory of your most valuable skills and start researching how you can apply them remotely. Can you teach a class via Skype? Can you send out some emails to old contacts and drum up some business that way? Can you create and monetize a podcast? If you at least begin to work towards financial stability in these unstable times, it will give your mind peace to focus on other projects.

Next, take some time for self-care. Don’t just dive head first into your personal projects and manically work towards finishing as many of them as you can so you can call yourself productive. They won’t be your best work, and you’ll drive yourself crazy! Take a moment to get in touch with yourself, maybe start a journal that you write in every morning, maybe find 5-10 minutes a day to meditate and get your thoughts in order. Once you have given yourself some time to adjust and adapt to the new normal, you will have a much easier time feeling productive when it’s time to work.

Finally, without structure, there is madness. Give yourself some structure. Decide when you will work on what. Maybe devote the first few hours of your day to job hunting and drumming up financial leads, and the second half of your day to creativity, and the evening for yourself. If you are more creative at night, then take the morning to take a nice healing walk, come back, work on business, and end the night with your personal ventures over some boxed wine and frozen pizza.

The most important thing is to not let yourself get overwhelmed by the amount you have to do, the amount of time you have, and the stress of maintaining your life. Take each minute, hour, or day as it comes and find your groove without forcing it. You will adapt. You will find a way through it, and you will come out more disciplined on the other side.

Now go tell Sarah to stop leaving her shoes all over the office, and finally hang that nice headshot of Mr. Sniffles on your wall, he’s worked hard to earn employee of the month, and he deserves the recognition!

About the author.
Greg Berman is a stand up comedian, writer, and actor in Los Angeles, CA. Although he spends most of his day as an artist creating content in any and every medium, he also moonlights as a copywriter and data analyst at night, in order to make enough money to feed his dog. A dog, he’d like you to know, that eats better than he does.

The social distancing recommendations we’re now under to tame the spread of COVID-19 are challenging many workers and workplaces to embrace teleworking for the first time. When the need inevitably arises to speak with team members or larger groups, conference calls can be a useful tool. Most people in the creative economy are familiar with conference calls, but what does it take for you to run an effective call?

These days, it’s easy to take conference calls for granted. We can communicate with colleagues in other parts of the city or world and in real time. But conference calls are also ridiculed for technological challenges, poor facilitation, or being an inefficient use of time. Here are some tips to run an effective conference call from seasoned remote workers.

Set an Agenda

Take the time to determine what it is you’re trying to accomplish and why a conference call is necessary to meet your objectives. If you can discuss something by email or in a phone call, do that instead. But there are times, especially when managing a team or working collaboratively, that conference calls are necessary.

Christina Schiavoni, an independent researcher and remote worker based in Bangkok, spends a significant amount of time on conference calls. She suggests creating an agenda with set times for each agenda item. Facilitators should “be realistic,” she adds, about how long each discussion will take and what can be accomplished in a single conference call.

Cyrus Zulkarnaïan Kazi, CEO and co-founder of Quantibly.com, a global SaaS solution for the social sector, limits conference calls to 15 people and 30 minutes. He gives participants a grace period of two minutes to join the call, and then the meeting begins. Working from New York with staff in multiple time zones and countries, he’s mindful that calls are productive, especially if someone has to get out of bed to participate.

Joann Lo is a longtime labor organizer based in Los Angeles who has mostly worked remotely for more than a decade. She prefers to dig into critical updates or priorities “at the beginning, when we’re all fresh, and we have everyone before anyone jumps off.” Then, each program area gives an update. Her advice is to keep calls to less than an hour and a half; after that, it’s hard to concentrate. Without a tight agenda, people can easily lose focus during a conference call, scanning emails or distracted by kids or pets at home (which is all the more relevant these days).

Allow Time for Personal Check-ins

Schiavoni suggests that facilitators build in time for hellos and personal check-ins at the start of a call. “It’s going to happen anyway,” she notes, “so let people connect on a human level.” This is perhaps even more critical now, with anxiety running high and people feeling isolated in light of COVID-19.

Lo also starts conference calls with time and space for interpersonal connection. Intended to both celebrate good things or express difficulties, this kind of team building and emotional support sets the tone for the rest of the call.

Get it in Writing

Have a designated notetaker — who is not the facilitator — during the call. Be sure to capture any action items and recap them at the end of the call. Share meeting notes with participants in a timely manner.

Lo prefers to take shared notes in Google docs, in real time, which helps “if you get distracted and need to catch up.” It also assists those with different learning styles and makes notetaking a shared responsibility.

Most conference call applications have the option to record a meeting and send a link to participants and folks who were unable to join the call. But not everyone will make the time to listen to a recorded version, so written notes are also useful.
Find Ways to Include People

Video conferencing options are also effective at including people in discussions. Participants can raise their hands and the moderator can create a stack for comments. Or they can mute participants and put questions in the comments.

On large calls, small group discussions with separate video chats are an option. Then, they can return and report back to the larger group, similar to group work during an in-person meeting. Lo points out that people who are not comfortable speaking to the larger group can be included in this way.

On large voice calls with fewer technology options, remind people to set their phones on mute at the start of the call and explain how to mute and unmute the line before speaking. You can give people an opportunity to speak according to their physical location or alphabetically by name or department to prevent crosstalk.

Remember to Pause

There is a learning curve for people unaccustomed to new conference call technology or in organizations without a standard way of operating on these calls. As a moderator, don’t forget to take a pause. Not everyone will arrive on time, things may not go smoothly every time, but overall, people will have an opportunity to communicate and collaborate.

Participants can practice pausing before speaking and consider whether a question or comment is necessary at this moment. Moderators can agree to respond to unaddressed questions by email after the call.

COVID-19 and social distancing are challenging many of us to work in unfamiliar ways. But hosting an effective conference call can be easy if you follow these guidelines.

About the author.
Jess Powers writes about marketing, food, and wellness. She has experience in nonprofit communications and emergency management. Follow her @foodandfury.

Are you suddenly working remotely because of COVID-19? Perhaps it’s for the first time or it’s just not in your comfort zone. Here are some of my thoughts on how to succeed at working remotely — even if it’s new for you.

As someone with asthma and prone to respiratory illness, I’ve long bemoaned the tendency of people to show up to work when sick and spread infection to others. And I’ve worked in emergency management, where a basic tenet is don’t add to the emergency.

So it comes as no surprise that the public health emergency response to COVID-19 (or novel coronavirus) recommends that businesses prepare for or implement work from home for their employees if possible. By now, coronavirus is officially a pandemic, and our inboxes are flooded with status reports from organizations, most events are canceled, and many states have declared a state of emergency. Social distancing is an effective way to slow the spread of COVID-19 and perhaps you’re doing your part by working remotely for the first time.

For me, I was an early advocate of remote work, and was met with lots of resistance from leadership — particularly baby boomers — in the workplace. They were afraid of productivity issues — even though remote work is increasingly popular, the technology and tools make it easy to do, and the research shows that remote workers are more productive. As a copywriter, I find it much easier to concentrate in a library quiet setting. At home, I can also indulge in my writing process (which may involve pacing around and thinking aloud) rather than being lumped together in an open office setting.

To my surprise, some of my friends who have the option of working remotely prefer not to do so, mostly because they get distracted or enjoy being around other people. If that’s you, or you just aren’t accustomed to working remotely, here are some of the things that work for me.

Have the Technology Set Up for Success

Communicate to your employer right away if you don’t have access to adequate technology to effectively work from home. It’s okay to not be familiar with the tools that people use to collaborate and work remotely, especially if that wasn’t a job expectation before. If this is the first time that you’re participating in a Zoom meeting or using new technology yourself, ask for help and factor that learning time into your workday.

Be sure to follow any security protocols that your IT team shares. If some people on your team aren’t as tech savvy or you’re not using cloud based platforms and are concerned about confidential information, this is especially important. Bad actors are already exploiting fear of COVID-19 online. If your office didn’t have a plan in place, it might take a few days to iron things out. Accept that it’s part of the process of responding to an emergency like COVID-19.

Have a Designated Workspace

Personally, I like to work at the kitchen table. It’s where I did homework as a kid, I can easily access water or coffee, and mostly importantly, it’s completely free of distractions. I take everything off the table and put all the things I need to do at home out of my mind.

Some people find it difficult to blur the lines between work and home life. If you have a partner or roommate who works remotely, kids, or pets, it might be more challenging to set those boundaries. I know people who get dressed as if they were going into the office when they work remotely. That distinction helps them to get into work mode (and they feel more comfortable during video calls). Figure out what works best for you.

Be Disciplined and Accountable

I think it’s important to have strong time and project management skills to be effective at working remotely. That’s easy for me. Work time is work time, whether I’m doing it in lounge pants and avoiding a stressful commute or crammed three to an office.

In fact, one of the drivers of periods of intense concentration for me is the freedom that my downtime has when working remotely. I can eat healthier and there isn’t a continuous supply of treats in the break room. I can take care of an errand, do some stretches, or belt out a song rather than being bogged down in interpersonal office drama or wasting time chitchatting.

That sense of personal discipline and accountability can be reinforced by effective communication within supervisory relationships and among colleagues.

Be Overly Communicative

Communicate clearly — and often — with your colleagues when working remotely. Many companies use a platform like Slack or project management tools to have easy communication and clear timelines.

For me, I mostly work in G Suite and with social media platforms. I use project management tools personally, but not as part of a team. So it’s important to send those emails: update people on your status, recap any decisions made or next steps, and ask questions.

Relatedly, it’s important to hold others accountable. You need to have persistence in reaching other people. If you require an answer within a certain timeframe or if their input is necessary for you to proceed to the next step in a project, be sure to set expectations around response times.

Since you can’t walk up to people for a quick question, and some people are less reliable by email or genuinely prefer verbal communication, you might have to pick up the phone (even if you dread it!). Similarly, if you’re going back and forth more than a few times by email and can’t seem to understand each other, just pick up the phone.

One leader I know says that she worries about the people she doesn’t hear from. It sounds simple, but I’ve observed that, in general, people who don’t succeed at working remotely communicate poorly, are difficult to access, and don’t have much to account for their day.

It’s easy to show progress on a project. If you don’t have a tangible outcome yet, simply send an end of day email describing what steps you took towards your goal and outline any help you might need to progress further.

Find Ways to Deal with Social Isolation

Since I don’t need the social aspect of an office every day, and I wind up calling a lot of people for interviews or participating in conference calls, I can sometimes forget to plan for social interaction. I like to occasionally work with friends, so sometimes I’ll plan a co-working day, where we hold each other accountable to focus and do work, and enjoy lunch together.

With COVID-19, those of us who work remotely were relying on events for social time and most of those were canceled. It’s important to be proactive, so call or FaceTime loved ones or schedule in-person time to hangout. That’s not in my comfort zone, so I’ll be working on that.

You Will Meet In Person Eventually

This period of social distancing will end. Maybe you still won’t like working remotely or maybe you’ll decide to advocate for more flexibility in your workplace. The folks behind one of my favorite productivity tools, Trello, put together this fantastic guide about embracing remote work. If you work remotely in the long term, it’s helpful to meet in person periodically and it goes a long way towards understanding your team at a deeper level.

Stay safe and well.

About the author.
Jess Powers writes about marketing, food, and wellness. She has experience in nonprofit communications and emergency management. Follow her @foodandfury.

We <3 You, Ladies.

Madonna. Florence and the Machine. Dolly Parton. Aretha Franklin. Katy Perry. Beyonce. Billie Eilish. Christine and the Queens. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Shania Twain. Kelis. Stevie Nicks. Demi Lovato. India. Sheryl Crow. Dixie Chicks. Lady Gaga. Helen Reddy. Melissa Etheridge. We <3 you, ladies.

It’s March, traditionally a time we honor women via Women’s History Month — but this year’s celebration has been overshadowed by news surrounding the novel coronavirus. As we settle into our new normal, here’s a bright spot to help take your mind off of everything it’s been consumed by … and it may even be the perfect soundtrack as you work from home.

Check out this Spotify playlist put together by the music mavens at Creative Circle. Titled Women at Work, this musical ode is an homage to all the ladies out there that are breaking barriers and honing their hustle.

Click here to view the playlist.

A few cool facts we bet you didn’t know about some of the artists on our fantastic playlist (if we do say so, ourselves).

ARETHA FRANKLIN

Aretha Franklin’s feminist anthem ‘Respect,’ the powerhouse hit that skyrocketed her to fame at the age of 24, was written by a man. Yes, written by a man. The fact that this iconic song was originally written and recorded by Otis Redding makes Aretha Franklin’s interpretation of the song — and its message of empowerment — all the more powerful.

STEVIE NICKS

At one point—before fame, fortune, or Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham lived together in extreme poverty, sleeping together on a single mattress strewn directly on the floor, no money for a bed frame. The song “Gypsy is about um … going back to the gypsy that I was prior to Fleetwood Mac,” says Stevie Nicks. In later interviews, Nicks shares that she would take her mattress off the frame, “back to the floor” to get back to her gypsy roots — literally, figuratively — when her famous life felt cloying and overwhelming.

DOLLY PARTON

Not only is she beloved as one of the most iconic country music stars, Dolly Parton, born in a one-room cabin with little electricity and no indoor plumbing, went on to release 41 Top-10 country albums, 25 number one singles, and has gone on to amass a net worth of $600 million — and counting. Born the fourth of 12 children, her parents didn’t have the money to pay the doctor who delivered her — so they gave him a bag of oatmeal instead. Her humble beginnings inspired her to be super smart about her business. Dolly launched her own publishing company early on, hanging on to the rights of all her songs — part of what’s made her one of the most successful musical artists ever.

LIZZO

Lizzo, the body-positive singer-songwriter-rapper making major waves in the music industry, started her musical career in a somewhat unexpected place: as a member of her elementary school’s band! Yes, Lizzo is a classically trained flautist who went on to play in the marching band at the University of Houston before becoming the mega-pop star she is today. And she can do something really unique: play flute and twerk at the same time — it’s a bit racy but awe-inspiring: check it here.

MADONNA

One of music’s most radical icons is also its wealthiest. Born in Michigan in 1958, this famous musician was the third of six children in a working-class Italian-American family. Cheers to you, Madonna, for being the wealthiest woman in the music biz, with a net worth of $850 million — and for showing us what grit, determination, and talent can achieve.

. . . . . . . .

We hope you find inspiration in this music and amazing musicians. In these unusual times, we are happy to bring you a break from the coronavirus — let’s celebrate the genius of these (mostly) female artists and get our groove on!

About the author.
An award-winning creator and digital health, wellness, and lifestyle content strategist — Karina writes, edits, and produces compelling content across multiple platforms — including articles, video, interactive tools, and documentary film. Her work has been featured on MSN Lifestyle, Apartment Therapy, Goop, Psycom, Pregnancy & Newborn, Eat This Not That, thirdAGE, and Remedy Health Media digital properties.