- [Kelly] Welcome back, y'all. (audience applauds)
I'm here with Niall Horan and Kimberly Williams-Paisley.
Give it up, y'all.
(audience cheers) (Kelly claps)
So my next guest comes to you five mornings a week
on MSNBC as co-host of "Morning Joe".
She also is the founder of Know Your Value,
a nationwide movement to empower and support women.
In 2020, they partnered with Forbes
to create the first ever 50 over 50 list
to spotlight badass women
who have achieved success later in life.
Please welcome, dialed in,
Mika Brzezinski, everybody!
(audience cheers) (upbeat music)
What's up Mika?
Say hi to Niall and Kimberly.
- Hello. - Hi, Mika.
- Hi guys, hi Kimberly.
How are you?
Hi Niall. - [Niall] Hello.
- [Niall and Kelly] Hello.
(all laugh)
- So wait, I hear that you
and Jimmy Carter's daughter nearly caused
an international incident,
and I really need to know what that is.
- Several, okay, so with Amy Carter,
it was at Camp David during the peace accord,
and we were trying to ride a golf cart,
and we were way underage to be driving anything,
and I hit the Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin
with the golf cart.
Luckily I didn't kill him, just nicked him.
- Nicked him? - So that was one.
There were many disasters.
We had Deng Xiaoping, the leader of China,
over to our house for a state dinner
in The Plains, Virginia,
at our farmhouse.
And I was serving caviar,
and I tripped and spilled it on his lap,
and then,
I tried to wipe it off
- [Audience] Whoa. - and, like,
the Secretary of State was next to him going,
"Oh, just stop, just stop."
Like, disaster after disaster growing up Brzezinski.
International disaster.
- Oh my gosh, I love you so much right now.
(audience laughing) Oh my God,
I loved you before,
but you have grown in my heart.
So, Niall, have you ever had any interesting moments
with world leaders?
- I don't think I'm gonna tell my story
after all of that. - Wait, wait.
You met the Queen though, didn't you?
- Yeah, no, I've been lucky enough
to have met the Queen on a couple of occasions actually.
- Really? - Yeah.
It was as cool as you would think it is.
- [Kelly] Okay. - Such a nice woman
and her,
she has a massive knowledge of horse racing.
She owns a lot of horses
and all of her jockeys were all Irish guys
and they were there at this thing we were at.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- And she came over to have a chat with them
about the weekend's horse racing
and I was just like, - [Kelly] Sure.
- Sick,
the Queen is just chatting horse racing right next to me,
which I thought was just really sweet.
- Wait so when you meet her, do you have to, like, curtsy?
- Yeah. - Do you have to do something?
- You have to,
you're not allowed to speak until you're spoken to.
- [Kelly] Okay.
- You
say "ma'am".
Call her "ma'am,"
"Her Majesty,"
and then from there on,
"ma'am."
I could have got this wrong.
This was a while ago - I know.
- but something like this. - Were you freaking out?
I would've been sweating.
- They're coming up.
They're telling you all this before you meet her
and it's already a scary experience meeting
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- Queen of England,
probably the most famous person on this planet.
- Yeah, I feel like I would've messed it up
and walked in and been like,
"What's up?"
And they would be like, (Kelly yells)
- Hey, y'all!
(everyone laughs)
- (indistinct) get Elly May outta here.
(audience laughing)
Okay, so, Mika,
you created Know Your Value
to empower women of all backgrounds,
so what's a key lesson that you emphasize?
- Well, I created Know Your Value, like, 12 years ago
and I've been doing events across the country
teaching women to know their value.
Literally, how do you put your value into words?
Women struggle with that.
They tend to apologize and self-deprecate themselves
through job interviews or promotional conversations
and instead of advocating for themselves.
And so,
we teach them how to collect the data on themselves
but then also teach them techniques-
eye contact,
posture,
presentation,
dress-
all the things that keep your message cohesive
and communicate your value effectively.
And I found that women really struggle with this
and there's a huge need
for Know Your Value.
- Yeah, it's so funny.
I mean, I'm the first person to,
I'm so self-deprecating and I make a joke
and we're trained, like,
from childhood,
especially in the South, like,
to just not kind of be in the way and, like,
it's just,
it's innate in you
and you don't even realize you're doing it.
Do you feel like,
I don't know,
is there something you would've told
the younger version of you?
Like maybe don't do this or do this?
- Yeah, I literally can't put my value into words right now.
(everyone laughs) (Kelly claps)
- That's not funny, but it is. (everyone laughs)
- She made the joke,
so it's fine for us to laugh.
- It's okay for us to laugh. (everyone laughs)
No, but I feel like I would've told myself many things.
- Yeah, I mean like,
I wish that I knew how to deal with stress better
as a younger kid.
Like, you know,
how to manage that
and let it go through you
and let it go and then,
yeah and learn your value.
- Yeah, I think that's a really fair point.
Well, Mika,
you helped create-
this is so cool-
the 50 over 50 lists with Forbes.
So why was this important for you?
- Well, actually,
it's for everything Kimberly was just talking about.
50 over 50,
the list I created with Forbes,
is actually a great message for younger women.
What I would've loved to have told my younger self is
that we have a long runway.
What we discovered creating the 50 over 50 list,
which immediately went global,
because there were so many women nominating,
putting in nominations.
Some women trying to lie up and we're like,
"Sorry, you're 49. (clicks tongue)
Can't make it."
But this list showed me that there are women,
many women,
having amazing impact
and making a lot of money
well after 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90.
And the message for younger women is,
"You've got a long runway.
We've paved it for you so you can relax
and enjoy the moment
and slow down
and try and do things right
and make those mistakes
and experience those experiences.
Be there for them
so that each one can build upon the other."
I spent a lot of my younger years rushing
and a lot of bringing up my kids and working,
rushing,
not knowing that this runway existed.
The list is an incredible message to younger women.
- Absolutely.
I think you've just found, like,
the one place a woman will lie and say she's older.
(everyone laughing)
I don't know any woman that's like,
"I'm older than I am."
Congratulations.