Lessons from 102-year-old swimmer Maurine Kornfeld

How to Be a Better Human

TED and PRX

Self-improvement, Education

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 November 2023

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Maurine “Mighty Mo'' Kornfeld will soon turn 102 years old, and most days, you can catch her doing laps in a Los Angeles public swimming pool. And that’s not just because she regularly competes in – and wins – world swimming championships! It’s because she loves being in the water, despite only picking up swimming as a hobby well into her sixties. In this special episode, Maurine shares what she’s learned from doing something she loves almost every day, why it’s never too late to start something new, and the three things anyone can do to improve their life, no matter their age. For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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0:00.0	Ted Audio Collective. how to be a better human. I'm your host Chris Duffy. Before we get into the
0:14.3	episode of quick note, this is the last episode of season 3 of how to be a better
0:18.7	human and after this the better human team is going to take a few weeks off for the
0:22.2	holidays and then we will be back with new episodes for season 4 in the new year.
0:26.0	And on a personal note, I am going to be taking parental leave for the birth of my first kid, which I'm very excited about a little nervous but mostly excited and I feel
0:35.2	really lucky to be hosting a show like this where I get to have advice from all these
0:39.4	brilliant experts about how to handle life transitions like the one that my family is about to go through.
0:44.8	When it comes to this podcast, we have been pre-recording episodes, so you will be able to keep
0:49.0	listening to our show in the new year as per usual, but I wanted to give you a heads up because I will be out
0:54.1	changing diapers and feeding a baby and trying my best to get some sleep.
0:58.4	You know, with this big transition that's coming up in my life, I have been thinking a lot about
1:02.4	family these days what family means
1:04.8	what it requires from us how I want to show up as a family member and today's
1:10.6	episode is very near and dear to my heart because it's with a person who I consider to be one of my chosen family members.
1:17.0	She's also someone who I have learned a ton about what it means to be a better human from.
1:21.0	Maureen Kornfeld is many things.
1:23.8	She has worked as a social worker, a teacher,
1:26.2	a docents at an art museum.
1:28.2	But the way that most people know her is as a swimmer.
1:31.4	In the pool, they call her mighty m Mighty Mo. And Mighty Mo is a world record setting competitor
1:36.8	who was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. And at the end of this month,
1:41.8	Mighty Mo is going to be celebrating her 102nd birthday.
	...

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