Ashley Brooks asked Elizabeth Gilbert:

Your books serve as encouragement and inspiration to so many people. Where do you find your encouragement and motivation to move past fear or other blocks?

Elizabeth Gilbert So many people, so many teachers! I lean heavily on the work of inspiration people like Brene Brown, Pema Chodron, Rob Bell, and Iyanla Vanzant, and a few of the monks that I met in India. I also have a few friends (not famous, by any means) whose lives I deeply respect, because they comport themselves with such decency and ethics through the world. I love them, and I want to be more like them. When I'm in trouble, I got sit at their feet, and I say, basically, "Walk me through your own wisdom on this situation. Show me how you do it. Teach me what you know." We all have holes in our wisdom, but the wonderful thing is that the world is surrounded by people who have already been through what you're struggling with, and if you can come to them with the humility of a student, you can keep growing and learning forever.

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