1
00:00:09,918 --> 00:00:12,917
And so the other thing,
that was about the age of 11 or 12,

2
00:00:12,918 --> 00:00:14,791
I discovered what running meant to me.

3
00:00:14,792 --> 00:00:18,710
And it isn't about the physicalness of it,
or what it does for our bodies,

4
00:00:18,726 --> 00:00:20,702
or the cardiovascular functioning.

5
00:00:20,703 --> 00:00:23,376
What it did was give me
sanctuary and solitude

6
00:00:23,377 --> 00:00:26,389
and a place to connect with light divine.

7
00:00:26,390 --> 00:00:29,042
It's where I find clarity,
and I still find it there.

8
00:00:30,125 --> 00:00:33,267
So the other thing that happened
about the age of 15

9
00:00:33,268 --> 00:00:34,923
was I come from a long lineage,

10
00:00:34,924 --> 00:00:38,083
like if we had my whole chart
up here of my family,

11
00:00:38,084 --> 00:00:41,295
you'd see a lot
of very thin athletic people.

12
00:00:41,296 --> 00:00:44,852
You'd also see
a lot of really good drinkers.

13
00:00:44,853 --> 00:00:47,826
And so at age 15, I took my first drink.

14
00:00:47,827 --> 00:00:51,835
That was at my friend Beth's house,
and after several, you know, of those,

15
00:00:51,836 --> 00:00:53,965
I called this guy named Robbie.

16
00:00:53,966 --> 00:00:56,335
And he went
to like the heathen public school,

17
00:00:56,336 --> 00:00:58,753
and I told Robbie that I loved him.

18
00:00:58,754 --> 00:01:00,464
(Laughter)

19
00:01:01,584 --> 00:01:03,851
And Robbie didn't know who I was

20
00:01:03,852 --> 00:01:06,541
(Laughter)

21
00:01:06,542 --> 00:01:10,417
but by the end of the conversation
with him, he did know who I was,

22
00:01:10,418 --> 00:01:12,500
and so did all of his buddies.

23
00:01:12,501 --> 00:01:15,292
And there was something
incredibly powerful about that.

24
00:01:16,667 --> 00:01:21,374
It's like those cultural
messages that said,

25
00:01:21,375 --> 00:01:25,495
"A quick fix and a quick way
to feeling good about yourself will work."

26
00:01:25,496 --> 00:01:29,168
And what I didn't realize at the time
was that it was part of the plan,

27
00:01:29,169 --> 00:01:32,834
it was part of the lie,
part of the way to dim, you know,

28
00:01:32,835 --> 00:01:37,264
dim the miraculous spirit
that was me, and you, and all of us.

29
00:01:37,265 --> 00:01:39,542
And so these two worlds
began to build momentum.

30
00:01:39,543 --> 00:01:43,708
And step by step, the running improved,
and I began to get competitive at it,

31
00:01:43,709 --> 00:01:47,708
because you can't just run because,
you have to run for a reason.

32
00:01:47,709 --> 00:01:50,627
You have to run to compete,
you have to run to achieve.

33
00:01:50,628 --> 00:01:53,089
You can't just run because.

34
00:01:53,090 --> 00:01:54,677
And so too did the drinking,

35
00:01:54,678 --> 00:01:58,544
in the dark nights,
and in a lot of really dark spaces.

36
00:01:58,545 --> 00:02:03,417
And so, on July 6, 1993,
I was 32 years old, I hit bottom.

37
00:02:04,241 --> 00:02:05,868
The running was no longer working,

38
00:02:05,869 --> 00:02:08,747
and I could not find solitude
or sanctuary in that space;

39
00:02:08,749 --> 00:02:10,374
I couldn't find it anywhere.

40
00:02:10,375 --> 00:02:15,534
And so I called my big sister Emily,
and I told her I had two choices.

41
00:02:15,535 --> 00:02:19,847
I was either going to move to California,
which is like the "geographic cure",

42
00:02:19,848 --> 00:02:22,233
or I was going to kill myself.

43
00:02:22,234 --> 00:02:24,018
And I asked my sister Emily,

44
00:02:29,250 --> 00:02:31,709
"Which one should I pick?"

45
00:02:33,357 --> 00:02:34,827
And she paused,

46
00:02:34,828 --> 00:02:40,416
and then she gave me the greatest advice
of anything I've ever received,

47
00:02:40,417 --> 00:02:42,750
and I'd heard it before,
but it really worked.

48
00:02:42,751 --> 00:02:45,980
And she said,
"Molly, this too shall pass."

49
00:02:46,626 --> 00:02:49,917
And so I hung up the phone,
and I sort of fell to the side,

50
00:02:49,918 --> 00:02:51,708
and I went to sleep.

51
00:02:51,709 --> 00:02:54,460
The next day was July 7, 1993,

52
00:02:55,083 --> 00:02:58,208
and I decided later on in the day,
I called in sick to the job

53
00:02:58,209 --> 00:03:01,198
that I was holding at the time,
and I decided to go for a run.

54
00:03:01,199 --> 00:03:04,292
And there was this huge thunderstorm
brewing off in the distance,

55
00:03:04,293 --> 00:03:09,667
massive clouds, electricity, and lighting,
and all sorts of just ions in the air.

56
00:03:10,409 --> 00:03:13,376
And so I put on my running clothes,
and I remembering thinking,

57
00:03:13,377 --> 00:03:16,107
"It's too dangerous. Don't go, don't go!"

58
00:03:16,125 --> 00:03:19,069
And in among all the noises,
of all the shoulds, and oughts,

59
00:03:19,070 --> 00:03:22,515
and "You're not good enough,
or pretty enough, or thin enough,

60
00:03:22,516 --> 00:03:23,875
or whatever enough,"

61
00:03:23,876 --> 00:03:25,556
came this one little voice.

62
00:03:25,557 --> 00:03:28,599
And this voice said,
"If you need to go, go."

63
00:03:29,542 --> 00:03:31,501
So I remember descending those stairs,

64
00:03:31,502 --> 00:03:36,018
and about five miles into
what ended up being a 6-mile run,

65
00:03:36,019 --> 00:03:37,458
something happened.

66
00:03:37,459 --> 00:03:41,982
And you know, for me to try to frame it
in words does it a disservice.

67
00:03:41,983 --> 00:03:43,843
But there was something that happened,

68
00:03:43,844 --> 00:03:46,503
it was like the way the sweat
came out of my pores

69
00:03:46,504 --> 00:03:48,675
and trickled down my chest
and down my back,

70
00:03:48,676 --> 00:03:51,875
and the weight of my ponytail
as it tugged behind me.

71
00:03:51,876 --> 00:03:53,355
And there was this spot

72
00:03:53,375 --> 00:03:55,959
at the intersection
of Kennelworth and East Boulevard,

73
00:03:56,942 --> 00:04:01,221
where I just felt nothing.

74
00:04:01,222 --> 00:04:05,208
It was as if there was no story,
there was no should, there was no ought,

75
00:04:05,209 --> 00:04:06,654
there was nothing.

76
00:04:06,655 --> 00:04:10,062
It was as if I was just invisible,
but in the most glorious way.

77
00:04:11,052 --> 00:04:12,453
The story disappeared,

78
00:04:12,454 --> 00:04:16,382
the whatever I should be
was no longer there; and I just was.

79
00:04:16,384 --> 00:04:20,236
And so, I burst into tears,
and I walked home.

80
00:04:20,237 --> 00:04:22,753
And I knew
that once I had experienced that,

81
00:04:22,754 --> 00:04:24,243
I couldn't go back,

82
00:04:24,244 --> 00:04:27,013
I couldn't go back
to living the way that I had lived.

83
00:04:27,014 --> 00:04:30,864
That, you know, something had changed,
and I couldn't articulate what it was,

84
00:04:30,865 --> 00:04:33,836
but I knew that it had changed,
and I didn't know what to do.

85
00:04:33,837 --> 00:04:37,317
So I just let it sit,
and let it marinate for awhile.

86
00:04:37,318 --> 00:04:39,951
And then I got married,
and then I had a child,

87
00:04:39,952 --> 00:04:42,108
and when I gave birth to my son,

88
00:04:42,109 --> 00:04:45,504
it was like, the purpose,
what I was here for,

89
00:04:45,505 --> 00:04:49,694
began to reveal itself in the quiet times
as I would nurse him.

90
00:04:49,695 --> 00:04:52,543
And so "Girls on the Run",
this thing that I wanted to do,

91
00:04:52,544 --> 00:04:57,491
something to help girls feel and know
that they are safe to be themselves,

92
00:04:57,492 --> 00:05:00,800
no matter what our culture,
or no matter what their context is,

93
00:05:00,801 --> 00:05:02,481
no matter how they see it,

94
00:05:02,482 --> 00:05:05,622
they are safe, and beautiful,
and whole just the way they are.

95
00:05:05,623 --> 00:05:07,422
And so I wrote out this curriculum,

96
00:05:07,423 --> 00:05:09,668
and I went to the school
where I had my spell,

97
00:05:09,669 --> 00:05:13,157
and I'll never forget going to meet
with the after-school coordinator,

98
00:05:13,158 --> 00:05:16,750
and said, "Alright, I'd like to do
this thing called 'Girls on the Run'."

99
00:05:16,751 --> 00:05:19,856
And his response, and he's
a good friend of mine still, he said,

100
00:05:19,876 --> 00:05:21,557
"Aww, that sounds cute."

101
00:05:21,558 --> 00:05:23,228
(Laughter)

102
00:05:23,925 --> 00:05:26,346
And I can remember thinking, "Cute?!

103
00:05:26,347 --> 00:05:30,806
This is going to be a species-level,
transformational shift

104
00:05:30,807 --> 00:05:33,976
in the way girls and women
perceive themselves!

105
00:05:33,977 --> 00:05:39,006
Like, were going to obliterate sexism
and eliminate the objectification of women

106
00:05:39,007 --> 00:05:40,826
from across the globe!"

107
00:05:40,827 --> 00:05:43,522
You know, I mean I really had
that thought in my head,

108
00:05:43,523 --> 00:05:47,812
and yet, I couldn't have said it then,
I still have-- I enjoy saying it now.

109
00:05:47,813 --> 00:05:49,461
(Laughter)

110
00:05:49,462 --> 00:05:52,082
But I couldn't said it then,
and so what do you do?

111
00:05:52,083 --> 00:05:54,812
You go right back to default mode
which felt a lot safer,

112
00:05:54,813 --> 00:05:57,233
so I probably did
a little something like this,

113
00:05:57,234 --> 00:05:59,089
"Well it is. Can we do it?"

114
00:05:59,090 --> 00:06:00,716
(Laughter)

115
00:06:01,584 --> 00:06:02,584
He said yes.

116
00:06:02,599 --> 00:06:05,869
And so, 13 girls arrived
the following month.

117
00:06:05,870 --> 00:06:09,127
And I'll tell you right now,
that if you are at all ever questioning

118
00:06:09,128 --> 00:06:12,703
what it is that you're supposed to do
or where you're supposed to land,

119
00:06:12,704 --> 00:06:16,499
I felt like this, when those girls came.

120
00:06:16,500 --> 00:06:18,395
That's exactly the way that it felt.

121
00:06:18,396 --> 00:06:21,710
And if you ever question or wonder
what it is you're supposed to do,

122
00:06:21,711 --> 00:06:23,242
if it makes you go like that,

123
00:06:23,243 --> 00:06:26,078
you're probably supposed to do it.

124
00:06:26,079 --> 00:06:29,362
And so, the program has since grown,

125
00:06:29,363 --> 00:06:32,082
13 little girls
pulled 13 other little girls,

126
00:06:32,083 --> 00:06:36,024
and then we had 26,
and then there were 75,

127
00:06:36,025 --> 00:06:39,958
and it's just been an amazing thing
for me to realize that so many of us,

128
00:06:39,959 --> 00:06:44,475
whether we're third grade, or 70,
or male, or female,

129
00:06:44,476 --> 00:06:48,298
or old, or young,
or left-brained, or right-brained,

130
00:06:48,299 --> 00:06:51,178
we just want to know that we are loved.

131
00:06:52,626 --> 00:06:56,606
And so the program is now
in 174 cities across North America.

132
00:06:57,250 --> 00:06:58,520
And there were--

133
00:06:58,521 --> 00:07:00,477
(Applause)

134
00:07:05,250 --> 00:07:06,609
Last year, we served,

135
00:07:06,610 --> 00:07:10,439
we reached the quarter million mark
in the number of girls served.

136
00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,417
And at this point, I'm feeling very called
to expand to other nations,

137
00:07:14,418 --> 00:07:17,416
and we have 40 or so
that have expressed an interest,

138
00:07:17,417 --> 00:07:21,335
not quite sure what to do with that yet,
from a business standpoint.

139
00:07:21,975 --> 00:07:25,644
But what I'd like to do
just to launch and to get you thinking

140
00:07:25,645 --> 00:07:28,878
is to share with you
one story about a very special girl.

141
00:07:28,879 --> 00:07:31,128
And her name is Shakira.

142
00:07:31,129 --> 00:07:33,417
And so I was coaching
a group of little girls,

143
00:07:33,418 --> 00:07:37,503
this was several years ago,
and we limit it to 15 girls in a group.

144
00:07:37,504 --> 00:07:40,933
And at this point I had 14,
and we start the day, the first activity

145
00:07:40,934 --> 00:07:44,003
where you say your name
and an adjective that describes you.

146
00:07:44,004 --> 00:07:47,457
And so I'm always like "Miraculous Molly",
and we go around the circle,

147
00:07:47,458 --> 00:07:49,466
and we got around to this one little girl

148
00:07:49,467 --> 00:07:51,876
who just shook her head
and looked to the ground.

149
00:07:51,877 --> 00:07:55,428
And one of the other girls goes,
"Oh that's just Shakira, she never talks."

150
00:07:55,429 --> 00:07:58,189
And I was like, "Alright girl,
I'm just glad you're here.

151
00:07:58,190 --> 00:08:01,391
You just keep coming back girl,
just keep coming back."

152
00:08:01,392 --> 00:08:04,626
And so, the next lesson she comes,
and she doesn't speak,

153
00:08:04,627 --> 00:08:07,176
and the third lesson she comes,
and she doesn't speak,

154
00:08:07,177 --> 00:08:10,476
and the fourth lesson she comes,
and she doesn't speak.

155
00:08:10,477 --> 00:08:13,999
So I went to the school counselor,
and I said, "Can you please help me?

156
00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,120
I don't know
how to reach this little girl."

157
00:08:16,121 --> 00:08:18,104
And she said to me, "Well Molly...

158
00:08:25,501 --> 00:08:28,543
if you look closely
about her calves and her thighs,

159
00:08:28,544 --> 00:08:31,503
you'll see the scars
from the cigarette burns."

160
00:08:31,504 --> 00:08:35,418
And this little girl had been cast away
in closets for long points of time.

161
00:08:35,419 --> 00:08:39,254
So she had to wear glasses
that would dim in the sunlight.

162
00:08:39,255 --> 00:08:43,700
And I realized at that moment
that I was privileged actually,

163
00:08:43,701 --> 00:08:45,600
to have her in my life.

164
00:08:45,601 --> 00:08:47,858
And so, over the course
of the next 12 weeks,

165
00:08:47,859 --> 00:08:49,529
I began to see something emerged,

166
00:08:49,530 --> 00:08:51,959
like the light that had dimmed
within this child,

167
00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:56,249
and the story that she'd been told
her entire nine years of life,

168
00:08:56,250 --> 00:08:59,001
"You're not worthy,
you're not smart enough,"

169
00:08:59,002 --> 00:09:01,708
or "You're not worth it,
or you're voiceless,"

170
00:09:01,709 --> 00:09:04,764
was beginning to unravel and disappear.

171
00:09:04,765 --> 00:09:06,201
And at the end of the program,

172
00:09:06,202 --> 00:09:08,982
she was participating,
but still not speaking.

173
00:09:08,983 --> 00:09:12,926
So on the very last day of the program,
I put the girls into a circle, and I said,

174
00:09:12,927 --> 00:09:16,288
"Alright ladies, let's just say one word
to describe our experience,"

175
00:09:16,289 --> 00:09:19,577
hoping that this might be the day
I would hear something from her.

176
00:09:19,578 --> 00:09:21,583
The first little girl said, "Fantastic!"

177
00:09:21,584 --> 00:09:23,161
Somebody said, "Awesome."

178
00:09:23,167 --> 00:09:26,709
I do remember one 8-year old goes,
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,"

179
00:09:26,710 --> 00:09:28,223
because when you're eight

180
00:09:28,224 --> 00:09:31,643
that's like the most official,
longest word in the English language.

181
00:09:31,644 --> 00:09:35,042
And then I got around to Shakira,
and she just looked around the circle,

182
00:09:35,043 --> 00:09:37,798
and then she shook her head
and looked to the ground.

183
00:09:37,799 --> 00:09:41,421
So the following day, we have our banquet,
where all the kids come together,

184
00:09:41,422 --> 00:09:45,786
and we celebrate, and honor them
for their presence over the 12 weeks.

185
00:09:45,787 --> 00:09:49,273
And I had called every one
of the girls up, and I called Shakira up,

186
00:09:49,274 --> 00:09:52,566
and we give funny awards
like the "Sweat Goddess" award,

187
00:09:52,567 --> 00:09:55,286
or the "Runs with a Red Face" award.

188
00:09:55,287 --> 00:09:59,158
Then I had called Shakira up,
all 14 or 13 of her teammates behind her,

189
00:09:59,159 --> 00:10:00,438
and I call her up.

190
00:10:00,439 --> 00:10:04,260
And I say, "Alright girl, I give you
the 'Grand Communicator' award'.

191
00:10:05,618 --> 00:10:09,228
Because of how you communicate,
you know, that little sparkle in your eye,

192
00:10:09,229 --> 00:10:13,459
and you know, you communicate in ways
that are so much richer than many adults."

193
00:10:14,001 --> 00:10:16,583
And that little girl pulled
out of her pocket a card,

194
00:10:16,584 --> 00:10:18,393
and she handed me that card.

195
00:10:18,394 --> 00:10:19,723
And I read it.

196
00:10:19,724 --> 00:10:23,759
And I will tell you,
that in a room of 60 people,

197
00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,649
I felt great solitude
and a great connection to my divine,

198
00:10:27,650 --> 00:10:29,888
like I did on that July-7th run,

199
00:10:29,889 --> 00:10:32,205
and I handed that card back to her.

200
00:10:32,206 --> 00:10:34,312
And I said, "Will you read this to me?"

201
00:10:34,313 --> 00:10:36,729
And that little 9-year-old took that card,

202
00:10:36,730 --> 00:10:39,870
and she began to shake, and shake,
and when you're really thin,

203
00:10:39,871 --> 00:10:43,021
and you haven't been nourished
for a long time, you do like this.

204
00:10:44,288 --> 00:10:46,038
And then she read it out loud.

205
00:10:46,782 --> 00:10:50,074
And what she said was,
"Dear Molly, the word I wanted to say

206
00:10:50,075 --> 00:10:53,672
on the last day
of 'Girls on the Run' was love.

207
00:10:53,673 --> 00:10:55,533
Your friend, Shakira."

208
00:10:56,272 --> 00:11:01,591
And so my question to you, and I just
really, really ask you this question,

209
00:11:01,592 --> 00:11:03,891
what do you want to say?

210
00:11:03,892 --> 00:11:06,878
What stories do you tell yourself

211
00:11:06,879 --> 00:11:10,979
that limit you from saying what it is
you need to say to the world?"

212
00:11:10,980 --> 00:11:16,420
And I say, if Shakira can do it,
you can do it.

213
00:11:16,421 --> 00:11:20,658
And if it includes bright, red boots,
you better go get you some.

214
00:11:20,659 --> 00:11:22,094
(Laughter)

215
00:11:22,095 --> 00:11:23,376
That's it.

216
00:11:23,377 --> 00:11:24,776
(Applause)