Revisited: The Kennedy Family and the Search for Self with Journalist Maria Shriver
3/10/202644 min
Hello from Team Simon! We’re taking a short hiatus, but A Bit of Optimism will return with brand-new episodes March 24th. In the meantime, we’re revisiting some of our favorite episodes. Episodes that many of you who listened, shared them, and told us what resonated.
This week, we’re bringing back Simon’s conversation with journalist, author, and longtime friend Maria Shriver.
Maria Shriver was born into the legendary Kennedy and Shriver families, arriving with a script already written for her—an identity shaped by legacy and expectation. From the start, the world had ideas...
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSimon Sinek· Host0:00
You and I actually don't talk on the phone that much.
Maria Shriver· Guest0:01
No, we text.
Simon Sinek· Host0:02
But- But you don't ever pick up the phone.
Maria Shriver· Guest0:05
That cat picture comes up, and I call, and like- I, I- There's the cat ...
Simon Sinek· Host0:08
it's because, it's not, it's not personal. It's because my phone's- I know that ... always on do not disturb, but when I see you called, it always call you back.
Maria Shriver· Guest0:13
Then you call me back.
Simon Sinek· Host0:14
[laughs] [laughs] We all know people with big personalities, but we would rarely call them kind. We also know people with small personalities, and they are usually the kindest. But every now and then, there's a big personality, a huge personality that shows up that just exudes kindness and warmth, and one of those people is Maria Shriver. I had the opportunity to sit down with Maria to talk about her new book, I Am Maria. Maria is my best friend, and to hear her talk about the journey she is on to reclaim her own identity is nothing short of inspiring. And that little question, I am, and what it yields, turns out has great value to all of us to find out who we really are and why we love ourselves. I am Simon, and this is A Bit of Optimism. [upbeat music] So, I, yours and my friendship, I think most people, including me, would not have predicted. We met kind of by accident.
Maria Shriver· Guest1:23
Right.
Simon Sinek· Host1:24
Right?
Maria Shriver· Guest1:24
Uh-huh.
Simon Sinek· Host1:24
I don't know how you tell the story, but I can, I know the, the, so the, is, you reached out to me- Uh-huh