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 Bring a little optimism into your life with The Bright Side, a new kind of daily podcast from Hello Sunshine, hosted by me, Danielle Robay.
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And me, Simone Boyce.
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Every weekday, we're bringing you conversations about culture, the latest trends, inspiration, and so much more.
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I am so excited about this podcast, The Bright Side.
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You guys are giving people a chance to shine a light on their lives, shine a light on a little advice that they want to share.
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 Listen to The Bright Side on America's number one podcast network, iHeart.
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Open your free iHeart app and search The Bright Side.
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 At one of the most famous restaurants in the world, there's a table in the corner where the most incredible conversations on the planet are happening every week with owner Ruthie Rogers and amazing guests like Martha Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, and Paul McCartney.
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 We've saved you a seat.
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Ruthie's Table 4.
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Listen to Ruthie's Table 4 on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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 A new season of Bridgerton is here.
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And with it, a new season of Bridgerton, the official podcast.
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I'm your host, Gabby Collins.
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And this season, we are bringing fans even deeper into the ton.
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Watch season three of the Shondaland series on Netflix.
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Then fall in love all over again by listening to Bridgerton, the official podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Subscribe to catch a new episode every Thursday.
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 And I think that's often what's missed in finding purpose, that we look to just feel fulfilled ourselves.
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But actually that final piece that really creates purpose is, okay, how do I use this to serve other people?
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And that can apply to anything from comedy, through to movies, through to accountancy and law.
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Like there's nothing in the world that can't be used to help people.
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 And I think sometimes we limit, we say, oh, well, you can't help people because you're X, Y, Z, or that career can't help you.
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That's not true.
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Everything can be used in the service of others and engaged in that way.
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 Hey, everyone.
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I am so excited.
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I'm buzzing.
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This is the first ever event in our virtual book tour called Dear 2020, Think Like a Monk.
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And you joined in.
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This is super historic for me.
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If you have a copy of the book, I am so grateful to you right now for being here.
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Thank you so much for showing up.
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And I can't wait to share this time with you today.
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 Now, before we get going, I wanted to share with you a letter that I wrote to 2020.
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Now, I'm sure many of us would have so many things we'd like to say to 2020.
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Here are a few of the things that I wanted to share.
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I've never shared this with anyone before.
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It's exclusive and here for this audience.
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In 2020, the world was hit by a deadly pandemic.
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 Difficult to understand by any academic.
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It could make you cough, lose smell and taste.
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Gave trouble breathing, bluish lips or face.
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People felt heaviness and pain in their chest.
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Human resilience and response was put to the test.
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First there was anxiety and then there was confusion.
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We couldn't hug, handshake or fist bump until a solution.
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 Schools were closed, leagues were canceled, and no one could meet.
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Social distancing became the new norm.
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We had to be apart by six feet.
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We couldn't stand in line outside concerts, but we stood outside stores.
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Billions were stuck indoors, finishing Netflix and getting bored.
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People had to work from home.
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It was the new normal.
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We wore sweatpants to work.
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Only the upper half was formal.
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I'm wearing shorts, by the way.
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People couldn't travel abroad, so they pursued the journey within.
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 People danced on their roofs and bedrooms without any rhythm.
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People lost their jobs and started to pursue their passions.
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People used their passions to serve others and make things happen.
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We started celebrating heroes like nurses, doctors, and those on the front line.
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Everyone would clap and cheer for them all at one time.
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It affected people's wealth and their mental health.
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 But then people started taking more care of themselves.
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They practiced yoga, music, and meditation.
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They started to support each other all across the nation.
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People raised money for those in need and gave up their salaries.
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They danced online with the world and sang on their balconies.
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No one saw it coming, and no one could see it leaving.
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 But people became much more grateful to be breathing.
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Hundreds of thousands of people died.
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May they rest in peace.
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Let's send love to all their loved ones to hope their pain will ease.
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We deeply understood that our choices affect others.
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Strangers, brothers, sisters, lovers, fathers and mothers.
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Old and young, the virus didn't discriminate.
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Rich and poor, the virus did infiltrate.
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It showed us we weren't in control.
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 and had to be more prepared.
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We needed to care more for each other and the planet.
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We had to be aware.
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It was a warning like no other.
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Being apart brought us closer together.
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We finally found ways to use technology for the better.
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We became more mindful and started to judge less.
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 We developed kindness and tools for less stress.
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We led with more love, compassion, and empathy.
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We gave up FOMO, comparison, and jealousy.
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The choices we make now will affect future generations.
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Our togetherness will be celebrated.
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Our sacrifice will be recognized.
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We can choose to show them what we do at tough times.
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And ask yourself,
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 When your child or grandchild asks you in 2030, 2040, or 2050, what did you do in 2020?
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 do the answer that you want to share with them.
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Now, for the very special moment, I'm so deeply excited to introduce not only our special guest, but a very dear friend.
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Of course, you already know who it is, Russell Brand, who needs no introduction, but you may think you know Russell, the actor, the comedian, the genius, but that's only a small part of who he truly is.
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He's also an activist and an amazing thinker in the realms of spirituality, philosophy, and life.
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 As some of you may know, Russell and I have been friends for some time, and I'm always so grateful to get to talk with him more and share this meaningful conversation.
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If you don't already listen to his amazing podcast, Under the Skin, make sure to check it out.
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And of course, he's a phenomenal author with some incredible books.
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So without further ado, let's welcome the one and only Russell Brand.
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Jay.
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 Hey Russell, it's so good to see you.
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It's beautiful to see you and listen to you.
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You're so compelling and magnetic and I just want to congratulate you off the bat for this wonderful achievement of yours, this incredible book that I've been reading.
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Thank you for giving me a personal inscription and well done.
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I wish you every success with this book and I'm very excited to be speaking with you about it.
0
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 Oh, thank you so much.
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And I wanted to say I was so excited to do this with you in person.
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I know that's what we'd originally planned.
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And I want to thank you and your team for making this possible and for you joining us live from London while I'm in LA.
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And I'm so deeply grateful to you for all your support and mentorship and guidance over the last few years.
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So thank you for always being there for me.
0
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 Thank you.
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Now, Jay, my function here is to interview you, so I'm going to have to assume control of this situation, even though this is very much your domain and you are commanding it with aplomb, as anyone who loves you, and I count myself among that number, would expect.
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But without further ado, tell me how you are feeling about the launch of your new book, Think Like a Monk.
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How are you feeling?
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It must be something you've been working towards for a long while.
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How are you feeling, mate?
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 Absolutely.
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It's been in the process.
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So the idea first came to me probably around four years ago.
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And I started writing the book and preparing for it around nearly two years ago now.
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And it's been an incredibly amazing week.
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This is week one.
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The book came out last Tuesday.
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And so you're speaking to me literally seven days after that.
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 And I'm just feeling really humbled and grateful at the response.
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It's been amazing.
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Everyone who's just shown up all across the world and supported and being a part of this launch, it's been phenomenal.
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So I'm feeling really good about it.
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And I'm glad that it's finally in people's hands, because I wrote it, finished writing it end of last year.
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And so I've been really excited to hear feedback and read reviews.
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And it's been really meaningful to see all of that.
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 Yes, it must be rewarding for you in a sense.
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Did you find it easy to operate in a different medium?
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Often the content you create on camera, so you're used to engaging with people in that format.
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I think the book is positive that I've already read, a fantastically written J, of course.
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How did you find the process of conveying your ideas in a different format?
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Was it challenging?
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Did you enjoy it?
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 In the beginning, it was really challenging.
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I found it really hard.
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Like you said, I'm so used to speaking.
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And I always thought that, oh, you could just speak and then write, and then it would look the same and sound the same, and people would digest it the same.
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And then I started realizing that that wasn't the case.
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So the biggest intention I had is that I wanted, when everyone reads it,
0
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 to feel like I was sitting in the room with them, that we were spending time together, that it was a really present conversation.
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And I think that took a while for me to learn and understand.
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So it was definitely challenging.
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I fell in love with the process after a few months.
0
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And now I'm excited to write more and more.
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But definitely it was challenging in the beginning.
0
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 course I've known you for a long while and my wife and I were talking about you most favorably knowing that I was going to be spending this virtual time with you and you know when we first met it was because you were spending time with a mutual friend and mentor of ours Radhanath Swamy and my wife reminded me that you used to drive in to the house you wouldn't come in you would wait outside that conveys incredible humility and a sort of commitment to your own sort of
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 pilgrimage and spiritual journey.
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Now, how are you dealing with, like, you know, since then you've become like a sort of, I've been watching the stuff that comes up on screen, you know, tremendous success of your book, the social media success.
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How does that intersect with your spiritual practice?
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Because one of the hardest things for me has been doing what I do for a living and trying to keep grounded while still working in a world that requires sort of plaudits, engagement, and to a degree, ego.
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How has that journey affected you?
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 Yeah, I think that's a really beautiful question.
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I remember that.
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I've done that so many times driving rather than it's far me to yours.
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And it would always fill me so much joy to see your interactions and how much you had so many incredible questions and curiosity and how much he loves spending time with you.
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And so for me, seeing your relationship was so joy giving to me.
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So when we finally got to connect, it was really an honor for me.
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 But I think that it's a daily challenge to manage and monitor what you're speaking about.
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I think it's something that I have to be aware of and conscious and intentional about every day.
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And so my monk training and understanding of humility and ego is a really strong foundation.
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And it really gives me a great starting point.
0
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 The thing about ego is that its biggest trick is making you feel like you've conquered it.
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If you ever feel ego-less, or you feel like you're humble, it's almost like ego's winning more and more and more.
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For me,
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 daily reminding myself of why I'm doing what I do.
0
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One of my favorite practices, and I don't know if Radhanath Swami's ever shared this with you, but it was a monk practice and a teaching that really helped me, was that every time someone congratulates you, or admires you, or says something positive about you,
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 you accept it, but after accepting it, you pass it on to the person that gave you that skill or that realization or that ability.
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So if someone says to me, like, oh, Jay, I really appreciate this about you, I accept that and I thank them for it.
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But at the same time, I then pass that on as gratitude to the teacher or the mentor that gave it to me.
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 And sometimes even someone who indirectly gave it to me, maybe someone was mean to me in the past, or someone treated me badly in the past, and you remember them and say, oh, I learned that good quality because of some pain.
0
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So to me, there are some of these practices that have become almost wirings in my mind and brain because I've practiced them over so much time that it almost happens by default, but I have to keep cementing that realization.
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I hope that answers your question, at least to start it off.
0
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 It certainly does.
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Do you literally say it out loud to the person that's going to do it, or do you just do it in your head?
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I usually do it in my head, but if it's someone I know, if we were talking, then I'd be like, oh, yeah, that's something I learned from so-and-so.
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But initially, if that person would be like, what are you talking about?
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Then my answer will be, OK, let me just pass it on in my mind to my teachers or my mentors and my coaches, or like I said, an ex-girlfriend or an ex-partner or something like that, too, that may have taught us something powerful.
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 Right, just to prevent you from taking it on board and going, yeah, I am pretty terrific, aren't I?
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Exactly.
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There's a beautiful story that I think was told in, I think it's Law Abiding Citizen, that movie with Gerard Butler.
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I think it's in there.
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And it's also in Marcus Aurelius' meditations.
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And it said that when Marcus Aurelius would walk around the Roman square, he'd be followed by a whisperer, almost, or an assistant.
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 And the assistant's only role would be to whisper in his ear, you're just a man, you're just a man.
0
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Because Marcus Aurelius would be praised and given so much adoration that he needed to remind him.
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Now, we may not all be able to have assistants that assist us in that way, but we have to be our own assistants in our mind and remind ourselves of our humility and anchor.
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And I think there's so much liberation in knowing
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 that it's not all to do with you, it's almost too much pressure.
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And I often say that, like for me, if you look at the book, you'll see the Bhagavad Gita, you'll see the Vedas, you'll see teachers and mentors, and you wrote a book called Mentors, which was phenomenal too.
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And you know, it's like that to me is just so freeing, realizing that it's not all down to you.
0
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I think that's too much pressure for all of us to try and do it all ourselves.
0
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 When you find that bright spot to help you get through your day, it's powerful.
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That's where The Bright Side comes in.
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A new daily podcast from Hello Sunshine that's bringing you a daily dose of joy.
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I'm Danielle Robay.
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And I'm Simone Boyce.
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Listen, both Danielle and I are reporters.
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We've covered the news and we know the world can feel heavy, but The Bright Side podcast is a space to have a little fun, to learn something new and get into some friendly debates.
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 That's right, join us five days a week to see how life can look from the bright side.
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We'll hear from celebrities, authors, experts, and listeners like you.
0
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Whether it's relationships, friend advice, or figuring out how to navigate life's transitions, we'll talk through it all together.
0
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Listen to The Bright Side from Hello Sunshine every weekday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0
SPEAKER_08
 Hey everyone, this is Molly and Matt and we're the hosts of Grown Up Stuff How to Adult, a podcast from Ruby Studio and iHeart Podcasts.
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It's a show dedicated to helping you figure out the trickiest parts of adulting.
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SPEAKER_08
 like how to start planning for retirement, creating a healthy skincare routine, understanding when and how much to tip someone, and so much more.
0
SPEAKER_10
We're back with season two of the podcast, which means more opportunities to glow up and become a more responsible and better adult, one life lesson at a time.
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SPEAKER_08
And let me just tell you, this show is just as much for us as it is for you.
0
SPEAKER_08
So let's figure this stuff out together.
0
SPEAKER_08
This season, we're going to talk about whether or not we're financially and emotionally ready for dog ownership.
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SPEAKER_10
 We're going to figure out the benefits of a high yield savings account.
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SPEAKER_08
And what exactly are the duties of being a member of the wedding party?
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SPEAKER_10
All that plus so much more.
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SPEAKER_08
Let's learn about all of it and then some.
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SPEAKER_08
Listen to Grown Up Stuff How to Adult on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0
SPEAKER_12
 Guess what, Mango?
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What's that, Will?
0
SPEAKER_12
So iHeart is giving us a whole minute to promote our podcast, Part-Time Genius.
0
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I know, that's why I spent my whole week composing a haiku for the occasion.
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SPEAKER_11
It's about my emotional journey in podcasting over the last seven years, and it's called Earthquake House.
0
SPEAKER_12
Mango, I'm going to cut you off right there.
0
SPEAKER_11
Why don't we just tell people about our show instead?
0
SPEAKER_11
Yeah, that's a better idea.
0
SPEAKER_11
So every week on Part-Time Genius, we feed our curiosity by answering the world's most important questions.
0
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Things like, when did America start dialing 911?
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SPEAKER_11
 is William Shatner's best acting work in Esperanto.
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Also, what happened to Esperanto?
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SPEAKER_12
Plus, we cover questions like how Chinese is your Chinese food?
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How do dollar stores stay in business?
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And of course, is there an Illuminati of cheese?
0
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There absolutely is.
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And we are risking our lives by talking about it.
0
SPEAKER_11
But if you love mind blowing facts, incredible history and really bad jokes, make your brains happy and tune in to Part Time Genius.
0
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Listen to Part Time Genius on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
0
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 That's really beautifully explained.
0
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If it was me, I would pay that person doing the whispering to say, you're just a sexy man.
0
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I'm going to pass on some of the questions that are coming through in the chat.
0
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AJ Sunny is asking, how do you deal with anxiety when you're going through loneliness?
0
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What do you do?
0
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That's a question from AJ Sunny.
0
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 Yeah, so anxiety is definitely tough for so many of us.
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And I think people experience it in different ways.
0
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I do recommend that people do find professional help and support if this is something that has gone on for a long period of time.
0
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But for me, the first part of it through loneliness, specifically what you mentioned, is starting to explore loneliness a bit more.
0
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So I feel like in English,
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 We have two words for being alone, but we only use one of them.
0
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One of them is loneliness and the other one is solitude.
0
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Monks and ascetics and yogis, as well as more recent writers like Paul Tillich, would talk about how being alone, there's a strength in solitude.
0
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There's a power in being alone.
0
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There's actually great strength in it, but we don't see that because when you were a kid,
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 And if you remember school, Russell, and if you were one of the kids that didn't have a lot of friends, you'd be considered the weirdo or the loner.
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Or if you had a party and only five people showed up, you'd be considered unpopular.
0
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And so we've constantly made loneliness seem like a bad thing and a negative thing.
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And so now everyone's scared of being lonely.
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So if you're 30 and you're not married, it's like, oh my gosh, you're lonely.
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How are you still single?
0
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And so we've created this really negative narrative around being lonely.
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 when actually a lot of traditions would find power in solitude.
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And so the first thing I'd suggest is sometimes solitude is a great way of learning about yourself.
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And to me, that's a really good place to start, because when you learn about yourself and you find out what you like and what you dislike and what you're passionate about and what activity every day brings you joy, you start loving your own company and your own mind and your own space.
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And that allows you to remove some of that initial anxiety.
0
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Is that something you talk about in the book, mate?
0
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 Yeah, so I spend the first section of the book is called letting go or let go.
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And a lot of that is letting go of these layers and identities and expectations, opinions and obligations that society puts on us.
0
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And I remember you talking about, you know, achieving great heights and attending some of the most incredible award ceremonies in LA for like, you know, movies and music and you were hosting and you were just kind of like, well, really is
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 Is this all it is?
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You have to let go of that being the epitome or the pinnacle of society.
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And I think a lot of us have to do that in our own selves.
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And so for me, letting go is not just physically distancing.
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It's not just about being alone or solitude by physically distancing.
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It's mentally and emotionally distancing from the expectations, opinions, and obligations of society.
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And to me, that's what solitude really is, more than even just physically being away from people.
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 But when you're going on to sort of regular news media and those kinds of things, how do you deal with conveying a message that comes from a very esoteric personal practice?
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I know how serious you take your meditation.
0
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I'm often dazzled by the degree that you're willing to go to, the hours you put into meditation, your commitment to not using profane language or curse words and stuff like that.
0
SPEAKER_05
When you're going into like the nexus of this machine, appearing on daytime TV in America or, you know, popular TV shows,
0
SPEAKER_05
 How do you present this message, which has roots in very sort of early and very pure practices?
0
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Yeah, my goal is to try and present them as purely, but also as practically as possible.
0
SPEAKER_06
And so for me, it's also about really connecting with people with their current challenges in life and where they're at.
0
SPEAKER_06
And I think that's the same for me, that the only reason why I was able to understand, I'm sure you feel the same way,
0
SPEAKER_06
 only reason why we were able to take on something, because again, I'm born and raised in London.
0
SPEAKER_06
I grew up in North London.
0
SPEAKER_06
I didn't grow up in a religious family.
0
SPEAKER_06
I wasn't meant to be a monk.
0
SPEAKER_06
I have material desires.
0
SPEAKER_06
I have an ego.
0
SPEAKER_06
I have all of this stuff, but I was able to adopt these teachings because someone presented them to me in a practical way that connected with the life I currently lived.
0
SPEAKER_06
 And so for me, my goal is always, how do we make this really practical?
0
SPEAKER_06
And I'm excited, actually.
0
SPEAKER_06
We're going to take some questions afterwards that I'm going to ask you as well, because I love your perspectives.
0
SPEAKER_06
And so we're going to take some questions from the audience that Russell gets to answer, too.
0
SPEAKER_06
So guys, leave your questions for Russell and me.
0
SPEAKER_06
We're both going to go back and forth.
0
SPEAKER_06
 But that's really important to me, that we speak to people in a way that it's meeting them where they are, not where you think you are or what's next for you.
0
SPEAKER_06
And I think that's where it gets confusing.
0
SPEAKER_06
So I remember one of my teachers would always give me the example of, if you're practicing, for example, a PhD mathematician came into this broadcast and started speaking about PhD mathematics,
0
SPEAKER_06
 I would not have a clue.
0
SPEAKER_06
You might, but I definitely would not have a clue.
0
SPEAKER_06
I am sure it would go over both of our heads, but if they were able to explain a basic equation or 2 plus 2 equals 4, we would understand.
0
SPEAKER_06
It is not about basic in the sense of not being evolved or pure.
0
SPEAKER_06
It is about simplifying so that it meets people where they can connect.
0
SPEAKER_06
For me, I am always trying to understand
0
SPEAKER_06
 how I can better share and understand.
0
SPEAKER_06
And the best quote I've heard of it from Einstein is, if you can't explain something simply, you don't understand it well enough.
0
SPEAKER_06
And so for me, that's always my practice.
0
SPEAKER_06
I'm like, all right, if I can't explain this to a four-year-old, then it doesn't make sense.
0
SPEAKER_06
So I'm always thinking to myself, how do I learn this?
0
SPEAKER_06
How do I learn this and understand it?
0
SPEAKER_06
So that's kind of my personal challenge to myself.
0
SPEAKER_05
 I do sometimes become frustrated, Jay, because I was thinking then when you used the example of mathematics, that we don't live in a culture that kind of denies the existence of mathematics, in that a culture that's predicated on materialism, on consumerism, on commodification, has a vested interest in kind of denying spiritual principles, very fundamental
0
SPEAKER_05
 principles such as you are enough, you don't need to buy anything else, we're all connected to one another, in fact we're all one, you don't need to compete with other people.
0
SPEAKER_05
So you see with the mathematics example, whilst we may be ignorant of maths, there's not an absolute denial of maths, whereas sometimes with spirituality it's had a bad rap, it's been presented as woo-woo, it's been presented as dogmatic and negative and attached to sort of prejudicial and condemnatory ideas.
0
SPEAKER_05
 How do you navigate that space knowing that you're living in a world that kind of not only is sometimes ignorant of those principles but in absolute denial of them?
0
SPEAKER_06
 I think for me, I feel a sense of responsibility to try my best to present what I've learned in a way that is compassionate towards anyone who may have those blocks, because there's a reason someone has that block.
0
SPEAKER_06
It could have been their parent.
0
SPEAKER_06
It could have been a religious institution.
0
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It could have been an early experience in childhood or at school.
0
SPEAKER_06
And so my heart just feels extended in compassion to whatever background someone's coming from, because I feel we all have blocks.
0
SPEAKER_06
 to different things.
0
SPEAKER_06
And I know blocks that I have.
0
SPEAKER_06
And so being compassionate towards other people's blocks, just because they're different, but then feeling a sense of responsibility.
0
SPEAKER_06
And so, for example, in the book, I not only share inspirational stories of people who've become monks or
0
SPEAKER_06
 lessons or legends or parables.
0
SPEAKER_06
But I also share a lot of science, because to me, it's really important that the meditation techniques and the practices we talk about.
0
SPEAKER_06
And that's where I really got fascinated by monks' brains, because I've interviewed Matthew Ricard, who's been called the world's happiest man, because his brain has the highest form of gamma waves when scanned, which are linked to happiness, joy, and attention.
0
SPEAKER_06
And then they did 20 other monks, and then they found the same thing.
0
SPEAKER_06
And so for me, it's
0
SPEAKER_06
 I love seeing the science behind the spirituality in the stories.
0
SPEAKER_06
And I'm almost thinking like if, and I know you do this too, and if all of us were able to be more synergized in our approach, then hopefully we would limit that skepticism or cynicism that comes.
0
SPEAKER_06
And so for me, I see it as a responsibility to try and change the way things are presented, realizing that I won't get it perfectly right and realizing not everyone's going to agree.
0
SPEAKER_06
 But not everyone agreed with a lot of incredible people.
0
SPEAKER_06
So I'm just little old me trying to make a decision and trying to make a change.
0
SPEAKER_06
And I'll keep trying to do that.
0
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 A new season of Bridgerton is here.
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And with it, a new season of Bridgerton, the official podcast.
0
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I'm your host, Gabrielle Collins.
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SPEAKER_07
And this season, we are bringing fans even deeper into the ton.
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Colin Bridgerton has returned from his travels abroad.
0
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Is Betrothal written in the stars for the eligible bachelor?
0
SPEAKER_07
Meanwhile, the ton is reverberating with speculation of who holds Lady Whistledown's pen.
0
SPEAKER_07
We're discussing it all.
0
SPEAKER_07
 I sit down with Nicola Coughlin, Luke Newton, Shonda Rhimes, and more to offer an exclusive peek behind the scenes of each episode of the new season.
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SPEAKER_07
Watch season three of the Shondaland series on Netflix.
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Then, fall in love all over again by listening to Bridgerton, the official podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Subscribe to catch a new episode every Thursday.
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 When the Taliban banned music in Afghanistan, millions were plunged into silence.
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Radios were smashed.
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Cassettes burned.
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You could be beaten or jailed or killed for breaking the rules.
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And yet, Afghans did it anyway.
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This is the story of how a group of people brought music back to Afghanistan by creating their own version of American Idol.
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 The danger they endured.
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They said my head should be cut off.
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The joy they brought to the nation.
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You're free completely.
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No one is there to destroy you.
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I'm John Legend.
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Listen to Afghan Star on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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 Parents, ready to discover a new educational and interactive podcast for kids?
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Cowie, what do you say?
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 It was!
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And that time when we did the science experiments and Billy made raisins dance!
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Not to mention when a certain Elliot took up swimming classes with Lisa.
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1
SPEAKER_02
 Obviously, if you're practicing at the level of your man there, your happiest man, and monks that have built an entire lifestyle around achieving that kind of peace and happiness, advantages to that.
1
SPEAKER_02
When you were speaking, I was thinking, well, is that, well, then do we have to make those kind of changes in our lives?
1
SPEAKER_02
Do we have to...
1
SPEAKER_02
 become A seats and do we have to deny ourselves pleasure and engagement?
1
SPEAKER_02
How are we going to live in a world where we're increasingly online, where we're defined by what we do for money?
1
SPEAKER_02
How are we going to utilize these techniques while dealing with the limitations and demands of materialism?
1
SPEAKER_01
 Absolutely.
1
SPEAKER_01
And that's why I call the book Think Like a Monk and Don't Live Like a Monk, because I don't think it's practical even for me now in my life.
1
SPEAKER_01
But I definitely know that I've tried to extract the mindsets that are useful in our day-to-day life.
1
SPEAKER_01
So we may not be able to become people that meditate for four to eight hours a day like monks do, but we could carve out four to eight minutes to start with.
1
SPEAKER_01
 We may not be people that are going to say, I'm going to remove all my material possessions because we've got kids and families to feed and all the rest of it, so it doesn't make sense.
1
SPEAKER_01
But we may say, I'm going to limit my wants and focus more on my passions and my hobbies and my interests.
1
SPEAKER_01
So there are elements and the essence that we can extract from the teachings and apply them to our lives so that we can feel some of those benefits.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I really feel that.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I know many examples of people
1
SPEAKER_01
 in the world who have jobs, who have families, who are trying to do this.
1
SPEAKER_01
And they definitely feel greater senses of joy, happiness, and purpose in their life than they would if they didn't.
1
SPEAKER_01
So for me, it's more about, well, let's take a look at the practices and let's start carving out moments in our day where we are thinking like a monk and taking that mindset rather than having to transform our whole life.
1
SPEAKER_01
And of course, for those of you that can,
1
SPEAKER_01
 Taking out a day for a meditation retreat or taking out a week to go on a retreat is beautiful.
1
SPEAKER_01
That immersive experience could restart your whole journey.
1
SPEAKER_01
And so when we can travel again, but even now online sessions like this, when people can dial into that,
1
SPEAKER_01
 it can give them the answers that they're looking for and give them an answer of what's next, rather than just going on that default autopilot mode, and then years just go by.
1
SPEAKER_01
To me, it's more about giving people the tools to make the decisions for themselves.
1
SPEAKER_02
 Yes, as you've said earlier, in ways that can be implemented in harmony with a lifestyle that places other demands on us.
1
SPEAKER_02
Honing in on some of the specific things you talk about in the book, mate, what do you feel, for example, about forgiveness?
1
SPEAKER_02
I know you speak about, in the book, degrees of forgiveness and how forgiveness functions and creates serenity.
1
SPEAKER_02
Pack that for us a little bit, mate.
1
SPEAKER_01
 Absolutely.
1
SPEAKER_01
In the Bhagavad Gita, there are three aspects called the modes.
1
SPEAKER_01
Modes are basically every activity, every thought, every action is in one of these modes.
1
SPEAKER_01
The modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance.
1
SPEAKER_01
For example, forgiveness in the mode of ignorance is like, oh, I do not want to forgive anyone, I want revenge, and they need to fall apart.
1
SPEAKER_01
 So that's considered the mode of ignorance.
1
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It's an ignorant intention with an ignorant action.
1
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The mode of passion is saying, well, I'll only forgive them if they say sorry and they make it up to me.
1
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So it's demanding something before we forgive.
1
SPEAKER_01
And the mode of goodness realizes that whether that person does the right thing or did the right thing or the wrong thing,
1
SPEAKER_01
 If I forgive them, then I'll be free of the pain and the trauma that comes with holding on to unforgiveness or holding on to that pressure.
1
SPEAKER_01
So every one of our actions are always in one of those modes.
1
SPEAKER_01
So the mode of ignorance, you're motivated by fear and insecurity.
1
SPEAKER_01
So revenge is an intention that's motivated by fear and insecurity.
1
SPEAKER_01
In the mode of passion, you're motivated by desire and result.
1
SPEAKER_01
I want someone to say sorry to me, and then I'll give them something back.
1
SPEAKER_01
A mode of goodness is motivated by love and compassion.
1
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 where we realize that actually out of love and compassion for myself and love and compassion for that person, there's no point in me holding this grudge.
1
SPEAKER_01
The goal isn't to say, oh, if I'm in the mode of ignorance, I'm a bad person.
1
SPEAKER_01
The goal is to say, I'm in the mode of ignorance.
1
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That's how I feel right now.
1
SPEAKER_01
Let me see how I can upgrade to the mode of passion, and let me see how I can upgrade to the mode of goodness.
1
SPEAKER_01
 So it's not about judging ourselves or saying, oh, we're less than or we're not right.
1
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It's about dealing with our conditioned response and habit and now say, well, how do I rise from this?
1
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Because I realize that it's not beneficial to me.
1
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And I think all of us who've ever had to forgive someone.
1
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 will realize that actually wanting to take revenge on them didn't work because even when we got that body that we thought would get them back, they still felt that way about us.
1
SPEAKER_01
We still didn't feel happier about ourselves because we did it for them.
1
SPEAKER_01
Or if we demanded a closure from someone, even if they kind of gave it to us, we still felt empty inside because we knew it was something we had to give ourselves.
1
SPEAKER_01
So forgiveness to me starts with forgiving yourself, and it extends out when we start upgrading in these level of the modes.
1
SPEAKER_02
 Do you still revert to and deploy quite traditional resources in your understanding of spirituality?
1
SPEAKER_02
Go back to the Bhagavad Gita.
1
SPEAKER_02
Are you also interested in biblical scripture and the Quran?
1
SPEAKER_02
Do you check out a lot of various sources, Jay?
1
SPEAKER_01
 Yeah, I was really fortunate when I was around 16 was when I first got really interested in spirituality, religion and traditions.
1
SPEAKER_01
I felt really bad that we as a family celebrated Christmas, but I didn't know too much about Jesus Christ apart from his birth that we celebrated at school.
1
SPEAKER_01
 But I felt bad that we had Christmas and we had a Christmas dinner, even though there wasn't turkey, it was vegetarian or whatever at home.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I was just a bit like, well, wait a minute, I'm giving presents to my family, but I don't really know what this is about.
1
SPEAKER_01
And so I started attending the church in my local area when I was about 16 and just wanting to learn more.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I remember reading parts of the Bible there.
1
SPEAKER_01
And that's why in the book, you'll find me quoting from a lot of Christian monks.
1
SPEAKER_01
At the same time, I remember reading the Quran around the same time because I was
1
SPEAKER_01
 dating someone from a Muslim background.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I wanted to understand more about her tradition.
1
SPEAKER_01
And so that's, that was my reason for reading the Quran.
1
SPEAKER_01
And then when I wrote the book, I dived even more into, and when I lived as a monk, dived into more of the Buddhist literatures and all of the Hindu literatures, of course, which are much more closer to this.
1
SPEAKER_01
So to me, and the book has that, the book has so much quoting from monks of all different traditions, because I think,
1
SPEAKER_01
 Pema Chodron, for example, who's a Buddhist monk, I'm a huge fan of her work.
1
SPEAKER_01
I think she's done phenomenal work in healing the heart for so many people.
1
SPEAKER_01
And so she's someone I quote a fair bit in the book.
1
SPEAKER_01
And that's kind of where I get excited.
1
SPEAKER_01
I kind of see myself as a curator and a synergizer and someone who can grab and see parallels and connections.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I go back to that Steve Jobs feeling of creativity is connecting things.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I always think that looking for parallels and synergies
1
SPEAKER_01
 is really interesting because that's where you find answers.
1
SPEAKER_01
You don't find answers in polarities and divisions.
1
SPEAKER_01
And so for me, that's always my, and same with science, whether it's science or even whether it's mainstream culture.
1
SPEAKER_01
I love watching a movie and going, where's the Bhagavad Gita principle in this movie?
1
SPEAKER_01
And I can always find it.
1
SPEAKER_01
And that's what I love.
1
SPEAKER_01
I love wisdom being so relevant.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I start the book with that quote from Ivan Pavlov that says, if you want a new idea, read an old book.
1
SPEAKER_01
 And I really, really love that because to me that's where that intersection of new and old, science and spirituality, religion, but also daily ritual, like I love seeing those synergies.
1
SPEAKER_01
That's kind of where I get my buzz from.
1
SPEAKER_02
Are you interested in altered states of consciousness?
1
SPEAKER_02
 I don't necessarily mean, I know that you are an abstinent person like me, that you don't drink or take drugs, I'm not referring to that, but what are the states achieved through yogic exercise, for example Kundalini and breath work?
1
SPEAKER_02
Are you fascinated with areas of religious discourse that seem to be dealing with alternate dimensions, alternate realities?
1
SPEAKER_02
Is that something that interests you?
1
SPEAKER_01
 Yeah, it does.
1
SPEAKER_01
I think anything that extends humanity beyond the body is fascinating to me.
1
SPEAKER_01
Because I think so much of what we talk about is all around the experiences of the body, or even just the emotions, or even just at the mind.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I think any sort of venture into the world of consciousness
1
SPEAKER_01
 fascinates me because, A, because I'm excited to see if science will ever be able to figure out and share more on it, but B, because I think these alternative experiences, as you're calling them, give people faith in different ways and give people the realization that there is more to us than our bodies and our minds.
1
SPEAKER_01
I think that that's why it fascinates me because
1
SPEAKER_01
 if anyone's ever had an outer body experience, or if anyone's ever had a meditation where they felt completely connected with that consciousness, they now have a completely different paradigm to life.
1
SPEAKER_01
And so that's why it fascinates me, because I think for so many people, we need to really feel and experience something to believe it.
1
SPEAKER_01
And if you're someone who's like that, then I think these practices can be really powerful and useful.
1
SPEAKER_02
 Because part of what we're dealing with is, I would say, mundane challenges.
1
SPEAKER_02
I don't mean mundane in a pejorative sense.
1
SPEAKER_02
I mean the challenges of everyday life.
1
SPEAKER_02
I'm feeling anxious.
1
SPEAKER_02
I'm feeling insecure.
1
SPEAKER_02
Then there's the more sort of extreme problems that are happening.
1
SPEAKER_02
We live in times of tyranny and abuse and great fear.
1
SPEAKER_02
 Sometimes I wonder about what might be regarded in a secular society as the extreme aspects of spirituality, I mean specifically monastic living, higher states of consciousness.
1
SPEAKER_02
I can't help but think, Jay, that they might be a significant component in any meaningful change which would have to take place beyond the level of the individual, although of course I acknowledge that we start with the individual and I think you're doing
1
SPEAKER_02
 excellent work in that area of making these ideas palatable, accessible, certainly that's what you do for me, but what do you think about the social implications of living a life that is predicated on principles that extract spirituality?
1
SPEAKER_01
 Yeah, if I'm understanding your question correctly, and you can tell me if I've got it wrong, but I remember you saying this, we were in New York together, and you were saying, you know, everyone's always trying to demystify spirituality, and you're like, I want to remystify spirituality.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I love that, because it was, you know, such an interesting viewpoint, because
1
SPEAKER_01
 you almost really appreciate and enjoy the really extreme forms of it.
1
SPEAKER_01
When I say extreme, I do not mean extreme in action, but in experience and attending rituals that are very ancient and timeless.
1
SPEAKER_01
For me, it is interesting, is not it, that there will be different leaders who push and lead society in different ways.
1
SPEAKER_01
There will be some who
1
SPEAKER_01
 put out something extreme, which will sound crazy, and we'll all catch up in a few years.
1
SPEAKER_01
There'll be people that make things really easy and accessible to understand right now.
1
SPEAKER_01
I always feel like we need everyone, because everyone's going to have a different flavor, and a different approach, and a different need.
1
SPEAKER_01
Their knowledge or their sharing will be realized at different times.
1
SPEAKER_01
We know that.
1
SPEAKER_01
There are so many traditions or cultures
1
SPEAKER_01
 that only gained traction many years after that wisdom had been left on the planet.
1
SPEAKER_01
If I'm understanding your question correctly, I think we need people on all levels of the spectrum sharing messages from a truthful and genuine space of experience, because that's going to connect with people at different times.
1
SPEAKER_01
We may not even get it right now, but 10, 15, 25 years down the line, we'll be like, oh, wow, that person was ahead of their times.
1
SPEAKER_01
I don't know if I'm understanding your question correctly.
1
SPEAKER_02
 I think you do understand it and you've certainly answered an aspect of it in that there are different sort of levels of understanding and appreciation.
1
SPEAKER_02
Another aspect of what I was inquiring about is the sort of social implications of living in a spiritually, you know, sort of, what's the right word, mate, Kali Yuga.
1
SPEAKER_02
 Yes, Kali Yuga, yes.
1
SPEAKER_02
You can see the sort of political and social aspects of mental health, addiction, conflagration.
1
SPEAKER_02
I wonder how you feel that these spiritual principles are applicable beyond our individual practice, which is of course the focus of this book, and into a broader social context.
1
SPEAKER_02
Is that something you think about?
1
SPEAKER_01
 Thank you for re-explaining it.
1
SPEAKER_01
That makes so much sense.
1
SPEAKER_01
I do think about it.
1
SPEAKER_01
I've been spending a bit more time thinking about it.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I think, as you said, my focus very much for the last few years of my work has been focusing on the individual.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I don't know if I'll ever stop doing that, because I really love trying to improve individual lives and experiences.
1
SPEAKER_01
But I do spend some time thinking about structure and systems.
1
SPEAKER_01
 At least what I know now is that ultimately, the action that anyone takes is fueled by the purity of their intention.
1
SPEAKER_01
And so systems and structures cannot solve problems if they don't come from a place of purified intent.
1
SPEAKER_01
 And so you can't solve a systemic issue just with a new system.
1
SPEAKER_01
It's got to be solved from someone who's implementing the system with love and with compassion.
1
SPEAKER_01
So people often get confused.
1
SPEAKER_01
They're like, well, how does love and compassion solve the world?
1
SPEAKER_01
And it's like, well, it doesn't.
1
SPEAKER_01
What it does is it solves the problem of the heart.
1
SPEAKER_01
And then you use your strategy and your mindsets and your statistics and your data and your science.
1
SPEAKER_01
Then you use all that stuff to create systems that facilitates the conversation of the heart.
1
SPEAKER_01
 I was reading about something recently.
1
SPEAKER_01
There's a documentary that's coming out that Will Smith's a part of called the Amend Documentary.
1
SPEAKER_01
It's all about the 14th Amendment.
1
SPEAKER_01
It talks about how this incredible amendment that is meant to be about equality for all, but people have constantly found loopholes in it to not give equality for all.
1
SPEAKER_01
 And that's what I mean by that.
1
SPEAKER_01
You can have a really good amendment or a really good principle or a really good system, but if people aren't wired to serve that system through purity of intent, we end up manipulating and abusing a system to get what we want anyway.
1
SPEAKER_01
And so to me, that's where they go hand in hand.
1
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And when I say compassion and love, I don't mean like, oh, let's just all hold hands and that will change the world.
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I don't believe that.
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 What I believe is that policymakers, decision makers, presidents, prime ministers, people of power and responsibility and influence can be coming from a place of inherent love and compassion, then the system will actually work.
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By the way, that includes citizens too.
1
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It's not just top down, it's bottom up as well.
1
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 I like the way you put that.
1
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Satish Kumar in one of his books was talking about meeting Bertrand Russell in the 60s who was campaigning for nuclear disarmament and he said what's the point in getting rid of nuclear weapons if we don't get rid of the mentality that created and we'll just continue to perpetuate these ideas and it's like you're saying that unless there is a sort of a fundamental change at the level of individual consciousness how can it prevail on a broader level so in a sense there is no distinction between
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 individual spiritual growth and collective social growth.
1
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They're in a way the same idea, just depends which side of it you feel your dharma is in, I suppose.
1
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 Correct.
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I think that's the biggest mistake we make is that we think it's either or.
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Some of us will be like, oh, no, it's all about individual change, and that's all that matters, forget the system.
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Then there's other people like, it's all about the system, forget the people.
1
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It's like, well, no, it's always both.
1
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It's always this symbiotic coming together.
1
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We have to value spirituality and strategy.
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 We have to value techniques and deep spiritual thought.
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We have to value purity and purpose.
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It's about embracing polarities.
1
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It's about really trying to understand.
1
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Even the work we do, I often talk about it, that I wouldn't be able to do what I do if I didn't understand strategy and wisdom.
1
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You have to understand both because there's a beautiful statement by Martin Luther King,
1
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 where he said that those who love peace need to learn to organize themselves as well as those who love war.
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 I think that's what's missing is that often when we believe in peace and love, we don't get organized, we don't get strategic, we don't get focused, and we just hope that things are going to change.
1
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I'm not into that mindset at all.
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I really believe that we have to be organized.
1
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I want to open up and have you answer some questions because I've been talking so much.
1
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I want to hear your incredible mind and your incredible voice and insights on all of this.
1
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I want to take some
1
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 Questions, Russell, if that's okay with you.
1
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You've been asking me so many amazing questions, but for the next 15 minutes that we have with Russell, I really want you to hear from him.
1
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So send your questions in, and when I see them up on the screen, I'm gonna read them out to Russell.
1
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So we've got the first one from Karishma.
1
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Thank you, Karishma.
1
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How do you deal with external pressures and expectations from people around you, especially when you are happy with where you are in life?
1
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Russell, I'd love for you to answer that question if you'd like to take it.
1
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 Well, if I'm happy in my life, that's such a for me, I have to really cherish and treasure that because I have dealt with a great deal of anxiety and turbulence.
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So if I find myself happy, that's something that I hold quite sacred.
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I'm willing to evaluate the relationships in my life continually.
1
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 Not from a selfish perspective, I hope, but now as a father of young children, I'm pretty clear about what my priorities are.
1
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So if I feel that there are negative influences in my life, external pressures from people that I do not think are beneficial or nutritious, if after explaining to them, if it's someone that I care about, that's important to me, if the problem continues, I do consider, as part of my whole 12-step approach, the possibility of letting go of that relationship.
1
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 I can't hold on to environments, social or otherwise, that are ultimately negative for me, Jay.
1
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What do you think, Lane?
1
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 No, I love that.
1
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I think that's great.
1
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I think for me, it's always finding ways to just be more convinced about the path that I'm on.
1
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And you can only get that the more you walk it.
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And then that way, that noise kind of just gets quieter.
1
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And to me, it's like, that's why I think stillness and solitude is so important.
1
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I feel like whenever I feel like I've got all these competing expectations and people's opinions that get in my head, I just need to spend time alone.
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 just recalibrate what I really care about and what's important to me.
1
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And so I spend a lot of time just being away from it all to be like, OK, well, what do I feel?
1
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What do I believe?
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Have I really tested that belief?
1
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And then I can feel more confident about it.
1
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So yeah, thank you, Karishma, for that wonderful question.
1
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Let's take another one from the audience.
1
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And Russell, I'm loving hearing your insights.
1
SPEAKER_01
Anil Patel says, what basic steps
1
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 Can we start to perform to steer towards our purpose in life?
1
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Russell, I'm intrigued to hear your version of this because you've lived so many different lives and worn so many different hats in your journey.
1
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And I wonder, I've never actually asked that question, I wonder how your purpose has transformed or changed or how you even think about it.
1
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I'd love to hear that from you.
1
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 In a sense, thanks, Jay, a lot of it is, would have to refer to the answer you gave to the previous question, is spending some time with myself, looking at what my intentions are.
1
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If I can honestly say my intentions are kind to others and myself, then I will run it past another person and get another perspective.
1
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I have, as we've discussed, mentors, people further down the path than me, or people that have a different perspective than I do, and I get their opinions and impressions also.
1
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 So eventually what I'm trying to find when looking for purpose is a sort of sense of harmony.
1
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Because of my sort of history of addiction, I'm aware that I've repeated the same pattern in various forms again and again and again.
1
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And to your point earlier when we were discussing forgiveness, Jay, if I sort of feel like, oh really I'm trying to get something here or I'm trying to make an impression on somebody, if I see that that's part of my purpose,
1
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 then I consider before going down that road.
1
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So mine is to spend some time in reflection and to consult people that know more than me and to make sure that it's in alignment with my basic principles, which are simple things like, you know, am I being selfish?
1
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Am I being self-pitying?
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Am I being dishonest?
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You know, I run those kinds of checks and balances.
1
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 What about you, mate?
1
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Yeah, I love that.
1
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I think those are awesome.
1
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And I think those are the things that really start the journey.
1
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And in chapter five of the book, I speak about the concept Dharma.
1
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And it's without a doubt, probably my favorite concept that's had such a big impact on my life.
1
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 And dharma can be loosely translated in English to multiple things, but it translates to eternal purpose or inherent nature.
1
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And it's really found in the synergy between passion, strengths, and compassion.
1
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So it's like, what do you love?
1
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What do you enjoy?
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What are you actually good at?
1
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What do you have a natural talent in?
1
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And don't confuse inexperience with weakness.
1
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 Sometimes you just haven't done something enough to be good at it, and you think, oh, I'm not good at that.
1
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But strengths, what are your strengths?
1
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And finally, compassion, how do you use it to help someone else?
1
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That's really what purpose is.
1
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It's when you use your passion and strengths in the service of others.
1
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And I think that's often what's missed in finding purpose, that we look to just feel fulfilled ourself.
1
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But actually, that final piece that really creates purpose is, OK, how do I use this to serve other people?
1
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And that can apply to anything from comedy,
1
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 through to movies, through to accountancy and law, like there's nothing in the world that can't be used to help people.
1
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And I think sometimes we limit, we say, oh, well, you can't help people because you're X, Y, Z, or that career can't help you.
1
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That's not true.
1
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Everything can be used in the service of others and engaged in that way.
1
SPEAKER_01
 All right, let's take some more questions for Russell, because I'm loving hearing from him.
1
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And it's wonderful to see you, Russell.
1
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Thanks for doing this in the evening as well.
1
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Let's take another question.
1
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OK, Niamh, when you're at a crossroads in life and feeling stuck, everything starts to become negative.
1
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How would you go about starting to rewire thoughts to make the best decisions?
1
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Russell, I'm sure you've experienced several crossroads in your
1
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 journey and feelings of feeling stuck, I think you'd be a great person to answer this.
1
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 I try to, when I'm at a crossroads Jay, I try to, again, I use mentors because I've had a lot of examples in my past of making decisions that were negative.
1
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I like to consult other people.
1
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That doesn't mean I become overly dependent or that I deify them or like neglect my own intuition.
1
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I do like to consult, you know, like for example, I was making like a work decision quite recently and I had a bunch of options and I'd like, I spoke to a mentor of mine and he said,
1
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 At this point now, any one of these decisions could be right or it could be wrong.
1
SPEAKER_02
Sometimes we make a decision, it doesn't go the way we want.
1
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This just means in the future we'll be making another decision.
1
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I think letting go of the idea of perfectionism can be very helpful about this.
1
SPEAKER_02
In a sense, we make the path by walking it.
1
SPEAKER_02
 And if we let go of the idea that we're going to be curating or creating the perfect life, there can be some freedom in that.
1
SPEAKER_02
But I would never relent from consulting mentors and looking at my basic principles that have always guided me.
1
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 I love that.
1
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I love how much of an emphasis you place on mentors in your life.
1
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It's huge.
1
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I know in that book, you talk about eight mentors, I believe it is, that you've really learned from in different areas of your life.
1
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That's what I loved about that book is you are very much clear on different people you go to different things for.
1
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It's not like
1
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 You're not going to one person for everything.
1
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And you're not going to everything for everyone.
1
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And that's what I feel sometimes when you hear the word mentors, a lot of people think, well, I should have one person in my life that can answer every question.
1
SPEAKER_01
And that's not true.
1
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And the opposite is, well, everyone's opinion matters.
1
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So I'll ask all my friends what they think.
1
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And that leads to a mess.
1
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But you have very specific people for specific things, career, spirituality, addiction, et cetera.
1
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You've got people around different areas.
1
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Do you have a similar setup in your own life?
1
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 Yeah, I think it's been really useful, and I think it came from mentors also being honest.
1
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I've sometimes asked spiritual mentors career questions, and they've said, Jay, I know nothing about your career.
1
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And then at the same time, I've had mentors in everything from social media to work, and I'm always seeking more.
1
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And I remember asking you,
1
SPEAKER_01
 to also be a mentor in my life, because for me, it wasn't because I'm trying to do anything similar to you, but I really felt that your experience of finding spirituality in and amongst this very crazy world and trying to apply it, I always thought that having that mentorship would be useful and a useful sounding board, because you've achieved the heights of everything in the world and keep turning towards
1
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 you know, more deeper spiritual realms and aspects.
1
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So to me, that's always been a fascinating thing to learn.
1
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So I recommend, like Russell has in his book and Russell shares in his life.
1
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And what I'm saying is surround yourself with mentors who are experts in different areas.
1
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Don't try and expect your mom or your dad or your best friend to have all the answers.
1
SPEAKER_01
It's not going to work.
1
SPEAKER_02
 Thank you, that was very, very kind.
1
SPEAKER_02
I just want to thank you for your kindness and your acknowledgement there.
1
SPEAKER_02
And I also want to say an important thing for me is recognising people that can, I experience a lot of fear, not thank God as much as I used to, but I still experience fear, anxiety.
1
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And I feel that when turning to someone for help, that I have to be careful to select people that are able to hold fear, people that don't get inflated by it, don't get agitated and fraught.
1
SPEAKER_02
 that can stay, that they're able to hold, contain, hold space for me, you know, I think that's an important thing because otherwise you can escalate that stuff.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, no, that's such a good point actually, that is such a good point.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, even someone that, especially people that love you, they love you so much but if you tell them you're scared, you'll be more scared after and I've definitely experienced that.
1
SPEAKER_01
 So yeah, no, that's a great advice.
1
SPEAKER_01
Let's take one more question for Russell, everyone.
1
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If there's one more question that can't come through.
1
SPEAKER_01
Great.
1
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Lindsay Murphy, thank you so much.
1
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Last question.
1
SPEAKER_01
I want to thank you both for doing this together.
1
SPEAKER_01
I love and I'm inspired by you both.
1
SPEAKER_01
Beautiful human beings.
1
SPEAKER_01
Thank you very much.
1
SPEAKER_01
Do you have a routine or a favorite place to write?
1
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Russell, what is your routine and favorite place to write?
1
SPEAKER_02
 I have to cut off all potential distractions which can be difficult because you're on a laptop so you have access to online so you could be looking up things and sometimes I do need to consult things when I'm writing but I tend to be, I like the idea of sitting at a desk or whatever but the fact is I write best when laying on a bed all propped up.
1
SPEAKER_02
For me is I make sure that I have water and forgive me some caffeine and then I'm on a bed typing on a laptop.
1
SPEAKER_02
That is my routine and ritual and I really love Artists Way, Julia Cameron's book for anyone that's approaching
1
SPEAKER_02
 creative writing project.
1
SPEAKER_01
Russell, I want to say a huge thank you to you for coming on today.
1
SPEAKER_01
I really appreciate this and I really hope that we get to do something in person soon together.
1
SPEAKER_01
It would be so fun to just share space with you and I want to recommend to everyone if you don't already go and subscribe to Russell's podcast Under the Skin.
1
SPEAKER_01
Go and grab a copy of multiple of his books and go follow him on Instagram, Facebook and all social media platforms if you haven't already because you're going to find so
2
SPEAKER_01
 many incredible conversations, insights, the people that he interviews are fascinating, and you always hear his thought process coming through.
2
SPEAKER_01
So please, please, please thank Russell by doing that if you don't listen to him already.
2
SPEAKER_01
And Russell, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
2
SPEAKER_01
I hope that next time I'm in London, we can spend some quality time together and reconnect deeply because I know we've missed each other a few times in the last couple of years.
2
SPEAKER_01
So I really look forward to it.
2
SPEAKER_00
 Jay, I wish you... I'm very grateful to you for your kindness.
2
SPEAKER_00
I wish you all of the best for your path.
2
SPEAKER_00
I won't say proud because it's a word that indicates a type of ownership, but I'm very excited to be on this path with you.
2
SPEAKER_00
Well done, mate.
2
SPEAKER_00
Keep going.
2
SPEAKER_05
 At one of the most famous restaurants in the world, there's a table in the corner where the most incredible conversations on the planet are happening every week with owner Ruthie Rogers and amazing guests like Martha Stewart.
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SPEAKER_05
I did have an affair with one of his best friends.
2
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Jimmy Fallon.
2
SPEAKER_00
You want to zip line over your dad while he gets attacked by alligators.
2
SPEAKER_05
And Paul McCartney.
2
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John and I hitchhiked to Paris.
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 We've saved you a seat.
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Ruthie's Table 4.
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Listen to Ruthie's Table 4 on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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 Guess what, Will?
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What's that, Mango?
2
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I've been trying to write a promo for our podcast, Part-Time Genius, but even though we've done over 250 episodes, we don't really talk about murders or cults.
2
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I mean, we did just cover the Illuminati of cheese, so I feel like that makes us pretty edgy.
2
SPEAKER_03
We also solve mysteries like how Chinese is your Chinese food and how do dollar stores make money?
2
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And then, of course, can you game a dog show?
2
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So what you're saying is everyone should be listening.
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Listen to Part-Time Genius on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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 Discover a new educational and interactive podcast, Stories for Kids by Lingokids.
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We went shape hunting around the block, and we found spheres and cubes on the street.
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