Ryan chats with Bozoma Saint John, a prominent marketing executive and author of "The Urgent Life," who shares how personal tragedies have fueled her urgency to live. They discuss the significance of treating others well as a lasting legacy, embracing grief, and the importance of meaningful connections. Bozoma reflects on transforming grief into a celebration of love while navigating life's transient nature. Their heartfelt conversation inspires listeners to appreciate the present and prioritize personal relationships over societal achievements.
58:27
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Living the Width of Life
Focus on "living the width" of your life, not just the length.
Fill each day with expansive experiences, making the most of every moment.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Daily Evaluation
Evaluate the width of your life regularly, even daily.
Ask yourself: Did I make the most of today, and did I do it to my own satisfaction?
insights INSIGHT
The Urgent Life
Living urgently means acting as if life could end soon, not necessarily tomorrow.
This mindset inspires intentional living, not recklessness.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In *The Urgent Life*, Bozoma Saint John recounts her personal story of grief and survival. The book delves into her experiences with multiple losses, including the death of her college boyfriend, the premature birth of a child, and the terminal cancer diagnosis of her husband, Peter. Despite these adversities, Saint John and her husband chose to live life urgently, canceling their divorce and addressing past issues. The memoir explores her journey through the highs and lows, highlighting her courage and determination to live life according to her deepest values even in the face of significant challenges.
On the Shortness of Life
Seneca
In this essay, Seneca addresses the common complaint that life is too short by arguing that life is sufficiently long if one uses it wisely. He contends that people waste much of their time in luxury, carelessness, and pointless activities. Seneca emphasizes the importance of living in the present, pursuing philosophical wisdom, and avoiding the distractions that make life seem short. He advises readers to organize each day as if it were their last and to avoid procrastination and the preoccupation with future or past concerns[2][4][5].
Ryan speaks with Bozoma Saint John about her new book The Urgent Life: My Story of My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival, how intense personal traumas have shifted her perspective on life, why the best legacy to leave behind is to have treated people well, viewing grief as a choice, and more.
Bozoma Saint John is an American businessperson and marketing executive who has served as the Chief Marketing Officer at Netflix, CMO at Endeavor, Chief Brand Officer at Uber, a Marketing Executive at Apple Music and Beats Music, Head of Music and Entertainment Marketing at PepsiCo. She has also served as an ambassador for the African Diaspora, special envoy to the President of Ghana, and philanthropic ambassador to Pencils of Promise, and was named among the Top 50 Most Influential Female Leaders in Africa within the corporate and business sphere by Leading Ladies Africa. A series of personal tragedies that culminated in the death of Bozoma’s husband to cancer in 2013 prompted her to embrace her life by living urgently. Now, she lectures around the world on that theme. You can find Bozoma’s work at theurgentlife.com and on Twitter @badassboz.
The Daily Stoic 
