Genevieve was a TV executive in NYC for 20 years when a little girl’s question changed the course of her life – and she jumped off the corporate ladder. She began delivering pajamas and books to children in shelters and in 2001 founded Pajama Program, a national non-profit which is recognized for both its success – to date having delivered 7 million new pajamas and new books to children – and Genevieve’s story. Genevieve is a professional speaker and consultant, inspiring people to listen to their heart-voice connection to achieve success. Her first book: Purpose, Passion and Pajamas: How to Transform Your Life, Embrace the Human Connection and Lead with Meaning, was just released on August 4th. Genevieve has been interviewed on various media including OPRAH, TODAY, GMA, CNN, Fox & Friends, O Magazine and Forbes and is the recipient of many awards.

• CEO Hack: I meditate and try to be gentle with everybody
• CEO Nugget: Listen to your heart voice
• CEO Defined: Passion, Equity and a little bit of possession

Website: https://www.genevievepiturro.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pajamaprogram
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genevievepiturro
Twitter: https://twitter.com/genpiturro
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GenPiturro

Book: https://www.genevievepiturro.com/book

FULL INTERVIEW

Check out one of our favorite CEO Hack’s Audible. Get your free audiobook and check out more of our favorite CEO Hacks HERE

Transcription

The full transcription is only available to CBNation Library Members. Sign up today! 

Please Note: Our team is using the AI CEO Hacks: Exemplary AI and Otter.ai to support our podcast transcription. While we know it's improving there may be some inaccuracies, we are updating and improving them. Please contact us if you notice any issues, you can also test out Exemplary AI here.

[00:00:02.20] – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

[00:00:31.30] – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gretch from the I AM CEO podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Genevieve Paturro of genevievepiturro.com. Genevieve, it's awesome to have you on the show.

[00:00:41.00] – Genevieve Piturro

Hi, Gresh. Lovely to be here.

[00:00:43.39] – Gresham Harkless

No problem. Super excited to have you on. And before we jump in, I want to read a little bit more about Genevieve, so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Genevieve was a TV executive in NYC for twenty years when a little girl's question changed the course of her life, and she jumped off the corporate ladder. She began delivering pajamas and books to children in shelters, and in 2000 thousand she founded the Pajama Program, a national nonprofit that is recognized for both its success, to date has delivered seven million new pajamas and new books to children and Genevieve's story. Genevieve is a professional speaker and consultant inspiring people to listen to their heart and heart voice connections to achieve success.

Her first book, Purpose and Passion Purpose, Passion in Pajamas, How to Transform Your Life, Embrace the Human Connection, and Lead with Meaning was just released on August 4. Genevieve has been interviewed on various media, including Oprah, Today, Good Morning America, CNN, Fox and Friends, O Magazine, and Forbes, and is the recipient of very many awards. Genevieve, great to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

[restrict paid=”true”]

[00:01:49.20] – Genevieve Piturro

I'm ready, Gresh.

[00:01:50.40] – Gresham Harkless

Let's do it. So to kick everything off, I know I touched on it a little bit. I wanted to hear a little bit more about your CEO story. What led you to get started with all the awesome things you're working on?

[00:01:59.90] – Genevieve Piturro

Well, you know, growing up, the first of four in an Italian family, and I mean Italian, my father off the boat, wanted us to get an education. That's why he came to this country. You know, his father brought him here. And, I also think because there were two girls and two boys, he expected the girls to have a family, you know, grandchildren. But education was always first. And for some reason, I did not have that ticking clock to have children, but I did have that Mary Tyler Moore clock. I wanted to be Mary Tyler Moore. I wanted to be the woman VP or president of something in TV journalism, and everything she did, I just loved. I wanted to be single. I wanted to be successful. I wanted to live on my own in a big city. I watched her, you know, late at night hiding, you know, when I wasn't supposed to be up, and I was on my way.

So, that's where I was headed. I went to college as my dad wanted, but I got a job and I wanted a career. So, you know, I know that both my parents were a little unsure of what I was doing as the first of their four, but there was no question in my mind. So I did that. I started working in Manhattan, and became a workaholic very quickly, climbing the corporate ladder of the corporate of the television syndication business, which is basically reruns. And I loved it. And it was a time when money was flowing in the eighties. Never been a time like that since, which is which is a good thing looking back and, you know, through my life now. But, it was a really good life, and I and I loved it. And what happened, Brezh, is that in my late thirties, being single, living in the, you know, in, Riverdale right outside Manhattan, having this really great job and fun life. I heard a voice in me one afternoon in my coop, and it was just me.

And though I looked around when I heard it, I knew where it came from, and it came from my heart. And it wasn't a voice in my head. I have those too. But the voice said to me in a whisper, if this is the next thirty years of your life, is it enough? And it was it was such a shock first to hear it. I sat down, and instantly, I knew the answer was no. I had missed something. There was something in my heart that made me ask myself that question that was missing, and I realized I was alone. I would be alone. I was working so hard. I was having fun, but it meant nothing. It wasn't helping anyone. It was making people rich and successful. I had nice things, but it was empty. In a second, that came to me. And I had I knew I had to make a change.

[00:05:01.69] – Gresham Harkless

That's extremely powerful. And I mean, I think there are so many people that probably are listening to this and can definitely resonate with that and kinda going through, I guess, the the the day in day activities and operation and being driven towards reaching goals and aspirations and sometimes we kind of forget or maybe our reminder might be a better way to say it of what we ultimately want to do. Not to say that what we're doing isn't necessarily that, but just maybe there needs to be a time to kind of pivot or make a shift.

[00:05:32.39] – Genevieve Piturro

Yeah. It came to me in that way, you know, and it's never too late. But, of course, I thought, you know, people who had those moments or changed their lives so dramatically to do good where, you know, famous, rich people or people from history change the world. I didn't think ordinary people could have that epiphany or have that voice. And maybe we all do. We don't listen to it. And maybe I've had it a million times before that day, and that was the day I listened to it.

[00:06:02.19] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. It's so funny that you say that because I always felt like I was a big believer that sometimes we get small signs, and then they start to build up and get louder, and it starts to really shake you. Right? Exactly. Exactly. Especially for hard-headed people like me, a lot of times, you have to get that to really know that you need to make that change. So I think

[00:06:18.30] – Genevieve Piturro

you're right.

[00:06:19.00] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. So, I guess, tell me a little bit about what that change encompasses, what exactly you position to do, and how you create that organization that provides so much value.

[00:06:28.30] – Genevieve Piturro

Sure. Well, I didn't know what to do in that moment. So I immediately knew a couple of things that, what I was doing had no meaning other than its financial, really, and status, you know because I wanted something. I had colleagues and my you know, everyone was on the same path. But I wanted to find something that made a difference. And when I realized at thirty-eight, I didn't have children. Obviously, I knew that. I didn't just realize at that moment, but I realized it was probably a little late to start figuring that part out. I thought how else can I get children in my life because I knew that was missing?

And with nephews and nieces, I loved and adored. I wanted more of that, a little closer to me. And I thought I could read to children in shelters maybe. I read the papers, we all do, see the news reports of, you know, what happens to some of these children who are brought to shelters, what happened to bring them there, and it was horrific. And pre-09:11, you could do what I did. I simply called the police, and I asked them where do you bring the children that are harmed in the middle of the night that we read about? Where do they go? Who takes care of them? And they gave me some names of shelters. I started calling around, and I literally said to anyone who answered, hi. I'm a nice lady. Can I come and reach the kids at night after work? Again, before 09:11 Mhmm.

[00:07:56.39] – Gresham Harkless

You could do that.

[00:07:56.89] – Genevieve Piturro

And I was well received. I said, how lovely. Sure. Come on in. So there, off I went in my business suit with a bag full of children's storybooks off to the shelters. And the first time, I'll never forget, I was obviously ridiculously overdressed in in ridiculous costume compared to what was really what my reality was gonna be within five minutes there. And there weren't places for me to sit because it was a pretty bare room in a shelter that was, I think it was hidden because I had to be escorted up. And I was told by police and some other people that a lot of them don't even have a name on the door. You know, there are emergency shelters for women sometimes who are running with a baby or children. So I was sitting, I went up, there was a very bare room. There weren't chairs that I could sit in. There were small little chairs, so I sat on the floor, my bag, in my business suit.

And in comes a group of about a dozen kids with a staffer, and they were they were just so meek. There were about a dozen boys and girls. They were maybe five to eight years old. They quietly came in. They saw me sitting on the floor. They sat on the floor with me. I opened the bag and took out a book. I was so I was a fish out of water. They were so quiet. I don't know what I was thinking. I was just so ignorant. I thought I'd make a party. It was not a party atmosphere. So I started to read the stories and it was very quiet, and I was very quiet. And I showed the pictures like the teacher does. So this happened week after week, different places I'd go to. Some might return, always different children. And one night, I got up and I followed where the staff were taking these children to go to sleep in the other room. And I peered in and it broke my heart. It was all it had in there were two or three or four couches or or futons or cots, single single beds like a child's bed.

And if there were, you know, more than the number of beds of children, then they would be coupled up, two or three on the surface. Some of them were hugging, some of them were crying, nothing to change into. The staff were lovely, but it wasn't the bedtime I had. And I immediately went back I was flooded with memories going back to when my mom had bedtime for us four kids. It was so much fun. We put our pajamas on, you know, we protested, we don't wanna put our pajamas on. She'd bring us a snack, we'd want more snacks, we'd giggle, she'd read us the stories or she'd make up stories. We had warm pajamas and we got to pick which ones we wanted to wear.

She snuggled with us, she tucked us in, kissed us and, you know, I love you, sweet dreams, and off we went. Back, you know, right to sleep into dreams. Never afraid. Always just took for granted she'd be there in the morning and everything would be okay even if we had a bad day. So all of that just came racing into my brain, and that's what I remembered. And as they were as they were leading me out the door, I turned and said, do you think I could bring some pajamas next week? I don't know why I said that. It just sort of fell out of my mouth. And the woman said, oh, that would be so nice. No one's ever thought of that. We try to do the best we can, but that would be so nice. So all week, you know I didn't think about my job. All I could think about were those kids and how many pajamas and how many kids. No one can tell me who'd be there. And I went shopping nearly every night looking for sales, buying every size, every shape I could so that not one child would be left out.

[00:11:47.00] – Gresham Harkless

Could you take us through exactly, like, what you're doing with the organization and what you feel kinda sets that organization apart and makes it unique and secret sauce, so to speak?

[00:11:54.70] – Genevieve Piturro

I think early on, because I didn't tell many people, because I really was I didn't know how it would be received. You know? I couldn't imagine telling my colleagues, and, actually, I did try to tell a friend of mine, and she laughed at me. And that set me back emotionally from telling anybody else. So I went to my parents, and, my dad was a little skeptical, but it came around. My mother understood. You know, she's she's a wonderful mother. She's a loving mother. She got it. And she figured all the other stuff about making a living would come. And at this at the time, you know, sometimes not sometimes. She doesn't say sometimes. Always. When you're on your path, the universe is your partner. Right?

[00:12:34.00] – Gresham Harkless

Mhmm.

[00:12:34.29] – Genevieve Piturro

You're you're nodding, so you get it.

[00:12:36.20] – Gresham Harkless

Yes.

[00:12:37.20] – Genevieve Piturro

And I met a man who was the right man. And he was the right man because when I told him what I was thinking about doing, he said go for it. He didn't say what about your money? What about our money? What about this? What so, anyway, from that moment on, I had somebody whose support meant everything to me. My mom's so I had two cheerleading squad members, I say. And that is that is so necessary for anyone starting anything to have those people rallying for you because there'll be plenty of naysayers. So because it was so small and it was just me and then my husband helped me and my mom was cheering me on, I had to pick something small. So I thought bedtime. It was horrific what I saw, pajamas and books. That's all I could manage. And for twenty years, next year, pajamas probably will be twenty years. I did this for two or three years before getting our 05:01 c three because I didn't even know what that was. That's a whole other story.

[00:13:28.60] – Gresham Harkless

I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

[00:13:38.20] – Genevieve Piturro

Oh, I meditate every morning.

[00:13:40.00] – Gresham Harkless
Mhmm.

[00:13:40.70] – Genevieve Piturro

I would say that first. I lead with I try to, if I have a hard time with something or someone, I try to imagine that there might be something going on that's below the surface. So before taking it personally, I try to be gentler, and maybe that's something that's come out of the last six months for me. I'd like to say I've always been that way, but I have been so conscious of it now because so many things are not personal that I think we take as being personal. And I think if we take a breath and and say there might be something really difficult for this person in the moment, and I happen to be the one that's standing here with that person.

[00:14:28.60] – Gresham Harkless

Exactly. Exactly. And so now I wanted to ask you for what I call CEO nuggets. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something if you were to hop into a time machine, would tell your younger business self.

[00:14:40.10] – Genevieve Piturro

Listen to your heart's voice. Listen to it. It's it's talking. And if you don't hear it, ask it to speak up.

[00:14:47.29] – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. And so now I wanna ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So, Genevieve, what does being a CEO mean to you?

[00:14:56.79] – Genevieve Piturro

I would say, the first thing that comes to mind is an acronym, and I would say compassion, equity, and that's a good o. I would say we all need a little pizzazz, so maybe a little play.

[00:15:09.00] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. I absolutely love that, and I feel like that Olay goes right in line with passion and, you know, all those things we need, a little bit or a lot of bit of Olay in our lives. So, I love that acronym and that definition and that perspective because it just kinda encompasses everything, that you talked about and that, we should all be standing for. So truly appreciate that, and I appreciate your time even more. What What I wanted to do is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and listeners know, and, of course, how best they can get a copy of the book and hear about all the awesome things you're working on.

[00:15:40.00] – Genevieve Piturro

Everything is on my website, genevievepiturro.com. Of course, the pajamaprogram.org is where you can find all things the Pajama Program. And my book, audiobook, and Kindle ebook will be on Amazon. So that's where you can find everything and everyone.

[00:15:57.29] – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much, Genevieve. What we'll do is we'll have the links and information in the show notes as well too so that everybody can click through and and and, and get a copy of the book and find out about all the awesome things. I thank you so much for that, and I thank you so much for what you do, I hope you have a great rest of the day.

[00:16:11.89] – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

[/restrict]