How Curiosity, Confidence & Connection Build a Career with Lilliana Vazquez

How Curiosity, Confidence & Connection Build a Career with Lilliana Vazquez

What happens when your dream job ends? For fashion expert, media personality, and entrepreneur Lilliana Vazquez, it became the beginning of something even bigger. In this conversation, Rachel sits down with Lilliana to explore the connections that have shaped her remarkable career—from cold-calling a television station and becoming the first Latina host of E! News to reinventing herself as one of today's most trusted style creators. But this episode isn't really about fashion. It's about curiosity. Persistence. Learning to stop chasing external validation. And building authentic relationships instead of transactional networks. Together, they discuss: * Why curiosity is one of the most underrated career skills. * How meaningful networking starts with genuine conversation—not titles. * What it took to rebuild her identity after leaving legacy television. * Why women should stop apologizing for being ambitious and persistent. * The mindset shift from scarcity to abundance. * Why your greatest advantage is becoming more of yourself—not more like everyone else. Plus, Rachel and Jeana reflect on carrying each other through different seasons of work, share their latest Show & Tell picks—from Mahjong to All the Cool Girls Get Fired—and explore why the best connections often begin with simply asking better questions. Whether you're navigating a career transition, growing your confidence, or simply trying to build deeper relationships, this conversation is full of practical wisdom and refreshing honesty.

Mosheh Oinounou (Mo News) Revisited: Trust, Fatherhood, and Looking Up From the Phone

Rachel and Jeana welcome back their very first reconnection guest: Mo News founder and journalist Mosh Oinounou. Since his first appearance on The Connection Code, Mosh's world has grown in every direction. Mo News has expanded, he's preparing to welcome his second child, and he's spending more time thinking about what it means to stay connected—not just to the headlines, but to the people and moments that matter most. Together, they explore the surprising relationship between trust and connection, why Americans are trusting institutions less than ever before, and how loneliness, isolation, and declining civic engagement may all be part of the same story. Mosh shares what fatherhood has taught him about leadership, the challenge of balancing entrepreneurship with presence, and why a conversation between his two-year-old daughter and a 96-year-old stranger became one of his favorite moments of the year. Plus: * Why millennials struggle to unplug from work * The pressure of building a business in a 24/7 news cycle * How admitting mistakes can actually build trust * The rise of parasocial relationships and creator-led media * What Mosh knows about himself today that he didn't know a year ago This conversation is about news, but it's also about family, friendship, self-awareness, and the moments we're tempted to miss when we're staring at our phones. Links: * Mo News [https://www.mo.news] * Mo News Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mosheh] Books: * Nowhere for Very Long [https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/57504847-nowhere-for-very-long] * Yesteryear [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/238226942-yesteryear?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=KGe75mChjG&rank=1] * One Golden Summer [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217245639-one-golden-summer] * Mad Mabel [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231127044-mad-mabel?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=hXuoYIH8bU&rank=1] * Revealing [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236066324-revealing?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_16#CommunityReviews]

The Friendship Questions We've Never Asked Each Other

This week, it's just Rachel and Jeana. No guest. No expert. Just two friends asking each other the friendship and connection questions they've always wanted to explore. Why do some friendships feel effortless while others require more work? How do you handle jealousy when a friend gets something you want? What do you do when judgment sneaks into a relationship? And how many friendships do we actually need to feel connected? Along the way, Rachel and Jeana discuss: * Why maintaining your network is a life skill no one teaches * The surprising difference between jealousy and judgment * How to stop comparing your path to someone else's * Why not every friendship needs to be a best friendship * The categories of friends we all need (fun friends, deep-talk friends, emergency friends, and more) * How to identify your "people" * Why taking the call matters more than you think * The role friendship plays in building a meaningful life Plus: Jeana shares a major milestone for Petite Acres, and Rachel reflects on the overwhelming response to Lily's episode about autism and friendship. Whether you're thinking about your closest relationships or wondering who you should text back right now, this conversation is an invitation to take stock of the people who matter most. Links and resources: * Travel + Leisure feature on Petite Acres [https://www.travelandleisure.com/petite-acres-resort-opens-in-michigan-11989916] * Petite Acres: Petite Acres [https://www.petiteacres.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Listen to our episode with Laura Sanchez Greenberg [https://open.spotify.com/episode/4hQcKYh1ufILF1KKLDsESl] * Listen to our episode with Lily Engelbret on autism and friendship [https://open.spotify.com/episode/55kcKv3xppNOQVA9CuWHS6]

Why is adult friendship so hard? (And how do we make our relationships better?)

Friendship isn't hard because you're doing it wrong. It's hard because adulthood changes everything. This week, Rachel and Jeana unpack why friendships drift, why they break, and what actually keeps them alive. Together, they explore the realities of friendship drift, life stage changes, geographic distance, busy schedules, and the small misunderstandings that can quietly erode even meaningful relationships. They share personal stories about friendships that changed over time, the challenges of conflict and communication, and the surprising role that proximity plays in who stays in our lives. But this isn't just a conversation about why friendships struggle. It's also about what helps them survive. From recurring rituals and honest conversations to flexibility, generosity, and simply continuing to show up, Rachel and Jeana unpack the habits that keep friendships strong through changing seasons. If you've ever wondered why it's harder to make plans, harder to stay close, or why someone who once felt like family slowly drifted away, this episode is for you. Because friendship isn't effortless, but it is worth the effort.

A firsthand look at connection and autism featuring Lily Engelbret

This episode of The Connection Code is one of our most personal and eye-opening yet. Rachel and Jeana sit down with Rachel’s 12-year-old niece, Lily Engelbret, to talk about what it’s been like to learn she’s autistic. Lily shares how that has shaped the way she experiences friendship, school, masking, and connection. With incredible honesty, humor, and wisdom beyond her years, Lily shares what autism means to her, why she prefers saying “I’m autistic” over “I have autism,” and how masking can make school feel exhausting. She also opens up about sensory overload, friendship, special interests (including SNL and Marcelo Hernandez), and the ways autism can feel both challenging and like a superpower. The conversation explores: * what masking actually feels like * why autism can look different in every person * the emotional toll of trying to “fit in” * how adults can better support autistic kids * why asking “What would help right now?” matters more than “What’s wrong?” * how connection changes when someone truly understands your experience It’s a moving, funny, deeply human conversation about being understood ... and creating space for people to show up as themselves.