Have a Burning Question For Me? How to Send Me A Message

Hey there. It's Marie Forleo and welcome to the Marie Forleo Podcast and MarieTV. So today's episode is going to be a little bit different than usual and we'll talk more about that in a few minutes. But first, if you are looking for some inspiration and you want to hear about some creative ways that people are managing this new world that we're in right now, stay tuned because I got great stuff for you. Also here on Team Forleo, we've come up with a new way for you to get involved with our show and with the podcast. So again, keep listening and I'm gonna talk more about that in a few minutes. But first, if you don't already follow me on Instagram, please go follow me on Instagram. I'm @marieforleo, so why am I asking you to do this? You know, right now I've been doing my best to go live a lot more often, to really be there to support people through this unprecedented time.

A few weeks ago we did a little thing called Self Care Saturday, totally free. We took people through a virtual workout. We did a little guided meditation and then we did some awesome Q and A and I'll tell you the questions were fantastic. And of course I got more than a few about my hair and I'm like, good Lord, do you guys still want to know about my hair? And I was talking to my team about it and I said when I pass, whenever I pass, I think the only thing on my tombstone is going to be “yes, it was real” because it is now anyway, if you're watching on YouTube, you know this, but if you're just listening you might not. I'm recording from my kitchen here in Los Angeles. So myself and Josh and Kuma, we are here, we are staying the F home and it has been a couple of weeks now.

You know we were pretty much early adopters in terms of this new quarantine life and I am still committed, more committed than ever than doing what I can to flatten that damn curve. And I hope that wherever you are in the world that if it's at all possible for you to stay home, that you're doing that too. Cause I think it's the right thing. And speaking of the right thing, I actually want to thank you guys, um, regarding the feedback from last week's episode, which was with the incredible Gretchen Rubin. So honestly, my team and I had gone back and forth, you know whether or not we should actually publish that thing. We didn't want it to come across as tone deaf since that interview was recorded way before the coronavirus hit. And I'm really glad that we made the decision to do that because hundreds of you guys wrote in and you said how happy you were to have some non-COVID19 content.

So I just want to shout out a few of our community comments right now. Vee said to us, I woke up a bit bluesy still tinged from an overload of broadcast news last night, but this lifted me right up, Gretchen and Marie, you've reminded me to focus on my strengths and unique gifts, the tools that always get me through very much like this video, which was made at the right time to be used for the right time. So thank you. Before that, and this one from Brooks, which I thought was really poignant, she said such a nice break from COVID19. I'm an orthopedic physician assistant who just got furloughed. Our orthopedic practice just let 150 people go. My kids, age 18 and 15, are home from high school sheltering in place. The biggest takeaway from this discussion for me and Marie in general, was to take some time to dream, create, and to enjoy each moment.

Thank you. So look, y'all, obviously this COVID19 pandemic, it's serious. I mean, I personally know three people who are sick right now and thankfully they're all on the mend, so they're doing okay, but so many people are having very different experiences and I just want to validate that everyone's experience is important. You know, there's a lot of folks listening and a lot of folks that we know that are scared and they're anxious and they're stressed out based on their jobs, the economy, their health, how many people they now have in their home, figuring out how to work from home. And all of that's understandable. And from interacting with folks online. You know, some people are actually grieving right now because sadly they've already lost people to this disease. So I just want you to know that if you're in a challenging place, my heart's with you.

I'm sending you so much love. Myself and Team Forleo, our entire community, we're going to be here doing what we do each and every week, doing our best to offer you inspiration and motivation and hopefully some concrete tools that will help you continue to stay strong and move ahead. And I was thinking about this, you know, I think one of the best ways to really move forward is to recognize that sometimes the antidote to hopelessness is helpfulness. I'm going to say that one more time. The antidote to hopelessness is helpfulness. What do I mean? Sometimes taking the attention off of yourself and asking, how can I be of service to other people right now? Sometimes that's one of the best things you can do in uncertain times. And I want to give you two examples from our B-Schoolers. So if you don't know, B-School is our online business school for modern entrepreneurs who want to both make money and make a difference.

And those two things are two of my biggest priorities in life, making money and of course making a difference and making a difference always trumps it. Now, we've had thousands of students in that program right now and it's incredible because they're really focused and their ingenuity is off the charts. So I want to share some stories because they've been really inspiring to me and I think they'll be inspiring to you. So this first one is from Ida, so Ida's a writer in Norway, and she shared this story with us the other day. She writes, “After finishing the first module of B-School, I realized my children's book series was my biggest earner and that I should spend more time building a marketing strategy, not just leave everything to the publisher.” Yay, Ida! This is a very good insight. “When COVID19 hit Norway hard, I realized my ideal customer, a mom with a lot of small kids and little time to herself, had to stay home with closed schools and preschools.

“What was her biggest dream? Not a new book for me, but that I came to her home and read a new story to her kids so she could have 10 minutes of alone time. So I wrote a new children's story about staying home and being bored, recorded it and shared it for free if you signed up for it. Two days later I've gotten over 10,000 signups and 8,000 downloads plus an inbox brimming with thank you notes from people I have never connected with, but who have bought all my previous children's books and they all said I gave them what they most wanted. 10 guilt-free minutes in the lavatory while their kids enjoyed literature. And I've built the email list, I realized I had to build during Module One of B-School, in less than 24 hours. Thank you so much for giving me the tools. All the love, Ida.” So I have to say, y'all, I have to give her a little reggae air horn.

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Because that's friggin’ awesome. Just to put this into context, right? So she's facing this really difficult situation, as we all are as a global society. And she asks herself, how can I be of service right now? How can I use my gifts to make a difference to those I'm meant to serve? So she took action and not only did she help so many damn parents out there, but she got 10,000 new email subscribers, which for any business of any size, that is a win. So I wanted to share her story cause I just thought it was awesome. And it was just an example of what happens when you take the focus off of yourself just for a minute and say, how can I serve someone else? This other story is from Emily and, yes, she's a B-Schooler. So, so you guys know because I'm in the middle of delivering our flagship program, I got a lot of people that I'm taking care of.

So that's why I got a lot of B-Schooler stories right now. So Emily, right, listen to this story, she says this, our music school has musical therapy dogs that work with the kids during their lessons. We've moved all of our lessons online so the dogs are quote unquote unemployed. Our public schools have also canceled school for the rest of the year. So in order to help parents, kids, and the dogs, we set up read to a dog online. And right now kids from all over the US called in on a Zoom call to read books to our pups. Adults even called into read because they just needed a mental break from everything going on. Everyone had to sign up with their email too. So I'm slowly growing that email list. She sent along the cutest picture ever of a little girl reading a book to a dog who's looking back through an iPad. And it is like the most adorable thing. 

All right. One more story for you just in hopes that you will find this inspiring of what other folks are doing creatively amid all of the uncertainty right now. Again, another B-Schooler, her name is Caryn, she says, “A little B-School win. I own a company that distributes outdoor fabrics across the world. Since outdoor cushions isn't exactly on the priority list right now, my company used our resources and work rooms across the country to start making level two surgical gowns. Our fabric might even get approved for higher levels. Not only do we get to provide PPE in this challenging time, but we have the opportunity to give people work.

“It's not perfect, but a little teamwork and a little creativity can make a difference. Healthcare is a whole new world for me, but learning this every day is important for how to serve. Sending love and light to all. This, too, shall pass. Keep the faith.” And I will tell you once again, I have this amazing picture because she posted it in our private group of Caryn wearing one of the gowns that she just manufactured using her outdoor fabric, which is really incredible. So here's the bottom line, right? Sometimes the most challenging and unexpected situations bring out the best in us. I mean, look at these humans, they're becoming more creative, they're more connected to what really matters. And I think when we behave in these ways, we grow so much stronger and more resilient along the way. Now, if you followed my show for a while, then you know that I have tremendous admiration and respect for a man named Victor Frankl.

So he wrote the classic man search for meaning, which was about the spiritual and the life lessons that he learned surviving the Nazi concentration camps during World War II. And I think one of the biggest lessons that at least I took away from that book is this, that we don't always get to choose our difficulties in life, but we do get to choose how we respond, right? That's key. None of us get to choose the hardships that come our way, but the grace comes in finding that space between stimulus and response and who do we want to be in that space? How do we want to respond? And I think Victor Frankl has an incredible three-part framework. We did an earlier episode on this on how to find or create meaning, especially during times of crisis. And his framework is the best I've ever found and here's how it goes.

Part one is we find meaning by creating work or doing a deed. In other words, we figure out some kind of project that requires our skills and our abilities and our gifts, whatever those may be. Part two, we find or create meaning through connection, through love, right? Through connecting with other people. And even during this time of physical social distancing, we can still stay spiritually connected. I can't tell you how many amazing conversations I'm having, deep conversations. Some of them are with folks on my team, some of them are with colleagues and friends and just folks I haven't connected with in so long. And it's been, honestly, a miracle for me. I feel so incredibly connected on that spiritual basis. And you know, it doesn't take a lot. Sometimes it just means picking up the phone and just calling someone and ask them, “Hey, how you doing?”

You know, I’m FaceTiming people all the time, just going in for it. I know most of the time or like normal times like, Oh, you should really text first, really text first. Nuh-uh. I'm just going and for it I'm pressing that FaceTime button all the time. And then part three, and I think this is the most important piece of Frankel's framework. We find meaning by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering. So in other words, if we cannot change the situation, like the illness, or heaven forbid, the death of a loved one, then what we have to focus on is actually changing ourselves. We have to look inside, we have to find a way or make a way, something to transform that tragedy into triumph and some kind of greater meaning. So I just think those are lessons we should all keep top of mind right now because this crisis is real.

We have a public health crisis, we have an economic crisis and I do believe that we are going to get through it, but we have to keep these core life lessons and spiritual lessons front and center. Now shifting gears a little bit, I want to talk about something new that we're doing here on the Marie Forleo Podcast and MarieTV and tell you just a little bit about where this idea came from. So last fall I was on tour. I'm holding up my book right now for Everything is Figureoutable, right? So we have this incredible world tour. We're all across the United States and then we went to Australia and also over to London. And so when I was in London, I did a lot of radio shows. It was awesome. And one in particular was the Chris Evans Breakfast Show, right? So I am super excited. I remember when my publisher over in the UK said that we booked that show.

He said, “Hey, this is like the biggest morning chat show. It's incredible. Chris Evans, he's a legend. He's just got such a loyal listenership and he's super interpersonal development. Just really great guy.” And, uh, they were just telling me what a big deal it was to be booked on this radio show. Right. And he's on Virgin Radio, so I head up to Virgin Radio and I'm feeling really excited. And, um, you know, I've worked with Virgin as the company in the past and in terms of Virgin Unite, the philanthropic arm, so I always have this special affinity with that brand. So I'm heading up the elevator and going into Virgin Radio and I would just remember sitting down and putting on those headphones and it was live morning radio and Chris Evans and his team, they were just phenomenal. We had so much fun. It was so much like wonderful banter back and forth and there was music.

And then, um, I actually went back just a few months ago, quite honestly. I was back there in, oh my goodness, I was back there in early February. Right? And right before I was speaking at Life Lessons, which his, um, his team was putting on this big event in London. And so I was on the Chris Evans Morning Show again, morning radio. And I had to tell you guys, something came alive in me and I remember this thought kind of passing through my mind. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I would love to have my own radio chat show. Like I would be so good at this. I would love to have a whole round table of people talking and you know, just shoot the shit about X, Y or Z. We could play some music, we can have some fun little audio things like that.” Right? Cause you guys know I'm just going to take it to that place.

Um, but I remember thinking like, okay, I've got a really full plate right now. There ain't no way I'm going to add on a radio show to all the other things that I want to do because I actually do appreciate sleep and I like to sleep and I like to stay healthy. Okay. So cut to COVID19, now I am here in Los Angeles. We actually had to cancel our MarieTV shoot. That was just a... I actually think it was just this week. Yeah, it was supposed to be this weekend. Obviously, we canceled it for obvious reasons and it's now inspired me and I was like, “Oh my goodness, well maybe I can make my version of MarieTV and the podcast and mix in a little radio chat show to have fun with this.” And I got to tell you, it's just really exciting to me. Like I can't wait to see how all of this is going to evolve over the next weeks and months when it comes to creativity, when it comes to my ability to stay connected with you all.

And one of the things that we thought of, we were like, huh, you know, I love answering questions. Y'all know, right Q and A Tuesday, MarieTV, that's what we've been doing for like a decade. And I said, well, “what if we could have people record their questions and I could actually hear their voice and if it sounded really good, I can play them on upcoming episodes of the podcast and I can answer their questions that way and we can just try some different things?” So that's actually what we're doing. So if you could think of, I want you to call me on a cell phone, not really on my cell phone, but I'm going to tell you exactly what I want you to do in a minute. So here's how we're rocking this. I want you, if you have a question for me, or you just have a comment, or you want something you want to discuss, you can leave me your question in the form of a 60-second voicemail that I can then play back on this podcast.

And here's how you do it. So if you go to my website, marieforleo.com/blog or just Google “leave Marie Forleo a voice message,” you will come up with a page that we have set up with directions on how to leave a 60-second voice message with any question that you have for me. And honestly, don't ask me about my damn hair because my damn hair is real, and that’s it. That's just the answer to that question. Um, but over the next few weeks, if any of them are good and if this seems like it can actually work, we're going to share them. And, honestly, if they're not any good, I'm not going to share them. And we're going to do something different. But I think we can have some fun with this, but I definitely need your participation. So your questions can be about business, it can be about life, it can be about relationships.

We can talk about just random weird stuff like cooking. If you want to debate about the best zombie movie ever, or the best pizza in New York City, let me have it. Record your voicemail for me and then let's see what we can create from this. And as I said, this is actually all an experiment and that's what I love about it cause it feels really scrappy and fun and who knows what we're going to create. Um, but like everything else happening right now, we are gonna figure it out and we're gonna figure it out together. So once again, you can leave your question via voicemail at marieforleo.com/blog and, of course, make sure you're subscribed to this podcast. Make sure you subscribe to MarieTV if you like the YouTube version. And if you want a lot of love in your inbox, make sure you’re set up for our emails as well.

So with that, that's what I got for you today. I think this is going to be a really fun time and um, I actually have more things that I'm going to be doing to add to this in the weeks and months ahead. But you know, delivery in terms of Amazon and some equipment that I need that's gonna take a few days. So thank you so much for listening to this very special episode of the Marie Forleo Podcast and MarieTV, and I am so excited to stay connected with you. As always, stay on your game and keep going for your dreams because the world really does need that very special gift that only you have. They need it now more than ever. Love you so much. And I'll see you soon.

Hey, you having trouble bringing your dreams to life? Well, guess what. The problem isn’t you. It’s not that you’re not hardworking, or intelligent, or deserving. It’s that you haven’t yet installed the one key belief that will change it all. Everything is Figureoutable. It’s my new book and you can order it now at everythingisfigureoutable.com.

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