Episode 21

Catherine Praiswater of Your Positive Imprint

This week, I sit down with Catherine Praiswater of Your Positive Imprint.

Your Positive Imprint is a show that highlights people from around the world whose positive achievements are inspiring positive actions.

Topics up for discussion this week include:

  • why positive stories need to be told, and how her podcast came from that
  • why she views her show as a variety show
  • how a visitor to her door led to her podcast
  • why she wants to help share stories of people who'd normally wouldn't be recognized
  • how her father's passing impacted her podcast, and then ultimately helped shape it
  • why Catherine loves finding guests, and the research that goes with it
  • how a YouTube video led to an incredible conversation on her podcast
  • why the continued relationships with her guests is the favourite part of her show
  • how her guests often validate the work she's doing
  • how leaders don't look for praise, and just do what they do
  • how her life was completely changed by a visit to Lithuania
  • the feeling of desperation when she was handed a baby covered in blood
  • how life before cell phones was so different when it comes to world affairs
  • why we need to appreciate, and act on, the simple things in life
  • why we need to realize we are citizens of the world if we want to be better people
  • why Covid isn't the first time the global science community has come together to work as one
  • why Covid is a once in a lifetime chance to reset how we work together as a global community
  • why one of her guests appreciated Catherine reaching out to see how he was doing during Covid
  • how Catherine plans to scale the show with a live offering
  • her advice for new podcaster, and why truth and passion is so key
  • who her heroes are, and why
  • what her dad would have made about the show had he lived to hear it
  • how much of an influence her family continues to be on her show

Settle back for an open and free-flowing chat about life changes and recognizing our inner value.

Connect with Catherine:

Contact me: danny@podcasterstories.com

My equipment:

Recommended resources:



This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

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Transcript
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And so when I came back to the United States,

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I was, I was teaching, I told the students this

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story, and I said, you know, when you go to

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the grocery store, simple things like putting the cart in

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its spot makes a difference for people who work at

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the store. Don't, don't put that cart in the middle

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of the parking lot. I mean, that's just such a

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little simple thing for little children to know, but tell

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your parents or work with your parents because this woman

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has lived through hell.

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Hi and welcome to Podcaster Stories. Each episode we'll have

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a conversation with podcasters from across the globe and share

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their story. What motivates them, why they started their show,

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how they grew their show, and more. We'll also talk

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about their personal lives, and some of the things that

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have happened that made them the person they are today.

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And now here's your host, Danny Brown. Hi, and welcome

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to another episode of Podcaster Stories, where we get to

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meet the people behind the voices of the shows we

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listen to. This week, I have Catherine Praiswater, who is

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the host of Your Positive Imprint, a show highlighting people

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around the world whose positive achievements have inspired positive actions.

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Catherine, welcome to the show. How about you tell us

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about yourself and your podcast.

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Well, he didn't know Danny thank you so much for

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having me on this is exciting. Usually I'm on the

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other end, right? So I'm Catherine yes. And I live

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in New Mexico and we trout while we were before

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COVID we travel quite a bit and we're hikers and

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bikers, and we love Hawaii. Hence my little Hawaiian, he

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had jewelry that I have on, but I do have

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a podcast or Positive Imprint in, there are so many

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different reasons as to why I wanted to do this

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type of podcast. And I'm going to share one of

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those stories with you that my listeners haven't heard yet.

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But my podcast, as you said, is taking or finding

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people around the world. Who's positive actions are inspiring positive

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achievements. So it is not a single topic. It's a

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variety show. And I absolutely love the variety show. As,

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as yours, you have all of these different people on

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your show and, and I do to, and so there

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are stories that are all different and their inspirations are

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different. And, but there are what is in common is

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that they are completely putting out these Positive imprints here

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for humanity, for generations to come and even beyond.

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And as we know everything we say and do is

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going to be part of humanity in some way. And

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so we want to be sure that it's a positive

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and inspiring piece that we leave. And it's people aren't

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just doing this to leave behind. They are doing it

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to make a difference right now. So, and I started

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the podcast when I was in between jobs, literally. So,

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and a fellow came to the door. He was a

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solicitor. He doesn't like to be called a solicitor and

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they were friends, but he was a solicitor for a

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financial group. And he heard my voice and said, Oh

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my gosh, you should be on a podcast.

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You should have your own podcast show. You have a

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great voice. And so I started looking into that and

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thought, well, you know what? That sounds like a pretty

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good idea. And then I started looking at a topic

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and this is what I wanted to do because I

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want to showcase. And I'm a thing that showcases the

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right word, but I want to feature people whose stories

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aren't being heard and whose inspirations aren't being seen except

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for within their community. And I want to share those

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because I think it's important for people to number one,

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be able to identify their own Positive Imprint and it's

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hard for people in my tagline is what's your pie.

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And it's very hard for people to say and to

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identify their own and to say, yeah, I am doing

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good, but there is a lot of good in the

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world and I want to identify it and bring it

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to listeners. So that listeners do know that there's a

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fabulous, great people out there there's activities to get involved

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in and so on. Anyway, that's my long answer. So

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there,

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No, that's cool. And you mentioned that, that it came

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about while you were between jobs. So D D D

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I, a lot of the jobs have any impact on

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the topic of the shore and how you approach that.

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Like where are you finding an inspiring stories, the forehand,

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or was this a completely different from what the, the

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jobs were

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Completely different? I am a literacy specialist and a teacher.

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So I was looking to do something. I don't know

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something not different because I didn't know what I want

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it in between jobs, but I was with the department

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of education and they had me traveling, you know, almost

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four hours a day, just one way. So that's eight

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hours and I would have to live somewhere else and

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be apart from the family. And I didn't want to

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do that. So I needed to look into something else.

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And then what happened is my dad left us. He,

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he died on Christmas 2017 and it was so sudden

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nobody was expecting it and right after Christmas dinner and

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he just collapsed in the house and he was gone.

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And so if I had been thinking about the podcast

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and dad had been there through the process, and we'd

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all been trying to think of a name. And so

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I wanted to, after that incident, I wanted to continue

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on with my vision of doing this. So, yeah. So

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it was kind of different events that kind of occurred

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in a chronological order of the job and then the

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solicitor and then dad.

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Yeah. But, and you'd mentioned, obviously it was very Southern

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with your dad's passing and they were just completely out

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of the blue and unexpected with him being such a

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huge part of the conception of your Lake in there,

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that the idea behind, what are the direction, was it

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harder to, to get back in to the saddle when

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you were ready to launch, you know, the following year,

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how did that come about? What was that process?

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So it was hard. So the, the process was actually,

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it had to cut you. It was in my head

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and I was grieving and I just didn't want to

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do that, but I didn't want to do anything. I

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was just so distraught over this. And it was actually

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when I went to do a tribute for my dad's

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birthday, which is May 2nd, and I, I'm a dancer.

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So I chose a piece of music, a by Chris

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crystal and the beautiful piece. And I did this tribute

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to dad and the music is I was listening to

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all the different music pieces that Chris does.

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I started becoming more and more inspired to, Oh my

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gosh, I have to do this podcast. So it was

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after I did that tribute. And after listening to Chris's

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music over and over and over again, it's pianist, he's

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a pianists and getting that inspiration. Then I started diving

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back into the podcast and then I started looking for

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people around the world to help me. And it was

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actually one of your friends, Mark Asquith, who reached out

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to me when he saw that I was looking for,

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Hey, I need some help. I have no idea what

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to do. And then that relationship and Mark is over

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in England.

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That relationship helped me to build what I needed and

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what I need to know about the podcast. So,

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Oh, that's cool. I like Mark's. Yeah. He's like a,

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a force of nature. Or when it comes to podcasts,

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then it says crazy how much he wants to help

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people, but not your story just enforces us. We're all

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cool. Okay.

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Sure, sure. Absolutely. And there were other people to lots

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of people, but as far as, as the, the website

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and the know how Marc was there. So that was,

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that was helpful. And then James, from Mark's a group

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also, I don't know if you knew him. I think

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it was James Marriott. I think it was his last

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name. So yeah. So there's been some really good people

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around the world who have helped me get the show

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moving and then the listener's have been phenomenal. Absolutely wonderful

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and beautiful emails that they send. I appreciate that.

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And, and that's, I think that's one of the, the,

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the, the most rewarding and things of podcasting that we

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can always look for downloads and et cetera on our

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analytics. But it's that knowing that you've connected with someone

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and obviously you're on your podcast is both of, you

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know, people that are making a positive impact. So that,

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and clearly you'll make an, a positive and part of

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yourself because of the feedback that you'd get in the

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stories that have been shared with you.

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Yeah. Yeah. That's true. That's true. And they're is, you

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know, you're, Over in Canada. There is a, a listener

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in Canada who she never forgets about my dad. And

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so I received a beautiful, beautiful, a condolence card. You

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know, it had been two years, but I had started

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the podcast and she knew the story and she sent

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such a, a lovely, a little email and, and a

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card, which was really nice. And then she remembered him

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on his birthday. I just think that that's so special.

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You just mentioned these things on the podcast and people

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just remember, and that's, that's really awfully sweet.

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Now I know who you are, a podcast that shares,

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as you've mentioned, incredibly inspiring Stories and just looking. And

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they are obviously very varied. There is not one single

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topic and drive and for me, but there's a driving

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theme. Obviously there was activity to the different topics. I

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mean, you have you spoken to people that have had

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death threats, 'cause have been fighting for children's rights families

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that have had to deal with suicide survivors of the

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Chernobyl tragedy, which I find incredible, you know, when I

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was listening to it and inspiration, you mentioned yourself, you're

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a dancer. And one of them was about how someone

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is inspired through that, you know, the act of dancing.

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So how would you go about finding guests and, and

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is there a process for what kind of stories to

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share?

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Oh, I love that you ask this question because finding

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guests is one of the most exciting parts of this.

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And I, I actually find them off of the internet.

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I don't know most of these people. I mean, some

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of them, I do know. Yes. And, but most of

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them, I don't. And so for instance, I was so

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inspired by these pictures that it has been Litesa, who

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was a guest he's from Norway. And he was putting

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these beautiful pictures of the outdoors on his Instagram account.

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But I was what he wrote about the pictures really

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caught me.

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And it was inspiring words, not just, Oh, Hey, here's

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a picture of the waterfalls. We hike to blah, blah,

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blah, or that type of thing. It was these waterfalls

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or, or not waterfalls, but the fjords or whatever it

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might be in the lakes, he was out, he would

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say, please get outdoors and enjoy the outdoors, help with

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your he's a nurse help with your, your stress. See

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what's available just in your front yard and take it

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all in and reflect. And I was just really inspired

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and taken in by all of that. So I contacted

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him and we started a communication and a relationship. And

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he and I had him on the show and he

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was amazing.

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And I'm still getting people who love his show, his,

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the episode that he was featured on it. And then

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his girlfriend key-note was also on. So that's one way,

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in other ways, our listeners send me, Oh my gosh,

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I met this person or, Oh my gosh, I just

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saw this person on Facebook. Or I saw them on

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T V, please try to have them on the show.

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And so I will, I will try to do that.

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And others, I might meet at a podcast conference and

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they have stories to tell, or I just Google interesting

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people of Africa and all of these names come up.

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And so I'll start researching and then calling a, so

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it's just, it's so much fun to meet these people.

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It, it is. And I wish that the, I know

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the world a small, but I wish there were a

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smaller so that we can just see each other a

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instead of on the screen so that it is a

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remarkable part of what I do. And I, I love

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it. I love it so much. And yeah,

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That's cool to hear because they know a lot of

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people, don't like the research part of that as a

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podcast when you've got guests coming out. But I like

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this stuff I liked to sort of find out more

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about the person we're going to be speaking with, but

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do you ever find a way that you disappeared on

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a rabbit hole? It's almost like the YouTube to watch

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one video and five hours later, you're watching the a

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hundred video related to that person on a topic. They

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were find yourself disappearing down guests, rabbit hole. So for

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example,

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Gosh, yeah, that's all the time. And, but that's, that

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can be fun in itself because you're, you're grabbing a

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story and you're grappling with, you know, should I, or

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shouldn't I contact this person because sometimes they are bigger

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than what, you know, you are maybe be able to,

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to tackle, or maybe think there was one, a father,

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Ray Kelly, he's in Ireland. And I was in Idaho.

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This is such a fun story. I was in Idaho

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where my sister lives, which is in the United States.

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Well, for you, you would know that, but in, in

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the United States and her, one of our friends sent

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me a video of father, Ray Kelly, singing the hallelujah

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song at a wedding.

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And I thought it was so fabulous. And my sister

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and I were up until about two o'clock in the

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morning, as you said, down that rabbit hole, looking up

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everything about father Ray Kelly, and every video. And we're

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just like, Oh my gosh, this guy is incredible. And

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so the next day we shared the videos with my

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mother and my mother said, Catherine, you should Contact father

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Ray. Yeah. Right. Mom. And she has a, Catherine just

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Contact him. And so I contacted him and he said,

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yes, I love to be on the podcast. And I

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had him on the show. We did a two episode

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because it was also on Britain's got talent. Yeah. And

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recently he was on dancing with the stars out in

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Ireland.

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And, Oh, I had such a good time with him.

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And now we have this beautiful relationship. We were able

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to contact each other and say, hello, and Andy, you

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know, hear about what each other, you know, what we're

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doing and what our families are doing. So it was

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exciting. And I, I was just a, yeah, just one

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of those exciting times when mom says, just do it

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in his, YouTube had 65 million views.

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So that's a, a viral sensation right there. Yeah. It

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is. And it's a beautiful song as well to it.

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So to hear, you know, someone of the phase of

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singing that song, that must've been, you know, a real

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connection for him to do that.

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Yes. It, it, it was wonderful. So there's just amazing,

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wonderful people. And I can remember, or I inside of

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him, hasn't even been that long, but I can give

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you a quote from each and every person, because it

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is not just a job rate. I have them on

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the show and have a recorded conversation. I learned from

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them and I am inspired from them and they do

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have wonderful quotes.

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And that ties into my next question perfectly. So thank

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you for that. That's like a professional way. So obviously

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you've got a very variety, a very short with different

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guests on an amazing Stories. How has it been? This

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might be something that you don't answer, but has it

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been any that have stood out, particularly for you, either

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because of a deep connection with your own experiences or

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because of the story that has been shared? And if

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so, why that episode of this episode in particular,

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Oh, you know, each week, the episode is like, Oh

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my gosh, this was the best episode ever. And then

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the next week, Oh my gosh, is this the best

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episode ever? So, no, not anyone at all because they,

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all the stories are so interesting and the people are

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so interesting. So there's not been anyone that's been a

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favorite at all, or one that's been more inspiring than

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the next. They all have been equally fabulous, but I

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think what is different then some of the others is

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a continued relationship.

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So continued communication with some of the guests is ongoing.

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And that is what is much more special for me

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is that friendship. And so I can talk to people

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that I've had on the show several times a week

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or several times a month, and some, they don't contact

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me at all anymore. And that's fine. And so I

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think that is what makes the difference for me is

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the continued connection.

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And speaking of that, I mean, obviously you've mentioned that

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every episode you could pull a quote from every single

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episode that you've done. So what are some of the

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things that you've taken from guests and how's that implement

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it or have been implemented in your own life then?

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Oh, I think that it makes me a better person

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every day, because I feel that what I'm bringing to

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the world such positivity and also struggles, and it's showing

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me the human side, because a lot of these people

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do some of the things that I do or used

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to do or still am doing, but never feel like,

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Oh, I don't know if I'm really making a difference

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because we all feel that way. And I feel that

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way even, you know, some days, Oh, is the podcast

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making a difference. And so when I have a guest

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on, sometimes their story hits home a little bit more,

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and then I realize, yeah, you know what?

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This is validating the work that I did maybe in

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the 1980s, or it validates work I'm doing today or

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validates what I'm thinking about doing tomorrow. So yes, there

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are some that definitely there, what they say, we'll definitely

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hit a little harder than others. And one of them,

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he Shaw who I just had on recently, she had

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death threats and she's not doing anything that would, that

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you would consider someone to cause a death threat. You

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know, she's wanting to save the environment. She's wanting to

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have a social justice and a death threat is just

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not something that I would even think about.

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The, any of these people are in my shows, I

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would have to go to a grapple with, or, or

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I just, I was shocked by that. And she's only

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20 years old. So that was hitting me pretty profoundly.

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So, and then there's people like Mary shields', who was

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the first woman to have entered the, I did a

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rod and completed the ideas of what she didn't when,

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but she completed it. And she opened the door for

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female athletes in all sorts of male, dominated sports, such

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as even track and so on. And then she was,

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this was 1974.

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So the amount it's just anything that these people say

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or do is incredible because you can take to heart

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and you can take also logically and move forward with

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things. So that, that's a really good one.

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No, no. And like you just said, I was amazed.

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I'm listening to that sort of both the fact that

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this is a person that isn't doing good in the

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world. How could you possibly want to be in a

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position where you send a death threat? I mean, what

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does that say to you as a, the passion that

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you are in? And I'm wondering if Settle, if in

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the last few years the, the, the, the, the visit

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furnace that's being introduced to the world and encourage by

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the leadership, et cetera, that that's going to have an

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impact. People have to realize the rewards, you know, we're

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going to be taken literally and, and acted upon, unfortunately,

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And that's, that's a such a true statement. Danny that

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is such a true statement. And leaders set the tone.

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They do set the tone for what is to come,

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and certainly the tone changes, but oftentimes it will take

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years to reset a tone. And that's why these people

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that are on my show in, in, on your show

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and on other shows that are doing such good in

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the world and trying to, and, you know, you talked

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about leadership, not all of the people that I have

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on the show consider themselves as leaders. They're just out

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doing what they're doing, and they don't think twice about

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it.

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And I think that's what also makes them special. And

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I don't want to say unique but unique for a

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better word, but it is what makes them true to

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yourself and true to the work they're doing. And there

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are some that are doing what they're doing to make

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money, but in a Positive scheme of things like a,

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the bicycle glass man, the gentlemen out in Minnesota, and

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they have a company where they, they blow glass. And

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that can be a very, that can leave a very

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negative global footprint because of the Thea wear and tear

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on the earth and the pollution and so on with

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the shipping and whatnot, but they use recycled glass.

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So they're trying to cut that footprint and turn it

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into more of an environmental Positive, you know, doing something

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a little bit better, but we still need glass fixture's

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for our light bulbs. You know, we can't do without

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those are, we would just, you know, be blinded. So

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there, there a story is very interesting and there they

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are making money on what they're doing, but it still

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positive. It is still inspiring. And it's still doing something

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that is helping and helping to grow other people who

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want to have the same for our patients.

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It is kind of like a, there was a Canadian

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company called is Spotify and Spotify was not a Canadian

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company in Shopify would be my morning coffee over this

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way. So yeah, this is one Canadian company called Shopify.

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Umm, and obviously there are a, one of the biggest

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global e-commerce guy companies, but they have just announced that

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every one of their vendors Shopify will offset any carbon

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footprint in that they need to ship the products. So,

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so to your point at is helping people do good

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and do what they want you to do with our

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lives, you know, from an independence point of view and

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making sure the plan is not suffering because of that.

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So I think it's always a, you mentioned unique. I

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think its always the, the one's that do the stuff

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in the background, that was a huge change.

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Makers, cars are not for glory or anything that has

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to change in making a change. Right.

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Right. And, and that is so true. And there has

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been, I've had some incredible, Oh my gosh, I just

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have had such incredible people. And I'm thinking of some

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of the, the Ozzie, some of the Australian folks who

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are oceanographers, who are the F the fore-front folks with

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climate change in doing the research and providing the research

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for our legislative governments around the world. And I just

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think of the hard work they've been doing and the

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push that they've had in, in it, when I was

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talking to Kahiki Shaw, you know, she was 20 years

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old and I told her, how did he get shot?

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I so hope that it doesn't take a lifetime to

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make a change because it seems like climate change.

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And some of the other environmental laws that we want

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to have enacted worldwide are taking more than a lifetime.

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And I don't know, I learned so much and then

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I'm saddened by some things, but moving forward with others

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in these people, they give their whole life to this

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research and living on a boat and being away from

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their families for so long, just great, great greatness around

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the world.

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Hm. And I, speaking of that, you had mentioned that

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your podcast is often validated for the work that you've

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been doing previously because of the people who speak to

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and what's happened now and what you were doing in

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your previous work. And I know you'd mentioned that there

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was a trip to Lithuania and where you really discovered

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how powerful the women were making about Positive, you know,

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to be in a positive force for the community, with

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providing an education and food, et cetera. But you also

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mentioned that your, your life was changed by a visit

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to the hospital. Can you share, you know, the, the,

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the, the stories were also as a woman, but what

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was that was that event that they changed it for

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you?

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So when I was out there, I was out visiting

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schools and working with the, an organization and visiting the

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people. This was right after the wall had fallen out

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there. So it was early on, it was a 95,

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so pretty. And there was still a lot of unsettled

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people there with, even though the wall had fallen and

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freedoms were becoming instilled back in to them, there was

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unrest, but we went two of us, just two of

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us. We went into a local hospital because we wanted

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to see what the hospital, I was like, what are

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they were providing?

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Because the women that we were talking to were pretty

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much so much of the force, the full force of,

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of life, if they are, because so many of the

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men had been removed from their communities too. I don't

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know if they don't know where they went, but they

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didn't come back after the, the wall fell. So I

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don't know what happened to those men, but we thought

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let's go in and see what we can do, what

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there is available. As far as our resources go, we,

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we didn't know what we had no idea what to

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expect. And number one, we were told, you know, you

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shouldn't go in to the hospital because it will not

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be what you expect.

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So when the two of us walked in to the

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hospital, there would be just a, it was a single

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building, a single story. It wasn't two-story. And there were

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all of these beds and they just had these little

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curtains. And when we walked in, there was this lady

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who was screaming and she saw the two of us

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come in and the woman walked over and she was

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caring as a child. She was two years old, it

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was a baby. It was two years old. And she

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handed the baby to me. And there was blood everywhere.

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And the it's not like the baby, it was dripping

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blood, but it, it obviously the baby either he was

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in surgery or had an injury.

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I don't know why I found out what it was,

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but I didn't know at that time. And the mother

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is screaming in her language at me and the doctor

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comes running over and took the baby back from me.

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And he said this, you know, and obviously the baby

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had was dead. The baby had passed, passed, and the

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woman was upset. And so the doctor explained to me

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that she was telling me, she recognized us to be

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from the West, the Western world. And she was screaming

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at us that it is because one of the Western

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world that her baby is dead. And so I asked

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the doctor, I don't understand because the wall fell, I

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don't understand.

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He said, it's Bosnia Herzegovina. And he said, the Western

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world, remember this is in the nineties, the Western world

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didn't go in to help the people there. And, and

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so there was a lot of, of, of war time

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in that area. This woman came from a family of

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five. She had four kids and a husband and the

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baby, the youngest one was too young to journey with

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the husband and, and the rest of the siblings. So

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the mother stayed with the young one and he was

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going to try to journey because they were refugees and

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they were trying to escape.

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And so she was like, is going to stay as

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long as she could and try to figure out how

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they would get out, but the baby injured and the

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baby was how they got that child from the South

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over in to Lithuania the doctor was explaining to me,

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and it didn't make any sense to me, but the

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lack of resources. So I don't know how long that

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child, either on a helicopter or how the baby got

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up there with all of the traveling that was taking

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place. But the woman was so upset over two things,

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the death of her baby, and the fact that her

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husband, and remember, we didn't have cell phones back then

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she had no way of contacting or finding her husband

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and the other kids.

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And she had no idea where they were. And she

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was just in this horrible place, not, not the hospital,

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but in this horrible place in her life, losing her

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child and blaming it on the West and then not

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being able to contact her family. And that so changed.

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My life was number one, having this baby literally thrown

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into my arms who had passed. And I wasn't expecting

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that. And number two, hearing the story from the doctor

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about this woman and what her life was like. And

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so when I came back to the United States, I

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was, I was teaching.

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I told the students this story, and I said, you

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know, when you go to the grocery store, simple things

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like putting the cart in its spot makes a difference

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for people who work in the store. So don't, don't

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put that out carte in the middle of the parking

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lot. I mean, that's just such a little simple thing,

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the thing for little children to no, but tell your

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parents or work with your parents because this woman has

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lived through hell and I never found out. And I

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never we'll know if she ever found her husband again

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ever. And the doctor explained to me that there are

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a red cross workers that really work at documenting where

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these families are going.

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So he had hope that she will find her family

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again. And that also gave me inspiration that, Oh my

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gosh, these volunteers who are out there are documenting all

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of this. And then later on, when I did a

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show with an all hands and hearts, who is a

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group that goes out to green night, families lost in

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hurricanes and tornadoes and so on and to help build

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the, the towns again, that just brings back all those

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memories of that hospital visit and knowing that women was

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dispersed and the all hands and hearts, they do pretty

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much the same and they will help you re reunite

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your family.

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Of course, we have cell phones today and computers and

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more technology, but that visit, I mean, I cried and

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I cried for so long. In fact, right after that,

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I went up and I tried to get ahold of

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my husband on the phone because I was just so,

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so emotional after that visit. And then finding out that,

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that hospital, that country only had two ventilators on here.

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We were talking about ventilators today with COVID that a

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country had to ventilators for the entire country back then,

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it, it was just so it made me come back

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and do more work with the students that I was

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working with and to write more letters to congressmen, and

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to do more in Europe and to keep track of

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all of those people that I met in Europe and

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helped them anyway.

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I can so sorry, that that was kind of a

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long story.

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That's incredible. I can't even begin to imagine what that

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whole experience would have been like, how are we have

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got two young kids, 10 and eight year old, so

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I can only imagine they are and what that would

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feel like as a parent, but just as a human

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being. And that is incredible. And it's, I follow the

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work of our doctors without borders a lot. And I

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did a charity thing like 10 years ago or something.

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And there were a, one of the, the recipient's and

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their work's incredible. And they share that as you mentioned

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yourself, Kathryn, how often we go in to help, but

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we actually make things worse because we don't have any

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backup for what's next. After say we top a lot

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on a zoom or something like that.

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Right. That's right. That's right. And I, there were just

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so many things that, that happened in our world and,

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and you are correct in, and certain decisions we make,

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whether it be with people or with nature, putting our

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hand and getting involved sometimes makes it worse. And we

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don't know how to make it better. And I look

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back Chernobyl, you know, Chernobyl was, was such a catastrophe.

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And one of the things that I did when I

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came back from Lithuania was okay, I have to do

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something more.

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I have to do something more. So I joined an

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organization called children of Chernobyl, and that organization was United

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States-based. And I think it was actually United States and

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Canada based where we were bringing children from Chernobyl over

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to the States and Canada to have them x-rayed and

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checked for cancer so that we could help them and

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do something with the resources that we have available to

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us. And so we had a student to come from

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Chernobyl that we sponsored, and he was here, a Losha

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a cute little boy.

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And of course, he's not a boy today. And a,

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he was cancer-free and he was so happy. His brother

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was not, his brother was in a wheelchair due to

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his, due to the injury that he was at school,

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his brother. And so he had injuries from the, the

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radiation, everything in heat caused him to be in a

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wheelchair and other issues, cancer. And I'm sure he's no

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longer with us today, but that experience in Lithuania made

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me realize I have to do more than just what

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I'm doing. And it doesn't have to be only in

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my community because my community has worldwide. We, our citizens

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of the world, and that comes from Michael .

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One of the guests I had, he was so clear

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on sending that message to the listeners, that we are

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no longer citizens of our own community. We are citizens

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of the world. And now look, we have COVID. Yes.

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So we are citizens of the world. So anyway, the

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children of Chernobyl, and when I was out in the

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Lithuania, I wanted to go to Bellaruse to go visit

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a Losha Alexa, but the, the peop the people that

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do the visa over there, however, it works. They said,

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if you come here first, before you go to Lithuania,

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then you may, but otherwise we're not going to give

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you a visa to come to Bellaruse.

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And well, if my schedule didn't allow for that. And

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so they said that you can't come. And so I

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didn't get a visa to go into Belarusian. I just

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wanted to go see a lexicon, but the things were

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still very unsettled.

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And, and, and that part of that part by my

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car that I had mentioned, we are a global citizens.

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Now that you've mentioned COVID and I have to laugh

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when I see some of the ammo, the skeptics and

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the conspiracy theorists saying, well, it's all a fake disease

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to come to have the government controls, et cetera. I

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mean, how else would we get this vaccine so quickly?

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It had steady 10 years. And, but then you think,

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well, I've never had really an issue like this, but

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we've had to have the global science community will work

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together to come back out there. So of course it

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has gotta be fast. And so, yeah, this is going

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to be a risk and danger, but just because something's

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coming together fast, it doesn't mean it's false. It's just,

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we've never really had the, the need to get so

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many scientists from all parts of the world working on

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one single problem.

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And, and you know, it, it, yes and no, because

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when you look at hu, so I had someone on

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the show with who, and he worked, he's an American,

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and he's living in, in Switzerland closer. Well, that's where

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his, where, who is, but he was working with researchers

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and gynecologists and midwives all around the world, which is

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exciting because you're learning not just what the science is,

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but also with the different cultures or doing, and granted,

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most of the research was coming from the Western States.

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So yes, you will be correct that a lot of

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these countries who haven't been involved in the research before

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are involved now, so yes, Danny, I get what you're

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saying and is absolutely true. And, and it's, it is

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exciting. And maybe, you know, maybe that will bring less,

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I'm going to say it in a more positive way.

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Maybe that will bring more of a, of a larger

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table to come together with our leaders to build more,

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to build a better and a more lasting political relationship

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with a little bit more in mind with the people

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in a way.

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I know that, and I know what a lot of

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people were talking about them, the opportunity for the great

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reset it. And I think as you imagine, Catherine, this

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is an opportunity as a tragic opportunity. And to many

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people have died, it didn't need to die, but hopefully

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we can take that and land from that. And as

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you mentioned, make sure we learn from it and put

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it in a, it plays out to be a more

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global, you know, network, if you like,

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You know, and yes, and this is something that you

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asked me, you know, earlier about what inspires me are

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what really add so much to me doing the show.

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And so I wanted to bring up Aspen he's from

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Norway, he's a nurse when COVID hit. And it was

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at it's a, well, of course we were at our

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second peek, but when it hit and people didn't know

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what was going on, I knew he was a nurse,

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an emergency room, and I reached out to him. And

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then when we'd have been Talking, you know, cause we'd

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become friends with he and his girlfriend and, and Bernie

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this other fellow in, in, in, in Norway.

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But I reached out to him because I knew he

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was at the emergency room and, you know, it just

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made him feel so good to know that somebody's outside

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of Norway was he was looking in an and checking

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in 'cause it was emotional for our healthcare workers. It

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was scary for healthcare workers. It's still is and so

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on. And I had, you know, several conversations and then

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I reached out to a couple of other people and

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in Africa and one in Australia and kept up my

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communication with, with these folks because they need it. And

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I think that that is one of the gifts that

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I can provide are maybe not a GIF, but one

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of the things that I can do to give back

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is, you know what, we're here for each other, like

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you say, and this is an opportunity and opportunity.

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None of us wanted, none of us wanted this, but

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we have to take it and we have to make

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good with it instead of being a naysayer and instead

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being negative about the whole thing, just make good out

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of it, the best that we can, the best that

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we can.

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Your your shoulders know. And it's third, you know, I

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think it launched in 2018. It was the summer of

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2018. We launched

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No, that was when I started the website and started

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working with Mark. I actually put the trailer out at

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Christmas in December of 2018, but my launch was actually

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January, 2019 with my first guest, my first guest being

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Mary Shields, but the first woman to enter the idea

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to rod and we had so much fun. And then

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it just went from there. It was. Yeah.

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So where are you goals with the shore? No. Enter

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in your life. I guess it's almost to your, Talking

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sorry. So almost two years of entering your third year,

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what are your goals for the show either with the,

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the, the format or the guests or growing up or

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scale and are taking it offline to, to, you know,

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share what you're learning of online to the offline community?

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What, what are your plans for it?

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So what I'm working on right now is we speak,

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I had to go to every other week with a

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brand new guests, but keeping to my every Monday I

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launch. So I launched on Mondays Your Positive imprint.com and

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all of the podcast platforms. But on that alternate week,

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I am doing either a re edited of someone I

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had on the show or a conversation, or just a,

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you know, a commentary because I'm doing the logistics for

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t-shirts, but also I want to do a live show

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and I'm working on the logistics on this, where I

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have guests that I've had around the world raw.

Speaker:

I have three of them on are four of them

Speaker:

during a series where the listeners can ask them questions

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about culture, about maybe COVID, how are you, what do

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you do for COVID out there about, you know, how

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you grew up, are the struggles you had that you

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mentioned on the show, you know, elaborate on it, et

Speaker:

cetera. So I've already talked to some of the folks

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that I've had on the show, and yes, they would

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like to do that. And now it's just working on

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logistics, which I might just ask you when we're done

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here. Some of the logistics on doing live, because I,

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I need it to be aware that the listeners can

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see them, not just hear them, but to see them.

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And we're listeners can, can not just do the chatbox,

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but somehow get them involved because getting to know each

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other around the world, on each other's cultures and seeing

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that, Oh my gosh, this person in Nigeria is doing

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the same type of thing that I have been working

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on all of these years. So that's what I, what

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I'm working on now. And that's, that's a big, big

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undertaking, and it takes a lot of time and a

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lot of logistics and of course the new pieces of

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technology or that I have to purchase. So I'm so

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excited about it though, because the guest's that I taught

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to the former guests, I talk to who that I

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ask them.

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They are, they're very excited about it. And it just,

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I don't know, I'm just, I get really excited about

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it because there's just such amazing, amazing friends I've met

Speaker:

through this podcast around the world. And, and yeah,

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And then we would just be like a, sort of

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a round a table, like a live round table with

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three to four guests on it, the same time and

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you sort of bounce back. And would it be sort

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of then, would you sort of be looking for people

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that have a sort of interconnected story because of either

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their industry, their jobs, the work they're doing, or would

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it be disbarred for people with different stories to, to

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get a wider?

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So, no, it would be the two different stories because

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the listener's are used to be very broad. So I

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kind of wanna keep to that platform. Ah, and I

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have listeners, you know, all over the world. So I

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want to be sure that I have guests, you know,

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from different parts of the world each time we do

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this. And that doesn't mean that the person from Australia,

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that all of the Australian listeners are going to just

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ask questions with the Australians. They are going to want

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to know about, you know, the rest of the people

Speaker:

in the world. And it's just, I think that it's

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just something hopeful that I have to bring to the

Speaker:

listeners and to more listeners and new listeners, thee the

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coming together of, of, of nations, if you will, but

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really it's the coming together of citizens of the world.

Speaker:

And that's how I view it. And I love Michael

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Pereira for saying that on the podcast, because I, I

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use that often.

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That's what I'm looking forward to that. So that sounds

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like a really cool live event, almost like a, almost

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like a mini Podcaster kind of, you know, we all

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have the audience and I end up on stage, he

Speaker:

got there, the interviewer and interviewee that. So, you know,

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I'll, I'll be looking at it for that coming to

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life. For sure.

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Yes, I will too. So it's going to have it,

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it's just taking a little bit, a lot of time

Speaker:

and a lot of research. So yeah,

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No, if someone is bad, it's part of this podcast

Speaker:

journey from obviously the ideation and then the implementation, etc.

Speaker:

What would be maybe your advice to our new podcast

Speaker:

of someone that wants to do something similar to yourself,

Speaker:

for example, and interview people that are inspired by or

Speaker:

are just really come in to the podcast in the

Speaker:

community?

Speaker:

Oh, my advice hasn't changed. My advice from the beginning

Speaker:

has always been, you must be true to yourself and

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be passionate about what it is you're doing. Do not

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do something that you think will that is going to

Speaker:

give you a name or make money. No, you need

Speaker:

to stay true to yourself a and that, that goal,

Speaker:

or keep that dream. Ah, and that's important. There's a,

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you know, as we, as you know, there's over a

Speaker:

million podcasts now and when you listen to some of

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the podcast, at least when I say, you know, I

Speaker:

listen to a lot of podcasts and some of them,

Speaker:

you hear the, the host and there are not, it

Speaker:

doesn't sound like they're being true to themselves.

Speaker:

It sounds like they're trying to be what they want

Speaker:

the listeners to be. And the listeners don't want that

Speaker:

they want Gen. They want authenticity. And I, and I

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know I bring that to the show. I know that

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I do 'cause the guests are authentic and I'm authentic.

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And yeah. So the advice to start a podcast and

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the other advice technology-wise, don't spend money. You don't need

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to spend money on these elaborate mikes because the mics

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actually, you know, the things that I have that you

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know, that we see a podcast movement, they are not

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elaborate prices. You know, you can get a really good

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Mic $99.

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And, and so when you don't have to spend 500,

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$600,

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No, I love the fact that you mentioned the, the

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authenticity, because they think to your point of passionate, you

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can tell if someone's not into what they're doing in

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the Mat-Su as a quick sidekick for, you know, I

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can get advertisers or sponsors, whatever, and that's all of

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the reason they start a show and it's just like,

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you see it shorts, you know, it's a, I, I

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love the fact that you mentioned authenticity, you know, both

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for the guests as well. You know, obviously you've had

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a lot of inspiring people a day on your personal

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life and be on your show and, and you've gotten

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to know them. Who would you say is your all-time

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hero or heroes and why?

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Oh, my husband. And so this would be off the

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podcast. A guest list, of course, is the most inspiring

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for me. It has been my husband and to my

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parents and my, and my family really, because they're the

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ones that are your ultimate supporters and the ultimate Love's

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of your life. So no matter what happens is, you

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know, my husband is there every step of the way,

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holding my hand, loving me and, and, and my parents.

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And, and then of course the siblings. So yeah, I

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guess in a sense, that's, you know, a family cliche,

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if you want to call it that because everyone, everyone

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says that, but everyone says that because it's the truth.

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You know, if, if you don't have that support there

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of your family unit, then it's really a, I, I

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feel badly for people who don't have the support of

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their family unit, because it sad that they don't so

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truly, truly mine is there. And, and, and definitely my

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dog, my little mock a dog, but I think as

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far as the guests go, I would have to say

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that the one's that are the most inspiring and most

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a supportive for me are the ones that continue to

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keep in touch with me.

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And then that makes a true difference for me because

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it wasn't just, I had you on the show and

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now they're off in the sunset doing their thing I

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actually hear from, and it's not like I need to

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hear from them every day, but I hear from them

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every once in awhile. And that makes a difference for

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me.

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And, and you've mentioned, obviously, if you have your father

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up, unfortunately passed, you know, before the show was launched,

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it was a big drive and, you know, force with

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the, the, the ideas and the direction. What would you

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think your dad would have made of it? How do

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you got to listen to them?

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My dad would have been on the phone every day

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telling me I listened to it. I loved it. And

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he would have been telling me this person, do you

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remember when we did this in the wilderness? And I

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mentioned this to you, well, this is exactly what I

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was teaching you. And, and ah, so dad was a

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philosopher and he taught me about life using the constellations.

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And so I learned, and North, South, East, and West,

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he was a navigator in the air force. And so

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I learned about life literally from stories that he told.

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And he used a lot of visuals because I'm a

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visual learner. My mom is very logical and, and it

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was more difficult for me to learn from, or to

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understand the logic when you're growing up.

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But dad taught me through story. So these stories that

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people tell are very visual and I learned from them,

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and that reminds me of my dad everyday. So dad

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would say, I know dad is thrilled and he he's

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listening to the stories now. And I would, I do

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wish I would have been able to have him on

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the show because he's one of the best teachers I've

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ever had in my entire life, because he did understand

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how I need to learn about life. And that was

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through visual and also through writing my dad and I

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share poetry and Stories together. And we wrote poetry together

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through the years.

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And I so missed that and enjoy that. So that's

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something that I have done on the show was I

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have shared some of that poetry and dad would know,

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and I've written, poet's poems. Her dad and dad would

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be very tough, but he would be. And he is,

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he is so proud that I have taken everything that

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he taught me and have turned it into a worldwide

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lesson for everybody because dad is like that too. He

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w he wasn't just there for us. He was there

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for the community and he, he was not just one

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that made out a check and sent it to people.

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He said, kids, we're going to go to wherever these

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places were to help these children to help these elderly,

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to help the unfortunate, to help build a wheelchair ramps

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at their house, because now there are in a wheelchair

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and they have no ramp, but they can't afford to

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put it in themselves. So we saw dad do all

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of all of that. And that of course, made me

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the person I am today. And because of that, I

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want to continue dad's work. And that's truly what I

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am doing is, is continuing his work.

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It was incredible. Let's see if I can tell when

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I listen to the show is like a set up,

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but how would the episodes I listen to, I, I

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can tell that connection you have for your guests, but

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also because of your personal background and what's, you know,

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going on in your own life, that is, you're genuinely

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doing that because of what you just shared now. So

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that's, that's, it's cool. Cool. Such a cliche. Well, I

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apologize for using that, but that was cool to find

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out what, where that came from and how much of

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an impact obviously your family is on the show and

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your life, obviously.

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Yes. And I'm I value, Oh, I value that tremendously

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and miss it tremendously. Yeah. I have them sitting here

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staring at a picture of my dad right there. He

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sits here with me every day.

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So you'd be in a co-host on the show almost.

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Yeah,

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Absolutely. And, and, and my mom, wow. Does she ever

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support the show? And of course my whole family and

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my friends, but yeah. Okay. But to answer yo

About the Podcast

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Podcaster Stories
We listen to our favourite podcasts, but don’t always get to know the stories of the people behind these voices. Podcaster Stories looks to change that.

About your host

Profile picture for Danny Brown

Danny Brown

Danny Brown is the host of One Minute Podcast Tips, the show that helps you be a better podcaster in just a minute a week. He's also hosted, and co-hosted, several other podcasts - if you called him a serial podcaster, you wouldn't be wrong! He's been in the podcasting space for over 10 years, and has the scars to prove it.

He's the Head of Podcaster Support and Experience at Captivate.fm, the world's only growth-oriented podcast hosting, distribution, analytics, and monetization platform for the serious indie podcaster.

He lives in beautiful Muskoka, Ontario, Canada with his wife and two kids, where he spends winters in front of a cozy fire and summers by the lake. Well, when he finds time away from podcasting, of course...