and life you love. And this is our MarieTV Call In Show, because we call out to some

of you guys to take your questions live, and have a good time. If you don't know this handsome

gentleman right here, this is Gregory Patterson. Well, howdy.

See? This is why we love him. Not only is Greg one of my dear friends, but he's also

responsible for beautifying the hair. I love when when we look in the TV and try

to figure out which curl to fix. Yeah, cuz it has a life of its own. Anyhoo,

we are really excited to get started today, and thank you so much for watching. So let's

dive in with our first caller. Hello.

Hello. Is this Marie? Yes it is. Is this Marie?

Hi. It's Marie Forleo. How you doing? I'm doing good. What about you?

I'm doing great. Well, you are on live on the MarieTV live Call in Show. All of Team

Forleo is here, and we are really excited to talk to you. What's your question today?

Well, I'm an anthropologist. I specialize in the anthropology of health and indigenous

studies, and I love my job. I love what I – I love my work, but I've been struggling

with making a decision with the rest of my career. I don't know if I should do a PhD

in anthropology, or if I should pursue a dream that I've had since I was a little girl, to

be an astronaut. I had put that dream on the back burner several years ago because I had

glasses and bad vision, but now it turns out that I could get my vision corrected with

laser surgery. And ever since I had my kids two years and a half ago, I've been kind of

having this existential crisis. I don't know what I should do with my career and my life.

And it's been really hard to make a decision. Yeah. Well, first of all, congratulations

on your child. I'm so happy that you asked this question because this is something really

common. Not only that I've heard before, but I know people struggle with at so many different

points in their lifetime. And so I want to talk to you about a couple things.

First, by the way, I just got LASIK this year, and it is the best thing ever. I know some

people like, "No to the LASIK." I am like, "Yes to the LASIK.” So whether or not you

do it, I just want to tell you my experience was awesome.

Second of all, as it relates to your career and what we do in life, there's a quote that

has been attributed to Mark Twain that is one of my favorites, and I'll paraphrase it.

It's saying that we will regret more of the things that we don't do than the things that

we do. So, when it comes to the end of our life, we're going to look back and really

regret the things that we didn't go for, not the things that we tried. So I'm curious,

Marie, does that resonate for you? That quote? It does. And I mean, I do know that I think

I will regret it later in the future if I don't try to study to be an astronaut. If

I don't try to work towards it. At the same time, it's a hard choice because I do have

a PhD lined up for the fall, for next September. I have two great supervisors, and funding

opportunities, and I do like working in anthropology a lot. I would like to be a professor. And

it's hard to put that on the side, to start studies that will take several years. And

then, you know, the recruitment process to be an astronaut is extremely difficult. And

out of thousands of applicants they pick two to four every year. Not every year. Every

seven years. So that's why this decision is so hard to make. The chances that I will reach

my goal are slim at best, and I already do have a career that I enjoy. So that's why

it sucks. So, a little practicality. I know I'm interrupting

you, but I'm curious. You said a piece of information that I was unaware of, which is

that they accept applications every seven years. Is that correct?

Yes. Yeah. So, why not go kick some major freakin'

ass in your PhD now that you have that lined up, and also start kind of setting the pieces

in place so that the next round of seven years, whether that's coming up shortly, or it's

the one after that, that you dive in and give it your best?

Well, if I want to apply, I think the next process for recruitment is in five years.

I need to have at least a Bachelor's Degree, which is three years of study plus three years

of work experience to be eligible to be recruited. That means six years of work. So in theory,

even for the next recruitment process, I'm already late.  And working on taking science

classes and doing a PhD in anthropology, while being a mother to twins. I have twin girls.

You know, it's a big investment. Sure.

Yeah. So that's why it's a very hard decision to make.

Okay. Even just by talking to you, I can hear in your voice, it sounds like you're actually

more committed to the PhD program than you are to the idea of being an astronaut. So

I'm curious. Would you just be willing to make a choice that like, “I'm going to go

kick ass in my PhD,” and it's not that you're, you know, disappointing yourself in this dream

of being an astronaut. You're making a proactive choice about what's best for you right now

as an adult woman. You know, this dream that you've had since you were small, right? Because

that's the one to be an astronaut. You had that dream, but you'd also didn't have the

life you have now, which is twin girls and a career that you keep telling us that you

love. So, what if the solution is actually about

setting yourself free, and embodying the dream for your life that you have in this moment

rather than one from the past? Sure. That makes sense. I guess.

I can hear your heart break. Well, here's the thing that I know, Marie. You continuing

to go on and torture yourself is not going to do you any good. It's not going to do your

girls any good, and it's not going to do yourself any good to go into this PhD process with

one foot in your astronaut dream, and one foot in the PhD, because you're going to torture

yourself for the rest of your life. And I don't think that's a great place to live,

and I don't think it's very useful. True, and I have been juggling with the decision

for several years, as I said. And it's a hard choice to make because it's such a big investment

to change careers at this point. You know, in both cases it's a sacrifice, so I guess

you're right. It's just about making a decision and moving on.

Yeah. I can hear the emotion in your voice and that's okay. Here's the thing, Marie.

Just because you're deciding not to go after the astronaut dream right now doesn't mean

that you won't find an opportunity, or a way, to work in that field in the future. You don't

know what's coming over the next five, 10, 15, or 20 years as it relates to both your

life, and as it relates to the sciences and how things are going to progress, the people

that you could possibly meet, or where your life can take you.

So what I want to help you avoid doing is just confining yourself to a very limited

idea of like what your life is going to be about, and really choose the PhD program from

a place of joy, and see how, who knows? You might engage with a space program a little

bit down the line. Sure. I mean, I think it makes sense and I

think it's a good attitude to adopt. I used to not worry so much about making decisions

like this, and it always worked out beautifully in the past. So, I've been –

Tell me about that. Wait. Wait. I'm interrupting. Before you go on, tell me more about that.

... well, I used to kind of like ride the wave. Surf the wave, I would say. I didn't

worry too much about decisions regarding my studies or my work. And it always seemed like

life was taking me where I needed to be. I would, you know, go on a trip and discover

I had an interest, and then choose to take some classes following that. Then, that led

me to anthropology, and then when I decided to do my Masters in anthropology, it was also

kind of like an quick decision on a whim, and it turned out great for me.

You know, several of the contracts that I've had, that I've done, have also been kind of

like surprise opportunities, and those worked out great. It's been the same for my personal

life, not just my professional life. It's just ever since having kids, I've been more

worried about the impact of my decisions. And riding the wave has been a little bit

more stressful, you know? I've felt like I had to make more strategic choices.

So, you've rode the wave your entire life and it turned out beautifully. And so right

now it feels like you're just on the precipice of perhaps a new adventure that can be even

more free than anything that you've experienced before. So I got one more question for you.

Really curious. How does it feel in your body if you imagine yourself gently releasing this

old idea of who you were supposed to be that you had as a little girl and embracing the

fullness of your magnificent life right now? How does that feel in your body?

It's a mix of stress, and joy, and freedom, I guess.

Does it make you excited to think about putting yourself totally into moving into this PhD

program, and knowing, and trusting, and having faith in the universe that this is the next

best step for you? I don't think I'm quite there yet.

Okay. I want to be.

And what's stressful about this decision? Well, it's not stressful to start the PhD

because I know I'm going to enjoy it. It's going to be a really interesting project.

What's stressful is closing the door on the project of you know, working in sciences,

and being an astronaut, because I know that it's time sensitive. I can't decide when I'm

55 to study to be an astronaut and go out in space. I could work in relations with the

space program, and space exploration. I could always do that in various ways, but if I want

to try to be an astronaut, I have to do it sooner than later.

Okay. So, just out of curiosity, what does it feel like to drop your entire career and

focus 100% on going through your astronaut dream? How's that feel in your body?

I mean, it feels exciting. I would be a little bit worried about it because I did take science

classes in the past, and although I loved it, it was a lot of hard work. What worries

me the most about it is the fact that I have responsibilities towards my kids and my husband

now. It's, you know, it would be a big investment. That's what's stressful about it, and time,

and money, and effort, but I guess it would be exciting.

And, are they behind you? Is your husband behind you if you wanted to go towards the

astronaut career? Yeah. He's ... I mean, whichever option I

choose. You're really interesting, Marie. You like

being in this state of having one foot in both places because, honestly, your voice

lightens up, and your energy lightens up when you're talking about going for your big dream

of being an astronaut. Just as a reflection. If you were lying on your deathbed and looking

back on your life, and your kids are healthy, and your husband was by your side, and you

knew you were about to pass, what do you see behind you?

Um, I would see that I had a really cool career in anthropology, and I tried to do a lot of

important work. And I would see that I didn't go for my dream and – of being an astronaut.

I would see that I had a great family and great kids and a great husband. And I had

the chance to travel a lot, which I'm grateful for.

So, when you look at not going for that astronaut dream, is it a big deal? Again, you're thinking

about this as really stepping into the last day of your life on Earth.

Yeah, I think so. You think it is a big deal that you didn't

go for it? Yeah.

Okay. Now try on a different future. What if you did go for it?

Well, I might or I might not succeed, but at least I would've tried.

Would you be proud of yourself for trying? Yes.

Would you be okay if it didn't work out? Yeah, because at least I would've given it

my all, you know. Interesting. Really interesting. How do you

feel now about moving forward? Is one more clear for you than the other?

Well, I think I do want to try to take science classes and see how it goes. And I think I

do want to try to get started on the track to you know, work towards being an astronaut.

Okay. I'm cheering. I'm holding my hands up. I know you can't see me. What is the next

step that you need to take in order to make this choice of becoming an astronaut come

to life? Well, I need to call the university in my

city and see which classes I have to take to be eligible to enter a program in sciences.

Okay, what's that going to take? Like 10 minutes? Uh, yeah.

Okay. I want you to do that and then write back to us and tell us how it went.

Okay, great. Cool?

Yeah. So, I'm basically talking to a future astronaut

right now, which is really, really exciting, Marie.

Yeah. Let's hope so.

Well, yeah, let's hope so, but more importantly, let's work towards it.

True. Awesome. Well, I don't know if this was helpful

for you, but I know I really enjoyed talking to you. And the one piece of advice I would

give you is to really get quiet, look within yourself, and, if this is what you want to

do, make the choice and stop torturing yourself with having one foot in one place and one

foot in the other because you're not doing yourself any favors. You're certainly not

getting closer to your dream of becoming an astronaut. And you're not getting yourself

on another path either. It's the indecision in life that kills us.

True. Thank you. This has been really, really useful.

You're so welcome. Please keep us posted after you make those calls. I'm going to ask Louise

on our team if Marie wrote back, and I'm really hoping for a yes.

Okay, I will. Awesome. Bye, darling.