All That Matters

Sometimes experiences shape every aspect of who we become and others never know it. Jan shares with you the relatively unknown hidden world of one of Hollywood's iconic actresses, her work with the Dutch Resistance, her connection to Anne Frank, the failed dream of being a ballerina, and ultimate triumph on screen that empowered others.

A young woman attempts suicide. An older woman who lived through the worst evil of humanity seeks to rescue her, sharing how she survived the darkest chapter and found her way back to life. And it's all true. This is Jan's family history as he shares a few pages from his Book-of-the-Month Club, Literary Guild selected novel, ALL THAT MATTERS.

Helen Keller said one should never creep if they want to soar. She was speaking of living fully. Jan shares Albert Einstein's rules of how to get there along with the story of man Jan met who taught him the meaning of pride in what you choose to do in life.

Sometimes lives are all too brief and yet they continue to touch us in surprising and illuminating ways. Jan shares the story of a special young man whose short life brought infectious laughter and joy, one for whom an annual run in the Jerusalem hills is named, the Tani Run, bringing thousands together to be inspired by his example to lift one another as we reach for a deeper life.

Recently back in Vermont, Jan visited the restaurant his dad used to own and where, while working part-time in college, this astounding moment took place, captured in this reprise from this popular episode from Season 1:

Jan shares the uplifting unimaginable moment when, as a young man, he received a startling phone call from the composer/maestro, a human interaction that illuminates the power of connection and living out our dreams.

You ever feel at the end of your rope? Like you must tie a knot at the end of it to simply hold on? Jan celebrates two remarkable poets, Lucille Clifton and Ada Simon, who help us see both our own power in shaping ourselves and how we can join the spring trees who unfurl new leaves of hope as if to say to the world in front of them: "I'll take it all."

Have you ever spoken truth to power? We each would like to think we could, and some of us perhaps have. Jan shares a personal story about a remarkable prosecutor/Krav Maga hero/dear friend, a big time Hollywood producer, and the possibility of making a film with Tom Cruise.

And how saying NO taught Jan, as it teaches all of us, a bit more about what we stand for.

Recently a school in Miami-Dade objected to the fierce and electrifying inauguration poem, The Hill We Climb by then 22-year-old Amanda Gorman, being available to children. They moved it into an older section of the library, away from the eyes of its younger students, claiming, the poem will "lead to confusion and indoctrination..." and was, therefore, a threat.

Jan highlights the poem and the power of absolute clarity the poem brings and how each of us can see ourselves as a piece of light if we're "brave enough to be it."

Sometimes forgiveness and music go hand in hand. Jan shares the true story of how his childhood Rabbi forbade music at one of the most important moments of his life, and how that man's grandson has, poetically become one of the gods of contemporary rock n'roll and a fitting tribute to his own grandfather's eventual expansive vision.

Sometimes if we go just a wee ways beyond our comfort zone, we find the real soul of our lives. Jan shares the true story of a stranger's challenge for him to truly see Scotland and the miracle of a panhandler on Skid Row.

Here's to second impressions!