Ralph Zuranski: Hi, this is Ralph
Zuranski and I am on the phone with Terri Levine. She is
one of the top professional coaches in the industry,
founded a leading coach training school and has worked
with clients from every walk of life. Terri is the
founder and CEO of Comprehensive Coaching U and the
Coaching Institute, an internationally recognized
program that provides training to individuals and
organizations that want to learn coaching skills.
Ralph Zuranski: She has compiled an
impressive track record of growing million dollar
businesses. Terri is also a popular keynote and
motivational speaker and a successful author. Her best
selling books include Stop Managing Stop Coaching, Work
Yourself Happy, Coaching for an Extraordinary Life, and
Create Your Ideal Body.
Ralph Zuranski: Terri is a
nationally recognized authority on creating greater
business and personal success and she is featured
regularly on the media and on channel 10 NBC
Philadelphia News as a coaching expert. She lives in
Pennsylvania and when she isn’t coaching, training,
speaking or writing, she loves to race formula dodge
cars.
Ralph Zuranski: I really appreciate
you taking your time to answer some of the heroes’
questions. I know I was so impressed at Joe Vitale’s
Spiritual Marketing Super Summit where I first had the
opportunity to hear you speak. It was incredible, and
I’m just astounded by all the great things you have
done.
Ralph Zuranski: Why don’t we go
ahead and start with the first question.
Ralph Zuranski: Did you ever create
a secret hero in your mind that helped you deal with
life’s difficulties?
Terri Levine: I have an odd answer
for that, Ralph. I’ve actually created a secret hero,
but the secret hero lives in my tummy. I’ve found that
the core of where I ground myself is in my stomach area,
and still to this day, anytime when there is a trial,
tribulation, something that’s not quite right, could be
an illness, death, or major change, whatever it might
be, I go and just start breathing in my core.
Terri Levine: I believe there is a
secret energy, a secret little hero that lives in there,
and anytime that I do that, I feel more grounded and
more focused. So this super hero, for me, is just within
me and lives in my stomach.
Ralph Zuranski: You know that sort
of reminds me of Qi Gong masters where they believe that
the energy comes from the stomach also. I know when I
was working with Steven Segal, he was talking about
building up your Chi and doing it through breathing, so
I guess you’re far ahead of the pack and actually doing
something that helps you according to the ancient
masters.
Terri Levine: I didn’t even know
that, so how about that!
Ralph Zuranski: You’re just too
smart! It’s intuition I guess. When was the lowest part
in your life and how did you change your life path to
win a victory over all obstacles?
Terri Levine: I went through a very
low period about nine years ago. It was just one
incident after the next. My mom, who was probably the
person I was closest to on the planet, passed away. A
week later, one of my very good friends, who was only 40
years old, passed away. My cat, who was 22 years old and
had been with me forever, passed away, and then a few
months later, my dog passed away.
Terri Levine: And it was just a lot
all at once, as I’m sure you can imagine. And many
things started to happen, like physically I started to
feel ill and I started to gain weight. I really noticed
that I needed to do something so that I could overcome
the firewall that I was in. The first thing I did was to
reach out to other people who had been in some of these
circumstances.
Terri Levine: I began to talk to
people who had lost their mom and were also female and
about my age. I just reached out to connect. I went on
the internet and found some grief groups and read every
single book that I could find. And one of the things
that I did learn was to let in the sadness, not to push
it away, just to be with it. And through my exploration
of what else I could do, I hired a life coach.
Terri Levine: And by the way, Ralph,
I had never heard of a coach at that time. So I hired my
own life coach and through that experience I not only
began to deal with and accept all of the things that had
come into my life, but it let my career change. I lost
the weight I needed to lose and got a total attitude
adjustment.
Terri Levine: I also began to study
Abraham Hicks and began to understand that we are not
necessarily physical beings, we are eternal beings. And
so, I’ve been able to come to more peace and more
understanding and more spirituality. My life went from
an extremely low point and then went to some of the
greatest experiences that I’ve ever had in my life
within the last 7 or 8 years.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you think it’s
important that people experience those points in their
life so it can be used as a catalyst to obtain the high
points?
Terri Levine: Good question. I
think we need to experience that and I think that we
also need to look for and ask for help if it’s feeling
too heavy.
Ralph Zuranski: Yes, I think that’s
good advice. Well, did you have a dream or vision that
sets the course for your life?
Terri Levine: Vision, very much so.
I actually call it a Technicolor vision because my
visions, my dreams, are so clear to me. And I’ll just
quickly share this with you. When I was in the fourth
grade, my parents and I were driving back from my
grandmother's and it was about an hour drive.
Terri Levine: I chattered away
nonstop telling them everything I was going to do in my
life. I remember this very vividly and I remember them
humoring me. I was like: I’m going to be on TV, and I’m
going to write books, and I’m going to be famous, and
I’m going to help other people." And my mom was like:
"That’s all great honey", and I could see they were sort
of laughing.
Terri Levine: I started the
Technicolor vision when I was very little. I don’t know
where I got it from, but when I was very young, I used
to see myself and what I was going to look like and who
I was going to be married to, and where I was going to
live, what kind of house I was going to have, and just
continued to do this dreaming and visioning. It used to
be on a yearly basis, but now I do it every single day.
Terri Levine: I wake up every
morning and I think about what else I want to
experience, and I also live my dream very much in the
moment. In other words I’m not sure when I’m going to
check out of the planet, so I want to make sure I enjoy
and get in as much as I can and make the most of the
minutes I have today.
Ralph Zuranski: Wow, that’s really
powerful.
Terri Levine: That’s how I live and
my clients hear this from me all the time. My favorite
quote is “How do you intend to experience the rest of
your life?” And I believe through our dreams we get to
design that.
Ralph Zuranski: That’s amazing.
Well you’ve definitely had some major setbacks and
misfortunes and I’m sure you’ve made some mistakes like
anybody else. How important is it to take a positive
view on those things?
Terri Levine: I can say to you that
I LEARNED to have positive views on those things. I want
to be really honest about that. About 15 years ago, I
would have a setback and I would have my own self talk,
“Oh my gosh this is awful, what am I going to do? This
is just terrible!" You know, kind of like the victim
role.
Terri Levine: What I’ve learned, and
this really came from studying a lot of coaching
techniques and being coached myself, was that anytime
there’s contrast and anytime there’s chaos, which is
really what life is, that just means something else is
going to be born, and I get excited about what’s going
to show up next.
Terri Levine: The other thing that I
do in taking a positive view is that I really do believe
there is somebody out there that’s in control. The
universe is in control and Terri Levine isn’t, so I
guess the word that comes up for me is trust. I trust
that the world is lining up for me. I trust that things
are the way they’re supposed to be, and I definitely
look for the good in any situation, even when there are
setbacks and things go wrong.
Terri Levine: I see what was good,
what is good, and I also expect good. So I wait for more
good to show up, and I really focus on this one
question, which I think you’ve heard me say before,
which is “What is working?” Whenever things aren’t quite
right, I shift my mental attitude and my self talk and
it makes me feel very, very different.
Ralph Zuranski: So you really
believe it’s important to be an optimist?
Terri Levine: Absolutely! I think
everybody needs to say as much as possible in their
heads about what is working and focusing on the positive
aspects of every single situation. Even in the worst
situations, something did happen that can make you feel
good.
Ralph Zuranski: How important is it
to have courage to pursue new ideas? I know a lot of
times we get locked in situations with our peer groups
and everybody is afraid when you come up with new ideas,
and when you strike out in that direction, it kind of
scares everybody. Does it really take courage to change
your life?
Terri Levine: It takes courage and
I think that we all have the courage within us. I think
that many people are very fearful of risks, so I like to
switch it around and say to people, "Life is an
adventure, so pursue all the adventures that are out
there, give it a try".
Terri Levine: And if you think about
my philosophy, where you don’t know what day you are
checking out, why not go try something new each day,
every day? Wake up and go, "I’m still breathing, I’m
still kicking", and go out there and try something.
Terri Levine: And here’s the
question that I love, “Really, what is the worst thing
that could happen?” Because typically, in our heads we
think there is such a big risk, but when you look at it,
very often, it’s not the worst thing in the world.
Ralph Zuranski: A lot of the heroes
I’ve talked to have talked about the importance of being
willing to fail, and by learning through your failures
how to make something work. What do you think about
that?
Terri Levine: I think that’s
absolutely true. I think that anytime you have a
failure, or you have a setback, it’s a learning
experience. It’s almost like a blessing, and you ask,
“What did I learn from that? What did that show me?
Terri Levine: What can I do
differently next time?” Everyone that I know that has
been super successful in their own business was not
successful the first time around, and they didn’t give
up.
Terri Levine: They went “Ok” when
they looked at it. And some people lost tons of money.
They said let me look at that, and let me see what was
not quite right there, and now what can I do with it?
Terri Levine: That’s the most
important thing versus saying “Woe is me! Poor me, well
I’m never doing that again.” Instead, they look at every
experience saying what way did I benefit and how can I
grow and what do I know for next time?
Ralph Zuranski: Well, you know you
experienced a lot of discomfort in pursuit of your
dream, how important is it to be willing to accept
uncomfortable experiences to achieve your goals?
Terri Levine: I think it is
important to recognize it, realize it, but be prepared
for it and be willing to go through the pain. I will say
to people there are going to be bumps in the road, life
is really a whirlwind. There is a lot of chaos.
Terri Levine: When I quit my
corporate job, you know I was making a very high 6
figure income and there were certainly great security
and perks.
Terri Levine: But I was so serious
and so ready to experience a huge change in my life that
I said to my family; “Listen, if my coaching business
doesn’t take off and I don’t make money, don’t worry. I
can get really good at 'Do you want fries with that?' "
.
Terri Levine: I was willing to sell
my car. I was willing to downsize my home and move into
an apartment. I was even willing, if need be, to sleep
on the street, and I’m really being serious about that.
I had a mission, I had a quest, and I just said to
myself, “This is within me and no matter what, I’m going
to make it happen.”
Terri Levine: I think that any time
we set out on a strong vision, we have to understand
there may be some bumps in the road. It’s not going to
always be easy and effortless and comfortable.
Terri Levine: But if it’s really
your dream, if it’s your burning passion, if it’s your
desire, don’t let that hold you back. When it's not
going easy, it's just a bump in the road.
Ralph Zuranski: I’ve been working
on this program for close to 13 years, and you know,
some things you have to invest everything you have to
make your dreams come true. When you were a young girl
and what you told your family your dreams were, how
important was it that you believed in your dreams and
that they become reality?
Terri Levine: Belief is everything
to me. Whatever you believe, whatever you see, whatever
you feel, whatever is your dominant vision, your
dominant intention, that’s what makes it come to be.
Terri Levine: I know I talked a
little bit before about a Technicolor vision. I always
saw my vision; I even sort of scripted it. I would write
out, I’m going to be on television.
Terri Levine: I’m on TV and they’re
interviewing me and I’m selling books. And I also tell
people to live as if it were true. For example, I used
to play this game when I was a kid. I don’t think I
was even 13.
Terri Levine: We’d go to a
restaurant or something and I would pretend that I was
this famous author. I would sit at the table, very
cocky, sort of like everyone knows who I am. It was my
own little head game but I was living in my head as if
it were true. I believed it, I focused on it, and I
intended it to be.
Terri Levine: If you think about the
Laws of Attraction, whatever you focus on, like attracts
like. There is nothing more critical to me than
absolutely believing in your dreams, no matter what,
even if there is no sign of them becoming reality. Just
keep on believing, keep on visualizing. Thoughts create
your reality.
Ralph Zuranski: Well everybody has
doubts and fears. I know you can’t wake up on any day
and not fear failure, fear problems with health, fear of
family, I mean there are so many doubts and fears that
assail us on a daily basis. How are you able to overcome
the doubts and the fears?
Terri Levine: Another good
question. I do a couple things. The first thing I do is
I keep an evidence journal, and I’ve been doing this for
so many years, probably since I was about 17 years old.
Terri Levine: I look for evidence
every day, just the smallest hint that gets me to see
what’s positive, and what I call the driftwood, you know
the sort of evidence that is there but you miss. So even
the smallest thing, it helps me trust more, like maybe
it is coming.
Terri Levine: Maybe I can do this. I
can give you an example. When I first started out owning
an art business and I did my very first art show,
everybody had told me I'd make about $300 that night. I
made $50.
Terri Levine: And driving home there
were the fears, you know, I’m just not good at this and
probably in the wrong business. I worked really hard for
this, this wasn’t worth it.
Terri Levine: And then I shifted it
and said well what was positive? Well my evidence was,
'hey, it was my first one and I made $50.' People told
me they loved it. Some people wanted me to come to their
homes and do it, and I had fun. So that began to give me
some more self confidence.
Terri Levine: I will share another
tool that I use. I call it bridge belief. It’s actually
a technique I use in coaching my clients, too. I list
what I currently believe, all the doubts, all the
stories, that sort of thing, and then I list what I
would like to believe someday.
Terri Levine: I don’t believe it now
but might in the future. And then I find the smallest
little bridge between the two. So if I was going to say,
what do I believe today? I believe that it’s really hard
to make money.
Terri Levine: What do I want to
believe in the future? Money is just flowing to me. So
my bridge might be, well at least, I have some money in
my wallet or in my checking account. It just starts to
change the belief a little bit, a little bit, a little
bit, until the thing that you really want becomes
reality.
Ralph Zuranski: You know I think
everybody has these questions. Where do the doubts and
fears come from? Do you think there is spiritual
warfare, or do you think they just come from your
non-dominant hemisphere? Or are they just programmed in
there from childhood? Where do you think they come from?
Terri Levine: Certainly, I believe
a lot of them are programmed in there from childhood and
they’re programmed from people who genuinely care and
love us.
Terri Levine: Whether it be parents,
teachers, mentors, clergy, friends, family, it’s our
society. It’s our way of thinking, it’s doubting and
fearing. Human beings are afraid of change. Our human
brain is where it really comes from.
Terri Levine: Most of our self talk
is between 80% and as much as 97% negative based. If we
could hear what we’re saying, we’re constantly doubting
and challenging and questioning.
Terri Levine: The good news is you
can change your brain so that it’s more positively
focused and so that it creates more positive thoughts,
and therefore, more positive feelings and actions.
Ralph Zuranski: You know, it’s
funny that you talk about good news. That’s one of the
major purposes of our Heroes Program, and that’s to
develop good news and what’s going on around us that is
good and uplifting. Why do you think the media focuses
so much on fear type events that we have nothing to do
with and that we can’t do anything about?
Terri Levine: We'd need a whole
hour or two on that one! The media’s role in our society
is to create some news, it really is. And what they have
found out is that people don’t really think it’s that
newsworthy to talk about all the good stuff that’s
happening.
Terri Levine: For example, you’ll
notice in Philadelphia we have this beautiful sunny day.
So there is no interruption on television with people
saying, “Hey everyone, it’s a beautiful sunny day.
Terri Levine: Get out there and
enjoy it and do something!” But if we had a drop of snow
there would be emergency broadcasts. “It’s snowing!” The
focus is on what’s not working, what’s broken, what
could happen.
Terri Levine: It’s sensationalism,
and in my words, that’s a tragedy because if our society
spends a lot of time reading newspapers, watching
television and being involved in the media hype, they’re
programming their brain for negativity.
Terri Levine: It’s going to be a
long time until the media changes, but we can change
what we listen to and what we watch.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you think it’s
pretty much a chicken little, the sky is falling
mentality?
Terri Levine: Absolutely!
Ralph Zuranski: That’s kind of
scary, isn’t it
Terri Levine: It’s very scary and
that’s why I say turn it off. We can all do that, we
have remotes, turn it off!
Ralph Zuranski: That’s good advice.
Where do you get the willpower in your life to change
things for the better?
Terri Levine: I think it just comes
from inside of me and comes from my core. I don’t think
it came from anything or anybody along my journey. I’m
just so filled with desire about my vision and about
what I see for the world we currently live in. It’s just
inside of me. And I want it so much. That’s where it
comes from.
Ralph Zuranski: Forgiveness is a
big thing in people’s lives. You can’t go through a day
without usually having someone upsetting you or just
opposing you. How important is forgiveness, do you feel?
Terri Levine: This is a really
personal, deeply touching question for me, because as a
younger child and even into my really early teenage
years, I would get so upset with anyone that offended me
that I would hold a grudge and get a lot of pent up
anger. I could just feel it.
Terri Levine: I remember the
feelings. I remember it was just a burning in my
stomach, and as I grew into an older teenager, and as I
grew into an adult, I realized that all of that energy
was very draining.
Terri Levine: I believe it’s so
important to give over and give up those feelings. We
don’t need to drain that much energy, and I prefer that
people learn to live life in the present, in this
moment.
Terri Levine: Let’s not rehash what
happened a minute ago, or what somebody said yesterday.
The present is really the gift. So every time I have an
experience where someone may upset me or offend me or
whatever, I think about how can I learn from this
person.
Terri Levine: I also think, well
who’s to say that they aren’t right in their opinion? In
other words, I can’t judge them as right or wrong.
Terri Levine: And so I take off my
judgment robe and just sort of say let me acknowledge
the differences. Let me hear who they are, what their
views are, what their truths are, what their beliefs
are. And understand that’s their stuff, I don’t have to
wear it around. I can let it go and I can just move on.
Ralph Zuranski: One of the heroes
that the high school students interviewed was Gregory
Allen Williams. He was the police officer on Baywatch.
And you know, he was a real hero. He risked his life to
defend an Asian man that was being beat to death in the
intersection, and a Mexican guy stepped in to take the
beating that he would have taken when these others were
trying to kill the Asian guy.
Ralph Zuranski: So by the help of
those three people of totally different races, he was
able to help the man and get him to a neighbor who got
him to the hospital and he survived.
Ralph Zuranski: Gregory said, "There
is a little bit of bad in the best of us and a little
bit of good in the worst of us," and in David
Garfinkel’s interview, he said, "Virtually everybody, no
matter how bad they are, look at themselves as good."
What do you think about that?
Terri Levine: I think there’s a lot
of truth in that. I think in our own brains we program
in and justify what we do, and we tend to judge others
and we tend to come from our own place of beliefs.
Terri Levine: We believe that what
we think is right. It is THE truth. So I do believe that
each human individual believes that there is good
within.
Terri Levine: My view is that we’re
all created from the same DNA and from the same creator.
Terri Levine: So there is good stuff
in every single human being. For whatever reason, people
sometimes take actions that don’t necessarily show the
good in them, and that probably has to do with something
not quite right within them. But it doesn’t mean we can
label people as good or bad, from my view.
Ralph Zuranski: Well you seem to
experience a lot of joy in service to others. How
important is serving others as a source of joy for you?
Terri Levine: It’s pure joy. It’s
ecstasy anytime that I can help someone, assist someone,
love someone, or care for someone, because to me, it’s
really the essence of being human. When that stops, to
me, life stops.
Ralph Zuranski: In your
presentation, one of the things that caused me to
recognize you as a hero is that your belief in business
and the people who own the business should be trying to
help the people that are employees become the best that
they can possibly be. Could you share that a little bit
with us?
Terri Levine: I really do believe
that our goal in life, part of our mission as human
beings, is to help other people find their greatness, as
we find our own, and help other people see it.
Terri Levine: Coming out of
corporate America, one of the things I noticed, which so
inspired me to change corporate America, is the
philosophy that people should be beaten up and beaten
down and told what they did wrong. An employee review is
usually, “Let me tell you what you’re doing wrong.”
Terri Levine: So my philosophy, and
it is working magically and it’s what we do with my
"Stop Managing, Start Coaching" book, is getting out
there and saying the people who work for you are good
people, there’s greatness in all of them.
Terri Levine: If they’re not
performing and they’re not productive and morale is down
and they’re taking a lot of sick days, or whatever, it’s
you as their manager who isn't bringing out their
greatness.
Terri Levine: And then we teach the
managers tools to use to "coach" instead of managing
people.
Terri Levine: We look for those with
the ability to find the good in people and who can
support and encourage that. And as the manager becomes
more coach oriented and helps people see their
greatness, amazing things happen. We build up the self
esteem in the employees.
Terri Levine: You don’t have to talk
about productivity after that because they want to be
productive and do it on their own. It really should be
the way all corporations run, no matter how big or how
small.
Ralph Zuranski: Boy, that’s true,
and was really revolutionary when I heard that. What
really struck a chord in me is that this is what every
young person should discover, a company that helps them
be the greatest they can be.
Terri Levine: I agree.
Ralph Zuranski: People pray and
everybody has different faiths and that can sometimes be
a problem when faiths compete against each other. But
what is the power of prayer in your life? How has prayer
helped you?
Terri Levine: I use prayer in what
I’d call a more informal way. I certainly do ask the
universe for things, that’s sort of when I script and
envision I want this, or I’d like to have this,
but I’m not coming from a give me, give me, give me
perspective. I’m coming from what else can I do to serve
the world, and here’s some tools and things that I might
be able to use to help serve the world better.
Terri Levine: And then I’m noticing
when things come in, no matter how small they are, and
I’m showing gratitude. And I’m also trusting that if
what I ask for doesn’t come or hasn’t come yet, it’s as
it’s meant to be. I talk to this universal creator, this
universal being that’s out there.
Terri Levine: Even when I wrote my
first book, yes, I wanted it to be a best seller, and
I’m glad it was, but I didn’t want it to be a best
seller because I thought that was going to make me
famous or make me a lot of money.
Terri Levine: I thought how can I
get my book into more people’s hands, because I can’t go
around the world and speak to everyone. I can’t coach
everyone on the planet, yet I want everyone to be
touched by this, because I think they will be.
Terri Levine: So I asked the
universe, “How can I get this out there in a bigger way?
Terri Levine: And I got this answer
back that was like, "You’ve really got to market it a
lot so it can be a best seller, so the rights can be
picked up by other countries and be translated." So if
you are constantly looking and coming from serving and
being prepared to give as much as you ask for, I believe
that’s important, and that's how prayer weighs into my
own life.
Ralph Zuranski: How important is it
to maintain a sense of humor in the face of serious
problems because everyone has problems in their lives
and a lot of them are serious?
Terri Levine: That’s true. Humor to
me is a key; it’s probably a big essence of my life. I
learned a skill years ago and that is to think, in any
situation, of somebody or something that makes you feel
a little humor.
Terri Levine: And my own personal
"tool" is Lucille Ball, who is my very favorite comedian
of all time. I think she is a hoot, I think she is the
funniest.
Terri Levine: Anytime there is
adversity and I want to find the humor in it, I sort of
put the head of Lucille Ball on my head and I start to
think like her. My favorite scene is the chocolate
factory and I try to think, how can I see the humor in
this situation?
Terri Levine: The other thing I do
is step away from it and get myself out of it. I kind of
say, what if this was a movie, a comedy, how would the
writer/director find the comedy within the movie, and
that really works.
Terri Levine: Though a lot of times,
and my husband always laughs about this, we’ll be in the
middle… like today.
Terri Levine: "I’ll give you a true
life example. We are selling a home that we’ve owned and
now we have 'sold the home three times in three weeks'
and every single transaction has fallen apart within the
3 day attorney review.
Terri Levine: So my husband calls up
this morning and says, 'You won’t believe it, this one
person…' and I could just hear how pent up he was. I was
making my silly jokes and I put Lucille’s head right on,
and he’s like, “I can’t believe you’re finding humor in
this.”
Terri Levine: And within about 3
minutes into our conversation he was beginning to laugh
and we started to brainstorm so that the next
transaction holds. That’s how I use it. Don’t tell my
husband, Mark, though!"
Ralph Zuranski: Who do you feel are
the real heroes in our society today that aren’t getting
the recognition they deserve?
Terri Levine: Well I’m going to
start with the folks that are still the real heroes to
me, because as time passes since 9/11, we’re sort of
forgetting. But certainly the 9/11 heroes, and I’m not
just talking about the firefighters that took action,
but I’m talking about every single person who gave, who
went, who expressed, who loved.
Terri Levine: There were coaches
offering free coaching around the world, just for
example. There were people setting up different gift
banks, different food banks to help the families that
mourned loss.
Terri Levine: I also think that some
of our heroes today are where ever we have troops, which
is in so many areas. And just look at our own country
with our own protection here in the US.
Terri Levine: And then I want to
look at the people that don’t get recognized, because I
think there are so many people making society a better
place.
Terri Levine: I mean there’s
everybody from poets, to artists, to lifesavers, on a
smaller scale. Think about when you go to a pool, you’ve
got a lifeguard. People who are creating peace, and
scientists. I read an article yesterday about stem cell
research and they really think it is going to be the
answer for Alzheimer’s.
Terri Levine: Teachers are
underpaid, in my view, for the awesome, incredible work
they do. We’ve got people in sports, we’ve got writers,
movie characters, and characters in books that inspire
us and create a desire within us. Our own families.
Business changers, people who are really changing the
way corporations think.
Terri Levine: People who take care
of the earth and make the earth greener or better. I
have tons of respect and admiration for what astronauts
have done and what they do and then what I call angels.
Terri Levine: We’ve all had them in
our experience; just the person who shows up and they
help you for no reason whatsoever. It’s like you can’t
quite figure it out, but out of nowhere they just offer
you help and assistance… they’re heroes.
Ralph Zuranski: And do you think
that some of those angels that do show up are
supernatural beings?
Terri Levine: I always wonder that.
I’ll share this experience with you. Many years ago, I
was traveling by train and I got off the train and I was
in Boston. I was totally confused as to where I was
supposed to go and I was going on a very important job
interview.
Terri Levine: I had 30 minutes to
get there and I was getting quite panicked. I was
unfamiliar with the city and there was no one around to
ask .You know everyone gets off the train and they sort
of just run to where they’re going.
Terri Levine: And I’m thinking I
have half an hour, I don’t know what to do; I don’t know
where the busses are or how to get a cab.
Terri Levine: Then out of the blue,
and I have no idea where he came from, a young man
probably 20 or 21 years old said, “You look lost, can I
help you?”
Terri Levine: And I told him. And he
said, let me just walk you one block, that’s exactly
where you’re going, you’re only a block away and I’ll
show you. And he walked with me and as I got to the door
of this place and I turned around to thank him the young
man was gone.
Terri Levine: That has stayed with
me for so long, and it happened about 15 years ago.
Ralph Zuranski: Why are heroes so
important in the lives of young people?
Terri Levine: They’re important
because everyone needs a role model. We need someone to
aspire to, we need to see the good, because as we talked
about earlier, the press is so wonderful, showing us the
bad and the evil, we need to see the good.
Terri Levine: We need to have the
young people grow up and get excited and learn to be
caring, passionate and giving people, who have high
morals and who are inspirational.
Terri Levine: The best way, and the
only way I know of for people to get that is to start
when they’re young. Let them have these heroes to learn
from, aspire to be, study the traits of, get excited
about. They will turn into such incredible,
extraordinary human beings as they follow heroes.
Ralph Zuranski: One of the heroes
interviewed, Tony Marino, thought that parents had such
an impact on the lives of their kids and it would be one
of the greatest things in the world that would create
peace and happiness if parents would spend more time
with their kids.
Terri Levine: Not only time,
in my view, but it really is quality of time. I think
we’ve gotten away from that. If you go back to the
1950’s it was real family stuff. There weren’t a hundred
cable channels; people didn’t watch a lot of TV. Life
was different, the pace was slower.
Terri Levine: We weren’t working so
many jobs. And back then, there was a stay at home
person. We had time to have a meal together, time to
just talk.
Terri Levine: I think if parents not
only find time to spend with their children but truly
communicate with them and make that time learning,
getting to know you, helping them vision, helping them
find heroes, having great conversations, we would be
creating more and more not only extraordinary children,
but more extraordinary experiences for our planet.
Ralph Zuranski: Well Terri, I really
appreciate your time and I was wondering if you had any
final comment you’d like to make.
Terri Levine: Well first of all, I’m
delighted to be here, so I want to thank you because I
really believe that if people could understand and
really get away from focusing on what’s not right in the
world, and focus on the great things, focus on the
potential people have and the greatness, we'll all enjoy
a better life experience.
Terri Levine: And if our young
people can get out there in our community and do some
service, it can be something really small, maybe
planting a community garden or walking the dog of an
elderly person,
Terri Levine: I just think we can
change the planet one thing, one day at a time. And as
our young folks begin to do this they’ll enhance their
self esteem, they’ll see what an impact they make on the
planet and it will just be a different experience as we
go forward as a human race.
Terri Levine: So I want to thank you
for doing the work that you do. It’s important, it’s
extraordinary, and you are a hero as well.
Ralph Zuranski: Thank you, Terri, I
really appreciate that compliment.
Terri Levine: It’s something that
I’ve been working on for a long time and I felt that if
we didn’t start doing something now, the world would not
be a better place in the future, especially for the
young people.
Terri Levine: And I just thank you
for the work that you’re doing and helping to bring out
the greatness in every person no matter what age they
are.
Terri Levine: Same to you and it
really was my pleasure. Thanks again Ralph.
