"If I can experience joy, then isn't joy its own excuse for being, isn't that enough of a reason to be alive? And everything I read or heard about people with down syndrome, was that they could experience tremendous amounts of joy. So I chose to keep Adam, but more importantly, I radically shifted the definition of success for myself."-Martha Beck Martha Beck is one of my dearest friends and favorite people. She’s also one of the first people I turn to when I need a boost of inspiration or just someone to talk to about the issues in life that we all face. Like me, I know that so many people - millions of you, actually -  respect and cherish Martha’s voice. That’s why I wanted to share her with you here on “Meaningful Conversations” today. Enjoy. If you’re looking for more inspiration and words of wisdom, then please sign up for my free weekly email newsletter - The Sunday Paper. Visit website mariashriver.com to subscribe.   

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"Biohacking didn't have a definition, that wasn't a word...I created this conference with thousands of people and there's now millions of people will say, "I'm a biohacker. I want control of my own biology." It's now in the dictionary. But that community was partly something that I built because I wanted to be around people who value the things I did...Around this self awareness, around having control of your body so that you can show up the way you want to show up."

-Dave Asprey ​

Dave Asprey is “hacking” the way we think about our health.

 As the CEO and founder of Bulletproof, Dave has made it his mission to reimagine what it means to live well — mentally and physically. 

Dave and his company have been big supporters of my nonprofit The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, and I wanted to sit down with him today for this podcast so that I could share with you his unique perspective on how we can “biohack” our lives and perform and live better each and every day. 

If you’re looking for more inspiration and words of wisdom, then please sign up for my free weekly email newsletter - The Sunday Paper. Visit website mariashriver.com to subscribe. 

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"The minute you can kind of say, wow, the widow, orphan stranger, the folks at the margins, these are my trustworthy guides, I'm going to go there so they can lead me to the kinship. Oh God. Well that's, you've just turned privilege on its head because you're not guiding them or leading them. They're doing that to you."

-Father Greg Boyle

Father Greg Boyle is the Founder and Executive Director of Homeboy Industries and one of my real life heroes. Originally a Los Angeles secret and now a national treasure, I admire pretty much everything about him and his work.

He is a global champion of social justice, a global champion of the divinity in each of us, and a global champion people, in general. He focuses on people who were in gangs and the rehabilitation of that, but larger than that to me, he really cares about the beauty that exists in each and every one of us.

So I want to welcome Father Boyle and we want to sell his book, Barking to the Choir: The power of Radical Kinship. Listen in to hear what radical Kinship is, how to get involved with social justice and help your fellow human being.

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"My meaning in life has been changing suffering, into connection...Whatever we go through as human beings, realizing we're not alone and helping other people realize they're not alone." ​

-Sharon Salzberg​

Sharon Salzberg is someone I have admired for quite some time. She is one of America’s preeminent voices on meditation, and her work and practices are beloved by many.

 Sharon herself came to meditation after a childhood of loss and turmoil. Meditation helped her overcome suffering and set her on this path to help others heal from its transformational powers as well. 

She is the author of ten books, including “Real Happiness” and “Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection,” and today, Sharon talks with me about the concept of loving-kindness and how we can offer it to ourselves and others in these tumultuous times​

If you’re looking for more inspiration and words of wisdom, then please sign up for my free weekly email newsletter - The Sunday Paper. Visit website mariashriver.com to subscribe.

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"There's this fire sometimes inside you that you have to grab down deep. And it is literally like talking to yourself...Like, 'pull yourself off the floor....what am I going to do proactively today to move forward, to progress forward?' And if I get turned away again at another bank...I'm just going to go to another one, and I'm going to go to another one, and I'm going to go to another one...And I think it's that tenacity of I'm not going to give up." ​-Kendra Scott

Kendra Scott is a mom turned millionaire, and her success story is pretty amazing. Back in 2002, Kendra started her own jewelry line in her spare bedroom. Today, it’s a multimillion dollar company with close to 100 stores across the United States and even one in the UK.

Kendra is self-made in every sense of the word, which is why I asked her to join me on stage at South By Southwest recently for a conversation about balancing female entrepreneurship with being a mom — all while giving back doing good along the way. Kendra’s story inspired me, and I hope it inspires you today as well.

 If you’re looking for more inspiration and words of wisdom, then please sign up for my free weekly email newsletter - The Sunday Paper. Visit website mariashriver.com to subscribe.

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"If you want love, change one thing, how much you believe you're worth. Then, you will find love."

-Marisa Peer

I am enough. Three simple words that we don’t tell are selves nearly as often as we should. Bestselling author and therapist Marisa Peer is determined to help us change that. She says if we turn the mirror on ourselves and start saying “I am enough”—then we can build the strength and the confidence to change our entire lives. ​

I’m excited that I got to sit down with her for a Meaningful Conversation and look forward to you hearing what she has to say.

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"I think the thing that hits me the most is: I didn't think about, you know, how strong I came across for so long. I just thought there's all these other sides of me that everybody must automatically know about...But there was only one side of me I was showing on like say, Chelsea Lately, my old old TV show, and I realize how one dimensional that was...So it's nice to take into account how I come across and to be softer and to shut up and not to insert myself every time there's an opportunity. So for me, I need to always dial it down...I've made a career out of dialing it up...So I would like to get real, you know, instead of that bluster...I want to get real and have conversations like this, and yeah, I feel good about it."

-Chelsea Handler

Chelsea Handler is one funny lady. That’s a fact. But these days, she’s more than just a comedian. Chelsea is also someone who’s spent the past year getting super honest and super real about her role on this planet and what it really means to live a meaningful life. Chelsea documents her year of self-discovery in her new book Life Will Be the Death of Me: . . . and You Too! We recently met up for a fun and thought-provoking conversation about her life these days and how she’s worked to make changes to who she is and how she lives her life. If you’re looking for more inspiration and words of wisdom, then please sign up for my free weekly email newsletter - The Sunday Paper. Visit website mariashriver.com to subscribe.

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"Everybody wants to be brave, but no one wants to be vulnerable...Courage doesn't exist without vulnerability."

-Brene Brown

Brené Brown wants to help you choose “Courage over comfort.”

She has spent the past two decades of her life researching and writing about courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. She’s got five New York Times bestselling books, including her latest Dare to Lead. She’s also the brains behind one of the most popular TED Talks ever, titled “The Power of Vulnerability.” Now, Brené also has her first Netflix Special “A Call to Courage,” in which she calls for us to choose courage over comfort in a culture that’s defined by scarcity, fear and uncertainty.

I recently got to sit down with Brené and we enjoyed an engaging and thought-provoking conversation about empathy, belonging and human connection. Her message always inspires me to lean into the uncomfortable parts of life and find the courage I need to show up and show my true self. I hope her message today will inspire you to do the same.

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"And she said to me, "How would you like to be my friend?" I looked at her and I started to cry. I said, "I really don't have no friends," and she went in her purse, She got a little card and it says Special Olympics...And says, "I want you to write me." I said, "I can't write that good. You won't be able to understand." She said, "Don't worry about it. I want you to write me. I want you to be my friend." And we start coordinating back and forth...writing back and forth...I said, "Well, Mrs. Shriver..." she looked at me and says, "You don't call me Mrs. Shriver. You call me Eunice, you understand? We're friends​.'"

 -Loretta Claiborne

If you’re looking for some real inspiration in your life, look no further than Loretta Claiborne.  Loretta is someone I’ve known and admired for quite some time. She is a world-class runner, a gifted motivational speaker – and, just so happens to be a Special Olympics athlete and a person with an intellectual disability.  Get this, she’s also received two honorary doctorate degrees; completed 26 marathons; received the 1996 ESPY Award-Arthur Ashe Award for Courage; has a 4th degree black belt in karate; and was inducted into the Women in Sports Hall of Fame and the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Hall of Fame.  Loretta also appeared twice on the Oprah show, communicates in four languages and is fluent in American sign language.  I mean WOW.  Loretta is a woman who has NEVER let her disability hold her back. And her mission is to inspire the rest of us to reach our full potential as well, and not let limitations in life hold us back.  I recently caught up with Loretta at the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi and I am so thrilled this morning that I get to share her voice here with you today. ​  If you’re looking for more inspiration and words of wisdom, then please sign up for my free weekly email newsletter - The Sunday Paper. Visit website mariashriver.com to subscribe. 

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"It was hard-earned and not the easiest thing to do, and something really drastic had to come along to say, 'Wake up! Like, come on. You know, you're working seven days a week and you're taking care of everybody. What are you doing for Tina?' And it was very little."

-Tina Knowles Lawson

I’m so delighted this morning to share with you one of my favorite moms to talk to – Ms. Tina Knowles Lawson. Tina is the mom of two incredible daughters who you’ve probably heard of -- Beyonce and Solange Knowles. While her daughters’ careers have exploded before the public eye, Tina has always been there behind the scenes helping to make sure her daughters were properly managed, cared for and supported along the way. I always find my conversations with Ms. Tina – as we like to call her – to be insightful when it comes to exploring what it means to be a mom, how to raise strong women, and how to maintain your own voice and identity along the way.​

If you’re looking for more inspiration and words of wisdom, then please sign up for my free weekly email newsletter - The Sunday Paper. Visit website mariashriver.com​ to subscribe.

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"I think because I've always defined myself since I was 12 years old as a child of God...That is what gives me self worth. Not Emmy Awards, not Tony nominations, not Grammy nominations. All of those things I've experienced, and they're lovely...But ultimately, at the end of a lifetime, it's, 'Who do you belong to? Whose image are you made in?' Because this life we live right here is temporal."​

-Kathie Lee Gifford

Kathie Lee Gifford is a dear friend and someone whose career I've watched with admiration for many, many years. This week is her last at the today show, and while I'll be sad to lose her as a colleague, I'm super excited for her to embark on this next really creative chapter of her life.

I wanted to sit down with her for meaningful conversations because we have some of the most meaningful conversations early in the morning in the makeup room on the today show. And I got to thinking that most people don't get to see the Kathie Lee Gifford that I get to see early in the morning, the one who wakes up and talks about family and that talks about the Bible and who memorizes all of these verses and who's a really multifaceted person, who kind of has these ideas and barrels through and makes them reality.

So I wanted you to hear from her directly. And even though she's leaving the today show, she's not going to leave our consciousness. Enjoy!

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