Dr. Lisa Christie

I don't focus on the prize I just focus on being my best and achieving those things that I know that I'm destined to do. Helping people along the way is just my goal. I've always been taught that you've got to prove people wrong when they tell you you can't do something. I was always one to just push and push, and God just pulls you through. I think that's where God opens doors for me - once I won Mrs. America, even though the most horrific things were going on with my ex in court and all the proceedings during that volatile domestic violence situation, it was just wide open doors at the same time. The world's always split in two - good and bad is always going on at the same time. I just always trusted and focused on the good things happening and how I could help people through the midst of my circumstances. I always pray about everything. When I get on set, I pray - please let me be my best, let me do this, guide me with my words. I think God just knows that I'm so willing to help people, no matter what I do, and he's just opening door after door after door because he's got a purpose for my life. Every day when I was in that abusive marriage, I had to ask myself - if God's standing next to you, would He want you to be treated this way? And every day you stay, you're saying to your little kids, this is okay to treat people this way and be treated this way. So I packed up and moved on, and I never stopped doing what I was doing. The doors just blasted open once I left my first marriage.

One of the things I do when I private coach young women is question them to find out if they know who they are, and if they can answer basic questions about their likes, dislikes, and even basic things like what's your favorite movie. My best advice is find out who you are. Really make a list of what you like, what you don't like, and why. It's like making pros and cons lists for everything. If you're for abortion, well, why are you for abortion? If you're against abortion, why are you against abortion? My dad taught me this a long time ago - to watch the news, read up on what's going on in the world, and don't believe what's told to you. Do your own homework and research. So I would say, really find out, do research on who you are and why - why you like and dislike the things you do. Don't listen to everyone else in the world, but find out your own likes and dislikes and who you are. And then once you understand that, you can navigate much better through the world. I wish I knew that at a younger age. Even though I had a dad teaching me that, I didn't understand why he was telling me to watch those things. But now that I know and understand who I am, I can be bolder. Mind you, I was always a bold kid - I stood up to Bill Cosby, one of the most famous people in the world. But I think I would have navigated that a little bit differently if I had fully understood who I was earlier. Once you're comfortable in your shell and you truly know yourself, I want to teach you to value yourself enough to say something. See something, say something, do something. It's about setting boundaries and being confident in who you are.

The only challenge I see and that was what my dissertation's on - is transforming the view of women as leaders. I think you still have, in a variety of the aspects of the industry, this disrespect for women in leadership. They don't know how to handle you, they get nasty with you. I don't think they understand Title VII or sexual harassment in the workplace. That's why I'm a martial artist, to be honest. I'm a black belt in kung fu, and I take a variety of different martial arts. Now I'm in Israeli fighting, Krav Maga. It's like military training - you're just wrestling with guys and getting knocked down. Somebody asked me the other day when I was getting a knee brace, why do I put myself through this? I'm a beautiful woman with all these bruises. I said it's to protect people, because I've stopped carjackings and people beating up on a pregnant woman on a train when no one else stopped. That's why I do it - to make a difference in people's lives, and I'm willing to lay my life down for anyone, even a stranger. I want to help and teach people to protect themselves so they don't have to be fearful. You actually don't have to battle against force on force, but I'll show you what to do. I think it intimidates men in a way, because I'm not just a cute face. People talk to me like I'm an idiot sometimes, and I circle my face and say, not just a cute face. I've been around. I'm now bolder, I know my value, but it's not arrogant. I'm comfortable in my shell, but I'm also going to set boundaries, and I'm trying to teach people to do that. It's always going to be there - you're always going to have certain generations that still think they can just get away with it. I experienced it last night working with a bunch of politicians - someone wanted to grab me in the rear end, and I put his hand away and said, we don't do that, remember? That's literally why I do all that I do. Once you're comfortable in your shell, I want to teach you to not just take care of your body, but also value yourself enough to say something. See something, say something, do something. I'm part of the Me Too movement. I think sometimes people get funny about the whole Bill Cosby thing, but I was the hidden witness because I was such a good kid, a Christian who didn't live a sexual life. I'm a different perspective.