Almost exactly a year ago, I had an idea that became an interview with Kerry Hales. Afterwards, not thinking, I deleted it (much to my later dismay!) but the whole process was so enjoyable the seed was sown - I had to do more interviews!
Now in November 2018, with over 30 interviews recorded, and 20 published, my "Stories of Our Lives" project, the project grown from that first interview, is entering its next phase! (Sounds very grandiose, that!)
So, with more talks being recorded, a podcast being developed, and a target of 50 published interviews by Christmas a real possibility, I thought I'd take a moment to share three things I've learned so far!
The first thing I'll say is that the core idea of this project - that everyone has a story to tell, if you're prepared to listen - has some merit to it. I believed it at the beginning, and nothing in the 30 hours of interviews I've done so far has changed my mind! People - you, me, her, him - are fascinating, and each one of us has a unique slice of human experience to share.
The second thing is that judging people on a small amount of information is a fool's game because you cannot understand the depth of a person's character - the nuances, richness, complexity - or the range of their past experiences - the pain, the trauma, the joy, success and failure - on the basis of a Facebook post, what paper they read, how they speak, how they vote, their gender, the colour of their skin, their height, weight, handedness or what they think about Brexit. When you listen closely to people telling their story, they will invariably confound your expectations, and it's so fricken awesome!
The third thing I'd like to share is that listening to someone, with your attention off you and fully on them (that is, truly being present for them) is one of the greatest things any of us can do for another person. It's something I have by no means mastered as yet, but I'm working on it!
The interviews will keep coming, so please keep watching, and SHARE them when you can!
You can find all my Stories of Our Lives! interviews on my website: https://www.frankfoley.co.uk/stories-of-our-lives