Smart Talking Diane Keaton

This week I attended the last of this year's Smart Talk events in Minneapolis.

The speaker for this go around was Diane Keaton.

When Ms. Keaton stepped out on stage, a wild noise of applause filled the air. The audience was thrilled to see Ms. Keaton herself, but I think most of the joy was over her skirt -- a flouncy, bouncy, chic and totally glamorous white and black polka-dot print.

She told us in the course of the night that she'd gotten the skirt for free as part of her work on a L'Oreal campaign. It was Dolce & Gabbana.

Ms. Keaton talked on several subjects. Yet she always seemed to come back around to memory and how important it is for her, and for all of us really, to document our personal lives in whatever medium fits us best -- home movies, photo albums, scrap books, journals, etc.

In the course of her talk, these were some of the things she said that stuck out at me:

"Vibrancy has to do with being curious, not youth."

"Perfection is the death of creativity."

"A memory is when your heart takes a picture."

Photo courtesy of Smart Talk.

Smart Talking Phylicia Rashad

Last night I attended part four of the five-part Smart Talk series in Minneapolis.

This time, the speaker was Phylicia Rashad -- otherwise known as Mrs. Huxtible from The Cosby Show.

I have very fond memories of watching The Cosby Show when I was younger. I was in junior high the the show first debuted. I was excited for a behind-the-scenes peak into the show.

Mrs. Rashad, though, didn't spend a whole lot of her time talking about the show. She spent more time talking about her childhood, her break through into acting and the lessons she had learned from life.

And you know what . . . even though she didn't talk about what I had assumed she would, at the end of the night, I found myself impressed and inspired.

And calmed. Mrs. Rashad is actively meditates, and I could tell as she had a very soothing and spiritual presence on stage.

I found it heartening to hear that there had been many times in her life when she had felt like everything was going wrong -- not because I wanted her life to be off-key, but because it made her human.

Here is something valuable she said last night that I am going to take away and try to put into regular practice in my life.

But first, I have to set it up a little: So, you know how everyone is always saying we should learn from our mistakes . . .

Not only is that cliche, but it's so hollow. Okay. I'll learn from my mistakes -- but could somebody please tell me exactly what it is I'm supposed to be learning? It seems like the lesson should be clear, but so many times in life, it's not.

Mrs. Rahad, though, had this to say:

Making mistakes should teach us to be more understanding and less judgmental of others.

Easier said than done, but the next time I'm left wondering what I did wrong, I'm going to try and keep this in mind.

Meeting Fran Drescher

Last week I went to hear Fran Drescher speak.

Not only that, but I also got to shake her hand and say hello. Oh, and get my picture snapped with her.

She was in Minneapolis as part of the Smart Talk lecture series and her message, basically, was be optimistic and take chances.

I got my picture taken with her exactly because I had taken a chance.

Back in January, when I was at the first of the Smart Talk series events, I saw a call out in the program that said the organization was looking for "artists" who might be interested in working with Smart Talk.

Hey - I thought - isn't a writer an ar-TEEST?

I took a chance and sent an email to the address listed, said I was a writer and a blogger, included some links to my work and ... well, I managed to get myself and a friend backstage to meet The Nanny.

Smart Talk and I haven't quite figured out where exactly our relationship is going, but...

But now they me. I know them. And I got to meet Fran Drescher.

Smart Talking Fran Drescher

Good things happen.

This was the message Fran Drescher had to share last night when she came through Minneapolis as part of the Smart Talk lecture series.

Good things are always happening in our lives, even when we feel like we are bogged down with bad. Whether we recognize the opportunities as they appear depends -- of course -- on us. We choose whether to wallow or rise.

She illustrated her point drawing examples from her own life. For example, I didn't know that she struggled for years in Hollywood before finding her niche as "The Nanny" in her mid-thirties.

I also didn't know that throughout those lean Hollywood years, she founded and ran a crouton company. Croutons! Who knew?

And I vaguely remembered, some years past, that she'd been diagnosed with cancer. But I had no idea that it was uterine cancer. I had no idea she had a full hysterectomy.

I had no idea she'd started a nonprofit organization to educate women about gynecological cancers -- uterine and ovarian. It's called, like her book, Cancer Schmancer.

I had no idea she'd been spending time in Washington D.C. lobbying senators to pass a bill to support her work.

And I had no idea she'd been appointed Special Envoy for Women's Health Issues by the U.S. State Department and now travels the world speaking out about the importance of women's health.

She said, last night, that she fully believes she got famous so she could survive cancer so she could educate others.

Now that's a woman who has learned to find the silver lining.

One of my favorite things that she said last night was:

"Nothing good comes from being cemented."

Her message: Things change. Tragedy happens. Rarely do our lives turn out as we planned. If we can't roll with the punches, we're going to have a hard time seeing good.

Smart Talking Syliva Earle

Last night was another lecture series night. A good friend and I have been season ticket holders for the Smart Talk series for several years now. Events are held once a month at Minneapolis' Orchestra Hall.

Last night's presenter was a woman named Dr. Sylvia Earle. I'd never heard of her before, but after listening to her speak, I was in awe. I was also feeling a little inadequate. She knew so much! About so many cool things!

She is a marine biologist, a ground-breaking one at that, who earned her ph.D. in 1966. She is in her 70s, sharp as a knife and fit.

She has logged over 6,000 hours underwater. She lived in a bio-dome type of set up on the ocean floor for two weeks. She holds the world record for deepest solo dive by a woman -- she went down 3,300 feet by herself.

She had a lot to say about the current health of our oceans and our fish populations.

Yet it was these words from her mouth (I'm paraphrasing) that stuck in my mind all night:

Children, she said, always ask her what it takes to be a explorer.

You can't ever grow up, she said. You have to always be like a little kid, asking questions all the time -- why? why? why? You have to have a deep curiosity and a sense of wonder.

Smart Talking Jane Pauley

Last night I attended an event where Jane Pauley was speaking.

It was the first night in the Smart Talk series, which will bring yet four more high-profile women willing to share their personal stories to Minneapolis by May.

I love this lecture series and have had season tickets to it for a number of years. I started attending it with my mom. Now that she's a snowbird, I've taken to going with one of my friends.

It's always a great excuse to get out of the house, get downtown for dinner and chill for some girl time.

Ms. Pauley was a very engaging speaker. She was funny and light, yet almost everything she said carried a deeper meaning.

In the course of the night, she said several things that really jumped out at me. One was this:

The point is not to get your ducks in a row. The point is to get your ducks in the water.

When she said it, the audience chuckled and clapped. But it is so true. So many of us tend to place such an emphasis on planning and organizing.

Perhaps, what we should be doing instead, is just start making leaps and trusting we'll figure it out once we're wet.