https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/g9z3p8/karenfinal2_-_5_29_22_532_PMapi9v.mp3
EPISODE SUMMARY:
Author, model, MTV VJ, actress; Karen Duffy is a multi-talented entrepreneur whose words and career have inspired audiences across various platforms. On today’s episode, we sat down with Karen to discuss her latest book, Wise Up, her experience living with Sarcoidosis, the importance of having a life philosophy, and her upcoming film projects.
First, we asked Karen what inspired her to write her newest book titled Wise Up. She explained that as a woman having lived with chronic pain her entire life, it was always important to her that her pain never made her mean. Through philosophies and changing her mind sets, she realized that by making beautiful choices, she can create a beautiful life. Wanting to share her story and knowledge with others, Karen wrote Wise Up as a collection of facts and stories written as love letters to her son. One of the prominent topics in her book is her experience with Sarcoidosis, and when asked about it, she told us how the disease has influenced her life. Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that affects about 250,000 Americans. Its origins are unknown, and the disease creates granulomas in the body that can cause chronic pain and other issues. Through living with Sarcoidosis, Karen realized that she needed to mourn her old life and figure out a new one. Rather than try to destroy it or fight it, she wanted to learn to cohabitate with her illness and focus on what she can do instead of what she can’t. Her journey has been a rollercoaster, and it took her four years to get a proper diagnosis. However, through the process of getting diagnosed, Karen has built a team of doctors and professionals that have helped her navigate Sarcoidosis and learn more about both the disease and herself.
Karen lives by many life philosophies, as does her son. When asked about the importance of them, she said that for her, life philosophies have held her up in her hardest times. They’ve helped her realize that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it. Philosophy also continues to resonate with her the older that she gets, and Karen enjoys sharing life philosophies with her son to help him see their importance how they can connect us to the world. An important philosophy that Karen lives by is valuing friendships, especially ones with other women. Love between friends can be uplifting and powerful, just as it can be toxic. Learning how to set boundaries and balance friendships is a vital life lesson that she’s grateful to continue to learn and grow from. Another philosophy we discussed is pronoia and how life is made up of small, beautiful moments. In both good and bad moments, Karen said it’s important we realize we have control over how we respond to what happens.
Acts of service has always been an important part of not only Karen’s life but her entire family. Each member of her family picks a life motto to live by, and through that motto does acts of service to help others. Karen explained how acts of kindness not only benefit others but reflect back on us, and as a result, become a kindness to ourselves. She also loves how she has been able to show her son how she’s been a mentor, and that has led to him wanting to be a mentor to others as well. Her son is also about to graduate high school, putting Karen in a position many midlife women experience: becoming an empty nester. She told us that with him away at boarding school the past few years, he seems ready to take on the world. His independence makes her feel like she did her job as a parent well, and she acknowledges that although many people are afraid of endings, every ending is a new beginning. Just like empty nesters, midlife women are also at a stage of a new beginning, and Karen said it’s a joyous time full of possibility.
For Karen’s upcoming projects, she spoke about two films she’s worked on. The first was a documentary about Bill Murray called New Worlds, which she created with her son’s babysitter who was an NYU film student. As a team, they decided they wanted to tell stories that were inspiring and positive, and after making the Bill Murray documentary, they moved onto their next project. Starting as a short documentary, the story details how after serving in the military, a man named Chickie Donohue travelled to Vietnam to bring his friends who had been drafted beer. The story has now been made into a movie starring Zac Efron, Russell Crowe and Bill Murray. Along with working on films, Karen also has entertainment experience as a VJ on MTV. When asked about her time on MTV, she told us that when she first booked the job, she was working as a recreational therapist at a nursing home. After submitting a videotape to MTV, she was called in to do a screen test and then booked on the air shortly after. While she was nervous for the job, she used that fear to propel her, and ended up having a blast working there. To inspire her, she’d go to the broadcast museum and watch old clips of Frank Sinatra from variety shows. Through being a VJ on MTV, she gained experience, lessons, and made friends that she continues to keep in touch with today.
Finally, we asked Karen about a fun game she created with her friends called the “Menopause Awards”. She explained to us that whenever a friend of hers starts menopause, she repurposes one of her son’s old sports trophies to give to them as an award. She writes “Congratulations! You’re finished” on the award, and the trophies are traded amongst her friend group.
Karen Duffy
Before MTV had Cribs and Reality TV, there were amazing VJs. This week we talk to one of the most popular 90’s MTV VJ’s Karen Duffy.
Karen is also a writer, model, producer, actress, certified hospital chaplain, a former Coney Island Mermaid Queen, and one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in 1993. One of the things that surprised us the most is that she is an earnest student of the Stoic philosophy.
In her newest book, WISE UP: IRREVERENT ENLIGHTENMENT FROM A MOTHER WHOSE BEEN THROUGH IT, she shares life lessons in the form of love letters to her son Jack.
In this episode, we discuss…
- [0:01] Introduction
- [0:23] Guest Introduction
- [5:14] Start of Interview
- [6:11] What Inspired Karen’s Newest Book
- [8:06] Sarcoidosis
- [14:34] Importance of Life Philosophy
- [24:10] Shifting Your Thinking and Small Acts of Kindness
- [29:15] Dealing with Empty Nest
- [33:01] Karen’s New Film Projects
- [39:04] Being an MTV VJ in the 90s
- [42:29] Menopause Awards
- [46:42] Closing Thoughts
- [47:42] Outro
Useful Resources:
Karen’s IMDb I [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0240565/]
Karen’s Twitter I [https://twitter.com/duffynyc
Karen’s Instagram I [https://www.instagram.com/dufflambros]
Karen’s Book
Backbone I [https://www.amazon.com/Backbone-Living-Chronic-without-Turning/dp/1628727950]
Model Patient I [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YQHMGA/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2]
A Slob in the Kitchen I [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400051150/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3]
Can’t Get Enough? Find Us Here!
Website I [http://hotflashescooltopics.com/]
Mail I [[email protected]]
Instagram I [https://www.instagram.com/hotflashesandcooltopics/]
Facebook I [https://www.facebook.com/hotflashescooltopics]
Twitter I [https://twitter.com/CoolFlashes]
Pinterest I [https://www.pinterest.com/hcooltopics/]
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