This Father’s Day 2021, many of us are re-emerging and with so much change, I find myself wanting to return to words of wisdom that can ground me during this time of transition. Rather than recording a new episode with a father this year, I’m putting together an episode to highlight my favorite insights from fathers I’ve interviewed since the podcast began. So stay tuned for that episode coming out soon. In the meantime, I wanted to re-release this full interview with my very own father, David Lieberman, with a dedication by my son Ryan, whose voice no longer sounds anything like this. Though so much has changed, the words from the dedication and the interview itself feel as true and powerful as ever. Sending love to my own Dad this Father’s Day and wishes for all of you to discover or rediscover connection and inspiration from the fathers and father figures in your life.
Much appreciation,
P.S. Know someone who would love this conversation? Pay this forward to a friend who may be interested.
Original Show Notes
Love of Family and Pursuing our Fate ~A Father’s Day Special~ with David Lieberman
What an honor it is to bring you this episode with my own father as one of two I’m having with men on the podcast this month in honor of Father’s Day.
Two things sparked my interest in having my father on the show now…first, a desire to feel more connected to my grandmother Molla, my father’s mother, who passed away years before I was born from pancreatic cancer. I wanted to hear from my Dad about his experience of his mother, how she shaped him, and the ways he notices her spirit living on in us today.
Related to this, I recently went to a workshop to learn about uncovering our family ancestry and at that workshop they discussed the power of oral histories. My Dad is a storyteller and I wanted to use this amazing platform to capture his stories and life lessons, for me, for my children and the Mother’s Quest Community.
The episode is an exploration of my father’s E.P.I.C. life, how his mother’s passion as a voice and elocution teacher shaped him into the powerful speaker and human being he is today, the moment he first saw my mom when she was just 11 years old, how he built a career and a family, and a love of golf to help him cope with the effects of Type 1 Diabetes. And, how he views love of family and the pursuit of fate as a theme that runs through it all.
This episode’s dedication was shared by Vanessa Couto, an astrologist who considers fate and what’s written “in the stars” for us as part of her exploration and practice. Vanessa honored her father Guido with this dedication and reflected on the ways that fate, legacy, and character help us live a life of purpose.
I loved reflecting on these same elements of my father’s life in this conversation. I wasn’t surprised that there were moments that made my Dad and I laugh and cry during along the way. But, I was surprised by the insights that emerged…about the ways in which my grandmother and my father’s qualities live in me. I’ve known I’m much like my mother, but it wasn’t until the end of this conversation that I realized that the “seeker” in me, the one who is always on a quest, comes from my father.
My Dad believes that fate play a role in all of our lives, but that we must actively pursue it to fully realize it. Our challenge this month is to reflect on the moments in our lives when we chose to pursue our fate and what happened as a result. Also, to notice and seize the new opportunities and possibilities that call us to take action today in our E.P.I.C. lives.
In honor of Father’s Day, I’d like to add one more challenge that we didn’t discuss in the interview but came to me as I wrote this introduction. Seek out the father or father figures in your life to ask them about and record the stories, lessons and insights they have to pass along to this and future generations.
I promise you’ll learn something powerful about yourself and how to more fully live your E.P.I.C. life.
**Stick around till the end for some light and funny bloopers from the interview.
This episode dedicated by:
Vanessa Couto – Artist, Astrologer, and Teacher. Visit her website at www.vanessacouto.com and connect on Facebook
Topics Discussed in this Episode:
- My father’s view on fate and how it has been a thread weaving through his whole E.P.I.C. life
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The ways my grandmother shaped my father and the thing she said to him that sealed his fate for a life he loved in California
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How fate brought my father and mother together, from his first site of her receiving a drama lesson from his mother, to summers as children and teens in a bungalow colony, to 50 plus years of marriage.
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Where the seeds for his playful nature and love for his children and grandchildren were planted early in his life
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How he pursued a career in a business he built, the people he met and helped along the way, and the importance of being a person of integrity
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The impact of Type 1 Diabetes and stress on his life and how his love of golf became his remedy
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Some funny stories of crazy things that happened to him, several involving the Wall Street Journal, and one that you may want to turn the volume down on if your children are listening with you.
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The favorite toasts passed down to him by his mother
This Week’s Challenge:
There are three challenges this week:
- One from me, to look back on our lives, notice the moments when we chose to seek our fate, the impact that has had on us, and to share it with our family members
- One from my father to continue to seek out our fate, taking action on opportunities even when we’re not certain what might come from it
- And one that emerged from my son Ryan, to share this episode with the fathers or father figures in your life, let them know how you appreciate them, and explore and record their stories and lessons learned.
Other Special Episodes with the People in My Life:
- Ep 40: Live the Movie Version of Your Life with Oscar®-Nominated Producer Rachel Winter, my childhood best friend
- Ep 34: Season Two Finale: The Power of Friendship and a 50 Year-Old Book Club with Fran Lieberman, my mother, and her friend Sandy Klasky
- Ep 18: YOLO (You Only Live Once) and other Milestone Reflectionswith my son Ryan Neale
- Ep 17: A Mindful Writer’s Practice with family friend Danielle Dutton
Support the Podcast
If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Four of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.
If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at julie@mothersquest.com
Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.
Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).
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