My editor recently sent me to cover this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas. The talks, panelists, metaverse and NFT activations, and various interviews I conducted brought me sheer delight. But the most eye-opening of all was when the American singer, rapper, and songwriter Lizzo took the keynote stage. She was asked several questions from the moderator, and many of her responses were intriguing, and yet so refreshing. Here are the “5 Things” I learned.

1. Lizzo twerking on stage to a standing room audience taught me that being yourself is about freeing yourself.

2. An artist of any kind is given a platform. It’s not only meant to sell, but to “yell” when you see injustice perpetrated in and around your orbit.

3. A truly giving person is not afraid to shine the light on another’s talent. There is room for all of us.

4. Embracing your “fatness” like any perceived flaw is not a measure of weakness; it’s truly being comfortable in your own skin and feeling the body positivity vibes.

5. The dreamers are the ones that actually make it. “You have dreams and you never think they’re gonna happen. Then you look up, and you’re on a keynote stage at SXSW talking about your new TV show.”

Every Monday morning at 10 AM EST I will post a powerful prompt and follow it wherever it leads. The aim is to resource all "three brains" — head 🧠, heart 💓, and gut 🤰 — in hopes of connecting the dots to those sticky parts in our nature that matter.

As a syndicated columnist for Authority Magazine and Thrive Global, I have interviewed nearly 175 cancer survivors from all walks of life. In my #1 best-selling book, I Survived Cancer and Here Is How I Did It, I share the true stories of 35 of those survivors and what they learned physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually from this very difficult experience which has forever shaped their worldview.