Latest / Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess / Unexpected Christmas Blessings | Episode #425

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Unexpected Christmas Blessings | Episode #425 · 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 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.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: All around the world.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: I'm delighted and so grateful that you tuned in. I
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: hope you're enjoying a fabulous day and that you're having
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: a fantastic week, because you know what, in the grand
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: song of the universe, life is so very short. It's
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: short and sweet and very very precious. So I hope
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: you're making a difference in your own life, because when
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: you do, you also make a difference in someone else's life. Now,
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: a lot of people want to make their life count
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: for something, and they ask me, doctor Gloria, how do
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: you do that. Well, it's simple, It's very very simple.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: You make your life count day by day, step by step,
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: moment by moment, every single day three sixty five, twenty
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: four to seven. That's what Legacy Living, Make your Life
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: Count is all about. You can learn more about Legacy
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: Living make your life count by visiting the Gloria Burgess website.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: That's right, that's g l O r I A b
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: U r g E s S dot com. The Gloria
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Burgess website once again, g l O r I A
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  Speaker 1: b U r g E S S dot com. Or
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: by visiting me on Facebook and that's www dot Facebook
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: dot com. Forward slash doctor Gloria Burgess, p h D.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: And that doctor is d R Gloria Burgess, pH D.
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  Speaker 1: Forward Slash. Now, today, I want to talk with you
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: about one of my favorite topics, daring to wear your
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: soul on the outside, daring to live out loud. Specifically,
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: I'm going to focus on a person who stepped up
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: who said, you know what, I want more in my life.
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  Speaker 1: I want to be more, I want to know more,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: and I want to serve more. I hope that this
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: story about this amazing person who has transformed her life
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  Speaker 1: will inspire you as it has inspired me. And if
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: you are inspired, I will share more about how you
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: too can make that same kind of shift in your
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: own life. I'll share some resources with you later so
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  Speaker 1: you can do exactly that equip yourself to make the
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: kind of difference in your own life that you're going
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  Speaker 1: to hear about in this inspiring story I'm going to
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  Speaker 1: share with you today. So once again, folks, today's focus
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  Speaker 1: is daring to wear your soul.
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  Speaker 2: On the outside.
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  Speaker 1: It's all about daring to live out loud. So what
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: time is it? Well, I'm so glad you asked. It's
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  Speaker 1: time to sit back, relax, make yourself a cup of
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  Speaker 1: tea or coffee, or get a nice tall glass of water,
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: put your feet up, relax in your favorite chair, and
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: don't forget your pen and notepad because you're going to
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: want to take notes today. We're going to have a
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: great time. If you're just joining us, I'm your host,
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: Doctor Gloria, and this is Legacy Living Make your life count.
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: I'd like to extend a very special welcome to those
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: of you who are joining my podcast or if you're
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: joining Talk Network Radio for the very first time, you
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: are in for a real treat. I'm excited to have
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: you listening today, and I'm deeply honored that you've allowed
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: me to be part of your day so you can
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: be inspired by the ideas and resources to make your
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: life count. Today's episode is all about daring, daring to
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  Speaker 1: wear your soul on the outside, or as some people
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: would say, daring to live out loud, a very important
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  Speaker 1: topic so you can enjoy the life you love, a
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: life of joy and service. One of my favorite poets,
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: Muriel Rickiser, reminds us that the world is not made
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  Speaker 1: up of atoms. That's right, the world is not made
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  Speaker 1: up of atoms. Well, if it's not made up of atoms,
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  Speaker 1: then what is it made of It's made up of stories.
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  Speaker 1: And I just love that, don't you. Now, let's think
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  Speaker 1: about that for just a moment. No matter where you
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: live in the world, do you hear stories?
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  Speaker 2: Right?
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  Speaker 1: You hear stories from the time you are born. You
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  Speaker 1: hear stories as a little bitty babe in arms, Stories
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  Speaker 1: around the dinner table, around the fireplace. Stories when we
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  Speaker 1: go to school, stories in the lunch room and the hallways.
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  Speaker 1: Stories when we're ready to leave school, when we are
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  Speaker 1: ready to graduate so we can then move on, maybe
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  Speaker 1: to college or university. Then when we apply to that
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  Speaker 1: college of our dreams, they ask us to share stories
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  Speaker 1: about why we want to go there and.
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  Speaker 2: What we hope to accomplish.
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  Speaker 1: Then once we arrive, we hear stories that are all
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  Speaker 1: about that college or university, and then more stories as
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  Speaker 1: we move through our studies and then into the workplace,
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  Speaker 1: and once we have a job, we hear story after
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  Speaker 1: story after story. You know what, Stories are a very
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  Speaker 1: big part of our lives. In fact, they are so
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  Speaker 1: much a part of our lives we don't even realize
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  Speaker 1: the presence, or potency or the power that they have
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  Speaker 1: in our lives. Did you know that stories are how
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  Speaker 1: we make meaning, how we make sense of our world.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: Stories can help us understand who we are. They help
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  Speaker 1: us chart and navigate the very different kinds of water
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  Speaker 1: in our lives. They actually help us as we move
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  Speaker 1: through the many moments, hours and days of our lives.
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  Speaker 1: You know what else, in many cultures all over the world,
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  Speaker 1: stories are actually revered as medicine. Stories are thought of
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  Speaker 1: and revered as medicine. Think about that. So what does
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: that mean exactly? Well, let's take a look at it.
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  Speaker 1: Stories are referred to as medicine because they help to
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  Speaker 1: ground us and when we lose our way, as we
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  Speaker 1: often do in our fast paced world, stories help us.
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  Speaker 1: They enable us to come home, to come back to
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  Speaker 1: realign with who we are, and to come back into
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  Speaker 1: harmony with whose we are right with who we belong to. Now.
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  Speaker 1: That's so good, isn't it? And so important. So stories
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  Speaker 1: are medicine that help ground us and they help us
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  Speaker 1: come home, to come back, to come back into harmony
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  Speaker 1: with whose we are and who we are. Now. This
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  Speaker 1: is true whether we're talking about an individual, you know,
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  Speaker 1: whether we're talking about a person like you or me.
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  Speaker 1: And it's also true if we're talking about a family,
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  Speaker 1: a community, a team, or an organization. Just a couple
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: of days ago, I was with one of my clients
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  Speaker 1: and our specific focus was on team building. And guess
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: what the resources we used for team building, The resources
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  Speaker 1: we used to get from here to there were That's right, stories.
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  Speaker 1: In other words, what needed to be surfaced and made
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  Speaker 1: visible and discussed were the stories that lived inside each
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  Speaker 1: and every team member. We surfaced and talked about stories
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  Speaker 1: that the team could be aware of and then so
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  Speaker 1: that they could be intentional about becoming the best team possible,
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  Speaker 1: to put their best foot forward, so to speak, to
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  Speaker 1: do their best work in serving one another as well
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  Speaker 1: as serving their customers, vendors, and other stakeholders. Now, the
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  Speaker 1: team I was working with was a group of doctors
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  Speaker 1: and their stakeholders. Well, their stakeholders include patients and their
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  Speaker 1: families and other doctors and nurses and physician assistants and
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  Speaker 1: so many more people. And the same is true no
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  Speaker 1: matter what kind of professional group I'm working with. It
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  Speaker 1: could be a team of teachers, or a team of attorneys, marketers, administrators, stockbrokers, artists,
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  Speaker 1: civic leaders. It doesn't matter. Their common ground is always
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  Speaker 1: found and made visible through stories. So, as I said earlier,
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  Speaker 1: stories are powerful medicine. It's been said that stories are
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  Speaker 1: small doses of what matters, and it is in the telling,
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  Speaker 1: in the telling of stories that's so important. Why is
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  Speaker 1: that because the telling is what releases the medicine. It
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  Speaker 1: is the telling that soothes our pain and shares our joy.
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to repeat that, it is the telling that
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  Speaker 1: releases the medicine, and it is the telling that soothes
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  Speaker 1: our pain and shares our joy. In the Ki Swahili language,
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  Speaker 1: the words hibari gani mean what's the news or what's
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  Speaker 1: happening now. So in the next little wild I will
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  Speaker 1: share with you a small dose of what's happening now,
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  Speaker 1: of what matters in the lives of ordinary people. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: I want to share with you one particular story today,
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  Speaker 1: and this story that I will share breathes the timeless,
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  Speaker 1: universal truths of what I call the seven Sacred Promises.
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  Speaker 1: They are truths that mentor us, mentor us in ways
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  Speaker 1: of being that are older than time. Truths that just breathe,
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  Speaker 1: breathe beneath the surface of our ever busy lives. They
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  Speaker 1: are truths that, when we make them visible in our life,
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  Speaker 1: we can actually draw on them with conscious intention to
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  Speaker 1: shape our daily choices, actions, and decisions. So what are
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  Speaker 1: the sacred promises? They are gratitude, faith, love, vision, integrity,
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  Speaker 1: creative action, and legacy. You hear me talk about these
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  Speaker 1: promises every week right right here, and today you're going
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  Speaker 1: to hear more about these sacred promises through the inspiring
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  Speaker 1: story I'm going to share with you. This story begins
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  Speaker 1: with a small dose of what matters, and it's taken
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  Speaker 1: from some of the big themes in one of my poems,
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  Speaker 1: a poem called song to Myself. Now, you know that
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  Speaker 1: all of the stories I share with you are about
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  Speaker 1: people who are just like you and me.
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  Speaker 2: How is that?
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  Speaker 1: Well, it's because we are all people who care. We
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  Speaker 1: care about ourselves, we care about one another, and we
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  Speaker 1: all want to leave the world a little bit better
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  Speaker 1: off than the way we found it. As stewards of
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  Speaker 1: the future, we dare to wear our souls on the
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  Speaker 1: outside so that we can be in right relationship with
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  Speaker 1: our and write relationships with others. As instruments of soul,
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  Speaker 1: we sound the way for others. We sound the way
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  Speaker 1: for folks in our immediate circles and beyond.
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  Speaker 2: Did you know?
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  Speaker 1: Did you know that you? You are a magnificent story
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  Speaker 1: and as you live your life, you are actually painting,
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  Speaker 1: painting on the canvas of your soul and the canvas
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  Speaker 1: of eternity. I hope you will be moved by this
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  Speaker 1: story of hope, radiance, and celebration. And as you encounter
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  Speaker 1: the people you will meet today, I trust that you
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  Speaker 1: will feel the sweet shimmer of your own story and
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  Speaker 1: hear the rich residence and power powful medicine of your
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  Speaker 1: own true voice. I trust that you will bask in
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  Speaker 1: the joy and inspiration of the story, allowing it to
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  Speaker 1: illuminate your own life. I also trust that you will
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  Speaker 1: accept the gifts offered so that you can pass this
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  Speaker 1: story on and faithfully serve by lighting the path for
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  Speaker 1: someone else. By making a difference for someone else. So
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  Speaker 1: now I invite you to get cozy, sip on your
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  Speaker 1: cup of tea or your favorite coffee, and join me
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  Speaker 1: by the hearth, Join me at the fire to hear
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  Speaker 1: the good news. I will begin this story with a
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  Speaker 1: brief excerpt from my poem song to Myself. It doesn't
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  Speaker 1: matter to me how much bread you can afford to
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  Speaker 1: put on your own table. I want to know if
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: you will need and wait and bake the bread and
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: share your blessings at someone else's table. Now I want
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  Speaker 1: you to meet a very special person. Her name is Darlene.
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  Speaker 1: Her story offers lessons for all of us. This story
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  Speaker 1: about Darlene takes place right around Christmas, and it brings
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  Speaker 1: me great joy and inspiration, no matter.
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  Speaker 2: What the season.
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  Speaker 1: Darlene lived in a small trailer home with her two
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  Speaker 1: young sons. She moved to the trailer home shortly after
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  Speaker 1: divorcing her husband. Christmas was fast approaching, but Darlene had
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: no extra money. As she stared at the floor of
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  Speaker 1: her tiny living room, she thought, this will definitely be
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  Speaker 1: a year without.
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  Speaker 2: Presents for my boys.
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  Speaker 1: She could give them her love and that was all.
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  Speaker 1: Knowing that they were too young to understand that love
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  Speaker 1: is what Christmas should be all about. She also knew
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  Speaker 1: that her sons would have to learn. Darlene had no
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  Speaker 1: idea that her boys would learn about love and a
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  Speaker 1: whole lot more. In Darlene's own words, it was Christmas
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  Speaker 1: Eve we had a record snowfall. My boys went outside
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  Speaker 1: to shovel our walkway and drive way to keep up
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: with the quickly falling snow. As evening came, they went
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  Speaker 1: next door and helped our elderly neighbor, Jim, shovel his driveway.
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  Speaker 1: When they came inside, I suggested we sing Christmas carols
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  Speaker 1: and then each of us would tell a story about
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  Speaker 1: our best ever Christmas. Darlene recalls how happy she and
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  Speaker 1: her sons were. We had a good time just being together.
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  Speaker 1: Neither of my sons asked me why we didn't have
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  Speaker 1: a tree this year. That night, when I was sure
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  Speaker 1: my sons were sound asleep, I sat on the couch
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  Speaker 1: in our tiny living room and I just wept. I
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  Speaker 1: cried for me, I cried for my son's I even
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  Speaker 1: cried for my ex husband. And sometimes I cried tears
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: of sadness. Sometimes I wept for joy. I finally went
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  Speaker 1: to bed and cried myself to sleep. The next morning,
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  Speaker 1: on Christmas Day, Darlene got up bright and early. She
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  Speaker 1: peered outside and saw that the snow storm had passed.
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  Speaker 1: The sky was a bright, bright blue, and everywhere you
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  Speaker 1: looked snow white, sparkling new fallen snow. The boys would
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  Speaker 1: love to make snow angels, she thought. They both loved
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  Speaker 1: to be the first to make footprints in the fresh snow,
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: and they loved making snow angels. Sometimes they lay down
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  Speaker 1: head to head in the snow and make a double angel.
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  Speaker 1: Darlene says, I don't know why, but I opened the
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  Speaker 1: door of our trailer to check our mailbox. No one,
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  Speaker 1: not even the mail truck, could have made it through
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  Speaker 1: all that snow, but I checked it anyway. To my surprise,
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  Speaker 1: there was a note inside. My boys had told our
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  Speaker 1: neighbor Jim, that Santa Claus wouldn't be visiting our house
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  Speaker 1: this year because we had no money. I turned the
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  Speaker 1: note over and taped to the back was a crisp,
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  Speaker 1: clean fifty dollar bill. Jim had given me enough money
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  Speaker 1: to buy the boys what they wanted, new baseball mits.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: In addition, there was enough left over to restock the
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: basic groceries we needed. Jim's only request was that when
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: I was able to do so, that I help others
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  Speaker 1: as he.
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  Speaker 2: Helped us well.
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  Speaker 1: That morning, when my sons got up, I told them
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  Speaker 1: about the fifty dollars Jim had given us for their
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: Christmas gifts. They looked at each other with surprise and glee,
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  Speaker 1: then abruptly stopped their celebration as they realized the significance
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  Speaker 1: of Jim's gift. You see, Jim wasn't well off either.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, the utility company had shut
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: off his power once already that winter because he couldn't
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: pay his bill. The boys quickly put on their coats
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  Speaker 1: to go next door to thank Jim for his generous gift,
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  Speaker 1: but they stopped short when they opened the trailer door
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  Speaker 1: and saw a perfectly formed adult sized snow angel right
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  Speaker 1: in front of our steps. The snow angel surprised them,
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  Speaker 1: but there were absolutely no footprints in the snow, just
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  Speaker 1: the angel. We never did find out who made the
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  Speaker 1: snow angel. Jim said there was no way that he
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  Speaker 1: could or would get down in the snow and flap
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  Speaker 1: his arms and legs like that, But we know an
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  Speaker 1: angel brought us quite a blessing that Christmas. Jim passed
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  Speaker 1: away the following spring. My boys and I still think
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: about that special Christmas and how Jim gave without asking
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  Speaker 1: for anything in return, just that we help others as
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  Speaker 1: he helped us. We've made a point of doing just that,
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: and we have faith that we're touching other people's lives
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  Speaker 1: just like Jim touched ours. I just loved Darlene and
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  Speaker 1: her story, and I know if I were to ask
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  Speaker 1: her habari Gani, she would tell me. I'm so glad
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  Speaker 1: my sons learned the true meaning of Christmas all those
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  Speaker 1: years ago. I'm glad that I know the blessing and
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  Speaker 1: what it really means.
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  Speaker 2: To pass it on.
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  Speaker 1: Not everybody does. Darlene and her sons are creating a
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: ripple effect in their family, community and beyond, simply by
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: saying yes to God's legacy, for saying yes to daring
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  Speaker 1: to wear their souls on the outside. For Darlene and
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: her sons, wearing their souls on the outside is something
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: they get to do every day, no matter where they
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: are or who they're with. Now, if you remember, I
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: began Darlene's story with these lines from my poem song
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: to myself. It doesn't matter to me how much bread
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: you can afford to put on your own table. I
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: want to know if you will need and wait and
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: bake the bread and share your blessings at someone else's table.
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: You know what, when we live out loud, it makes
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: all the difference, doesn't it.
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: Now?
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes people ask me, Doctor Gloria, doesn't it hurt to
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: live out loud? Doesn't it hurt to wear your soul
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: on the outside? Well, can I just tell you something.
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  Speaker 1: The alternative hurts a whole lot more. The alternative is
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: not living out loud. Not living out loud is.
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  Speaker 2: What keeps you stuck.
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  Speaker 1: That's what keeps you living in fear. That's what keeps
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: you from stepping into the life that God has planned
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  Speaker 1: just for you. And as I've said before, don't let
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: fear steal your joy. Don't let fear suck the life
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: right out of you. You were made for joy, you
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: were made for service. You were made to stand in
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: the amazing power of your own true voice. That's what
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: daring to wear your soul on the outside, daring to
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: live out loud, is all about. Well. I certainly hope
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: that this story about Darlene and her family being given
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: a very special gift and the blessing for her sons
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: to learn what it means to pass it on and
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: give back to others. I hope her story has inspired
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: you today. I know it has inspired me. Now I'm
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: going to share my entire poem with you so that
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: you can hear how Darlene's story fits in into the
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: overall context of this poem. You know that I coach
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: and consult with leaders all the time, and I also
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: write and speak about leadership, focusing specifically on values based leadership,
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: and my clients love it because I'm one of the
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: few leadership coaches and consultants focuses on values. And my
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: clients will often ask me to tell tell them more,
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: tell them more about my life, to share more of
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: my own story with them, and I do. I often
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: share this poem with them because my story lives and
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: breathes inside of this poem. I simply tell them, if
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: you really want to know more about me, just just
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: reader or listen to this poem. Okay, let me share
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: it with you now. Song to myself, it doesn't matter
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: to me what you do or where you work. I
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: want to know who you are when the sun goes down,
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: and if you are willing to put everything on the
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: line to fulfill your soul's desire. It doesn't matter to
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: me how much bread you can afford to put on
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: your own table. I want to know if you will
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: need and wait and bake the bread and share your
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: blessings at someone else's table. I want to know if
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: you can look into the eyes of the young woman
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: who sleeps with fear each night, the one who dared
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: to walk away from the hands that pummeled her. I
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: want to know if you can share her pain. It
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: doesn't matter to me what neighborhood you live in or
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: what kind of car you drive. I want to know
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: what drives you, what compels you to follow your soul's longing.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: I want to know, oh what pierces your heart, awakens
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: you at night, and inspires you to devote yourself to whomever.
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: Or whatever moves you.
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: I want to know how many times you've opened your
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: heart and extended a hand to your homeless sister or brother.
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: I want to know if you will sit in the quiet,
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: dark hours between midnight and dawn listening, listening to another's
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: heart song. It doesn't matter to me how many unspeakable
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: secrets you have. I want to know if you will
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: share your secrets to liberate your demons so they don't
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: devour you or those you love. I want to know
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: if you will risk looking foolish to embrace your bliss.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: I want to know if you will grasp the sleeve
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: of a nameless elder stumbling on his way and lead
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: him in from the cold.
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: I want to know.
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: If you will throw away your cloak and show your heart,
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: if you will dare to wear your soul on the outside.
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: It doesn't matter to me how many mountains you've climbed
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: or will climb.
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: I want to know.
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: If you've fallen down in the valley of despair. I
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: want to know if you've scarred your knees on the
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: stones of self abandonment. I want to know how long
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: you've been hidden in the shadows of hypocrisy, prejudice, addiction, abuse.
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: I want to know if you will stop to light
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: a candle and pray with others who will surely wander there.
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: It doesn't matter to me what you say you will
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: do for others. I want to know if you will
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: act with courage and conviction, if you will daily cradle
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: the frail hand of your mother when she no longer
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: knows your name. I want to know if you will
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: look into the hazel, gray or ebony eyes of a
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: strained and say yes, yes, to affirm your sister, your brother, yourself.
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: I want to know if you will take the time
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: to be still, call the names and pass the cup
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: to honor the ancestors who cleared a path and broke
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: new ground for you and your children. It doesn't matter
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: to me that you have a past. I want to
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: know if you will celebrate your present, if you will
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: take a stand, declare yourself, sing I am, I AM,
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: boldly and with rejoicing, not only to the stars at night,
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: but to anyone anywhere, without apologies or regrets. Yes, wouldn't
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: it be wonderful? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: all take a stand and declare ourselves, declare ourselves and
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: sing I AM boldly and with rejoicing, declare ourselves by
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: lifting up and celebrating the awesome, incredible power of our
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: own gifts, our own true voice. Because you know what,
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: that's how God made us. That's how God made us.
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: We were not made to play small or to hide out,
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: or to believe what the world would have us, believe
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: that we are missing something, that we are insufficient, that
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: we are not enough. Oh no, we are children of
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: the most High. God made us to stand up and
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: to be counted. And when you can stand up and
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: declare yourself, you can help somebody else do the same.
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: You actually give them permission. When you make that kind
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: of difference in your own life. You can make that
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: kind of difference not only in your own life, but
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: also in somebody else's life.
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: That's how you do it.
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: That's how you do it, day by day, step by step,
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: moment by moment, smile by smile, every single day, three
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: sixty five.
• 34:58
  Speaker 2: Twenty four to seven.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: You can learn more about the ideas and resources I
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: shared with you today, and in particular, you can learn
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: more about the story I just shared with you today.
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: You can also find resources to equip and inspire you
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: to make your life count by visiting the Gloria Burgess website.
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: That's www dot Gloria Burgess dot com. Www dot Gloria
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: Burgess dot com. And as I've mentioned before, if you
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: love to be inspired, you can actually subscribe to my
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: inspirations right on my website. Just scroll down a little
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: bit look on the right sidebar until you see the
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: place to add your email address to subscribe to my
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: weekly inspirations. It's that simple. Each week you get a
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: lovely photograph and a short quotation that inspires you. If
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: you missed any part of this week's podcast, or last weeks,
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: or any podcasts for that matter, you can listen to
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: this episode at your convenience. You can even listen to
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: it on the go. You can find all of my
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: podcasts right here at www dot talknetwork Radio dot com,
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: Forward Slash Hosts, Forward Slash Legacy Living. That's Talknetwork Radio
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: dot com. Forward Slash Hosts, Forward Slash, Legacy Living. You
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: can also check me out on iTunes, Audible, Alexa, SoundCloud, iHeart,
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: tune In, spreager, dot Com, Talk Network Radio, and so
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: many other places.
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: Or you can also.
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: Find me on the TEDx site and listen to one
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: of my ted Talks. Just type in my name to
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: find me there. Before I close today, I want to
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: thank each one of you for tuning in for allowing
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: me to share a bit about my journey with what
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: Legacy Living is all about, not just living and learning,
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: but living and learning and serving so that you make
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: a difference in your own life and in the lives
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: of other people. It's about being on purpose every single day.
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: Three sixty five twenty four seven. Legacy Living is a
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: powerful way to make your life count. Once again, I
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: want to thank you for joining me today. I'm your host,
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess, and this has been Legacy Living.
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: Make your life count. Please join me again next time
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: right here for another episode of Legacy Living. Make your
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: life count. Don't just count the days in your life.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: Make the days in your life count. That's what Legacy
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: living is all about. Have a fantastic day and remember
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: make the days in your life count.
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: God bless that's our show today.
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess. I hope you'll
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: join me again next time. Until then, don't just count
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: the days in your life, Make the days in your
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: life count. That's what Legacy see living is all about.
• 39:02
  Speaker 2: Here's to you.
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: Have a fantastic day and be sure to make it
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: a yes kind of day. Remember to celebrate the music
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: of your life.
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: Make the days in your life count.