When you have the opportunity to ask some of the most interesting people in the world about their lives, sometimes the most fascinating answers come from the simplest questions. The Thrive Questionnaire is an ongoing series that gives an intimate look inside the lives of some of the world’s most successful people.
Thrive Global: What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?
Lauren Bush Lauren: Go to see my son James.
TG: What gives you energy?
LBL: Being actively engaged in creating something that is meaningful to me – and coffee!
TG: Thrive Global: What’s your secret life hack?
LBL: Still in search of a life hack.
TG: Name a book that changed your life.
LBL: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
TG: Tell us about your relationship with your phone. Does it sleep with you?
LBL: It sleeps across the room from me, charging and on silent. I have a love/hate relationship with my phone as I know I am way too reliant on it, but it does enable me to be so productive and tuned-in no matter where I am.
TG: How do you deal with email?
LBL: I try and answer the most urgent emails in the morning and make a list each day to help me prioritize what else needs my attention the rest of the day.
TG: You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do with it?
LBL: Call my 94-year-old Grandma.
TG: When was the last time you felt burned out and why?
LBL: Being a mom of a toddler means that you are constantly burning the candle on both ends. Last time I felt burnt out was when my son not so long ago was not sleeping through the night, which meant I had to get up after 3-4 hours of sleep and carry on with a full work day after that. I am an 8 hours of sleep kind of gal, so 3-4 hours does not cut it for me.
TG: When was the last time you felt you failed and how did you overcome it?
LBL: As a CEO of FEED, I constantly question if I am making the right strategic decisions for the company, the team, and our greater mission of helping feed children in need. Often failures are our greatest teachers. I tend to overcome the feeling of failure by focusing on the greater purpose and intention behind what we are doing, which always puts things in perspective.
TG: Share a quote that you love and that gives you strength or peace.
LBL: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”- Mahatma Ghandi
Lauren Bush Lauren is the founder and CEO of FEED. A native of Texas,
Lauren attended Princeton University where she majored in Anthropology. As a
sophomore, Lauren had the opportunity to travel with the UN World Food
Programme. While visiting regions across Central America, Asia and Africa,
Lauren witnessed firsthand the realities of poverty and hunger that people are
facing all over the world. Using this experience as an inspiration, Lauren
founded FEED as a tangible way for her peers to make an impact in fighting
childhood hunger.
FEED is an impact driven lifestyle brand, making products that help feed
the children of the world. Across a variety of categories, from bags to jewelry
to home goods, the sale of each FEED product provides direct meal donations to
children in need across the globe. Through on the ground partners, FEED has
provided more than 95 million meals to-date since 2007.