Do you want to have a more meaningful life? Then you have to start creating what researchers call warm relationships. And warm relationships aren't necessarily with the people that you know. They're with the people all around you that you don't know. And so I want to dig into the research. And to do that, I want to introduce you to somebody named Dr. Robert Wauwdinger. Now, Dr. Robert Wauwdinger might sound familiar to you because earlier this year, he appeared on the podcast. He's a researcher and medical doctor at Harvard. And what he shared with me was so No eye-opening. Dr. Wauwdinger is the lead researcher of something called the Harvard Study of Adult Development. Now, the Harvard Study of Adult Development is the longest in-depth study of human happiness ever done. This study has been going on for 86 years, and it's still going on. And one of the things that researchers at Harvard found across generations of people from all different backgrounds is that there is this one truth about all human beings. Positive Relationships are essential to your well-being and happiness. And his team, in crunching all the data, bottom-lined their research this way, that good relationships keep you happier and healthier.

And you want to hear something even crazier? The team at Harvard can accurately predict who is going to be happy at the age of 80. You want to know how? Because they figured out in this study that when people were satisfied with their relationships when they were around the age of 50, they turned out to be the healthiest people, mentally and physically, when they were 80. I want you to listen to Harvard's Dr. Wauwdinger because he's going to explain why this matters.

The biggest takeaway is that the people who live the longest, stay the healthiest, and are the happiest are the people who have more relationships with other people and more firmer relationships with other people. That the people who literally saw more people in a given week, the people who felt happier with their relationships, actually lived years longer and they stayed healthier. They didn't develop the diseases of aging as soon if they developed them at all, compared to people who were more isolated, who didn't care about relationships.

Let me just underscore what he said, and then I'm going to connect it to these unexpected connections that you can have with strangers. He says, If you want to improve your health and happiness, just focus on one thing. And so how do you do that? Sometimes, all it takes to meet some of your most favorite people in your lifetime is simply saying hello. And in fact, the very first story proves it. And it begins at 07:00 PM, one random night at a hostel in Bali, when a woman walking to the communal shower at the hostel was stopped by a stranger. Now, just trust me on this. I know how that sounds. So let me back up a bit and give you some context. Because this first story is actually about our oldest daughter Sawyer. So Sawyer had always dreamt of going on a solo backpacking trip around Asia. She had dreamt of this for a decade. She time. One hello, and the conversation that followed sparked that. And you want to know what? Naomi is now one of Sawyer's best friends in the entire world.They talk almost every day, all because Sawyer leaned in. She trusted her gut, she took the chance, and she made the connection. That's all it takes. And I'm here to tell you, those opportunities are all around you. I I mean, she made what was nothing, two strangers passing each other in a hallway into something meaningful. And think about the number of people that pass by you every single day. Do you know how many people do that? Or who you're sitting next to at the coffee shop, or who you sit down next to or across from the train every single day? Just imagine. One hello leads to one conversation that could lead to somebody that you have never met becoming a really good friend. So how do you create this momentum in your life? Because let's get real here. It's all good to talk about just being more chatty or smiling more. I mean, everything's It seems easy to do, but then you don't do it. So let me ask you, why don't you do it? Because I think when you hear a story like that, and you probably, if you really stop and think about it, you can think back to meeting some of your closest friends and think about, Well, that really was a chance encounter, and then it changed the trajectory of my life.Well, I'll tell you, why don't we lean in more? Why don't we say hello more? I'll tell you why. Number one, you don't think it actually matters. You don't think saying hello to somebody matters. And what you're going to learn over and over and over again through these five real life stories and through the research is that this not only matters, but your health and happiness depends on the relationships you create. And the second reason why we don't do this is But in the moment where you're sitting there and you're sitting next to a stranger, or you see somebody walking down the hall, or they step into the elevator, who could be the person you're supposed to meet, it just feels awkward, doesn't it? Because you haven't met them yet. And this is always going to be the case. Because that moment right before you lean in, the moment right before you approach, the moment right before you say hello, there is always that moment where you feel vulnerable vulnerable when you go first. Even in situations where you're with a bunch of other people that are all brand new, think about moments where you're starting college, or you're starting a new school, or you're starting a new job, and it's the job where a bunch of people start at once, and everybody's in the same orientation.Even though you're all new and nobody knows nobody, it still feels awkward to go first. I know exactly what you think when you see somebody, anything I should say, Oh, they look busy. I don't want to interrupt their day. Oh, I don't want to annoy them. I don't want to look like some creep. Or maybe they're going to turn out to be weird. Or maybe you're worried it's going to seem awkward or weird. I'm here to tell you, you need to do it anyway. Go first. Some of your most favorite people are people you haven't met yet. I freaking love this topic. It's the idea that there is a stranger out there that you're meant to meet who could become one of your closest friends. Everyone that you love now in your life was once a stranger.

time. One hello, and the conversation that followed sparked that. And you want to know what? Naomi is now one of Sawyer's best friends in the entire world.

They talk almost every day, all because Sawyer leaned in. She trusted her gut, she took the chance, and she made the connection. That's all it takes. And I'm here to tell you, those opportunities are all around you. I I mean, she made what was nothing, two strangers passing each other in a hallway into something meaningful. And think about the number of people that pass by you every single day. Do you know how many people do that? Or who you're sitting next to at the coffee shop, or who you sit down next to or across from the train every single day? Just imagine. One hello leads to one conversation that could lead to somebody that you have never met becoming a really good friend. So how do you create this momentum in your life? Because let's get real here. It's all good to talk about just being more chatty or smiling more. I mean, everything's It seems easy to do, but then you don't do it. So let me ask you, why don't you do it? Because I think when you hear a story like that, and you probably, if you really stop and think about it, you can think back to meeting some of your closest friends and think about, Well, that really was a chance encounter, and then it changed the trajectory of my life.

Well, I'll tell you, why don't we lean in more? Why don't we say hello more? I'll tell you why. Number one, you don't think it actually matters. You don't think saying hello to somebody matters. And what you're going to learn over and over and over again through these five real life stories and through the research is that this not only matters, but your health and happiness depends on the relationships you create. And the second reason why we don't do this is But in the moment where you're sitting there and you're sitting next to a stranger, or you see somebody walking down the hall, or they step into the elevator, who could be the person you're supposed to meet, it just feels awkward, doesn't it? Because you haven't met them yet. And this is always going to be the case. Because that moment right before you lean in, the moment right before you approach, the moment right before you say hello, there is always that moment where you feel vulnerable vulnerable when you go first. Even in situations where you're with a bunch of other people that are all brand new, think about moments where you're starting college, or you're starting a new school, or you're starting a new job, and it's the job where a bunch of people start at once, and everybody's in the same orientation.

Even though you're all new and nobody knows nobody, it still feels awkward to go first. I know exactly what you think when you see somebody, anything I should say, Oh, they look busy. I don't want to interrupt their day. Oh, I don't want to annoy them. I don't want to look like some creep. Or maybe they're going to turn out to be weird. Or maybe you're worried it's going to seem awkward or weird. I'm here to tell you, you need to do it anyway. Go first. Some of your most favorite people are people you haven't met yet. I freaking love this topic. It's the idea that there is a stranger out there that you're meant to meet who could become one of your closest friends. Everyone that you love now in your life was once a stranger.