Healing the World, One Conversation at a Time

(First published at: Heartfelt Leadership)

What do you say to a group of homeless 10-to-17-year-olds living with their single mothers at one of the largest homeless shelters in the country, in one of the most drug and crime infested parts of Los Angeles?

That was my challenge when entrepreneur, Christopher Kai, asked me to come speak at Mondays at the Mission at the Union Rescue Mission. “You’ll be great with these kids,” he said. “Just do something to inspire them.”

I thought to myself, “What the heck do I tell teenagers who are living in one of the worst situations imaginable, many personally affected by filth, crime, rape, mental illness and drugs?” I decided to follow my own advice from Just Listen, which has a chapter about calming yourself down, called “Oh F#%^ to Okay.” I reminded myself to first notice…and then just listen.

In this calmer state, the first thing I noticed was the Skid Row section of Los Angeles that surrounded me, which triggered flashbacks of my visit to Mumbai and Delhi years before. It struck me that while the poverty in Mumbai and Delhi easily dwarfed Los Angeles, the Indians had seemed noticeably happier. The people I saw before me were anything but happy, and looked as if they were barely surviving. While I had seen plenty of Indians who were barely surviving…