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Living Without Fear - Feeling Rich Without Being Rich | With Esther Buerki · LIVING WITHOUT FEAR

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  Welcome back, my dear friends, to the 130th solo episode of
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  Living Without Fear. I'm at the Berkey, your host
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  from Switzerland, and I'm so grateful that you're here with
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  me today, listening with the open heart.
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  You know, I always want to share with you my most personal
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  stories, the ones that don't always look shiny on the surface
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  but carry within them the deepest lessons.
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  Because I truly believe that when we open up about our own
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  struggles, we give permission to others to be real too.
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  And today I want to talk about something that has shaped me
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  profoundly. Something that changed how I see
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  life, happiness, and even the wealth itself.
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  It's about what it really means to feel rich.
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  Not the kind of rich that's measured by your bank account or
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  your possessions, but the kind of rich that lives quietly
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  inside your heart, in your gratitude, your connections and
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  your everyday moments. This understanding didn't come
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  from reading a book or attending a seminar.
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  It came from life itself, From travelling, from motherhood,
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  from times when money was tight but my heart was full.
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  And most of all, it came from one very special place that I
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  keep close to my soul, India. Before COVID, I used to travel
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  every year to India. Why?
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  Because that country, with all its contrasts and chaos, has a
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  heartbeat of spirituality that I have never found anywhere else.
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  But there's something even deeper that keeps calling me
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  back. The way people, they radiate
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  richness without actually having much.
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  They may live in simple homes without big cars or fancy
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  furniture, yet their smiles tell you everything.
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  They feel rich and it shows in the way they walk, the way they
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  share and the way they look at you.
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  As if life itself is already enough.
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  I remember my very first trip to India with my two sons.
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  They were just five and seven back then, and I was in the
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  middle of getting divorced. It was a time of change,
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  uncertainty and emotional rebuilding.
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  But India embraced us like an old friend because we had
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  already been to Egypt together with their father, my boys
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  weren't shocked to see people who didn't own much.
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  What surprised them, though, was how happy these people were in
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  India. We didn't have our usual shower.
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  Instead, we had bucket showers. And you know what?
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  My sons absolutely loved them. They found it funny at 1st and
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  then they started to prefer it. It became a little ritual, A
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  playful joy. They learnt so quickly how
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  creativity and resourcefulness can replace luxury.
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  They watched locals adapt a SIM card to a new phone by simply
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  cutting off a few edges. They saw how a metal statue
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  could be cleaned with Coca-Cola and a brush.
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  They learned how to make jewellery with cotton threads
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  and beets. One day, we met a Tibetan woman
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  who cooked the most delicious momos dumplings filled with
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  love. Her she her kitchen was just a
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  small corner of her mother's home, but her warmth filled the
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  whole space. My sons became friends with her
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  two boys who were older but so kind, and as we sat together
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  eating her home cooked meal, I remember thinking this is what
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  being rich feels like. We didn't have much.
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  They didn't have much, but our hearts are full, our laughter
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  was pure, and we felt completely at home.
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  That's when I began to understand true wealth has very
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  little to do with money. Years later, when I started my
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  own business, I experienced moments when money was truly
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  tight every time. One of my sons was invited to a
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  birthday party. I felt stressed because I
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  couldn't always afford the expensive Lego sets or branded
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  toys that other families bought. I tried to suggest creative
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  homemade gifts, but often their friends wanted the real thing.
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  I felt small, poor and ashamed. And yet, looking back now, I see
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  how wrong I was. We were rich in ways that no one
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  could measure. Our time in India had opened our
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  hearts and shaped us into people who value connection more than
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  possessions. I had chosen to spend but little
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  I had on experiences, not on things, because I believed those
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  experiences would teach my sons more about life, compassion and
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  gratitude than any toy ever could.
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  And they did. Today, at 19 and 21, my sons are
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  the most open hearted and curious souls I know.
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  They connect easily with people from all over the world.
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  They're humble, and they carry that same spark of appreciation
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  that once lit up our little home in India.
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  And that, to me, is priceless. So why am I telling you all
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  this, dear listener? Because I want to remind you,
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  your worth has nothing to do with the number in your bank
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  account. I had to learn this lesson the
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  hard way. With the help of two wonderful
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  money coaches, they asked me to create a long list of what truly
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  determines my worth. And I want to share that with
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  you today because maybe it can help you too.
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  I wrote down everything that makes me me.
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  My ability to speak several languages.
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  My joy in playing the violin in an orchestra.
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  My love for swimming in the lake or the sea.
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  My creativity when painting or crafting with my sons.
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  My patience and care for the plants in my home.
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  My strength from teaching skiing, my communication skills
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  that connect me to people across cultures, my writing that has
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  led to children, books and books for adults.
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  The list grew longer and longer, and with every item I added, I
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  started to feel wealthier without earning a single Swiss
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  franc. More so, dear listener, this is
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  your moment. Pause this episode right here
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  and take a few minutes. Write down your own list
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  everything that makes you feel rich.
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  Your talents, your passions, your small daily joys, your
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  resilience, your kindness, your laughter.
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  Go ahead, I'll wait. Welcome back.
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  Now tell me, on a scale from one to 10, how rich did you feel
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  before making this list? And how rich do you feel now?
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  Do you see how easy it is to shift your perception?
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  Wealth isn't out there, it's inside you.
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  And once you start seeing it, you'll begin to radiate it.
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  You've probably heard of famous people who had everything,
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  money, fame, power, and yet felt so lonely and unhappy that they
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  ended their own lives. Their fortune couldn't feel the
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  emptiness inside because true wealth doesn't come from having
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  more, but from feeling enough. One more thing that helped me
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  reconnect with that feeling was starting a gratitude practice.
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  I began posting on Instagram every day, but I felt grateful
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  for small or big and why it made me happy.
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  It transformed my mindset completely.
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  If you haven't started yet, maybe tonight is a beautiful
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  moment to begin. Before going to bed, write down
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  one thing you're grateful for today.
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  Just one. And if you keep doing that every
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  day, you'll soon realize you're richer than you ever imagined.
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  Because richness is not what you own.
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  It's what you feel. It's the love you give, the
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  laughter you share, the peace you cultivate inside.
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  So today, I invite you to start seeing your own life through
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  this lens. Look around.
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  Your breath, your morning coffee, your children's smiles,
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  the light that touches your face.
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  You are rich, my friend. You've always been.
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  Thank you for listening, for feeling, and for growing with
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  me. And if you feel called to work
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  with me, please reach out. I would love to help you
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  breakthrough all patterns and step into your new version with
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  ease and laugh. Thank you for letting me share
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  this very personal story with you.
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  It means so much to me to know that my voice reaches your
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  heart. Until next week, keep living
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  without fear.