"There's Really a Lot of Bullies"—Kris Jenner Keynotes Dr. Sheila Nazarian's ThinkBIG! Conference

“There’s really a lot of bullies out there,” Kris Jenner told hundreds of entrepreneurs at The Nazarian Institute’s ThinkBIG! Conference, which took place at the 1 Hotel in West Hollywood on Saturday.

The annual conference was led by plastic surgeon and thought leader, Dr. Sheila Nazarian, who brought together professionals from a variety of industries for an in-depth discussion with panelists and speakers focused on entrepreneurship, digital branding, customer experience, accounting, social media marketing, and personal development.

In a discussion moderated by Dr. Nazarian herself, Kris Jenner took the stage to address the challenges she faced while growing her personal brand, and how to overcome obstacles as an entrepreneur. One of her biggest hurdles was overcoming the byproducts of fame and the constant input she was exposed to as the Kardashian brand proliferated.

“We’re all human, and somebody could say fifteen nice things about me, and then somebody says something really ugly and I’m like ‘what?!’ and of course, everything in the entire universe is our fault no matter what. It’s like ‘the Kardashians, they did this.’”

Jenner said she urges her kids not to go on social media to read comments. “I try to tell my family there’s a really lonely, angry person on the other side of these comments. If they put that much energy in doing something really positive or helping somebody or being kind, could you imagine how we could turn this whole thing around?” Instead, Jenner sets an example for how to be gracious and how to grow thick skin amid taunts from strangers.

But even with that thick skin, Jenner became tearful after a man from the crowd got up and told her how much of an inspiration she has been to him. “When somebody says something about your work and what you do and how it made a difference, there’s nothing that feels better,” said Jenner. “Like ‘oh my mom was in the hospital but you got her through because she laughed at your show and you made her feel better,’ that means a lot.”

The audience, of course, was still curious about how to navigate a growing social media following, which inevitably would provoke criticism. Dr. Nazarian, whose business accounts cumulatively boast over 400K followers, also had something to say.

“My ‘aha’ moment was a few years ago when I thought, ‘why am I putting so much of my energy and care into people who would rather see me fail than succeed?’ I think when you realize that, you just let it all go,” said Nazarian. “I felt this huge weight of the judgment of my community just fall off my back.”

Jenner also addressed her fears. “I only have fear when someone asks me to go skiing down a hill. I don’t have fear about things I do in life or business decisions or things like that because you really have to take chances.”

“Fear is like fire. It can either keep you warm or burn your house down.”

“I think there are so many times when you reach a fork in the road. You can go to the left or go to the right. My girlfriend always says to me ‘options are always good.’ Have as many options as you can. And that sounds like such a simple formula,” she said. “But it has always worked for us to have several opportunities and then weigh what works, but never be fearful because what’s the worst that can happen?”

Both Jenner and Nazarian are working moms who worry about the privacy and safety of their kids. Jenner tells her daughters to “grow some thick skin, because this is going to be a bumpy ride if you’re just checking what’s going on all the time.” But what women really need to do, she said, is check on themselves.

“If you’re not healthy and strong, then you’re really not going to do anything one hundred percent. And as a mom, you need to be one hundred percent,” said Jenner. “Being a good mom comes first in my book. Sometimes when I do things and I know it’s going to be difficult, it’s like running a marathon. I try to feel my very best which means no vodka, no nonsense, getting a lot of sleep, and really being focused on your health for a minute, and then you’ll feel good.”

And while social media doesn’t always help in the pursuit of feeling good, and while it can be a vehicle for distraction, it does enable people to focus on what matters in the world as well. “We’re able to shine a light on different causes,” said Jenner. Last season, the Kardashians devoted an entire episode to the homeless situation in Los Angeles. “You hear about all these disasters and then we sit down as a family and say ‘what can we do?’ It’s heartbreaking, so we try to help as much as we can. And we encourage other people to help. Social media is really interesting because you’re darned if you do and darned if you don’t.”

“I’m Persian Jewish. Naturally, I want everyone to pat me on the head and tell me what a good girl I am. But I’m not doing anything illegal or wrong,” added Nazarian. “I’m just saying if I don’t tell people what I’m good at, how are they going to come to me for help? And for the people who think I’m bragging or being narcissistic, just think of it like… you can inspire another girl out there. Let’s make being a doctor cool again.”