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In this episode, we talk with philanthropist Riri from the Reimagining Life Podcast. Riri is a disability advocate as a podcast host sharing stories of resilience, hope, and support. Tune in to hear how Riri is making the world a better place through sharing stories and offering support to those who need to be uplifted.
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Guest Bio
Working a career in international relations and education, all of a sudden my life changed drastically and I needed to learn to live in a totally new reality. I became very sick on a work trip and never really fully recovered. Over the course of years, I’ve (and still am) learned/ learning how to manage my condition, myself, my expectations, and my priorities and purpose. I didn’t choose this new upside down life, but I had to learn to live differently, one step at a time. This personal experience inspired the idea for the Reimagining Life Podcast.
I met many people like me, who were happily living their lives when a medical trauma came in and changed everything. The podcast represents what I’ve learned in my ongoing journey with chronic illness and disability, and I hope helps others feel less alone while going through such major changes and helps provide information about resources and options that might be helpful to them.
RiRi is a deep thinker, creative, curious, and extremely driven. Her adventurous spirit, love of nature, and passion for learning and trying new things makes her a force to be reckoned with. She might want to stop and pet every dog that she meets, but she does have some boundaries.
She’s had many adventures, but prefers to stay behind the camera. To learn more about RiRi’s story, listen to the podcast episodes 2A and 2B.
Show Notes
Find the Reimagining Life podcast on Apple Podcasts, here.
Tune into the episode with Lois, here.
For more information about my podcast guest Dr. Kirk Adams, go here.
For more information of Riri’s favorite charities, please go to the websites of: World Central Kitchen, UNICEF, and Special Olympics.
Transcript
Jenn Klein: [00:00:00] Welcome to the You Are a Philanthropist podcast. Today we’re talking with Riri from the Reimagining from Pain to Purpose podcast, who went from a career in international development to helping people with chronic illness and disability thrive in whatever stage they are in and reimagining their lives.
Welcome to the you are a philanthropist podcast with Jenn Klein, a Certified Fund Raising Executive and philanthropic entrepreneur. This show is dedicated to empowering and inspiring you to make a difference in your community and our world. Jen believes all acts of kindness matter, and this show is designed to help you take pride in your everyday actions of improving the lives of others and making a change in the world.
Now, here’s Jenn.
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Jenn Klein: Riri, welcome to the show.
Riri: Thank you. I’m excited to be here.
Jenn Klein: Tell us about your story of transitioning from a career in international development to helping others with chronic disability and illness.
Riri: Yeah, so I worked for over a decade in international development where I was traveling around the world working in emerging economies and I loved it.
I was working in under resourced places with multilingual people from literally all over the world. And I, I loved it. I unfortunately got sick, pretty sick. And it ended up turning into a neurological condition and eventually a disability that sort of never [00:03:00] went away. So I had to totally re imagine what my, my life was going to be.
I had to figure out. What am I going to do in this totally different new reality that I did not ask for and was not a fan of? And, um, you know, I really had to think about, okay, what’s my purpose now? And what can I do from this standpoint? And, you know, based on my own experience of going to tons of, you know, pain management clinics and tons of doctors and tests and all of these things, you meet lots of people going through similar things.
And I met so many people that felt like I did, which was, it’s so isolating. Um, and you’re pretty much, you know, In the lowest part of your life, you’re really struggling at that point, and there’s really no help available. There’s no place that can give you [00:04:00] support, or no one to turn to to say like, How do I get this resource, or how do I find out where I can find someone who can help me with A, B, and C?
And you’re just so isolated and feeling alone, and Without direction. And so I was really disturbed by that. And I wanted to do something about it. So I decided that I was going to make that my purpose to create some sort of community and support for people who are going through what I’ve been through.
Since I know what it’s like, and I really wanted that to be my purpose. And so I began thinking about what’s the best way to reach the most people I can. The lowest common denominator seemed to be a podcast. I knew nothing about podcasting. I had a lot of learning to do. I sort of jumped in. Um, you know, I did a lot of research and then I just sort of, you know, went step by step and baby steps along the way, got better.
[00:05:00] pretty creative in the process and jumped in. And it’s been a little bit over a year since I launched the podcast and we’ve done 18 episodes so far. We’re working on number 19 and it’s, it’s really been great. I mean, it feels like I’m doing something useful. Um, I get a lot of feedback from people, which is.
Fantastic. Um, and I just love meeting all the people that I’ve been meeting who have such amazing stories and they’re doing awesome things. And I think people need to know about that. And also people need to know that, you know, one in four Americans have some sort of disability. So disability and chronic illnesses.
around all of us all the time. You might not know it. Um, so one of my goals is really to try to get rid of the stigma [00:06:00] of disability and say, yeah, we should talk about it. And these people all have a disability and look at what they’re doing. You can do anything you want to do. You just have to figure out the way to do it.
And so that’s really my, my stance. The goals of the podcast are to empower. educate, inform, and de stigmatize. And so I do that through, interviewing, I call them re imaginers, people who are telling their personal stories about how they re imagine their lives. I interview professionals who work with this community, these communities, maybe providing services, alternative therapies.
I also interview, mostly non profits or organizations that provide some sort of services for the communities as well. Um, and that’s really part of the education piece of, here are all these options, you know, and maybe you can find these locally around you or you can [00:07:00] connect with these people and maybe they can help you find something locally that can help you.
And then just making, making people, people. We’re all people. Everybody loves hearing stories about people’s lives and how they’ve overcome challenges, whatever they might be. And it’s, it’s about making people human and, and learning about them and thinking about, okay, how can we pay it forward and go forward together as a community?
That’s. That’s the transformation.
Jenn Klein: Well, I am so grateful to have this opportunity to share. How you’re helping others, and I’m so sorry to hear about, you know, your illness, but I’m so thankful to hear that you want to help people and that you are helping people and you’re making a difference and [00:08:00] that’s really shows your strength to want to, help others, even though, you know, You, you’ve gone through and, something very painful. Yeah. You’ve turned your pain into purpose
Riri: That’s right. That’s where the title comes from. It’s, it’s literal. It’s literally reimagining your life and turning your pain into purpose. Yeah. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. And I’m so happy to be here and sharing about it.
Jenn Klein: And I can see that it’s helped you too, to, to have those moments of connection with others and the educational piece.
And, I love that not only are others benefiting, but you’re benefiting too.
Riri: Absolutely. I mean, it’s partly cathartic for me. It’s great connecting with people. And I think just having a personal connection is [00:09:00] so helpful for anyone who might be feeling a little bit alone or, you know, a little bit stuck or something.
But I think there’s always, you always get so much benefit when you’re helping others and giving back. It’s kind of like the saying that I see people have on bumper stickers when they adopt a dog from a shelter, and it says like, who adopted who? Um, it’s just, it’s just part of it. You know, you gain so much from helping other people as well.
So it’s, it’s not that you do it specifically for that purpose, but it’s certainly, What goes around comes around.
Jenn Klein: I love that. I like to say we’re hardwired to give.
Riri: Yeah.
Jenn Klein: I really feel like there’s something innate within us, that benefits us when we help others. I just, I just love that because, um, [00:10:00] first of all, I do think there’s an aspect of self care.
And I’m sure you could talk about that, about, how we need to take care of ourselves too. Um, and, and when we take care of ourselves, we, we have more capacity to help others.
Riri: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, one of the things that you keep hearing is that self care is not selfish because I think a lot of people feel like if I have to take time out of my day to take care of myself, like I’m taking away time that I could be doing other things, but you really have to take care of yourself because if you don’t take care of yourself, You won’t be able to function and you won’t be able to give to others.
So you have to, that’s like the first step in realizing, Okay, I need to make some changes. I need to learn how to take care of myself [00:11:00] better and practice some radical self compassion maybe, some self kindness, um, You know, things that you treat other people that way, you often don’t treat yourself that way.
And it’s much easier said than done. I’m still learning to do it better. Um, I think we’re always learning. But absolutely, that’s a huge piece of it. And it’s just so important. I mean, I can’t emphasize enough how important self care is and understanding what you need in order to function at your, the best you can be.
You know, that might not be 100%, but it’s the best that you can do for that moment.
Jenn Klein: I think that there’s, with disability, like you said, there’s stigma.
Riri: Oh yeah.
Jenn Klein: And sometimes [00:12:00] that stigma can get internalized. And particularly in our society that, um, we don’t talk about mental health conditions or, struggles mentally, um, there, like you said, there’s can be isolation and loneliness and, and that can compound, um, you know, any illness you’re going through.
Riri: Absolutely. I mean, mental health. is part of your overall health. There is no separate. People seem to, I think in our society, for some reason, it’s kind of separated out into like, there’s the physical health and then over there, there’s the mental health. But really, they’re one in the same. I mean, you can’t have one without the other.
Of course, when you’re going through difficulties and you’re isolated and you’re having to relearn things [00:13:00] or Reimagine your life, like these are major things and mental health is a key piece. I mean, it’s so important. It just really can’t be understated. Um, And there’s different ways that people can approach it and go about it, and you have to find what works for you.
But, it’s absolutely essential in my point of view. Um, you can’t work on yourself without self care, and self care often means, you know, whether it’s going to a therapist, or whether it’s, you know, going every week to a group of people that you’re going to do some, uh, good in the world. You know, that’s cathartic too, and that can give you social contact, and it can get you out in the world, and get you moving around.
It, it’s so personal depending on what you need, [00:14:00] um, but I think it’s just so important to feel like you’re there. To think about that and to think about at a most basic level, you know, what’s going to help me here? Is it, do I need contact with people? Do I need to hear other people’s stories? And maybe that will help me realize, Oh, well, maybe I can do X, Y, Z.
Or, you know, do I need to find a mental health expert to help me go through this? You know, it’s, it’s all pieces of the puzzle that can only help build on each other. That’s what I would say. And yeah, the stigma is internalized. We, the world that we live in is so incredibly ableist that people don’t even recognize it.
I mean, sometimes I don’t even recognize it because it’s just so ingrained in our society. Like there’s just an expectation that you should be able to do certain [00:15:00] things. And it’s just, there’s It doesn’t really make sense. It’s not logical. Um, but it’s there. And it’s been there for so long that trying to break these ingrained traditions and habits and expectations is really challenging.
And I think that’s one of the most powerful things that when people start, you know, examining things and reimagining. what they’re going to do with themselves in their lives, they really start to notice, hold on, you know, maybe I’ve had totally unrealistic expectations for myself. Look at what society expects from this.
That’s not going to work for me. That’s, you know, I can change that, and I can do what I can do. And that has to be enough.
Jenn Klein: Can you share a story from someone on your podcast who really showed a lot [00:16:00] of resilience? I’m sure every one of your guests has impressed you with their resilience. Um, is there one that sticks out to you that, uh, or any one of them that, that, we can just be inspired by today?
Riri: Wow. Um, yeah, I mean, each of the, each of the people that I have on to tell their stories are so unique and, and inspiring in their own way. In terms of resiliency, if I’m trying to pick one, one that just popped into my head is, a woman who became blind at, Uh, I think it was around in her teen years. Um, due to complications of diabetes, which that’s an unknown complication that can happen, unfortunately.
Um, [00:17:00] but to go from being a person with their sight to all of a sudden having to learn to navigate the world without vision is such a Just, uh, such a difficult, I can’t even imagine, I can’t put words into that, how that is or was for her. Um, but the way that she approached it and her attitude, she has such a positive attitude, and she approached it basically saying, look, this is, This is what it is.
I need to learn. I need to teach myself how I’m going to be able to live. And so she pulled together, you know, she had a lot of support. She had friends, family, a husband. Everyone was sort of involved and taking turns helping her. Whether it’s walking [00:18:00] so that she gets used to walking down the street and learning the noises of the streets or where the turns are or whatever.
Um, she got a service dog who was incredibly helpful to her. It’s just her story and it’s really her attitude about the way that she approached everything was so positive. And she was so resourceful that it was just like, what can’t this person do? Like, literally, she could do anything. And it really just goes to show you that your attitude and perspective really matter a lot.
Um, and it’s just, she’s remarkable. I mean, that’s, that’s really the only word I can say. Um, she’s, yeah, she’s incredibly strong. She’s incredibly resilient. [00:19:00] She She is such a hard worker and so dedicated to making things improve for people with low vision and blindness. She actually lives in South Africa, um, and so she talks a bit about how sort of behind certainly the U.
S. they are in terms of services and having accessibility and so that presents challenges as well. And she just. Takes them all in stride and sort of takes apart each knot that she comes to and Picks it apart as much as she can and figures a way around it. And it’s it’s just the way she goes about life.
Jenn Klein: I will put a link to her Show on your podcast in my show notes. Okay. Yeah,
Riri: her name is Lois Strahan. I’m
Jenn Klein: [00:20:00] looking forward to hearing more of her story. It reminds me I had a A guest on my show called Kirk Adams. Oh, yeah. Oh, you know, Kirk? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He’s awesome. Yeah. He’s incredible. So, um, he is blind and, and like you said, there’s another story of someone who, um, turned pain into purpose and helps others now.
Riri: Yeah, he’s, he’s got a remarkable program of, his, his mission is to employ, blind people are the, have the lowest, um, employment rates of any disabled group, and they’re the most educated, and his mission is to get blind people and people with low vision, um, living wage employment. So not just. You know, [00:21:00] doing some job that’s going to get the minimum wage, and it’s not really livable, but really finding them careers.
And so he’s putting together all of these different pieces of the puzzle to create this System of support for people so that they can go through training to become, um, um, for blanking on the name, uh, cyber security professionals. And then, you know, once they go through that training, they’re basically guaranteed a job and it’s a real career and it’s just.
Awesome. The work that he’s doing. I love it. Yeah. Um,
Jenn Klein: can you tell me who is your greatest source of inspiration for giving back? Was there someone who influenced you or how did you within you know that [00:22:00] it was time to help others? In this way,
Riri: you know,
I think I’ve always sort of felt like I enjoy being part of community and, and helping out ever since I was, ever since I graduated from high school, I’m a huge dog lover and animal lover. And I always wanted to be a volunteer at the animal shelter and you had to be 18 in order to volunteer. So as soon as I turned 18, I went and signed up, um, and I still volunteer.
Um, so it’s something that I feel like is just sort of in me, um, and I think I get that from my parents who are both social workers and both believe very strongly in the good of helping others. And this is just. what you [00:23:00] do. It’s just part of life. Um, you know, you’re very fortunate that you have what you have in life and not everybody has that.
And so, you know, you got to contribute to society and give back, which also gives to you joy in the process.
Jenn Klein: I 100 percent agree. And I, I love hearing that your parents are both social workers. That’s incredible.
Riri: They met in graduate school.
Jenn Klein: And for people who maybe don’t know how to get started.
With something like you’re doing or turning their pain into purpose or, um, Have been thinking about doing something for a long time and haven’t taken action yet. What would be your advice to get started.
Riri: So, I think things can seem [00:24:00] daunting at first if you’re, So my advice would be to, When you see a problem or something that you don’t like and you want to try to find a solution for it, You don’t have to solve, like, the big picture.
You’re not going to solve the entire problem, but maybe you can solve a little piece of it. So just think about bite sized pieces that you can do step by step. Do your research, find out, you know, what’s the best way to do something. And then once you’ve done that, you really just have to kind of jump in because you’re going to learn when you do it.
Um, and it’s a little bit scary. It is, to just sort of jump in and figure it out along the way, but it’s also part of the learning journey, and I think that’s also how you meet a lot of people [00:25:00] and build community, because you’ll talk to people who can help you, whether it’s transcribers. Firming out your vision, or whether they have suggestions about how you could potentially help solve this little problem, or maybe you want to tag something on to something else that already exists.
You know, there’s endless opportunities. You just have to create them and give yourself a little bit of risk. And it’s okay if it doesn’t work out the way you intended. That’s fine. You know, just go with it and see what happens. So do your research, figure out the bite size portions, step by step, and then just jump. That’s what I would say.
Jenn Klein: I love that. I love that. If we put it in the bite sized chunks, like you said, it makes it so much easier, just like putting one foot in front of the other, and [00:26:00] particularly if you have a chronic illness or disability, um, I’m sure you, you have to take things bite sized because, um, it’s harder. And then those who are, um, able bodied, like you said, and I’m wondering, um, one of my favorite questions to ask my guests is what’s your vision for a better world? I just, I just love what, um, people on my show are doing in the world. And I often ask this question and we. They envision things differently than I would have, expected them to.Um, so what is your vision for a better world?
Riri: Ooh, that’s a big question. Um, I don’t know that I have a clear vision, but my hope is that [00:27:00] people would face the world with more compassion and kindness. and be open. I think those three things can make such a difference. Whether, and in all parts of life, so whether it’s at your work, whether it’s at your kid’s school, or it’s how you treat waiters at a restaurant.
I think those three things can really help heal a lot of pain, um, can Make it okay for people to have tough conversations that they might not feel comfortable otherwise having, especially now. I feel like society is really in a difficult spot. Um, with a lot of polarization. Uh, I [00:28:00] think that if there could be more kindness. Compassion and openness. There could be more discussions and maybe better understanding of how we got to this point and how do we find a solution. Um, so I don’t have an answer, but those are my suggestions for. keys that you need to have in the puzzle.
Jenn Klein: I like that. Um, one of my recent guests, Jonathan Jacobs said that if we want to change the world, um, let’s just start by holding the door open for others and that that kindness, is a moment of connection is a moment of giving. Um, and it’s something that we should both be grateful for if we’re the recipient. Um, and also give back because it’s kind and it’s considerate. And especially as we’re talking to about people with disabilities, even more [00:29:00] so. Do they need a door open for them if they’re particularly blind or vision impaired, like you said, or having physical mental disabilities?
I mean, that, that kindness really goes a long way.
Riri: Yeah, and I think it’s also important to realize, you know, people with all different types of abilities, um, you know, a lot of disabilities are invisible also. So you really don’t know what’s going on with the person just by looking at them. But even people with visible disabilities, you know, they, are used to people not treating them so kindly and having to fend for themselves in a world that’s not built for them. So, um, maybe just ask them, “Hey, would you like me to open the door for you?” Or, “would you like me to grab this Cup for you or something like that.” [00:30:00] Just ask them because maybe they don’t want to maybe they’d rather do it themselves But at least you’re giving them the option and you’re saying hey, I care and and they can say no Thank you, or they can accept it Yeah, I think that’s great.
Jenn Klein: I could probably talk with you for a whole other hour.
Riri: I Would love to but yeah, I know I love your topic and I love that you’re doing this. It’s so cool
Jenn Klein: I’m so glad we connected. And, um, I do want to ask my podcast listeners to tune into your podcast and I will be tuning in too, to hear more stories of resilient folks like yourself who are overcoming, their own battles and helping others and turning pain into purpose.
I love what you’re doing. And, um, You are not a non profit, and so I usually ask my guests if they would share, um, their, their favorite [00:31:00] charity, um, and I know you have a few in mind.
Riri: Yeah, so, right, I, we haven’t incorporated yet since we’re new. So we’re just sort of finding our way. Um, but I have a lot of charities that I really like, but I have sort of a top three.
Um, one is World Central Kitchen because they Provide hot meals for people all over the world in disaster zones after tornadoes, whether it’s, you know, in war zones everywhere they use, they really make use of local chefs and systems in place and get hot meals for everyone because they believe people deserve to be fed and deserve a hot meal.
And I think that’s just. So kind, and true. So they’re one, um, UNICEF is another, [00:32:00] they do a lot of work around the world, and they also do support people with, kids especially, with disabilities, um, and then the third one is Special Olympics, um, I just, yeah. I love what they’re doing and always want to support them. So those are my top three at the moment.
Jenn Klein: That is wonderful. Thank you for telling me about all three. I hadn’t heard of the World Central Kitchen. I will be looking into that and we’ll put those links in my show notes. Riri, thank you so much for being here and I look forward to future conversations.
Riri: Thank you so much, Jenn. I really enjoyed our conversation and I’m happy to support anything you’re doing. Thank you.
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