Episode 82 – Emily Potter – Musician Traveling the Word Living in the Gift Economy

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Margaret Schlachter

What would it be like to live without money as the driving factor in your life?

What if instead of money transactions you operated your life around relationship building?

For most of us living in the western world this concept sounds so abstract it’s hard to conceptualize. However, our guest on the podcast this week is a musician who is doing just that, living through the gift economy. Emily Potter has traveled the world, played in over fourteen countries and instead of basing her life on the pursuit of making money she strives to make relationships.

Sounds crazy to most, but it is an ancient practice, that cultures around the world have operated in for years. The basis of the whole system is built on trust and thinking of the world as your family. My first introduction to a gift economy was learning of Korima which is practiced by the Raramari (aka Tarahumara to the most) deep in the Sierra Madre of Mexico. The idea is you give when someone is in need without expecting anything back and when you are in need the world will provide.

Our Guest this Week Did Just That

Emily Potter is the “gift economy” musician who has publicly taken a stand that money is not a reason to walk away from a life dream. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, Emily is the director of the Million Kisses Foundation and a motivational acoustic folk musician. Passionate about supporting people in living their biggest life dreams, Emily takes her audiences through a Dream Walk Concert, providing her original music and storytelling from worldwide adventures as the soundtrack of the performance. Emily has been doing a gritty, grassroots experiment with money, traveling internationally since May 2015 living fully within a gift economy model. Since beginning her gift economy experiment, Emily has performed for audiences in 14 countries including the United States, Canada, Israel, Thailand, Russia, and all across Europe.