Latest / Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess / Great Gifts of Joy | Episode #477

Transcript

Great Gifts of Joy | Episode #477 · Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess

• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to today's show, Legacy Living, Make Your
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Life Count. I'm your host, Doctor Gloria. Gloria Burgess, international
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: leadership expert and trusted advisor. Welcome to Legacy Living, Make
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: your Life Count. I'm so delighted that you join me today.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: I want to give a big thank you to those
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: of you who are listening, and a great big shout
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  Speaker 1: out to all of you listening around the world. I'm
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: delighted and so grateful that you're here with me today.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: I sure hope you're enjoying a fabulous day and that
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  Speaker 1: you're having a fantastic week, because you know what, in
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  Speaker 1: the grand song of the universe, life is so very short.
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  Speaker 1: It's short, sweet and very precious. So I hope you're
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  Speaker 1: making a difference in your own life, because when you do,
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  Speaker 1: you make a difference in somebody else's life. Now, a
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  Speaker 1: lot of us, a lot of folks really want to
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  Speaker 1: make their life count for something, but they don't know how,
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: or they don't know where to begin. So they ask me,
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  Speaker 1: doctor Gloria, how do you do that? How do you
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  Speaker 1: make your life count? Well, it's very simple, very simple.
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  Speaker 1: You make your life count day by day, step by step,
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  Speaker 1: moment by moment, smile by smile, every single day, three
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  Speaker 1: sixty five twenty four seven. Now, I'll say a little
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  Speaker 1: bit more about that later on, but right now it's
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  Speaker 1: time to step back and listen in. That's right, it's
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: time to hit the pause button because it's time for
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: today's episode, which is all about making your life count. Now,
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  Speaker 1: I want you to imagine that you and I are
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  Speaker 1: in the same room, maybe it's our kitchen or living room.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: I'm sitting right across the table from you. I'm pouring
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: you a cup of tea or coffee, and we are
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  Speaker 1: about to have a cup, a small cup of what matters.
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  Speaker 1: Today's focus is all about the power of giving, and
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: I'm going to say the power and the beauty of
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  Speaker 1: giving and understanding that when we give from our hearts,
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  Speaker 1: when we give of ourselves, we create a deep connection
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  Speaker 1: with the person we're giving too, and that can help
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  Speaker 1: us be the difference who makes the difference in our
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  Speaker 1: own life and in someone else's life. Now we're going
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  Speaker 1: to talk about one of my favorite stories. It's a
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  Speaker 1: story about giving, and the story is called The Christmas Coat.
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  Speaker 1: The Christmas Coat. It's a story written by pastor Dewey
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  Speaker 1: Moody a heartfelt story written in the form of a poem.
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  Speaker 1: And for me, this story beautifully captures the heart of
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  Speaker 1: what we talk about here as legacy living. The story
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  Speaker 1: captures the spirit of kindness, generosity, compassion, and best of all,
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  Speaker 1: it captures the true meaning of Christmas. Now, I'm not
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  Speaker 1: going to spoil it for you by telling you the
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  Speaker 1: whole story right now, but listen closely as I share it,
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  Speaker 1: and you will hear the spirit of giving. You will
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  Speaker 1: hear the spirit of Christmas throughout this lovely story. The
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  Speaker 1: Christmas Coat. An old boy was fumbling around one day
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  Speaker 1: in a woman's clothing store. He'd found his wife a
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  Speaker 1: Christmas coat and was headed for the door when he
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  Speaker 1: bumped into a little boy that looked like he was lost,
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  Speaker 1: And he said, mister, can you help me find out
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  Speaker 1: how much something costs?
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  Speaker 2: Here?
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  Speaker 1: It is almost Christmas and the nights are getting cold.
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  Speaker 1: Winter time is on us, and my mom don't have
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  Speaker 1: a coat. I've been working for the neighbors and saving
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  Speaker 1: for a time. And in his tiny outstretched hand was
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  Speaker 1: a dollar and a dime. His gaze went from the
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  Speaker 1: big eyed boy to that pretty Christmas coat and he
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  Speaker 1: finally cleared away the lump that it gathered in his throat.
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  Speaker 1: He said, son, that's just what this coat costs. We're
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  Speaker 1: lucky that we found her, and he turned around and
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  Speaker 1: gave a wink to the lady at the counter. She
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  Speaker 1: put it in a pretty box and wrapped it up.
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  Speaker 1: Jest so and went off in the back and found
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  Speaker 1: a big red Christmas bow. He said, I thank you
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  Speaker 1: for your help, sir, and I kindly thank you, ma'am.
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  Speaker 1: I hope y'all are gonna have a big Christmas, cause
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  Speaker 1: I know I am.
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  Speaker 2: Well.
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  Speaker 1: The old boy walked home busted except for a dollar
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  Speaker 1: and a dime, thinkin he'd just have to buy that
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  Speaker 1: coat another time. He told his wife that Christmas this
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  Speaker 1: year wouldn't be much fun, and he gently took her
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  Speaker 1: in his arms and told her what he'd done. She said,
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  Speaker 1: why you, old softy. I wouldn't trade you for a farm.
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  Speaker 1: I've got two or three old coats and your love
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  Speaker 1: to keep me warm. She put that money in a
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  Speaker 1: match box and placed it beneath their tree and said,
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  Speaker 1: that is the grandest gift you've ever given me. The
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  Speaker 1: years went by like years will do when people are
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  Speaker 1: in love. Their marriage was a golden bond that was
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  Speaker 1: forged by God above. Then one day came some bitter
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  Speaker 1: news that filled his heart with fright. The doctor told
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  Speaker 1: the old man's wife that she was going to lose
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  Speaker 1: her sight. He said, there's an operation we can do,
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  Speaker 1: but it puts me on the spot because it's quite
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  Speaker 1: a complex procedure and it's going to cost a lot.
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  Speaker 1: The old man said, doctor, I'm a failure. I've made
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  Speaker 1: no preparation. We don't have the money for that kind
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  Speaker 1: of operation. The doctor got the strangest look, and he
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  Speaker 1: sat there for a while, and then he slowly nodded
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  Speaker 1: and broke out in a smile. He said, why, sir,
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  Speaker 1: you can't fool me. You are a very wealthy man.
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  Speaker 1: You long ago invested in the world's best savings plan.
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  Speaker 1: I'll see she gets the best of care. She's going
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  Speaker 1: to be just fine, and the total cost to you,
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  Speaker 1: old friend, is a dollar and a dime. The old
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  Speaker 1: man stared in disbelief. Then he recognized that smile, the
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  Speaker 1: one he'd seen those years ago. I'm a loving, thoughtful child,
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  Speaker 1: he said. What you gave to me that day was
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  Speaker 1: more than just a coat. You gave me the gift
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  Speaker 1: of giving, and you gave my mother hope. My mother
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  Speaker 1: had been mistreated, neglected, and abused, but she gave life
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  Speaker 1: just one more chance, and it was all because of you. Now,
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  Speaker 1: every year she takes that coat and lays it beneath
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  Speaker 1: our tree. It represents to us the things that Christmas
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  Speaker 1: ought to be. She says that when we leave this
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  Speaker 1: world for a better home someday, the only things that
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  Speaker 1: we'll take with us are the things we gave away.
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  Speaker 1: I just love that story. Several years ago I shared
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  Speaker 1: this story as a read around. Each of us took
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  Speaker 1: turns reading several lines, and we just kept reading until
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  Speaker 1: we came to the end of the story. As you
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  Speaker 1: might imagine, we were all a bit weepy when we
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: finished reading The Christmas Coat. Such a simple yet powerful
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  Speaker 1: story about the joy of giving during the holiday season.
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  Speaker 1: The little boys active sharing a warm coat with someone
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  Speaker 1: in need serves today as a powerful reminder and a
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  Speaker 1: lovely reminder that the most beautiful and meaningful gifts are
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  Speaker 1: those that come from our heart. This story encourages us
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  Speaker 1: to remember that small acts of kindness can make a difference,
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  Speaker 1: that small acts of kindness can create lasting change. In
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  Speaker 1: the lives of others and in our own lives. It
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  Speaker 1: also reminds us that the true essence of Christmas is
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  Speaker 1: not about receiving. The true essence of Christmas is not
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  Speaker 1: about receiving, but it's about giving, about giving love, about
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  Speaker 1: giving warmth, and about giving care. The story encourages us
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  Speaker 1: all to embrace the season of Christmas with the spirit
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  Speaker 1: of selflessness, a spirit of generosity. I'd love this story
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  Speaker 1: because it reminds me that in giving, we also receive
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  Speaker 1: the greatest gift of all. How many of you know
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  Speaker 1: that you can certainly celebrate Christmas with family and friends,
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  Speaker 1: but you can also extend love, kindness, and generosity to
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  Speaker 1: someone who might be less fortunate than you are. When
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  Speaker 1: we show our love through small acts of kindness, we
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  Speaker 1: can create a ripple effect, creating a brighter and more
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  Speaker 1: loving world, not only at Christmas, but we can show
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  Speaker 1: small all acts of kindness and create that ripple effect
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  Speaker 1: all year long. Now, I want to share some of
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  Speaker 1: my favorite words, some of my favorite quotes that inspire me,
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  Speaker 1: and I hope they'll inspire you as you think about
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  Speaker 1: giving and kindness and serving those who are dear, who
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  Speaker 1: may not be near as well as those around you.
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  Speaker 1: These quotes are from diverse wisdom traditions, from different places,
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  Speaker 1: different cultures, from many voices, and from many different ages,
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  Speaker 1: words that have stood the test of time for hundreds
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  Speaker 1: of years and across millennia. Listen and be inspired. Albert
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  Speaker 1: Schweitzer was a humanitarian and doctor who served in Africa
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  Speaker 1: and beyond. He became a doctor after he gave up
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  Speaker 1: his life as a concert musician. His words resonate with me,
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  Speaker 1: and I know they'll resonate with you as well. The
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  Speaker 1: true essence of life, the true essence of life is
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  Speaker 1: to be found in service to others. So true right
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  Speaker 1: these next wisdom saying These next words are from Mother
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  Speaker 1: Teresa Laotsu, Aesop Khalil Jebraun, Princess Diana Anonymous. There are
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  Speaker 1: lots of those, Amelia Earhart and more. We can serve
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  Speaker 1: one another in very simple ways with a smile, a word,
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  Speaker 1: a helping hand. Kindness begins with the understanding that we
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  Speaker 1: all struggle.
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  Speaker 2: We all struggle.
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  Speaker 1: You can always give something, even if it's just a smile.
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  Speaker 1: A kind word is like a spring day. A kind
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  Speaker 1: word is like a spring day. No act of kindness,
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  Speaker 1: no matter how small is ever wasted. The smallest act
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  Speaker 1: of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention. Kindness
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  Speaker 1: and words creates confidence, Kindness and thinking creates Profoundness in
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  Speaker 1: giving creates love. I love that one. I'm going to
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  Speaker 1: repeat it. Kindness in words creates confidence, Kindness in thinking
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  Speaker 1: creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. Carry out a
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  Speaker 1: random act of kindness with no expectation of reward, safe
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  Speaker 1: in the knowledge that one day someone might do the
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  Speaker 1: same for you. A single act of kindness throws out
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  Speaker 1: roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and
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  Speaker 1: make new trees. Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything
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  Speaker 1: it covers. A small act of kindness can create a
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  Speaker 1: ripple effect that spreads across the world. One act of
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  Speaker 1: kindness can change the world. And you may never know
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  Speaker 1: how far its ripple will go. You may never know
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  Speaker 1: how far its ripple will go. And do you know
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  Speaker 1: what I always say, it's not our business to know.
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  Speaker 1: Our business is simply this, Be kind be giving, be love. Now,
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  Speaker 1: that's exactly what we talk about here week after week.
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  Speaker 1: That's how you can make your life count. You can
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  Speaker 1: make your life count by being there for someone who
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  Speaker 1: simply needs the sweet, precious fragrance of your presence. You
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  Speaker 1: make your life count by the simple loving things you
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  Speaker 1: do for someone. You make your friend a cup of
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  Speaker 1: her favorite tea, not because she asked you, but because
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  Speaker 1: you know it's her favorite and because you know she's
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  Speaker 1: had a long day, Or maybe you play her favorite music.
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  Speaker 1: You go for a nice long walk with her, not
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  Speaker 1: because you need the exercise, but just because. Or maybe
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  Speaker 1: maybe you take a fifteen or thirty mins to go
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  Speaker 1: through the things you have stashed in your closet, and
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  Speaker 1: one by one you take down those gently used shirts
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  Speaker 1: or shoes, your gently used sweaters and slacks, or maybe
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  Speaker 1: those with the price tag still on them, and you
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  Speaker 1: fold them and take them to your local goodwill or
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  Speaker 1: thrift store. Or maybe you take whatever extra money you
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  Speaker 1: have to buy food to donate to your local food bank.
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  Speaker 1: Or perhaps you read a story to a child. Did
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  Speaker 1: you know that to a child, attention is spelled lov
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  Speaker 1: e right To make a difference, you don't have to
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  Speaker 1: do anything fancy or extraordinary. You don't have to be
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  Speaker 1: a superhero or a superhero in You simply have to
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  Speaker 1: have a heart full of love. You simply serve others
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  Speaker 1: without any expectation of return. You pick a handful of
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  Speaker 1: fresh flowers.
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  Speaker 2: Or.
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  Speaker 1: You cut some herbs from your garden, perhaps, and you
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  Speaker 1: give them to a neighbor. You bake a batch of
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: cookies and take them to the nursing home. Give some
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  Speaker 1: to the woman or the gentleman who has no relatives
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: nearby and no visitors. Give some to the staff. Call
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  Speaker 1: your mom, text a friend, when you write a note
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  Speaker 1: to someone and close a few stamps or a bag
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  Speaker 1: of tea. My sister calls my mom every day just
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: to say hello and tell her how much she loves her.
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: When I call my mom, I sing songs with her,
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: the song she sang as a little girl. And even
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: though my mom can't remember my name, guess that's what
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: she remembers those songs. So we sing them. And sometimes
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: I read to her because she loves stories, and you
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  Speaker 1: know what, sometimes she actually joins in with me on
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  Speaker 1: the story. So what's my point. It's simply this. You
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  Speaker 1: can make a difference with who you are with what
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  Speaker 1: you already have, day by day, every single day. So
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: if you are born to serve like me, we must
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: remember that. One of the best ways to make a
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: difference is also to take good care of yourself so
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: that you can serve with the healthy body, mind, and soul.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: How we live is how we serve. How we live
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: is how we serve or teach, or parent.
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  Speaker 2: Or lead.
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  Speaker 1: In any aspect of our lives. So let's remember to
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: take care of ourselves every single day. Three sixty five,
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  Speaker 1: twenty four seven. Now, if you missed any part of
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: this week's show, you can listen to the recording at
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: your convenience. You can even listen to it on the go.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: Check it out at www dot Talknetwork Radio dot com,
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: Forward Slash Hosts, Forward Slash, Legacy Living, and all of
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: those things are switched together. Okay, that's a mouthful. Www
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  Speaker 1: Dot Talk Network Radio dot com, Forward Slash Hosts h
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  Speaker 1: O S t S, Forward Slash, Legacy Living, l E
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: G A C Y L I V I n G.
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: If you want to be the change you seek, be
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: sure to listen to this podcast again and again, and
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: be sure to tell somebody. You can find me on iTunes, Audible, Alexa, Soundcloudihearttuneinspreaker,
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: dot Com, Talk Network Radio, and so many other places
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: you can learn more about my work and Legacy Living.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: Make your life count by visiting the Gloria Burgess website.
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: That's Gloria Burgess dot com. G L O R I
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: A B as in boy your G E S S
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  Speaker 1: dot com. And as I've mentioned before, if you love
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: to be inspired, you can subscribe to my inspirations right
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: on my website. You just go there to my website
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: that I just gave you, and just scroll down a
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: little bit and look at the right sidebar until you
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: see the place to add your email address to subscribe
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: to my weekly inspirations. It's that simple. Each week you'll
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: get a lovely image paired with a short quotation that
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: will inspire you and get your day and your week
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: off to a fantastic start. You can also find me
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: on LinkedIn or Facebook. On Facebook, you can find me
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: at Facebook dot com. Forward slash dr for doctor Dr
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: Gloria Burgess PhD. Forward slash right. Okay. You can also
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: hear and see me by visiting the tedex site and
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: listening to one of my ted talks. Just type in
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: my name to find me there. Now, before I close today,
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: I want to thank each of you for tuning in
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: for allowing me to share a bit of my journey
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: with what legacy living is all about, not just living
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: and learning, but living and learning and serving so that
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: you make a difference in your own life and in
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: the lives of somebody else. It's all about being on
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: purpose every single day. Three sixty five twenty four seven.
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  Speaker 1: Legacy living is one of the many ways to make
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: your life count. I'm your host, doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess,
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: and this is legacy living. Make your life count. Please
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: join me again next time for another show of legacy living.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: Make your life count. Don't just count the days in
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: your life. Make the days in your life count. That's
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: what legacy living is all about. Have a fantastic day,
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: and remember make the days in your life count. God
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  Speaker 1: bless you. That's our show today.
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  Speaker 2: I'm your host, doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess. I hope you'll
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  Speaker 2: join me again next time. Until then, don't just count
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: the days in your life. Make the days in your
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: life count. That's what legacy living is all about. Here's
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: to you.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Have a fantastic day and be sure to make it
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: a yes kind of day. Remember to celebrate the music
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: of your life. Make the days in your life count.