WEBVTT - How to lead 4000 lives

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to use literature to expand your horizons, especially

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<v Speaker 1>if you are in a phase of life where your

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<v Speaker 1>opportunities for bigger adventures are limited. Books can be a

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<v Speaker 1>portal to other experiences and can make life feel fuller

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<v Speaker 1>no matter what else is going on. Today's tip comes

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<v Speaker 1>from Shigahiro Oishi. He's a psychology professor at the University

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<v Speaker 1>of Chicago who studies well being, and he's the author

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<v Speaker 1>of the book Life in Three Dimensions, How curiosity, exploration,

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<v Speaker 1>and experience make a fuller, better Life. Recently, on the

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<v Speaker 1>Happiness Lab podcast, she described a bookseller who said that

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<v Speaker 1>he had read four thousand books, so he had led

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<v Speaker 1>four thousand lives. I love that when we step inside

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<v Speaker 1>a book, or for that matter, watch a really good

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<v Speaker 1>movie or a play, we can be transported to another

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<v Speaker 1>person's experiences, thoughts, and feelings for a while. We live

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<v Speaker 1>where they live. What happens to them happens to us.

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<v Speaker 1>We step inside their experiences and share their emotions. Whatever

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<v Speaker 1>the specifics of your daily life, you can add what

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<v Speaker 1>ois she calls psychological richness by reading. As he puts it,

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<v Speaker 1>this lets you broaden your life by proxy. Your life

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<v Speaker 1>is not only as big as the experiences you yourself have.

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<v Speaker 1>Your life expands to encompass the experiences you read about two.

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<v Speaker 1>I find this a comforting thought, particularly as I ponder

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<v Speaker 1>how much to the world and how many experiences most

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<v Speaker 1>of us will never have. I will never be a

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<v Speaker 1>professional ballerina or opera singer or basketball player. But I

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<v Speaker 1>can read the memoirs of people who have had these

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<v Speaker 1>careers and see what their lives are like. Perhaps I'll

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<v Speaker 1>live abroad someday, but I lived in say, Paris for

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<v Speaker 1>a year. That means I probably wouldn't be living in

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<v Speaker 1>Tuscany for a year as well, or Norway for a year,

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<v Speaker 1>or near Yellowstone National Park for a year. But I

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<v Speaker 1>can read novels set in these places, or read the

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<v Speaker 1>biographies of people who have had those experiences. I know

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<v Speaker 1>for sure I will never live among the aristocracy in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteenth century Russia, but I can read Tolstoy and see

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<v Speaker 1>what that life is like. Even the longest books tend

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<v Speaker 1>not to take more than a few hours to read. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>War in Peace might be more like thirty hours, but

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<v Speaker 1>even that would be doable in an hour a day

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<v Speaker 1>over a month. The six hours it takes to read

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<v Speaker 1>a novel set in Paris is less time than it

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<v Speaker 1>would even take to fly to Paris from the east

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<v Speaker 1>coast of the US, to say nothing of the cost. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, I want people to travel to lots of places,

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<v Speaker 1>but during many phases of life that might be less possible.

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<v Speaker 1>Money might be tight. Maybe you have lots of little kids,

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you are caring for a family member with complex

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<v Speaker 1>medical needs. Sometimes these situations can even prevent you from

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<v Speaker 1>meeting lots of different people with different points of view

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<v Speaker 1>and experiences. But that doesn't mean life has to be

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<v Speaker 1>completely limited. After all, four thousand books can give you

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<v Speaker 1>a glimpse at four thousand lives. That's a lot of adventure,

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<v Speaker 1>even if other sorts of adventures aren't possible. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.