Overcoming The Limitations Of Your Circumstances - Amanda Knox - Defining Hospitality - Ep # 116

In an environment designed to be anti hospitable, it is a daunting task to create a space of warmth and comfort. Today’s guest is someone who helps bring a sense of hospitality to otherwise unwelcoming spaces. She is an activist who fights for justice and advocates for those whose voices have been silenced. Joining the show this week is author of her memoir “Waiting to be heard” and the Host of the “Labyrinths” podcast, Amanda Knox.

Amanda sits down with Host Dan Ryan to share how she was an advocate for her community while in prison, the steps for resolving conflict with others, and the ways someone's background shapes others’ perceptions of them. 

Takeaways: 

• True Hospitality is identifying someone's needs, and using the resources available to you to meet those needs. This can be enacted through giving someone a comfortable place to stay, or simply being an advocate for them.
• Someone's background creates a lens through which each interaction they have will be viewed. For people who are previously incarcerated, they face a lens of inherent suspicion and distrust from others. 
• While tough situations require positive outlooks, those outlooks vary person to person. For Amanda, her positive outlook was accepting the circumstances, and making the best out of them. Her mother’s outlook was fighting for what was right without giving up. 
• There are four steps to resolving conflict with a person. Set the stage by finding common ground you can agree on; identify the strongest form of their argument they are trying to argue; show them compassion; and ultimately, allow yourself to be open to change. 
• When large impacts happen, they affect everyone around the individual. Families are put under undue emotional, financial, physical and emotional stress as they work to assist those affected.  
• While Amanda was incarcerated, she sought to overcome the limitations of the situation and assist others as best she could. She became a writer and translator for other prisoners, helping them write home and read court documents. 

Quote of the Show:

• “No matter what circumstance you are in, no matter what condition you're in, there's always the opportunity to connect with people and to make some kind of positive impact in other people's lives.” - Amanda Knox 

Links:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/amandaknox 
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/amamaknox/ 
• Website: https://www.knoxrobinson.com/ 
• Website: https://innocenceproject.org/ 
• Book Link: https://a.co/d/cJDYQIK 
• Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/labyrinths-getting-lost-with-amanda-knox/id1494368441 

Shout Outs:

• 01:11 - MIT
• 13:51 - Man’s Search For Meaning: https://a.co/d/9c6N7t0 
• 17:13 - The Obstacle Is The Way: https://a.co/d/7F2gejn 
• 22:13 - Steve Martin
• 43:38 - The Innocence Project
• 43:58 - The Labyrinths Podcast

Ways to Tune In: 

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419