Today, I talk to Susan Cain, the author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, which spent seven years on the New York times bestseller list and has been translated into over 40 languages. It was named the number one best book of the year by Fast Company, which also named her as one of its most creative people in business. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications and her records smashing Ted Talk, which was where I first discovered her, has been viewed over 30 million times on ted.com and YouTube combined and was named by Bill Gates as one of his all time favorite talks. Now her most recent book is called Bittersweet: How Sorrow And Longing Make Us Whole. Susan explains the reason behind why we process pain differently and why moving on is doable for others after some time but seems difficult for some. We also discuss how some people were able to turn painful experiences into inspiration and achieve creative success, the importance of shared connection and how we can find balance in expressing, accepting, and addressing our individual pain through these connections, and finally, the first step to healing is acceptance. This conversation shows us how we can choose to wallow in grief or in pain and allow it to control us or embrace these bittersweet emotions to fuel our motivation to heal, to connect, and to be a new you. What We Discuss: 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:33 How did you start figuring out pain? 00:05:52 Acceptance is the first step 00:09:16 The union between souls 00:12:05 Connection is the most healing of all 00:16:19 The power of music 00:22:01 Turn your pain into a creative offering 00:24:21 Connection is the key 00:28:25 We keep the memories of the people we lost 00:30:42 The movement for compassion 00:36:57 What is disenfranchised grief 00:40:10 Finding balance in expressing and accepting your pain 00:49:36 What can leaders do? 00:54:37 Our culture of compassion 00:57:39 Susan on Final Five