In May of 2022 photographer Imran Nuri quit his job and traveled across the country to ask 1,000 people for life advice. CNN's Michael Smerocnish speaks to Nuri about what he learned.
#CNN #News
He toured the US asking 1,000 strangers the same question
The wisest advice ever!!!
“If I take a healthy sh!t each day, I know everything is ok.”
…a lesson on the worries and fears in life….
Thank you very much !
Thanks a lot
Very wise young man to have invested in his life and the life of over a 1000 one on one human interaction with strangers you made friends. Now you are even wiser to share what you learned! Your life young man now shifted into a new paradigm. That usually takes a lifetime to find!
Thanks a lot
and now you are wiser, telling us how wise he is. what a triumph for you. wow.
your words look so evidently expressed on his happy and bright face ! thanks for the comment !
@Kumar Narayana 💯
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If life offers you a chance – take it! I would never ever think of myself as a brave person… and still really don’t. But a strange chance got me into a position where a small Theater asked me to come and work with them in Scotland. I was, of all things , part of a touring Renaissance Festival in,of all places – a theme park in North Carolina. That alone was bizarre enough. So, having never been in a plane, i flew to work with people I had only knew for 2 weeks a year before the trip.
I had the chance to stay – so I did. I added the British passport to my American one, and made a pretty good career of it. Touring the 4 lands of the U.K. & living in London. Even that was full of chances that many would not have taken, but I had learned not to question it when something a bit different jumped up and caught my attention.
So when the next life change springend up before me, I moved to a land where English was not always a desirable language ( east/west history with a wall between) off I went to live in Berlin, and not only received my third passport, I found the love of my life, and married him. A new language at 42 is not easy, but many people had learned Russian as a second language simply while English was not allowed. I feel at home here, and I must admit – more British than American. The U.S. I was raised in is pretty much no longer anything other than another time and place. What existed when I grew up in a tiny town “im nirgendwo” has been replaced with – well you know what.
I have learned and lived 3 very different worlds, cultural references need to be learned as well as how the people think, act, express themselves in each version of it’s own societal norms. I never let go of what i was deep down, just added to it. the basics of being a good person is every where the same.. Different priorities, very different political structures and degrees of cooperation.
I am a thankful person, gifted with such beauty and sorrow as to make me cry every type of tears. My family name had a shield in the 600s a-d- with an Elephant on it. We never forget, our family. We hoe to share , to leave something beautiful behind. It is not important we are recognised and remembered – the beauty is all that matters.
Take that chance – leave something beautiful behind for others. Who knows , that may just be the thing that calls to someone else to journey where life takes them.
And the beauty will spread and grow.
@Chicken Tender once again CNN has no real news to report 😂
@Spank Mode unlike Faux News? 🤣🤣
@Chicken Tender Your cats will send you dreams & you will see amazing things. When my little cat (her name – Bytsch, it suits her) sees me on the way to bed – she follows, and sleeps on m legs. Of course before she sleeps,she gets a full body massage,ad in return,purrs so loud and wonderful, I can’t do anything else than dream great things. Yur animals are possibly the right thing for you now.
Anyone who gives love to their pets – chickens included, always that love comes back to you – you are their entire world. that is a hell of a lot achieved by itself
@Piccalilli Pit Agreed. And when you learn what makes people laugh, and can figure out the right translation, it makes it all worth it.
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Thank you for making my heart have joy with your comments at the end. It made me so happy to hear that yes indeed we are all more alike than divided. Blessings!
Thanks a lot
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The lesson I would give to my younger self is simple. Pursue a dream, no matter what.
Thanks a lot
Thank you
Don’t be afraid to quit. Don’t be afraid to try another path.
I actually needed this! Thank you😊
Yes
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Hey everyone it’s Imran! I’m reading all these unbelievably kind comments and I won’t be able to respond to all of them but I really appreciate the love you’re all giving!!! The world’s not all bad, my friends. You don’t have to accept or even tolerate when people have differences in opinions from you, but at least seek to understand why they think the way that they do. The world isn’t as bad as it seems when you look at things through a lens of empathy.
I have lived many years on this planet and the life advice I would impart to you is always be true to yourself, follow the golden rule “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, never give in to hatred that comes from ignorance. Many today are easily convinced that all of their failures or shortcomings are the fault of someone who is different than they are. Remember everyone on this planet is equal even though we seem different because of national origins, cultures and backgrounds. Always walk a mile in a person’s shoes to understand why they are like they are. We all carry our own crosses and have our own difficulties in life to overcome. When you see someone who is hateful or irritable remember they may have hardships or sadness that is causing it. Always smile and speak to everyone you meet. It might just be what they need to brighten their day. As a retired film photographer I love that you are preserving everything on a twin lens medium format camera in black and white.
You’re a good egg Mr Nuri 🙂
Life is beautiful…. all is not lost. The human connection. Thank you Imran-bhai !
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It’s important to remember that all Republicans aren’t bad people but rather that it’s the bad ones who seem to get all the attention of the media.
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I recently read Viktor Frankl’s book entitled ” Man’s Search For Meaning ” where he believes we are motivated by the ” will to meaning ” which is to find meaning in life . I might have benefited tremendously from learning about logotherapy sooner , therefore advising my younger self to establish a stronger connection to spirit and psychological traumas that plagued me during my formidable years . ❤ GOD Bless Everyone
You might enjoy The Choice by Dr.Edith Eva Eger.
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It is not WHAT you do,
but what you BE,
that matters.
A retired gardener told me this,
and I just knew it was a message for me.
It took years to see the levels of meaning,
for it was a gift of great value.
Thank You, Arthur Tapper, of Yealmpton, South Devon.
.
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A thousand miles starts with the first steps, good for this young man.
And so does falling down a flight of stairs.
@Sarafina Summers
You’re missing the point
Anything you want to do or achieve in life, it begins with the first moves or steps
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Decide what you want to do when you’re young. Get good at it. Listen to your grandparents. You will remember all of their advice after they’ve died. And you will probably regret not taking it when they were alive
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I love everything about this guy so much that I feel HIS parents’ pride. I’m proud of my kids, but this is really next level. His parents must just wake up every day and think What a wonderful son!” I’m 100% in on his book when it comes out.
This is so wildly encouraging and refreshing. This is the kind of story we need right now.
your kind words look so evidently expressed on his happy and bright face ! thanks for the comment !
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Yes I feel proud and blessed to be his mother. Not in my dreams did I think he would go this far at this age. Thank you for your kind words..
There are so many things I wish now I’d done differently, but if I had a chance to meet teenage me, the last thing I’d try to give him is advice. I only understand that those decisions were bad ones now, because of the things I know now. Without knowing all that I know, teenage me wouldn’t understand any of the the things I could try to tell him. He would make the same decisions again, because he made them based on what he knew then. You can’t change someone’s life with advice.
So let’s make that my “life advice”. Don’t give people advice. It doesn’t work. Your advice is based on your whole lifetime of knowledge. Without that knowledge, it’s just some arbitrary words, like saying that the answer to a math question 402 without explaining how you got that number. For your answer to have value, you have to teach them how to solve it, so that they can find the same answer for themselves. ❤ GOD Bless Everyone
Excellent project, Imran. I was a newspaper journalist and photographer for 12 years. The reason I pursued that career obviously was not for the money. I simply was curious about people.
For another 20 years, after reporting, I continued to do wildlife/nature photography in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where I live.
If you’re ever in the area…
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Risk is better than regret. I have done so much in my life, from traveling the world, to changing careers, ending a marriage, working thru infertility to have an amazing son….all were risks. I regret nothing, bc it all made me. ❤ GOD Bless Everyone
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Wow! That was absolutely amazingly beautiful. To be a sponge soaking up all that knowledge and golden nuggets. That is beyond any doubts, priceless. That you for being an inspiration. Congratulations on the tour and continued successes with your future endeavours. ❤ GOD Bless Everyone
Very uplifting, a great memorable use of time
MAD RESPECT! IN FACT, I once fantasized about such a project/concept myself that would have been titled, ‘The Elders Speak’. Like all my other BRILLIANT ideas, I was too lazy to bring it to fruition. For instance, another example is my trilogy of books on ‘eco-consciousness’:
‘The Day Will Come’
‘Today Is The Day’
‘Oops, We’re Extinct’
And let’s not forget my best selling book on procrastination:
‘Tomorrow Never Came’ (that I haven’t started writing yet)
I am at a loss of words. Just not sinking in, but feeling blessed and proud to be your mother. My only advice, stay humble and keep living your dreams and through your dreams keep helping as many people as you can. Love you Imran 🤗🤗 ❤️❤️