Latest / Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess / Forgiveness Will Set You Free | Episode #400

Transcript

Forgiveness Will Set You Free | Episode #400 · Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess

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Hello, and welcome to today's show, Legacy Living, Make your Life Count.
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I'm your host, Doctor Gloria. Gloria Burgess, international leadership expert and
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trusted advisor. Welcome to Legacy Living, Make your Life Count. I'm delighted
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that you joined me. I want to give a big thank you to those
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of you listening today all around the world. I'm delighted and so grateful that
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you tuned in. I sure hope you're enjoying a fabulous day and that you're
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having a fantastic week, because you know what, in the grand song of
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the universe, life is very very short. It's short and sweet and very
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precious. So I hope you're making a difference in your own life, because
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when you do, you also make a difference in someone else's life. Now,
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a lot of folks want to make their life count for something, and
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they ask me, doctor Gloria, how do you do that. Well,
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it's very simple, very simple. You make your life count, day by
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day, step by step, moment by moment, every single day. Three
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sixty five twenty four seven. That's what Legacy Living, Make your Life Count
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is all about. Now you can learn more about Legacy Living, Make your
1:53
Life count by visiting my website, the Gloria Burgess website. That's g l
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O R I A B as in boy, you are g E S S
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dot com Again, that's Gloria Burgess dot com. Or you can visit me
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on Facebook and you can find me on Facebook right here at Facebook dot com.
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Forward slash d R for doctor d R Gloria Burgess pH D forward Slash.
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Today, i want to talk with you about one of my favorite topics,
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daring to wear your soul on the outside, daring to live out loud.
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Now, specifically, I'm going to focus on several folks who have stepped
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up who said, you know what, I want more in my life.
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I want to be more, I want to know more, and I want
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to serve more. I hope these stories about people who have transformed their lives
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will inspire you as they have inspired me. And if you are inspired,
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I will share more about how you too can make that same kind of shift
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in your own life. Later in today's program, I'm going to share some
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resources with you so you can do exactly that, so you can equip yourself
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to make the kind of difference in your life that you will hear about in
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this inspiring story that I want to share with you today. So once again,
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today's focus is dare to wear your soul on the outside. What does
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that mean, Well, it means daring to live out loud. So now
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it's time to sit back and relax. Make yourself a cup of coffee or
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tea, or get yourself a nice tall glass of water, put your feet
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up, relax in your favorite chair, or put your earbuds on a go
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for a walk. Right, and don't forget to take notes, okay,
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because you're going to have to take notes today. You're going to get a
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lot of great information and we're going to have an amazing time. Now,
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before I jump into today's show, I want to take just a moment to
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welcome you. If you're just joining us, I'm your host, doctor Gloria.
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This is legacy living, Make your life count. I'd like to extend
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a very special welcome to those of you who are joining my show, or
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if you're joining Talk Network Radio for the very first time, you're in for
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a real treat. I'm so excited to have you listening in today and I'm
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deeply honored that you've allowed me to be part of your day. So you
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can be inspired by the ideas and resources to make your life count. Today's
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program again is all about daring to wear your soul on the outside. Some
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people say daring to live out loud a very important topic so you can enjoy
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the life you love, a life of joy, and a life of service.
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One of my favorite poets, Muriel Rickaiser, reminds us that the world
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is not made up of atoms. Oh no, the world is not made
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up of adams. Well, if it's not made up of adams, then
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what is it made of Well, I'm so glad you asked right. It's
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made up of stories. Our world is made up of stories. I just
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love that. Now. Let's just think about that for a moment. No
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matter where you live in the world, you hear stories, right. You
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hear stories from the time you're born. You hear stories as a little babe
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in arms, right. Stories you hear around the dinner table or around the
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hearth. We hear stories when we go to school, stories in the lunch
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room, stories when we're ready to leave school, when we're ready to graduate
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and perhaps move on to college. And then when we apply to college,
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they ask us to share stories about why we want to go to college and
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what we hope to accomplish there. And then once we arrive at college,
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we hear stories about the college or the university that we're attending, and then
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more stories as we move through our studies and then into the workplace, and
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there we hear story after story after story. Stories are a very big part
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of our lives, so much so we don't even realize their presence or their
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power in our lives. Sometimes. Did you know that stories are how we
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make meaning, how we make sense of the world. Stories help us chart
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and navigate the many waters of our lives. They help us as we move
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through the many moments, hours, and days of our lives. In cultures
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all over the world, stories are revered as medicine, stories as medicine.
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Now what exactly does that mean. Well, stories are called medicine and revered
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as such because they help to ground us and when we lose our way,
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as we often do in our fast paced, every evolving world. Stories are
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the medicine that enable us, that help us to come back home. Come
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back home, which means realigning with ourselves and coming back into harmony with who
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we are and whose we are, with who we belong to. Now.
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This is true whether we're talking about an individual, a family, a community,
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a team, or an organization. I was with a client just a
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couple of days ago, and our specific focus was on team building. Now,
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the resources we use to get to team building, to get from here
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to there were stories. In other words, we took a look at what
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needed to be serviced, meaning what stories needed to be serviced and made visible
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to be discussed so that we could become intentional about doing what was necessary to
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become the best team possible. Right, we wanted to put our best foot
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forward, so to speak, to do our best work in serving the organization's
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stakeholders. So once again, stories are are powerful. Medicine. Poet and
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author Mark Nepo reminds us that stories are small doses of what matters, and
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he says, it is the telling that releases the medicine, the telling that
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soothes our pain and shares our joy. I just love that. I'm going
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to repeat it. It is in the telling of the stories, right that
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releases the medicine, the telling that soothes our pain and shares our joy.
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In the key Swahili language, the words habari gani mean what's the news or
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what's happening now. In this podcast and in several others, I will share
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with you small doses of what's happening now, of what matters in the lives
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of everyday, ordinary people, including some people who are very close to me.
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In fact, I want to share one particular story with you today,
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and this story that I will share breathes the timeless, universal truths of what
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I call the Seven Sacred Promises. They are truths that mentor us in ways
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of being that are older than time, Truths that breathe just beneath the surface
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of our everyday, busy lives. These are the truths that we make visible
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in our life. We can actually draw on them with conscious intention to shape
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our daily choices, actions, and decisions. So what are the seven Sacred
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Promises? They are gratitude, faith, love, vision, integrity, creative
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action, and legacy. Now you hear me talk about all of these promises
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frequently on this podcast in one way or another. Today you will hear more
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about those sacred promises through an inspiring story I'm going to share with you.
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This story is a small dose of what matters, and it's taken from some
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of the big themes in one of my poems, and that poem is called
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song to Myself. Song to Myself. Now, all of the stories that
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I'm going to share with you over the next several weeks, and this story
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in particular, are about people who are just like you and me. Now,
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how is that? Because we are all people who care. We care
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about ourselves, we care about one another, We care about leaving the world
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a little better off than the way we found it. As stewards of the
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future, we dare to wear our souls on the outside, to be in
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right relationship with ourself and to be in right relationship with the people around us.
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As instruments of soul, we sound the way for others in our immediate
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circles and beyond. Did you know that you you are a magnificent story And
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as you live your life, you are actually painting. You are painting on
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the canvas of your soul. Now, at the end of my sharing these
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inspiring stories over the next few weeks, I'm going to invite you to give
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voice to your own story, so you too can respond to that important question
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habari gani, what's happening now? And I want to inspire you to draw
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from the deep well spring of your life and the transformative power of your own
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true voice. Until then, I trust that you will be moved by these
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stories of hope, radiance, and celebration as you encounter each individual soul.
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I want you to feel that sweet shimmer of your own story and hear the
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resonance and powerful medicine of your own true voice. I trust that you will
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bask in the joy and inspiration of the stories, allowing them to illuminate your
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sacred life path. I also trust that you will accept the gifts they offer
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so that you can pass these stories on and faithfully serve the people around you
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by lighting the path for someone else. So again, I invite you to
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get cozy, sip on a cup of tea or your favorite coffee, and
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join me by the hearth, join me at the fire to hear the good
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news. I will begin this story, as I will other stories, with
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a brief excerpt from my poem song to Myself. I want to know if
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you can look into the eyes of the young woman who sleeps with fear each
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night, the one who dared to walk away from the hands that pummeled her.
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I want to know if you can share her pain now I want you
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to meet a very special person. She's a dear friend. Her name is
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Jean Jeane is a woman who used to sleep with fear each night, but
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more than anything, she wanted her life back. She was tired of being
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held captive by fear. When she was ready to dare to wear her soul
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on the outside, when she was really ready to live out loud, she
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asked me to work with her as her coach. Here is Jeane's amazing story.
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When we first started working together, jean was just completing a six year
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learning journey. During those years, she was learning what she needed to become
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a hospice professional. She devoted herself to developing the necessary skills, enriching her
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character qualities, and learning about spiritual practices to become the best hospice care provider
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she could be. At that time, her dream was to coach and train
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other hospice workers. In fact, she wanted to start her own business dedicated
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to growing other hospice professionals, overseeing and caring for their personal, professional and
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spiritual development. Jeanne sailed through her six years of training and confidently worked for
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several years as a hospice worker for a large healthcare network. However, when
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she began to seriously consider launching her own business, she simply froze. In
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fact, she was absolutely immobilized, paralyzed with fear, utterly crippled, stopped
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dead in her tracks by her rather loud chorus of inner critics. Now,
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most of us have experienced something like this at some point in our own lives.
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Thankfully, and to her credit, Jeanne recognized that she was stuck and
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she was simply unable to move forward with her dream, with her personal vision,
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So she reached out and sought coaching for herself. Together, we created
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a plan for her so she could delve more deeply into what she needed to
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make a shift, to make a difference in her life. We also focused
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on specific practices she would need to cultivate and integrate into her life. We
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decided to focus on primarily one of the practices. We also included another one,
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but the primary focus was gratitude, and then the other focus was on
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sanctuary. Now, Jane's first task was to face her fear, right to
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confront her chorus of critical voices. That meant she had to turn off the
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switch to actually disengage that chorus of critics. Then she had to commit to
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escort them out of her life once and for all. In addition to other
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spiritual resources, Jane committed to a gratitude practice that included appreciation, compassion,
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and forgiveness. Now, when I spoke with Gene to learn about what's happening
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on her journey, I greeted her with habari GANI, Hey, what's the
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news? Listen as she tells us. More, as Jane shares with us
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a small dose of what matters in my practice of gratitude, I learned that
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appreciation, compassion, and forgiveness have presence, and each of these spiritual practices
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has a shape, a texture, a weight, and color which continues to
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instruct and guide me. Jeanne's courageous and loving confrontation of her inner critics took
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many, many months of dedicated, focused, faithful work on her part.
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Her focus and faithfulness ultimately led her to a significant breakthrough. During one of
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our coaching sessions, she said, Gloria, this was some of the most
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difficult, yet joyous work I've ever done. To bring closure to her many
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months of working on reparation and forgiveness, Jeanne created a ceremony a very special
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ceremony of gratitude to honor her past, to reinvigorate her present, and to
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celebrate her new found freedom to now move boldly towards her dream. She gave
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me permission to share part of her ceremony with you, Jeanne says to Night.
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I create a ceremony to burn the hateful, negative words of the choir
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in my mind. I bring forward any one who has a voice in this
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choir. One by one. I honor, I lovingly think, and I
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let go of the voices that don't serve to lift me up. As I
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let go of each voice, I pick up a small slip of paper with
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that person's name on it, my painful memory associated with him or her,
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and a positive affirmation to replace the negative painful memory. Then I burn the
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piece of paper in a special vessel. I call it my burning bowl.
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With each piece of burning paper, I release the pain, sadness, hurt
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and anger from my spirit and from the cells of my body. With each
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piece of burning paper, I turn off the volume of a hurtful voice and
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turn up the voice of my capable, strong, resilient self. With each
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piece of burning paper, I say these words in reverence and love. I
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thank you for your presence in my life. You didn't intend to hurt the
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soul of my child, but she was injured. She carries your words with
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her. I know that I'm blessed by the good and the bad, and
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I pray that the blessings of gratitude will continue to be revealed. Now I
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return you into the ground of your life lived by you as up to time.
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Today, I am free of your judgments and grief. I am free
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of the burden within my soul. Then, jean said, I imagine myself
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putting a rose over the heart and in the hands of my beloves. After
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the flame shrinks to a faint glow. I stand in my dimly lit room,
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and I allow my soul to radiate outward for all to see. I
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am free from the voices of pain, sadness, hurt, and anger.
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I am free to believe in my goodness, my abilities, and my connection
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to God. All is deep, all is mine. As my spirit heals,
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I can shine. I will open to the healing of others. I
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am a beacon of life light into this world. Over the next few months,
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and really during the past few years, Jeanne continued to be blessed by
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new insights and revelations. As her journey unfolds, she continues to be reminded
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that new roses will indeed grow from her old wounds. She actually perceives their
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opening buds in the questions she allowed herself to live into. What are those
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questions? Well, here are some of the questions. She asked herself.
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What reward did I receive from the messages I chose to keep with me all
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these years? Another question? Do I want that reward to control my life?
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Now? What spiritual practice will I follow instead? As Jeanne continues to
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enrich her learning about gratitude, she rejoices and revels in the rich harmonies of
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appreciation, compassion, and forgiveness. One afternoon, while we were enjoying coffee,
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she shared some of her reflections and learning with me, Gloria, these
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past few months, I've been very silent inside, sitting with God in patience
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and wonder. I am beginning to understand what others see in me, a
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person with a huge heart full of love for others, And now I am
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growing in love for myself. May I continue on this sacred path until I
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can feel that same respect and love for myself as I have for others,
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and to feel it with ease and grace. May I continue to enjoy the
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full measure of this sanctuary of silence within my soul. May I continue to
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celebrate the spirit of God within me and feel Love's holy light within my soul.
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Shortly after her gratitude ceremony, Gene composed this praise poem to celebrate herself
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and the healing power of gratitude and sanctuary. She says, I celebrate,
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I celebrate. I celebrate the spirit of God within me. My voice sings
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loud, my voice sings true, my voice sings of me. I c
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I celebrate. I celebrate the spirit of God within me. I feel the
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light within my soul. I feel the voice of me. I celebrate.
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I celebrate. I celebrate the spirit of God within me. I am what
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I was created for. I am the woman I am. I am a
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woman of size. I am ego free. I celebrate. I celebrate.
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I celebrate the spirit of God within me. I am free. I am
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free of the voices within me. There is only room for me. I
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celebrate. I celebrate. I celebrate the spirit of God within me. I
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just love that story. Jeanne's miracles continue to flow, creating a ripple effect
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in her own life, in her family, and beyond Why because she said
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yes to God's legacy for her. For Jeanne, wearing her soul on the
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outside is something she can now do every single day, no matter where she
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is or who she's with. Gloria, I can't imagine living my life any
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other way. Thank you. Thank you for walking with me on my journey
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and for helping me dare to wear my soul on the outside now. I
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began Jean's story with these lines from my poem song to Myself. I want
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to know if you can look into the eyes of the young woman who sleeps
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with fear each night, the one who dared to walk away from the hands
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that pummeled her. I want to know if you can share her pain.
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You know, confronting and dealing with our fears makes all the difference, doesn't
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it. If we let fear hold us captive, it will steel our joy,
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it will suck the life of our very bones. But when we say
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hey, I'm stuck, I'm stuck. When we say enough is enough,
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when we reach out for support so we can confront and deal and face our
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fears. That's when we begin the process of restoring ourselves, of restoring our
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birthright, of restoring our love and faith, so we can be true to
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ourselves and restore the amazing power of our own story and the amazing power the
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healing power of our own true voice. Well, I certainly hope that this
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story about Gene and her learning journey has inspired you today. I know it's
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inspired me. Now. I want to share my entire poem with you so
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that you can hear how Jean's story fits into the overall context of the poem
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song. To myself, it doesn't matter to me what you do or where
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you work. I want to know who you are when the sun goes down,
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and if you are willing to put everything on the line to fulfill your
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soul's desire. It doesn't matter to me how much bread you can afford to
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put on your own table. I want to know if you will need and
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wait and bake the bread and share your blessings at somebody else's table. I
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want to know if you can look into the eyes of the young woman who
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sleeps with fear each night, the one who dared to walk away from the
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hands that pummeled her. I want to know if you can share her pain.
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It doesn't matter to me what neighborhood you live in or what kind of
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car you drive. I want to know what drives you, what compels you
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to follow your soul's longing. I want to know what pierces your heart,
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awakens you at night, and inspires you to devote yourself to whomever or whatever
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moves you. I want to know how many times you've opened your heart and
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extended a hand to your homeless sister or brother. I want to know if
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you will sit in the quiet dark hours between midnight and dawn listening to another's
30:52
heart song. It doesn't matter to me how many unspeakable secrets you have.
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I want to know if you will share your secrets to liberate your demons so
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they don't devour you or those you love. I want to know if you
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will risk looking foolish to embrace your bliss. I want to know if you
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will grasp the sleeve of a nameless elder stumbling on his way and lead him
31:27
in from the cold. I want to know if you will throw away your
31:33
cloak and show your heart, if you will dare to wear your soul on
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the outside. It doesn't matter to me how many mountains you've climbed or will
31:48
climb. I want to know if you've fallen down in the valley of despair.
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I want to know if you've scarred your knees on the stones of self
32:00
abandonment. I want to know how long you've been hidden in the shadows of
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hypocrisy, prejudice, addiction, abuse. I want to know if you will
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stop to light a candle and pray with others who will surely wander there.
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It doesn't matter to me what you say you will do for others. I
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want to know if you will act with courage and conviction, if you will
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daily cradle the frail hand of your mother when she no longer knows your name.
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I want to know if you will look into the hazel, gray,
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or ebony eyes of a stranger and say yes yes, to affirm your sister,
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your brother, yourself. I want to know if you will take the
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time to be still, call the names and pass the cup to honor the
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ancestors who cleared a path and broke new ground for you and your children.
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It doesn't matter to me that you have a past. I want to know
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if you will celebrate your present, if you will take a stand, declare
33:36
yourself, sing I am boldly and with rejoicing, not only to the stars
33:45
at night, but to anyone anywhere, without apologies or regrets. Wouldn't it
34:00
be wonderful if we could all take a stand and declare ourselves, declare ourselves
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and sing I am boldly and with rejoicing, declare ourselves by lifting up and
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celebrating the awesome, incredible power of our own stories, our own true voice.
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Because you know what, that's how God made us. That's how God
34:24
made us. He did not make us to cower or to hide out,
34:29
or to believe what the world would have us, believe that we're missing something,
34:34
that we're insufficient, that were not enough. We are children of the
34:39
most high. We are made to stand up and be counted. And when
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you can stand up and declare yourself, guess what, you can help somebody
34:52
else do the same, because you are actually giving them permission. When you
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make that kind of difference in your own life, you can make that kind
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of difference in somebody else's life too. So that's how you do it.
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That's how it's done, day by day, step by step, moment by
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moment, smile by smile, every single day three sixty five, twenty four
35:17
to seven. Now you can learn more about the ideas and the story that
35:23
I just shared with you today. You can also find resources to equip and
35:30
inspire you to make your life count by visiting the Gloria Burgess website. That's
35:37
Gloria Burgess dot com. The Gloria Burgess website. And as I've mentioned before,
35:43
if you love to be inspired, you can actually subscribe to my inspirations
35:47
right on my website. Just scroll down a little bit look on the right
35:52
side bar until you see the place to add your email address to subscribe to
35:57
my weekly inspirations. It's that each week you will get a lovely image,
36:02
a lovely photograph, and a short quotation that inspires you. Now, if
36:08
you missed any part of this week's podcast, or last week's show, or
36:14
any show for that matter, you can listen at your convenience. You can
36:17
even listen on the go. Check us out at www. Dot talknetwork radio
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dot com. Forward Slash Hosts, Forward Slash Legacy Living Okay, that's www.
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Dot talknetwork radio dot com. Forward Slash Hosts, Forward Slash Legacy living.
36:43
If you want to be the change you seek, be sure to listen
36:46
to this podcast again and again and be sure to tell somebody. You can
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find me on iTunes, Audible, Alexa, SoundCloud, iHeart, tune In,
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Spreaker, dot Com, Talk Network Radio, and so many other places.
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You can also find me on LinkedIn or Facebook and again. You can
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find me on Facebook at Facebook dot com forward slash dr for doctor Dr Gloria
37:15
Burgess, pH D. Forward slash. You can also hear and see me
37:21
by visiting the ted x website and listening to one of my ted talks.
37:25
Just type in my name, Gloria Burgess and find me there. Now.
37:30
Before I close today, I want to thank each of you for tuning in
37:35
to today's show for allowing me to share a bit about my journey with what
37:38
Legacy living is all about, not just living and learning, but living and
37:44
learning and serving so that you make a difference in your own life and in
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the lives of others. It's all about being one purpose every single day.
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Three sixty five twenty four seven. Legacy living is a powerful way to make
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your life count. Once again, I want to thank you for joining me
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for today's show. I'm your host, Doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess, and this
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is Legacy Living, Make your Life Count. Please join me again next time
38:22
right here on Talk Network Radio for another show of Legacy Living, Make your
38:28
Life Count. We're here again next week Talk Network Radio. Don't just count
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the days in your life. Make the days in your life count. That's
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what Legacy Living is all about. Have a fantastic day and remember make the
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days in your life count. God bless that's our show today. I'm your
39:06
host, Doctor Gloria Gloria Burgess. I hope you'll join me again next time.
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Until then, don't just count the days in your life. Make the
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days in your life count. That's what legacy Living is all about. Here's
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to you have a fantastic day and be sure to make it a yes kind
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of day. Remember to celebrate the music of your life. Make the days
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in your life count.