Give Yourself a Year to Try 12 New Things and Embrace Change
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What inspired Shonda Scott to write “Give Me a Year” and start her 12‑month challenge?
This episode of the Oprah Podcast is presented by our partner, Geico. So what was going
on in your life? I was in a place of deep disappointment when I wrote the book. You want to tell us about it? And if you want to see change in your life and in your world, you have to change yourself. Right. But this easy to say, it's hard to do. Transformation doesn't matter if you do something big or do something small. It's just the openness that you need to have.
Well, I'm so glad to be with you here on the Oprah Podcast. I'm in one of the greatest cities in the world, New York City, and you can feel the energy and the creative force here. Last summer I read an article on medium.com because the title really caught my eye. It was called How to Create a Life You Love. No magical thinking required. It's by a writer named Jason McBride, and I shared it with my team because I just really appreciated his simple and powerful message that we all have the power to design or build a life that we love, no matter the circumstances. And it's not as hard or complicated as you think it is. So I said I think this is a good conversation to start having for the podcast. So I'm gonna talk with Jason a little later on, but my first guess, I wanted you to know, has done some really bold daring things.
And she says it is never too late, and you are never too stuck, you're never too old, you're never too much or too little. Because as long as you live, you can always find new things to learn and new ways. Yeah. Shonda Scott, an award-winning entrepreneur, CEO, and thought leader, who has spent more than 20 years turning big ideas into action working on major projects with companies like Uber, Comcast, VET, and Kaiser Permanente, while also creating economic opportunities in underserved communities. Some of Shonda's most meaningful work began with a challenge she gave herself back in 2019, for one year, trying to One new thing every month. Aha, that's an idea. What started as a personal experiment became a lifestyle, inspiring her new book, Give Me a Year.
12 new things to embrace change and live your best life.
Welcome, Shonda. Great to meet you and have you here. I wanted to have thank you be the first words out of my mouth to you. My mom wouldn't have any other way that I would sit here and not thank you for using your platform and how you're doing to elevate authors, especially debut authors. That is so noble of you.
Well, you debuted in a big way. I mean, give me a year is such a bold idea and lots of people would say, Okay, give me a year and I'll, you know, go hike Mount Olympus or give me a year. But you had twelve new things to embrace and change your so what was going on in your life? How did you come up with this idea?
I was in a place of deep disappointment when I wrote the book. I had already started this twelve do things lifestyle based on doing something new each month so you can embrace change in fun, exciting ways to get you out of your comfort zone. But that was a fun social media experiment for me that I did with the premise of thinking if you want to see change in your life and in your world. you have to change yourself. Right. But that's easy to say, it's hard to do. So how do you make something hard to do, fun, and light? That's where the 12 new things came up from. Yeah. But then when I was in this deep disappointment, I had an opportunity happen and the door closed immediately. God shut the door right away.
And I had done everything.
How did Shonda turn deep disappointment into a year of personal experiments?
I had put everything in place. It was my dream opportunity and I was excited about it. And when it got shut down, I became deeply disappointed and writing is how I heal myself. So I thought, well, maybe now is time to write the book.
The fact that you're using the word disappointed and not depressed, because a lot of people would say, I was depressed, I was depressed, I was depressed. But you recognize now that it really was your s sincere, pure disappointment.
And it could have been depression if I didn't have the tools of writing. So writing is how I heal myself.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What inspired Shonda Scott to write “Give Me a Year” and start her 12‑month challenge?
0:01–3:34
2
How did Shonda turn deep disappointment into a year of personal experiments?
3:34–10:05
3
What strategies does Shonda recommend for overcoming fear and trying new things?
10:05–16:52
4
Why does Shonda believe writing down goals and visions is essential for change?
16:52–23:58
5
How did the “dinner with 12 strangers” experiment reshape Shonda’s view of connection?
23:58–30:56
6
What are the three things Jason McBride says we can actually control in our lives?
30:56–35:57
7
Why does Shonda view failure as a misstep rather than a setback?
35:57–39:21
Speakers
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