117: Marala Scott: Oprah Winfrey called her one of the 5 global ambassadors of hope! She is a true blessing and will brighten your day…
Marala Scott
Marala Scott, who Oprah Winfrey referred to as “one of the five embassadors of hope on the planet,” had a hard life while growing up as a child with her parents and siblings. Witnessing and experiencing intense arguing and domestic abuse, she learned exactly what she didn’t want in a marriage and ways that she wouldn’t raise her own kids one day. Marala Scott is the author of “With Gratitude,” “Passion Inspires Greatness: A Journey with Purpose,” “Surrounded by Inspiration,” a novel called “Intuition,” “In Our House: Perception vs. Reality,” “Bad to the Bone: The True Story of David Tuccaro Jr.” and “Mortage Secrets, Strategies, & Warnings.” Marala has also been the recipient of multiple awards including: 2009 National Indie Excellence Award, 2010 Sunny 95’s 20 Outstanding Women You Should Know, 2014 Ohio House of Representatives Special Recognition for Outstanding Contributions, and 2014 National Indie Excellence Awards.
On this episode of Finding Your Summit Podcast, we talk with Marala Scott, Author and Ghostwriter at Seraph Books and Poet. Marala flipped the tough traumatic obstacle of her childhood upside and out of her way instead of letting it ruin her future relationships. Marala Scott shared: “Although I didn’t grow up in a very positive environment from that aspect. There was a lot of abuse, there was a lot of dysfunction, and a lot of things happened, that when I shared my story, the first book I wrote, it actually caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey, because what I was teaching people was to look at the signs and notice the signs of an abuser, so you can alleviate them.”
What You Will Learn:
What type of defense system does Marala have up to recognize the signs of abusive people when entering into a relationship? Marala feels that it is come sense because the signs are there to pay attention to and that you are missing out on beautiful things if you keep your guard up. “If it doesn’t feel right, it isn’t right.” It is about being present. Marala says: “If you are worrying about what will happen, you aren’t present. You are living in the future, and if you are thinking about what happened to you before, you are in the past.”
May times we notice something is wrong but we choose to overlook it or assume that it will be different in our situation or we can change people. This common belief is one that Marala Scott doesn’t subscribe to. If we spend too much time trying to figure out what went wrong, then we won’t get past it and it may have nothing to do with us. “One of the things about relationships is we stay attached to them only if we refuse to let go of them.”
Healing takes time and is part of the process. Everything has a process. We all have an individual journey: “Everything that hurts us the most is suppose to make us stronger.” The same way we take the good, we need to take the bad. Invest in learning to reflect on your journey in relationship to hard things you are coping with. Therapists let you hear yourself instead of telling you what to do. Healing comes when we reconcile with pain.
Marala Scott’s book “With Gratitude” began at the concept stage with her “With Gratitude” signature email statement that sparked the project. Being grateful often means that we have to see the goodness in everything in life, even things that are hurtful. We have a tremendous amount of opportunities to be grateful but we miss them by not being present. There is so much more appreciation for the things that we don’t see. We become an entitled society that assumes everything is supposed to always be good that we aren’t grateful when good things occur: “Sometimes when people have less, they appreciate more.”
Marala shares insightful advice about how to cope when troubling times strike us in our lives: “I tell people, I say, ‘you don’t understand why things take so long, but things had to happen. Everything had to fall apart for it to get your attention, and it is called ‘avalanche.’ I love that because a lot of times people don’t realize that when you are in the middle of adversity. Sometimes that is the only thing to make you humble yourself and realize where you are so you can slow down and pay attention to how you got there, so you can work yourself out of it.”
Treat People Well:
What are the things that Marala Scott is passionate about and have pushed her towards greatness? “I was always passionate about the way I treat people and how people need to be treated, and I love to teach them and share things that can help them just have encouragement every day. You don’t need to rely on someone else to be inspired, to be happier, or to overcome adversity: “Adversity is basically an obstacle that is going to make you stronger. You are going to get through it. One way or another. But it is your choice how you come out the other side. That is the key.”
From Passion to Oprah:
Marala Scott talks about her passion for writing, sharing other people’s stories as a ghostwriter, sharing inspiration that people feel they need, and how we can choose to recalibrate our mindstate every day to set us on a positive path. She talks about a post that saved someone from taking their life, and another that involves praying for someone who has cancer. “Sometimes people say, ‘I don’t have anything to give anyone.’ Sure, you do…your time. You show people you care.” You also won’t want to miss Marala’s story of her connection to Oprah Winfrey. She talks about helping people but not having negative people into your circle because it will affect you are your circle.
Links to Additional Resources:
- Marala Scott: Linkedin Instagram
- MaralaScott.com
- Laird Superfood – Code: Markp20 [Sponsor]
- Cascade Mountain Tech
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