Celebrating victories and milestones is always more fun with friends! For our 100th She Said/She Said Episode, my friend — the fabulous Dana Perino– joined me! 

Dana is host of Fox News Channel’s “The Daily Briefing,” co-host of “The Five,” and co-host of the “I’ll tell you what” podcast with Chris Stirewalt. Dana was the first Republican woman to serve as White House Press Secretary. She served for seven years of President George W. Bush’s two terms in office, including at the Department of Justice just after 9/11. Dana has also written two best-selling books. 

In our conversation, Dana and I look back over her career and talk about lessons she’s learned and perspective that she’s gained, what she learned working in the White House, and her tips for converting worry and fear into energy. Dana’s optimistic outlook has long served her well, and is an important reminder of the power of perspective, especially right now. 

One of the topics I especially loved in this conversation was Dana’s perspective on pivoting from speaking on behalf of a principal — in her case a President of the United States — to becoming the principal herself. On She Said/She Said, we often talk about the challenge associated with finding and using our voice, and how criticism — even from trolls — can cause us to second-guess ourselves. You’ll appreciate Dana’s advice. She says, find a way to block out the trolls and don’t spend too much time focusing on what others may think or say. Know who you are, stay focused, fine tune as needed, but give yourself room to breathe and you’ll figure it out. Such great advice! 

We also talked about her book —  “And the good news is….Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side” — and what she learned about herself as she wrote and reflected on her story. Often, when I’ve talked to women who have written their stories, it’s only after looking back that they see some pattern they hadn’t noticed before. Dana realized that while she always had a big picture plan, she never could have planned for the twists and turns her life would take. And if she had planned her life with more detail, she might have been more closed to opportunities that presented themselves along the way. I heard similar perspective from Carly Fiorina when I interviewed her in Episode 57. 

Dana and I also talked about “Minute Mentoring” a mentorship program she started together with Dee Martin and Jamie Elise Zuieback to give back to other women who are just launching their careers. 

With so many people bringing pets into their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dana and I talked about how her beloved Vizsla Jasper has helped her form stronger bonds, including with those who don’t share her political views. She writes about this in her book “Let me tell you about Jasper.”

Regardless of your path, I think you’ll find Dana’s experience, life lessons, and perspective incredibly relatable and inspiring. 

NOTE: Upon reaching our 100th episode …. Just a word of thanks to you, our amazing listener!  I am truly honored to have you alongside me for these first 100 episodes. I hope that the insights, advice and perspective you are hearing in these conversations are giving you great food for thought, providing you with insight and inspiration, and most importantly, helping to make your own journey — whatever it may be — just a little bit easier.  I continue to be so gratified by your support and enthusiastic feedback, and I truly love hearing from you! Please keep it coming! You can reach me via the website or email me: laura@lauracoxkaplan.net and you can follow me on Instagram @lauracoxkaplan or @sheSaidSheSaidPodcast 

Thanks so much for being part of She Said/She Said! Here’s to the next 100! xo