Good Life Project - Dr. Tererai Trent: Reigniting Dreams and Empowering Women.

Episode Date: October 16, 2017

Dr. Tererai Trent is an internationally acclaimed voice for women’s empowerment and education.Hailed by Oprah Winfrey as her “all-time favorite guest,” Dr. Trent is an inspiring and dynamic scholar, educator, humanitarian, speaker, author, and the founder of Tererai International.Born in a small village with no electricity or running water in Zimbabwe (then, Rhodesia), she was married in her early teens as was the custom, had four children by age 18 and suffered repeated physical abuse from her husband.Still, she dreamed of a different reality, one that would break the generations-long cycle of poverty, early-marriage, illiteracy and disempowerment. Against all odds, she worked for 8 years to get her GED, and eventually earned a spot in college in the United States, taking her family with her, where some 20 years after beginning her dream of an education, she received her Ph.D..It was her secret additional dream to not only change her life, but to do something for the greater good that turned this into an even bigger story. Trent's story ended up in the pages of the New York Times, where Oprah Winfrey discovered her remarkable story and deeply-passionate quest to help educate women. Oprah offered to partner with Tererai to return to Zimbabwe and build a series of schools that are now raising thousands out of poverty and giving them an education and the life-changing opportunities that go along with it.Dr. Trent’s gripping story is both the topic of today's podcast, and is detailed her deeply-moving new book, The Awakened Woman – Remembering & Reigniting Our Sacred DreamsRockstar Sponsors:Thrive Market: Get $60 of FREE organic groceries + free shipping and a 30-day trial atthrivemarket.com/goodlife.RXBAR Kids is a snack bar made with high-quality, real ingredients designed specifically for kids. It contains 7 grams of protein and has zero added sugar and no gluten, soy or dairy. Find at Target stores OR for 25% off your first order, visit RXBAR.com/goodlife.Are you hiring? Do you know where to post your job to find the best candidates? Unlike other job sites, ZipRecruiter doesn’t depend on candidates finding you; it finds them. And right now, GLP listeners can post jobs on ZipRecruiter for FREE, That’s right. FREE! Just go to ZipRecruiter.com/good.Audible has the best audiobook performances, the largest library, and the most exclusive content. Learn more, start your 30-day trial and get your first Audible book free, go to Audible.com/goodlife.MVMT Watches (pronounced Movement) was founded on the belief that style shouldn’t break the bank. Classic design, quality construction and styled minimalism. Get 15% off today —WITH FREE SHIPPING and FREE RETURNS—by going to MVMT.com/good.Support for this podcast comes from abc, presenting “Kevin Probably Saves the World”, the new drama that will change the way you feel…about the Universe. New episodes every Tuesday at 10/9 Central on abc. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My great-grandmother, when she was born, she was born into this relay, holding this stick, which I call the baton. This is the baton of poverty, the baton of oppression from a colonial system, the baton of illiteracy, the baton of early marriage. And she's running with that baton. She runs so fast, she hands it over to my grandmother. My grandmother holds that baton of poverty, early marriage. She runs so fast with that baton. She hands it to my mother. My mother grabs that baton. She runs with that baton and she hands it over to me. And I'm running with that baton, ready to hand it over to my own girls when this woman, this stranger comes to me and I feel like she said, hold on, you don't have to hand over this baton. You can believe in your dreams. So it's difficult to describe how moving the conversation was with today's guest, Dr. Tererai Trent.

She grew up in a small village in what we now call Zimbabwe, at a time where women and girls were completely excluded from education, from participating in business and commerce, and somehow found the will to what she calls no longer accept the baton of illiteracy and oppression, and committed herself to a series of dreams that by all accounts, so many people would have seen as impossible. And there were moments, critical moments along the way that allowed her to rise up, to reclaim her ownership of education, and to eventually bring her entire family to the United States for her to pursue a college degree, a master's, and eventually a PhD, and then turn around and harness all of that for, in her words, the greater good,

and end up partnering actually with Oprah Winfrey to build schools that now have educated thousands back in Zimbabwe. Such a moving, stunning, empowering story. She's also the author of a really beautiful new book called The Awakened Women, Remembering and Reigniting Our Sacred Dreams. So excited to share this conversation with you. I'm Jonathan Fields, and this is Good Life Project. The Apple Watch Series 10 is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist,

whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch, getting you 8 hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X. Available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone Xs are later required. Charge time and actual results will vary.

If you're at a point in life when you're ready to lead with purpose, we can get you there. The University of Victoria's MBA in Sustainable Innovation is not like other MBA programs. It's for true changemakers who want to think differently and solve the world's most pressing challenges. From healthcare and the environment to energy, government, and technology, it's your path to meaningful leadership in all sectors. For details, visit uvic.ca slash futuremba. That's uvic.ca slash futuremba. Mayday, mayday. We've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were going to be fun.

On January 24th. Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. You know what the difference between me and you is? You're going to die. Don't shoot him, we need him. Y'all need a pilot? Flight risk.

It's so good to be spending some time with you this morning. Thank you. I would love to take a step back in time with you. Yes. You grew up in, from what I understand, a small village in Zimbabwe. Tell me about life there. You know, the country used to be known as Rhodesia because we were colonized by the British. And then later on, now today, it is Zimbabwe. So I grew up in the northern parts of the country amongst the Korekore people. So it's your rural village with your huts and

no electricity, no running water. Even up to now, we live with no electricity and running water. The area was known for its tsetse fly, the disease that ravaged livestock, and it wasn't suitable for human beings to live there. But unfortunately, because of the colonial system, our ancestors ended up being pushed to live in those areas. But growing up was very interesting for me because I grew up with my grandmother, my mother, and all these women. And after all the chores had been done in the evening, I would find myself with other many girls in the village sitting around an open fire. And it was during the time of the war, the war that liberated my country. And when there is, you know, the moon is shining and the gunfires are far away, we would find ourselves listening to these great stories around the fire. And my grandmother and

both my grandmother and my mother were such storytellers. There were stories that has remained with me even up to this very day. Despite the poverty and the war, I grew up in a very rich cultural setting. It's interesting, as you just sort of recounted that to me Your eyes were closed for most of that As if you were back there as you were sharing it Yes, yes, yes It takes me back there because it's a place that I love and I still do

But as I close my mind I have to see my grandmother I have to see my mother because they are no longer here. And I get that energy from my ancestors and I just appreciate growing in that kind of wisdom. But it was also a tough time for me and for many women because many women were illiterate and even up to now many are still illiterate. But the desire for an education was always there and I remember the very first time that I realized that I needed education so badly was when this freedom fighter who was amongst these fighters came to our community.

And I remember the man standing up and holding this gun that they called the AK-47, whatever. And as he's holding that gun, and he said, do you know why we are colonized and why the colonial system denies black people education? And I was very young and I could hear the elders going, mm, mm. And he said, to educate is to empower.

To empower is to liberate. And to liberate is to enable individuals to have their dignity. And I could hear the women ululating to that. And then I could also realize that as we were in the war, most of the men left the village. They had to go and work and some they joined the freedom movement. And the women who remained their only source of communication with their husbands was the letters that would come to the village to the women who could not read those letters. And my aunt that I talk about in the book, my Aunt Chida, she would ask me, I was around six or seven years old, to accompany her to find a reader for her letters. So we would go

up north and we find this young man by the river and he would read the letter. And my aunt, somehow, she wanted someone else to read the letter. She didn't believe that. So we would go to a second person and they would read the letter. And my aunt would still say, well, I need a third person. You know, after I did my PhD, I thought, you know, I did lots of statistics. And I thought, well, you know, when they talk about a triangulation of your data, my aunt was validating the data. But what was painful for me was by the time we go back home to the community, every Jake and Jill knew the contents of those letters. It broke my heart. I cried to my mother and I said, Mother, I don't want anybody, I don't want anyone to read my letters. Because I could listen to these intimate details between the two lovers being discussed openly.

And my aunt, you could see her being demeaned every time. It just broke my heart. You know, I come from a long line of generations of women, women who had been married very young before they could define their own dreams. I always talk about my great-grandmother. She became the fifth wife to my great-grandfather. And it was a polygamous relationship. She was very young. And my grandmother would go through the same process as my mother. And so by the time I was 18 myself, I was a mother of four.

One of the children died as an infant because I could not produce enough milk. And it took me a long time even to talk about my dead child. I would always say I was a mother of three. It haunted me to talk about that child. I was a child myself. And then, soon after independence, a woman from America came to my community. Her name is Jo Lack, and she worked for Heifer International. But during that time, I didn't even know she worked for Heifer International but during that time I didn't

even know she worked for Heifer International and she found me with several other women sitting in a circle and she asked one question, what dreams. I'm supposed to think about my life as something of value. And she kept on asking. And I opened my mouth and I said, I want to have an education. I want to have a BSc, which is an undergraduate. I want to have a master's. I want to have a PhD. And I had known about these degrees because as we gained independence, all of a sudden there were these foreigners who were coming to do research and even the local university from the capital city, they were were coming to do research, and even the local university from the capital city,

they were now coming to do research. And I would hear the words BSc, Bachelor of Science, Masters, PhD. And I could see these women, they had a kind of freedom as they talked about these things, and especially the Western women. They would always be wearing spectacles. And they would always be pulling into their backpack papers and putting on those spectacles and read and remove those spectacles and look at each other. And I thought, I want those classes. I thought wearing spectacles was a sign of education.

So when I told Jola that I needed to have this decrease, she looked at me and she said, if you desire these dreams and you work hard, you can achieve your dreams. And she used the word tinogona in my language, which is, it is achievable. And I just looked at her. Jolak had no idea that here I was expecting my fifth child, and I had no high school diploma. How can she just say, it is achievable?

I felt inspired. I felt an awakening in me that another human being can just look right into my eyes and see something that I was not seeing, can see beyond my poverty, beyond my oppression. And I ran to my mother and I said, Mother, I met someone who made me believe in my dreams. My mother said, Tererai, if you believe in what this stranger has said to you and you achieve your dreams, not only are you going to define who you are as a woman, but you are also defining every life that came out of your womb and generations to come. I had no idea what my mother was saying,

but I realized in that moment that my mother was handing me an inheritance. She wanted me to break this cycle, this vicious cycle of poverty that runs so deep in my community, so deep in my family. And later on, I also realized that my great-grandmother, when she was born, she was born into this relay, holding this stick, which I call the baton. This is the baton of poverty, the baton of oppression from a colonial system, the baton of illiteracy, the baton of early marriage. And she's running with that baton. She runs so fast, she hands it over to my grandmother. My grandmother holds that baton of poverty, early marriage.

She runs so fast with that baton. She hands it to my mother. My mother grabs that baton. She runs with that baton, and she hands it over to me. And I'm running with that baton, ready to hand it over to my own girls. When this woman, this stranger comes to me, and I feel like she said, hold on. You don't have to hand over this baton. You can believe in your dreams.

So when I told my mother, I think it was music to hear on eyes, and my mother said to me, Tererai, you have to write down those dreams and bury them the same way we bury the umbilical cord. I come from a culture where when a child is born, they snip the birth cord or the umbilical cord. They take the mother's old dress and they cut a small piece. They tie that umbilical cord into that piece of cloth and they bury the contents of the umbilical cord deep down into the soil, into the ground, with the belief that when this child grows, wherever they go, whatever happens in their life, the umbilical cord will always remind them of their birthplace. So my mother said, bury your dreams deep down into the ground, wherever you go, despite the abuse in your own life, the beatings that you receive from your husband, despite all Those buried dreams will always remind you of their importance.

So I wrote down, I want to go to America, one. I want to have an undergraduate, two. I want to have a master's, three. I want to have a PhD, four. And I was ready to go and bury my dreams. I was happy. I wanted to see those dreams grow. And my mother said, read back your dreams.

And when I did, she said something so profound that I think in many ways has shaped my life. She said, Tererai, your dreams will have greater meaning when they are tied to the betterment of your community. Holy moly. And I'm looking at my mother, what does that even mean? And she repeated the same thing. Your dreams will have greater meaning when they are tied to the betterment of your community. So I ended up writing my fifth dream.

When I'm done with my education, I want to come back and improve the lives of women and girls in my community so they don't have to go through what I had gone through. And I buried my dreams. It took me eight years to achieve my O-levels, which is the equivalent of GED. I didn't have a high school diploma. Because at that time, women generally had no access to education. Yes, and because of the war and the oppression and all these things.

During that eight-year window, what kept you saying, this must happen? The bearing of my dreams and the wisdom that surrounded me and the realization that my mother allowed me to reflect on my past. In many ways, she was awakening me. And when I talk about the book, I talk about an awakened woman is one who knows the depth of her background, who knows the depth of her wounds, who knows the depth of her cry. And so I knew that. I was hardly 21, and I was expecting my 60 child. What was going to happen to these children? And that realization alone, it broke my heart. But with the brokenness of my heart, something in me started rising to realize that I needed to change my life.

I needed to hand over a different baton than the one that I was carrying on. So when I achieved my high school diploma, I was accepted at Oklahoma State University. But during that time also, I started working for some non-profits because Zimbabwe, as we gained our independence, the donor community were coming in with the empowerment of messages, wanting women to be empowered, to be educated. So I got these small jobs, but they helped me. I remember my first job was cleaning the floors of, there was this bus company and I used to clean the floors. The bus, the conductors and the bus drivers would pass through and have their breakfast and their dinner and I would wash the dishes and I would clean and it's cleaning on your knees with a dirty rug and getting,

you know, a little bit for the family. And then later on, as the NGOs were promoting more women, I started doing what they call savings clubs, gathering women together and saving the little pennies that we had so that we could access more resources from the government institutions. And I saved every bit of my money. Afraid my husband would find it and I would always find someone to keep my money, my sisters, my sisters-in-law, and everybody rallied around me. I was surrounded by women, and I always talk about I stand on the shoulders of giants. I stand on the shoulders of other women. And so when I finally came to the U.S., I did my undergraduate in agriculture, and then my master's in plant pathology, which is the same branch as agriculture.

And I came with five children to the U.S. It was hard. I was an international student with no access to scholarship. I used to work three jobs in taking care of the children. And my husband was able to come with the condition that that's the only way I can bring my children. Because that time, women, you could not just go to the passport office and apply for passports for your children. And to get a visa, you needed a passport. And he needed to endorse those papers. And he had refused. And I was already done with him, but I could not imagine leaving my children because I knew if I leave the children behind,

especially the girls, they were more likely to get married young. So I sacrificed to bring him here, and unfortunately he continued to be abusive. But thank goodness the police caught him beating me, and he ended up being asked to go home. So I remained to finish my master's. If you're at a point in life when you're ready to lead with purpose, we can get you there. The University of Victoria's MBA in Sustainable Innovation is not like other MBA programs. It's for true changemakers who want to think differently and solve the world's most pressing challenges.

From healthcare and the environment to energy, government, and technology, it's your path to meaningful leadership in all sectors. For details, visit uvic.ca slash future MBA. That's uvic.ca slash future MBA. The Apple Watch Series 10 is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch,

getting you eight hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X, available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone Xs are later required. Charge time and actual results will vary. Mayday, mayday. We've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman.

I knew you were going to be fun. On January 24th. Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. You know what the difference between me and you is? You're going to die. Don't shoot him, we need him. Y'all need a pilot.

Flight risk. So while you're here, though, you end up alone with five children in a foreign country, going to school and then trying to support your family at the same time. That must have been incredibly difficult. It was difficult. But, you know, I would listen to stories of inspiration. I would think of the place that I had buried my dreams, and I would envision those dreams throbbing, inviting me to say, you need to achieve your dreams.

That kept me going. Because there was a time we ran out of food, and I went to the university and I said, this is too much. I can't go on. I can't see my own children. We live in a trailer house and we have nothing. And the university, there was this guy who was the vice president of the university, Dr. Ron Beer. He took me to a local store and begged the store to give me fruits. He said, you guys, at the end of the day, at times you have fruits that are going bad and vegetables.

Please, please give this woman so she can feed her children. I remember the manager saying, we can't do that in this country. If we give you these fruits and vegetables, and if anything happens to you after consuming them, we can't do that in this country if we give you these fruits and vegetables. And if anything happens to you after consuming them, you might end up suing us. And I said, I have no time to sue anyone. So he said, OK, here is an arrangement that we can make. Four o'clock, make sure you come here.

I'm not going to hand you the fruits and vegetables. We are going to put them in a cardboard box. We place that box near the trash can. Come pick your cardboard box and go home. Well, I used to take 16, 17, 18 hours of coursework taking care of five children. 90% of the time I was late to that cardboard box and I would find the cardboard box in the trash can. I would retrieve the cardboard box in the trash can. I would retrieve

the cardboard box from the trash can, wash the vegetables and fruits and feed my children and ask myself, who am I even to complain that my own children, they are eating from a trash can, food from a trash can. When I know there are thousands, if not millions, of children in Africa who are living on the streets eating from dirty trash cans? Who am I? And who am I even to complain that I live in a trailer house? We have no electricity at times. Who am I? We don't have an air conditioner. Who am I when I know there are thousands and hundreds of women, even here in America, who live on the streets and at times they live in shelter homes? Those thoughts grounded me, helped me to realize in the grand scheme of things, I can see at the end of the tunnel.

I can see the light. What were the ages of your children around then? Ah, they were very young. I had a nine-year-old, seven-year-old, five, and almost 12 months old. And there was, the oldest boy was almost 16. Yeah. Yeah. What was it like? Because for you, it's incredibly disruptive, but you know in your heart, you know your dream, you know why, and you've accepted, you say, this is the journey that I'm on, I am intentional in the decisions that I'm making, and I'm willing to accept this extraordinary change. I'm curious how

your kids received this change too. It was hard for the kids. I remember they were going to schools, and they wanted also nice things. We are in America. Right, because they're exposed to a completely different world and culture. Yes, they wanted all that. And I remember my 16-year-old at that time, his name is Tsunga. He was named by my mother, which means perseverance, as though to prepare him to say, you have to persevere. And I remember my son crying and saying, Mother, this is just too much for us. Look at the kids.

Mom, we can go back home. It's okay. We can go back home. And I would look back at my son and my daughter and I would say, please, can you say we can do this? I want you to carry this dream with me, please. And I would beg and my kids and we are all crying. And my son was very sensitive and he would say, okay, mom, we can do this. We can do this. And you know what? The struggles were there, but there was hope for us. We were in a different country, a country of opportunities. We could compare ourselves with the people that we had left home

and we knew we were in a better place. And I had to ingrain my children and I had to tell them the stories of the generations of women before me. They had to be grounded in that. There's something beautiful when we tell our own children our vulnerability without burdening them and also by giving them a glimpse of hope. I wanted them to hold on to that hope. And I would always tell my children that

here is how I am defining myself. I am a dreamer. I am the mistress of my own destiny I am refusing to let the past define who I am I defied the rules and norms of my culture. I refuse to keep silent about societal expectations that marginalize women at the expense of their dignity. And I refuse to keep silent. But you know, you would also ask,

but why would I defy all those things? I had great hunger, hunger for a meaningful life in my life. And I always talk about there are two kinds of hungers in our lives. There is the little hunger. The little hunger is always looking, how many clicks did I get on Facebook. The little hunger is seeking for immediate gratification. The little hunger is seeking for fame and celebrity. But the great hunger, the greatest of all hungers,

as I was taught by my mother and my grandmother, is hunger for a meaningful life. Ultimately, as human beings, we become bitter, and especially women, when we lead a life without meaning. And I wanted education. I wanted to hand over a different baton to my children. So when I graduated with my master's and I realized I could not go on with my PhD,

I needed to take a break. I needed to take a break. I needed to work. And so I got my first job with Heifer International. My first trip was to go home and I went to the place that I had buried my dreams and I dug those dreams up. And I checked going to America, undergraduate, master's, and I folded that paper and reburied my dreams because I could see I still needed to achieve the PhD and the

fifth dream that I call the sacred dream. Because when my mother said it wasn't about my personal goals it was about how those personal goals are connected to the greater good. I came back enrolled myself at Western Michigan University and achieved my PhD almost 20 years from the day I had buried my dreams. I found myself walking onto that podium to receive that paper that now says, Tererai, you are a PhD holder. In many ways, I felt like a lawyer who had closed her case. I felt this energy rising in me. If we give education opportunities

to those who are torn down and marginalized by the social ills of our time, they can achieve their dreams. If we give education opportunities to women and girls, I think it is the best investment any country could do, any society could do. And now I have my PhD. You would think I'm happy.

No, I kept on thinking about that fifth dream, and I kept on saying, Dear Mother, why did you make me write that fifth dream? Why can't I just enjoy this life? Well, then I thought of an idea. When Jolak came to the village, she used the word Tinogona, which means it is achievable. So I said, I'm going to design my t-shirts. I'm going to have Tinogona on my t-shirts and it is achievable on the same t-shirts. And I'm going to sell many t-shirts. Get enough money. Go back home like a giant, like an awakened woman and show everybody in the village that women can make a difference. I wanted to build schools. I wanted to have women empowered. Unfortunately, I only sold 20 T-shirts, and mostly to my American friends.

I was devastated. Then I got a phone call, the most memorable phone call of my life, a call from Oprah Winfrey. And she donated $1.5 million. How was she even aware of you at that point? I'm curious. Nicholas Kristof. The article that you wrote, right? Yes, yes, yes, yes. So she wanted to meet me and gosh, gosh, I could not believe it.

And then I realized my mother and my grandmother, growing up, they were priming my subconscious for success. And I realized that if I had not taken that step to believe in that fifth dream. And I call that fifth dream the sacred dream, the dream of giving back to others. I don't think Oprah would have donated that 1.5 million. I don't think she would have even known about me. So today we have 11 schools going on with more than 6,000 children, both girls and boys, going through those schools. We have a community library. The schools are in the rural areas where poverty is prevalent, but we are managing to educate school and go to university. No, they would go from grade one, drop off grade seven,

drop off or form to grade eight. But today we have students that are in universities. We have one student, MacDonald, he's doing a graduate program in business management at one of the most beautiful universities in my country, the University of Zimbabwe. Despite the economic challenges that we are facing, but he is there. We have a student doing medicine at the University of Algeria. We have girls that are excelling and if we get more funding then we could have more. So I sat down and reflect about all these things and I said I am not taking credit to all these things because I stand on shoulders of many. And I also realized, gosh, I need to write a book, The Awakened Woman, reigniting our dreams. And weave my own story with the stories of many

other women that I had met in my life. Because there are so many women who at one time were forgotten. Their dreams were forgotten. They were silenced. But they managed to rise. And so I'm saying, the rising of women is the awakening of everybody. The silencing of one woman is our silencing.

We need to reignite the world to believe in the power of women. We cannot live in a society where women are marginalized. We cannot live in a society where we have even leadership, men leadership, who can say dirty things about women, and we just watch it. We cannot do that. The healing of this world is in the hands of women. We need to recognize that.

And it's a conversation about women, but not just among women. We need to recognize that. And it's a conversation about women, but not just among women. It's a conversation that I think where we all have to be a part of that conversation. Yes. And it's not even really just about women, because it's about empowering women and girls, but at the same time, it is about, using your language, the greater good. Exactly. Because we live in a society where most of the corporation jobs,

the big jobs, are held by men. And yet, women are so smart, so gifted. It's a resource that we are losing. So when we educate women, we are also empowering men as well. We become a whole society. We are part of this planet. The Native Americans have taught us one thing. Humankind has not woven the web of life.

We are one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we are doing it to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things are connected. Our very survival as men and as women is bound to the survival of other men and women and other societies. The Apple Watch Series X is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch, getting you eight hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X. Available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum.

Compared to previous generations, iPhone XS or later required, charge time and actual results will vary. Mayday, mayday. We've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were going to be fun. On January 24th. Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg.

You know what the difference between me and you is? You're going to die. Don't shoot him, we need him. Y'all need a pilot. Flight Risk. One of the things I'm always curious about is moments, single moments in time where everything changes. And on an even more granular level, people in those moments. I've seen so many beautiful, empowered stories of people

where there was a single moment where somebody who was meaningful in their life said yes, and everything changed. And as you speak, I'm sure there were so many for you, but what sort of jumped out so clearly to me is the moment where you shared with your mother. Yeah. And instead of saying, no, no, Tara, that's not for you, she said, yes. Yes, yes. And I always, I think in my mind moments like that.

What if this one person who had said no. Yes. like that. What if this one person who had said no, you know, but just the understanding that this was the moment of yes. Yes. And that moment of yes can build a nation. My mother, when she said yes, she realized that baton that I was talking about you know all these women that I described in my life they had been married and exchanged for a cow I was and my mother would say and you'd read it in the book we marry these young girls and young women and we say we marry and we exchange them with a cow and we say it's part of our culture. It will improve our culture. But in reality, when you reflect these women and girls that are exchanged for cows,

they still remain in poverty. And the next generation comes in and exchanged for cows and married young without education. And the cycle continues. We have to stop that. And so when she said yes to me, it was, we need to break the cycle. She saw the potential in me and gave me my own awakening platform. I always say, when we sometimes say, this person empowered me, I always say, no, nobody empowered anyone.

People create platforms of empowerment so that we step into those platforms to empower ourselves. And I think that that's what my mother did to me. And the many women and men who looked straight into my eyes and saw something that I wasn't seeing and created that platform. Yes, it's a platform. A very big platform. We need more of that. Thank you. Yeah, I think so too. I really do. Yeah. Tell me, what does your life look like now? Wow. You know, it's quite interesting. At times, I pinch myself, especially when I get, there was a time I got invited to speak at the United Nations to give a keynote, and I've done two of those.

I had to go to the bathroom and just, is this real? I speak all over the world. I get invited to speak, and I'm asking, is this real? But one thing that comes clear to me is the word opportunity. If we give others opportunity, recognizing the human potential, without judging, we could have done more.

We could do more for humankind. Because right now I feel, even when I'm walking, I feel dignity. I do. And I talk about women and men creating these circles of what I call Sawira circles. The Sawira relationship is fluid. It's women coming together and recognizing the strength of their collectiveness, recognizing the yes platform that we can create for one another. If we can do that for each other, give back.

And many have asked me, how do I tap into my great hunger? I always talk about, ask yourself, what breaks your heart? In that moment of brokenness, where you feel your heart breaking because of a circumstance, a situation, there are two things that happen in your life in those moments. It's either you feel overwhelmed and give up or you feel a stirring in you. Look at the chaos that we are going through in America.

I don't live in this country. I now live in Zimbabwe, and I came just three weeks. And then to realize we have hurricanes going on, and now we have the shootings in Las Vegas. In those moments of our brokenness as a nation, people are coming together. There is an awakening in them. So what breaks your heart?

That question alone should stir that awakening in you. It is in the times of our vulnerability that we gain, we see that great hunger in us. Adversity is a gift. I would not trade my life for any other. It strengthened me and made me realize that I'm not a victim. I'm part of the solution. I think tapping into hunger is a powerful part of, it becomes a motivating force. Oh, yeah.

The other side is somehow finding the ability to believe that a different reality is possible. Exactly. And I think that's where so many of us stumble. Yeah. Because we don't, either we don't see it, or if we see it, we just look at it and we say, how is that even possible? And I think in my case, I was very fortunate because I grew up with these wisdom women, surrounded by their wisdom and practicing rituals. Rituals that would ground who I am.

I talk about rituals all the time. I write about rituals. I breathe rituals. They give me that groundedness to be rooted in who I am and to define who I want to be. Through those rituals, they awaken me. Many institutions, they have rituals. They have the pointers to their faith. Without faith, we perish.

Without hope, we are nothing. We have to be hopeful. When did you actually return to Zimbabwe to live? Oh, I've been in Zimbabwe now. It's now eight months. I waited because I wanted to see my last born graduating from high school and going to college. So she's now in college here in California. And I have a daughter, she's in Oklahoma. She graduated with a mechanical engineering degree. And I have another one. She's at Western Michigan University where she's doing biomedical sciences. So I wanted to win my kids for me to be able to go back. And as soon as my last one graduated, I pecked my bags and I said,

home, where I left my umbilical cord. And that's where I am. Do you feel like they'll at some point return as well? Or do you feel like they're more rooted in the United States now? You know, we all have choices. I tell my kids that we came to the United States for an education, for opportunities and experiences. It's up to you if you want to go back. But I always hear some of them saying, I want to go home. Mom, I'm coming. The one who is doing biomedical sciences, she says, Mom, remember, I'm going to be a doctor. And I said, well, in my old age, maybe I can come to your hospital and maybe you could take care of me. I don't know. But I see that. I see that. I'm not going to force them to say, you come home.

You know, they have to make their own choices. But I would love my children to come back, especially my grandchildren, because I want to hand over that tin can that I had buried a long time ago to one of my great-grandkids. Yes. How does it feel to you knowing that the baton that was passed from generation to generation to generation to you is no longer being passed on to any more generations in your family and in so many other families now that you have had that effect on? You know, it feels great, but there are no guarantees that the baton will not retain.

And that's the reason why I wrote this book, The Awakening of Women, reminding women that we need never to be complacent. This is a journey for us. If we want to change the world, we better start by changing ourselves, defining our own narratives. So my children, they know that. I tell them, I said, you might drop the ball, but I always want you to know I worked so hard, but I don't want you to feel guilty about it

because we have to accept mistakes in life. We have to accept things that might happen. But this seed that has been planted will always remain, reminding you, reminding us that we are on a journey. We can't drop this ball. So as we sit here in this beautiful conversation, container is a good life project. So if I offer out the phrase to you, to live a good life, what comes up?

If you ask me to live a good life, is that, can you ask in different ways? Yeah. When you think about what it means to live on the planet well, what does that mean to you? What does that look like to you? It means to feel whole, to have that dignity. That's good life for me. To realize that I have the same rights as anyone else. To realize I have a space here on earth that's good life. And never to fear that someone is going to oppress me or oppress my neighbor. And to realize that I can be a force for good, that's good life. Yeah. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. If the stories and ideas in any way moved you, I would so appreciate if you would take just a few extra seconds for two quick things. One, if it's touched you in some way, if there's some idea or moment in the story or in the conversation that you really feel like you would share with somebody else, that it would make a difference in somebody else's lives.

Take a moment and whatever app you're using, just share this episode with somebody who you think it'll make a difference for. Email it if that's the easiest thing, whatever is easiest for you. And then of course, if you're compelled, subscribe so that you can stay a part of this continuing experience. My greatest hope with this podcast is not just to produce moments and share stories and ideas that impact one person listening, Thank you so much, as always, for your attention, for your attention, for your heart. That's when real change happens. And I would love to invite you to participate on that level. Thank you so much, as always, for your intention, for your attention, for your heart. And I wish you only the best. I'm Jonathan Fields, signing off for Good Life Project. The Apple Watch Series X is here. It has the biggest display ever.

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