From sanitation worker to Harvard: uplifting support staff

Ruhan recounts being unseen as a sanitation worker and how mentors propelled him to college and Harvard Law.

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Episode notes

Oprah is joined by award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Wallace to talk about her transformative new book "Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose." Drawing on six years of research, Wallace shares how mattering - the feeling that we are valued and have an opportunity to add value - is a fundamental human need essential to our well-being. She believes there's been "an erosion of mattering" and provides actionable steps to deepen your connections, reconnect to your sense of purpose and navigate challenges with greater resilience. Joining the conversation is Jennifer's close friend and lifestyle icon Ina Garten. Oprah and Jennifer also speak with a military wife who learned how to bring mattering back to her marriage and an extraordinary young man who went from being a sanitation worker to a Harvard Law School graduate.

BUY THE BOOK!

'Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose' by Jennifer Wallace: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/756179/mattering-by-jennifer-breheny-wallace/

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Welcome Jennifer Wallace, author of “Mattering”

00:05:50 - Ina Garten joins

00:07:05 - The importance of mattering to yourself

00:08:40 - How Ina shows people they matter

00:09:30 - The importance of showing up

00:10:50 - One easy way to show people they matter

00:12:20 - The thread that ties us together

00:13:40 - Extrinsic and intrinsic values

00:15:50 - Professor Gordon Flett on why mattering is life or death