Their Lives: Recent Episodes
Their Lives
Social distancing has now become the norm in our lives and those who are vulnerable and elderly in our society will begin a long period of isolation along with us all; loneliness will inevitably grow.As we change our ways of living in society our focus must shift toward not only protecting the physical health of our seniors but their mental wellbeing too. With this in mind, we have been thinking about how we can play our part.Like many other young people during this crisis, we are volunteering our spare time outside of our day jobs to talking with our elderly population and providing them with a friendly person to speak to. In our podcast "Their Lives" we will listen and speak with our elderly community about their stories through the years and the amazing lessons/teachings from their adventures that can teach the younger generations in this uncertain time.We hope that our podcast will not only become a valuable experience for our guests giving them extended time to speak at length and reminisce about their history but hopefully, it would prove as comfort for senior people across the country as they can join collectively in reminiscing about past times.We want to hopefully achieve three things through our podcast:1. Allow for our older generations to inspire our younger generations with their stories2. To give our older generations a platform to collectively reminisce3. To entertain our audience but most importantly send them on their way with lessons that they can practically use during these difficult times.We are always looking for feedback, if you have any comments or recommended guests please let us know at itstheirlives.blogspot.com. The Benji's (@benjihyer and @Benji_Fisher)
This week we interviewed Amadou Lamine Ba who was the ambassador of Senegal to the USA in 2002. Ba was a member of the African Diplomatic Corps (ADC), a group of 53 ambassadors that represent African countries in the United States. Earlier in his career, Ba was a teacher, co-executive of HDNA (Human Rights, Democracy, and New Leadership in Africa), member of the Executive Bureau of the US-Africa initiative, consultant for USAID (United States Agency for International Development), and the general secretary of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa. It was a pleasure speaking with him.
We’re looking for support in our charity efforts! Our podcast reaches 1000’s of young listeners from across the world. Therefore, we thought we should positive use of the large audience that we are fortunate to have & identify an advertising partner to work with. We are giving away two short slots before and after each show. Our intention is to donate 100% of the advertising proceeds to Age International or an equivalent international charity of your choice that supports caring for older people in our community. If you are interested, please let us know: itstheirlives@gmail.com.
There was an obvious reason for beginning this podcast "Their Lives." We want to hopefully 1. Allow for our older generations to inspire our younger generations with their stories 2. To give our older generations a platform to collectively reminisce 3. To entertain our audience & most importantly send them on their way with lessons that they can practically use during these times.
We're looking for feedback! If you enjoyed this podcast, please do consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcasts so that we can reach more people with these inspiring stories.
You can send your feedback on: Twitter (https://twitter.com/Benji_Fisher), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/itstheirlives) & Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/itstheirlives/
We have also begun counting down our top 100 inspiring people over 70 to celebrate the wisdom of those who have brought so much to the world. You can find more info on our blog https://itstheirlives.blogspot.com/
This week we spoke to Professor Sukari Pinnock-Fitts who is an Adjunct Professor in the Human Resources Masters Program for the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies. She is a Coach Assessor for Georgetown’s Leadership Coaching Certificate Program.
Believing strongly in an “action-oriented” approach, Pinnock-Fitts works with individuals and organizations to maximize human potential, cultivate talent and enhance group and individual performance. In the two decades spent as an Executive with a mid-sized nonprofit organization, she developed a unique understanding of the need for effectiveness, efficiency and commitment in both mission and profit-driven organizations.
Pinnock-Fitts believes that in bringing about small shifts – in awareness, thinking, behavior, intention and action – significant change can emerge to help propel her clients forward. Her coaching style is characterized as “direct” and her coaching approach is designed to support the client’s agenda for enhanced performance, effective interpersonal relationships, and sound, reasoned decision-making.
We’re looking for support in our charity efforts! Our podcast reaches 1000’s of young listeners from across the world. Therefore, we thought we should positive use of the large audience that we are fortunate to have & identify an advertising partner to work with. We are giving away two short slots before and after each show. Our intention is to donate 100% of the advertising proceeds to Age International or an equivalent international charity of your choice that supports caring for older people in our community. If you are interested, please let us know: itstheirlives@gmail.com.
There was an obvious reason for beginning this podcast "Their Lives." We want to hopefully 1. Allow for our older generations to inspire our younger generations with their stories 2. To give our older generations a platform to collectively reminisce 3. To entertain our audience & most importantly send them on their way with lessons that they can practically use during these times.
We're looking for feedback! If you enjoyed this podcast, please do consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcasts so that we can reach more people with these inspiring stories.
You can send your feedback on: Twitter (https://twitter.com/Benji_Fisher), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/itstheirlives) & Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/itstheirlives/
We have also begun counting down our top 100 inspiring people over 70 to celebrate the wisdom of those who have brought so much to the world. You can find more info on our blog https://itstheirlives.blogspot.com/
Moustapha Diouf started his inspiring journey as a militant Trotskyite from Senegal before moving to Paris to study Sociology. This is where his inspiring work began as he continued his career in academia producing groundbreaking research on the beauty of compromise, political diplomacy between African nations and the US culminating in his role today as Associate Professor at the University of Vermont inspiring students from all walks of life.
Through his work at the University of Vermont, Moustapha is a dear friend of Bernie Sanders where he pushes a similar agenda of social pacificism and social equality.
He cares so much about the improvement of our society and our politics and has shown this through his tenure as President of the Millennium Challenge Account, a £500m fund from the US to nations in Africa as well as being the special advisor to the ex-prime minister of Senegal Aminata Touré.
00:00 - Intro by Benji Fisher
00:45 - Moustapha's early life
02:18 - Moving away from Senegal
04:40 - Why he moved to the USA despite being a Trotskyite
06:20 - The importance of social equality in the USA and his friendship with Bernie
07:30 - Influencing change
09:30 - Compromising and how to compromise
11:20 - The peaceful revolution and reforming our world
15:10 - The paradox of his desire for Capitalism to succeed and social pacificism
17:00 - Wrap up by Benji Fisher
We’re looking for support in our charity efforts! Our podcast reaches 1000’s of young listeners from across the world. Therefore, we thought we should positive use of the large audience that we are fortunate to have & identify an advertising partner to work with. We are giving away two short slots before and after each show. Our intention is to donate 100% of the advertising proceeds to Age International or an equivalent international charity of your choice that supports caring for older people in our community. If you are interested, please let us know: itstheirlives@gmail.com.
There was an obvious reason for beginning this podcast "Their Lives." We want to hopefully 1. Allow for our older generations to inspire our younger generations with their stories 2. To give our older generations a platform to collectively reminisce 3. To entertain our audience & most importantly send them on their way with lessons that they can practically use during these times.
We're looking for feedback! If you enjoyed this podcast, please do consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcasts so that we can reach more people with these inspiring stories.
You can send your feedback on: Twitter (https://twitter.com/Benji_Fisher), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/itstheirlives) & Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/itstheirlives/
We have also begun counting down our top 100 inspiring people over 70 to celebrate the wisdom of those who have brought so much to the world. You can find more info on our blog https://itstheirlives.blogspot.com/
In this episode, we addressed the value of community, the 'initiative trail' and positivity. David has led a wonderful life being an integral part of his community and using this support network to help him grow in confidence over his life to explore other exciting routes in both his social life and career.
00:00 - Intro by Benji Fisher
02:10 - David's early life
03:45 - When David started questioning life and his surroundings more
04:15 - Starting a job that isn't always suited for you
08:10 - Failing and picking yourself up afterwards
12:30 - Why David values his community
16:00 - Increasing your confidence because you can fall back on your community
18:45 - The culmination of David's passions into his final career move
20:15 - David's transformation through the years
20:50 - 'Always look on the bright side of life'
22:00 - Wrap up and our lessons learnt from David
We’re looking for support in our charity efforts! Our podcast reaches 1000’s of young listeners from across the world. Therefore, we thought we should positive use of the large audience that we are fortunate to have & identify an advertising partner to work with. We are giving away two short slots before and after each show. Our intention is to donate 100% of the advertising proceeds to Age International or an equivalent international charity of your choice that supports caring for older people in our community. If you are interested, please let us know: itstheirlives@gmail.com.
There was an obvious reason for beginning this podcast "Their Lives." We want to hopefully 1. Allow for our older generations to inspire our younger generations with their stories 2. To give our older generations a platform to collectively reminisce 3. To entertain our audience & most importantly send them on their way with lessons that they can practically use during these times.
We're looking for feedback! If you enjoyed this podcast, please do consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcasts so that we can reach more people with these inspiring stories.
You can send your feedback on: Twitter (https://twitter.com/Benji_Fisher), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/itstheirlives) & Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/itstheirlives/
We have also begun counting down our top 100 inspiring people over 70 to celebrate the wisdom of those who have brought so much to the world. You can find more info on our blog https://itstheirlives.blogspot.com/
Up and down the country, communities have been coming together to help each other in our greatest time in need, this has been a refreshing sign of collective spirit. A few weeks ago, the Government appealed for 250,000 volunteers to support our National Health Service in the United Kingdom. They received 750,000 applications in a matter of days.
Now, more than ever we are learning about the intrinsic value of local cooperation so we thought it would be nice to speak with Joy Wolfe MBE who has dedicated her life to serving her local community and the Jewish community. Born in 1938 and a fanatic Manchester City FC fan; Joy Wolfe MBE has played a part in over 25 different charity, community, educational and political organisations. She is an inspiring lady and can share a lot of lessons which I hope we will value much more so when this crisis is over. Joy spoke to us about how she began volunteering in her community, how important it is not just for her but to those around her and the gratification she gets from her charity ventures. There is a natural resilience that accompanies her views, she sees the advantages and opportunities of everything that comes her way.
We’re looking for support in our charity efforts! Our podcast reaches 1000’s of young listeners from across the world. Therefore, we thought we should positive use of the large audience that we are fortunate to have & identify an advertising partner to work with. We are giving away two short slots before and after each show. Our intention is to donate 100% of the advertising proceeds to Age International or an equivalent international charity of your choice that supports caring for older people in our community. If you are interested, please let us know: itstheirlives@gmail.com.
There was an obvious reason for beginning this podcast "Their Lives." We want to hopefully 1. Allow for our older generations to inspire our younger generations with their stories 2. To give our older generations a platform to collectively reminisce 3. To entertain our audience & most importantly send them on their way with lessons that they can practically use during these times.
We're looking for feedback! If you enjoyed this podcast, please do consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcasts so that we can reach more people with these inspiring stories.
You can send your feedback on: Twitter (https://twitter.com/Benji_Fisher), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/itstheirlives) & Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/itstheirlives/
We have also begun counting down our top 100 inspiring people over 70 to celebrate the wisdom of those who have brought so much to the world. You can find more info on our blog https://itstheirlives.blogspot.com/
In our first episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with David Berglas MBE (born 30 July 1926) who is a world-renowned magician and mentalist. David was one of the first magicians to appear on UK television. He was the pioneer behind the first special effects in the early James Bond movies. He is a mentor and inspiration to Dynamo, Derren Brown and other famous magicians of our time, we thoughts that David would be an amazing first guest to speak with. Listen to what he had to say about his life and the lessons we can apply during this difficult time.
We’re looking for support in our charity efforts! Our podcast reaches 1000’s of young listeners from across the world. Therefore, we thought we should positive use of the large audience that we are fortunate to have & identify an advertising partner to work with. We are giving away two short slots before and after each show. Our intention is to donate 100% of the advertising proceeds to Age International or an equivalent international charity of your choice that supports caring for older people in our community. If you are interested, please let us know: itstheirlives@gmail.com.
There was an obvious reason for beginning this podcast "Their Lives." We want to hopefully 1. Allow for our older generations to inspire our younger generations with their stories 2. To give our older generations a platform to collectively reminisce 3. To entertain our audience & most importantly send them on their way with lessons that they can practically use during these times.
We're looking for feedback! If you enjoyed this podcast, please do consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcasts so that we can reach more people with these inspiring stories.
You can send your feedback on: Twitter (https://twitter.com/Benji_Fisher), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/itstheirlives) & Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/itstheirlives/
We have also begun counting down our top 100 inspiring people over 70 to celebrate the wisdom of those who have brought so much to the world. You can find more info on our blog https://itstheirlives.blogspot.com/