Latest / Legacy Living with Dr. Gloria Burgess / Live Boldly | Episode #514

Transcript

Live Boldly | Episode #514 · 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, Dr. 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 joined me. I
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: want to give a big thank you to those of
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: you listening today all around the world. I'm delighted and
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: so grateful that you tuned in. I sure hope you're
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: enjoying a fabulous day and that you're having a fantastic week.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Because you know what? In the grand song of the universe,
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: life is very, very short. It's short and sweet and
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  Speaker 1: very precious. So, I hope you're making a difference in
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: your own life Because when you do, you also make
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: a difference in someone else's life. Now, a lot of
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: folks want to make their life count for something. And
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: they ask me, Dr. Gloria, how do you do that? Well,
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: it's very simple. Very simple. You make your life count
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: day by day, step by step, moment by moment, every
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: single day. 365, 24-7. That's what Legacy Living Make Your
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Life Count is all about. Now you can learn more
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: about Legacy Living Make Your Life Count by visiting my website,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: the Gloria Burgess website. That's G-L-O-R-I-A B as in boy
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: U-R-G-E-S-S dot com. Again, that's GloriaBurgess.com or you can visit
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: me on Facebook at And you can find me on
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: Facebook right here at facebook.com forward slash dr, for Dr. Dr.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: Gloria Burgess, PhD forward slash. Today, I want to talk
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  Speaker 1: with you about one of my favorite topics, daring to
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  Speaker 1: wear your soul on the outside, daring to live out loud. Now, specifically,
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: I'm going to focus on several folks who have stepped up,
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: who said, you know what? I want more in my life.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: I want to be more. I want to know more.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: And I want to serve more. I hope these stories
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: about people who have transformed their lives will inspire you
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  Speaker 1: as they have inspired me. And if you are inspired,
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  Speaker 1: I will share more about how you too can make
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: that same kind of shift in your own life. Later
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: in today's program, I'm going to share some resources with
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: you so you can do exactly that, so you can
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: equip yourself to make the kind of difference in your
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: life that you will hear about in this inspiring story
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  Speaker 1: that I want to share with you today. So once again,
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: today's focus is dare to wear your soul on the outside.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: What does that mean? Well, it means daring to live
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  Speaker 1: out loud. So now it's time to sit back and relax.
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  Speaker 1: Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea or get
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: yourself a nice tall glass of water. Put your feet up.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: Relax in your favorite chair. Or put your earbuds on
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: and go for a walk. Right? And don't forget to
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: take notes. Okay? Because you're going to have to take
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: notes today. You're going to get a lot of great information.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: And we're going to have an amazing time. Now, before
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: I jump in to today's show, I want to take
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: just a moment to welcome you. If you're just joining us,
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, Dr. Gloria. This is Legacy Living. Make
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  Speaker 1: your life count. I'd like to extend a very special
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: welcome to those of you who are joining my show
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: or if you're joining Talk Network Radio for the very
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: first time. You're in for a real treat. I'm so
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: excited to have you listening in today and And I'm
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  Speaker 1: deeply honored that you've allowed me to be part of
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  Speaker 1: your day so you can be inspired by the ideas
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  Speaker 1: and resources to make your life count. Today's program, again,
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  Speaker 1: is all about daring to wear your soul on the outside.
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  Speaker 1: Or as some people say, daring to live out loud.
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  Speaker 1: A very important topic so you can enjoy the life
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  Speaker 1: you love, a life of joy, and a life of service.
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  Speaker 1: One of my favorite poets, Muriel Rickheiser, reminds us that
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: the world is not made up of atoms. Oh, no.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: The world is not made up of atoms. Well, if
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: it's not made up of atoms, then what is it
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  Speaker 1: made of? Well, I'm so glad you asked. Right? It's
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  Speaker 1: made up of stories. Our world is made up of stories.
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  Speaker 1: I just love that. Now, let's just think about that
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  Speaker 1: for a moment. No matter where you live in the world,
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  Speaker 1: you hear stories, right? You hear stories from the time
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  Speaker 1: you're born. You hear stories as a little babe in arms, right?
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  Speaker 1: Stories you hear around the dinner table or around the hearth.
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  Speaker 1: We hear stories when we go to school, stories in
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  Speaker 1: the lunchroom, stories when we're ready to leave school, when
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  Speaker 1: we're ready to graduate and perhaps move on to college.
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  Speaker 1: And then when we apply to college, They ask us
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  Speaker 1: to share stories about why we want to go to
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  Speaker 1: college and what we hope to accomplish there. And then
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  Speaker 1: once we arrive at college, we hear stories about the
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  Speaker 1: college or the university that we're attending. And then more
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  Speaker 1: stories as we move through our studies and then into
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  Speaker 1: the workplace. And there we hear story after story after story.
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  Speaker 1: Stories are a very big part of our lives, so
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  Speaker 1: much so, we don't even realize their presence or their
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  Speaker 1: power in our lives sometimes. Did you know that stories
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  Speaker 1: are how we make meaning, how we make sense of
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  Speaker 1: the world? Stories help us chart and navigate the many
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  Speaker 1: waters of our lives. They 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: In cultures all over the world, stories are are revered
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  Speaker 1: as medicine. Stories as medicine. Now, what exactly does that mean? Well,
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  Speaker 1: stories are called medicine and revered as such because they
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  Speaker 1: help to ground us. And when we lose our way,
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  Speaker 1: as we often do in our fast-paced, ever-evolving world, stories
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  Speaker 1: are the medicine that enable us, that help us to
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  Speaker 1: come back home. Come back home, which means realigning with
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  Speaker 1: ourselves and coming back into harmony with who we are
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  Speaker 1: and whose we are, with who we belong to. Now,
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  Speaker 1: this is true whether we're talking about an individual, a family,
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  Speaker 1: a community, a team, or an organization. I was with
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: a client just a couple of days ago, and our
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  Speaker 1: specific focus was on team buildings. Now, the resources we
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: used to get to team building, to get from here
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  Speaker 1: to there, were stories. In other words, we took a
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  Speaker 1: look at what needed to be serviced, meaning what stories
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  Speaker 1: needed to be serviced and made visible to be discussed
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  Speaker 1: so that we could become intentional about doing what was
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  Speaker 1: necessary to become the best team possible, right? We wanted
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  Speaker 1: to put our best foot forward, so to speak, to
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: do our best work in serving our the organization's stakeholders.
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  Speaker 1: So once again, stories are powerful medicine. Poet and author
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  Speaker 1: Mark Nepo reminds us that stories are small doses of
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  Speaker 1: what matters. And he says, it is the telling that
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  Speaker 1: releases the medicine, the telling that soothes our pain and
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  Speaker 1: shares our joy. I just love that. I'm going to
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  Speaker 1: repeat it. It is in the telling that of the stories, right?
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  Speaker 1: That releases the medicine, the telling that soothes our pain
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  Speaker 1: and shares our joy. In the key Swahili language, the
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  Speaker 1: words Habari Gani mean, what's the news or what's happening now?
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  Speaker 1: In this podcast and in several others, I will share
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  Speaker 1: with you small doses of what's happening now of what
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  Speaker 1: matters in the lives of everyday ordinary people, including some
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  Speaker 1: people who are very close to me. In fact, I
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  Speaker 1: want to share one particular story with you today. And
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  Speaker 1: this story that I will share breathes the timeless universal
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  Speaker 1: truths of what I call the seven sacred promises. They
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: are truths that mentor us in ways of being that
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  Speaker 1: are older than time. Truths that breathe just beneath the
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  Speaker 1: surface of our everyday busy lives. These are the truths
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  Speaker 1: that we make visible in our life. We can actually
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  Speaker 1: draw on them with conscious intention to shape our daily
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  Speaker 1: choices and actions, and decisions. So, what are the seven
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  Speaker 1: sacred promises? They are gratitude, faith, love, vision, integrity, creative action,
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  Speaker 1: and legacy. Now, you hear me talk about all of
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  Speaker 1: these promises frequently on this podcast in one way or another. Today,
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  Speaker 1: you will hear more about those sacred promises through an
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  Speaker 1: inspiring story I'm going to share with you. This story
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  Speaker 1: is 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: And that poem is called Song to Myself. Song to Myself. Now,
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  Speaker 1: all of the stories that I'm going to share with
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  Speaker 1: you over the next several weeks, and this story in particular,
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  Speaker 1: are about people who are just like you and me. Now,
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  Speaker 1: how is that? Because we are all people who care.
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  Speaker 1: We care about ourselves. We care about one another. We
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  Speaker 1: care about leaving the world a little better off than
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  Speaker 1: the way we found it. As stewards of the future,
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  Speaker 1: we dare to wear our souls on the outside, to
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  Speaker 1: be in right relationship with ourself, and to be in
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  Speaker 1: right relationship with the people around us. As instruments of soul,
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  Speaker 1: we sound the way. for others in our immediate circles
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  Speaker 1: and beyond. Did you know that you, you are a
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  Speaker 1: magnificent story? And as you live your life, you are
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  Speaker 1: actually painting, you are painting on the canvas of your soul. Now,
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  Speaker 1: at the end of my sharing these inspiring stories over
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  Speaker 1: the next few weeks, I'm going to invite you to
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  Speaker 1: give voice to your own story so you too can
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  Speaker 1: respond to that important question, Habari Gani, what's happening now?
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  Speaker 1: And I want to inspire you to draw from the
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  Speaker 1: deep wellspring of your life and the transformative power of
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  Speaker 1: your own true voice. Until then, I trust that you
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  Speaker 1: will be moved by these stories of hope radiance, and celebration.
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  Speaker 1: As you encounter each individual soul, I want you to
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  Speaker 1: feel that sweet shimmer of your own story and hear
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  Speaker 1: the resonance and powerful medicine of your own true voice.
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  Speaker 1: I trust that you will bask in the joy and
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  Speaker 1: inspiration of the stories, allowing them to illuminate your sacred
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  Speaker 1: life path I also trust that you will accept the
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  Speaker 1: gifts they offer so that you can pass these stories
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  Speaker 1: on and faithfully serve the people around you by lighting
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  Speaker 1: the path for someone else. So, again, I invite you
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  Speaker 1: to get cozy, sip on a cup of tea or
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  Speaker 1: your favorite coffee, and join me by the hearth. Join
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  Speaker 1: me at the fire to hear the good news. I
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  Speaker 1: will begin... This story, as I will other stories, with
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  Speaker 1: a brief excerpt from my poem, Song to Myself. I
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  Speaker 1: want to know if you can look into the eyes
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  Speaker 1: of the young woman who sleeps with fear each night,
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  Speaker 1: the one who dared to walk away from the hands
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  Speaker 1: that pummeled her. I want to know if you can
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  Speaker 1: share her pain. Now, I want you to meet a
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  Speaker 1: very special person. She's a dear friend. Her name is Jean.
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  Speaker 1: Jean is a woman who used to sleep with fear
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  Speaker 1: each night. But more than anything, she wanted her life back.
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  Speaker 1: She was tired of being held captive by fear. When
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  Speaker 1: she was ready to dare to wear her soul on
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  Speaker 1: the outside, when she was really ready to live out loud,
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  Speaker 1: she asked me to work with her as her coach.
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  Speaker 1: Here is Jean's amazing story. When we first started working together,
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  Speaker 1: Jean was just completing a six-year learning journey. During those years,
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  Speaker 1: she was learning what she needed to become a hospice professional.
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  Speaker 1: She devoted herself to developing the necessary skills, enriching her
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  Speaker 1: character qualities, and learning about spiritual practices to become the
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  Speaker 1: best hospice care provider she could be. At that time,
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  Speaker 1: her dream was to coach and train other hospice workers.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, she wanted to start her own business dedicated
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  Speaker 1: to growing other hospice professionals, overseeing and caring for their personal, professional,
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  Speaker 1: and spiritual development. Jean sailed through her six years of
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  Speaker 1: training and confidently worked for several years as a hospice worker,
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  Speaker 1: for a large healthcare network. However, when she began to
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  Speaker 1: seriously consider launching her own business, she simply froze. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: she was absolutely immobilized, paralyzed with fear, utterly crippled, stopped
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  Speaker 1: dead in her tracks by her rather loud chorus of
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  Speaker 1: inner critics. Now, most of us have experienced something like
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  Speaker 1: this at some point in our own lives. Thankfully, and
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  Speaker 1: to her credit, Jean recognized that she was stuck and
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  Speaker 1: she was simply unable to move forward with her dream,
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  Speaker 1: with her personal vision. So she reached out and sought
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  Speaker 1: coaching for herself. Together, we created a plan for her
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  Speaker 1: so she could delve more deeply into what she needed
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  Speaker 1: to make a shift, to make a difference in her life.
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  Speaker 1: We also focused on specific practices she would need to
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  Speaker 1: cultivate and integrate into into her life. We decided to
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  Speaker 1: focus on primarily one of the practices. We also included
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  Speaker 1: another one, but the primary focus was gratitude. And then
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  Speaker 1: the other focus was on sanctuary. Now Jean's first task
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  Speaker 1: was to face her fear, right? To confront her chorus
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  Speaker 1: of critical voices. That meant she had to turn off
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  Speaker 1: the switch. to actually disengage that chorus of critics. Then
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  Speaker 1: she had to commit to escort them out of her
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  Speaker 1: life once and for all. In addition to other spiritual resources,
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  Speaker 1: Jean committed to a gratitude practice that included appreciation, compassion,
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  Speaker 1: and forgiveness. Now, when I spoke with Jean to learn
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: about what's happening on her journey, I greeted her with
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: Habari Ghani, hey, what's the news? Listen, as she tells
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  Speaker 1: us more, as Jean shares with us a small dose
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  Speaker 1: of what matters. In my practice of gratitude, I learned
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  Speaker 1: that appreciation, compassion, and forgiveness have presence. And each of
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  Speaker 1: these spiritual practices has a shape, a texture, a weight,
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  Speaker 1: and color, which continues to instruct and guide me. Jean's
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  Speaker 1: courageous and loving confrontation of her inner critics took many,
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  Speaker 1: many months of dedicated, focused, faithful work on her part.
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  Speaker 1: Her focus and faithfulness ultimately led her to a significant breakthrough.
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  Speaker 1: During one of our coaching sessions, she said, Gloria, this
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  Speaker 1: was some of the most difficult yet joyous work I've
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: ever done. to bring closure to her many months of
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  Speaker 1: working on reparation and forgiveness, Jean created a ceremony, a
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  Speaker 1: very special ceremony of gratitude to honor her past, to
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  Speaker 1: reinvigorate her present, and to celebrate her newfound freedom to
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  Speaker 1: now move boldly towards her dream. She gave me permission
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  Speaker 1: to share part of her ceremony with you. Jean says,
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  Speaker 1: tonight I create a ceremony to burn the hateful negative
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  Speaker 1: words of the choir in my mind. I bring forward
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  Speaker 1: anyone who has a voice in this choir. One by one,
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  Speaker 1: I honor, I lovingly thank, and I let go of
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  Speaker 1: the voices that don't serve to lift me up. As
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: I let go of each voice, I pick up a
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  Speaker 1: small slip of paper with that person's name on it,
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  Speaker 1: my painful memory associated with him or her, and a
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  Speaker 1: positive affirmation to replace the negative painful memory. Then I
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  Speaker 1: burn the piece of paper in a special vessel. I
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  Speaker 1: call it my burning bowl. With each piece of burning paper,
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  Speaker 1: I release the pain, sadness, hurt, and anger from my
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  Speaker 1: spirit and from the cells of my body. With each
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  Speaker 1: piece of burning paper, I turn off the volume of
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  Speaker 1: a hurtful voice and turn up the voice of my capable, strong,
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  Speaker 1: resilient self. With each piece of burning paper, I say
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  Speaker 1: these words. In reverence and love, I thank you for
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  Speaker 1: your presence in my life. You didn't intend to hurt
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  Speaker 1: the soul of my child, but she was injured. She
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  Speaker 1: carries your words with her. I know that I'm blessed
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  Speaker 1: by the good and the bad, and I pray that
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  Speaker 1: the blessings of gratitude will continue to be revealed. Now
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  Speaker 1: I return you into the ground of your life lived
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  Speaker 1: by you. As of today, I am free of your
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  Speaker 1: judgments and grief. I am free of the burden within
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  Speaker 1: my soul. Then Jean said, I imagine myself putting a
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  Speaker 1: rose over the heart and in the hands of my beloveds.
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  Speaker 1: After the flame shrinks to a faint glow, I stand
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  Speaker 1: in my dimly lit room and I allow my soul
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  Speaker 1: to radiate outward for all to see. I am free
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  Speaker 1: from the voices of pain, sadness, hurt, and anger. I
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  Speaker 1: am free. to believe in my goodness, my abilities, and
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  Speaker 1: my connection to God. All is deep. All is mine.
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  Speaker 1: As my spirit heals, I can shine. I will open
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  Speaker 1: to the healing of others. I am a beacon of
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  Speaker 1: light into this world. Over the next few months, and
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: really during the past few years, Jean continued to be
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: blessed by new insights and revelations. As her journey unfolds,
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: she continues to be reminded that new roses will indeed
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: grow from her old wounds. She actually perceives their opening
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: buds in the questions she allowed herself to live into.
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  Speaker 1: What are those questions? Well, Here are some of the
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: questions she asked herself. What reward did I receive from
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  Speaker 1: the messages I chose to keep with me all these years?
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: Another question, do I want that reward to control my
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: life now? What spiritual practice will I follow instead? As
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Jean continues to enrich her learning about gratitude, she rejoices
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: and revels in the rich harmonies of appreciation, compassion, and forgiveness.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: One afternoon, while we were enjoying coffee, she shared some
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: of her reflections and learning with me. Gloria, these past
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: few months I've been very silent inside, sitting with God
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: in patience and wonder. I am beginning to understand what
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: others see in me, a person with a huge heart
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: full of love for others. And now I am growing
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: in love for myself. May I continue on this sacred
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  Speaker 1: path until I can feel that same respect and love
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  Speaker 1: for myself as I have for others and to feel
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  Speaker 1: it with ease and grace. May I continue to enjoy
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: the full measure of this sanctuary of silence within my soul.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: May I continue to celebrate the Spirit of God within
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: me and feel love's holy light within my soul. Shortly
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  Speaker 1: after her gratitude ceremony, Jean composed a this praise poem
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  Speaker 1: to celebrate herself, and the healing power of gratitude and sanctuary.
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  Speaker 1: She says, I celebrate, I celebrate, I celebrate the spirit
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  Speaker 1: of God within me. My voice sings loud. My voice
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  Speaker 1: sings true. My voice sings of me. I celebrate. I celebrate.
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  Speaker 1: I celebrate. I celebrate the spirit of God within me.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: I feel the light within my soul. I feel the
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: voice of me. I celebrate. I celebrate. I celebrate the
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: spirit of God within me. I am what I was
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  Speaker 1: created for. I am the woman. I am I am
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  Speaker 1: a woman of size. I am ego free. I celebrate.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: I celebrate. I celebrate the spirit of God within me.
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  Speaker 1: I am free. I am free of the voices within me.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: There is only room for me. I celebrate. I celebrate.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: I celebrate. the spirit of God within me. I just
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: love that story. Jean's miracles continue to flow, creating a
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: ripple effect in her own life, in her family, and beyond. Why?
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: Because she said yes to God's legacy for her. For Jean,
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: wearing her soul on the outside is something she can
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: now do every single day, no matter where she is
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: or who she's with. Gloria, I can't imagine living my
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: life any other way. Thank you. Thank you for walking
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: with me on my journey and for helping me dare
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: to wear my soul on the outside. Now I began
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: Jean's story with these lines from my poem, Song to Myself.
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: I want to know if you can look into the
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: eyes of the young woman who sleeps with fear each night,
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: the one who dared to walk away from the hands
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: that pummeled her. I want to know if you can
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: share her pain. You know, confronting and dealing with our
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: fears makes all the difference, doesn't it? If we let
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: fear hold us captive. It will steal our joy. It
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: will suck the life out of our very bones. But
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: when we say, hey, I'm stuck, I'm stuck. When we
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: say enough is enough, when we reach out for support
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: so we can confront and deal and face our fears,
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: that's when we begin the process of restoring ourselves, of
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: restoring our birthright. of restoring our love and faith so
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: we can be true to ourselves and restore the amazing
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: power of our own story and the amazing power, the
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: healing power of our own true voice. Well, I certainly
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: hope that this story about Jean and her learning journey
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: has inspired you today. I know it's inspired me, Now,
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: I want to share my entire poem with you so
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: that you can hear how Jean's story fits into the
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: overall context of the poem. Song to Myself It doesn't
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: matter to me what you do or where you work.
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: I want to know who you are when the sun
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: goes down. and if you are willing to put everything
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: on the line to fulfill your soul's desire. It doesn't
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: matter to me how much bread you can afford to
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: put on your own table. I want to know if
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: you will knead and wait and bake the bread and
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: share your blessings at somebody else's table. I want to
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: know if you can look into the eyes of the
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: young woman who sleeps with fear each night, the one
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: who dared to walk away from the hands that pummeled her.
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: I want to know if you can share her pain.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: It doesn't matter to me what neighborhood you live in
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: or what kind of car you drive. I want to
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: know what drives you, what compels you to follow your
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: soul's longing. I want to know what pierces your heart,
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: awakens you at night, and inspires you to devote yourself
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: to whomever or whatever moves you. I want to know
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: how many times you've opened your heart and extended a
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: hand to your homeless sister or brother. I want to
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: know if you will sit in the quiet dark hours
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: between midnight and dawn listening to another's heart song. It
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: doesn't matter to me how many unspeakable secrets you have.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: I want to know if you will share your secrets
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: to liberate your demons so they don't devour you or
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: those you love. I want to know if you will
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: risk looking foolish to embrace your bliss. I want to
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: know if you will grasp the sleeve of a nameless
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: elder stumbling on his way and lead him in from
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: the cold. I want to know if you will throw
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: away your cloak and show your heart, if you will
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: dare to wear your soul on the outside. It doesn't
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: matter to me how many mountains you've climbed or will climb.
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: I want to know if you've fallen down in the
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: valley of despair. I want to know if you've scarred
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: your knees on the stones of self-abandonment. I want to
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: know how long you've been hidden in the shadows of hypocrisy, prejudice, addiction, abuse.
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: I want to know if you will stop to light
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: a candle and pray with others who will surely wander there.
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: It doesn't matter to me what you say you will
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: do for others. I want to know if you will
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: act with courage and conviction, if you will daily cradle
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: the frail hand of your mother when she no longer
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: knows your name. I want to know if you will
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: look into the hazel, gray, or ebony eyes of a
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: stranger and say, yes. Yes, to affirm your sister, your brother, yourself.
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: I want to know if you will take the time
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: to be still, call the names and pass the cup
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: to honor the ancestors who cleared a path and broke
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: new ground for you and your children. It doesn't matter
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: to me that you have a past. I want to
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: know if you will celebrate your present, if you will
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: take a stand, declare yourself, sing, I am, boldly and
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: with rejoicing, not only to the stars at night, but
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: to anyone, anywhere, without apologies or regrets. Wouldn't it be
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: wonderful if we could all take a stand and declare ourselves,
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: declare ourselves and sing I am boldly and with rejoicing,
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: declare ourselves by lifting up and celebrating the awesome, incredible
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: power of our own stories, our own true voice. Because
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: you know what? That's how God made us. That's how
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: God made us. He did not make us to cower
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: or to hide out or to believe or what the
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: world would have us believe, that we're missing something, that
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: we're insufficient, that we're not enough. We are children of
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: the Most High. We are made to stand up and
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: be counted. And when you can stand up and declare yourself,
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: guess what? You can help somebody else do the same.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: Because you are actually giving them permission. When you make
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: that kind of difference in your own life, you can
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: make that kind of difference in somebody else's life too.
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: So that's how you do it. That's how it's done.
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: Day by day, step by step, moment by moment, smile
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: by smile, every single day, 365, 24-7. Now you can
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: learn more about the ideas and the story that I
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: just shared with you today. You can also find resources
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: to equip and inspire you to make your life count
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: by visiting the Gloria Burgess website. That's GloriaBurgess.com, the Gloria
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: Burgess website. And as I've mentioned before, if you love
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: to be inspired, you can actually subscribe to my inspirations
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: right on my website. Just scroll down a little bit,
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: look on the right sidebar until you see the place
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: to add your email address, to subscribe to my weekly inspirations.
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: It's that simple. Each week, you'll get a lovely image,
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: a lovely photograph, and a short quotation that inspires you. Now,
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: if you missed any part of this week's podcast or
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: last week's show, or any show for that matter, you
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: can listen at your convenience. You can even listen on
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: the go. Check us out at www.talknetworkradio.com If you want
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: to be the change you seek, be sure to listen
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: to this podcast again and again. And be sure to
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: tell somebody. You can find me on iTunes, Audible, Alexa, SoundCloud, iHeart, TuneIn, Spreaker.com,
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: Talk Network Radio, and so many other places. You can
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: also find me on LinkedIn or Facebook. And again, you
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: can find me on Facebook at facebook.com forward slash dr,
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: for Dr. Dr. Gloria Burgess, Ph.D., forward slash dr. You
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: can also hear and see me by visiting the TEDx
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: website and listening to one of my TED Talks. Just
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: type in my name, Gloria Burgess, and find me there. Now,
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: before I close today, I want to thank each of
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: you for tuning in to today's show, for allowing me
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: to share a bit about my journey with what legacy
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: living is all about. Not just living and learning, but
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: living and learning and serving, so that you make a
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: difference in your own life and in the lives of others.
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: It's all about being on purpose every single day, 365, 24-7.
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: Legacy living is a powerful way to make your life count.
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: Once again, I want to thank you for joining me
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: for today's show. I'm your host, Dr. Gloria, Gloria Burgess,
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: and this is Legacy Living Make Your Life Count. Please
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: join me again next time right here on Talk Network
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: Radio for another show of Legacy Living, Make Your Life Count.
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: We're here again next week, Talk Network Radio. Don't just
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: count the days in your life. Make the days in
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: your life count. That's what Legacy Living is all about.
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: Have a fantastic day and remember, Make the days in
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: your life count. God bless. That's our show today. I'm
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: your host, Dr. Gloria, Gloria Burgess. I hope you'll join
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: me again next time. Until then, don't just count the
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: days in your life Make the days in your life count.
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: That's what legacy living is all about. Here's to you.
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: Have a fantastic day and be sure to make it
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: a yes. kind of day. Remember to celebrate the music
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: of your life. Make the days in your life count.