Kay:
Hey, hey, Questers! Welcome and Happy #FriYay! It’s November 6th and this is Episode 220. We have a quote for you today from the one and only Maya Angelou.
Shi:
The American poet, the memoirist, the civil rights activist, the first black activist to conduct a cable car in San Francisco, and SO much more. She is amazing. And today her advice to us is, “I’ve learned that making a living is not the same as making a life.”
Kay:
I love Maya Angelou and I picked up my first book from her last year and my heart was so opened by it. And then, to hear the impact that she’s had on so many impactful leaders around the globe has been amazing. Her reach is so far and wide. Even Oprah says she wouldn’t be half the woman she is today without Maya, and what an incredible testament to the legacy she’s left.
Shi:
Well, if you’re THE Oprah to Oprah, I think that means that what you say carries some weight and Maya Angelou is definitely Oprah’s Oprah. So let’s take heed of this advice here because it’s great advice. Why? Well, (A.) because it’s clever and got to love a good turn of phrase here, but also because (2.) it’s deep. Making a living is not the same as making a LIFE. So, of course, making a living is that necessary, economic engine that we need-
Kay:
All of us have it.
Shi:
We all have to have it. We all define our needs as different levels. Those must haves. Those must be achieved. Those bills that have to be paid, etc. Making a living as an economic engine that we all have, means that making a life is a choice we get to make and not everybody makes the choice to intentionally make life.
Kay:
Now, many people will read a quote like this and think, “I’m going to go quit. I’m quitting my living to go make my life. That’s it. My living doesn’t count. If I’m not making my life through my living, then my living is stupid because I have a choice.” But the whole point here is that you can make your life alongside your living and, of course, work to bring those two things closer and closer together as you’re coming down this path. But this idea of making a life can really boil down to being more present in your body, having more joy for the little things, and taking time to be slow with things that make you grateful. So making a life can really be about those small intentional efforts that stack up over the long term.
Shi:
Well, I think you said the key word there and that was intentional. So making a life means that I am intentionally creating something or some things that align with what it is that I want the outcome to be. The purpose is the reason for which something was created and many of us don’t intentionally go after trying to identify what that purpose is for us, but I think it has a lot to do with this “making a life” piece because – if we’re on purpose – then we’re motivated to take more action and find more meaning and give more meaning, which ultimately is that making of a life. So the default is we all have to make a living which will fund your journey to hopefully making your life and the more you can find that purpose, you will enjoy both the living AND the life piece.
Kay:
Now, just to add a little Maya Angelou extension here, One of my favorite quotes of hers is that, “Life loves the liver of it.” If we take these two quotes in conjunction, when you find the way to make that life and you’re really intentional about that, what ends up happening is life loves you back and you know what happens when you love somebody? You shower them, you give to them, you change for them, you work for them, and you do all kinds of things in order to better the partnership. And so, life begins to do that for you in return as long as you can figure out what Maya says in this quote, which is that she’s learned that, “making a living is not the same as making a life.”
Shi:
All right. So it is your #FriYAY weekend quest today. And since it is #FriYAY and you just spent your whole week making a living, we want you to spend your weekend making your LIFE! So whatever it is that you need to make your life intentional for you, (whether it’s to be more organized, more relaxed, or more playful), do that this weekend and intentionally focus on it so that you’re not just making a living Monday through Friday, but you’re making a life too! Are you ready?
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
