Join us, I'll be able to dive in and we'll have Sam live.
But if you are, like you all are in for a treat today.
Many.
All right, welcome in to Vision Pros Live.
But Jackson Calame, I'm your show host.
We will be doing interviews for visionary entrepreneurs
and guests, guest leaders who are building
fantastic visions out there.
Ultimately, I just wanna go through some of the things
that might help you with your vision.
So if you have a vision that you're pursuing,
drop a link in the comments and let us know what that is.
If that's a business or a brand,
if it's a nonprofit that you run,
be happy to promote it, be happy to talk to you about it.
And if you'd like to apply to be on Vision Pros
and be interviewed about that vision,
then by all means, feel free to reach out.
Hey there and welcome to Vision Pros Live.
I'm your host Jackson Calame,
founder of First Class Business.
I am so excited for today's session.
We have a super special guest in Sam Mitchell,
who's an amazing podcaster.
We're gonna talk about his story in just a minute.
Some of the things that you should gain out of this
are inspiration for your own ventures, of course,
and see how tenacity, consistency,
and showing up for the world pays off big.
So again, I'll have Sam on in just a minute.
In the meantime, I wanna talk a little bit of our sponsors,
Epiphany and Able Health, both fantastic businesses.
If you need consulting for a business that is at scale
and probably has 30 to 50 employees or more,
then I highly recommend Rick Meekins over at Aepiphanni.
Able Health, on the other hand,
if you're looking to optimize your health
and you're looking to maximize
really what you get out of this life in terms of,
how do I put this?
I wish I was more of a doctor.
But if you're looking for a naturopath,
and the benefits of a naturopath
without having to go into a clinic
and being able to see online
what your results could look like,
what your exercise routine could look like,
what your diet plans could look like,
and also what supplements you should be taking.
Then I also recommend checking out what Dr. Seth Yates
has been building over at AbleHealth.us.
One other thing real quick,
make sure that you're giving back in the world.
The Water Project is my favorite source to give back to.
I highly recommend it.
It's a great place to go and see what's being done
in Africa where so many communities and villages
are limited to what types of clean water they have access to.
So with that said, I'm gonna bring Sam on.
Sam, jump on in here for the show
and let's get talking about autism rocks and rolls.
How are you today, man?
Hey, man, I'm all right.
Good to be here and I got Jamie's that thing.
So yeah, man, good to see you too.
But yeah, good to be here on the other side too, Loxan.
Dude, it's such a privilege to have you
in autism rocks and rolls.
From what I understand,
you've already passed the 15,000 download stage
for your podcast, is that correct?
Mm-hmm, yep.
Dude, that's awesome.
And you've had guests like,
I'm gonna read some of these guests off.
Dr. Temple Grandin, who has six million views on her TED Talk.
You've got Mick Foley of WWE
and James Durbin, who was huge on the American Idol show.
I was watching the video right before we came on.
How did you get connected with these folks?
Well, some are situational.
Some have left me an email
or some I actually just left an email.
James Durbin, he has Facebook message.
And I was like, hey, buddy, you wanna be on the show?
Okay.
And then some are just actually through the publicists.
I mean, I have a secret website I like to give to some.
And I'll give you, I guess I'll,
I don't know if people see it.
Is there anyone who can send private messages on here?
I believe so.
It's a private channel on the right side.
I think you have access to that.
It'd be great, man.
I'd love to see it.
Yeah, okay, great.
And for, so real quick, while Sam's sending that over,
one of the things about Sam that's unique is,
is he has autism and he has not allowed that
to hold him back from his success.
And I think that's just absolutely amazing
that you're getting out there.
You got a nonprofit in addition to your podcast.
You've had Armani Williams, the first NASCAR driver
to open up about having autism as well on the show.
And you know, you're creating awareness, you know,
and driving people to understand what,
when I'm gonna interpret the uniqueness of the mind
and the ability to use it for great things.
Is that correct?
I mean, I think there's a whole population
being ignored with the spectrum.
They don't see that these people who are actually
really gifted, hiddenly may I add,
are not being treated like humans half the time.
They've been institutionalized.
They think that we can't do anything at all,
which is inaccurate.
I mean, I'm high-funked.
I'm high-funked.
I don't like the word functioning
because I think it's a little harsh.
But yeah, I would say I have the mind of sometimes
of a child or a little bit younger than I act.
Me too.
Hi, May, would you agree?
Like you as well?
Like, come on, that's not fair.
Like that's just-
That's very true.
That's super fair.
So, all right, so I'm glad that you're raising awareness
on it and again, I see you consistently
putting great stuff out there.
Most people in life aren't consistent at what they do.
And I think that holds a lot of people back.
So where did you learn your diligence
and your consistency in your work ethic from?
Family, probably from the beginning.
Probably from the very beginning,
one of the first life lessons I learned as a young boy
was hard work pays off.
Work the hard way, not the smart way,
and don't take the short cuts.
And you're here to work smarter and not harder.
I wanna kill people that say that because, no,
I don't care how smart you are,
you need to go the hard route, trust me.
You'll feel better at the end and more accomplished.
Yeah, it's harder and it takes more work,
but I'd rather do the more work
than just sit on the couch and lay down and call the day.
I mean, eventually I have my limit.
I won't lie to you there.
I will not lie.
I do have my limit towards like, all right,
we're done with the hard way.
We're taking a laugh, but not most of the time.
I rather do the hard way than the smart way.
But I've had to turn it there here and there
because it just became too much.
Yeah, yeah, well, we can only run as fast as we're able.
Right, you can't run fast and you're able,
but we can exercise our bodies, our minds, our spirits,
everything to get the most out of it.
And so it's super cool.
It reminds me of a Mitch Hedberg joke where he said,
I once made instant oatmeal,
but then I had nothing to do for 10 minutes.
It's like, okay, you can go the shorter route,
but you rob yourself of some great experiences in life.
So with that said, what's your vision
for those that you serve, Sam?
In 30 seconds, good luck.
First of all, good luck with that.
That's not gonna happen, but I'm not gonna do my best for ya.
So the vision in 30 seconds,
just read parts of it as I say.
So it's destigmatized autism.
That's the obvious one.
Being kind of one another,
because I think in the world that we live in,
there's so much corality that it blows my mind
that we need to overcome the corality.
But third is very interesting to me.
This one has a very special place to my heart.
It's what I like to call success
for all and how we get there.
So I believe owning the male, owning a limo
and getting the male equal each other out.
Teach me about that.
Okay, let's try.
So you see big celebrities out there,
like Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan, Morgan Wall,
they got this fancy probably life, right?
They got, no pun intended with the country song,
I hate that song, but they got the mansion,
they got the pool, they got the big house,
they got dog, it's just the same
as going into a clinic every day
and the success right there is drawing a picture
of your family every day.
Uh-huh.
Keep going with that, keep going with that,
teach us more.
And then another part of it is the looks too.
So it's not just the mental way of things physical,
I mean, I've seen guys, he might say this,
but one of my favorite people,
and one of my idols is actually a former Hell's Kitchen
competitor, Tommy Stevens,
who's tattooed from head to toe, head to toe.
And when you think, when you look at him,
he's even made the joke himself about being a resident
at times and that never happened, never happened.
But if you look at him, you think he's a gangbanger.
You think that this guy's been to jail,
he's done hard times.
Well, what if I told you that he's actually the nicest guy
has stayed clean the rest of his life
and not done anything stupid,
is actually one of the nicest people you'll ever meet
and you wanna hang out with.
You wouldn't believe it because there's a stereotype
that people like him are mean,
which is not the case if you actually talk to him.
So that's my point, talk to the person,
even if they look kind of shaggy or shady,
because you don't know their story.
Right, that's good.
And so, it is important to not judge the book by its cover,
give people a chance, hear them out,
see what type of lessons they've learned,
see what type of wisdom they have
from the experience they have, I love that.
Jaime, do you mind pulling up the podcast
while we talk about this?
I'd love to see and just showcase,
again, a lot of this hard work
that Sam's put into his launch.
You guys, I think, I love what he said that,
people who are saying, work smarter, not harder,
they're creating a deterioration of value in society.
I would agree with that,
I would agree with what you said about that.
I believe it's important to work smart,
to do the right work, and to work hard.
They don't wanna substitute those things for each other.
If you never do the hard work,
you're never gonna build up the muscles that you need
to truly thrive, so that was awesome, man.
So what else, let's just go to this question real quick.
So Sam, those people who are tuning in right now,
who should listen to this?
Why should they listen?
How do we get them interested
in understanding the value of,
and maybe it's not, maybe it's something
that they need to do out of just the goodness of their heart,
but I think we can find more reasons to motivate them
to care about these topics,
and what are they gonna get out of today's show?
Well, who should listen?
So anyone involving the spectrum, autism,
but also, no, if you have a condition or mental,
so if you have anxiety, depression,
spina bifida, OCD, if you're deaf or blind,
this is for you.
I try to make it as inclusive as possible,
because I don't wanna just focus on autism.
I mean, I have a heart,
and I actually have friends who have been
through some treacherous paths.
I won't share what they are,
but they're still treacherous,
and I admire for them for sharing it,
and going through it,
but they should listen to me because it's inclusive.
The only rule to be on my show
is you have to be a nice person.
That's it, because your fit part of the mission,
which is the kindness.
I mean, that's it.
I mean, I'm trying to get very inclusive,
and I try to provide resources.
I mean, if you could stop right there, actually.
Yeah, Josh is crazy smart.
Let's look at this.
Yeah, yeah, go ahead.
I can talk to him a little bit.
So he has not been on my show,
but Down syndrome, and he makes talk for a living.
He has it on his finger.
Go ahead and pause that sound, Jaime,
while you play it.
You can keep the video going,
but go ahead and pause the sound, my friend.
Go ahead, Sam.
Oh, it's fine.
I was watching it with you.
Get a popcorn out.
But you see my point right here in this video?
Entrepreneur selling socks with help and Down syndrome.
You call this Down syndrome?
What the heck?
That's awesome.
I know that.
Have you ever heard of Tim and Tim's restaurant?
Tim and Tim's restaurant, as Ashley said?
Yeah, man, we gotta find that.
I may again, in the background, if you can find that.
So Tim has Down syndrome, and he owns a restaurant,
and he likes to say something along the lines of,
he gives out food and warm hugs.
He loves to hug his clients who come in,
and he's got Down syndrome.
He runs that restaurant with his family.
He does an excellent job with it.
It's a pretty cool man when families step up.
And what are some of the ways that you've seen society
step up and help with these processes?
And what are some of the good sides
of what's going on that get involved?
Well, you have, first of all, I'm just showing this,
but the way society has stepped up is,
I think, yes, we're all aware,
because when you watch a video, you're like,
oh my goodness, he has Down syndrome, oh.
But that all is an issue, because that all should be,
oh, cool, because in my opinion,
when you have a condition,
whether that be Down syndrome or autism,
it's looked at negative, it's pinniness.
We don't need pinniness.
All we need is love and respect.
Not people that feel bad for us,
but people that feel happy for us.
Dude, I love that.
That's, so another, I'm gonna introduce you
to a good friend of mine, his name is John Comstock.
And John was in this, he used to go to A&M University
in Texas, and they used to do this big bonfire,
and he almost died in that bonfire,
and he took on super, super bad burns.
And when he talks about his story, Sam,
he talks about how for years,
he worried because people would look at him
because he's different, you know?
And he was like, man, I don't like this,
I don't wanna be looked at like this,
until it finally dawned on him,
and he realized, you know what?
I'm different, and that's awesome.
And that's why people are looking,
because I am awesome, and I am different.
And I thought it was really cool
how he had come to understand and appreciate
his value about his uniqueness,
but I'd love for, maybe you and John
can end up doing some type of podcast together
to help further that notion, because what he,
his way of inspiring people is-
Yeah, I'm not open to it, it's just I'm booked.
You know, it's got like therapy,
you have a wait list almost.
So, he's in, he just has to be on the wait list,
and then it's all backed up, you're in.
That makes sense, I'm not sure if he has one either,
has one too, but again, that opportunity
to help people understand the value that they are,
but also teaching society to look at, like you said,
I need to also do a better job of looking at people
that I consider different, and you know,
appreciating the value of their difference,
no matter what it is, whether it's their left-handed,
blind, you know, what are some other PTSD,
you know, people who go through PTSD as well,
can often have a hard time adjusting back to society.
Yeah, I was talking to someone about that
the other day, believe it or not,
I was on interview a while back ago,
we started talking to PTSD, and I'm not part
of a veteran family, but someone in my family
did serve our country, so I do appreciate him for doing it,
but thankfully he came back with, you know,
no harm, I guess what you would call it,
but he had his neighbor that he served in the army,
and he's unfortunately passed away since then,
but he came back with some lifelong interest,
being effects, and this guy, and the neighbor,
I want to in common, is if you heard something loud,
they would think they'd go back to the war,
and they'd have a gunshot to that, like boom,
oh crap, it's a gunshot, so they put their head down,
and that doesn't bother me, you do what you need to do,
but every time you hear something loud,
you have to put your head down,
because you think you're back in war,
I mean, it's terrifying, and-
That's gotta be tough.
And I don't feel the pity, because I don't feel sorry
for them, but it's gotta drive you nuts, I mean-
Well, there's the not feeling sorry,
but there's also recognizing-
I thought like all of a sudden,
you've got your head, it's like, oh man, that stinks,
but you know what, hey, do what you can do,
I'm not gonna look at you be like,
oh buddy, why you put your head down?
Right, and they've been through an experience
that they don't have to share it,
but it's also helpful to realize like,
man, they've lived life, you know,
they've been through something,
and I can learn a lot from them, their mannerisms, right?
There's so much good we can pull out of it,
so you mentioned family as one of the support aspects,
what's another powerful lesson
that other visionaries can learn from your experience, Sam?
Well, I think sometimes we take a lot of things
from Granton, I mean, we got,
I mean, a lot of people have friends, that's example, okay?
Back when I was six, I wish I had a friend,
making a friend would have been my life to me
because I didn't have them, I do now, thankfully,
and I hang out with them, but I didn't,
I would have loved to have friends,
and here we got people going on this, you know,
Mary go round, and you know, I'm trying to go in,
but they're like, oh no, he's different,
let's push him off the Mary go round,
and let's hang out with these people, okay?
He has friends, he has no idea what it's like to be alone
to the highest extent.
I got excluded in school because I was different,
and unfortunately, you can't send a kid
into the office or excluding someone.
Now I wish you could, but that's not fair,
and that's just causing a lot of drama,
so I understand why you can't do that,
but it's still very agitating
because there's nothing that teachers can do.
My pants can only do so much,
so that's my point right there,
is yeah, you may be able to handle
wearing a wet t-shirt, no, I don't wear wet clothes,
no, no, no, if something gets wet and failing the shirt,
I can't get comfortable, like I'm in panic mode,
I gotta go home and change, no matter where we are.
Yeah, interesting, and that's good to know,
and it's helpful to know,
I mean, I'm twice divorced, by the way,
I had two marriages that didn't turn out
the way I wanted them to, obviously,
but we learned in that process,
I learned about this book called Healthy Boundaries,
right, and that's about setting your boundaries, right?
Your space, helping people understand
what's different for you in life
versus what's different for others.
We all have things that we need to set boundaries around.
Mine's loud screechy noises, I can't do that, man,
I can't do, I have to have earplugs when I go places
where there's lots of noise, so I can get that a little bit.
Music changed that though, I should mention,
music changed that, music made that all there,
because I was like you, I was like fire's going off,
oh boy, I'm going in the basement hiding,
what's a her rock and roll music?
I was so into it, so into the energy,
it shifted the mindset, because now I'm like,
oh boy, give me all the pyro and all the fireworks,
and get me all the live music you can, man,
so I own rock and roll music one for that.
Nice, that's awesome.
So we learned things in environments
where we don't always expect to be learning,
doesn't have to be a classroom, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, awesome, so let's take a look here.
So you're a podcast host,
you're also an online business consultant,
where did the desire come from to start those?
And was it different times?
Did you start them at the same time?
Let's do this right here.
Well, podcast host was really,
so the podcast started after I joined
my high schools media club,
and I was at school when I started,
but I didn't start autism, rock and roll,
that was a whole other podcast I helped along with some others,
but I saw it well shoot.
I can't be living in the media club room,
because I gotta go graduate and get out of school.
So I figured the best way to continue my media skills,
was to start my own podcast,
and that was when autism, rock, and roll was born.
But it actually unexpectedly grow,
I did not expect it to change,
because if you told me 15K downloads in the year 2018,
oh, I'm sorry, 2019, I would have laughed at you,
because I was not expecting it, I was thinking,
okay, a few hits, 17 downloads, whoop-de-doo,
helping one person, awesome.
Well, I was incorrect because it started growing more,
people want to hear me more,
I'm having my back by gains, partnerships.
And then we start offering more services,
I started my first speaking gig in 2022 in Oklahoma,
we tried Gala, which led us to now do play
in local events in Indiana, which is where I'm from.
And then it also led us to, I'm trying to get what else,
and Bastian, a couple programs.
So I'm now an ambassador for the Doug,
Ludie, Jr. Autism Foundation, and Makeup Film Foundation,
which is Make a Wish, but with movies.
Cool, that's very cool.
That's a lot of stuff on your plate.
It is, but you know what, it's manageable,
and probably I'm going to be transferring
to another university that's an hour from me,
so not too far in, hey, I'll figure it out,
I managed stuff pretty decently,
if I have my medication in me.
What's your degree gonna be in?
Broadcasting.
Smart broadcasting, right there with the podcasting,
makes sense.
So Autism Rocks and Rolls, Summer Party.
What is this, tell me about it.
All right, well we need to change the name,
so Jamie, you know we need to change it,
last time it was called Summer Party,
and it's not your fault, but we changed it to Summer Fest,
so does that play out?
Summer Fest, got it, I'm gonna change it right now,
is me, put it up there.
I just know, I was like, oh no.
But the Summer Fest is, we're gonna have like,
so we have one of our sponsors is a wedding bar,
but it's really cool, during the summer they turn it into
kind of an outdoor concert venue,
and we're having a Summer Fest with live music,
our music we'll be having is local band,
all access band, and Indianapolis' own Duke Tomato,
which if you like Blues Rock,
I prefer you checking that out,
and we're having more than just music,
we're having a prize wheel,
my grandfather built a prize wheel,
and for my birthday, and we kind of use that for AR, AR.
Kona Shave Ice is coming out,
so if you want shaved ice, we're happy to buy that.
And a Quarrel Hole game, but we're also gonna try
and produce an adult scavenger hunt with prizes.
Sweet, that sounds like an awesome event.
And then, the Summer Fest, in the morning,
we're having an autism-roxen role motorcycle poker run ride.
A motorcycle poker run ride?
Yeah.
What is that?
Well, you basically, I mean, you've heard Jeep rides,
like Jeep rides with drag.
I should have, but I haven't.
I haven't lived enough yet, Sam.
I need to start living more.
Okay, that's why I didn't know.
So, a motorcycle ride, so I'm not really in charge of that,
but what I do know is, okay,
you're gonna start at this destination,
but then you're gonna get, like, chips, poker chips.
And I think if you get the most poker chips,
you win a prize, I think that's how it works,
I'm not for sure.
Oh, cool.
But you're gonna ride to certain biking places,
and then grab a snack, and then go back to the Summer Fest.
So, kind of a cool event.
I don't know how it works, but I'm excited to get around,
because this is our first one, and it's in August,
so hopefully the weather will be nice, too.
That's awesome.
Shifting gears, you've also got a children's book
coming out, is that correct?
Yes, so that one I helped out with,
I give more credit to my partner,
which is also my mother, shockingly.
Awesome.
Best partner to have.
Oh, some days, yeah, but some days,
there are days I wanna kill her, I ain't gonna lie to you.
But anyway, the book is a children's book.
She was the main person, so it's Journey,
and people on special like to be fixated with things,
which is what's the site called, Obsess.
But it's really practicing for our future skills,
because in the book, she's gonna give children
a tour of the nature site and talk about trees,
but she'll be having flashbacks from her memory,
like talking about the ash tree,
talking about the ash tree, she'll be having the flashback
of putting a caterpillar on someone.
And she loves it, but the kid's freaking out.
And how long is the book gonna be more or less?
What do you think, or what age group is it gonna be for?
Pre-school at kindergarten.
I mean, it's gonna be very childish.
And we're still waiting for it.
We're in the publishing stage.
We published it a while back,
and we haven't heard anything,
but we're hoping to hear it back still.
I hear you, I totally get it.
My kiddos are also publishing their first books,
and they're right there at the pre-order stage,
still getting things developed.
You don't have a clear timeline,
but keep working hard, right?
Keep consistent with it.
Yeah, yeah, keep working with it, man.
And hey, if it comes to you,
you can self publish on Amazon at this point.
That's right, you can.
So let's talk a little bit further about your vision.
We'll dive back into it,
give you a little bit more time to, you know, to share that.
Do you envision spending more time on ARAR,
or do you plan on diving more into your business consulting?
What's your next three to five years look like?
Well, we just had a board retreat a couple of last months,
and we came to the conclusion
that what we're gonna do for now is working.
Hopefully college, we can add more time
and have things change up a little bit, maybe.
But right now, we're focusing on the podcast,
and hopefully I haven't asked my mother about this yet,
but she might add some curriculum to the show.
I mean, we don't know yet clearly,
but we're trying to still find something
that brings in revenue every day.
We have something good, and we can make money
that, like, it's at the side job phase, I call it.
Like, you have to pay the bills still,
and, but you can still add it as your side job.
I wanna get to it, to where this ARAR corporation
is paying the bills every day.
Cool, man, that's awesome.
And while you're always welcome to be,
you probably have a lot of offers,
but you're always welcome to be here.
You probably have a lot of offers,
but you're always welcome to be an honorary member
of the Academy of First Class Businesses at No Charge.
So we do have programs.
We'll try, hopefully, maybe one day,
we're talking to Dean, when we did talk to him,
we had to reschedule, sadly, but whatever, whatever.
We might talk to Dean Forbes.
Oh, cool, yep, that'd be awesome.
He's my business partner, great guy.
And like I mentioned, I'd be happy to include you
as an honorary member if that helps you out
with the process, but I do know there's a lot.
Oh, I don't know if you can afford the funds.
Well, like I said, we wouldn't charge you for it.
So that's, you'd be on me, you'd be my VIP.
Okay, now we're talking.
Yep, yeah, absolutely, dude.
And keep going, man.
I see so much potential with your podcast.
And 15,000, I think, is just scratching the surface
of what you can do as you keep putting your interviews
out there.
How often do you have the show come out?
Is it once a week or once a month?
Every 13 days.
So count from the latest published day,
which I cannot remember off the top of my head,
but count 13 days from that,
that's when your next episode is gonna come out.
Yeah, awesome.
But then there are times where I have
like a hiatus, like February to March,
the season was over, and I didn't wanna like
keep shoving down pockets, episodes down people's throat.
So I kind of took a month of the hiatus
to focus on the nonprofit side,
but then in March I got back on it.
So.
Nice, man.
Well, you're the visionary for that.
So you'll know how many episodes you need to produce,
what you should do.
I like to think ahead a lot of times,
but sometimes that bites me in the butt.
That's right.
And sometimes it does.
Sometimes we're looking so far down the road,
we trip over the stick in front of us, right?
Yeah, you forgot.
Yeah, you've got this branch right there
and the trees block, you're like, oh, geez.
Yep, definitely.
So what have you learned as far as running your podcast?
What are some things you didn't anticipate with it
or weren't prepared for that you learned from
that others could learn to overcome
if they're launching a similar podcast
or a show of some kind?
Well, it goes back to my story with the unexpected growing.
I mean, the first goal of this, it was to be a hobby.
It was not meant to be a job,
but I didn't know you could make a podcast
and make a living out of it,
or get kind of popular through it.
I was never a popular kid,
but after starting the podcast and getting the sponsors,
the popularity chain kind of grew on me a little bit.
That's cool, man.
And three years.
Which this is kind of sad because of the past.
I mean, I've let go of my past,
the exclusion of the bullying,
but there are days I still live in it.
So sadly, I do not know how to take that popularity.
Yeah.
I'm not very popular, so I don't know how to take it yet either.
But I think the best way you can do it,
and for me, I just try to be my best self each day.
If you don't like it, then don't like it.
That's definitely the best way, but oh my gosh.
I mean, in my social situation still like this, cool.
But put me in front of people that I don't know well,
like really well well, or people my own age,
I'm gonna throw up.
And I don't mean that literally,
I don't go like, oh my gosh, social anxiety here.
I mean like metaphorically.
I don't really throw up.
It's just like, oh my God, oh my God.
Do you know who Bill Russell is,
the basketball player from way back when?
Any chance?
I think I've heard of him.
I don't know if I've seen him.
He's a legend, man.
He used to throw up before every basketball game.
Geez, man.
Every time he got so nervous about being in front of people
that he had to go throw up.
And its team members would even say like,
hey, have you gone and thrown up yet?
Cause he was never ready until he got through that anxiety.
And you just never know who goes through that.
And that's the thing.
You don't know their story.
I mean, you don't know.
I mean, I know people have broken the law
and it's not good clearly.
I'm gonna never promote that.
But do you know why they had to do it?
I mean, maybe they were just being an idiot and okay, yeah.
I'm gonna steal a candy bar like a kid.
But what if it was for his family to give him his food
because he can't afford a meal or a nice house?
It's true.
People definitely tend to go to the desk room.
Sometimes have to go to the desk room measures
to get what they want.
And we don't always make the best choice
in those situations.
I mean, I would do the same thing too.
Because hey, I gotta look after our kids here.
Desperate time call for desperate measures.
Right, and you're right.
And it's hard to remember that we don't,
I hope nobody judges me for my worst moment in life.
Right?
I wanna be remembered for the good things they did too.
And I try to remember that about others.
So well said, dude.
Good stuff.
So let's take a look here at another site
that Jaime has pulled up.
So there's a site booking agent info.com.
Can you tell me about that?
Well, darn you, you spoiled the secret.
No, it's okay.
I'm fine.
Oh, this is the one.
I'm sorry.
Oh, it's okay.
No, you're great.
I don't like spoiling it a little bit.
Because you have to pay to get a really good one anyway.
So, but nice shot.
No, again, I'm just messing with you.
But anyway, this booking agent info.com,
that actually has allowed me to give
some of the celebrities I've had.
So let me think here.
Okay, I got a response from Tom Hanks.
I did not, he didn't agree to come on the show,
but his publicist said, oh my goodness.
And he wasn't so busy.
He loved to.
It's gonna be a no, but thanks for checking in.
They were all really nice about it.
So I heard a little big jerks,
but they had not been to me, surprisingly.
That's cool.
That's really, so this is a secret tool of yours
that you use for contacting people.
Now it's spoiled thanks to you, but hey,
you know what?
I don't care because I realize you have to pay for it.
I'm not paying it for you.
So, hey, you're like, whatever.
That's fair, man.
I totally get that.
So hi, may take it down.
This will be a little segment Easter egg for people.
So good to know that's awesome.
You know, it's, I mean, that's a lot of the work
that goes into podcasting, right?
Is contacting guests and coordinating.
Absolutely, that's what I do.
That plate, that website, yep, thanks.
It is cheap compared to some of the others.
Like you've had to get on these apps
where you have to find them.
They cost thousands of dollars.
That's why I think it's definitely,
you know, definitely is charging,
but it's not like $100 a month.
It's actually the cheapest you're gonna get.
That's cool, man.
Well, we'll definitely explore it, you know?
And see what we learned from it.
And it's, you know, it's funny.
You mentioned kind of being alone
as a younger kid, not having those friends.
And then, you know, you're getting to that point
where you got more friends established and all that.
And it's, your friends have a network of people
that they can give you access to
that can help you accomplish the missions
that you want to accomplish in life.
So who are some of the people you're most excited
to reach out to and talk to in the next year or two?
Anybody in mind?
Well, I try a lot of people.
I mean, Mick Foley was one of them, but clearly.
That's a big win.
Tell me about Mick Foley a little bit.
I don't know, Debbie, who is that?
I was surprised with that too.
I actually knew him a little beforehand.
Not we weren't like best friends,
but I met him once at a meet and greet at a toy shop.
It was BC Autism Proximals, I guess what you call it.
But another wrestling podcast called
the ANC Wrestling Podcast,
I don't know if they're doing their podcast today.
I think they are, hopefully.
But they let me, kill on the show,
impressed with my knowledge,
and they hooked up with Mick Foley somehow.
I don't know how.
I kind of smelled a rat.
I don't know really much of the behind the scenes.
That's a question for the people who set it up.
But the only guy I know is I smelled a rat
and I got to meet him.
Okay.
And so tell us a little bit.
For those of us who don't know WWE very well
and don't know who Mick Foley is,
who is this?
What do you know about him?
He's a pro wrestler.
He's referred as the hardcore legend.
And if you watch his matches,
yes, he's hardcore because I think he went through
barbed wire and thumbtacks.
So if you don't call that going through hardcore,
then you're insane.
But fun fact though,
he's actually one of the most humble people you ever meet.
And his son is on the autism spectrum.
So we kind of made that connection there.
But ever since that interview, we've hit it off really well.
I actually just recently saw him at an expo
for a wrestling expo.
I thankfully got to attend.
And we were just chatting away and hit it off.
And I saw him once again before the expo
at a comedy, local comedy club,
because he was going to be in the town,
which was again, awesome.
And then we got the interview and he gave me 30 minutes.
So that was a pretty incredible moment still.
But every time we see each other, we're like,
oh yeah, hey, what's up?
And we actually know each other.
It takes a minute though.
Yes, remember that I'm wearing the shirt.
As long as I'm wearing the shirt, he'll know.
Yeah, that's helpful too.
It's called brand recognition, right?
Yeah, maybe a little bit of a visual reminder too.
That's right.
The visual reminders are key.
I mean, for any business owner out there,
if you're, especially if your brand's not an IKEE
or an Adidas that people know well,
then having those physical reminders can help people.
And it's just like you got your sign in the background,
the autism rock and roll sign.
When did you make the sign?
And what did you go through to make it?
That was kind of funny.
So I've recently graduated a couple of years ago.
So that was, I graduated and apparently my parents got
the brilliant idea to get a sign.
I was like, okay, whatever, sure.
And they made me that sign and I just thought,
you know what, wow, that's like how it's cool in the background.
I didn't mean to put it there.
So I was like, okay, let's just leave it there,
see what happens.
Well, my next year I get on, I get on it.
And I noticed the sign in the background,
I was like, oh, hey, that's kind of cool.
Let's leave it there.
Yeah, it is.
That's a great background.
So I see the guitar there too.
I almost want to get distracted by that,
but you're also in business consulting.
What do you do as a business consultant, Sam?
Well, I'm not gonna lie to you.
That's not where I hit the home run as the sponsorships.
But you offer podcast coaching.
So maybe the business coaching
is also kind of the podcast coaching.
So I always try to-
See, I think it's a great niche for you.
Teaching, people have a lot of podcasts.
You can always go outside the niche,
but you already know a lot about the podcasting world
and there's a growing number of entrepreneurs
trying to figure it out right now.
Yeah, and you know, people make it a lot harder than expected.
They think that they're the fancy equipment,
all the microphone, you can just use your phone.
I don't know how to use your phone,
but you need something to use-
Yeah, there's an iPhone.
What you need is a microphone.
Would that be through your phone or like one I have,
like a recording one?
What else do you need?
You need internet connection.
That's the one thing that I hate about podcasting
is I have very bad low patience with technology.
So you can imagine some days with technology
acting up on like you bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep,
bleep, bleep.
So you can imagine how frustrating I get with that.
That's the one thing I hate about it.
And you also probably need,
I mean, I prefer a PC, truthfully.
I don't have a PC with Macs.
I think I joke around with my family
and because my mom uses a Mac.
Macs are for crazy people because I'm like,
it's through fidgety.
That's the problem with Macs.
They're too fidgety and too touchable.
Like if you touch it, oh, I just screwed it up.
Yeah.
Oh, that's funny.
I'm with you out there.
I can soap box about our PC value all day long.
So, all right, so the podcast,
you mentioned the ability to have a microphone to do it.
I got a business partner, Vision Pros were listening
that he launched his podcast with anchor.fm
and he literally recorded his episodes
on his drive to and from work.
And so he was able to get 40 episodes
pumped out quite fast of great quality.
I think you spent a little bit of time editing them,
but the technology is getting easier and easier
to use to do, to launch, but then there's nuances.
There's things that go into promoting it.
So, Sam, how did you go about promoting the episodes?
Do you share them on social or do people just come across them?
I put them on my social media outlets, Facebook.
I have a Facebook group, Sam Stories.
I put it on the website.
And then I also, I'm not afraid to use my personal life
and to have a professional life too.
So I promote to my buddies.
One told me to shut the hell up though recently.
So I've been keeping that one away.
Hey, she's awesome.
I've had that too.
I like her to death, but she just told me,
dude, look, I admire the work,
but I still want these messages popping on my phone
24 seven because it's annoying.
Now it's all right.
She thinks the work I do is incredible still.
And that was the only rule that matters to me.
All you think the work I do is good.
Hey, we're going to go.
Don't have to be involved at all.
So that's that.
And then we'll do it.
Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da.
So you have the top 10 in the People's Choice Podcast
Awards accolade for the podcast.
How did that come about?
You know, surprisingly, I just learned that
through someone telling me.
I don't know how.
I was like, oh, hey, Sam, you're on the top 10
in the People's Place Podcast Awards.
Okay, cool.
Cool.
All right, so build it.
Hey, thanks.
It was the worst time I've ever been before
and after I learned about it.
Okay.
And then it also, I saw a little note here
that says you're in the top 200 podcasts
in all of Canada.
Yeah, I learned that one too.
Hey, you're in the top 200 podcasts of Canada.
Okay, cool.
Nice.
And where are you based out of, Sam?
Indiana.
I'm an old loser boy.
I'm in Canada.
I love it.
Yeah.
Yeah, I've been to Canada once for a,
actually twice for a speaking gig.
Niagara Falls.
Ryan Reynolds, step aside.
All right, Jim Carrey, step aside.
Here comes Sam Mitchell.
Awesome, man.
Well, is there anything else you'd like to share
with the audience today?
We're wrapping up on time, but I'd be happy to,
if you have anything else you wanna share,
anything else you wanna invite people to do
and tell them where they can connect with you?
Not that I can thank you, but I will say this,
and this is just, you know,
I might kinda end in a point of my,
it's not what I think it's true.
Excuse me, I don't know as well.
I think the road could be nice and not be stupid.
We get along so much better.
Don't you think?
I know it.
Have a great day, man.
Sam, I appreciate you doing.
Thanks for joining us on this.
Thank you, that's all folks.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, everybody, thank you for joining us in.
The Vision Pro is live.
We'll see you on the next episode tomorrow.
Have a fantastic evening and definitely,
whatever you can do to get involved locally
for autism awareness and inclusion
for people who feel left out, just be aware.
There's more people we can include.
Your life will be happier by doing so,
and we will see you on the other side.
Take care, everybody.
Thank you for being here today.
I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pro's live.
I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions
as these episodes continue to move forward.
We optimize them as the months go by.
This is gonna get more and more fun.
We'll have more and more engagement as well.
We'll invite people to participate in the show.
And thank you for giving us your time and attention
and having a great time.