For the 50th episode of Blue Sky, Bill is joined by someone who has completed more than 400 of them.  Bestselling author and TV/podcast host Kelly Corrigan describes to Bill the many things she’s learned in her life and career about optimism and how we all can benefit from life’s setbacks to become better people and forge stronger relationships.  Kelly reflects on lessons she learned from her parents and how facing her own cancer diagnosis and battle with the disease left her with a greater sense of empathy for others with similar hardships.  She also explains why she thinks intellectual humility is a key ingredient for an optimistic outlook and also that “there’s not feeling as good as being useful to someone.” Links: Listen to the Kelly Corrigan Wonders podcast Watch Tell Me More with Kelly Corrigan on PBS 

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Bestselling Author and Podcast/TV Host Kelly Corrigan on Why She Believes There Is “A Pretty Big Payoff to Every Hard Moment,” and “There’s No Feeling as Good as Being Useful to Someone.”

Alison Jones Webb has spent her career studying and working in the public health sector.  Several years ago, a combination of the opioid crisis and a realization that her own extended family had battled various substance use disorders, she decided to turn her attention here and began deeper work into addiction and recovery.  One outgrowth of these efforts is her book, Recovery Allies: How to Support Addiction Recovery and Build Recovery-Friendly Communities.  On this Blue Sky episode, Alison shares surprising and encouraging insights into addiction recovery – which she says is the norm, not the exception – and explains the vital role we can all play by being allies to people battling this difficult disease.  

Alison Jones Webb on Her Book, “Recovery Allies,” and the Importance of Peers, Friends, and Family in Addiction Recovery

In this episode, Bert describes how he and his brother grew from a challenging upbringing to create Life is Good, the original positive outlook brand.  He explains why he believes that optimism is a superpower and suggests that in all of history, there’s never been a successful pessimist. Links: Browse Life Is Good here: https://www.lifeisgood.com/

Throwback/Encore Presentation: “Optimism Is a Superpower,” a Conversation with Life Is Good Co-Founder Bert Jacobs

Chris Anderson was inspired by the growth of TED once they expanded from being simply a conference company to adding the concept of offering their talks free to the world over the internet.   He’s now calling on us all to “reclaim the internet” and use it as a force for spreading less hate and division and more kindness and generosity.  His new book, Infectious Generosity, lays out clearly the reasons why generosity is good for the world – as well as for us as individuals – then details a plan by which this movement can spread virally.  Chris’s views on these subjects are aligned perfectly with the work of The Optimism institute and he shares them with great enthusiasm in this uplifting and inspiring episode of Blue Sky. Links: Order Infectious Generosity: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059372755X Learn more about TED: https://www.ted.com/ 

TED Leader Chris Anderson on His New Book, Infectious Generosity, and Why He Believes That Now Is the Time for Us All to “Reclaim the Internet” for Good

Dr. Kenneth (Ken) Harris is an experienced practitioner of holistic medicine and author of the book, Synchronicity.  In this Blue Sky conversation, Ken describes the subtle but important difference he sees between coincidence and synchronicity and tells why he thinks it’s important for all of us to connect actively with others, leaving ourselves open to the mysterious and positive connections that can be made between people.  As someone who was once clinically dead following a heart attack and had an “out of body” experience, Ken describes his appreciation for life and how fleeting our time here is.  His enthusiasm and positivity are infectious and the ideas and anecdotes he shares here are thought-provoking and uplifting. Links: Order Dr. Ken&#39;s book, Synchronicity 

Dr. Kenneth Harris on Optimism and the Remarkable Power and Positivity Unleashed When We Open Ourselves to the Concept of Synchronicity

When Ilze Thielmann learned of the steady stream of refugees and asylum seekers entering New York City, she felt compelled to get involved and help.  This led her to connect with, volunteer for, and ultimately take over leadership of an organization called Team TLC.  Here, Ilze and her colleagues greet asylum seekers – many of whom have been sent to New York from the state of Texas – and help them find food, clothing, and shelter.  The organization has grown to now have more than 1,400 names on its active roster of volunteers and they have assisted more than 60,000 asylum seekers as they arrived at New York’s Port Authority.  Over time, the organization expanded to include “The Little Shop of Kindness,” designed to be a store loaded with clothing and accessories offered free of charge to immigrant customers.  And today, Team TLC is also offering legal and other professional services to their constituents.  The story that Ilze tells in this Blue Sky conversation is fascinating and her optimistic outlook and desire to serve others is an inspiration.  Links: Learn more about Team TLC: https://www.ttlcnyc.org

Ilze Thielmann on the Inspiring Work of Team TLC, NYC

The life of Jonathan Conyers is full of junctures where it appears he’s not going to make it.  Both of his parents battled addiction to crack cocaine, yet somehow managed to instill in their son a desire to be educated and advance in the world.  As he grows, Jonathan is surrounded by teachers and mentors who take special interest in him and encourage him to reach high, including “Dico,” his transgender debate coach, whose support ultimately alters the trajectory of his life – and Jonathan changes Dico’s in return.  In this Blue Sky conversation, Jonathan details some of the highlights of his remarkable memoir, his reasons for writing it, and what continues to motivate him today.

Throwback/Encore Presentation: Author Jonathan Conyers on His Memoir, “I Wasn’t Supposed to Be Here,” About the Supportive Village That Filled His Life With Hope and Optimism

KM DiColandrea says he works with young people because he can’t imagine doing anything else.  In high school, he developed a love for speech and debate which has led to a passion for teaching and coaching young people to develop these skills.  We first met KM DiColandrea, aka “DiCo,” in our Blue Sky episode with Jonathan Conyers.  There, we heard of him helping turn around Jonathan’s life at Frederick Douglass High School.  With Jonathan’s help, DiCo went on to co-found the Brooklyn Debate League in 2019 and is currently developing speech and debate opportunities for kids throughout greater New York and across the country.  In this episode he describes why he thinks speech and debate programs are so good for developing young people and how he hopes that someday they will be included in schools’ core curriculum.

KM DiColandrea Describes His Passion for Education and How Speech and Debate Can Transform Young People’s Lives

Sara Guillermo’s family immigrated to the United States when she was a small child.  She grew up with an appreciation for this country and a desire to serve that expressed itself as early as the 1st grade, when she ran to be her “classroom organizer.”  From there, she has held several leadership positions and now serves as the CEO of IGNITE, an organization dedicated to train girls and young women with the skills they need to understand how their government works and arm them with the skills they need to actively participate, up to and including running for office.  At a time when so many of us are disillusioned with government and politics, the enthusiasm that Sara brings to her work, and the impressive results that IGNITE has had, is sure to inspire. Links: Learn more about IGNITE: https://ignitenational.org/

IGNITE CEO Sara Guillermo Describes How Her Organization Trains and Empowers Young Women to Engage With Their Communities, Campaign, and Run for Office

The family of Anh Vu Sawyer were among the small number of South Vietnamese who successfully fled Saigon in the final days and hours of the Vietnam War.  After describing this harrowing ordeal, Anh explains how these events inspired her to lead a life of inspiring service and social entrepreneurship here in the United States. 

Anh Vu Sawyer Describes Her Family’s Remarkable Flight From Saigon in 1975, and the Inspiring, High Impact Work She’s Done Since Coming to America

In the late 1990’s, John Wood was living a great life.  As a senior executive at Microsoft, his job took him to exotic places and he was experiencing an ideal post-MBA experience.  His life would forever change on a getaway vacation in Nepal, when he had an experience that led him to quit his job and become a social entrepreneur.  Since then, John Wood has created two successful non-profits and has written several books, including Leaving Microsoft to Change the World.  In this Blue Sky episode, John explains the business discipline and drive that he brings to his work, which he says he simply could not do if he weren’t an optimist. Links: Order John&#39;s book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World 

Former Microsoft Executive John Wood on Bringing a Growth Mindset to Helping Children and Young Women in the World’s Poorest Countries

 David Bornstein has a long history in journalism and founded the Solutions Journalism Network out of his belief that the hard work that people all over the world do to solve tough problems is history’s most under-reported story.  His organization trains journalists around the country on how to pursue and write stories not just about our problems, but also on the encouraging solutions emerging to solve them.  David’s vision is both logical and inspiring, and his efforts are paying off with a growing network of journalists and outlets embracing his philosophy and practice.

Solutions Journalism Network Founder and CEO David Bornstein on Why Reporting on Solutions – Not Just Problems – Will Do Us All a Lot of Good, Including the News Outlets Themselves

Matt Ridley’s seminal book, The Rational Optimist, has inspired many since its publication in 2010 and greatly influenced the creation of The Optimism Institute.  In this far-ranging discussion, Matt will describe an early education that he said was steeped in pessimism but how later in life he found that much of what he’d been taught was simply not true.  This led him to set on a nearly evangelical quest to spread the word that interaction and trade between people and nations, including the free exchange of ideas, will continue to set us on an inexorable path towards increasing prosperity. Links: Order Matt&#39;s book The Rational Optimist

New York Times Bestselling Author Matt Ridley on His Motivation to Write 'The Rational Optimist' and Why He Believes That Human Prosperity Will Inevitably Continue to Increase

In her new book, The Power of a Few Kind Words, author Tracey Gates tells the story of how she decided to write a handwritten note of appreciation to someone every day, for an entire year.  365 letters later, she’s concluded that telling people how much you appreciate them can do as much for your own state of mind as it does for the recipients, and she’s encouraging her readers to take up the practice themselves.  While she doesn’t expect anyone else to do this every day, just starting the practice of writing to people and letting them know you were thinking about them and are thankful that they are in your life will do wonders for your mindset, giving feelings of warmth, hope, and optimism. Links: Order Tracey&#39;s book The Power of a Few Kind Words

Author and Health and Wellness Coach Tracey Gates Explains the Positive Power of Expressing Appreciation

Ritah Kabanyoro knows what it’s like to go to bed hungry.  Growing up in a household of 20 people, she was used to receiving just one meal a day, until fainting spells alerted others to the malnutrition she was suffering.  After being placed in a private school – and improving her diet, she thrived and today leads Uganda’s chapter of Action Against Hunger.  Ritah’s home country is the largest recipient of refugees in all of Africa.  They come primarily for Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and when they arrive in Uganda, they are welcomed with relief programs up to and including the gift of land and instruction of farming techniques.  The Ugandan government, working with agencies like Ritah&#39;s, is striving to help these refugees become self-sufficient, contributing members of their society.  Ritah Kabanyoro’s work is inspiring and her optimistic take on the future of her country is infectious.

Ritah Kabanyoro on the Remarkable Work Being Done to Support Uganda’s Refugee Population

Hosted by Bill Burke, founder of The Optimism Institute, this weekly podcast will feature inspiring leaders, authors, researchers, and big thinkers who are taking on some of our world’s toughest challenges with an infectious sense of optimism. Blue Sky takes its name from the meditation reminder that there’s always blue sky above, sometimes you just have to get your head above the clouds to see it.

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Blue Sky

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