Exploring Betterism: Michael Starr's Journey to Empathy and Peace
Michael Starr joins the podcast to share his transformative philosophy of "betterism," a concept centered on cultivating empathy and using empowering language to foster peace and progress in our lives. Drawing from his diverse life experiences, including a profound encounter with Darrell Davis, a musician who befriended Ku Klux Klan members, Michael illustrates the power of listening and understanding in overcoming hate and building relationships. He recounts pivotal moments from his journey, including a personal low that sparked his quest for harmony and less conflict. Michael emphasizes the importance of the journey over the destination, advocating for a mindset that values preparation and relationships as key components of success. Through his book "Journey into Peace," he aims to inspire others to change their language and thinking, leading to a more peaceful existence and greater understanding among people.
In this captivating episode of Becoming Bridge Builder with Keith Haney, Michael M. Starr delves into his book, Journey Into Peace. They explore how language can be a powerful tool for fostering peace and understanding. The discussion highlights the profound impact of empathy, the transformative power of truly listening, and the immense value of gratitude and generosity.
Michael shares heartfelt personal stories, illustrating how active listening can lead to significant breakthroughs and nurture healthy relationships. He underscores the importance of setting meaningful goals and savoring the journey towards achieving them.
The conversation wraps up with Michael expressing his hope to be remembered for introducing a mindset that champions peace, progress, and harmony. This interview is a testament to the power of words and the human spirit in creating a more peaceful world.
Michael Starr shares his profound journey of exploration and personal transformation in this enlightening podcast conversation. Starting with his early adventures, such as a transformative canoe trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans during his time at Carnegie Mellon University, Michael reveals how these experiences shaped his understanding of empathy and human connection. He recounts a remarkable four-month journey hitchhiking and living on just $3 a day across the U.S., Mexico, and Guatemala, which not only broadened his horizons but also grounded his philosophy of betterism—a central theme of his recent book, *Journey into Peace*. This philosophy advocates for the use of wise and empowering language to foster peace and healing in our lives.
A significant portion of the discussion dives into the power of listening and empathy, illustrated through the impactful story of Darrell Davis, an African American musician who engaged with Ku Klux Klan members to foster understanding and ultimately encourage over 200 members to disavow their affiliation. Michael emphasizes that genuine listening can pave the way for profound transformations, urging listeners to adopt a mindset that prioritizes understanding over judgment. Through personal anecdotes and professional insights, he encourages cultivating relationships built on respect and open dialogue, which can lead to a more harmonious coexistence.
As the conversation unfolds, Michael shares pivotal moments that contributed to his personal philosophy, including a turning point in his life marked by a family member's struggle with substance abuse. This experience ignited his quest for peace, encouraging him to explore how language shapes our perceptions and interactions. He reinforces the idea that life is as much about the journey as it is about the destination, inviting listeners to embrace integrity, adventure, and meaningful relationships along their paths. Michael’s insights culminate in actionable advice for fostering empathy and understanding, making this episode a compelling guide for anyone seeking to enhance their interpersonal relationships and navigate life's complexities with grace.
Takeaways:
- Michael Starr's philosophy of betterism emphasizes the importance of continuous self-improvement and integrity in life's journey.
- Empathy and effective listening are crucial tools for resolving conflicts and building relationships.
- Michael's personal experiences, such as his canoe trip and climbing Kilimanjaro, shaped his views on language and life.
- Transformative listening can lead to profound breakthroughs in understanding and personal connections.
- Facing challenges, like substance abuse in his family, drove Michael to seek peace and healing.
- The journey to a goal is just as important as the goal itself, enhancing personal growth.
Links referenced in this episode:
Transcript
My guest today is Michael Starr.
Host:Michael's love for exploration began early.
Host:While studying at Carnegie Mellon University, he embarked on a 54 day canoe trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans with a friend.
Host:His adventurous spirit also led him to hitchhike and bus throughout the United States, Mexico and Guatemala for four months, living on just $3 a day.
Host:Empathy and veteran facing the challenge of developing empathy for others, Michael discovered a way to empower people to make things better.
Host:This led to a creation of his philosophy of betterism, which he details in his book Journey into peace, a language for peace, progress and healing.
Host:This book advocates for using wise and empowering language to improve one's life and avoid language that causes suffering and conflict.
Host:We welcome Michael to the podcast.
Michael Starr:Thank you.
Michael Starr:Thanks for the opportunity and honor to be here with you today.
Michael Starr:Amen.
Michael Starr:In the last 15 years was a r and B singer, Darrell Davis.
Michael Starr:He's a black musician and singer.
Michael Starr:And Darrell has also had a very profound impact on me.
Michael Starr:He grew up, I think, in the northeast and got exposed to racism at a relatively early age, being a boy scout and leading a parade and people throwing things at him and not understanding why.
Michael Starr:And he had this quest to understand why.
Michael Starr:How could someone hate me who doesn't even know me?
Michael Starr:And so at some point in his life, he wanted to find out about the Ku Klux Klan.
Michael Starr:And so he was on this pursuit of understanding, why do they act the way they do?
Michael Starr:Why do they believe the way they do?
Michael Starr:So he arranged for a meeting.
Michael Starr:They didn't know he was black at the time.
Michael Starr:And I guess it was kind of touch and go for a minute when the leader came into the room.
Michael Starr:But it was someone named Roger Kelly, who was a grand dragon of Maryland.
Michael Starr:And he got to know Roger Kelly and actually was invited to attend some of the rallies where they did the burning cross and all that business.
Michael Starr:And Roger got to see him perform as a musician.
Michael Starr:And they actually became, they became friends.
Michael Starr:And Roger would invite him over to his house, and he would invite Roger over to his house, each other's homes.
Michael Starr:And Roger later on went on to be something called an imperial wizard, which is some kind of hooptie doo in the Ku Klux Klan, in the national level.
Michael Starr:And he was able to, Darrell Davis was able to, by listening without, you know, I guess without putting people down, listening in a respectful way, asking questions in a respectful way.
Michael Starr:Not that he respected their ideology, but he respected their right to have of you and by them being heard.
Michael Starr:And I hope we could talk later on about the power of listening by them being heard by Darrell Davis, by him conducting himself in a respectful way.
Michael Starr:I believe the number was over 200.
Michael Starr:Ku Klux Klansmen disavowed their membership with the KKK.
Michael Starr:And how is that done?
Michael Starr:Through listening, caring, and treating people in a respectful manner.
Michael Starr:And that has had a very, very big and profound impact on me.
Host:Well, you know, think about that, is that you talk about the importance of listening.
Host:You could have gone in there and just judged, and right away, you know, been very defensive and never really looked at opportunity to break through and bring to a situation that looked maybe kind of hopeless, actually, some sense of healing and understanding.
Host:So that's a powerful story you shared.
Michael Starr:I think, is a very powerful example of how we can connect and create relationships through respect and listening.
Host:So, Michael, let's get into your book.
Host:Can you take us back to the beginning of your journey into peace?
Host:What was the pivotal moment that set you on this path.
Michael Starr:About probably 25 to 30 years ago, I was standing on my front porch in Houston, Texas.
Michael Starr:It was a humid night, and there was an ambulance with the lights flashing and a police car with the lights flashing, and they were taking one of my family members out in a stretcher, and due to a substance abuse issue, and I looked around and I looked at this.
Michael Starr:It was a really nice house that we had in Houston and a nice location, and it meant nothing.
Michael Starr:It was like.
Michael Starr:It was sort of the low of my life.
Michael Starr:I said, wow, all this.
Michael Starr:All this work, all this effort, all these focuses, and here I am with someone I dearly love who's on the verge of, you know, death, perhaps.
Michael Starr:And that's when I began, and that was a pretty low low for me.
Michael Starr:That's where I began my quest to find a way to see how I could help myself and help others have less conflict, more peace, more harmony, and have a healthier view of the world around them, because we all deserve it, and we are our own greatest allies, and we are also our own greatest enemies at times.
Host:I love that.
Host:I like the idea of your book betterism, and it's the central theme of your book.
Host:How do you practice this philosophy in your daily life?
Michael Starr:Well, let me just define a little bit of my definition of betterism.
Michael Starr:It's a word I coined.
Michael Starr:I'm sure others have used it in another context.
Michael Starr:But betterism goes back to, as we began our conversation, about me competing against myself being better.
Michael Starr:So it's about the philosophy of continually looking to ways to be a better mic.
Michael Starr:I have these states of being that I introduce, like, 20 of them.
Michael Starr:One's called be the stream.
Michael Starr:That a stream only exists in movement.
Michael Starr:It only exists in moving forward.
Michael Starr:And when it runs against an obstacle, it goes over, under, around, but it continues undeterred.
Michael Starr:And so betterism is this continual pursuit of finding ways to be a better me.
Michael Starr:And part of that is to set goals along the way.
Michael Starr:But these are not a traditional view of a goal where it's a destination.
Michael Starr:I climb on Kilimanjaro five years ago, and the goal was get to the summit.
Michael Starr:But the goal really is not only the destination, but it's the journey towards that destination, a journey that is fun, a journey that is full of healthy relationships, and a journey that has integrity.
Michael Starr:And achieving the destination is important as well.
Michael Starr:But in a lot of ways, we spend more time on the journey than we do at the destination.
Michael Starr:I remember reading a book by, I think, Chuck Noll's biography, who was coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and his wife commented, after winning the Super bowl, he kind of felt empty.
Michael Starr:It would be like, okay, what's next?
Michael Starr:Win another Super bowl.
Michael Starr:So the time that we are at the peak is a short time.
Michael Starr:Really enjoy the journey, but do it with integrity and do it in a way that has healthy relationships along the way.
Michael Starr:There's a saying that I often quote is, I've climbed a ladder of success only to reach the top and realize my ladder is against the wrong wall.
Michael Starr:I think that conclusion is incorrect, though.
Michael Starr:It isn't necessarily that your ladder is against the wrong wall.
Michael Starr:It's that your process of going up the ladder probably was lacking healthy relationships or integrity or doing things that were fun.
Michael Starr:Because we can have lots of destinations, they're almost somewhat arbitrary, as long as they're done with integrity and have some pertinence to what's valuable in our life.
Michael Starr:But, you know, live life in a way of integrity.
Michael Starr:And I love adventure and fun.
Host:So you mentioned adventure, and I looked at your bio, and you've done some travels.
Host:How has that adventurous life and those experiences shaped the language and the message of your book?
Michael Starr:Well, I think one of the things that it's taught me that focus on process, if you're looking, going back once again to a goal, is the journey plus the destination.
Michael Starr:That's part of my languaging.
Michael Starr:But to have these goals, like, for example, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
Michael Starr:I was 69 when I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
Michael Starr:I spent a year preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, which fortunately, I was successful in doing after ten days of ascent and descent.
Michael Starr:But I went into that sort of because of where I was in life, with the understanding that it wasn't just about getting to the peak.
Michael Starr:Euro Peak is the name, the actual peak on that mountain, but it was about the journey to get there.
Michael Starr:So I spent a year with personal trainer, I spent a year hiking all over the country.
Michael Starr: kansas, where I live, is like: Michael Starr:So we went to Flagstaff, which was 12,000ft, saw a doctor, saw a heart doctor, thought I had a hernia.
Michael Starr:Turned out I had a double hernia.
Michael Starr:I got all those things taken care of, but it was so exciting, it was so much fun, the process, and I was focused on that process of prepare.
Michael Starr:You know, I watched YouTube videos, I talked to the leaders of the group, which was peak Planet.
Michael Starr:That took us up there.
Michael Starr:I sought medical attention.
Michael Starr:My diet was the best it could be.
Michael Starr:I did all this preparation.
Michael Starr:My wife was my partner in crime and preparing for all that.
Michael Starr:It was so much fun.
Michael Starr:So when I landed in Kilimanjaro airport, it was probably near midnight, it was nighttime.
Michael Starr:And Kilimanjaro airport's a fairly small airport.
Michael Starr:If you've ever been to, like, burbank or Sacramento airport, it's probably smaller even than those.
Michael Starr:And I remember when I got through customs, I was the last person to get through customs.
Michael Starr:And I said to myself, let the game begin.
Michael Starr:I am ready.
Michael Starr:I don't know what this outcome is going to be.
Michael Starr:What is this 69 year old body going to do when we're at 19,300ft and 50% oxygen?
Michael Starr:I don't know.
Michael Starr:I don't know how my blood pressure is going to react.
Michael Starr:And as it turned out, it was a little touch and go there for a while.
Michael Starr:So there's certain things that are.
Michael Starr:It's sort of a let go and let God type of thing.
Michael Starr:You have to just sort of leave it in the hands of God, leave it in the hands of universe, whatever your view is.
Michael Starr:But you can impact that preparation.
Michael Starr:So I say focus on prophecies, focus on preparation.
Michael Starr:Prepare the best that you can, but enjoy your preparation along the way.
Host:I love that because you're right, it is.
Host:And that language is so important for us.
Host:It really is about the journey versus the peak.
Host:Being a Steelers fan, I appreciate that.
Host:No, didn't stop with the one championship, so.
Host:But, yeah, the journey is so critical.
Michael Starr:It is life.
Michael Starr:Yeah, but the destination gives the journey context, and the journey gives a destination context.
Michael Starr:You can't have a journey that I think in my opinion, that is meaningful.
Michael Starr:Unless you have a destination that you're pursuing, you may not reach the pinnacle, but you have a direction, and you're pursuing that direction.
Michael Starr:So they're symbiotic.
Michael Starr:They need each other to coexist to be meaningful.
Host:Right.
Host:I agree.
Host:You started out our conversation talking about the importance of empathy and how it's a powerful tool.
Host:As you think about your own personal story, I know you shared one.
Host:Is there a time when empathy led to a breakthrough besides the example you showed in understanding and even communication?
Michael Starr:Yeah.
Michael Starr:One example that does stand out for me, and it's a real nuts and bolts example.
Michael Starr:I come primarily from the world of nuts and bolts, manufacturing and maintenance of locomotives.
Michael Starr:And I've managed thousands of people, and I have budgets of.
Michael Starr:At one time, I had a budget of $100 million a year with several hundred people working for me.
Michael Starr:So my experiences are grounded in what I call the reality of, you know, nuts and bolts.
Michael Starr:I was a new plant manager, having transferred from Los Angeles to Houston.
Michael Starr:I was new in Houston, and I was walking through the shop, and the.
Michael Starr:One of the union reps for the machinists approached me in a rather belligerent and antagonistic tone of voice and said something to the effect, there were some expletives there.
Michael Starr:You really think you're doing an effing good job here.
Michael Starr:And he was pretty po'd about it.
Michael Starr:And I'd already been a manager for a number of years, and I had a little bit more, I guess, with under my belt.
Michael Starr:Had he approached me, say, five years previously, my view of him, my perception, my paradigm of him, my language relating to him would have been, he's a malcontent, he is a antagonist, he is an enemy.
Michael Starr:And I would have approached him in a certain way, more maybe defensive, or maybe I'd have been more offensive.
Michael Starr:But at that stage in my life, I kind of reached the point that I understand that, you know, if we cannot take things personally and we realize that a lot of pain that people project onto others is internal pain they have within themselves.
Michael Starr:I saw him in pain.
Michael Starr:I saw that as a cry for help.
Michael Starr:I could have seen it as an attack or angry.
Michael Starr:And so my view of him was that he's got a cry for help, or he's in pain, his people are in pain, he wants to be heard.
Michael Starr:And so, leading with empathy, I said to him, so why do you feel that way?
Michael Starr:And he says, well, you did ABC and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Michael Starr:And I says, well, okay.
Michael Starr:And then kindly I said to him.
Michael Starr:A is company policy.
Michael Starr:I didn't have a choice, and I expanded on that.
Michael Starr:B is something I've used at another facility, and we do have the worst safety record here, and I think we should try something new to improve that.
Michael Starr:And c is not something that's in the works right now.
Michael Starr:And then I would continue on and say, what else?
Michael Starr:What else?
Michael Starr:What are other things that you're concerned about?
Michael Starr:And to make sure that he was heard.
Michael Starr:I hear you.
Michael Starr:Here's what you're saying.
Michael Starr:I not only hear your exact words, but I hear your emotion, and I legitimize you and respect the fact that you feel the way you do.
Michael Starr:And I probably would feel the way you do as well if I was, you know, seeing things as you see them.
Michael Starr:As a result of that, we became just great allies.
Michael Starr:And with him and some of the other unions and some of the other folks at that facility, we became, we went from the most unsafe facility out of about seven to the safest facility, the best productivity, the best quality, and most importantly, I think, fantastic employee engagement where employees really felt they were heard and felt they were part of the team.
Michael Starr:So by changing my language, my thinking, my perception of seeing, hey, a cry for help, someone in pain as opposed to an enemy, and being angry at him, it made all the difference in the world in creating an ally in the months and years ahead.
Michael Starr:And I was there for seven years.
Host:You mentioned earlier that you want to get back to this.
Host:Let's talk about it now, because you gave an example of that.
Host:Talk about the power of transformative listening.
Michael Starr:I'd like to give a short example.
Michael Starr:I am an active member of Al Anon, which is a group for supportive families of alcoholics.
Michael Starr:I'm also an active member in the Nami organization, which is an organization for.
Michael Starr:It's a national association for mental illness, for mental illness.
Michael Starr:And both of those situations are and have been in my family.
Michael Starr:And so I'm very interested in how, I mean, if there's ever a place that we want to be impactful with people, it would be people who are addicted to something or people who have a mental illness.
Michael Starr:I mean, it's the most challenging because the consequences of that are these dysfunctional family relationships, impacts on children, impacts on the penal system and crime.
Michael Starr:It is so huge.
Michael Starr:And in his book, there's a fellow named Javier Amador, and the book's called I'm not sick.
Michael Starr:I don't need help.
Michael Starr:And he's a psychotherapist.
Michael Starr:And he talks about reflective listening.
Michael Starr:I talk about relationship listening.
Michael Starr:Using slightly different languaging.
Michael Starr:But he talks about how valuable listening was in learning to connect with his brother, his older brother, who was schizophrenic.
Michael Starr:And my, you would think schizophrenic.
Michael Starr:I mean, that's like, at the one end of the spectrum of how challenging could be to kind of be influential with people.
Michael Starr:So he found that by focusing on the relationship, that listening was the bridge that helps us build relationships, healthy relationships of trust, respect.
Michael Starr:And so he would have.
Michael Starr:He would listen, and he would say things like, you know, if I saw things the way you did, or I was, I would.
Michael Starr:I would feel the same way.
Michael Starr:You know, even if his brother said something really bizarre, like, there's Martians that are coming out at night, which schizophrenics can have some pretty bizarre kind of behavior.
Michael Starr:And he created this movement.
Michael Starr:It's called leap listening, empowering, agreeing and partnership, that it's been shared with millions of people all over the world as a means of connecting with people.
Michael Starr:And so I, if it works in the mental health area, just think how effective it can be with us.
Michael Starr:So I found in relationship listening, which I call it, that it's about listening.
Michael Starr:Be the student, listening to learn, be the empowering mirror, listening to reflect back to them, kind of a summary what they heard of.
Michael Starr:Once people feel hurt, acknowledged and respected, then now there is a clearing, there is an opening, there is an opportunity for them to say, well, what do you think?
Michael Starr:But prior to that, it's best to keep your opinions and thoughts to yourself until they're ready to listen or to acknowledge that maybe you have something to say, but they're not going to do that until they feel respected.
Michael Starr:You know the old saying, people don't care much, you know, until they know how much you care.
Michael Starr:And I think that applies to but effective listening, I would say, is the single most valuable interpersonal skill that we can develop in having healthy relationships, not only with others, but with ourselves.
Host:I love that.
Host:I was also moved by your journey, that you went on a trip around the world in Mexico and Guatemala on $3 a day, living on that tight of a budget and traveling like you did.
Host:How has that shaped your perspective of the language of generosity and gratitude?
Michael Starr:Well, certainly, and this goes back to my mother to some degree, who was so grateful to be in the United States of America, having endured what she did with the communists and seeing women hung up in the town square with their chest cut open and babies stuffed inside, stripped naked along the railroad tracks by the Nazis and sprayed with oil to be delast and all the dehumanizing things that she faced.
Michael Starr:But through all that, she maintained an attitude of graciousness and gratitude and to be grateful for the simple, simple things, you know, as I traveled through those four months or so, four or five months, through Mexico, Guatemala, the United States, I did everything from working the jackhammer to just sleeping in the bushes, sleeping in Salvation army missions, I became very grateful for hot showers.
Michael Starr:I love hot showers.
Michael Starr:It's like one of my great happinesses in life.
Michael Starr:I mean, I wake up even today, I'm like, oh, man, I'm so glad I could take a hot shower today.
Michael Starr:And you realize it's the simple things in life that mean so much.
Michael Starr:Healthy relationships, you know, relationships that are largely devoid of conflict, largely devoid of anger or hate, but full of respect and support.
Michael Starr:So, you know, the best things in life are free.
Michael Starr:They're not.
Michael Starr:They don't cost a lot of money.
Michael Starr:I remember when I came back across the border, I think it was in Brownsville, Texas.
Michael Starr:I was coming back to the United States because I had to go into the Navy in a few months, which is part of the reason I was doing my Jack Kerouac thing.
Michael Starr:And I had, like, I think, like, $2.45, and I just crossed into Brownsville, which is still about a couple thousand miles away from Pittsburgh.
Michael Starr:And I'm thinking, like, wow, I got more than enough money to make it home.
Michael Starr:I'd stop somewhere, find a white castle, get one of those slider hamburgers.
Michael Starr:I was good for the day.
Host:Those burgers come back to get you, though.
Host:So, you know, I want to talk a little bit about your book.
Host:What is one actionable piece of advice from journey into peace that my listeners could implement today to foster a more peaceful and progressive mindset?
Michael Starr:Well, at the risk of being self promoting, I would say buy the book, read the book, study the book, teach the book, live the book.
Michael Starr:I mean, I have spent 25 years getting the book ready, ten years actually writing the book.
Michael Starr:And it is my, I guess my effort to try this, make this world a better place for everybody.
Michael Starr:As far as a particular thing that comes out of the book, we talked about listening, and so learn to be an effective listener.
Michael Starr:And I think empathy.
Michael Starr:I have a term called the EBC, symbiotic three empathy, boundaries and consequences.
Michael Starr:I think if we lead with empathy in our views of ourselves and others, people can help being who they are, given their birth order, their age, their DNA, their parents, their socioeconomic status, their geography, all the factors that that led into them being who they became is inevitable.
Michael Starr:They would become who they became.
Michael Starr:And if we can have empathy towards others because we live in an age right now that we have what I call Contra identities, where people identify themselves as oppositional.
Michael Starr:I'm good because you're bad.
Michael Starr:I'm smart because you're stupid.
Michael Starr:I'm great because you're a dummy.
Michael Starr:It's sort of like, whatever happened to merit?
Michael Starr:I'm good because I play the saxophone.
Michael Starr:Really great.
Michael Starr:Or I'm good.
Michael Starr:I know how to resolve conflicts.
Michael Starr:Or I'm good because I.
Michael Starr:I know how to, you know, do ceramic tile, whatever.
Michael Starr:So we've moved away from a meritocracy and more into this sort of, I guess people feel entitled and etcetera.
Michael Starr:But I'd say, you know, move away from, you know, being a victim.
Michael Starr:Be more self reliant, and focus on understanding, as Christ said.
Michael Starr:Because when Christ said in the Bible, forgive them, father, for they know not what they do.
Michael Starr:And I have a whole chapter on forgiveness.
Michael Starr:I see it as a noun, not a verb.
Michael Starr:I don't see forgiveness as an actionable thing we can do, but as a place we can achieve, where we no longer harbor bad feelings.
Michael Starr:And I give a whole chapter about how we can do that is that when we focus on trying to understand why people are the way they are, there's nothing left to forgive.
Michael Starr:We just.
Michael Starr:It is what it is.
Michael Starr:And so by having this understanding of people can help being who they are, we free ourselves.
Michael Starr:Because what gets in the way of our really good behavior?
Michael Starr:Anger, resentment, despondency, conflict.
Michael Starr:What happens if we wipe most of that stuff out?
Michael Starr:Then we could be the beautiful people that we deserve to be and are, I think, designed to be.
Host:I love that.
Host:I'm always curious of my guests and people who are reached this kind of stage in your life.
Host:When you think back to all the things you've done, what do you want to be remembered for when your life is over?
Michael Starr:I don't care.
Michael Starr:I don't care if they even remember my name.
Michael Starr:But I do care that I was someone who introduced a way of thinking.
Michael Starr:You know, change your language, change your thinking, change your thinking, change your observations and perceptions, change them.
Michael Starr:And you change the way you interact the world around you.
Michael Starr:Whether or not they link that to me or not is.
Michael Starr:I really don't care.
Michael Starr:But I do care that my message, which I strongly, strongly believe in and advocate, is a message of, there is a way to make peace with the past, achieve progress in the future, and live today free of resentments, hatred and anger.
Michael Starr:In harmony with other people around us, and that through language.
Michael Starr:And I have three types of language.
Michael Starr:Why is empowering language, useless language, and dangerous and tyrannical language?
Michael Starr:By improving our language, we can improve the quality of not only our life, but our relationships around the planet.
Michael Starr:And I hope that seed grows and spreads regardless of who gets the credit.
Host:I love that.
Host:Where can my audience connect with you and purchase a copy of your book, journey into peace?
Michael Starr:Well, they could connect with me on my website, executivecoachingservices.net.
Michael Starr:executivecoachingservices.net.
Michael Starr:The book is available in kindle or paperback on Amazon.
Michael Starr:Journey into peace by Michael Journey into peace by Michael M.
Michael Starr:Star.
Michael Starr:And that's how you could do it.
Host:Well, Michael, thanks so much for having this great talk with us and kind of pointing us again to how much important language plays in our understanding and how much it can shape and change our culture around us.
Host:And, you know, we have so much language today that is hurtful and not productive and not peaceful that I think people are seeking.
Host:How can I live a more peaceful, reflective life as opposed to one that's always filled with conflict, tension and trauma?
Host:So I appreciate what you've done here, and I appreciate the fact that it's centered on Christ's example, because I think that's really important for us to talk about making lasting changes, that what's the center of that change?
Host:And who are we modeling that change after?
Host:So I appreciate the work that you're doing.
Michael Starr:Amen.
Host:Thank you so much, Michael.
Michael Starr:Thank you, sir.
