82: Scott Stabile- Big Love: The Power of Living with a Wide-Open Heart

For Life on Purpose Episode #82, my guest is author, speaker, and workshop leader Scott Stabile. He joined me for a fantastic conversation on his new book, Big Love: The Power of Living with a Wide-Open Heart, which answers the question, "What happens when you fully commit yourself to love?" Endless good, he insists who found that out by overcoming plenty of bad. His parents were murdered when he was fourteen. Nine years later, his brother died of a heroin overdose. Soon after that, Scott joined a cult that dominated his life for thirteen years before he summoned the courage to walk away. In Big Love, his insightful and refreshingly honest collection of personal essays, Scott relates these profound experiences as well as everyday struggles and triumphs in ways that are universally applicable, uplifting, and laugh-out-loud funny. Whether silencing shame, rebounding after failure, or moving forward despite fears, Scott shares hard-won insights that consistently return readers to love, both of themselves and others. "I’d like this book to remind you that you are not alone, not by a long shot. We are all imperfect; we all have busy, fearful minds; and we all struggle. Every single one of us, every single day. I’d like the book to emphasize that you are as worthy of love as anyone who has ever lived, and that nothing you do could ever make you any less worthy. Or more worthy, for that matter." About Scott: About fifteen years ago, a friend asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I told him I wanted to spread as much love as possible. My answer’s still the same. I know life isn't always a party. It's often hard, sometimes brutal. My parents were shot to death when I was fourteen. My brother OD'd on heroin nine years later. I grew up around a lot of addiction, dysfunction and tragedy. And with too much shame over the fact that I was gay. I hid my pain, and I hid my truth. Not anymore. We all have our stories. We all have our pain. I've come to believe the only way to have a chance at healing our wounds is to be honest about them. Brave and willing enough to face them. The healing part may be out of our hands, but the brave and honest part is certainly within our power. And it changes everything. For me, love supports it all. ALL OF IT. Love is the base note for everything good—compassion, forgiveness, kindness, authenticity—and choices made from love can only serve ourselves and our world positively. Love's got the power. I've been fortunate enough to publish some books and write a movie and be a part of a supportive and wonderful social media community also committed to looking at their lives honestly and through the all-forgiving lens of love. I've finally started doing what I want to be doing with my life—as I told my friend, spreading as much love as possible. Any which way I can do it. I hope you'll join me. To learn more about Scott and his work, visit: http://www.scottstabile.com/.