‘The Kindness Diaries’ Host Leon Logothetis Reveals the Secret to Living a Life of Kindness
Q&A
No adventure is ever too scary for Leon Logothetis. In Season 2 of The Kindness Diaries, available on Netflix and BYUtv, Logothetis takes another journey from Alaska to Argentina, relying solely on the kindness of strangers. No money, no food — just a canary-yellow Volkswagen bug.
Before the release of his fifth book, Go Be Kind, we had the privilege of talking to Logothetis about his latest season, new adventures and how to live our own lives in kindness.
So, you start Season 2 in the middle of nowhere in Alaska. Did you have any doubts going into that?
Leon Logothetis: More doubts than you will ever know. Yes, I did. I remember, we kind of briefly mention it at the beginning, but I went to Tennessee to pick up the car. To test-drive it. I was test-driving the car, and I drove it for literally less than two minutes, and I remember thinking to myself, “Okay. I’m screwed. There is no way this car is going to make it from Alaska to Argentina.” And I literally went into a depression for a week or two after that. I was saying to myself, “Well, we’re finished. We can’t work!” I mean, sometimes it didn’t, clearly, but it pretty much worked, which was amazing.
Because you guys are out in the middle of nowhere and you were afraid of the car not being able to run, did you have a Plan B in case you weren’t able to find someone?
There were no Plan B’s. I mean, the only Plan B was someone had to help us. That was Plan B, literally.
Is there any preparation before starting? Besides finding a vehicle?
There’s some preparation. For example, there were certain countries … well, actually, for Season 1, we needed visas, in Season 2, there were no visas needed. But there were certain places we knew we had to go to, so there was some preparation, but not major.
And then how do you decide which route you want to go on?
For Season 2, Alaska to Argentina… for example, Alaska to Whitehorse in Canada, there’s only one road. So you can pretty much only go one way. And then when you get down from Alaska, down to, let’s say, Southern California, you pretty much go whatever way the wind takes you. It depends. There’s some planning, some not planning.
One of my favorite parts is when you give some people gifts afterward. Have you had a favorite person or experience from Season 2?
Yes. It was Episode 8. Have you watched Episode 8?
Not yet.
Okay, when you get to Episode 8, I think you’re gonna need to have at least a thousand Kleenex. You’re gonna be drowning in tears. I don’t wanna give too much away for you, but I met this really amazing woman who I end up helping. She rescues dogs. And the story that she gives about why she rescues dogs and my interaction with her is really quite beautiful.
Amazing! You keep in touch with some of them, I assume. Do you keep in touch with everyone you meet?
Some of them I stay in touch with, some of them I don’t. Like, for example, I just did a Facebook Live with Karen from Episode 3.
What kind of response do you hope to get from the viewers? Is there an underlying message you hope they receive from watching?
Two things. First of all, I want people to go out and live their lives with all their passion and all their fire in their belly. And secondly, to be kind. To remember that kindness is a big part of who we are. To be kind. It’s that simple.
Are you planning on going on another journey?
Yeah. I’m working on Season 3, which is Scotland to Singapore.
Oooh. That sounds fun.
Yeah. It should be.
How long in total, do the journeys end up taking you?
Season 2, Alaska to Argentina was three-and-a-half months. Season 1 was five-and-a-half months.
And there’s probably so much that doesn’t end up making it into the show. How much do we not end up seeing?
There’s a lot. For example, I went bungee jumping in Argentina. You don’t see that. So many things that don’t get in the show.
So how do you choose which events end up being put in?
It depends on what we think is the most compelling. And it depends what we think will touch people the most.
One thing that I’ve always been told growing up, is that “Once you’ve heard someone else’s story, you can’t help but love them.” Do you think this encapsulates the meaning behind the show?
Absolutely, absolutely. Once you connect with someone’s heart, it’s incredible.
Not everyone lives their life in complete kindness. So, do you have any advice for those of us who’d like to be a lot kinder in our lives but don’t really know how to start?
Start with small baby steps. Simply open up your heart to another human being. Make another human being feel like they matter. So, when you go to Starbucks and you buy your coffee, look at the person in the eyes and say, “Thanks so much. Have a really lovely day.” And you’ll see how they respond. And you keep doing that moment-to-moment. Keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
The Kindness Diaries, Season 2 now streaming on Netflix & BYUtv
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