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?
Aria Finger: Unfortunately, like many millennials, I check my phone even before I pee or brush my teeth.
TG: What gives you energy?
AF: Meeting new people and hanging out with my 2-year-old son.
TG: What’s your secret life hack?
AF: I swear this is not a joke: getting sleep. I’ve always been a 9-hour gal. Now that I have a kid, I definitely don’t get 9 hours every night but I get as much as possible and never apologize about it.
TG: Name a book that changed your life.
AF: The New Jim Crow. I’m passionate about criminal justice reform and statistics and that book packed a punch of both.
TG: How do you deal with email?
AF: Is it weird to say I don’t hate it? I’d much prefer you email me than reach out on Facebook Messenger or anything else.
TG: You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do with it?
AF: Walk. Gotta get those 10,000 steps no matter what happens.
TG: When was the last time you felt you failed and how did you overcome it?
AF: Whew. I fail every day. I try to overcome failure with honest self-assessments and going to people I love and trust for advice.
Aria is CEO of DoSomething.org, the largest tech company exclusively for young people and social change with 5.5 million members in 131 countries. In 2013, she founded TMI Strategy, a strategic consultancy, that has brought in over $6million for DoSomething to date. Finger graduated with an econ degree from WashU in St. Louis and is an adjunct professor NYU. She was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2016 and has a fabulous husband and an adorable son named Luke.
Originally published at journal.thriveglobal.com