Epicurious & NutritionData's Healthy Dinner Tonight
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Profiles - Your Stories
 Heidi Roizen - The Power of Small, Daily, Incremental Changes
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Brief Description of Yourself: I am a Silicon Valley native, entrepreneur, mom to two great kids, two dogs, and wife to a wonderful man.
1) What do you believe makes you special or interesting?
Well, I got to ‘grow up’ career-wise, at the beginning of the personal computer era, with a ringside seat (actually, in the ring) as the co-founder and CEO of a software company, T/Maker. I was one of the very few women with such a position, and on top of that, my undergrad was creative writing, not engineering, so I was really a petunia in the proverbial onion patch!
2) What kind of effect have you had, or would like to have on the world?
A theme of my life right now is the power of small, daily, incremental things you can do to change your life — or the lives of others. I believe that my impact on the world has been pretty small, but where I have been able to impact it, it is in a very positive way. As a CEO, I worked to create a culture of mutual respect, and opportunity for all employees based on ability, not gender. As a wife, I try to honor my husband, be a source of calm and strength for him, and support him in his efforts with third world medical relief and with the defense of our country (when he was in the Special Forces.) As a mother, I aim to raise two daughters who are kind, responsible, interested in learning and in helping, and positive forces in the world. With SkinnySongs, I have tried to bring a fun but supporting voice to the struggles so many of us have, in a way that helps people to reach their weight goals — and am gratified by daily fan mail that tells me it is working! Finally, as an outside board member, I work hard to help any organization with which I am involved reach higher heights while still keeping the backbone of ethics in place.
3) How do you "Get More Out of Life"?
I set goals and work daily to achieve them. However, I make sure to find time in each day to express love, to laugh, to enjoy the moment and the wonderful place in which we live, and to recognize how blessed I am with my family and friends.
4) Did you overcome obstacles - take risks - get lucky?
A bit of everything! Of course there is luck, but there is also putting yourself in a place where luck can happen, and having yourself prepared for capitalizing on that luck when it hits.
5) What have you done that no one would guess you'd done upon first meeting you?:
I ran a puppet theatre from age 12 to age 18.
6) What is still left to be done in your life?:
SO much! Raise my children. Finish my book and maybe write more. Keep my body in shape so I can maximize what life has to offer (this being a daily battle!) I am now entering a phase where I am devoting a fair bit of my work life to corporate governance and I look forward to taking on new challenges in that regard. And I have some “.org” activities I am working on that excite me as well!
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