Inspiring Kindness Through Global Adventure with Leon Logothestis

Thank you for tuning in to the True Grit and Grace podcast. I'm Amberly Lago, and I'll be sharing inspirational stories of resilience and empowering ideas to elevate your business and your life, ignite your passion, and fuel your purpose. Hey guys, thank y'all for tuning in. I'm Amberly Lago, and I have a very, very special guest for you today. I have Leon Logothesis, Logothetis, right?

Yes.

Is that right? Did I say it right?

You said it right.

Okay. I wanted to say that right up front. I wanted to say it right up front because all I've been so excited about this interview because I think there are so many people out there that feel lonely, that feel unfulfilled, that don't feel like they have the bravery to move forward. And you are the person who you have. I mean, I think you're the you're the king of kindness, and I would call you a hope dealer. Y'all, Leon is a global adventurer who has traveled over a hundred countries to highlight the good in humanity, and I think we need so much of that. He he's amazing in all he's done. Actually, his All of his travels are documented in a series called The Kindness Diaries, and you can see it. It's now streaming on the Discovery Plus channel if you tune into that. But you got to check out him. He's called the the kindness guy on Instagram. He's a speaker, and he has got a TED Talk. It made me cry when I watched it, and he's got a new book, and we're going to talk about his new book too. Go be brave. And I think that's what so many of us need is just to go out there and be brave. So thank you, Leon. Thank you so much for being here on the show.

Thank you so much for having me.

Oh my goodness. Well, I have really dug into your work. And before we get started, is your book going to be available on Audible? Because I'm an Audible kind of girl. Is it gonna be?

Do you know what? It's not because it's more of a journal. So it's, uh, it's kind of interactive and it's therefore kind of a challenge to be on Audible because you'd have to stop and start it all the time.

Well, you know what? I just had somebody on the podcast who did a book that wasn't like a memoir or biography. It was, Interactive. It was the first author I think I've ever had on the show that did a book that was fiction. And she's actually doing an Audible book and hiring different characters to do different voices. Oh, wow. That's cool. So I don't know. I don't know. I'm just putting it out there that I think people would really dig taking a break and doing the work that you offer because What you do offer is life-changing. And before we get into your book and to all the things that you're doing, speaking all over the world, can we take it back to where you were completely unfulfilled, wearing a mask, trying to portray like everything was okay, but on the inside you felt— broken. You were in London, you were a broker but felt broken. So I can give my audience some perspective on exactly how you came to be this Kindness King and making this huge impact on the world.

Sure. So I used to be a broker in the city of London and on the outside, I pretty much had everything you could ever want. And on the inside, I had pretty much everything you would not ever want, meaning I was very depressed, no real sense of purpose, wracked with anxiety, etc., etc. And my life changed when I stumbled on the movie The Motorcycle Diaries, which is a romanticized version of Che Guevara traveling around South America relying on kindness. His father had wanted him to be a doctor. And in the movie, he said, no, I'm gonna go and travel. And he traveled and he connected with people, and it just touched me in such a very beautiful way. Um, and to cut a long story short, after watching that movie, I decided to quit my job and start traveling around the world relying on the kindness of strangers. Um, one of the first journeys I did was I hitchhiked from Times Square to the Hollywood sign with $5, uh, relying entirely on people like you and people like your listeners. Um, and I realized that there was another way to live. Uh, I didn't just have to live from my mind. I could live from my heart and that the true magic was when we connected with each other. Then I did it a couple more times. I went around England on £5 a day. I hitchhiked from the Eiffel Tower in Paris to Red Square in Moscow on €5 a day. Um, and ended up moving to Los Angeles.

And when did you move to LA? When did you move there?

So I moved to LA in 2005.

I can't believe we didn't cross paths then when I was there.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, maybe we did on the 405.

Oh, I'm sure we did. I'm sure we did.

So, yeah. And then I kind of, um, you know, didn't go back to the corporate world, but set up a TV production company. So I was kind of living the old ways again, which I wasn't really happy about, but that's kind of how it ended up happening. And then I, the final act of rebellion, let's say, was I was walking down, um, Hollywood Boulevard and I saw this, uh, homeless chap with a sign that said, kindness is the best medicine. And there was something about—

Is this Tony?

Yes. No, no, it's not Tony. Tony comes later. Not Tony.

Okay. Because I want to talk about Tony's story too.

Yeah. definitely talk about Tony. Um, and ended up kind of having another epiphany and quitting my job again. And, uh, this was the moment when I did the Kindness Diaries, which was Tony, where I circumnavigated the world relying on kindness. Oh, that's kind of like very short version of how I ended up where I am.

Wow. Okay. So the question I wanna ask you is like, when you're living that life where you feel like you Have a mask on, because I, I was there for sure where I was. I, I felt like I was living a double life where on the outside everything looked good. Like, I tried to make everything look good. I'm good. Everything's okay. On the inside, I was dying. And I actually got to the point where I had suicidal thoughts, and the only thing that pulled me through Was thinking about my daughters. Like I didn't want to be my my stepmother committed suicide, and I know how much that hurt the family. And I was like, I'm not going to do that to the family. And and what was the point for you when you were a broker in London and you were living before you started? You know, before you were in Hollywood walking the streets and meeting people, and before you started your whole Discovery Channel Discovery Plus channel series. Like, what was the point where you were like, I just can't do this anymore. There has to be more. Because I know for me, I turned into a full-blown drinker. I was drinking every day. And by the grace of God, I'm sober now. But was there something, were you doing something to try to numb out the pain? Like, were you drinking, overeating, speed dating? Were you doing any of those things to try to cope?

I think we, we all get addicted to something, right? Let's say an attempt to cope with the pain that we're not dealing with, right? So I was definitely, uh, overeating, probably drinking too much, and really just not doing what I needed to do, which was to face it, right? To face the pain. It was the emotional pain that pushed me, uh, over the edge in a good way. To start my life anew. And that's why, like, the story I told you was kind of the shortened version of what happened. It's not like I watched a movie and I, oh, I quit my job and then everything was happy. For me anyway, it didn't work that way. There were a lot of good moments, there were a lot of bad moments. But I don't think there's any shame whatsoever in the word addiction. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a single human being that isn't addicted to something. Whether it's work, whether it's overeating, whether it's television, whether it's social media, whether it's drugs, whether it's drink, whatever it is, we all have something because we've been taught not to face our pain. We've been taught not to speak our pain. We've been taught not to share our truth. When you do that—

Where did that come from you? What made you not share how you were really feeling?

I think that it's a similar reason for me than it is for many, and that is sometimes it's not safe. It's like if you speak your truth to someone and that person squashes you, and then you speak your truth to them again and you're squashed again, it's inbuilt into your system to not share your truth. And you think everyone is unsafe until you get to a point where the pain is so bad that you have no choice but to speak your truth, to go to an AA meeting or to go to a, to a Buddhist recovery meeting or whatever it is and speak your truth, or to find a friend who's safe and to share, or to go to a journal and speak your truth to the journal. Um, and just let it out. Let out the rage, let out the anger, uh, safely.

We heal what we, we reveal for sure.

Yes.

And I think that it's really about acknowledging what's really going on with us, which is hard. It takes a lot of courage, and that's why I so love your book. There are so many people out there that are lonely, which is crazy to think of because we have Instagram and TikTok and LinkedIn and Clubhouse and all these different things. But I think we have like an epidemic of loneliness where people feel really, really alone. And you have a secret. For not feeling alone? What is that secret?

So people often say to me, so Leon, you're the kindness guy. What does kindness mean to you? They expect this massive PhD-level answer with like, you know, sources and 10,000 words. Uh, but the truth is, and for me, kindness is simply helping someone feel less alone. That's it.

There you go.

Yeah, we have all felt alone, all of us. There isn't a human being that has lived, will live, or is living that hasn't at some point in their lives felt alone. And the way— the secret sauce is to be kind, and the secret sauce to kindness is to have empathy.

Okay, well, let's stop there because, you know, just the other day Talking about last night, taking my daughter out to dinner, driving through the parking lot. There was a mean lady. Oh my gosh. She was so just rude and motioning for me that I was taking too much space and trying to find a parking place and this and that. And it really upset me. And I have to say, I got out of the car and I said, mean people suck. I am so sick of mean people. Why can't more people be kind? So how can more people be kind? Because I know it makes a difference in my day, not just for me, but to others. Like, it's, it's a ripple effect of what it does for others. But why do you think it is that people aren't more kind, which in this world today, I think we need it more than ever? Why is it that People aren't more kind, first of all.

I would say one word, and that's trauma. They probably experienced so much trauma on some level.

That's unhealed, unhealed trauma.

Unhealed trauma that they're, they're lost. Uh, that doesn't mean that they have the right to be unpleasant. It doesn't mean they have the right to do bad things. Uh, and it doesn't also mean that sometimes when someone with unhealed trauma treats you badly, you don't get affected by it, right? Everyone.

Yeah.

I mean, I get affected by it.

I'm like, do I need to do box breathing? Something, something to get through that moment. Yeah. But yeah, it's like, man, I don't understand why so many people have to be mean out there when if we were all just a little more kind, how, how far it would go.

Yeah. Imagine if instead of all the advertisements talking about Uh, you know, soft drinks or alcohol or holidays. The advertisements were all about kindness, were all about inspiring people to respect each other. This world would be totally different.

Mm-hmm.

On so many levels. Like, I go down Sunset Boulevard, and as you know, Sunset Boulevard, specifically down the, like, the Beverly Hills area, is jam-packed with advertisements.

Mm-hmm.

You are being bombarded with billboards. for TV shows, for cars, for all this kind of stuff. Imagine if that switched to be about how to look after yourself, how to treat people with respect. Things would shift in an incredible way.

That's why I loved your TED Talk, because your TED Talk was so awesome, by the way. You delivered this great message, but you had an action for people to do. You were like, go out there, be human, be kind. And you gave people like inspiration of how it changed your life when someone was kind to you. And you're so right. I mean, when you're kind, it's the gift that keeps giving. But I would love for you to share that story about, I think his name was, was his name John?

Tony.

Tony. Tony.

The homeless chap.

The, the homeless guy. So you were traveling and you would ask some people if you could like stay the night with them.

Sure.

And you came across him. Yeah.

Yeah.

Could you, that is such a beautiful story.

Yeah. So basically after I saw the homeless guy in Los Angeles with the sign that said kindness is the best medicine, which isn't Tony. I decided to take a vintage yellow motorbike and circumnavigate the world relying entirely on kindness. So I would have no money, no food, no gas, no place to stay. All I had was the generosity and love of people. I couldn't accept money, just kindness. So I found myself in Pittsburgh and I was walking around Pittsburgh and for whatever reason, people weren't helping me. That was fine. I went to a park and I started chatting with this guy and I said to him, can I stay in your house tonight? Uh, and he said, I'm really sorry, but I'm homeless. He didn't look homeless, but I felt some shame because I just asked a homeless man to stay in his house. Uh, I was about to walk off, but he turns around and says, you know what? If you want, you can stay with me tonight. I'll feed you, I'll protect you, and I'll give you some clothes. Now, of course, every fiber of my being was like, Leon, you're not staying on the streets of Pittsburgh tonight. But there was that counterintuitive voice that was saying, Leon, my good friend, you are staying on the streets of Pittsburgh tonight. And that's exactly what happened. And Tony did everything he said he would. He fed me, he protected me, and he gave me some clothes. But more importantly, he taught me 2 lessons. Lesson number 1, kindness is free. It doesn't matter how much money you have, how little money you have. It's free. If a homeless man can be kind, then why can't we? And the second thing he taught me was that true wealth is not in our wallets. It's in our hearts. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't go out and make money. Make as much money as you want. Right? But the truest of wealth is how we treat people. It's what comes from our heart. So how we make— it's how we make people feel like they matter. It's how we make people feel like they have value. Um, and it was just a life-changing experience for me. The next morning, I took— I said to Tony, I said, where did you feel the most loved? And he said, oh, I felt the most loved at school. So I was like, okay, clearly you didn't go to an English school, but fine. So I took him in the sidecar in the bike. Drove him to school, and at the end, we offered to put him up in an apartment and send him back to school. So that was kind of like, wow, if you helped me without realizing that your help would— you would receive something in return, that's what happened. And Tony would always say to me, he said, Leon, you changed my life. And I would always say the same thing. No, you changed my life. I slept on the streets for maybe 10 hours. He'd been doing it for decades. Those 10 hours made me see the world in a whole new way.

Wow, that's incredible. And you never forget those people who are kind to you. I will never forget the first time I did a really, really big speaking event and I mean, I had no Instagram following. I was a brand new author. No one knew who I was. And it was an event with their Lewis Howes, Jay Shetty, Brenda Burchard, Mel Robbins, like the list goes on. And Randy Garn was there speaking too. And I remember I just pulled his card. I saved his business card because Randy Garn was so nice to me, even though I was— no, I didn't know anybody. He's like, here's my card, you call me if you need anything, I'm happy to help you. I saved his business card. How many times do we get business cards where we're like, oh, another business card? We throw But because of his kindness, I saved that business card and I just literally looked at it in my office drawer today. But I also never forgot that moment. And since then, we have become good friends. And it, and it's because of his, his kindness. But what would you say to people who are like, well, yeah, it's easy for you to be kind because You've got a good life. I've got nothing. I know you just talked about, you know, the homeless guy who was kind. How can you shift the perspective of somebody who is out there and they feel like they're struggling and they don't want to be kind? Maybe they don't have a mindset of abundance. Maybe they're in a mindset of fear. What can you say to them to inspire them to go out there and be more kind and do more good?

I would say that kindness is a win-win. If I'm kind to you, you win, but so do I. So some people say, oh, to be truly kind, you have to be selfless. Well, was Mother Teresa selfless? Was— is the Dalai Lama selfless? They get something out of being kind. So if you're feeling down if you're feeling low, go out and be kind. And I guarantee you, in that moment, you'll feel better. And you will win and so will they. So who doesn't like winning?

Exactly. And, and you also say, you know, like, I know, when I've experienced being around people who are in a lot of pain, and I live with a chronic illness I was diagnosed with called complex regional pain syndrome. It's dubbed the suicide disease because it's ranked highest on the pain scale. And a lot of people that I've met with this disease, they have ended up unfortunately being very bitter, which is a lot of pain to deal with. But I think the thing that has helped me the most is being of service and reaching out to others. And you said something that really struck me that I think will help a lot of the listeners with pain. As you said, the way to take someone out of their pain is to simply be kind. And I love that. So if someone is in pain, what would you say to them as far as how to reach out and be kind?

I would say, you know what it feels like when someone treats you with disdain, and you know what it feels like, I hope, when someone treats you with love. So go out and share as much love as you can because it will make other people feel good and it will make you feel good, and it's the right thing to do. And it doesn't mean— sometimes people say to me, oh well, Leon, kindness is weakness. It's not weakness at all. Doesn't mean you don't have boundaries. Doesn't mean you don't stand up for yourself. Muhammad Ali, a man of love, a man of service, not a perfect man. No one is. A kind man. Would you mess with Muhammad Ali? No, you wouldn't. So you can be kind and you can be strong.

I love that. And now I want to, like, move over to about being brave. And what inspired you to write your book? And first of all, what is your definition of brave? Because I love that you talk about being brave as something different. Like, a lot of people think of, oh, it's skydiving, or it's, you know, hiking to the top of a mountain, or speaking on stage in front of millions of people. But you're like, no, that's not— really what bravery is. You have a whole other definition. What is your definition of bravery?

So my definition of bravery really is about speaking your truth. It's about standing in your power, and it's about sharing your pain. Speaking our truth with someone safe, right? Because I'm not suggesting you just speak your truth with any, anyone, because, you know, there are people out there that are not safe. You could share your truth, whatever your truth is, whatever your emotional truth is. You can share it with someone who's unsafe and it can cause damage. Don't share your truth with someone unsafe. I'm suggesting the bravery of speaking your truth with someone safe, and that can start with a journal. If you don't feel like you have anyone safe, start by speaking into, writing into a journal and let it all out. And I promise you, after you've done that, you'll feel so inspired and so moved and so compelled to find someone safe. And sometimes people say, oh, well, you know what, Leon, I can't afford therapy. I have no one safe in my life, and I can't even afford therapy. You know, I have a friend that can't afford therapy either. But what he did was he went online and found student therapists that were doing their PhD. And do you know how much they cost an hour? $10. So if there's a will, as they say, there is most definitely a way.

So good. Well, when you decided that you were like, okay, I'm not going to be a broker. I am going to live a more fulfilling life. What was, how did you start sharing your truth and take the mask off and start being more vulnerable? Because I think, I mean, I wish and I hope that more men can be more vulnerable. There is, there's like something very special.

So.

I'm in a recovery program. And so I go to mostly all women's meetings, but when I go to meetings that are mixed and I hear these men that just show up and share their vulnerabilities, oh my gosh, it's not only inspiring, it's just like it moves you and we can learn from others and we know we're not alone. So where did you start sharing? Was it in a journal first or was it with a therapist or did you just go? I'm out on the road. I'm buying this motorcycle. I'm outta here.

Look, it was with a therapist. The first therapist I ever went to, I was 22 years old and I haven't stopped going since. And I haven't stopped, stopped sharing since. Again, with someone safe. I do not share. I've had experiences of sharing with unsafe people. It doesn't end well.

Yeah. That's so good that you're sharing that because you know what, Leon? I think a lot of people think, oh, well, I'm gonna start sharing and they decide to share on social media. Disaster. Not gonna work out because you're always gonna find some mean people out there on some un— I guess I shouldn't say mean. I guess I should say some people who have unhealed trauma out there that want to bring you down. But I, I so love that you stress so much about the share with a safe person because that's what I did. I shared with a safe person. Share with a safe community until I felt like I was healed enough to where I could share stuff that had happened with the world, which was a lot. But I'm so excited about your book and it's a bestseller. And first of all, where can people find it?

Amazon, any bookstores that are around, I believe.

Yes. And on your website too, your website, you can also find his website and I will have his website. On the, in the show link. So you'll be able to find the show link and also on the website, on my website, you'll be able to find his website. So you'll be able to, to listen to his TED Talk as well. But is there anything that you would like to share? Like, as just far as, oh gosh, I don't want people to leave here without hearing this one message about the importance of kindness.

So I had a teacher. would look at me every day and she would say— she knew what was going on, I was being bullied very badly— and she would look at me every day and she would say, I believe in you. And I didn't realize until many years later what she was doing. She was being kind, and she made me feel like I had value. And I never forgot that. And we need a witness to our pain. We need a witness to who we are. And we need to be a witness to other people's pain, to who other people are. And I would say, get in touch with that feeling inside where somebody treated you with love and share it as much as you possibly can, because what you give out comes back tenfold.

Oh, it sure does. It's the gift that keeps giving. Well, once again, y'all, Tell people where they can find you, the best place to find you. Where do you hang out the most? Is it on Instagram or are you on Facebook?

Yeah, Instagram and Facebook. It's @thekindnessguy, @thekindnessguy on both Instagram and Facebook. Um, and of course, watch the show on Discovery Plus and, uh, Google me and hopefully good stuff shows up.

Oh yeah, good stuff shows up when you Google him. You'll see his show on Discovery. Plus and everything. Um, so yeah, take a screenshot whether you're listening from Apple or you're watching on YouTube. Take a screenshot, tag me @AmberlyLagoMotivation and tag Leon @TheKindnessGuy. And when I see that you've tagged me, I always reshare that in my story. I just want to share this message so we can all have a more fulfilling, purposeful life. And share kindness. And so, oh my goodness, Leon, thank you so much for being on the show. I really appreciate you being here with your busy schedule traveling. And one last thing, what's your next trip? Where are you going to next?

There's a possibility of a season 3 of The Kindness Diaries. We're waiting on a few dots to be dotted and T's to be crossed, and we'll see what happens.

Yeah, I think you should take the Kindness Diaries to Texas, Dallas to be exact.

I love Dallas.

Come visit.

I'd love to.

Come visit. Seriously, if you're ever in Dallas, come see me. Next time I'm in LA, I'll be there in October for sure. But I would love to see you.

Please let me know.

Yeah, for sure. And thank you so much again for being on the True Grit and Grace podcast. Y'all, thank you so much for tuning in, and we'll see you next week.