Becky, I just read your comment on Daniel Pink's interview by Seth Godin. I like the way you described the apprenticeship process. We need more apprenticeship or mentoring programs. We need to demonstrate that there is value in experience. Somethings need to be learned over time. There is no doubt that some people have gifts that transcend experience but for the rest of us there is not substitute for learning over time.

Thanks John! Appreciate the feedback. We DO need more apprenticeship programs - no doubt. Society is moving towards artisanship and craft - away from mass production so much. Those who are ready for the pendulum swing will be rewarded!

Thanks for sharing your life story at TED.

I'm in a similar situation, getting invisible little by little...but I got hope and I think I was missing that util I saw your video.

Thanks again from Argentina, and please apologize me for my poor english skills.

Have a great life.

Hi Jason

I am so, so glad you tuned in to the show and that you we re able to take some good stuff with you, straight from Becky's wisdom.

You are a wealthy man in all the ways that count and I am honored to connect with you.

Merry Everything and Happy Always to you and yours!

Laura Lavigne
PS this sentence of yours "I have struggled with depression often, but I mask it well and put on a "happy face" makes me think that you may find next Tuesday's show interesting. www.tinyurl,com/talkshow-Ed (this one will be pre recorded so you will not be able to call in but I would love to hear your comments later).

Becky,
I'm listening to your program w/ Laura from Tuesday and I wanted to share how you've inspired me. I found your talk on TED a few weeks ago and have been following your blog posts ever since. About 5 years ago, I quit my job to follow my dreams of being a writer and voice-over actor. You can check out some of my work on my website: www.3twins.net (we offer free family friendly cartoons and comics). Anyhow, about three months after I did this we discovered that my wife was pregnant and we discussed it as a couple and decided that I would continue to follow my dreams in addition to taking care of our baby.

I have to tell you, even though we are still a one income family, I couldn't be happier with my job situation, because I'm doing the things I love and I get to spend the entire day with my beautiful daughter (who is nearly 4 now).

But I can relate to your statements about beginning to believe what people say about you. I have gotten a lot of guff from my family, my wife's family, and some of our friends. I've been called a deadbeat dad, a failure, lazy, and a sponge off of my wife, among many other things. And I began to believe that maybe I was those things. My wife in all of this has been wonderfully supportive and believes in my dreams and aspirations. However, I have struggled with depression often, but I mask it well and put on a "happy face."

Now, I'm in the process of going back to school, at University of Phoenix online, to get an associates degree in business and then a bachelors degree in e-business (a new program that just started) and I'm starting to feel proud of myself and my accomplishments, not like I'm a lazy deadbeat who's "chasing foolish dreams.

I wanted to share that you have been a big part of helping me change my mindset and raising my internal self worth. I am still in the same "place" as before, my situation hasn't changed, but my outlook has and I would like to thank you.

Thank you,
Jason Kuder

Hi Becky,

I just came across your talk on TED....simply inspiring. I don't have a similar story, I just wanted to let you know how yours touched me.

thanks
sean

Thanks Sean! I do appreciate your letting me know!

Nov. 20/09 - I watched your TED presentation tonight and I just had to write to thank you for your "hope" message. I am struggling with depression and I look forward to a future time when my spirit soars and happiness returns. Until then, I will grasp hope and never let go.

Thank you again!

Wes
Canada

Hi Becky,

Thank you for telling your story. Very courageous and honest.

3 years ago I began a journey filming a homeless man in Corvallis, Oregon. Corvallis has been recognized as one of the best places to live in the US on numerous occasions. It’s also been recognized as one of the smartest places in the US. What I found is that, in Corvallis, the homeless are not invisible, rather they are seen and disparaged. The local shelter (incorporated) does not allow anyone suffering from alcoholism to stay there and it’s well publicized. As the executive director puts it “We only take in people who want to change their lives.” While the intent is honestly to help those most likely to change their lives, thereby getting the most out of the donated dollars that run the shelter, an unacknowledged result of this characterization is that the people remaining on the street are seen as people who have chosen to be there. Corvallis has made watch lists for violence against it’s homeless population. A fraternity member shot a homeless man looking for cans behind his fraternity. Three youths beat another homeless man to death. There’s a city ordinance against ‘illegal camping’ that other cities have struck down as unconstitutional. What I came to appreciate, albeit from behind a camera, is the unique misery visited upon these people in knowing how they are perceived and reviled by the majority of the house who populate the city. How this weighs upon them without articulation except through escape into a bottle, and how this only perpetuates the entire cycle.

In many ways, Corvallis is a city that is lost. The pinnacle of what we’ve achieved as a society that has compartmentalized empathy to a social service job. I’m hoping my film will be a conduit for dialogue and discussion. Anything you might do to help spread the word about this project would be most appreciated. You can find out more at http://www.neverwalkaway.com

Thank you,
Jeff Hess

Awesome story, good for you. Although I have never been homeless, I have always known that the worst thing about being homeless would be that people pretended that you didn't exist.
I have always made sure to acknowledge them and it uplifts me as much as them. I currently have
a homeless friend, Victor. He tries so hard to do everything he can to help himself get out of his situation. I assist him and give him hope as best I can. We have lunch at least once a week. It is interesting, but as I uplift him, I am uplifted. I currently work with Non Profits as well, I have launched a volunteer rewards program in Atlanta, www.DoGoodGetRewards.com. There are many organizations doing their best, but still Victor is homeless, even though he tries so hard to get a job or an any program that might be of help. I have been his friends for 2 or 3 months now. I wish you could talk to him and write something about him. I think softening peoples hearts about homelessness can only help. I was so glad to hear your story on TED. Your experience and the fact that you have stepped up to share it with the public is a precious gift to all of us.
Much Appreciation

Hi Becky, I heard you on the TED talks. I lived out of an old Ford truck for almost a year when i was 23. I understand what you say about the alienation and depression, the isolation that can come from not having an address. I also chose that life so that I would have time. Time to think and feel and heal. There was something very useful about the problem solving, the deep exercise of coming to be 'at home' in each moment. Whenever I travel now, at 47, and manage to find a safe, free place to sleep, that time returns to my consciousness as I calm my heart and see the stars. (I try as much as possible to sleep on the ground, and find that contact calming.) One difference I think, is that I was in the West. Last year on a long circle through the Southeast, I was struck by how much more difficult 'free sleeping' is in the other half of the country.
Thank you for your story. And continued best travels to you.
Linda

dear becky;

i just saw your video on ted. i was a freelance web designer and i had a similar year in 2009. i just recently found a house rented by a group of girls who split rent and i have a home now. for 6 months ... i lived similar to what you spoke about and had the same revelations.

my grandmother died and my family fell apart immediately. i went into a deep deprression and ... well , you know.

i am so happy to know i am not alone in having that experience.

HOPE is right! I also think there's something to be said about will power as well :-)

Nice to find you on TED!

Thank you,

Brooke Schooles

Hi Becky

My name is Laura Lavigne and I am a writer and a life coach. I also host a weekly radio talk show called "Chez Laura - Let's talk about life!"

Becky, would you be willing to meet me on the air for one hour? I would very much love this and I know that my listeners would also.

Please let me know what you think.

Laura

Hi Becky,
I just watched your TED talk. Thank you for sharing your incredible journey and your message about the value of hope. I'm writing because I'd like to send you a book I wrote if you are interested. The book, Be the Hero, is a Wall Street Journal business bestseller and talks about similar themes of how the way you think about yourself and your world in many ways creates who you will become.

If you send your mailing address to me at noah@be-the-hero.com I would be happy to send you a copy of the book.

Once again, thank you so much for your message.

Noah Blumenthal

i would very much like to talk with you, but not on a public form... thank you for sharing on TED, do you have an email to reach you? thanks, cheri

Hi,
My name is Seth Taylor and I just stumbled across your talk at TED. I was shocked. From 1999-2000 I dropped out of University in order to conduct a 'disconnection experiment'. I moved into a 1973 VW bus and thought I'd spend a few months 'off the map'. You might be one of the few people to understand how the three planned months turned into over a year. Going in I had no idea how difficult it is to get back on the map again.

I can't even say that I reemerged on my own power. An amazing flow of coincidence conspired to fish me out. My only true achievement was that I remained open to opportunity and when it came I caught hold and was dragged back into the world again.

Since then I graduated from university, traveled and taught throughout Asia and last year married and opened a school here, in Korea. But, my experiences of a life of hiding in plain sight remain with me. Occasionally I still get fleeting glimpses of place-lessness. Years later a part of me still lives with a dog in a van parked on the side of the road in New Mexico, waiting for the sun to rise.

Thank you for your talk and for your courageousness in bringing your experience to so many. And an especially deep thank you for setting one more part of my wandering soul to rest. For so many years I have always had a part of my life that has been placeless and I still do but, it is such a relief to hear another voice calling in the wilderness.

Thank you

Seth Taylor

Seth, wow! What a story! You captured it perfectly - it is VERY hard to get back into the mainstream even when you want to! Yes. I know exactly what you are describing and how you feel. And I'm so glad hearing my story helped put some part of you at peace. There are hundreds, thousands of us. You are not alone. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I hope you stay in touch and read the blog. I'm about to launch again and have more coming up. I think it will give you a chance to revisit that time and integrate it even more!