Ms. Jo Malone CBE: From Surviving Breast Cancer to Rebuilding My Life

34:48The chemo and the dose density and the therapy and the protocol we took, people are surviving breast cancer and going on and living, would never have done it. all because of the incredible work that research does in cancer. And, of course, that dose density doesn't just affect breast. It's everywhere. Ovarian, all of those things, you know, and we're seeing these protocols kind of really. Isn't that amazing? I just wept. When did you find that out? About three months ago. You found out that you nearly died three months ago. No, 21 years ago. But you knew that it was fatal 21 years ago. I knew it was fatal, but I did the chemo and I've been clear ever since.

35:36Right, so you just thought this was normal. I thought, yeah, I didn't realise. That only 30 of you had happened. Yeah, and they tested it. But that's why we have to live our lives. And when somebody tries to take your life or a day away from you, if somebody takes one hour of your life, take two back for yourself. and yes we had to go through that and why did we get it I've no idea um you know I lived a pretty clean life and um I don't think cancer really cares about any of that but to hear positive stories of people that survived I had this woman lovely woman called Stacy Kaplan who was my friend in New York and she had gone through it and she was two years all clear she was invaluable to me Absolutely.

36:23Because she gave me hope and hope, you know, what is the greatest faith, hope or love? I believe hope is the greatest, actually, because hope gives you another day and it gives you that motivation to want life more than anything. And yeah, and it's I never let cancer be the book. It's only a chapter in my life. I kept it in a chapter I boxed it and I'm not frightened of it anymore the first year coming out was a bit scary because I couldn't take tamoxifen or anything but of course now I understand why I didn't because I was on this protocol hair came back life came back but what I told nobody was it had taken my sense of smell so that's what it had done I hadn't told Larry I was so ashamed because Joe I was so ashamed Oh, Jo, that's...

37:18I was so ashamed. But cancer can often do that. It shames you. It wants to make you feel that you're not worth it. And we are. And reclaiming your life, it can be very liberating but very challenging. But, of course, I had the chemo. I could feel my sense of smell disappearing. Could you? And I just thought, my God, I can't tell anyone that. I'm Jo Malone and I've got a global company. Have you ever read Perfume? Yes, Peter's Wichigan. Oh, good. It's so good. How good is that book? That's you. That scent, smell. Well, I don't try and capture the scent of virgins. No, no. But I think when I read your story, that was the first thing I thought about.

38:07I read that book when I was quite young. I've always thought I've got quite a good sense of smell, but it's nothing like yours. And I want to talk about how important at that time, when it started to go, how much had you fallen in love with your sense of smell and what did it give you? Well, I was in love with my sense of smell from a very young age. So it was my compass in life because of my dyslexia. So I could navigate life. It's my language. It's my emotions. And I also have synesthesia as well. So explain what that is. Is it a medical term or is it something? So it is a medical term. It is.

38:47And when I had my brain scanned in those last scans, the doctor came out and he said, you have a very large hippocampus. And I went, thank you. And he didn't notice in your head. And the hippocampus part of your brain. I'm joking. It's funny though. Why don't you? I love that. Humour is important as well. If you don't laugh, you cry. Yeah, exactly. Hippocampus is the primeval part of your brain. And people with dyslexia, dyspraxia, that is often a very active kind of part. And it probably explains my dyslexia. But my brain, and he said, explain to me other things. I said, but my brain is sort of wired.

39:25When I see colour, like I can smell fragrance when you're sitting on that chair. Tell me. So you're sitting on a skin of a nectarine, a mango and pink pepper, crushed peppercorns like cologne, lemongrass um a little bit of uh probably bit of cedarwood in there as well i just tell you weirdly cedarwood lemongrass citrus are all my favorite well there you go isn't that funny that you have to sense that but i've smelt it from the minute we started talking whereas you sat down and so but when i think about it disappears but it's there with me the whole time it whispers in my like these walls, I could paint it with fragrance with my paintbrushes and the whole room would smell of...

40:10Anyway, so that's what synesthesia is. That was still with me, but I could only smell it in my imagination. I couldn't physically smell. And that was the big reason I left Estee Lauder and Jo Malone London. So I don't know if people know this, but I've been out for over 23 years. I have nothing to do with the company at all. very proud of what it's achieved but it's not me no and um but when i talk about that that company being in your name and leaving that behind and what that felt like because i think a lot of women even going through a divorce or something like that might identify with this kind of loss of identity well i'd face that through cancer then i'd faced it through my loss of smell um And when I walked away from that company, I had no sense of smell.

41:03A month later, I was sitting at home, woke up one morning, my sense of smell came back overnight. Can I just quickly ask you something? I've just had like a big thought. Do you think that leaving was the catalyst to bringing the smell back? There was something in your head. Oh, my goodness. I've never thought that. Oh, I just feel like crying. I don't know why. like that you left something behind and it you were gifted something and i get the gift came back again oh my gosh i've never ever thought of that because it came back overnight yeah and i could and i said gary have you opened the fridge and i was three floors up and he went yes how do you know and i could it was like i can smell i can smell and then it came back with actually it It came back so differently and with a vengeance.

41:53Like, I could smell everything. Like, not the way I did before. It was more heightened. I could smell the tiny crumb of bread on the... It was like... Oh, this is perfect. It was... Yeah. I mean, now I'm used to it again. But when you haven't had something and then it comes back to you. And it was... I got my life back. I can be Jo again. But I was in a five-year lockout. Oh! And that five years... so I couldn't do anything with it. So the five-year lockout, I got anxiety, I mean severe anxiety. And even though I could smell now and I was still Jo, couldn't do anything with it, I would prowl around.

42:34And we had five years. Wait, wait. Can you just describe Jo prowling around for me? Oh, I'd clean everything in the kitchen. I'd clean. I was like a cleaner. I always had a bottle of Ajax or whatever in my hand. You say vodka. No. We'll talk about that later. And I tried to do other things. I did a TV show which was called, built, what was it called? High Street Dreams. High Street Dreams. I did a show there. I did all kinds of things and it's like all I want to do is create fragrance. And I knew I was brilliant at it. We look back and five years went. but actually when you're in it one year is an epic amount of time yes but five i had a five year but but i'd sold my company yeah we'd we'd shaken hands and actually you know what today we all have to sign things if you shake hands on something you do it be be full of integrity okay so we did to the day to the day and then when it was over it's like i've got to start again because if I hadn't I was living half a life I had to find Jo again and so we started I quickly ask you, you said I had to find Jo again but you didn't have your name anymore like what do you do then?

43:56actually it's been more of a struggle recently than it was in the beginning because they own the name of the brand but I was still the person Yes, of course. And to be honest, if you if someone was to say, you know, Joe Malone, I turn around. That's my name. Yes. I know it's that's how we identify ourselves. So and in the beginning, it was it was perfectly all right. You know, we made sure when we started Joe Loves, we made sure that it was all very clear. We went to their lawyers, showed them the business from day one. They didn't like this. They didn't like that. So we took a couple of things and then we got on and we did it.

44:37And, um, wow, that's a really different way of going about business, right? Yes. That's a very, well, in full of integrity. Well, it's better to be truthful and honest and get it out on the table anyway. And then I, you know, we continue to build Joe Loves. The first year was excruciating. I got everything wrong. And again, I'm really happy to share that because sometimes you'd think, oh my goodness, she got everything right the first time. second time distribution wrong packaging wrong the only thing I got right was the fragrances and I thought okay we've got to return here you've got to be agile so you know when I talk about either win or I learn that was a big learning time yeah and it was quite expensive and it was all yeah pivot a lot of pivoting and then we found Elizabeth Street and it was my birthday.

45:31Gary gave me a little key. This is absolutely mega. I have. It's so good. Where's the picture? Of you outside the shop. Yeah, I can't find it. Just remind me of the name of the first ever. Justin DeBlanc. There he is. Look at him. You were what, 17, 16, 17? I was 16. Your first ever job. I worked in a flower shop and I got fired. Absolute mega. First packaging. So mega. My goodness, how awful is that? I'd rather love Rob. Oh, no, that was a big mistake. But then we came full circle and I walked into that shop. It's gorgeous though, here. Yeah. I walked into that shop and I thought, I've been here before, I've worked here.

46:16And Gary, of course, knew. And I walked in and I felt the shop say, you will change the world again in this place. And you will build a global brand. And I felt like the wars were not in an eerie way, just the spirit of creativity was there. And we opened, we opened, I think, six months later. But it's the same. Love Gary. I love Gary. And so do I. He's a real visionary. But often in life, life will bring you back full circle to where you first started. And when life does that, that's a gift. That really is. Because what life is saying is, try again. Yeah. Try this again because this time. And, you know, Joe Loves has been a struggle.

47:03The use of my name has caused me great anxiety, to be honest. Had you ever had anxiety before? No. Was it a new thing that came when you sold the business? Yeah. Wow. Yeah. And I went through, so I went through a time. It wasn't just about my name. It was about, I've always grown up trying to do the right thing, honestly. and second guessing yourself. You can call me anything you want. I can't pick up a bottle of fragrance and say my name. And so I second guess myself the whole time. And I don't want to harm anybody. I don't want to fight. I just want to build and I want to create and I want to do it respectfully, but I won't go away either.

47:50I'm not going to be pushed in a corner and told I can't be Jo. no one is going to take that right for me I'm still going to be the person and I'm still going to build and create and this this strength this mantle of strength has really come upon me and going through anxiety um with like um what is it when your heart really breathes palpitations um no it's called uh when you have panic attacks oh panic attacks yeah and I remember on my birth to a few years ago I collapsed in a panic attack rushed to hospital my blood pressure was literally through the roof and stayed in hospital for six days they couldn't find anything and then this wonderful doctor called doctor um she's called Anna Albright and she is a cognitive therapist and she said you need help Jo you do you can't do this on your own yeah and between her and Dr Elsa Epan um and I take a little pill I take the tiniest milligram I was so reluctant to do it I didn't want to do it I felt like I wouldn't be in control and my body started to rebalance itself and I was still having panic attacks but I was getting better and better yes and then I went to Dubai sitting how long ago this is four years ago went to Dubai for a holiday and still having these anxiety not bad not as bad but I still couldn't get rid of it because every day I go I've got to control this and of course that's the worst thing you can say in a sense You can't.

49:15That's anxiety, isn't it? You can't control it. No. So you've got to just, you know it's not going to kill you. Let it go. You've got to let it go. But that's so hard because it's always talking to you. It's always in your mind. But that's where creativity comes in because it focuses your mind onto something else. So I'm sitting there and I thought I've got to break the pattern. I know I'm meant for something really big in this world. And actually, I haven't achieved it yet. I know I haven't, but I know it's pretty close. I can feel it now four years on. And I said to Gary, should we come and live here for six months?

49:50Just six months. Let's just see if we just change. And sometimes when you're suffering, it's not that you have to go and change the country you're living in. You just have to change, you know, the carpet or pull the rug from under your own feet and just change something. And actually the perspective suddenly changes. And he said, yeah, why not? Josh was in uni. Can I just say one other thing? I think the other thing that I love about you is change is generally speaking to people terrifying. And here you are with anxiety and you're going, let's just let's just change. And we we've we've had a couple of people on here done that big thing.

50:27And I love hearing about it because it's something that we all are a bit scared of doing big change. But it's where the real liberation. yeah liberation comes yeah and also it if you're stuck it takes big change but then something good's gonna come out of it doesn't like to be big change no so i was talking to someone amazing yesterday and we were talking about could could we start a a kind of movement of a billion breakthroughs across the world and your break what is your breakthrough today so it doesn't matter how old you are, where you come from, how poor or rich you are, it doesn't matter what.

51:10What is your breakthrough? Could we create in 24 hours a billion breakthroughs for the entrepreneurial world? And the answer is yes. Yes. Yes. So my breakthrough on that day, and this was a big one, I looked up and I thought, I've got to break the cycle of anxiety. And I looked up and there were people jumping out of planes and this was so out of character and I said to Gary should we do that tomorrow morning to seal the deal and we did and I went this was so out of character of me it was unbelievable and not everybody has to jump out of a plane by the way but for me it needed to be something big it I just knew my I knew who I am and I needed to prove to myself that I was bigger than my fear.

51:59And so we go up in the plane. I was strapped to an Egyptian rugby player called Tarek. Nothing was going to happen on his shift. So we all get into this little plane. We're all strapped to our, you go down with somebody. So in I am. And he said, we're first out. And I can't tell you. He says, okay, he straps you in, tightens you up. And I'm going, Tarek, I know I've changed my mind. So he goes, hold on, hold on. He opens the door and all All I can see is open sky and clouds. And I go, no, no, I've changed my mind. He went, too late, honey. And just nudged me and out you went. And we free fall for 8 ,000 feet.

52:37I wish somebody had told me, because you have a cameraman with you, to close your mouth. I look like Wallace and Gromit coming all the way down. And then you go down 8 ,000 feet. And my heart was banging. And he paused the parachute. And I swear to God, I felt the anxiety is gone. And as I came down, and from this day, I left that fear in that plane. I've still had panic attacks, but nothing. I faced something in my life and I thought, now I can do anything. And from that minute, my life really started. Four years. And now four years on, living in Dubai with the adventures. I am the bravest girl I've ever been in my life.

53:20And the happiest. and why do you why that's so fascinating so firstly can I ask you how old you are now I'm 61 so at 61 yeah you've become the bravest girl the bravest girl and happiest I feel I wake up smiling and I live on the beach I know that see uh seeing the sunset on a beach is I call it my blue office and I'm happy, very happy near water. I'm thriving in my personal life. I think Gary and I call it our gap year at 60. Talk me through that because I read about that and a gap year at 60 is the greatest idea ever along with a billion breakthroughs. Breakthroughs and a gap year. This is how you go into the next chapter of your life in really good shape?

54:19Because I think because we still feel there is so much adventure. I mean, every day we look at each other and go, what's going to happen today? And I have amazing friends in Dubai and lots of expats. Lots of, I love everybody together. So lots of Emirati friends. And it's one of the most happiest places I think I've, and I call it home now. It really is home. London is not home for me. Dubai is home and where my creative business is as well. But I look at it and I just think, when we were kids, you didn't have a gap year, did you? You just either went to university if you were smart. Didn't do that.

55:00Or you went to work. Yeah. So we never had any of that. And I just thought, and we work every day. So it's not like a gap year. We travel around the world. We pack our cases and we look at each other and go, where should we go and live? So we lived in Lake Como for a month. And we set up office within eight hours. We got the hotel room or wherever we're staying, the villa. We live in Zanti for a month, actually two months. Zanti? Zanti in Greece. It's quite wild. Oh, it's beautiful. Overlooking the sea, little Greek village. And I sit, I take 100 notes with me. And I sit and I smell every day.

55:35I do all my Zara collections. Wait, just explain. Just explain about notes. Notes. So notes are like a note in music. So, fragrance is exactly the same. So, we'll have top notes, middle notes, bass notes, but a note is an accord. So, what I do is I take lots of accords, I twirl them around, I'll sort of put them all over the villa somewhere and I'll go and smell them every hour. So, my studio is wherever I'm living. So, you could literally work from anywhere. We do. If you take the notes with you, you can go anywhere. You set up an office. so your gap here is just going wherever you want to go whenever you want to go what do we want to do where do we where do we want to go where do we want that creativity so um we've just launched a fragrance called love from como and it was based on my month living in lake como and the view on the bottle i think actually we'll send you some yeah is the view from the window where i stayed so we would work from seven in the morning to about two have some lunch get in the car drive around and find inspiration and we find the little the little um we found so many beautiful places and i remember one day we drove and we had a tiny little car and off we went and i went stop stop stop i can see the lake and there's a little hotel so we go in and there's flowers everywhere i mean it was so beautiful food was delicious but um they shut the hotel for a wedding and we were sitting there having a drink and i went oh no no no don't worry um we'll find somewhere else and And she went, just stay.

57:05And so we sat and watched someone else's wedding. The boat arrived and the family were just divine. You stayed for someone else's wedding? You were wedding crashers. That's so good. We were in shorts sitting and having our lunch. It was just, and it was so generous of them. So great. I've got goosebumps. That, I think, is make somebody else's moment. Yeah. That was kind of them. They didn't have to do that. Yeah. But Lake Comer was wonderful. Zanti we've done just very quickly for anybody that's watching or listening what I love about that is 60 is a perfect time to do a gap year but I know I'm going to keep working because I like working working keeps me going in my brain maybe work you know quite a bit but maybe not you know but what I like is you've incorporated your gap year with work it's just that you can go wherever you want to go you're free that's what I'm hearing and most people you know they work all their life and then they retire I'm not I don't like the word retire I'm not I'm never going to retire no ever but I you know if that makes you happy and and what I would love the things I want to do that I just think then do it what if what are you waiting for so the adventure begins and that that step of of a billion breakthroughs starts with two words yeah what if and the next two are if i could what if i could that's where it starts that's your breakthrough today we could have a billion breakthroughs today if only you were to say what if i could then it's up to you.

58:53Can I talk to you about Gaz quickly? Yes. How long have you guys been married? 40 years. I mean, unbelievable. He's so wonderful. And you're still saying that after 40 years? Well, I think our, yes, oh my gosh, yeah. That's so mega, Joe. I'm in love with that man and I don't, I mean, I feel like, I mean, I feel like I'm in my 30s at the minute. I know I'm not, I know I'm not. You look at them. I feel like I'm in my 30s. I'm living my best life. So he and I grew up as young kids, had nothing. How did you meet? Oh, my goodness. I want everything. Give me everything. We met at Bible school. We've had our moments, like anybody.

59:32Well, that's comforting for people to hear. Not everything has gone, you know, we've had our moments. And when I went through anxiety, you know, it was really hard for him. And then we've had illness. He's had a life-threatening condition as well. But we've come through all that. But I don't think there is a secret. I don't think there is. It's, I wake up every day and I always, we go, good morning. And we wake up with a smile. And it's not that we're always happy. It's just, I want to start the day positively. I think we allow each other to be who we are. So although we work together, we're in separate spaces.

1:00:11But I kind of, I love him, but I love his company. Yeah. And we laugh. You like him. I really do. And, you know, we don't have date nights or planned date nights or anything. But, you know, Josh has grown up now and we look at I think we're really appreciative of our life. And we're at a part of our life now where we know we're in the third semester. Semester? We're in the third trilogy. In the trilogy. We're in the last bit. I mean, let's be honest. I want to make it count. And when I look and I think. Honestly, I don't look at anyone else and want to be with anyone else. I love being with him.

1:00:49And I remember recently I was flying back to Dubai and my battery went on my phone and the plane was delayed. And I arrived four hours late back to the hotel in Dubai and he was besides himself because he couldn't find me. And I've never seen him like that. And he went, oh, my God. And he ran towards me, put his arm through him. He said, I thought something had happened to you. And it was such a beautiful kind of moment. I said, I'm sorry, but it was my phone. And I could see he thought for a second he'd lost me. and um but he is an incredible human being he is and he's kind he's funny um not perfect and neither am i and it just i think you have to allow people to be who they are yeah and you know if someone's having a bad day and he's having a go or i'm having a go i normally just take myself off down the beach and i'll sit there and read a book or make some notes i sometimes take myself out the situation and never hold on to a grudge never it's not worth it and what nothing can be that well no sometimes things are that bad so but we've never done anything to to give each other um but I'm every day just take every day as it comes yeah you touched on something that I've forgotten to talk about and I do just want to very quickly talk about the miracle of you and gary discovering his illness because oh is it true that you smelt he smelt different can you just tell us a bit about that so um he gary has something called addison's and um where he's adrenals so he gets he gets goes into adrenal failure very very quickly so it's called acute adrenal failure and he's severely asthmatic he has conditions but we don't let any of those things stop us from living our lives.

1:02:39We have to travel everywhere with a breathing machine. So it's part of how we travel. And we've got it down to a fine art yet again. Even then, you know, when we go to all these places, always have to check there's a local hospital and all of those things. But it's on our checklist. But during this time, he started to get very sick and very thin. And there was a smell down his neck there. And it smelled like rotting, wet, dirty moss. and it was, I didn't know whether he had an ear infection or something and he was getting thinner and thinner and thinner. Anyway, we went to the doctors, blood's normal, heart normal, everything was normal apart from this.

1:03:18And then he got up one day and he had lost like four pounds at night. And what happens is the body's shutting down. Right. And we went to see, again, this incredible doctor called Dr. Michael Pele. and Dr. Pele was based in the Chelsea and Westminster, which was the St. Stephen's Hospital when I was born. I was born there. And we went there and I said, I know you think I'm going to be crazy, but I can smell something on his neck. And Dr. Pele said, I don't think you're crazy at all. Tell me what you smell. And I told him and then he said to Gary, tell me what you're feeling. Gary, by this point, he just was skin and bone, couldn't walk.

1:03:58And he said, if you don't do something, I'm going to die. I feel my body is melting. And the fact that he said, he actually said that to the doctor, and the doctor said, test his adrenals. His adrenals were like at nothing. So he was rushed into intensive care, put onto a drip. And I said to him, so what is that? And he said, that's the adrenal gland. But I can't explain, Joe. Anyway, I was doing an interview. Actually, I was doing this morning, I think, and I'm talking about it. And this charity calls me who train dogs, so medical detection, dog detection or detection dogs, based in Milton Keynes.

1:04:39And they said, can you come down? We'd love to chat with you. It's Dr. Claire Guest. And it's a fact of charity I'm now involved with because of the dogs. And they said to me, we'd like to chat with you because we're training dogs to smell for adrenal. at the time they were Covid wasn't happening but all of these like severe bacterias and everything and they said what are you smelling because the dog kept hitting the neck there and they couldn't understand what it was and of course it was Addison's it was adrenal failure which you can die of unless you get medical help but how brilliant that you could help in that way so I then had my nose tested with the dogs I had to get in the pen with the dogs and so many they're all labradors sniffing me think because they had to believe i was one of them and then i had my nose tested and i was in the top three with the dogs so i didn't make the top one and um i love that i'm i'm actually made the top three but you were like i didn't make the top one you know and um what that charity do is incredible they've got they've just um discovered the smell So if these dogs can detect something way before a blood test.

1:05:55Wow. So we're looking at cancer, Parkinson's, diabetics that go into free fall diabetes. The dog will tell you. I mean, there's pots, you know, when people just, you know, go out flat. So I am known as a super sniffer. That is one of my titles. I mean, I think that suits you very well. The super sniffer, yeah. Jo, I also want to talk about senses because we've talked about smell, losing it, getting it back and how much it means and how it exploded. Your olfactory senses exploded. But now you're on taste. So when I went to Dubai, I set myself a challenge and it doesn't have a date. It's just like, I'm going to do this.

1:06:45And I thought to myself, everyone knows me for the sense of smell. And they trust me with that. And I won't take that for granted, by the way, ever. And I would always create fragrances, always. And I love doing it. By the way. But I was, pardon? Thank you. I will never stop doing it. Please don't stop. I won't ever, ever, ever. My mission was to find the five senses of Jo. Could I build global brands? So I've been part of$2 billion, helping them become billion dollar with my creativity. can I do that a third time or a fourth time yes I don't want to run it I don't want to do all the things I want to do the bit I love yeah and so my my mission was to find the five senses of Jo so I was thinking and taste and smell are so similar and they're the similar part of your brain memory although taste is is kind of much more concentrated and somebody came to me and said would you ever consider doing vodka?

1:07:39And I looked at it and first of all I thought I'm not sure I'm not sure and then I thought you wanted to find your five tastes. This is your opportunity to learn. You may not get to it and when we first started out it was about 18 months ago but it was when I met a woman called Joanne Moore and she is a master distiller so she is like a master perfumer and I thought it's identical to creating fragrance I could do this what if I could and off we went and so the first submissions of vodka I got my papers out you know the papers that you smell yes on dipped it into the vodka and smell she went what are you doing I mean I'm smelling what we smell first and then we taste and now we we always start by smelling our vodka and then we taste it.

1:08:26You taste it when you smell. So what I get people to do is smell and taste at the same time. And we've got one called the Bohemian. We've got three. We've got the purist, the Bohemian and the artist and it's called Joe Vodka. And you'll see it in 120 airports, by the way, across the... She's only a month old. She's our new baby. She's got a red glass stopper. It looks so nice. Once it's used up, we take the stopper out and you can create one of those, you get one of those lamps that are batteryed and we created it so you never, it's like a piece of art. Don't ever throw it out. Use them as beautiful lamps.

1:09:05It's a bottle that you're meant to keep. You don't throw it out. It has another life. I love that. It has another life. You have done so much, but I feel like there is no stopping you. I haven't finished yet. You haven't finished yet. The world today is telling us, don't trust those. Don't say that. Don't feel that. And actually your gut instinct is a human thing. Your babies are born with an instinct, an instinct for their mother, an instinct to get up and walk. So instinct is a huge part of who we are as a human race. Yes. And that's what it's doing. And actually sometimes when something's taken away and then given back to you, you hold it with fresh hands.

1:09:50Yes. You become the child again. And the innocence of that gift. And I think when you face your own mortality, that's a scary thing. Or you face, you know, you don't have to be sick. It might be someone who's going through a divorce and their life is drained. You feel like it's the end of everything. And actually, once you've cried the tears and you've started to move and motivate towards the other side, you start to find a new life. I mean, how many times have you heard, you know, my life began when? I'm used to change. Yeah. I'm used to change now. People are terrified of change. And that may be who they are, though, as well.

1:10:35But I think with our younger generations, I look at, you know, I went to speak at a school the other day and they were just so interested in the story. I could see them sitting like this and they were leaning forward, listening to me. and it was just a story but at the end this um it's so many of them came forward and just said oh my gosh I just I want to do this and whatever and it's given me hope and I think I could do that now and it was just so wonderful to see my enthusiasm and excitement had rubbed off on them just within 45 minutes and they were taking that away and thinking if she can do it I can do it without a trigger of a doubt.

1:11:17So, and the place I live at the moment, as in my head, I believe that everybody has a bank account in life and it's called creativity. And no one can touch that bank account but you, no one. No one can steal it from you, but it will only go up in value if you use it. And for me, my bank account is full. That creativity is just buzzing in so many different directions you know what is the sound of joe but actually doing this podcast today this is sound yeah as well um all of these ideas that you're sorry you are blowing my brains like a billion breakthroughs i love this that's in 24 hours we could do it your purpose like imagine the people that you could help a billion people that you could help with a breakthrough a gap year at 60 blown my mind like that that would be we could do we oh no you're too young you're too young we could do a Thelma and Louise you and me oh can't drive I can oh that's okay right I couldn't for six months but I can now I can't drive can't swim can't tell my left my right don't worry I'll rescue you but don't worry you'll smell great but there's so many wonderful people out there as well there's so many wonderful people you know like i sit in airport lounges the whole time and i am chatty kathy um and i'll sit if someone's on their own you know are you going somewhere and just make it count make the minute at moment count and if it's for you or it's for somebody else how about we may never see them again but It doesn't matter.

1:12:56It doesn't matter about that. You know, just making somebody feel part of your world, five minutes or for 100 years, it really doesn't matter. And I think that gap here, though, is, and Gary and I laugh, we pack our little bags. We always take Rummikub. And so you'll often see us somewhere in the world sitting. We'll be having a pasta, a glass of wine, playing Rummikub, play three games. and we have a competition, you can imagine, we're very competitive. And we'll go and listen to, I don't know, the violinists playing, like in Lake Coma there was a square, and all these students come out and they suddenly, they're playing the double bass and they're finally, and it's like, this is precious.

1:13:41Imagine if this was your life. You know, when you sit somewhere and you go, imagine if this was your life. I know. What? Yeah. And, yeah. so i just want to say thank you oh i've loved it yeah can we do it again joe malone cbe super sniffer um that was so amazing and there's so much to take home oh really enjoyed that thank you round of applause please hope it helps

1:14:21Thank you.