251: How To Achieve Your “Impossible” Dream With Tererai Trent

Head to melissaambrosini.com/251 for full episode resources and more inspiring weekly episodes. Have you got a dream that you long to bring to life… but part of you doesn’t believe it’s possible? Enter today’s podcast guest, Dr Tererai Trent — author, speaker, scholar and humanitarian. Through hard work and an unwavering belief in her dreams, Tererai achieved what others thought was “impossible”. And today, she’s here to show us how we can achieve the “impossible” too... As a child bride and young mother in a small Zimbabwe village, Tererai’s path in life seemed set. But a chance encounter changed the course of her future, when the CEO of nonprofit Heifer International said to her: "If you believe in your dreams, they are achievable." Tererai took this advice to heart, and took massive inspired action. She wrote down her dream of getting an education in the US, sealed the paper inside a tin can, and buried it in the ground. From there, she moved heaven and earth to make her “impossible” dream a reality… and BOY did she succeed. Tererai went on to earn multiple degrees (including a PhD), start her own charity, speak at the UN, advocate to world leaders, and is currently an adjunct professor at Drexel University. A two-time guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, she was named by Oprah as her “All-Time Favorite Guest”. (How’s that for glowing praise?!) Now leading the global charge in the fight for quality education for ALL children and women’s rights, Dr. Trent has become a symbol of hope for everyone, and is living proof that anything is possible. Her favorite motto is “Tinogona,” meaning, “It is achievable!”… and when you listen to this episode, you’ll believe that about your OWN dreams, with a certainty like never before. So if you want to reignite your self-belief, expand your vision of what’s possible, and change the course of your future, then press download immediately… the path to your “impossible” dream starts here. In this episode we chat about: •Her incredible story from being a child bride in a small Zimbabwe village to one of the world’s most recognizable voices in women’s empowerment and education (07:19) •The big question that changed her life (09:11) •How she fed her children from a trash can in America (17:28) •The great hunger that drives us forward (21:45) •How to achieve your dreams — even if they seem 100% impossible (23:46) •How to avoid passing on negative stories from your past or from previous generations to your children (30:00) •The biggest thing that gives meaning to your life (31:02) •How to get back up when you hit a road bump or ‘failure’ (32:28) •The power of rituals (33:51) •How to make an impact in the world and the best way we can help (36:04) •What she attributes her success to (40:43) •What brings her the most joy right now (42:44) •How she has cultivated wisdom and self-awareness (45:00) •The importance of staying a student for life (46:11) •The one book she would put in every school curriculum (47:45) •Plus so much more!