WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.580 Michelle Charpentier, welcome to the show. Thank 00:00:03.580 --> 00:00:05.719 you for having me. Yeah, we're glad you're here. 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:09.779 Tell me about your vision. Yeah, I mean, honestly, 00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:15.960 my vision is really rooted in community. I think... 00:00:16.410 --> 00:00:18.769 I mean, speaking from experience as a founder, 00:00:18.969 --> 00:00:21.449 when I launched my business and I think when 00:00:21.449 --> 00:00:24.670 any of us start any new endeavor, whether it's 00:00:24.670 --> 00:00:26.769 a business or a new project or whatever it is, 00:00:26.870 --> 00:00:29.050 you lean into your community. You tell people 00:00:29.050 --> 00:00:31.469 about it. So the first thing I did when I started 00:00:31.469 --> 00:00:36.750 my business was I let my college friends know. 00:00:36.810 --> 00:00:39.609 I let my college professors know. I let people 00:00:39.609 --> 00:00:43.939 I used to do internships with know. And I just 00:00:43.939 --> 00:00:46.000 really leaned into community because you need 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:47.880 to build your foundation. You just start from 00:00:47.880 --> 00:00:51.859 somewhere. And as my business continued to grow, 00:00:52.140 --> 00:00:55.939 I never forgot where I started or where I came 00:00:55.939 --> 00:01:01.399 from. And so a huge part of my every day and 00:01:01.399 --> 00:01:04.540 a huge part of my vision is to always give back 00:01:04.540 --> 00:01:07.480 to my community that shaped me so much. So I 00:01:07.480 --> 00:01:11.120 serve as a board member for my college doing 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:15.739 mentorship for. young college almost graduates 00:01:15.739 --> 00:01:18.319 and young professionals because that was a community 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:21.480 that shaped me so much professionally and personally. 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:25.900 I give back to other associations through mentorship 00:01:25.900 --> 00:01:30.819 that are also associations that are doing really 00:01:30.819 --> 00:01:34.099 good work for our community. Community goes beyond 00:01:34.099 --> 00:01:38.000 just like where you live but it's your values 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:42.489 and where you show up for people and how you 00:01:42.489 --> 00:01:46.049 empower them and inspire them. So, I mean, I 00:01:46.049 --> 00:01:48.909 would even argue that this is a community sharing 00:01:48.909 --> 00:01:50.969 insights and knowledge for people who want to 00:01:50.969 --> 00:01:54.849 learn and want to grow. So that my vision is 00:01:54.849 --> 00:01:57.250 really, like I said, it's really rooted in community 00:01:57.250 --> 00:01:59.930 and like reciprocating and building and strengthening 00:01:59.930 --> 00:02:03.450 relationships with one another. What would you 00:02:03.450 --> 00:02:10.439 say, Michelle, that. giving back to the community 00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:19.159 has given you in sense of maybe you feel more 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:24.080 accomplished or you like what it gives the other 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:26.960 people and the value they get out of it? Yeah. 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:31.180 And how long have you been doing that? I think, 00:02:31.379 --> 00:02:34.719 I mean, I shouldn't say I think, I know. It gives 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:39.840 me such a genuine sense of pride. And like if 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:42.719 I'm working, not even like a client, I mean, 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:45.539 like if I'm working with someone in a mentorship 00:02:45.539 --> 00:02:47.939 or a volunteer capacity, just like even giving 00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:52.099 back in that way, it's incredibly rewarding to. 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:55.180 help someone through something that they're struggling 00:02:55.180 --> 00:02:58.039 with and you can share your insight in all the 00:02:58.039 --> 00:03:01.560 years and experience that you've worked on honing 00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:03.620 in on your craft and building your skill set 00:03:03.620 --> 00:03:05.800 and so many mistakes that you've learned along 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:08.740 the way that you can provide insight and help 00:03:08.740 --> 00:03:11.340 other people navigate through those same challenges 00:03:11.340 --> 00:03:14.400 that you once worked through and you somehow 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:18.780 overcame them and so it's really honestly very 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:23.580 inspirational, too, to see the impact that your 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:27.099 consulting work or mentorship work or whatever 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:29.039 kind of work you're doing. And no matter the 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:33.139 capacity, the impact that's leaving for someone 00:03:33.139 --> 00:03:35.979 else and how you're paving the way for someone 00:03:35.979 --> 00:03:38.439 who you're guiding them towards realizing their 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:42.479 dreams to seeing that it's possible. Yeah, so 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:44.599 I'd say it's incredibly rewarding. It's very 00:03:44.599 --> 00:03:48.840 inspirational. It's very motivating. And also, 00:03:48.900 --> 00:03:52.240 like, I even learned so much about myself in 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.620 the process, you know, because sometimes a question 00:03:55.620 --> 00:03:58.979 that might come up in a conversation is a question 00:03:58.979 --> 00:04:01.939 that I never crossed my mind. Sometimes I take 00:04:01.939 --> 00:04:04.360 for granted something that I know about. And 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:07.379 I'm like, well. I didn't realize that that was 00:04:07.379 --> 00:04:09.159 a challenge that someone's going through. Maybe 00:04:09.159 --> 00:04:10.939 I need to talk about that more. Maybe I need 00:04:10.939 --> 00:04:14.199 to share about that a little bit more. So, yeah, 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:16.720 just so many feelings, but all great feelings. 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:19.879 Like just so much goodness comes out of giving 00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:22.740 back in that way. That's awesome. Thank you for 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:26.639 sharing that with us. What would you say, Michelle, 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:30.899 that how did you get started on that path? Like 00:04:30.899 --> 00:04:33.060 where did this vision of giving back to the community 00:04:33.060 --> 00:04:36.050 come from? Like where was it rooted in? like 00:04:36.050 --> 00:04:39.069 what age maybe something changed or something 00:04:39.069 --> 00:04:41.029 was different something you learned from someone 00:04:41.029 --> 00:04:43.430 else that like oh my gosh i think i need to be 00:04:43.430 --> 00:04:46.290 doing that and you you're on a you know entrepreneur 00:04:46.290 --> 00:04:50.089 path of empowering women right now um how did 00:04:50.089 --> 00:04:55.389 that come about as well god um you know i don't 00:04:55.389 --> 00:04:57.829 think it was something that was necessarily directly 00:04:59.020 --> 00:05:02.660 taught to me I think a lot of it was modeled 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:06.060 by like my upbringing my dad's a school teacher 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:08.920 and so I think there are certain values that 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:11.819 he instilled in us growing up that it's like 00:05:11.819 --> 00:05:14.180 simple like the goal like I should say it should 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:16.740 be simple it's like you know treat others with 00:05:16.740 --> 00:05:18.860 respect treat other people's how you'd like to 00:05:18.860 --> 00:05:23.939 be treated you know just doing for others loving 00:05:23.939 --> 00:05:27.279 your neighbor like just doing you know serving 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:29.339 your community serving others helping other people 00:05:29.339 --> 00:05:31.899 and those were kind of like the principles that 00:05:31.899 --> 00:05:36.740 i grew up on and so growing up in that way when 00:05:36.740 --> 00:05:42.399 i um entered uh the workforce and i was navigating 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:45.660 my way through my professional career and working 00:05:45.660 --> 00:05:48.980 through corporate i applied those same principles 00:05:48.980 --> 00:05:51.000 subconsciously because that's just like what 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:53.160 i always known that's just like how i knew to 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:58.199 be and so Whether it was having a conversation 00:05:58.199 --> 00:06:01.379 with someone in an executive level or having 00:06:01.379 --> 00:06:04.740 a conversation with someone who was taking out 00:06:04.740 --> 00:06:09.060 my trash in my office, I built a rapport with 00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:11.660 them and I genuinely wanted to know how they 00:06:11.660 --> 00:06:13.800 were doing. I would ask them about their kids. 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:15.800 I would build a relationship with them and I 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:18.170 wasn't doing it like... because i had a motive 00:06:18.170 --> 00:06:20.730 i genuinely wanted to build a relationship with 00:06:20.730 --> 00:06:24.310 someone and um that's what led to a lot of my 00:06:24.310 --> 00:06:26.629 success working cross -functionally when i worked 00:06:26.629 --> 00:06:30.629 on large teams um i had that connection with 00:06:30.629 --> 00:06:33.509 someone and so i knew how i could support them 00:06:33.509 --> 00:06:36.389 when they needed support and how you can all 00:06:36.389 --> 00:06:38.649 kind of play together like playing the sandbox 00:06:38.649 --> 00:06:44.660 together you know um and so i guess you know 00:06:44.660 --> 00:06:49.100 when i started my own business um it was really 00:06:49.100 --> 00:06:51.680 just wanting to be genuinely interested in others 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:55.120 and how i can serve them and help them um and 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:58.860 you know being an entrepreneur and a solopreneur 00:06:58.860 --> 00:07:03.110 in the beginning i felt like I really missed 00:07:03.110 --> 00:07:05.870 being part of a team because working with others 00:07:05.870 --> 00:07:07.550 and collaborating with others I mean of course 00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:10.009 collaborating with clients is one thing and working 00:07:10.009 --> 00:07:11.889 with other people is another thing but really 00:07:11.889 --> 00:07:14.230 having like a team like a team that reported 00:07:14.230 --> 00:07:16.870 to me or like a greater cross -functional team 00:07:16.870 --> 00:07:19.649 I missed that and that is actually what inspired 00:07:19.649 --> 00:07:23.649 me to start mentoring and so I actually am part 00:07:23.649 --> 00:07:25.529 of four different associations now where I give 00:07:25.529 --> 00:07:28.959 back through professional leadership and mentorship 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:31.720 just because i i just i value it so much it's 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:34.939 so important and i've been there before i've 00:07:34.939 --> 00:07:37.540 been you know i think all of us at one point 00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:39.720 another whether it's we're graduating from college 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:41.899 and we're entering workforce and we're like what 00:07:41.899 --> 00:07:45.379 is going on how do i have these conversations 00:07:45.379 --> 00:07:47.579 with my boss or how do i prepare for this interview 00:07:47.579 --> 00:07:50.899 or how do i leave my job for another job like 00:07:50.899 --> 00:07:53.019 there's just so many different milestones that 00:07:53.019 --> 00:07:57.569 we go through and um I've been fortunate to have 00:07:57.569 --> 00:07:59.589 some other people in my life that I could bounce 00:07:59.589 --> 00:08:01.910 those ideas off of, but that's why I feel like 00:08:01.910 --> 00:08:05.290 it's so important to be able to give back and, 00:08:05.290 --> 00:08:10.829 you know, pay it forward. And I feel like if 00:08:10.829 --> 00:08:12.709 they have that opportunity to learn and have 00:08:12.709 --> 00:08:14.589 that insight from someone that genuinely cares 00:08:14.589 --> 00:08:17.209 about them, I believe that they pay it forward 00:08:17.209 --> 00:08:21.209 too when they're able to. A lot of the initiatives 00:08:21.209 --> 00:08:24.720 that I... um put into place in my business are 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:29.939 inspired by my community by uh i'm a mom so by 00:08:29.939 --> 00:08:32.600 other moms in my community my children's friends 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:37.399 um parents um so just feedback and really being 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.620 on the pulse of what's happening in society and 00:08:40.620 --> 00:08:43.600 on our communities and that inspires new thought 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:49.080 and new ability to um collaborate people that 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:52.019 are doing good for their communities and leaving 00:08:52.019 --> 00:08:57.000 a positive impact and a positive legacy um so 00:08:57.000 --> 00:08:59.340 i think yeah just like listening and being really 00:08:59.340 --> 00:09:01.980 in tune with like what's happening and instead 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:04.200 of harping on negative things that might be happening 00:09:04.200 --> 00:09:06.960 finding ways where we can find positive solutions 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:09.799 to work together and collaborate and just bring 00:09:09.799 --> 00:09:12.059 more positivity and more energy towards like 00:09:12.059 --> 00:09:15.259 what we're doing to to focus on the good and 00:09:15.259 --> 00:09:18.799 the positive things that can transform just life 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:21.870 in general business Personal life, whatever, 00:09:22.070 --> 00:09:26.330 life in general for everyone. So, yeah, learned 00:09:26.330 --> 00:09:29.169 experiences, being curious. It's all part of 00:09:29.169 --> 00:09:31.289 it. And it's ever evolving. Like you need to 00:09:31.289 --> 00:09:34.730 be able to evolve and adapt and take some risks 00:09:34.730 --> 00:09:37.409 and speak up sometimes when things are uncomfortable. 00:09:38.370 --> 00:09:40.389 But when you know that it's good, like your people 00:09:40.389 --> 00:09:42.610 tell you. And I think that's the driving force 00:09:42.610 --> 00:09:45.970 to kind of like move you forward and make decisions. 00:09:46.629 --> 00:09:50.519 Thank you for sharing that. There's so many times 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:54.620 in my life where I've been blessed with people 00:09:54.620 --> 00:09:58.019 who have come in and helped me, guide me. Even 00:09:58.019 --> 00:10:00.360 right now, I'm being guided by so many people 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:06.279 around me. And being able to pay it forward, 00:10:06.340 --> 00:10:08.919 I think it's a huge quality that most people 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:11.879 undervalue. And they don't realize how important 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:15.539 it is to do it for others what someone else did 00:10:15.539 --> 00:10:18.190 for you. It has nothing to do with money. It 00:10:18.190 --> 00:10:20.570 has nothing to do with time. I think it has to 00:10:20.570 --> 00:10:25.929 do with giving back and the happiness you receive 00:10:25.929 --> 00:10:29.230 from it. I think I've been most happy in my life 00:10:29.230 --> 00:10:32.549 when I'm helping people, even if it takes quite 00:10:32.549 --> 00:10:36.210 a bit of chunk out of my day. Yesterday, it's 00:10:36.210 --> 00:10:40.230 something you mentioned. I think yesterday I 00:10:40.230 --> 00:10:43.029 lost this program called Opportunities for Indians. 00:10:46.139 --> 00:10:48.960 be that mentor um give them opportunity where 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:51.860 they didn't have the skills or the guidance to 00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:55.500 to grow and provide for their families and yesterday 00:10:55.500 --> 00:10:59.100 i was the first person to go through part of 00:10:59.100 --> 00:11:01.919 that program to meet with me on a one -on -one 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:06.679 level and i met with 20 minutes and he asked 00:11:06.679 --> 00:11:09.580 me this this question he said um what do you 00:11:09.580 --> 00:11:11.299 get out of this like how do you make your money 00:11:11.299 --> 00:11:14.139 if you're giving everything away for free i'm 00:11:14.139 --> 00:11:16.460 like i'm like someone helped me so i'm helping 00:11:16.460 --> 00:11:20.139 you i'm helping you so i can um and that's how 00:11:20.139 --> 00:11:23.059 simple it was yeah it was very fulfilling in 00:11:23.059 --> 00:11:26.080 that in that in that moment so thank you for 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:28.720 sharing that yeah go ahead yeah and just to add 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:34.080 to that too i mean i feel like um Like defining 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:36.779 success, defining your mission, defining like 00:11:36.779 --> 00:11:39.240 what is important to you. Those should always 00:11:39.240 --> 00:11:41.399 be the motivating factors, because if you're 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:44.279 only driven by money, like money's going to come 00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:47.159 and go. Things are going to happen. Like look 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:50.220 at COVID. So many of us got laid off. Right. 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:56.700 So you need to be able to have certain values 00:11:56.700 --> 00:11:59.860 that are always driving you forward. The money 00:11:59.860 --> 00:12:04.179 will come. Like the money will come. But I don't 00:12:04.179 --> 00:12:06.279 think that you should only make a decision about 00:12:06.279 --> 00:12:09.320 something based on money alone. Because if you're 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:11.879 always chasing the money, you're always only 00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:17.039 doing something in exchange for money. I don't 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:23.659 know. Yeah. There's no end to that. If you're 00:12:23.659 --> 00:12:27.600 doing it for money, in the end, you're always 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:31.929 chasing the high of money. um and it comes to 00:12:31.929 --> 00:12:35.809 a point where then then you get to a place where 00:12:35.809 --> 00:12:37.429 like okay i have everything in the world like 00:12:37.429 --> 00:12:39.309 let's say you become jeff bezos of the world 00:12:39.309 --> 00:12:42.929 you can buy any yacht any mansion or let's take 00:12:42.929 --> 00:12:44.850 it even higher level you'll become one of the 00:12:44.850 --> 00:12:47.889 shakes you become a trillionaire um where you 00:12:47.889 --> 00:12:50.710 can buy own anything and everything you ever 00:12:50.710 --> 00:12:55.929 would ever want in your life now what uh is that 00:12:55.929 --> 00:12:57.509 you're gonna spend the rest of your life i guess 00:12:57.509 --> 00:13:00.519 now spending that money I mean, I guess someone 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:03.059 could do that, but I don't I don't feel I don't 00:13:03.059 --> 00:13:06.220 see that way. Yeah, I mean, I agree. I feel like 00:13:06.220 --> 00:13:08.259 that's such a tremendous opportunity to be able 00:13:08.259 --> 00:13:11.539 to invest and give back in a greater way. Like 00:13:11.539 --> 00:13:14.220 no one should be hungry. No one should be homeless. 00:13:14.340 --> 00:13:16.940 People should have access to, you know, mental 00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:21.100 health resources and and health care. You know, 00:13:21.100 --> 00:13:24.879 what a perfect world that sounds like, you know, 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:27.279 because the biggest stresses in our lives are. 00:13:28.330 --> 00:13:30.769 not having money to pay for health care, to pay 00:13:30.769 --> 00:13:32.710 for food, to pay for a shelter, to pay for clean 00:13:32.710 --> 00:13:36.450 water, right? So if we eliminate all those stressors 00:13:36.450 --> 00:13:38.850 and all those concerns and fears, then think 00:13:38.850 --> 00:13:40.730 about how much more productive we can be with 00:13:40.730 --> 00:13:43.409 our time and our thoughts and what else we could 00:13:43.409 --> 00:13:46.929 build upon. I mean, that's the place I would 00:13:46.929 --> 00:13:49.370 want to live. You know, if you ask me, yeah, 00:13:49.490 --> 00:13:53.129 the playing field would be equal. And then if 00:13:53.129 --> 00:13:57.440 it is just, I mean. The sky is truly the limit 00:13:57.440 --> 00:14:02.200 then, right? The playing field is equal. I don't 00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:05.000 know if it will ever be equal. But all I know 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.399 is that there's people who didn't have the resources 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:12.659 and the guidance necessary. So if someone does 00:14:12.659 --> 00:14:15.559 that for them, if they had the will capacity 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:20.519 and want to do better, be better, and achieve 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:23.220 something more than what people around them are 00:14:23.220 --> 00:14:26.580 doing, they would. Because if they didn't have 00:14:26.580 --> 00:14:29.299 that, now they do have certain guidance and direction. 00:14:31.460 --> 00:14:36.440 What I've found is most people, they are lazy 00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:40.700 inherently. And they don't want to do most things 00:14:40.700 --> 00:14:45.679 in the world. There's a reason that in the United 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:50.360 States, at least 4 -5 % of people are actually 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:55.720 wealthy. uh medium to low income household um 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:59.399 i i'm i was born and raised in india um and i 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:01.919 came here when i was 18. and it's very similar 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:06.379 in india too where um i think a lot of people 00:15:06.379 --> 00:15:08.899 get opportunities but they miss it because they 00:15:08.899 --> 00:15:11.340 don't know more about it they don't know what 00:15:11.340 --> 00:15:16.019 they do um but you can't teach someone how to 00:15:16.019 --> 00:15:18.779 be hard working you can't teach someone how to 00:15:18.779 --> 00:15:22.980 um focus in the right right direction you can 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:26.000 mentor a lot of people you can mentor give them 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:28.139 guidance that you didn't have or they didn't 00:15:28.139 --> 00:15:30.519 you didn't think they had but you cannot force 00:15:30.519 --> 00:15:33.639 someone's hands to do the work that needs to 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:37.360 be done to get somewhere they need to be i do 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:39.259 agree with you that we all have choices that 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:42.419 we can make in your example you asked like if 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:44.059 i had like a trillion dollars like what would 00:15:44.059 --> 00:15:49.519 i do with it and so my answer is that If we can 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:52.139 eliminate people's stressors, the main stressors 00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:55.019 are having access to food, health care, water, 00:15:55.179 --> 00:15:58.259 shelter, education, right? All these things. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:01.500 Then instead of our mind stressing on what we 00:16:01.500 --> 00:16:03.240 don't have and what we need to have and worry 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:06.679 and struggle, then I do believe that it would 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:09.759 be more equitable. And it does level the playing 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:12.399 field in the respect that everyone would have 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:15.129 access to the same opportunities. whether that 00:16:15.129 --> 00:16:18.029 be education, whether that be housing, whatever 00:16:18.029 --> 00:16:21.850 that is. I do agree that people have choices 00:16:21.850 --> 00:16:28.830 that they can make. But I think that if we all 00:16:28.830 --> 00:16:31.850 have the same access to opportunities and education, 00:16:32.730 --> 00:16:38.809 like what I was talking about before, what impacted 00:16:38.809 --> 00:16:46.110 me so much in my life was how my father modeled 00:16:46.110 --> 00:16:49.230 a lot of those great behaviors for me and instilled 00:16:49.230 --> 00:16:53.389 a lot of those values. So had he not done that, 00:16:53.470 --> 00:16:55.809 would I still be the same person? I don't know. 00:16:56.169 --> 00:16:58.629 You know, if I saw him struggle and he was negative 00:16:58.629 --> 00:17:02.049 all the time and talked about, you know, life 00:17:02.049 --> 00:17:04.710 is hard. Like, would I just accept that? Would 00:17:04.710 --> 00:17:08.650 I be different? I don't know. Right. But I don't 00:17:08.650 --> 00:17:12.579 agree that. The majority of people are lazy. 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:16.619 I think that, you know, unfortunately, there 00:17:16.619 --> 00:17:20.460 are systems that are unfair and keep people at 00:17:20.460 --> 00:17:24.619 a disadvantage is what I do think. But I think 00:17:24.619 --> 00:17:26.980 all of us want to have better for ourselves. 00:17:27.180 --> 00:17:29.599 I don't think a lot of people just choose to 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:33.640 be lazy or like want to be lazy. So that's yeah, 00:17:33.819 --> 00:17:35.740 I think people get painted the picture of being 00:17:35.740 --> 00:17:42.039 lazy because of circumstances in life. You see 00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:47.900 a lot of different the way I see it. And I agree 00:17:47.900 --> 00:17:49.460 that you share that with me, but let me share 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:53.759 my perspective on that. So if I look at it as 00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:58.759 the society is unfair to me, then I give away 00:17:58.759 --> 00:18:02.700 all my power of what I can do or could do on 00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:05.420 my part to make things better for myself and 00:18:05.420 --> 00:18:08.609 people around me. We have never lived in a time 00:18:08.609 --> 00:18:11.150 where there has been more information necessary 00:18:11.150 --> 00:18:14.630 in our fingertips that someone else did 15, 20 00:18:14.630 --> 00:18:17.970 years ago. Let me give you an example. If you 00:18:17.970 --> 00:18:20.849 go back 15, 20, 30 years ago, if someone wanted 00:18:20.849 --> 00:18:23.690 to start a business, it cost them a lot of money 00:18:23.690 --> 00:18:27.970 to do that. Now, all they need is an idea and 00:18:27.970 --> 00:18:31.130 a few hundred dollars to go advertise on Facebook. 00:18:31.430 --> 00:18:33.269 If it works, it doesn't work. It's a different 00:18:33.269 --> 00:18:36.900 case scenario to do that. take my product to 00:18:36.900 --> 00:18:39.119 someone else who needs it, who might need it. 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:42.339 If I want to learn how to do the Facebook ads, 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:45.500 there's free YouTube channels everywhere that 00:18:45.500 --> 00:18:47.640 you do that. If you don't have access to internet, 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:49.519 you can literally go to a McDonald's and sit 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:51.279 there and do that. If you don't have a device, 00:18:51.339 --> 00:18:53.339 you can go to libraries and do that. There's 00:18:53.339 --> 00:18:55.960 a lot of access to people. There's a difference 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:59.859 between people without homes, which is a very, 00:18:59.900 --> 00:19:02.319 very small population of people, and without 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:04.480 food, which is also a very small population of 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:10.450 people. Jesus mentioned in the Bible, I can't 00:19:10.450 --> 00:19:16.869 remember the exact phrase. Was it Jesus? No, 00:19:16.869 --> 00:19:18.710 I don't think it was Jesus. Let's not even quote 00:19:18.710 --> 00:19:20.910 it then if we're not sure about the Bible. Yeah, 00:19:20.930 --> 00:19:25.450 but let's quote it quite a bit, right? You can 00:19:25.450 --> 00:19:28.829 give people fish or you can teach people how 00:19:28.829 --> 00:19:33.029 to fish so they can feed the whole village. I 00:19:33.029 --> 00:19:37.759 take it that way. Instead of giving someone the 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:41.299 food for the rest of their life, you teach them 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:43.319 how to fish so they can feed themselves and the 00:19:43.319 --> 00:19:45.940 people around them at the same time. That's how 00:19:45.940 --> 00:19:48.779 my approach is and that's how I take it. Yeah. 00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:51.420 Well, that's that's why I care so much about 00:19:51.420 --> 00:19:55.250 mentorship, because. Right. Like there are there 00:19:55.250 --> 00:19:57.549 are people who unfortunately don't have the same 00:19:57.549 --> 00:20:00.829 access to certain things that I've had the privilege 00:20:00.829 --> 00:20:03.789 of having opportunities for. So that's why I 00:20:03.789 --> 00:20:06.430 appreciate that I have that opportunity to serve 00:20:06.430 --> 00:20:09.470 others and serve as a mentor so that way I can 00:20:09.470 --> 00:20:13.369 inspire people and hopefully ignite that excitement 00:20:13.369 --> 00:20:17.400 and that hope. um to change and make an impact 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:20.359 and serve our community right telling about our 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:22.960 conversation about how to serve our community 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:27.359 um so yeah mentorship is is a great way and um 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:30.160 you know fortunately there are a lot of programs 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:34.160 out there where you know people are in underserved 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:38.269 community or they don't have the means to um 00:20:38.269 --> 00:20:40.910 study or go through other programs like there 00:20:40.910 --> 00:20:43.990 are a lot of associations who provide um free 00:20:43.990 --> 00:20:46.769 mentorship programs so if they have if they want 00:20:46.769 --> 00:20:50.089 to make a choice and they have um the the willpower 00:20:50.089 --> 00:20:54.029 to want to change um there are resources available 00:20:54.029 --> 00:20:56.289 for them and i appreciate that we have those 00:20:56.289 --> 00:21:00.549 and um i'm glad i can help do my very small part 00:21:00.549 --> 00:21:03.609 in in supporting those organizations who do that 00:21:03.609 --> 00:21:06.410 you know that's really important Thank you for 00:21:06.410 --> 00:21:08.430 being here today. I'm really happy that you tuned 00:21:08.430 --> 00:21:10.710 in to Vision Pros Live. I'm looking forward to 00:21:10.710 --> 00:21:14.009 seeing your reactions as these episodes continue 00:21:14.009 --> 00:21:15.769 to move forward. This is going to get more and 00:21:15.769 --> 00:21:17.829 more fun. We'll have more and more engagement 00:21:17.829 --> 00:21:19.910 as well. We'll invite people to participate in 00:21:19.910 --> 00:21:22.069 the show. And thank you for giving us your time 00:21:22.069 --> 00:21:24.349 and attention. Have an excellent time building 00:21:24.349 --> 00:21:26.690 out your vision and becoming a vision pro yourself.