Lynne Twist: “It’s Such a Gift to Be Alive Right Now”

WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.380 --> 00:00:01.399
Ho, ho, ho.
2
00:00:01.800 --> 00:00:05.639
Nope, it's too early for that. You can't control how
3
00:00:05.700 --> 00:00:08.759
quickly Christmas is coming, but you can control those dreaded
4
00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:13.359
winter energy costs by switching to prepay power. With pay-as-you-go energy,
5
00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:16.480
there's no bills and you're always in control of what
6
00:00:16.539 --> 00:00:20.160
you spend. And new customers get 100 euro welcome credit
7
00:00:20.199 --> 00:00:25.050
by switching now. Prepay power, hello control. Get 100 euro
8
00:00:25.070 --> 00:00:29.289
welcome credit when you switch today at prepaypower.ie. Terms and
9
00:00:29.309 --> 00:00:29.890
conditions apply.
10
00:00:30.269 --> 00:00:33.850
Loyalty has its rewards. Just ask the faithful. Coke Zero
11
00:00:33.890 --> 00:00:36.429
and Diet Coke selected range 2 litre, just € 2 each.
12
00:00:36.770 --> 00:00:39.630
Only with the MyCentra app. And Goodfellas New York style
13
00:00:39.649 --> 00:00:43.969
pizza range € 4. 50 each. Grab your round table refreshments with Centra.
14
00:00:44.250 --> 00:00:48.770
Proud food sponsor of the Traders Ireland. Centra. Live every day.
15
00:00:49.149 --> 00:00:49.890
DRL Supplies.
16
00:00:57.490 --> 00:01:00.030
Have you ever listened to someone speak and say to yourself,
17
00:01:00.170 --> 00:01:01.729
oh my gosh, I need more.
18
00:01:01.990 --> 00:01:03.670
I need more from this person.
19
00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:07.939
Well, that is exactly what I feel about my next
20
00:01:08.019 --> 00:01:08.680
guest today.
21
00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:12.700
Lynn Twist is a global visionary.
22
00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:17.120
She has committed her life to alleviating poverty, ending world hunger,
23
00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:21.159
empowering the status of women and girls, supporting social justice
24
00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:26.150
and environmental sustainability. The scope of Lynn's impact ranges from
25
00:01:26.189 --> 00:01:30.150
working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta to working with refugees
26
00:01:30.209 --> 00:01:34.129
in camps in Ethiopia. She's explored and studied the threatened
27
00:01:34.230 --> 00:01:38.189
rainforests of the Amazon and guided the philanthropy of some
28
00:01:38.230 --> 00:01:42.159
of the world's wealthiest families. She writes about her work
29
00:01:42.189 --> 00:01:45.799
in the bestselling award-winning book, The Soul of Money, transforming
30
00:01:45.819 --> 00:01:49.299
your relationship with money and life. Her TED Talk on
31
00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:53.420
the topic had me in awe. And her latest book,
32
00:01:53.739 --> 00:01:57.340
Living a Committed Life, Finding Freedom and Fulfillment in a
33
00:01:57.420 --> 00:02:01.890
Purpose Larger Than Yourself, will have you rethinking everything you
34
00:02:02.010 --> 00:02:04.329
thought you knew about what it means to seek a
35
00:02:04.370 --> 00:02:08.289
higher cause. I myself am a firm believer in action,
36
00:02:08.490 --> 00:02:10.710
looking for ways I can put the work in. I
37
00:02:11.469 --> 00:02:15.389
left this conversation motivated and invigorated, and I hope.
38
00:02:15.270 --> 00:02:18.250
You will too. I'm Hoda Kotb. Welcome to my podcast,
39
00:02:18.669 --> 00:02:32.389
Making Space. First of all, Ms.
40
00:02:32.430 --> 00:02:35.110
Lynn Twist, I am so excited to be sitting here
41
00:02:35.150 --> 00:02:37.669
with you because all roads.
42
00:02:37.370 --> 00:02:38.990
Keep leading to you.
43
00:02:39.009 --> 00:02:43.460
I have never met you in person, but every time
44
00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:48.860
I meet someone, talk to someone, listen to someone, your
45
00:02:48.900 --> 00:02:51.360
name comes up. And I was like, Lynn Twist, Lynn Twist,
46
00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:54.039
Lynn Twist. So of course I hit Lynn Twist and
47
00:02:54.060 --> 00:02:57.599
TED Talk. That's my go-to. And I saw this fascinating
48
00:02:57.699 --> 00:03:02.259
TED Talk and a fascinating life that you have. And first,
49
00:03:02.300 --> 00:03:04.500
I just want to say thank you. And I want
50
00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:08.319
to tell our listeners that you might want to have
51
00:03:08.340 --> 00:03:10.840
a pen and paper handy because that's what I feel
52
00:03:10.870 --> 00:03:11.689
when I hear you speak.
53
00:03:11.909 --> 00:03:13.990
I'm like, write it down. What did she say?
54
00:03:14.289 --> 00:03:16.530
Like this, you're one of those people who has so
55
00:03:16.590 --> 00:03:21.289
much beautiful wisdom, life-changing wisdom, wisdom you don't hear other places.
56
00:03:21.889 --> 00:03:25.430
So anyway, welcome. And it's so nice to see you.
57
00:03:26.430 --> 00:03:28.710
Oh, my goodness. Thank you. I can't believe you said
58
00:03:28.750 --> 00:03:34.539
all that stuff. Wonderful. I'm delighted, honored, and thrilled to
59
00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:36.639
be talking to you. So it's a match.
60
00:03:36.900 --> 00:03:39.500
You have a beautiful book called Living a Committed Life.
61
00:03:39.659 --> 00:03:43.060
And just reading the title of it makes you kind
62
00:03:43.099 --> 00:03:45.159
of nod your head and say, I want to have that.
63
00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:48.039
And I think, you know, look, a lot of people
64
00:03:48.060 --> 00:03:50.870
have a job and their job pays the bills and
65
00:03:50.909 --> 00:03:54.050
it's hard work. And they come home and they're tired
66
00:03:54.090 --> 00:03:55.550
and they get to spend a little time with their
67
00:03:55.590 --> 00:03:57.490
families before they go to bed and wake up.
68
00:03:57.469 --> 00:03:58.669
And do it all over again.
69
00:03:58.689 --> 00:04:03.180
And they find themselves on this merry-go-round and suddenly it's
70
00:04:03.219 --> 00:04:08.400
retirement day. And suddenly it's my back's now out and
71
00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:11.240
now I can't do X, Y, and Z. And that's
72
00:04:11.259 --> 00:04:14.780
where their life has taken them. And having a committed
73
00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:18.529
life is a choice. And it's a choice you made early.
74
00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:21.670
And I found that fascinating because I think it takes
75
00:04:21.699 --> 00:04:23.589
a lot of people, sometimes a lot of time, because
76
00:04:23.610 --> 00:04:26.209
you think, I'll have a committed life after I have
77
00:04:26.269 --> 00:04:28.730
my house, my car, my kids are in college, and
78
00:04:28.769 --> 00:04:31.089
then I'll figure out what I'm committed to.
79
00:04:31.389 --> 00:04:32.449
You didn't do it that way.
80
00:04:33.569 --> 00:04:37.160
Well, I feel very fortunate that it's almost like it
81
00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:39.420
found me rather than I found it, although I try
82
00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:41.259
to help people find it as early as they can
83
00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:44.959
in their life. But I was lucky enough to get
84
00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:47.870
involved with the great Buckminster Fuller when I was a
85
00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:50.430
young woman. And I didn't really understand anything he was
86
00:04:50.449 --> 00:04:54.850
talking about, but I loved the way he was, the beingness,
87
00:04:55.170 --> 00:04:57.970
the love he had for what he called the intellectual
88
00:04:58.009 --> 00:05:01.540
integrity of the universe. And I just loved Buckminster Fuller,
89
00:05:01.639 --> 00:05:04.819
but we called him Bucky at the time. And when
90
00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:08.199
I first encountered him in live and in person was
91
00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:11.600
with 2,000 other people in a huge auditorium. And I
92
00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:17.089
had a realization, a revelation, you could say a transformation
93
00:05:17.129 --> 00:05:21.279
and transmutation, a That changed my life, which was the
94
00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:23.990
source of my book, The Soul of Money, and the
95
00:05:24.050 --> 00:05:27.509
source of years and years and years of really examining
96
00:05:27.569 --> 00:05:30.310
our relationship with money and how distorted it is so
97
00:05:30.350 --> 00:05:33.569
that we could be freed up from the kind of
98
00:05:33.730 --> 00:05:36.769
money culture. But it wasn't just that. A miracle was born,
99
00:05:36.810 --> 00:05:39.610
which is called The Hunger Project. And The Hunger Project
100
00:05:39.689 --> 00:05:42.889
is a commitment to end world hunger. And I was
101
00:05:43.110 --> 00:05:46.350
in my 30s, and it swept me off my feet
102
00:05:46.410 --> 00:05:50.769
that I could be involved in something so gigantic, so life-altering,
103
00:05:50.870 --> 00:05:57.279
so honorable, so world-changing as to end world hunger, not
104
00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:01.939
only work on alleviating suffering, but really end it. And
105
00:06:01.980 --> 00:06:05.199
that gave me such a sense of the capacity to
106
00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:10.480
make a difference. So making a difference became a possibility
107
00:06:10.620 --> 00:06:12.480
early in my life. When I had little kids, it
108
00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:17.089
was inconvenient, but I grabbed it like a shining star
109
00:06:17.149 --> 00:06:18.110
and went with it.
110
00:06:18.129 --> 00:06:20.410
See, I find that fascinating. I happen to have little
111
00:06:20.430 --> 00:06:23.769
kids too, one's four and one's six. But people have,
112
00:06:24.170 --> 00:06:27.819
you know, children and families and think, my very first
113
00:06:27.939 --> 00:06:31.199
obligation is to make sure my kids and my family
114
00:06:31.220 --> 00:06:34.759
are okay. And if I'm traveling around saving the world,
115
00:06:34.899 --> 00:06:38.480
I'm not paying attention to my kids. So that decision
116
00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:41.350
for you was a clear one, one that you kind
117
00:06:41.389 --> 00:06:42.149
of had with them.
118
00:06:42.269 --> 00:06:47.949
You had a conversation about it. I did, but as
119
00:06:48.009 --> 00:06:51.170
I say, it kind of chose me. So I don't
120
00:06:51.209 --> 00:06:55.189
know if it was a decision or I chose what
121
00:06:55.410 --> 00:06:59.089
swept over me that I couldn't ignore or resist. It
122
00:06:59.129 --> 00:07:01.410
was a calling. I call it a calling, and a
123
00:07:01.490 --> 00:07:04.990
calling is different than a choice. Well, you choose a calling,
124
00:07:05.389 --> 00:07:07.269
but it's different than a decision, like should I do
125
00:07:07.290 --> 00:07:09.009
this or should I do that? That's a decision. A
126
00:07:09.149 --> 00:07:12.389
calling is more like it grabs you, it takes you,
127
00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:14.920
And then you need to be true to it. And
128
00:07:17.209 --> 00:07:19.269
my kids were three, five, and seven. So I was
129
00:07:19.350 --> 00:07:22.009
just like, I can't do this. I can't end world hunger.
130
00:07:22.050 --> 00:07:24.829
I can't go to India, Ethiopia, places like that. I
131
00:07:24.870 --> 00:07:29.339
need to show up for snack day and go to
132
00:07:29.500 --> 00:07:34.379
parent-teacher conferences and drive kids to the soccer practice and stuff.
133
00:07:34.939 --> 00:07:39.620
But somehow I couldn't not do it. It was calling
134
00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:41.790
to who I was. So I sat down with them.
135
00:07:41.850 --> 00:07:45.370
I think you're referring to this. When I'd been involved
136
00:07:45.410 --> 00:07:49.490
for maybe a year, I was trying to do snack
137
00:07:49.529 --> 00:07:53.769
day and drive to soccer matches and show up in
138
00:07:53.910 --> 00:07:56.980
India for a conference or be in Ethiopia after the famine.
139
00:07:57.120 --> 00:08:00.740
And that's kind of impossible. And no matter where I was,
140
00:08:00.759 --> 00:08:03.439
I was always worrying about the other place. So I
141
00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:05.779
was never actually where I was when I was there.
142
00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:09.339
And so I sat down with them And I remember
143
00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:12.360
sitting on the floor in our family room, my husband, Bill,
144
00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:17.040
my three kids, Zachary, Summer, and Billy. And Billy was,
145
00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:22.759
I think, 10, Summer was eight, and Zachary was six.
146
00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:26.389
And I was crying and I was saying, you know,
147
00:08:26.410 --> 00:08:30.110
I can't not work on ending world hunger. And I
148
00:08:30.170 --> 00:08:34.190
want you all to just know that this is my calling.
149
00:08:34.370 --> 00:08:36.330
I'm doing it for you and for the world, the
150
00:08:36.370 --> 00:08:39.129
world in which you live. And I'm going to miss
151
00:08:39.149 --> 00:08:41.029
some stuff. And I know I've already missed some stuff.
152
00:08:41.090 --> 00:08:44.190
But if you would just bless this, this is really
153
00:08:44.230 --> 00:08:45.889
what I need to do. And I'm doing it in
154
00:08:45.990 --> 00:08:49.110
honor of our lives and the lives that will follow us.
155
00:08:49.350 --> 00:08:53.769
And my daughter, Summer, she's sort of our comedian. She
156
00:08:53.789 --> 00:08:58.269
was eight. She said, Mom, if you can end world hunger,
157
00:08:58.549 --> 00:09:03.129
we don't want you driving us to the orthodontist. Someone
158
00:09:03.190 --> 00:09:07.309
else can do that. And we all burst into laughter.
159
00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:11.200
And then my youngest son, Zach, said, Mom, I take
160
00:09:11.240 --> 00:09:13.340
the coolest things to show and tell. You brought those
161
00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:17.080
masks from Cote d'Ivoire from Africa. We put them up.
162
00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:20.799
Everybody's talking about it. And then my oldest son said, Mom,
163
00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:23.860
you know, we have people staying in our house from Ethiopia.
164
00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:26.960
We have people being trained for the Hunger Project work
165
00:09:27.019 --> 00:09:31.470
from India, from Ghana, from Senegal. This is the coolest life. And,
166
00:09:31.830 --> 00:09:35.389
you know, other families, they go to Aspen for holidays,
167
00:09:35.429 --> 00:09:40.200
for spring break. we go to Micronesia. I mean, we're cool.
168
00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:44.379
And so my kids and my husband, Bill, just gave
169
00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:48.299
me total permission. And after that, I knew that what
170
00:09:48.330 --> 00:09:50.970
I was doing was being true to them, true to myself,
171
00:09:51.629 --> 00:09:55.490
and true to being an example of listening to a calling.
172
00:09:55.529 --> 00:09:56.769
Well, you know what's interesting?
173
00:09:57.669 --> 00:10:00.590
In your book, Living a Committed Life, there's a chapter on,
174
00:10:00.610 --> 00:10:03.149
I don't know if it's called the myth of scarcity,
175
00:10:03.580 --> 00:10:06.940
but it's how we think everything's going away. You know,
176
00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:09.899
it's sort of like, I need to get extra toilet
177
00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:13.019
paper because, uh-oh, we might not have it tomorrow.
178
00:10:13.179 --> 00:10:14.779
I need to make sure that we have a freezer
179
00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:17.480
full of X. Will you talk about that?
180
00:10:17.539 --> 00:10:20.080
Because I feel like we feel like, well, if I've
181
00:10:20.100 --> 00:10:23.460
got everything I need, then I can give Mary Smith something.
182
00:10:23.539 --> 00:10:25.440
But I can't give it to her unless I have
183
00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:28.779
plenty in my house so that we're safe for a long,
184
00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:29.330
long time.
185
00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:30.730
Yeah.
186
00:10:30.830 --> 00:10:33.289
Well, I thank you for asking that because that's really
187
00:10:33.330 --> 00:10:35.750
what I learned from Buckminster Fuller. And that became the
188
00:10:36.330 --> 00:10:41.610
kind of central tenet of my life, that there is
189
00:10:41.710 --> 00:10:48.409
this mindset. It's an unconscious mindset. unexamined mindset, unconscious and unexamined.
190
00:10:49.169 --> 00:10:51.690
A mindset or a way of seeing the world that's
191
00:10:51.730 --> 00:10:54.250
part of the consumer culture, that's part of the culture
192
00:10:54.289 --> 00:10:56.750
of money, that's part of the culture in which we
193
00:10:56.909 --> 00:10:59.190
all live. It was here before you and I were
194
00:10:59.230 --> 00:11:02.090
born and be here probably after we're gone. And it's
195
00:11:02.110 --> 00:11:07.330
a mindset, an unconscious, unexamined belief in scarcity. And that
196
00:11:07.549 --> 00:11:10.210
is that there's not enough to go around and someone
197
00:11:10.250 --> 00:11:13.279
somewhere is always going to be left out. And I'm
198
00:11:13.340 --> 00:11:16.200
calling it a lie or a condition of thinking that
199
00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:20.779
I really believe is inaccurate, unconscious, and makes us a
200
00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:25.259
little bit crazy. And there's three toxic myths, I call them,
201
00:11:25.779 --> 00:11:28.600
in the mindset of scarcity, which is really a lens
202
00:11:29.159 --> 00:11:32.330
from which we look at life rather than something we determine.
203
00:11:32.750 --> 00:11:35.710
It's almost like we're looking through a lens of scarcity.
204
00:11:35.750 --> 00:11:38.529
There's not enough to go around and someone somewhere is
205
00:11:38.570 --> 00:11:41.960
going to be left out. More is better. And that's
206
00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:44.240
just the way that it is. And so we don't
207
00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:47.159
question it. So the first toxic myth in the mindset
208
00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:51.639
of scarcity is there's not enough. Number one, there's not enough.
209
00:11:51.700 --> 00:11:54.159
And as I said, it's about there's not enough to
210
00:11:54.179 --> 00:11:56.159
go around and someone somewhere is going to be left out.
211
00:11:56.220 --> 00:11:58.740
And I have to make sure it's not me and
212
00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:02.580
mine or the people that I'm responsible for or me
213
00:12:02.620 --> 00:12:06.500
and the people I consider to be my tribe, my people,
214
00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:11.000
my whatever. And that immediately creates an us and a them.
215
00:12:11.019 --> 00:12:11.139
Mm-hmm.
216
00:12:11.710 --> 00:12:13.730
And we look at the thems and we think, well,
217
00:12:13.830 --> 00:12:17.289
I'll help them later, the people who are left out,
218
00:12:18.330 --> 00:12:20.029
because there's not enough to go around and somebody's going
219
00:12:20.049 --> 00:12:22.279
to be left out. But I have to get way
220
00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:25.779
more than I need for me and mine before I
221
00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:30.039
help them. And that's the source of excess and accumulation
222
00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:33.059
and taking way more than we need, thinking that someday
223
00:12:33.100 --> 00:12:36.299
we'll help them. And maybe someday we do. But even
224
00:12:36.570 --> 00:12:39.379
if we have to take things at their expense... We
225
00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:43.019
think it's responsible to take more than we need. And
226
00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:48.450
so that's myth number one. There's not enough. Myth number
227
00:12:48.570 --> 00:12:52.009
two is more is better. More of anything and everything
228
00:12:52.090 --> 00:12:55.750
is better. More becomes an indiscriminate way of looking at life.
229
00:12:56.230 --> 00:12:59.669
More square feet in my house, more market share, more money,
230
00:12:59.980 --> 00:13:03.460
more black pants, more shoes, more this, more that, more, more, more, more.
231
00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:07.720
It's indiscriminate. Even multi-billionaires think they need more they need
232
00:13:07.769 --> 00:13:11.000
another plane another boat and they need now they need
233
00:13:11.019 --> 00:13:13.980
an island they need a you know etc and more
234
00:13:14.019 --> 00:13:18.899
is better is reinforced by massive marketing and advertising that
235
00:13:19.990 --> 00:13:22.669
we all engage in and we all buy and you
236
00:13:22.690 --> 00:13:25.649
know it's the the poster child for more is better
237
00:13:25.830 --> 00:13:31.009
is our waste problem our climate crisis and just think
238
00:13:31.049 --> 00:13:33.870
about the industry of storage. I mean, storage, what a
239
00:13:33.929 --> 00:13:36.710
weird thing. Why would we need storage? Why don't we
240
00:13:36.730 --> 00:13:38.409
just use the stuff we have? And if we don't
241
00:13:38.429 --> 00:13:40.720
need it anymore, get rid of it. No, we have
242
00:13:40.740 --> 00:13:42.580
to store it because we think we're going to need
243
00:13:42.620 --> 00:13:46.320
it someday. And then the third toxic myth. So first
244
00:13:46.379 --> 00:13:49.759
being there's not enough. Second, more is better. And the
245
00:13:49.820 --> 00:13:52.200
third is, that's just the way that it is. And
246
00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:53.679
there's nothing you can do about it. So you need
247
00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:57.779
to kind of buy in. And that's the source of resignation.
248
00:13:57.820 --> 00:14:01.100
That's the source of apathy. That's the source of giving up.
249
00:14:01.179 --> 00:14:04.570
That's the source of just being a slave to this
250
00:14:04.669 --> 00:14:08.990
mindset of scarcity. And if you just clear that away
251
00:14:09.029 --> 00:14:13.169
for a moment, like when you see a little baby
252
00:14:13.330 --> 00:14:15.820
and a new baby wraps their little hand around your
253
00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:19.059
finger and you know, this is a moment of absolute
254
00:14:19.139 --> 00:14:21.980
bliss and sufficiency or watching the sunrise or the sunset.
255
00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:25.269
We all have these moments in nature in our lives
256
00:14:25.350 --> 00:14:28.970
when we know that there's enough. There's enough for everyone
257
00:14:29.070 --> 00:14:31.809
everywhere to have a healthy and productive life. And Bucky
258
00:14:31.870 --> 00:14:36.740
Fuller really taught me that there's enough for everyone everywhere
259
00:14:36.899 --> 00:14:39.620
to have a healthy and productive life. And the mindset
260
00:14:39.659 --> 00:14:43.519
of scarcity has us live in a you or me paradigm.
261
00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:47.159
Either you make it at my expense or I make
262
00:14:47.210 --> 00:14:49.289
it at your expense because we think there's not enough
263
00:14:49.309 --> 00:14:53.370
for both of us. And he said in 1978, we're
264
00:14:53.409 --> 00:14:56.830
now in a you and me world. There's enough for
265
00:14:56.909 --> 00:14:59.769
everyone where you and I can both make it at
266
00:14:59.879 --> 00:15:02.399
no one's expense. So I can talk more about that
267
00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:06.000
in a minute, but that's a new world. Well, I do.
268
00:15:06.659 --> 00:15:09.279
By the way, I'm fascinated by that whole concept because
269
00:15:09.460 --> 00:15:10.240
it's everywhere.
270
00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:11.179
It's all around.
271
00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:14.070
And I think what I loved, going back to your book,
272
00:15:14.090 --> 00:15:15.950
The Soul of Money, I think part of it is
273
00:15:15.970 --> 00:15:18.110
I loved how.
274
00:15:18.750 --> 00:15:20.070
there's rich and poor.
275
00:15:20.090 --> 00:15:23.379
And I think most people would think if I get
276
00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:26.179
enough stuff, I'd be happy. And how could those rich
277
00:15:26.220 --> 00:15:29.600
people be so cranky? And why are they complaining? Every
278
00:15:29.620 --> 00:15:32.659
time someone rich says, oh, this is bugging, everyone goes, oh,
279
00:15:32.700 --> 00:15:36.870
give me a break. And someone who's poor, obviously, is like,
280
00:15:36.970 --> 00:15:39.590
when you do not have the things you need, that
281
00:15:39.769 --> 00:15:44.070
is what hell must be. But I think what I
282
00:15:44.090 --> 00:15:47.590
find so fascinating about you is you kind of redefined
283
00:15:47.690 --> 00:15:50.830
both terms, you know, and they're not what you thought
284
00:15:50.850 --> 00:15:51.230
at all.
285
00:15:52.090 --> 00:15:55.490
Well, I don't think they're any haves and have-nots. You know,
286
00:15:55.509 --> 00:15:57.830
working on Hunger and Poverty, you really learn that. The
287
00:15:57.889 --> 00:16:03.899
people who we sometimes think of as poor or have-nots
288
00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:08.360
are amazing people. They have to be so resourceful. They
289
00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:11.139
have to be. You know, I worked in Africa for
290
00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:16.100
many years and subcontinent of India, and I learned that
291
00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:21.860
to call people poor is to diminish them and to
292
00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:24.629
demean them and those of us who would call them that.
293
00:16:25.090 --> 00:16:27.429
Because if you get to know them, you realize how
294
00:16:27.870 --> 00:16:31.149
they are so creative. They have to be. They're so innovative.
295
00:16:31.590 --> 00:16:34.450
They're super intelligent. They have to be. They may not
296
00:16:34.509 --> 00:16:36.850
know how to read or write because they hadn't been
297
00:16:36.870 --> 00:16:39.350
given that opportunity, but that doesn't mean they're not intelligent.
298
00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:44.259
What's poor is their resources, not them. They're whole and
299
00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:48.169
complete people living in the ebb and flow and sometimes
300
00:16:48.309 --> 00:16:56.889
crushing reality of resource-poor circumstances, oppression, war, economic deprivation. But
301
00:16:57.029 --> 00:17:00.090
they are strong. In fact, they're some of the most
302
00:17:00.669 --> 00:17:04.190
remarkable people on this planet, frankly. And we take workshops
303
00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:06.299
and go to podcasts like this one to kind of
304
00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:10.400
get the strength that they have in daily life. And
305
00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:13.259
especially women, I'll just say the women in Africa that
306
00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:16.420
I come to know and love. They're just awesome, awesome,
307
00:17:16.579 --> 00:17:20.920
awesome human beings. And then to call people rich is
308
00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:24.140
also to demean them because they're just whole and complete
309
00:17:24.180 --> 00:17:26.500
people dealing with the challenges of life and the ebb
310
00:17:26.539 --> 00:17:30.980
and flow of resources. But they start, if we call
311
00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:33.480
them rich and treat them as rich, they start thinking
312
00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:36.440
they are their trust fund. They are their salary. They
313
00:17:36.589 --> 00:17:38.890
are their stock price. And then if it goes up
314
00:17:38.950 --> 00:17:42.910
or down, their whole survival is threatened. You know, we
315
00:17:43.049 --> 00:17:47.839
aren't our resources. We are our circumstances. We're whole and
316
00:17:47.880 --> 00:17:52.019
complete people. And so there's not haves and have-nots. The
317
00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:55.859
people living in resource-poor circumstances have a kind of strength,
318
00:17:56.079 --> 00:18:00.789
a resilience, a creativity, an innovation that we long for.
319
00:18:01.289 --> 00:18:04.730
We may have resources and connections, but together we can
320
00:18:04.750 --> 00:18:08.599
make a miracle. And with co-equal partnerships, We can heal
321
00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:09.059
the world.
322
00:18:09.579 --> 00:18:10.779
God, that is so beautiful.
323
00:18:10.819 --> 00:18:12.420
Do you think, you know, you talk about, you know,
324
00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:16.480
you want to end world hunger, yet we probably know
325
00:18:16.500 --> 00:18:19.819
in our lifetimes that won't happen. I mean, what's it
326
00:18:19.859 --> 00:18:22.680
like to take on something, Lynn, that's so big that
327
00:18:22.740 --> 00:18:25.480
you know you will not see to fruition?
328
00:18:26.859 --> 00:18:31.160
Well, I actually think that's a gift because, number one,
329
00:18:31.319 --> 00:18:33.559
if you think of your own life as a gift
330
00:18:34.180 --> 00:18:38.130
that you are given something, then it's your opportunity or
331
00:18:38.190 --> 00:18:42.089
maybe your responsibility to give it. Rather than to live
332
00:18:42.150 --> 00:18:47.009
a life starring me, we all have this thing that
333
00:18:47.109 --> 00:18:51.740
success is a life starring you where you can take
334
00:18:51.779 --> 00:18:55.000
credit for things and become wealthy and famous and successful
335
00:18:55.339 --> 00:18:58.700
in all the ways that our society defines it. But
336
00:18:58.740 --> 00:19:01.920
if you take on a purpose larger than your own life,
337
00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:06.440
larger than your own life starring you, something you can
338
00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:11.779
never take credit for. It humbles you. It ennobles your life.
339
00:19:12.380 --> 00:19:15.000
It gives you a kind of deep and profound meaning.
340
00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:19.569
And you are a contribution. You are trying to, you know,
341
00:19:20.180 --> 00:19:22.250
let's say you're not trying to meet a goal or
342
00:19:22.309 --> 00:19:26.289
take credit or put stuff on the scoreboard. You're actually
343
00:19:26.410 --> 00:19:31.430
living in the possibility of something like ending world hunger,
344
00:19:31.490 --> 00:19:35.200
for example. I have a commitment, a life commitment to
345
00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:40.460
bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human
346
00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:43.049
presence on this planet. I'm not going to be able
347
00:19:43.069 --> 00:19:45.549
to check that off like a to-do, but it's a
348
00:19:45.670 --> 00:19:48.670
way to live my life. And when I live consistent
349
00:19:48.730 --> 00:19:53.410
with that new dream, for humanity, I make choices that
350
00:19:53.569 --> 00:19:57.450
become consistent with that future. And it gives you a
351
00:19:57.559 --> 00:20:01.799
life of meaning, of purpose, and you start becoming the
352
00:20:01.859 --> 00:20:04.660
person you need to be to fulfill it. It's like
353
00:20:04.700 --> 00:20:08.660
the commitment reaches back into your life and makes you
354
00:20:08.819 --> 00:20:11.130
into the person you you need to be to fulfill
355
00:20:11.150 --> 00:20:13.089
that commitment rather than you have to be the person
356
00:20:13.109 --> 00:20:15.750
who can fulfill it first and then you commit and
357
00:20:15.769 --> 00:20:17.990
then you can do it. No, it's the other way around.
358
00:20:18.049 --> 00:20:20.990
It's just amazing. And it lights you up.
359
00:20:21.569 --> 00:20:24.509
Yes, I could tell, man. You're effervescent, I have to say.
360
00:20:24.529 --> 00:20:28.549
So how do you, if you have not had the
361
00:20:28.609 --> 00:20:30.769
moment like you had in your 30s where it hit
362
00:20:30.789 --> 00:20:33.450
you like a lightning bolt, that's my purpose. I know
363
00:20:33.470 --> 00:20:35.970
there are people listening right now who are saying to themselves,
364
00:20:36.130 --> 00:20:38.930
I'd like to find I want what she's having, but
365
00:20:39.589 --> 00:20:43.019
my lightning bolt hasn't hit me. Can you go find
366
00:20:43.099 --> 00:20:45.819
it or does it have to come to you? How
367
00:20:46.140 --> 00:20:47.759
do you suggest people find the purpose?
368
00:20:48.380 --> 00:20:52.400
Well, I would say listening to podcasts like yours, you know,
369
00:20:52.700 --> 00:20:56.890
listening to people like you. But really what I invite
370
00:20:56.930 --> 00:20:59.789
people to do is I have them really, and I
371
00:20:59.829 --> 00:21:02.490
invite people to do this now, to look and see
372
00:21:02.529 --> 00:21:04.150
when you look out in the world, you know, the
373
00:21:04.210 --> 00:21:07.130
big world, the whole thing, all of humanity, the community
374
00:21:07.180 --> 00:21:10.980
of life, the earth, all of it, what really truly
375
00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:15.279
breaks your heart? What really breaks your heart? And, you know,
376
00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:20.079
maybe many, many things. Obviously, there's so much that's heartbreaking now.
377
00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:23.900
But what is one of the primary, most deep things
378
00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:27.869
that breaks your heart? And when you really, you know,
379
00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:31.829
tap into that, it might be that that a child
380
00:21:31.869 --> 00:21:34.789
would have no one who stands for them or the
381
00:21:34.869 --> 00:21:40.809
cruelty to the community of life or the breakdown of
382
00:21:40.930 --> 00:21:45.599
our living systems or what really breaks your heart, something
383
00:21:45.650 --> 00:21:49.259
kind of big. And then what makes your heart sing?
384
00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:53.380
What really makes your heart sing? And not just what
385
00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:55.519
gives you a little bit of fun now and then,
386
00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:58.849
but what when it happens or when you're doing it,
387
00:21:58.900 --> 00:22:02.579
when you're being it, What makes your heart sing? And
388
00:22:02.740 --> 00:22:05.119
often what breaks your heart and what makes your heart
389
00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:09.049
sing defines who you really are, why you're here on
390
00:22:09.089 --> 00:22:12.309
this planet, what you came to do, who you came
391
00:22:12.410 --> 00:22:15.210
to be. You know, I say, because we're living in
392
00:22:15.289 --> 00:22:18.380
such an epic time, I mean, this is the decisive decade.
393
00:22:18.410 --> 00:22:20.660
Many would say that. I say it. Here we are
394
00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:21.559
in 2023 going into 2024. You know, this is a
395
00:22:21.579 --> 00:22:22.680
decisive time, 2020 to 2030, for the environment, for all
396
00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:31.490
kinds of things. And if you're on this planet now,
397
00:22:31.650 --> 00:22:33.990
I say you have a role to play. It may
398
00:22:34.029 --> 00:22:35.829
not be a big role or a small role. It's
399
00:22:35.890 --> 00:22:38.049
just your role or you wouldn't be here. That's what
400
00:22:38.089 --> 00:22:40.559
I think. And if you think of things that way
401
00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:44.299
and you listen for the signs, you know, when you
402
00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:46.039
were a little girl in the playground or a little
403
00:22:46.059 --> 00:22:49.079
boy in the playground, did you defend against the bullies?
404
00:22:50.119 --> 00:22:53.039
Maybe you're a justice person. Maybe you want justice for
405
00:22:53.099 --> 00:22:56.059
every single person. Or were you the person who chose
406
00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:59.259
the person First, for kickball that was the least able
407
00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:02.700
to kick the ball, maybe you're all about including people
408
00:23:02.740 --> 00:23:05.099
who feel left out. Are you the person who was
409
00:23:05.420 --> 00:23:07.920
marveling at the beauty of a tree when you were
410
00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:09.819
three or four years old? You just loved it more
411
00:23:09.859 --> 00:23:12.619
than you loved anything. Maybe you're a person who stands
412
00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:16.430
for giving people access to beauty. You can see in
413
00:23:16.470 --> 00:23:20.150
your childhood who your heroes and heroines. You can see
414
00:23:20.190 --> 00:23:22.569
there's often a through line in your life that leads
415
00:23:22.589 --> 00:23:25.380
you to what's my big commitment? What do I really
416
00:23:25.509 --> 00:23:28.549
stand for? What am I here for? And if you
417
00:23:28.589 --> 00:23:32.109
start listening and looking for those signs, that calling will
418
00:23:32.130 --> 00:23:34.609
start to call to you. And that's what I recommend.
419
00:23:35.609 --> 00:23:36.369
God, that's beautiful.
420
00:23:36.529 --> 00:23:38.930
And if, you know, because people still have to pay
421
00:23:38.950 --> 00:23:41.029
their bills, like their rent and their food.
422
00:23:41.470 --> 00:23:43.390
And I think you want to chase that. You want
423
00:23:43.410 --> 00:23:44.789
to chase that purpose.
424
00:23:48.420 --> 00:23:51.799
But I think sometimes people revert to the more practical side,
425
00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:54.089
which is that sounds all well and good and I'd
426
00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:56.509
love to do all that stuff. But quite frankly, my
427
00:23:56.569 --> 00:23:59.130
rent comes due at the first of the month and
428
00:23:59.170 --> 00:24:01.130
I got to be ready. And if I, you know,
429
00:24:01.230 --> 00:24:03.349
pull up stakes from where I am and try to
430
00:24:03.430 --> 00:24:06.680
find that big, lofty, beautiful thing, maybe I won't be
431
00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:08.119
able to take care of my needs.
432
00:24:09.660 --> 00:24:12.039
Well, that's a bit of a challenge and a bit
433
00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:16.900
of an irritation. I experienced that myself. At the same time,
434
00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:21.500
I think we all know people and have experiences where
435
00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:25.339
we know that it's possible no matter who you are
436
00:24:25.420 --> 00:24:27.769
and no matter where you are, no matter what your
437
00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:31.950
economic or financial circumstances, to live a life of meaning
438
00:24:31.990 --> 00:24:39.170
and purpose. And to incorporate the livelihood-ness, how to earn
439
00:24:39.210 --> 00:24:44.089
your way into the hearts and minds of people everywhere
440
00:24:44.269 --> 00:24:48.349
and earn your way into a sufficient life financially and
441
00:24:48.430 --> 00:24:51.230
put those things together as well as you can. Sometimes
442
00:24:51.309 --> 00:24:53.369
it takes, you got to do this a little bit
443
00:24:53.390 --> 00:24:56.470
before you do that. Sometimes there's a first we have to,
444
00:24:56.549 --> 00:25:00.369
and sometimes there's not. If the context of your life
445
00:25:00.930 --> 00:25:07.450
is large enough, the content will align. Context is decisive.
446
00:25:07.609 --> 00:25:13.049
Context gives content meanings. I, I, I'm remembering a man, um,
447
00:25:13.690 --> 00:25:16.539
who used to drive a bus when my husband went
448
00:25:16.579 --> 00:25:19.099
to business school in Chicago, when we were young and
449
00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:21.940
still in school. And he always used to get to
450
00:25:21.960 --> 00:25:24.180
the corner where he took the bus to his business
451
00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:28.740
school classes to get this bus driver named Joe, because Joe,
452
00:25:29.460 --> 00:25:33.890
when people got on Joe's bus, he greeted them, Bill,
453
00:25:33.950 --> 00:25:37.230
my husband, Bill Spilk. How's it going today? I know
454
00:25:37.269 --> 00:25:39.630
it's raining outside, but it's cozy in this bus. You
455
00:25:39.670 --> 00:25:41.910
sit down here right next to me. I'd like to
456
00:25:41.950 --> 00:25:43.710
hear how things are going for you while I'm driving.
457
00:25:44.309 --> 00:25:47.759
And this guy is a bus driver, but a big,
458
00:25:47.859 --> 00:25:51.539
beautiful African-American man. He wanted people on his bus to
459
00:25:51.579 --> 00:25:54.519
be happy and welcome and warm. And that was his
460
00:25:54.579 --> 00:25:57.920
mission in life, love. Love every single person to make
461
00:25:57.940 --> 00:26:01.440
them feel wanted, seen, included, and heard. And you know,
462
00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:05.059
sometimes people were grumpy and they didn't like Joe talking
463
00:26:05.079 --> 00:26:08.089
to them, but He made it good for them, too. So,
464
00:26:08.269 --> 00:26:10.359
you know, you could be a waitress. You could be
465
00:26:10.380 --> 00:26:12.740
a bus driver. You can be ending world hunger. You
466
00:26:12.779 --> 00:26:16.619
could be a Mahatma Gandhi. You can be anything you want,
467
00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:20.259
and you could make it into something that serves the
468
00:26:20.299 --> 00:26:25.519
long-term future of life and gives people and yourself a
469
00:26:25.579 --> 00:26:28.240
purpose larger than your life starring you.
470
00:26:30.509 --> 00:26:33.849
Coming up, Lynn shares the lesson she learned from Mother Teresa.
471
00:26:33.950 --> 00:26:46.660
That's after the break. This is an Aero.
472
00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:50.000
Mmm.
473
00:26:50.809 --> 00:26:53.990
And this is the sound of its minty bubbles.
474
00:26:56.269 --> 00:27:04.589
Conjuring melt in your mouth, pure bubbly joy. Melt into
475
00:27:04.630 --> 00:27:07.940
the moment with Aero's delicious peppermint bubbles.
476
00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:11.460
Aero, feel the bubbles melt.
477
00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:18.759
Delicious beef ragu for dinner because you can't keep up
478
00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:22.539
with all the group chats. Spicy beef burrito for lunch
479
00:27:22.599 --> 00:27:27.130
because you deserve it. Mouthwatering beef stir-fry because you hit
480
00:27:27.170 --> 00:27:28.930
reply all by accident.
481
00:27:29.710 --> 00:27:32.769
Beef because you deserve a tasty, nutritious meal you can
482
00:27:32.829 --> 00:27:35.410
feel good about any day of the week. And every
483
00:27:35.470 --> 00:27:37.890
time you choose beef with the Bored Be A Quality mark,
484
00:27:37.990 --> 00:27:40.930
you're making a real difference to those who produce it.
485
00:27:41.190 --> 00:27:43.950
Make your mark. Always choose beef with the Bored Be
486
00:27:43.990 --> 00:27:44.650
A Quality mark.
487
00:27:45.549 --> 00:27:48.960
If you think microbiotics are just for digestion, think again.
488
00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:53.539
Super 8 Immune Microbiotics supports so much more. In every capsule,
489
00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:57.779
Super 8 Immune delivers eight powerful benefits, supporting immunity, digestion,
490
00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:02.039
bowel function, the microbiome, overall well-being, oral health, recovery, and
491
00:28:02.119 --> 00:28:05.359
support after antibiotics. That's the power of eight in one
492
00:28:05.460 --> 00:28:09.269
daily Super 8 Immune capsule. Eight strains, eight benefits. The
493
00:28:09.329 --> 00:28:12.440
power of eight. Find Super 8 Immune refrigerated in health
494
00:28:12.460 --> 00:28:15.720
food stores and pharmacies, or learn more at udoschoice.ie.
495
00:28:22.069 --> 00:28:26.869
You worked alongside Mother Teresa, which is just another dream.
496
00:28:27.309 --> 00:28:29.329
And when you think of the Mother Teresas and the
497
00:28:29.349 --> 00:28:33.009
Mahatma Gandhis and the Martin Luther Kings and all these people,
498
00:28:33.089 --> 00:28:37.410
you imagine them only on the world stage. That's how
499
00:28:37.490 --> 00:28:39.400
I see them. And when I was reading, I was like, Lynn...
500
00:28:40.190 --> 00:28:43.730
was side by side with Mother Teresa. First of all,
501
00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:46.220
they didn't all start off big, obviously. They just started
502
00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:49.440
off doing good things. But what did you learn from
503
00:28:49.859 --> 00:28:51.700
Mother Teresa? What did she teach you?
504
00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:57.910
Oh, my God. I just started to cry there. She
505
00:28:57.970 --> 00:29:05.069
taught me humility. You can see Christ in every face.
506
00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:14.099
I had an encounter with some very rude and ungrateful
507
00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:17.579
people who were meeting with her, who broke into a
508
00:29:17.619 --> 00:29:20.750
meeting that I was having with her. And she treated
509
00:29:20.789 --> 00:29:23.319
them with such respect and they were so rude to her.
510
00:29:24.150 --> 00:29:27.190
Imagine being rude to Mother Teresa. And I was so
511
00:29:27.309 --> 00:29:31.430
angry with these people. But when they left, I realized
512
00:29:31.470 --> 00:29:34.460
that my blood was boiling and she was fine with
513
00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:37.440
these people. And I wrote to her afterwards and She
514
00:29:37.500 --> 00:29:40.009
told me you can see Christ in every face. even
515
00:29:40.069 --> 00:29:45.210
in the entitled, the rude, the wealthy, the overbearing, the domineering.
516
00:29:46.559 --> 00:29:50.900
Christ is inside of every face or love is in
517
00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:54.720
every face. And she said this one cool thing and
518
00:29:55.440 --> 00:29:57.339
it's quoted from time to time, but I heard her
519
00:29:57.480 --> 00:30:00.920
say it. And I remember thinking, oh my God, She said,
520
00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:07.660
the unadulterated love of one person can nullify the hatred
521
00:30:07.700 --> 00:30:10.599
of millions. This quote, I'll just say it again. The
522
00:30:10.700 --> 00:30:16.700
unadulterated love of one person can nullify the hatred of millions.
523
00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:22.009
You know, I can't prove that. There's not a lot
524
00:30:22.049 --> 00:30:25.109
of evidence for that, but that's a way to live,
525
00:30:25.210 --> 00:30:29.789
and that's the way she lived. She was an awesome example.
526
00:30:31.349 --> 00:30:35.329
Love is at the core. Love is God. Love is
527
00:30:35.390 --> 00:30:39.710
the universe. Love is who we are at our core. Wow.
528
00:30:40.210 --> 00:30:45.099
Common ground is something that seems, I don't know, not
529
00:30:45.140 --> 00:30:46.279
as prevalent as it used to be.
530
00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:52.779
Having conversations, getting people together, because, you know, just finding
531
00:30:52.839 --> 00:30:56.859
the things that we share seems like it's such A
532
00:30:56.890 --> 00:30:59.819
far fetch. I mean, we just had the Macy's Thanksgiving
533
00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:02.000
Day Parade not too long ago, and it was the
534
00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:05.420
highest rated they've had in forever. And the reason being,
535
00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:08.279
I think, is because it's something everyone agrees on.
536
00:31:08.299 --> 00:31:11.329
Oh my gosh, it's a parade. There's not you and
537
00:31:11.390 --> 00:31:14.170
me or them and us. This is just what we do.
538
00:31:14.829 --> 00:31:17.630
And I'm just looking for more of those things that
539
00:31:17.690 --> 00:31:20.349
seem to bring everyone together to the table.
540
00:31:20.430 --> 00:31:22.710
There's enough for everyone everywhere to have a healthy and
541
00:31:22.730 --> 00:31:26.680
productive life. And this you or me paradigm is still
542
00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:30.400
reigning supreme, but it's in its death throes, actually. That's
543
00:31:30.460 --> 00:31:33.519
why it's so intense, I think. And I think one
544
00:31:33.539 --> 00:31:36.980
of the most powerful things that people are doing now,
545
00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:41.230
and this podcast and your work is part of it,
546
00:31:41.789 --> 00:31:48.490
is reaching across to each other, connecting, belonging, realizing it's
547
00:31:48.529 --> 00:31:51.670
not left, it's not right. Let's not go left, let's
548
00:31:51.730 --> 00:31:54.990
not go right, let's go deep. Let's go deep. We
549
00:31:55.230 --> 00:31:58.930
are aligned. We may not agree. That's up here. But
550
00:31:58.970 --> 00:32:01.839
when we go deep, we're aligned. We want the world
551
00:32:01.880 --> 00:32:04.839
to work for everyone with no one and nothing left out.
552
00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:09.079
We want human life to flourish with the community of life,
553
00:32:09.920 --> 00:32:13.680
our kin on this planet, the other animals and plants.
554
00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:16.460
We want the end of not just all these other
555
00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:19.160
supremacies that we talk about. We want the end of
556
00:32:19.259 --> 00:32:23.099
human supremacy. We want human beings to tone it down,
557
00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:28.319
you know, and to participate with everybody else here. We
558
00:32:29.140 --> 00:32:32.779
all want the same thing deep down underneath. And when
559
00:32:32.839 --> 00:32:39.450
we reach across, get in conversation, collaborate, that's co-labor, work together,
560
00:32:40.049 --> 00:32:46.849
we will create institutions, new economic systems that are circular,
561
00:32:46.930 --> 00:32:53.500
that recycle everything, not just things, but are the kind
562
00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:57.240
of economic systems where no one's left out. We can
563
00:32:57.319 --> 00:33:00.769
do that. We have that intelligence now, and we have
564
00:33:01.170 --> 00:33:02.170
so many tools.
565
00:33:05.130 --> 00:33:07.430
After the break, Lynn shares the way of thinking that
566
00:33:07.490 --> 00:33:11.559
can redirect your life, tackling self-doubt and fear, and how
567
00:33:11.660 --> 00:33:14.220
gratitude can be transformational.
568
00:33:14.460 --> 00:33:14.940
Stay with us.
569
00:33:20.490 --> 00:33:21.769
This is an Aero.
570
00:33:21.789 --> 00:33:25.089
Mmm.
571
00:33:25.890 --> 00:33:31.890
And this is the sound of its minty bubbles. Conjuring
572
00:33:31.950 --> 00:33:39.819
melt in your mouth, pure bubbly joy. Melt into the
573
00:33:39.859 --> 00:33:43.039
moment with Aero's delicious peppermint bubbles.
574
00:33:44.440 --> 00:33:46.559
Aero, feel the bubbles melt.
575
00:33:50.519 --> 00:33:53.309
Get loyalty that loves you back with MyCentra. Download the
576
00:33:53.349 --> 00:33:56.069
MyCentra app and get exclusive offers this week. Like old
577
00:33:56.130 --> 00:33:58.809
El Paso dinner kits, € 3 each. Select a Coke Zero
578
00:33:58.849 --> 00:34:01.309
and Diet Coke 2 litre, € 2 each. And select a
579
00:34:01.329 --> 00:34:06.119
Kellogg cereals, € 6. 50 to € 7. 50 gram, like Coco Pops, € 3. 50.
580
00:34:05.039 --> 00:34:10.340
Only with the MyCentra app. Centra. Live every day. DRS supplies.
581
00:34:10.860 --> 00:34:11.920
Ho, ho, ho.
582
00:34:12.300 --> 00:34:12.599
Nope.
583
00:34:13.139 --> 00:34:16.510
It's too early for that. You can't control how quickly
584
00:34:16.570 --> 00:34:19.610
Christmas is coming, but you can control those dreaded winter
585
00:34:19.670 --> 00:34:23.869
energy costs by switching to prepay power. With pay-as-you-go energy,
586
00:34:24.070 --> 00:34:26.989
there's no bills and you're always in control of what
587
00:34:27.030 --> 00:34:30.679
you spend. And new customers get 100 euro welcome credit
588
00:34:30.699 --> 00:34:35.539
by switching now. Prepay power, hello control. Get 100 euro
589
00:34:35.559 --> 00:34:39.809
welcome credit when you switch today at prepaypower.ie. Terms and
590
00:34:39.829 --> 00:34:40.409
conditions apply.
591
00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:52.460
You said something that I loved for everybody who's walking
592
00:34:52.500 --> 00:34:54.659
around kind of in their own private Idaho with their
593
00:34:54.679 --> 00:34:57.670
own problems and their own things. And you talked about
594
00:34:57.730 --> 00:35:01.349
how when you're younger, sometimes you're given a life sentence.
595
00:35:02.309 --> 00:35:05.530
And I love this phrasing because it's like a line
596
00:35:05.929 --> 00:35:09.010
somebody says to you and you carry it your whole life.
597
00:35:09.650 --> 00:35:12.510
And it's a burden because someone has tagged you or
598
00:35:12.590 --> 00:35:14.739
described you. And now you're like, I guess that's me.
599
00:35:15.019 --> 00:35:17.840
I'm the this one or the that one. Will you
600
00:35:17.900 --> 00:35:20.610
just talk about that? I find that fascinating. And also,
601
00:35:20.639 --> 00:35:22.050
how do you get rid of that thing?
602
00:35:22.590 --> 00:35:26.110
The life sentence being like a life sentence, like a
603
00:35:26.150 --> 00:35:30.030
prison that's in your mind. And it might have been
604
00:35:30.070 --> 00:35:34.010
that someone told you you're never amount to anything. And
605
00:35:34.050 --> 00:35:38.050
that got stuck in your mind. And that gets repeated like,
606
00:35:38.489 --> 00:35:41.489
you know, riverlets in the snow when you're doing cross-country skiing.
607
00:35:41.550 --> 00:35:43.929
And every time you think you don't amount to anything,
608
00:35:43.969 --> 00:35:45.869
you don't amount to anything. You're never going to amount
609
00:35:45.889 --> 00:35:48.369
to anything. It gets deeper and deeper. And it becomes
610
00:35:48.409 --> 00:35:50.429
a life sentence, a prison in the way you think.
611
00:35:51.110 --> 00:35:53.590
But you can free yourself from your life sentences. When
612
00:35:53.610 --> 00:35:57.929
you start to listen to a life sentence that you'll
613
00:35:57.969 --> 00:36:01.329
never measure up to your mother or God, it must
614
00:36:01.369 --> 00:36:05.670
be tough being blank or this or that. If it's
615
00:36:05.710 --> 00:36:09.969
a negative life sentence, you can replace it with an affirmation.
616
00:36:10.369 --> 00:36:12.690
You can say, I mean, really, it sounds so simple,
617
00:36:12.730 --> 00:36:15.570
it must not possibly work, but it does. You can
618
00:36:15.639 --> 00:36:19.630
say cancel. You can say If you have these doubts
619
00:36:19.690 --> 00:36:24.010
about yourself, and we all do, and I'm going to
620
00:36:24.050 --> 00:36:26.750
do a terrible interview with Hoda. I won't be ready.
621
00:36:27.250 --> 00:36:30.030
I say, cancel, cancel. I am so ready. I've lived
622
00:36:30.090 --> 00:36:33.239
a life. I earned the right to talk to her today.
623
00:36:33.260 --> 00:36:35.699
I'm going to do the best interview I've ever done
624
00:36:35.780 --> 00:36:37.989
on The Soul of Money, on Living a Committed Life,
625
00:36:38.380 --> 00:36:42.380
on anything she asks me. I'm so excited. Your brain
626
00:36:42.480 --> 00:36:46.760
will obey. It will obey. But you have to say cancel.
627
00:36:47.179 --> 00:36:50.880
you know, out loud or in your mind. And it's
628
00:36:50.920 --> 00:36:55.989
really incredible how simple but not easy it is to
629
00:36:56.190 --> 00:36:59.590
redirect the trajectory of your own life. You know, every
630
00:36:59.670 --> 00:37:03.469
single moment we have the opportunity to transform our lives
631
00:37:03.909 --> 00:37:05.969
and to live in the kind of deep and profound
632
00:37:06.010 --> 00:37:10.429
gratitude for just being alive at such an irremarkable time
633
00:37:10.849 --> 00:37:13.780
where you can make this kind of a difference and
634
00:37:13.929 --> 00:37:18.500
know that not only can you But I think there's
635
00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:23.659
a demand, a request, an invitation, maybe even a responsibility
636
00:37:23.679 --> 00:37:26.179
to realize that if you're alive now, as I said before,
637
00:37:26.719 --> 00:37:29.449
you have a role to play and play it with
638
00:37:29.670 --> 00:37:32.750
all your heart. And don't let those doubts and fears
639
00:37:32.849 --> 00:37:37.190
and those life sentences, free yourself of those prisons and
640
00:37:37.489 --> 00:37:41.469
replace them with the affirmations that give you the access
641
00:37:41.849 --> 00:37:44.409
to the kind of life you've always dreamed of and
642
00:37:44.469 --> 00:37:46.829
to make the kind of difference that you're here to make.
643
00:37:47.530 --> 00:37:50.269
And it's a responsibility to get rid of those life sentences.
644
00:37:50.690 --> 00:37:53.050
It's not just life would be easier and better and
645
00:37:53.070 --> 00:37:57.969
more fun. No, don't allow that. Say, no, not for me.
646
00:37:58.599 --> 00:38:01.119
I have so much to do. I have such a
647
00:38:01.159 --> 00:38:04.519
difference to make. Get out of here, those ideas. They're
648
00:38:04.539 --> 00:38:07.199
not valid. That's not who I am. Who I am
649
00:38:07.260 --> 00:38:11.460
is somebody who's here to really matter. Do you ever
650
00:38:11.760 --> 00:38:16.989
lose your mojo? Do you ever have days... where you're like,
651
00:38:17.050 --> 00:38:21.909
you know what? I mean, every interview I've watched, every
652
00:38:22.010 --> 00:38:27.219
interaction you've had, I just see electricity because I, and
653
00:38:27.260 --> 00:38:29.199
that's why, I mean, it's so clear it's your calling.
654
00:38:29.659 --> 00:38:33.300
But sometimes we all try and we have stumbles along
655
00:38:33.320 --> 00:38:33.739
the way.
656
00:38:33.760 --> 00:38:36.679
How do you get yourself out of a funk when
657
00:38:36.719 --> 00:38:37.510
you get in one?
658
00:38:38.190 --> 00:38:40.250
And yeah, just what's the best way to do that?
659
00:38:41.090 --> 00:38:44.510
Well, I have those days and I do them really well.
660
00:38:45.099 --> 00:38:50.880
really full out. Sometimes when I'm having a downer, and
661
00:38:50.940 --> 00:38:52.699
I have them, I mean, my God, I'm a human
662
00:38:52.739 --> 00:38:57.230
being too, I realize I just need to give myself
663
00:38:57.289 --> 00:39:02.750
a break here and let myself complain and moan and
664
00:39:03.250 --> 00:39:07.949
say terrible things. And I have colleagues and friends, we
665
00:39:07.969 --> 00:39:11.849
probably all do, and methodologies where I say, I have
666
00:39:12.280 --> 00:39:15.789
my business partner, my work wife, I call her, Sarah Vedder,
667
00:39:16.710 --> 00:39:18.409
I say to her, Sarah, I want to do a
668
00:39:18.449 --> 00:39:21.079
spring cleaning. This comes from a woman named Mama Gina
669
00:39:21.179 --> 00:39:24.780
who does incredible work. I want to do a spring cleaning.
670
00:39:25.360 --> 00:39:27.710
And a spring cleaning is something where she's just there
671
00:39:27.849 --> 00:39:32.070
and she listens to me complain. and complain and complain.
672
00:39:32.460 --> 00:39:36.739
She doesn't agree with me. She doesn't validate it. She
673
00:39:36.780 --> 00:39:39.019
doesn't argue with, she doesn't try to change my mind.
674
00:39:39.039 --> 00:39:42.639
She just says, thank you. What else? And I say, well,
675
00:39:42.719 --> 00:39:45.659
I just hate this. And I can't get on Google Docs.
676
00:39:45.960 --> 00:39:47.800
And something's wrong with my computer. And I'm so mad
677
00:39:47.840 --> 00:39:51.699
at my husband because he didn't... And then she says,
678
00:39:52.119 --> 00:39:53.639
thank you. And what else?
679
00:39:53.659 --> 00:39:56.510
I love this.
680
00:39:56.610 --> 00:40:00.869
And then you complete with, what are you grateful for?
681
00:40:01.530 --> 00:40:04.730
When you're done with the download, what are you grateful for? Well,
682
00:40:05.590 --> 00:40:07.650
I'm so grateful for this conversation because I feel so
683
00:40:07.670 --> 00:40:11.110
much better now. I'm so grateful to be alive. Actually,
684
00:40:11.150 --> 00:40:13.349
I have such awesome health for my age. I can't
685
00:40:13.389 --> 00:40:16.969
even believe it. And actually, the day, it's so sunny.
686
00:40:17.409 --> 00:40:20.760
Holy moly, I forgot. My grandchildren, I'm going to spend
687
00:40:20.820 --> 00:40:22.980
time with them this weekend. And pretty soon I'm so
688
00:40:23.039 --> 00:40:28.190
moved I'm crying and I'm inspired again. And so everybody
689
00:40:28.210 --> 00:40:31.670
can get themselves out of a funk. And I also love, love, love,
690
00:40:31.809 --> 00:40:34.690
as we all do, nature. I mean, I can go sit.
691
00:40:34.789 --> 00:40:38.110
I live near, I live in California, Northern California. And
692
00:40:38.130 --> 00:40:40.570
I live near what's called the Presidio. There's a forest
693
00:40:41.050 --> 00:40:43.269
not far from my home and there's a redwood grove.
694
00:40:43.389 --> 00:40:45.829
And if I go to that redwood grove and I
695
00:40:45.869 --> 00:40:48.329
look at those trees, I mean, I just think about them.
696
00:40:48.880 --> 00:40:55.800
These magnificent trees, they're just gigantic. They're strong. They're resilient.
697
00:40:56.159 --> 00:40:59.639
They've been there for thousands of years. And I realize
698
00:40:59.699 --> 00:41:02.019
the privilege it is to be alive at a time
699
00:41:02.460 --> 00:41:05.219
when I can be in communion with that kind of
700
00:41:05.280 --> 00:41:08.170
a being. It all comes back to me and I
701
00:41:08.210 --> 00:41:11.570
can be inspired again. And I also consider myself someone
702
00:41:12.070 --> 00:41:14.570
whose job in life, and I think you're like this too,
703
00:41:15.289 --> 00:41:18.329
is to inspire people. And so I know that I
704
00:41:18.369 --> 00:41:21.210
need to clear myself so that I can be back
705
00:41:21.750 --> 00:41:25.050
on duty. And when I'm back on duty, I'm inspired
706
00:41:25.090 --> 00:41:30.170
by literally everything I look at. And gratitude is a ton.
707
00:41:30.250 --> 00:41:35.260
Gratitude is transformational. Gratitude can always take you from where
708
00:41:35.320 --> 00:41:38.199
you are to where you want to be. So those
709
00:41:38.260 --> 00:41:39.300
are some of the things that I do.
710
00:41:39.360 --> 00:41:42.099
This all makes so much sense to me. I just
711
00:41:42.119 --> 00:41:44.900
want to say thank you. But before we say goodbye, Lynn...
712
00:41:45.130 --> 00:41:47.889
We do call this podcast making space because I feel
713
00:41:47.909 --> 00:41:52.530
like everyone should make space for themselves, time where they
714
00:41:52.550 --> 00:41:55.789
can recharge and recalibrate, where they don't have to be
715
00:41:55.869 --> 00:41:59.809
on the giving end. So if you had a blank
716
00:41:59.889 --> 00:42:05.710
slate day, no kids, no grandkids, no speeches, no podcasts,
717
00:42:06.110 --> 00:42:09.150
it was your day, how would.
718
00:42:08.949 --> 00:42:10.829
You make space for yourself on that day? How would
719
00:42:10.869 --> 00:42:11.369
you spend it?
720
00:42:13.110 --> 00:42:19.130
Oh, gosh, what a great question. Well, I would walk
721
00:42:19.190 --> 00:42:23.739
on the beach. I live near the Golden Gate Bridge
722
00:42:23.800 --> 00:42:27.199
in San Francisco and beautiful beaches in Northern California. I
723
00:42:27.260 --> 00:42:31.760
would spend time in the forest, the beautiful forest that
724
00:42:31.780 --> 00:42:35.219
we have in Northern California. I would spend time with my,
725
00:42:35.320 --> 00:42:38.320
I would hike with my grandchildren because there's nothing more
726
00:42:38.360 --> 00:42:43.349
wonderful than being with grandchildren, particularly my grandchildren. They're so precious.
727
00:42:44.510 --> 00:42:47.309
I would spend time with my beloved husband, Bill Twist,
728
00:42:47.349 --> 00:42:51.800
who I've been married to for 57 years. Wow. And
729
00:42:52.429 --> 00:42:56.860
I would get a massage. I love massage. I would meditate.
730
00:42:57.960 --> 00:43:02.579
I would pray. I would lay on the earth and
731
00:43:03.940 --> 00:43:06.719
cry with joy because it's such a gift to be
732
00:43:06.739 --> 00:43:10.489
alive right now. When both life is.
733
00:43:12.480 --> 00:43:16.239
Is both in danger and we have the opportunity to
734
00:43:16.400 --> 00:43:19.619
turn the tide like no generation that's ever lived. I
735
00:43:19.659 --> 00:43:24.900
would live that day in gratefulness or great fullness, which
736
00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.760
is noticing absolutely everything of beauty around me and bowing
737
00:43:29.840 --> 00:43:33.530
to it, acknowledging it and honoring it. So that's what.
738
00:43:33.369 --> 00:43:34.219
I would do.
739
00:43:34.230 --> 00:43:36.369
Lynn, I had such high expectations for this interview and
740
00:43:36.429 --> 00:43:38.510
it totally eclipsed it as I knew it would.
741
00:43:39.230 --> 00:43:40.469
Lynn, thank you so much.
742
00:43:40.570 --> 00:43:43.469
Thank you. This has been an absolute joy. I'm deeply
743
00:43:43.530 --> 00:43:45.079
grateful and keep it up.
744
00:43:45.909 --> 00:43:46.260
I will.
745
00:43:46.300 --> 00:43:46.550
I will.
746
00:43:46.570 --> 00:43:47.199
Thank you, Lynn.
747
00:43:54.420 --> 00:43:56.199
Hey, guys, thank you so much for listening and for
748
00:43:56.260 --> 00:43:58.300
coming on this journey with me. If you like what
749
00:43:58.320 --> 00:44:00.539
you heard, and I hope that you do, please give
750
00:44:00.679 --> 00:44:04.730
Making Space a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts.
751
00:44:05.239 --> 00:44:06.400
And make sure you tell your friends.
752
00:44:06.460 --> 00:44:09.840
Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening
753
00:44:09.889 --> 00:44:12.969
right now. Making Space with Hoda Kotb is produced by
754
00:44:13.050 --> 00:44:16.690
Allison Berger and Alexa Kasavecchia, along with Amanda Sidman and
755
00:44:16.769 --> 00:44:21.389
Kate Saunders. Our production assistant is Megan Cilio. Our associate
756
00:44:21.510 --> 00:44:26.269
audio engineer is Juliana Mastroilli. Our audio engineers are Bob
757
00:44:26.329 --> 00:44:32.090
Mallory and Katherine Anderson. Original music by John Estes. Bryson
758
00:44:32.110 --> 00:44:35.969
Varnes is our head of audio production. Missy Dunlop-Parsons is
759
00:44:36.010 --> 00:44:39.300
our executive producer. Charisse Williams-Laredo is our senior producer.
760
00:44:48.590 --> 00:44:49.829
This is how we do it.