The premise of TED.com

and its related, independently-organized events TEDx, is to discuss “ideas worth spreading” within a strict 18-minute length. Which means Nancy Vogl, and dozens of other speakers tomorrow at TEDxNASA, is going to have to crunch huge themes such as racism, positivity and success into a mini-lecture. It may prove a feat for Vogl who has enough words to fill numerous songs, books and speaking engagements. She recently spoke with AltDaily about said themes and a few others, as well her book, Am I A Color Too, winner of six national awards and honors for Best Children’s Book and Best Multicultural Book, including the coveted Christopher Award, The Benjamin Franklin Award and the NAPPA Gold Award.

AltDaily: You’ve written a bit about how you’ve endured some personal tragedies that have driven you to where you are.

Nancy Vogl: Well, I wouldn’t use the word ‘tragedy,’ but definitely some challenges throughout my adult life. I had, from my perspective, not the happiest of childhoods. I became a single mom, after having three children very young. So it was really hard raising children by myself and selling real estate, which is what I did when they were really little. And when I started real estate, interest rates were close to 21 percent, so people weren’t buying too many houses back then. So it was really hard. Definitely lots of challenges in my life.

How did you resist allowing those challenges to shut you down and use them to your advantage to get where you are now?

Well, quite frankly, I have had a lot of those challenges shut me down. In fact I’m coming out of one right now; there were a number of years where I just sort of vanished. But things have definitely moved forward. I’m innately a happy person, but I think it’s not unusual for someone who gets beat up in life to just back down. In my case, in recent years, there were so many things that happened all at once that it just was too much. But there’s been a lovely turnaround for me, and it’s about focusing on what’s good about your life.

Have you always been a writer?

No, I thought about doing some writing when I was a little. In fact, when I speak at schools I always talk about enjoying the process of writing. I had a librarian who was a great influence on me. And my best friend in elementary school, she always loved to draw, and I always loved to write, and oddly enough both of us had a children’s book come out at the same time, after the age of 50. So I thought about it, but it wasn’t something that I always wanted to do.

Can you talk about the process of getting into writing?

Sure. More than 20 years ago, coming out of a very difficult divorce–which was very challenging for me with the children being little– I found myself drawn to motivational books. At that time there were cassette tapes, and going to seminars, and anything to remove myself from that very negative situation. I just was drawn to the spoken word, and speakers. Ultimately I started an event business to book big-name speakers for events, and then a speakers’ bureau. So it started that way, working with authors. From there I just developed, without even realizing it, the knowledge for publishing and writing and the power of the spoken and written word.It has the ability to change lives. You know, a positive message can have an effect on you with even just one sentence.

I was also publishing some articles here and there. But my first book didn’t come out until February 2005, and that was a Chicken Soup for the Soul book.

Is it harder for you to write about your own life than, say, writing about other people’s lives or writing fiction?

No, I have to sometimes catch myself from saying too much. I think there’s a fine line that you have to be careful to not cross over when you’re sharing information about yourself or intimate details. But I really do believe that when you can share your story–especially when it comes from difficulty, pain, and then showing how you can overcome that–you’re doing a service for humanity. So I believe in talking about myself and my experience. I’m not embarrassed or ashamed. I think there’s beauty in that.

What are the lines that you try not to cross?

Well, growing up in the kind of home that I did, where racism is a common thing–and it’s probably also the era I grew up in, partly the family I grew up in–so talk about that where potentially millions of people could hear that, I know I’m running a risk of causing a problem in my family. But it’s more about the message being out there.

What inspires you?

My good friend, Dr. Wayne Dyer, a very famous author and speaker said, “Don’t die with the music still inside.” And that to me is so profound. How many peop;le are walking around with something to say, something to share, some gift, and they don’t share it with the world.

I have a grandson who was born to my oldest daughter when she was a teenager. She was 19. He’s half African-American. And he’s just this amazing kid. When he was not quite 4, he walked up to me one day and said, “Grandma, am I a color?” He wasn’t asking me what color his skin was, he was asking me if he was truly a color. It spawned the book that I did with his mom, my daughter, and it’s really an amazing message.

So that’s what’s really inspiring me a lot–to get out and teach children particularly that who they are is not what you see on the outside. The essence of their being is all on the inside. And if we continue to label people by the color of their skin, we’re negating the true essence of humanity.

Read Nancy Vogl’s essays at nancyvogl.com, and visit amiacolortoo.com to find out more about the book. Vogl will speak live at TEDxNASA tomorrow, along with dozens of other speakers including Mitch Albom, beginning at 10 am at the Ferguson Center in Newport News. To get tickets, go to our forum and submit an “idea worth sharing.”