Marjorie Hope, a distinguished author and advocate for global connection, joins us to discuss the importance of embracing our differences to foster deeper connections and understanding among people. With a diverse background that includes a successful gymnastics school and studies at prestigious institutions, Marjorie emphasizes a core belief: every interaction should be approached with kindness, empathy, and the intention to uplift others. She shares insights from her journey, including the inspiration behind her books, "Kari’s Gold" and "CONNECTIPLOMACY: Using Our Differences to Connect," which aim to promote cultural awareness and unity. Marjorie also introduces her innovative Global Connect Trivia game, designed to alleviate anxiety and encourage fun learning about different cultures. Ultimately, she inspires us to recognize that our world is interconnected and that the more we learn about each other, the more we can build bridges and reduce fear in our increasingly diverse society.

Marjorie Hope, a distinguished author and advocate for global connection, shares her inspiring journey and insights on fostering understanding across cultural divides. With a background that includes education at Salisbury University, the London School of Economics, and Harvard University, Marjorie has dedicated her career to promoting unity and cultural diplomacy. In a heartfelt discussion, she emphasizes the importance of kindness and empathy in every interaction, reminding us that our differences should be seen as bridges rather than barriers. Through her work, including the creation of an educational card game and her books, Marjorie highlights the power of storytelling in building connections and understanding. She passionately believes that by embracing our unique backgrounds, we can create a more harmonious world. Marjorie's personal anecdotes, such as her experiences in Dubai where she learned that cultural misunderstandings often stem from a lack of knowledge, serve as powerful reminders of the importance of dialogue and curiosity in fostering human connections. Her approach encourages listeners to engage with others with an open heart and mind, ultimately aiming for a world where respect and understanding thrive despite differences.

Takeaways:

• Marjorie Hope emphasizes the importance of uplifting others in every interaction we have.
• Her journey from Salisbury University to becoming a global connection advocate was fueled by curiosity.
• Marjorie created an educational card game to foster cultural awareness and promote diplomacy.
• She believes that understanding and valuing our differences can bridge divides in society.
• Daily practices, like deep breathing and gratitude, can help combat anxiety and fear.
• Marjorie stresses that globalization connects us more than ever, enhancing our shared experiences.

Links referenced in this episode:

• amazon.com
• barnesandnoble.com
• americaconnected.org
• marjoriehope.com

Mentioned in this episode:

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My guest today is Marjorie Hope. Marjorie is a distinguished author, entrepreneur and advocate for global connection.

She's written two books, Kari’s Gold and CONNECTIPLOMACY: Using Our Differences to Connect. She's also created an educational card game designed to promote diplomacy and cultural awareness and fun interactive way.

A graduate of Salisbury University with further studies at the London School School of Economics and Harvard University, Marjorie's career spans diverse fields. She owns a successful gymnast school, gymnastics school, where she's integrated mind, body and spirit in fitness education.

Margie continues to champion understanding and unity across our borders. We welcome her to the podcast. Well, Marge, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today?

Fantastic. And thank you so much for having me. I'm excited.

Cool. I have a sister in law named Marge, so. Or Marjorie, actually. So the both of you. It's like I said, like almost talking to my sister in law.

I always like to ask my guests this question, what's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

Great question. I actually, throughout my life, I have always thought that we should leave people better than then you found them.

Oh, and it kind of reminds me of the approach that every interaction that you have with somebody, it has to be with kindness, empathy, and the intention to uplift others. Because you never know what someone's feeling or what they've been through. And why not uplift each other?

Because the more we do that, the more we help each other and we become all better human beings.

Oh, I love that. You know, I'm always curious when I have my guest on, I always know that we never get where we are in life without people walking alongside us.

Who are some people in your life who were maybe an inspiration for you or a mentor for you along your journey?

Well, I've been really fortunate to have people who have inspired me and mentored me, starting with my parents. They were instrumental in teaching me the values of integrity, hard work and compassion.

My father always encouraged me and he encouraged me to embrace challenges and think critically. Well, and my mother, she showed me the power of resilience and kindness in every situation.

And I don't think you get better role models than that because beyond my parents though, I've had the privilege of learning from extraordinary individuals who believed in my potential and were mentors in my professional, you know, journey along the way. So I, I just think everybody brings something to the table.

That is so true. And everybody's been, I think God puts them in our life for a reason. And I agree at just the right time.

Because those are the people we need to walk along that journey. So that's always kind of neat.

I agree. Exactly.

So can you share about a little bit about your journey from Salisbury University, becoming an advocate for global connection? That's an interesting journey.

So my journey from Salisbury University kind of to become an advocate for global connection is really interesting because it's a blend of curiosity and purpose.

So at Salisbury, I just felt really connected there with people with learning different cultures, the way when you go to college and you meet people from different aspects of different. Different worlds. And I felt that seed be being planted when I was there of my interest in diplomacy and unity.

Now that curiosity led me to pursue further studies at the London School of Economics and Harvard, where I deepened, honestly, immensely, my understanding of global systems at that point and the importance of cultural diplomacy. Because we only have one planet, and this is where we all live.

So. So very true. And you're right. And. And we have to learn to do that with. With grace and responsibility and.

And be good stewards of what God has given us.

And. And it was teaching me, too, that the world is interconnected and yet divided by so many misunderstandings and division.

And that kind of inspired me is that's why I founded America Connected, the Nonpro.

All right, Love that. So what inspired you to write your two books? Carrie's Goal and Connect.

Diplomacy.

Diplomacy. Right.

Yep. Okay. So my passion for storytelling and my commitment to honestly building and developing the understanding of unity. Carrie's Gold is.

It's a children's book, but it's a reflection for my love for weaving personal experiences.

And, you know, gymnastics is a sport, but it also is a lot of flexibility that you have to have in life, the strength to get through your life, and the dedication and discipline that when you want to learn something, you have to keep working at it.

So I always say that gymnastics and Carrie's Gold is just a story about a little girl in gymnastics that teaches us about life and connecting with others. Now, Connect Diplomacy, on the other hand, that was born from my journey of an advocate for global connection and awareness.

And that book just took off because it's bridging us through our differences. And what I mean by that is we all have different ideologies, religions, different ways we, you know, see things.

And the inspiration came from my work with America Connected, where I have seen firsthand how diplomacy can bring people together. Quick example, if you want. I had a trip. I'd gone to. To Dubai and was talking with someone about the.

The culture and what their lifestyle was like there when I noticed a sheik was Staring at me and I worried that, oh my, maybe I did something wrong. And he laughed and he said, oh, no. I said, well, you know, I just felt like maybe I wasn't as accepted in the town.

And he said, no, that's because they don't know your culture and they haven't been involved in the Internet that much. And that friendly attitude and that smile that he gave me made me talk some more to him.

And I don't know what made me think of it, but I said, hey, can I have my picture? And without even thinking, I said that. And he said, yes. And the ultimate was when we did the picture. He gave me a thumbs up.

Now that told me right there we were as different as night and day. We were different men, women, you know, different religions, different ideologies, different ways. We. But yet he respected me and I respected him.

And that was when I knew us onto something. Because this is what our world is about. We are, you know, our world's getting smaller because of all of the connections we have through the Internet.

And, you know, we're in a, I think an amazing, amazing time period where we could be ordering something from, let's say, India on Amazon, talking to someone in China and having a zoom meeting with somebody from Japan. It's just an incredible world. And you can do all this while you're in your pajamas. So, yeah, with some. That's what took me to that next level.

So, Margie, tell me about this. I found this on your website. Global Connect Trivia game. What influenced you to write that?

And what advocacy work do you hope to accomplish through this game?

So Global Connect Trivia is a fun card game where you can play with as many players as you want and you take the card and you ask the question, A, B and C. For example, where were fortune cookies first started? You know, I might say A, China, B, Italy, C, South Africa. And you have to pick the answer.

Of course, the answer, you know is on the bottom. The person in charge of the asking the questions can see the answer.

It also has 52 positive affirmations for every week about connecting with each other. Now, it's a game, but it's also an educational game because it's teaching us all about the world and how to get along.

And I think a lot of times we tend to be anxiety ridden, which brings us to fear over the unknown. And this is kind of a fun way to bring it together to show we're not that different after all. And it's just all about connecting.

So where were fortune cookies Discovered you.

Have to play the game to find it.

Oh, see, I thought you were going to tell me.

But it is a fun game and it's got a lot of fun questions and also fun facts. At the end of the question.

I'm sorry, at the end of the card, which is really different from any other game I've seen because we kind of went above and beyond trying to make this so interesting that you want to go out and be a part of the world. And again, we have one place we all live and that really is the Earth, and that's one planet. We have nowhere else to go.

So we need to make friends, we need to connect. And it's okay to think differently, act differently, because we can respect each other and that's what it's all about.

So as I listen to you talk about this, it kind of makes me think that the basic premise that you approach this with is the more we know about each other, our uniqueness, our backgrounds, our history, our stories, the more we feel connected to people at a common level. Am I on track with that?

That's right. We as human beings, like I said, we. And it's natural to have anxiety of something that's unusual.

When you wake up, let's say a Monday morning, there's a lot of people that have a lot of anxiety on a Monday morning. They've just come off of a weekend of relaxation or doing something fun. Now it's back to work. What if I don't do it right?

What if I have to go to school and I don't make it in time? What if I'm late? What if I don't do good?

On exam, there's all these things that go through our mind, and I always say, take a deep breath and think through that. You're going to be okay. It's going to be all right.

But what happens with that anxiety is it brings us to the next level where you don't want it to go, which is fear. And when you get to the fear, that's what we see in our world right now because there are so many changes happening in such a rapid, you know.

Well, the past few years has been so rapid and changing and fast moving and all the different things that are connecting us, it can be a little scary, but we'll be okay. And this is so exciting because we get to be a part of the whole world.

It's not just that little corner that you live on and you can find out about people, what they think, what they, what they eat, what they, you Know, maybe you go to a different country and share in what they are able to do every day and then they come to see you and share on what you're doing. So I'm just trying to teach people that global awareness is being aware of all of us.

And yes, we are different, but you don't have to be fearful of it because all fear does is bring us to the next level and escalation of not a good thing. And that's where you have to sit back, take a deep breath and say, let's have fun with this. Let's meet somebody.

Think back to when you were a little kid and you met new people. It's just fun, right?

So in your book Connect Diplomacy, you discuss our differences to connect. Can you elaborate on this concept and it's important in today's world?

Sure. Whether it's cultural, ideological or personal, it should not divide us, but rather serve as bridges for deeper connection and understanding.

Now in today's polarized world, it is easy to focus on what separates us. But I do believe that when we embrace our differences, we really unlock the potential to learn from one another and develop unity.

Now that doesn't mean we have to be the same. What I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is we need to recognize each other and what we all bring to the table.

And the core of this concept, it's rooted in cultural diplomacy. The idea that by appreciating the diverse perspectives that we can create a stronger, more meaningful connection across borders.

And whether it's personal or on a global scale, the ability to see the value. And that's the big thing, the value, contrasting viewpoints, that's what's essential for peace and progress and our day to day life.

You mentioned that one thing that separates us or maybe creates division is in many cultures is the idea we wake up with this anxiety and this fear. What practical steps do you suggest as someone who's kind of doing this work to help us tone down the anxiety, to move beyond the fear?

Because if we, if we can't get beyond those two strong emotions, we're not going to make those connections.

That's a great question because I actually have developed something and it sounds funny, but it works every morning, whether you drink coffee or tea.

But it's the, it's a hot beverage, could be hot chocolate and you breathe in the steam and you, what happens when you breathe in the steam is you have to slow down your thoughts, the anxiety that is coming into your body at that point saying what do I have to do today. What if I make a mistake? What if I don't like the person? What if they don't like me? What? You know, the what if, what if, what if?

And it slows you down. And then I suggest to people, take a second and say something to yourself. You know, you have to make yourself breathe deep three times.

You know, thank you, God, for the flowers, trees, birds and bees. Thank you for the clouds I see. Thank you for the ability to be me, and thank you for the opportunity to be the best I can be. And what that does.

If you say that three times after you've done your deep breaths, it does calm you down and it makes you ready to go out in a positive mind with. Without the anxiety.

And I'm not saying you won't have anxiety during the day at some point, but when you start out that way, as soon as you meet somebody new with a new idea or they're, you know, not thinking the same as you, you can say, hey, I can do this. And that's why when, when I put the clouds in there, what. That's exactly what I'm talking about is clouds. You know, we have to deal with it.

So, hey, deal with all the things that happen during the day with a smile, with a big, you know, I can do this. I am thanking God for the opportunity, the opportunity to be the best I can be for that day. And you have to do that every day. And it works.

I love that. You know, I always think we in America believe that us going somewhere else, we are, we the ones who are.

Other cultures are so much more difficult to adapt to than ours.

But as I think about it, because America is such a melting pot, if you're coming to America, you could run into three or four, 300 or so different cultures just going within the city. So how do you, if you think about that, it's not easy living in America.

We think it is because we're here and we're used to it and we have our course. But I thought about the fact that as you talk, there's a lot of diversity here.

So how do you, as people are dealing with the challenges of, you know, understanding culture in our everyday lives? How do we help people to really kind of embrace the, the uniqueness of other people?

Well, first of all, it doesn't have to be hard to live in America, right, anywhere in the world. Because here's the thing, we are going to meet all sorts of people from many different ways of.

In fact, if you look at all the different countries in the world. We're also different in what we eat and our. You know, I talked about this a few minutes ago in the ideologies, and that makes it exciting and fun.

So I'm going to tell you two things. There was actually. This is a true story. There were two little boys. They were six years old. One had white skin, one had black skin.

And they were going around telling everyone they were twins. So one day somebody said to them, why do you guys think you're twins? And the little boy said, because we're born on the same day.

And what a great statement. Because they didn't recognize their difference. They recognized what they had in common. And it was an adorable story.

But the other thing that you mentioned about what is dividing us, and there is a lot of division, that is social media. Now, division's always been around. We've always had anxiety over something different or somebody different.

But what social media does is it brings together people of a liked commonality. So, for example, let's say you're on Facebook and you're sifting through and you see something that, hey, I believe in what they're saying.

Well, fantastic. You now have become part of the group. They welcome you, and after a couple weeks, you may notice a red flag. Wait a minute.

I don't think I believe that. But at that point, psychologically and tests have proven this, you will not leave because you joined the group.

So if you joined the group, well, it must be me, not them, must be me that thinks this is wrong. Maybe. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe what they're saying is, okay, so what we see, and we've seen this throughout history, this happens all the time.

Give you another example real quick. In Germany, during the reign of Hitler, you would have people that have gone to barbecues and picnics and were friends.

But yet when the Nazis came in power, they turned each other in. So you're like, why did they do that? So we have a similar thing going on now with social media. Media, where if.

If you don't like a group, a political group, let's say. Now that same thing. Let's go back for a second. You're walking down the street and you skin your knee and you fall down and you're like, oh.

And somebody sees you and you don't know each other, 99.9. That person will say, are you okay? Do you need help? What can I do for you?

But yet, if you are, and it doesn't matter who you are or what you believe in, but once they do find that out, let's say in a different situation, they're not your friend. So I mean, it makes no sense when you think about it, because they were willing to be your friend and help you and, and that's the way it should be.

But what social media does is it exasperates it. It makes it, you know, magnified into a them versus me, you know, them versus us.

And, and what I always say to people is, look, social media is great because it's a great way.

Like if you want to say, look where I was this week or look what I did, and here's my, you know, children at a Halloween party, things like that are great. If you want to join it because of political things and that's okay.

But you have to remember that the nastiness, the division, that's what we don't want. And who wants that? The media, because they make money doing that.

And, and also when you're watching the different media outlets, they don't make money if everybody's friends. They make money because of the advertising and the people watching to see what else is going to happen. And that's just money driven.

It's the dollar driven. But it's not about connecting with each other.

I love that. So I'm going to ask my favorite question to ask authors because it's the most difficult question.

And that is what is your favorite chapter of your book and why?

Gosh, the challenges that in my, in my book that I talk about that we all face every day when, and, and I'll give you an example. I've traveled a lot all over the world and I have found one statement that I, and I talk about this in the book. People are people.

I have found them to be nice, inclusive. I've never had a problem. And I have had friends that have been with me.

Like, let's say you go in a different store, you're, you know, you kind of separate for a little bit. Who will say, oh, they were so rude to me. Oh, they, they didn't like, you know me because of this, that I'm like, really?

I didn't have any of those problems because you have to respect each other. If you go in with an attitude, they're going to have an attitude too. It reflects each other. So my book, I talk about this. People are people.

We are all, no matter where you're from, we, we all have to eat. I said this a few minutes ago. We sleep, we have to go to the bathroom. You know, we're just people.

We're human beings that are fallible that have to remember the good in each other. And I believe God made us with differences so that we can connect. Because if we were all the same, it would be boring.

Right?

If we all just ate the same thing, we wouldn't have enough of it. This way we can encourage each other through our differences and look how much more we get out of that.

I love it. So I got to tell you, favorite chapter of your book. Mine is building bridges, because my podcast is called Becoming Bridge Builders.

That was one of my favorite chapters. I do want to dig a little bit into this because, you know, I hear this all the time, especially as we. Our world is getting smaller and smaller.

You mentioned it. This idea of globalism. You have a chapter, chapter seven. Globalism is a cause for concern. Why do you say that?

Globalization is a concern?

Yeah, a cause for concern.

No, I. I don't think that. I think a lot of people think.

That, so I usually. Yeah, okay.

I believe that globalization is the best thing that has ever happened to us. We are not. And, and you hear this. Sometimes people will say this. There are certain groups that will say, for example, America first.

Well, you can't be first. To be only because, yes, we are connected. Well, we're disconnected by a big ocean right in. In between us. But that doesn't disconnect us anymore.

We're connected through everything all day long. The clothes we wear, the. The phones we have, they're all from different countries. Everything we have. Our glasses are from someplace else.

Our, you know, our, Our phones, the chips are from someplace else. But that just connects us. And the things that we have in our life now are so much greater. And the globalization is a good thing.

Speaking different languages, for example. There are so many things now where you can translate in two minutes what somebody is saying if you don't understand. There's.

Actually, I just got them and I haven't tried them yet, but they' there's headphones that you can put on in. If somebody's talking in a different language and it translates to something you. Let's say it's English that you can understand. Now.

I actually like learning other languages and trying to assimilate when I'm in a different country. But sometimes, you know, you need to do something very quick and fast. I'll give you an example.

I was in Japan and we were looking for a building that we were going to, and I said, oh, well, that must be the building. And we walked across the street and those people can help us. And that was not the case. They were Like a military institution.

They were, you need to leave. I apologized and I said, of course, no problem. But.

But at the same token, when I was in Japan, to show you how nice people are, we had toured the government center and decided to get something to eat. And in America, we have a cafeteria usually located in our government buildings. So I figured there had to be something. And sure enough, there was.

And as I entered, I saw a group of people on the corner of this building, like, inside the building. And I thought, wow, I wonder what's going on? So the person, I guess you'd say, like, he was the maitre d. I said, what is going on over there?

Looks exciting. And he said, yeah, that's the Prime Minister of Japan. Can I meet him now? I didn't think I would get a yes, but he said, well, I.

I can't go over there, but you could try. So I was like, okay. Now the rest of the people I was with said, we're gonna go sit down. Fine with me. Because I. I embrace the situation.

So I walked up. Sure enough, Prime Minister turns to me, can I help you? I said, hi, I'm Marjorie. I'm from America. Because he kind of figured that, right?

But he was so nice and so open and are you having a good time? Are you enjoying yourself? Are you learning a lot? I said, yes, I am.

And I did learn a little Japanese, because I do believe that wherever you go, you don't have to speak fluently, but be respectful, learn how to say, hello, goodbye, thank you, and where's the bathroom? But you do need to know a few words. And so I did. Arigato. And I was able to say a few things.

And that's just an example of how, I mean, people are people. It was wonderful, and it was such a great experience.

And I've had things like that happen everywhere I've ever been because people really are genuinely nice and interested and happy that you've come to visit them.

That's such a neat story. So I gotta ask you my second favorite question now, and that is, what do you want your legacy to be?

I would say that I've been able to show people that we get more from connecting with each other than we ever will from division. That we need to focus on common goals. Peace, justice, human dignity. I realize that it's not all perfect. I am not trying to sugarcoat the world.

But I want the legacy to be that let's find out what we have in common through what we have different. In order to make the world go round, which is why our world really does turn around. Our earth rotates all the time.

I love that. Is there anything I haven't asked you that I should have asked you?

Well, gosh, I mean, I just think this is exciting and I love being on your show and just address the challenges of cultural misunderstandings because when you have a misunderstanding, it's not a bad thing. It just means you have to go back and connect with that person the best way you can. And you always will find a way.

You can't assume that they don't like you can't assume that something is the way it is. Again, take a minute, take a step back and find out what you do need to do to connect with that person. And promoting dialogue and the.

And the space for dialogue, allowing the communication and encouraging active listening. Listen to what they're saying and be respectful. And that's the best you can do.

That's great. Where can listeners find your two books and connect with you on social media?

Yeah, I mean, I. Well, first of all, Connect Diplomacy and Carries Gold are both on Amazon and on Barnes and Noble.

You can always go to americaconnected.org to find out all about America Connected, which is the nonprofit where we teach all of these programs.

And we have international events and community events and our global Connect trivia and all sorts of different programs going on and we'd love for everybody to be a part of it. Also, you can contact me at its marjorie hope@marjorie hope.com anytime and I will answer everybody.

So you have any projects you're working on you want to tell us about and sh. Shock the audience ahead of time.

We, we have international trips and we have our international events and we love having people come and join us on all of these things and we have a bunch of different things in the works and the best thing to do is sign up on americaconnected.org or, you know, you can always email me too, like I said, and I'd be happy to contact you. And of course Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, TikTok and YouTube.

We're on all the platforms and you can see everything that's going on there too.

Well, Marjorie, thanks so much for being on the podcast and providing such great content. Keep connecting with the world.

We need those people like yourself who can help us to understand that we're closer together than we are apart and embracing the university and diversity that is out there for us.

The world's an exciting place. Thank you so much for having me.

Thank you.