We’re looking forward to introducing you to Lance Moseley. Check out our conversation below.
Lance , so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. Who are you learning from right now?
My acting career (see lancefromla.com) took an amazing turn since we last spoke. A year ago (September 2024) I participated in an experimental rafting trip in North Carolina. It was sponsored by R.A.F.T. (Reuniting America by Fostering Trust) – a project of Team Democracy. The idea was to be paired up in the raft with someone who had very different ideas, perspectives, and political leanings. The goal was to work together to successfully navigate the rapids, and to also work together to successfully navigate the difficult conversations that Americans are finding it so hard to have.
Major Garrett (CBS) filmed the experience, which was aired as a CBS Eye On America feature. This experience, just a year ago, has changed my life. I’m now learning new skills and finding new opportunities from the people at Team Democracy, from my new friend and podcast co-host Rodney Sadler, and from media gurus like Major Garrett.
As a result, I was asked to speak at the recent Frontiers of Democracy Summit in Boston. The Summit was focused on building a more robust, inclusive democracy, and advancing civic education, civic engagement, and democratic reform.
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Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Life is funny. And sometimes, when you least expect it, a random idea or experience pops up in front of you, and your life (and brand) take on new meaning and direction.
It’s probably safe to say that most Americans (87% by some polling) are frustrated, exhausted and dispirited by the deep divisions that we’re feeling across the country. The United States feels a little less united than we’re all accustomed to. And for many of us, that’s unsettling.
Never in a million years did I think that leaning into this widespread problem would become an important part of my life’s mission. But it has. I was fortunate to meet the people at Team Democracy. I made the good decision to sign up for one of their RAFT for America events. And that has led to a whole range of experiences and opportunities that are now important to me. It has connected me with media gurus like CBS’s Major Garrett (Eye on America), it has led to the launch of the new Reuniting America Podcast, it has prompted others to invite me to speak at conferences like the Frontiers of Democracy Summit last June in Boston, and it has connected me with elected officials, and business and faith leaders across the country.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
I think one of the things that really strains relationships the most, is that we have this compelling need to always be right, about everything. You see it in marriage relationships all the time, but it plays out in other relationships too. We get into our information silos, and suddenly we talk as if we are experts on everything – even the really complicated issues that real experts with vast experience do not agree on. But somehow we think we know the answers with such certainty that we find it hard to even listen to other points of view. It’s that process of cutting ourselves off from other viewpoints that can really undermine relationships, even within close-knit families.
I think the antidote begins with a huge dose of humility, and the admission to ourselves, and to the other person, that there’s always more to learn about life in general and about the complex issues that undermine our close relationships. The irony here is that while we all have so much more to learn, especially about the issues that are dividing us as Americans, we learn not by listening to the people who already agree with us, but by really being curious about the perspectives we hear from the people who disagree with us.
There’s so much talk these days about how divided we are at the national level, in local communities, and even inside family units, that we forget how, regardless of our differences, the things that connect us to our neighbors and to our fellow of Americans are far greater than the things that separate us. Bringing that perspective to each of our relationships can have a really healing effect.
I remember the story of a college professor who passed out a surprise quiz to each of his students one day. Each student received a single sheet of paper with a black dot in the center. They were simply asked to write about what they had been given.
The next day, the professor revealed to his students that every single one of them had written about the black dot, speculating as to why it was there, why it was positioned in the very center of the page, why it was the size that it was, and a whole range of historical, philosophical, and cultural conclusions that might be drawn from it. But not a single student had written about the enormous white space that surrounded the dot.
His point was that life is like this. In relationships no relationship is ever perfect. There are always blemishes, shortcomings, character flaws. But our tendency is to focus on those black dots, and ignore the overwhelming positive space that we share with our family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and fellow-countrymen.
When we flip the script and keep in mind all the things that connect us in a positive way, we can begin to have those difficult conversations with a genuine sense of respect, empathy, and intellectual curiosity.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
This is a really timely question. A couple of weeks ago I took a double gut punch. My employer’s financial standing deteriorated to the point where he had to let everyone go. And I drove home from that news to find that my dear pet, who has been like a family member to me, had been run over and killed by a neighbor who was driving under the influence. I’ve gotta say that was a really low point for me, but I was reminded that despite our disappointments and setbacks, there are still an infinite number of things we can be grateful for. And hanging on to that attitude of gratitude can be really helpful, especially and tough times.
When everything‘s going according to plan, we tend to take it all for granted. It’s the setbacks and speed bumps in life that really help us appreciate where we are, what we have, and the things we are doing.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I mentioned my encounter with Team Democracy and their RAFT for America project. That was about a year ago. It reminded me how deeply divided Americans are these days, and more importantly, that it doesn’t need to be that way. On that remarkable day in North Carolina, I met and became friends with Dr. Rodney Sadler, a very progressive southern Baptist minister. His politics and mine could not be more different. Our backgrounds, our life experiences, and our political orientations are polar opposites. Yet here we are, a year later, the best of friends, and cohosting a new project called the Reuniting America podcast. The podcast features guests who also have very different perspectives and opinions, who model the kind of conversations we want our friends, our family members, and our elected leaders to engage in.
I have no illusions that we will achieve total success in the near term. In fact, human nature being what it is, this is the kind of work that we and others need to continue to do, forever. Fueled by social media algorithms, and information silos, most people’s tendency nowadays seems to be to criticize rather than collaborate. I don’t see that changing anytime soon, so we’ll need to work for a very long time on turning down the temperature, and inspiring more of our neighbors and fellow-countrymen to respect one another enough to listen with real curiosity and empathy.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I’m pretty sure I’m doing what I was born to do, both in my profession, and in my nonprofit work. I love selling, and I love being on camera, so connecting customers with good products at deep discounts is a real joy for me. It’s a challenge to keep your energy level high for an eight hour shift, but frankly, I find the whole process energizing. At the end of the day, I know I’ve done a good job, and I’ve made a lot of customers happy.
The same is true for my nonprofit work. The Reuniting America Podcast gives me another opportunity to apply the on-camera skills that seem to come very naturally to me. They also give me a chance to interview really interesting and impactful people, like Major Garrett from CBS News, and Aaron Lieberman, the Executive Director of America Outdoors, and state and federal elected officials, and business and faith leaders.
Just like the on-camera product sales, this stuff really gets my juices flowing. And more than that it puts me in a position to leave the world a little better place than I found it. I think if each, and every one of us found some small way to do that, the world would be a very different place.
Contact Info:
- Website: lancefromla.com / TeamDemocracy.org / RaftForAmerica.org
- Instagram: lancefromla
- Linkedin: lancefromla
- Twitter: lancefromla
- Facebook: lancefromla
- Youtube: lancefromla
- Other: Here are links to my website the sizzle reel of our podcast we are currently filming due out in this winter.Then 3 segments from CBS Eye on Americalancefromla.comHere is the podcast sizzle reel:
CBS Eye on America segment III
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/political-opposites-put-aside-differences-to-forge-a-friendship/#x
Here is segment II
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/downstream-from-a-bitter-election-rafters-with-opposing-politics-reunite/
Here is the 1st episode last
https://youtu.be/t1FvKVs4hbk?si=3pNNGEHixqs_COgt
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