The Human Experience · Episode

Episode 93 – Simonetta Lein – Fashion Icon, Wishmaker on Integrity, Entrepreneurship & Service

A conversation with Simonetta Lein

The future indeed looks bright when millennials like Italian-born Simonetta Lein, 34, share life on this planet with us. Those who have seen her on fashion magazine covers, and in the pages within them, may,…

Published
April 24, 2017
Runtime
29:54
Portrait or artwork for Episode 93 – Simonetta Lein – Fashion Icon, Wishmaker on Integrity, Entrepreneurship & Service

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The future indeed looks bright when millennials like Italian-born Simonetta Lein, 34, share life on this planet with us. Those who have seen her on fashion magazine covers, and in the pages within them, may, at first glance, not realize the depths to which this fashion icon’s heart and soul go.

In her thus far short time in the world, Lein has graced big-name fashion publications — both as a model and as a writer — beginning with Vanity Fair Italy. Now she is a regular contributor to such fashion staple publications as The Italio Americano, Vogue Italia, Elle Italy, la Repubblica, Style Italy, Destination Luxury, Philadelphia Metro, Splash, Heaven Has Heels, and Pink Trotters. American fashion-philes may have come across Lein’s fashion and lifestyle column in The Huffington Post. She is also part of the Forbes Under 30 contributors.

On top of all that writing, Lein maintains her own blog, which is tied to her pet project, which came to fruition in 2015, The WishWall Foundation, where small miracles are born almost every day. The inspiration grew from her 2013 book, Tutto ció che si vuole, chronicling her 2010 travels through India. It was a private journal she showed a friend, who showed a book editor, who wanted it published. The book, now in English (Everything Is Possible: A Novel About the Power of Dreams), is available on Amazon.

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When You Wish Upon A Star

Lein describes her eclectic childhood as “unconventional.” In a small, rural Northern Italian town, her homeopathic doctor dad and psychotherapist mom exposed her to a colorful world outside the small-town cultural comfort zone. Her mom established a cultural center which entertained noticeably foreign visitors, shocking the small-town villagers. She appreciates the diversity she was exposed to, though, at the time, she felt out of place, she explained in a recent
LA Splash interview.

Lein also said she was close to completing a follow-up novel. And she’s created her own clothing line, along with designer Shahida Parides. She called the limited edition dress collection “ultra-chic and wearable” and complimentary to all body types. Each sale of Lein’s clothing shares 30% with The WishWall Foundation.

Since setting up shop in Philadelphia with her husband, Lein works tirelessly to try to live the love that her life and her journeys have taught her. The WishWall Foundation was inspired by her novel about the power of wishes, and operates on the “pay it forward” concept. She wondered what it would be like if there was an actual forum where people could share their wishes and dreams and help each other reach them.

“So, it began as my dream, which turned into a blog, which blossomed into the foundation and online community,” she told LA Splash,. Besides the online community, there are physical WishWalls, like the one in Philadelphia that has become a tourist attraction. It was erected, with blessings from Philadelphia’s mayor, just before Pope Francis’ visit to the City of Brotherly Love. Even he has stood before the WishWall.

“Our philosophy revolves around the concept that when you make a clear and specific determination in your life, you will have an effect. We believe very strongly in the old adage: ‘Be careful what you wish for’ as the universe will inevitably answer you.”

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When You Wish Upon A WishMaker Star

One must wonder where Lein gets all that effervescent drive and conviction. She’s taken on quite a lot, but she’s combined all her passions into a much-needed, well-placed niche. She attributes that to some sustaining attributes in a September 2016 MillenniaLeadership interview.

“I always stayed focused and never stopped challenging myself. I always wanted to do more. I have three degrees and have a passion for personal development. …”

That philosophy, in and of itself, can be a driving force for would-be gurus, healers, philanthropists, and movers-and-shakers alike. But another key quality of gurus, healers, and helpers is humility and gratitude, as she reveals in this Human Experience podcast. Every morning, Lein starts the day with gratitude about what life has taught her. She sees the shortness human life within the bigger picture. We are connected. We are star stuff. Hers is a labor of divine love.

One dream-come-true story Lein and The WishWall Foundation helped to materialize was for Nuri Baresi, an Italian/Brazilian/Tunisian teen, who wrote about his passion for soccer.

“He shared his compelling story of abandonment, extreme financial stress, and bullying,” she recalled in the LA Splash interview. “His solace was playing soccer, and his dream was to own a new pair of soccer cleats, as well as a shirt worn by his favorite soccer player, Paul Pogba.”

Not long after Nuri posted his dream, Lein said, a community member emailed the foundation and offered to help. They sent Nuri a pair of the best cleats. The foundation contacted his hero’s team and they sent him a signed team jersey and invited him to a personal meet-and-greet and team “try out.” He was so talented and gifted a player that he was recruited at age 16 to play for his favorite team.

“Like a domino effect, this sequence of events completely changed the trajectory of this kid’s future. And it was all due to the availability of a place to post his dream. It’s incredibly powerful and inspiring.”

Lein’s work through The WishWall Foundation earns her the title of “WishMaker.” It’s a role that fulfills her greatest desire and gives her the most joy — helping peoples’ wishes and desires come true. She’s about to widen her reach even more with an upcoming TV show about her as The WishMaker, she revealed in a January 2017 Philadelphia Style magazine interview. She is excited about the prospect.

“I want to see The WishWall Foundation spread to every city. So many people are happy and thankful about the work we do, and when you realize your work can be used for the greater good, you know that your limited time on Earth was totally worth it.”
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Do you want to help Simonetta help others make their dreams come true? You can donate Visit thewishwall.org.

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Ideas worth returning to

Quotes

Five substantial excerpts from the published transcript, lightly edited for clarity without changing their meaning.

  1. Fashion can change how you feel and how you enter the day. When you are discouraged, the simple act of choosing what to wear can become a decision to change your mood. It is an everyday art form: a small, accessible action that can carry more meaning than its practical function suggests.
    From the conversation
  2. We built a public wall where people could post wishes on colored paper. Near the end of the event, a young woman wrote a wish, began crying, and ran away. When I read that she wanted help discovering who had killed her sister, the project immediately became more than a beautiful installation; it became a responsibility to another person.
    From the conversation
  3. Seeing an apparently impossible wish move toward reality changed my life. It made service more than an abstract philosophy. When people use their influence and ability to help one another, the effect is not limited to the recipient; it changes the person who serves and offers a model of what a better world could look like.
    From the conversation
  4. Success is not an overnight event; it includes constant struggle and frequent failure. Passion also has to be found again each day. Following the right path for your life does not remove difficulty. It gives the difficulty a direction and turns setbacks into information about how to continue.
    From the conversation
  5. We created a capsule clothing collection inspired by the Wishwall, with thirty percent of the proceeds supporting the foundation. For me, the opportunity was not only recognition alongside famous people who had worn the brand. It showed that influence and fashion could be connected directly to service.
    From the conversation

About the guest

Simonetta Lein

The future indeed looks bright when millennials like Italian-born Simonetta Lein, 34, share life on this planet with us. Those who have seen her on fashion magazine covers, and in the pages within them, may, at first glance, not realize the depths to which this fashion icon’s heart and soul go.

The complete conversation

Transcript

Archival transcript · Published on the canonical episode page

This archival source does not include reliable passage timestamps or consistent speaker attribution. The wording and any labels below are preserved from the original transcript page; no speakers or timing have been inferred.

welcome to the human experience podcast the only podcast designed to fuse your left and right brain hemispheres and feed it the most entertaining and mentally engaging topics on the planet as we approach our ascent please make sure your frontal temporal and occipital lobes are in their full upright position as you take your seats consciousness relax your senses and allow us to take you on a journey we are the intimate strangers thank you for listening

I’m honored yeah it’s a sense of responsibility you know huge this is you know right it’s the first time that I’m sharing this story you have no idea how you know you can actually touch somebody’s life and only decide that we put attention into it it’s already something very very big what’s up guys this is a 90 degree turn from what we usually have here on the human experience but that’s what this show is it’s about the human experience we had

on the fashion icon Simonetta Lane and there’s so much stuff that she’s doing and we get into a lot of that in this conversation so hopefully you guys enjoy this one thank you guys so much for this meet the human experiences in session my guest for today is mrs. simonetta lean and simonetta it’s a pleasure welcome to hxp thank you so much I’m very honored to be here thank you so Simonetta I you know I find who you are fascinating I mean

you’ve been given accomplishments such as best-selling author TV radio personality journalists international fashion icon blogger influencer brand ambassador entrepreneur philanthropist how it is that’s a lot how many like about the same age you’re 34 right yes yes so how does a person accomplish this by the age of 34 it’s remarkable never stops I’m very very passionate about everything I do and you know that passion I always say that it’s

the key of everything if you don’t have that you have to look for it because when you have it then you’ll have the strength to do everything that I have been doing because when you were saying all these things I was like oh my goodness really it’s true I mean 34 yes I’m still young and I also lived in you know and in Italy I travel a lot I’ve been to India many many times I kind of lived there a little bit of lifting Cuba for a little bit and then I’m living in

the US so a lot of things and you know being really focused on what do you want to accomplish and be very clear what you where you are going and of course it’s not easy it’s a everyday journey that you have to decide and re determine every every single day but I think that’s the key I love that I love you know the passion behind that I feel the same way I’m very passionate about everything I do was there a moment in your life in your

career where you felt like okay this is a turning point this is what I want to do this is where my passion is this is what I want to do for the world yes when I moved to the US it was of course a big step imagined that I was living in Italy and I have my family I have my house I had my job I have my friends I had left my comfort zone sometimes you know people hear this they’re like wow but at the same time they guest care right because it can be

something scary leaving everything but that actually was the best decision I have it may sometimes I always say to people get out of your comfort zone can be you know the key moment and of course you have to be very aware of what you’re doing and that was the moment even if it seems crazy but you have that passion that passion really I’d see you and when I moved to the US I really had this connection inside of myself saying I want to transform

everything I do in paying forward I really think that in 2017 whatever job you do if you want to make an experiment with yourself and open your life a little bit to others you really discover a world inside yourself that you did not you know really maybe even knew it was existing so the key when I moved to the u.s. also the u.s. inspired me I have to say the u.s. is it’s a country that it’s very open to charity and that kind of

feeling I found a lot of people really opening I would say their heart and their possibility to make my ideas working because you know I had already the idea beyond my foundation which is the wish wall it was started first with a blog but it was mostly I was actually interviewing at that time celebrities about their wishes come true and how they can inspire people but when I moved here and was out of my comfort zone I had you know so much passion he just had

to work I don’t have to explain you have to work because it was just such a big jump interesting yeah I spent this whole week thinking about this episode with you and how do I connect this fashion icon entrepreneur we interview a lot of different entrepreneurs and we range in the type of people that we bring on but you know just like how do I tie in fashion into consciousness and what’s going on in the world and it just he was

puzzling it was the strangest like sort of fusion of two different things and how would you say fashion effects culture humanity and what we’re doing in our lives well fashion it’s a form of art I’m an artist my first degrees in fine art so I’m a painter so I was always fascinated by fashion because of you know it shows outside of courses like you are going outside with a piece of art if of course you are aware of it so to me fashion of

course I’m from Italy I always say you know that it’s in my blood we have style you know in other words you know we’re but but yes it should be more of being aware that when you wear something is not just only you know piece of clothing yeah sometimes it could be but if you really want to put attention into it you’ll realize that again it’s a piece of art it’s something that can communicate except Lea who you are inside and it can inspire people my blog

it’s called empowering style under the wishmaker project and I interview mostly women about their job and you know their lives and how they impact the world in style because of course when you imagine you go inside a room right with that style that it’s really your style if people see you so that’s why fashion to me became a way of communicating allowing people or actually helping people to make them more aware of what they’re communicating and what they want

actually to change about themselves you know fashion could also help your mood to help your day you know sometimes maybe you are a little bit down and you kind of force yourself to go inside your word room and say okay I’ll change my day I always say easy things simple things can really do a lot so fashion can be of course a simple and easy thing that we can put attention in our everyday life and understand there’s a bigger meaning about it you know I love

that I love that fashion is art and I agree you know when I do look in my closet and I’m looking for something nice to wear there is a sense of confidence and there is a sense of presence that I feel when I look good absolutely how do you jump from I know the wish wall is a big passion project for you you know how do you go from fashion icon to wanting to help people the wish wall it’s a way for me to meet real people real stories I am a

storyteller I record you having to impose I’ve read from Forbes I wrote my first novel number in my second book so I’m passionate about writing and reading you know true stories also fashion it’s a way that allows me to get to know another part of the world that gives me another perspective and at the end it’s all in the same big circle I would say I just got it from another angle for instance I get to interview many many beautiful women that I also meet through

social media I use social media a lot to really go and meet interesting people you know fashion brings of course that happy part with that you know where do maybe also deep interview and bring that a more intimate part of that person I can discover you know details of that person through their style it allows me I would say to go a little bit deeper you know again simple way but know better people to me it’s a deep connection it’s not absolutely an

external thing it’s much more yeah I want to touch on the wish wall because this is such a big thing for you is there a wish that touched you the most yes it’s an incredible story it keeps on actually touching me because he had so many parts it was the first physical wish wall that we decided to do and it was here in Philadelphia we’re talking about September 2015 when Pope Francis came to Philadelphia I had this idea of the whoosh wall but it was still a work

in progress I shared I would say my idea with the city and as an artist as well you know was visualizing this wish was a physical as a mural you know and I shared this idea so how can I bring you know from the online version because they first started like I was saying kind of a blog in the physical world and so they gave me all the help and we were able to put up this event so this physical wish was I imagine a massive wall with a

beautiful graphic and we put up an event a lot of people came they put up beautiful wishes I decided to go with all this colored pieces of paper and we put up something that was beautiful that event itself changed my life almost the end of the event a girl comes and she basically writes this wish very quickly put it up and she starts crying and she runs away and I go after her while quickly I’m breathing her wish and basically she’s asking me to help her to

get who killed her sister I stopped her and she tells me you know my sister got killed you know hit-and-run accident and basically we have to fill in that you know we live in a big city the city’s forgetting us we don’t know what to do we don’t want that people will forget my sister and I had no idea that actually this was a very famous story in the city of Philadelphia and I had no idea how to deal with it I mean I was very new at

the u.s. I’m still very new so I just felt that I had to do something so at the end of the event we pick one wish that we feel that granting that wish we can impact the community the most and so we thought if we can help this family we can help a lot of families are going through the same issue showing that they’re not alone so the first thing that I wanted to do was renaming a street after this woman that was killed by the way she was

my age so I felt you know this strong connection and I’ve tried to reach out to the family you have also to know that many times people put up a wish and then it’s not that easy to grant wishes I had to really go through and of course it was a very touching story so then I had then to talk with the mother the mother was crying it was you know very hard but at the end I told her I’m here to help you and she trusted me and we went and

we talked with the city and this lady was killed on December 23rd of 2014 there was two days before Christmas and I said it’s under September we have two months we have to run industry before anniversary yeah of course everyone told me you are crazy yeah what do you think I mean even in a small city two months it just I mean it takes a lot of time I always say when you really want something you know sometimes also a miracle happened we

didn’t even actually know until that exact day if they were putting up the sign but I would still remember December 23rd we go there and they’re putting up the sign so that was the first thing like amazing thing and then we were able to put up with the city and triple-a and Clear Channel a big billboard because I said listen maybe someone will talk and so they put our big billboard and a reward for whoever you know what health

and gays I prayed a lot and sometimes really miracle happened this is to me it’s a miracle because exactly a year after they put off the wish I received a phone call the same exact day thing we got him and so they got the killer and the killer now he’s in jail so he admitted it was him and it’s something you know that I still cannot explain I still cannot believe that happened again I changed my life completely because when you see with your eyes that things

like that can happen I mean yes miracles do have to happen and do exist that’s a touching story yeah it is you know I love your idea of service to others and that is also one of my personal like philosophies you know that’s what I do is is I do my best to serve others as much as I possibly can I feel like if more of us were doing that at the world would be a better place absolutely and that’s why you know I created this according to pay for war

philosophy I cannot do all the work I’m just you know one person but if I can inspire you when you and you and we keep on doing even small things you have no idea many times even a small gesture common under someone’s wish can change that person’s life you have no idea how you know you can actually touch somebody’s life and only the fact that we put attention into it it’s already something very very big so if we all should start at least to do a little bit

yes we can absolutely increase this the quality of life actually very yeah it’s kind of like the butterfly effect you know it’s like one small lesson that can have this massive impact on so many people’s lives you know we’ve we’ve talked about your successes and you know the things you’ve done let’s talk about your failures let’s expose because I think the perception many times is that success is like an overnight thing and not at all your life at all it’s a

constant struggle you know and so I mean what’s one of those failures those moments where you learned from that event it happens every day like I was saying before while I have that passion that passion has to be searched every single day I personally made the best choice for my life which was really following the original path I would say and I always say you have to find your own way but please find a way you cannot think that you can accomplish everything you

would like to accomplish in life without commitment it was I last week I had a person that I helped with all my heart and actually that thing instead she got it completely in the opposite way and you know actually ended up and not in a nice way and that you know of course brought me down and to meet that struggle death struggle that you were talking about that’s the best tool to struggle inside ourselves I always say when you’re doing something please try

one more time always said to yourself one more time because you think it’s over that one more time with all your heart will open doors that you didn’t even you know could have opened for you while I was talking with you I had an image when I was 14 and that was maybe a biggest failure I think it was 12 actually and I just moved from one school to another and I’m the only child did not have friends my parents were very very busy and at this time I still

don’t know why I did invent that I had like some kind of disease or something and I wanted to see if you know the other kids liked me enough to you know feel sorry I wouldn’t be there you know with them and this is you know maybe it’s the first time that I’m sharing this story if I think about you know like a biggest failure all the kids were really oh my goodness no can you die well no we want to you are our friend and I felt you

know my goodness they care about me then of course they discovered that I was not dying and then they hated me right and then I have to you know we start on your relationship at the and of the three year of school we were friends again that was a big failure because I think me I did not have confidence in me but that taught me I can be like just because I am me and of course like I said even if I had so many successes every day you know do not

think that success that happened overnight that’s the you know the struggle we do not have to be defeated never never never never always every day it’s a new day and that door closed well I’ll open it in another way it always works is why I always say dreams really do come true but it’s all up to you if you want them to come true yeah you know so many things there I didn’t want to interrupt your flow there and so many things moving through my mind as

you were speaking the last thing that you said left me with an old quote that I love from Picasso that said something like good artists copy great artists steal they’d love that quote but that sense of originality and being yourself and not hiding who you are and just being honest with yourself just being honest with who you are even if you’re stealing you know to me it seems like when we start to do that more and when we start to communicate in the most

honest way possible other people start to do the same thing back you know it’s all my feeling when I can get someone like you on to the show and and then we have such a real moment where you know you’re telling me about this childhood story that you’ve never mentioned before I live for those moments curious about in the business side of it working with these brands what is one of the biggest brands that you’ve worked with so I would say ilaria

Fendi she’s an amazing woman she’s one of the Fendi sister she actually inspired me a lot so she was a designer of Levendi semen so it was like a branch of Effendi and she decided to create her own brand based on the recycling part these she inspired me because she keeps them you know showing me how again fashion is an art so fashion can be something that can bring new ways from a culture also point of view so she recycles everything

well she creates bags and jewelleries and that kind of items everything that was wasted she uses this to make luxury pieces and they are absolutely stunning and it’s amazing while you go through the story of a bag because she puts you know the story she explains you you know I saved this button from I don’t know the beer tap and I you know put letter that I you know was wasted here and there around it and it becomes like gorgeous so she gave me this idea of how

you know we should strive for those designers that can bring innovation and can bring again something new I don’t know if you heard about it but a fashion can also be used as technological I would say aspect so for instance now they are creating bras that can detect if you have cancer it’s very interesting they were like if fashion can really be useful for so many things so she inspired me so much now I am actually the official ambassador for shahida

Paradis another extremely important woman for me right now she’s Indian and she advocates for women in India and try really to help as many as she can to become entrepreneurs so when she came and she told me I love what you do I love you know you’re presenting to the fashion world to social media the wish wall foundation what can we do together I went through her stuff and I saw many many styles that I was first all inspired as a woman because she has

this concept of women that have to be women I would say really you know beautiful and classy and colorful and all those scholars you know that I saw because I was in India many times I saw those colours and I know actually the energy that those colours can give to people and they are the same colors that I picked for the wish wall so I picked like a selection of clothes and we created a capsule collection that actually for sale now until thinking may

something like this that helps the wishful foundation so 30% of the proceeds will go to the visual foundation so to me it’s first of all an honor I mean before me she had people like Beyonce Demi Lovato Paris Hilton wary her clothing line so it’s like amazing and of course shows me that through you know my influential part of my life I would say I could use you know that part for a project that can instead help so many people because in fact the campaign

is called heart to heart and so she will help I would part of the proceeds hurt women in India and I will help other meaningful wishes come true so it’s a way of women that can collaborate and create something that empowers create something actually concretely achievable and yet in style really intriguing I love that technology aspect of measuring cancer in bras that’s huge yes I’m sure that you’ve garnered a large following with everything you’ve done and these

women girls who want to be like you is there a message for them that you would give them what would you tell them you know I receive so much love actually really yes that I received this message from on a serum from a girl that told me you know you are the role model that you know was looking for and if one day I’ll have a child or a daughter I wish she could be like you and that of course I’m honored yet it’s a sense of responsibility you know huge I feel the

protection of so many people there you know they feel the power my work and they keep on supporting me and encouraged me and that it’s just it’s huge for me and I will keep on telling them remember a leader without the first follower is nothing so you are braver than me because if you are you know kind of encouraging me and you know you see me a leader without you I’m nothing and so remember how courageous you are in believing I would say and

recognizing other people’s amazing ideas now when I started the wish wall I also received like this distorting how does this work and it was like maybe you know the crazy idea that someone said open this is genius you know and then it’s thanks to that person that I started to do what I’m doing you remember that you are the key of when you actually encourage someone else you are the key for that someone else do actually succeed and someone else will

do the same for you so always to remember that when you give to others you’re part of something bigger when you encourage other people you know really come to you and life come to you and brings you more yeah you know I really loved that I loved all honesty in that you know something we do here at the show is we’ve had many many people on and many you know big very big names when when I look back I’ve found in my own ability to be honest when I

completely open myself during an interview it’s when I get the most back from the the person that is doing it you know and and then after they are over they will tell me that you know they will remark and say you know I’ve done a lot of interviews but I’ve never had that happen to me so yeah I truly believe in being open with who you are and honest with everything that you do and I like to look at it as if you look at a coin has two sides both positive

and negative and if you can turn the coin if you have 10 negative thoughts and you earn the coin for one of those thoughts into positive it’s like this cascade starts to happen people who have negative self images if they just turn and one of those thoughts they’re having into a positive thought I think things like the wish wall the stuff that you’re doing the service to others is really truly helping people capture that and also while you are talking I had this

image because maybe someone listening to us is getting it and maybe someone it’s like really in deep problems and say I understand that but I cannot turn that coin that happens as well so I just want to talk to that person do not feel discouraged if it seems that everything is going wrong just try another time remember when you go home or whatever remember this Timo told you try another time do not get discouraged do nothing that everything goes wrong only to you

it happens to everyone no it’s a it’s a simple idea but it’s hard to do you know it’s hard because again you have to battle with your mind and many times if you actually try another time and you put that heart maybe you know you can turn your vision a little bit and like you were saying but after a little bit then you start to change your way of thinking it’s all inside ourselves and if it’s also outside because of course the outside of the reflection of what we

have inside and all the causes that we put in the past and start to put positive causes if you start from now to put positive causes you can easily change the course of your lives of your life

[Music]

what’s up guys you have been listening to the human experience with Simon ethylene to hear the rest of this interview just get to the human xpm and to give you a sample of what you’ll be hearing you will hear do nothing that successful people reach success without training their mind you need whatever technique again works for you but you need something a victory to me it’s not the actual super-duper victory amazing victory without wishes or dreams we are

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