"Being present is more important than what you say. Being present is more important than giving someone the right quote or the right whatever. Being there, sitting there matters...And I think that sometimes it's as simple as that.” 
 -Hoda Kotb
 On this episode, I'm joined by a dear friend of mine, a beloved colleague at NBC News, and, just an all-around beautiful human being whom I really adore. In our conversation, Hoda speaks about the impact that strangers had on her life especially during tough times. 
 She also talks about channeling those profound experiences and sharing her journey with others to help them - whether it's on adoption or cancer treatment - and how that spirit of championing others has always been a part of her. I'm honored to speak with her about these intimate subjects.
 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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Hoda Kotb on How to Build Meaningful Relationships

Building on the success of her instant No. 1 NY Times-bestselling book I’ve Been Thinking…Reflections, Prayers and Meditations for a Meaningful Life, Maria Shriver continues to explore the life topics, issues and ideas that we’re all thinking about.

Through intimate, thought-provoking conversations with friends and other individuals she respects and admires, Maria dives into issues like love, pain, forgiveness, gratitude, family, faith, connection, loneliness, the art of self-reinvention, and more to inspire you to reflect on your own life and have more meaningful conversations with the people you love.

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"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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How to Seek Joy with Martha Beck

"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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Dave Asprey on How to Biohack Your Life!

"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.
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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Father Greg Boyle Shares The Meaning of Radical Kinship

"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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How to Transform Suffering into Connection with Sharon Salzberg

"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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Hoda Kotb on How to Build Meaningful Relationships

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