1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,320 Hey guys, welcome back to Technically Short, to the final episode of our Why Are You Here 2 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:12,320 series. 3 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:19,040 In this episode, I get to have an amazing conversation with my friend, Taylor Fink. 4 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:27,480 He talks about his experiences of going through alcoholism and how he is using that experience 5 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:34,520 and how God helped him work through that to now be able to help other people going through 6 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:40,280 the same thing and how he believes that is part of the purpose on his life. 7 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:47,400 I get to discover some things about getting to record again after about a month and I 8 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:52,400 share a couple of vulnerable things about that experience. 9 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:58,080 So guys, again, we say it all the time, take out your notebook, take some notes or your 10 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:02,080 phone, notepad app, whatever you want to do, and we'll see you in there. 11 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:03,080 All right. 12 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:12,880 Hey guys, welcome to this episode of Technically Short. 13 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:17,320 I'm here without Sean. 14 00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:23,400 But I am here with a guest co-host, Taylor Fink. 15 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:28,360 It's weird and also you might not know this, so you might know this, I'm not really sure. 16 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:30,840 I haven't recorded an episode in like a month. 17 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:38,680 This is the first episode that's been recorded since Sean went into basic training. 18 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,480 It feels a little weird, to be honest. 19 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:48,320 But I think we're continuing on with this series on why are you here? 20 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:55,360 I asked Taylor a while ago and if we wanted to talk about this, he said yes. 21 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:57,640 So I was like, let's do it. 22 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:05,440 So Taylor, for those who don't know you, I'll give a little bit of a background. 23 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:11,800 I've known Taylor for a few years now and we've served together at church in production 24 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:19,360 for our young adult group during Sundays. 25 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:21,720 He has a servant heart. 26 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:25,080 You can tell that he wants to help people. 27 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:31,840 From the conversations I've gotten with him, he just wants to. 28 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,200 He is taking his own personal experiences and struggles and helping other people get 29 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:36,200 through similar things. 30 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:40,360 And maybe we'll dive into that a little bit if we get to that. 31 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:53,240 So Taylor is just a man who serves God with this utmost of integrity and he takes his 32 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:59,040 serving seriously whenever he's serving on mixing broadcast audio, which I think is really 33 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:00,040 cool. 34 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:04,320 He's just great all around. 35 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:10,520 So guys, welcome Taylor Fink to the Technically Short podcast. 36 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,080 I'm glad to be here. 37 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:14,680 Thank you for asking me, Thomas. 38 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:16,560 For sure, man. 39 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:21,880 So I give you a little introduction, but for those who don't know you, why don't you like 40 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:25,600 ... and maybe that wasn't enough for them to know who you are. 41 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,800 Why don't you give them a little bit of a background of who Taylor Fink is? 42 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:45,080 So for me, I've grown up going to church and had great family, great parents, two younger 43 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:47,800 siblings. 44 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:59,520 I've just always had a giving heart and wanting to help others and trying to learn how to 45 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:17,600 do that growing up and just went down a difficult path seeking that and kind of have thankfully 46 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:24,980 gotten back on the right path over the past few years with being in recovery and Alcoholics 47 00:04:24,980 --> 00:04:30,640 Anonymous and just have grown exponentially. 48 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:44,240 I have many different passions in life with being musical and creative with writing, especially 49 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:53,120 poetry and just being able to serve at church and help others that have gone through similar 50 00:04:53,120 --> 00:05:02,880 experiences myself as I have and getting the opportunity recently to speak at AA meetings 51 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:11,480 and just being able to give back from all that I've received and been blessed with in 52 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:12,480 life. 53 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:13,480 Yeah, man. 54 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:22,680 That's what I was referring to about you get to speak at AA meetings and things like that. 55 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:29,280 You get the opportunity and God gives you that position to help others, to help others 56 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:36,720 who are going through what you've gone through and what he still in some respects still bring 57 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:37,720 you through. 58 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:38,720 Yeah, definitely. 59 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:47,040 But it's funny, as I was talking just a little bit ago, a bit of a tangent that that's how 60 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:57,360 I work, but I was thinking in past episodes, I've talked about how this is not strictly 61 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:02,560 a Christian podcast, but is a podcast that has been created by Christians. 62 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:10,240 Sean and I are both Christians and we talk about God a lot, but we don't advertise this 63 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:11,640 as a Christian podcast. 64 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:13,600 We advertise this as a podcast. 65 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:16,360 It's how I'm wrapping it in. 66 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:24,080 A podcast that provides the tools that people can use and sometimes need to use in order 67 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,040 to pursue the calling that is on their lives. 68 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,640 We believe that calling comes from God and that's the purpose of the series that we're 69 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:36,080 in is the calling, the purpose that's on your life. 70 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:45,040 In your mind, I don't know if I connected that well, but in your mind, whenever you're 71 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:50,280 talking about purpose, what do you think it is and what do you think the purpose of purpose 72 00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:51,280 is? 73 00:06:51,280 --> 00:07:05,160 Of purpose, it's just trying to piece together meaning to have that drive or that fire in 74 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:15,840 life and just whatever is on your heart or whatever you feel like you're being called 75 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:25,640 or led to do in life, just trying to pursue that passion or if you haven't found it yet, 76 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:36,880 just trying to pursue and experiment or trying to figure out as you go along this journey 77 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:50,560 of life, that deeper meaning through finding what your passion is in life. 78 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:58,480 I'm like, since it's been such a long time since I've recorded, I love this. 79 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:04,240 I love this because I get to have these conversations that are doing exactly what I believe my purpose 80 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:08,480 is and I believe my purpose is to provide those tools to people. 81 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,600 I'm tearing up right now because I'm having so much fun right now. 82 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:13,160 We've only been recording for five minutes. 83 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:14,600 I'm like, oh my gosh. 84 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:15,600 I feel that fire. 85 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:21,040 That's how I know I'm on a path that I want to be on. 86 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:28,360 I have so much happening in my personal life right now, in other areas of my life. 87 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:32,440 It doesn't make me ignore that, but the fire I have for this particular thing, but it makes 88 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:41,240 me realize even if everything seems to fall apart, I know what direction I'm headed. 89 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:45,080 I know what purpose is on my life and it's such a good feeling to know that whenever 90 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:48,320 I'm like, man, this actually feels really good to be in this position. 91 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:58,280 I had a couple episodes ago, for me, a month and a half ago, recorded an episode with Meg 92 00:08:58,280 --> 00:08:59,280 Correal. 93 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:08,840 She was like, Thomas, we have words of exaltation, which I did to you in a different way earlier 94 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:09,840 in the podcast. 95 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:15,560 She was like, Thomas and Sean, I'm going to do that for you now at the end. 96 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:17,560 I was like, oh, okay. 97 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:22,680 She looked at me and she was like, Thomas, you were telling me years ago how you wanted 98 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:29,200 to help people and coach people and give people these things and you're doing it. 99 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:31,240 I never thought about it that way. 100 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,760 I was like, holy cow. 101 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,760 Man, purpose is cool. 102 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:44,200 It becomes so natural. 103 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:45,200 That's what purpose is. 104 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:48,920 It's a natural response to that spark you end up getting. 105 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:50,960 I'm really tearing up right now. 106 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:54,880 It's that natural response that you get whenever you feel that spark. 107 00:09:54,880 --> 00:10:02,440 Man, have you... I'll talk a little bit less. 108 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:11,880 It wasn't the question that I said, but whenever you talk about the spark, what do you think? 109 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:14,880 Have you felt that before? 110 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:16,280 Definitely. 111 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:25,400 With having the opportunity to speak, especially being more of a quiet, introverted person 112 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:32,840 myself, it feels natural. 113 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:36,040 In a way, effortless. 114 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:43,600 Everything's falling into place, especially through writing as well, writing a lot of 115 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:44,600 poetry. 116 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:47,880 It's not forced. 117 00:10:47,880 --> 00:11:01,080 It just comes naturally with whatever that thing is in your life. 118 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:07,480 Even the discovery and the trying to figure out what that is can be exciting and just 119 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:11,680 inspiring to get out there. 120 00:11:11,680 --> 00:11:19,320 Being able to help somebody else is so rewarding. 121 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:29,520 Being able to connect with like-minded people and have somebody else be transformed by something 122 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:36,680 that you did and having that chain reaction through you helping somebody and then somebody 123 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:46,360 else being able to help another person and so on, it's just beautiful to have that purpose 124 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:51,080 unfold wherever you're called. 125 00:11:51,080 --> 00:12:03,920 I know feeling like multiple callings in life in different directions, but it's so rewarding 126 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:14,400 and just having the opportunity and not getting in the way of what God has planned and starting 127 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:21,480 to have that confidence in myself and just receive what God has blessed me with and not 128 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:29,360 diminish the call that He has placed for me. 129 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:37,520 Just continuing on that on the daily process. 130 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:46,800 It's every day you're learning something new and just continuing on and being that work 131 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:54,520 in progress until I die essentially. 132 00:12:54,520 --> 00:13:02,800 I think whenever you think about... You're talking about from your experience and your 133 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:03,800 purpose. 134 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:11,120 The goal of anybody's purpose is to serve people in some sort of way. 135 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:14,440 Your purpose isn't just for you. 136 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:18,960 If other people aren't being affected by your purpose, you're not actually living in your 137 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:19,960 purpose. 138 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:24,640 You're just doing whatever people say you do you. 139 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:25,640 That's what you're doing. 140 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:31,400 You're not in your purpose if you're just doing you. 141 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:39,160 I've always disliked that term to be honest. 142 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:44,600 I think you're talking about whenever you get to help one person and you get to help 143 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:54,880 one person in the way that aligns with your purpose, you get to help them figure out... If 144 00:13:54,880 --> 00:14:03,040 you get to help them aligns with their purpose, aligns with your purpose, you get to help 145 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:08,720 them in a way that somebody else might not have been able to. 146 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:15,520 You also get to help them possibly... Maybe figure out the purpose if that's part of your 147 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:16,520 purpose. 148 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:26,360 I think in more of a generic sense, when you help somebody through your purpose, you're 149 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:32,160 serving them from the best angle you can. 150 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:37,440 You're giving them something that they can then take and pass on. 151 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:42,320 It's not going to be exactly the same thing that they receive when they give it. 152 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,480 It's going to be something that's aligned with... Hopefully aligned with their purpose. 153 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:50,240 I'm just trying to think of... I use that kind of like that spider web effect that happens 154 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:51,240 that cause an effect. 155 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,240 I thought it was really cool, so I wanted to feed off of it. 156 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:59,560 I started to ramble, so I'm going to ask you a second question. 157 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:04,400 We all started about the spark and this wasn't on the thing either, but do you remember that 158 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:05,400 the first time you felt it? 159 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:14,320 I don't know if I remember the first time, but just having that feeling of confirmation 160 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:21,320 or of assurance, just knowing that I'm in the right place at the right time and being 161 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:31,720 able to help somebody else or to say something or somebody speaking life into me and knowing 162 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:37,880 that I'm on the right path and not just wondering, is this where I need to be or am I doing the 163 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:48,320 right thing or just not having to worry about where I'm at, just knowing or just that feeling 164 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:55,000 that comes out, that warm feeling of... or goosebumps or whatever it may feel like. 165 00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:00,080 It might be different for everybody, but yeah. 166 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:08,360 You don't know that you're in that moment when you're in that moment. 167 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:14,040 I've talked to people I've sent out of pockets before about when I realized... I started 168 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:23,880 to realize... I just had this weird natural... I got interested in philosophy and I was 169 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,280 through a YouTube video that I watched from PewDiePie. 170 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:31,360 I was like... I think we did a book review and I was on a Nick and Kenan Ethics and I 171 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,360 was like, man, that sounds kind of cool. 172 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,800 I bought the book and I was like, wow, this is really cool. 173 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,000 Then I just started to be down into the path and eventually it led me to wanting to be 174 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:41,000 a coach. 175 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:45,560 It led me to do this podcast in the way that we're doing it now. 176 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:49,640 I can think back and actually track it, which is kind of cool. 177 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:55,440 I can track the trajectory that Matt set me on. 178 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:56,440 God lined it up. 179 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:03,920 It's cool to think about how God lines things up whenever you think... I was with PewDiePie 180 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,240 for years before that and just that one video that sparked me. 181 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,240 I was like, huh. 182 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:23,800 Anyway, when it comes to purpose in your life and your... I think you've talked a lot about 183 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:28,920 your purpose being aligned with what you're doing at the AA meetings and how you get to 184 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,560 speak at those. 185 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:41,160 Do you have a... If you had to, and this might be hard to do right now, so no worries. 186 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:46,160 Do you have more of a definite idea of what your purpose is or is it more of a... Is 187 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:49,440 it like, I'm just... Right now I'm meant to do this. 188 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,360 I'm meant to help people through this. 189 00:17:52,360 --> 00:18:02,640 Yeah, through having the opportunity to speak and just starting to have those experience 190 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:10,640 in my past before coming into recovery and even now having some time in recovery just 191 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:20,360 over a few years, but I just celebrated a year recently again. 192 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:28,200 Having newcomers that are coming in now, being able to share my experience with them and 193 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:36,880 starting to see others grow and blossom as they go along this journey as well. 194 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:48,440 Yeah, it's beautiful to see others from where I was at to see where somebody else that is 195 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:56,400 at the same point and then watching them grow is like kind of looking in the mirror, being 196 00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:06,360 able to see myself through that and through the poetry being able to write and kind of 197 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:16,320 put myself in different perspectives and being able to empathize with people that may have 198 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:22,800 gone through something that I went through in the past and possibly be able to connect 199 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:27,520 with others even beyond a... Yeah, I think it's cool that you're using 200 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:32,520 these gifts that God gave you, like being able to write poetry and your artistic ability 201 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:33,520 of writing poetry. 202 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:41,440 You can... I don't know, maybe one day you'll figure out how to use drumming for it, but 203 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:46,000 you're realizing all these things you can use as tools to feed into your purpose and 204 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:50,760 feed into how you can help other people and serve others. 205 00:19:50,760 --> 00:20:02,720 There's this one thing with particular leadership, there's this thing like a good leader doesn't 206 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:10,080 sit, stand at the top of the mountain, but a good leader walks back down and then guides 207 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,480 them back up because they know where the pitfalls are. 208 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:13,480 Right. 209 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:17,760 Don't step over there, don't step over there like you'll get into Jaggerbush. 210 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:23,240 Don't... Oh, there's a cliff over there, you're going to fall back down if you go there, 211 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:24,240 if you go that route. 212 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:25,240 That's exactly what you're doing. 213 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:26,240 That's what you're saying. 214 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:31,440 I see this person where I was and you're walking back down the mountain so you can walk up 215 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:36,960 next to them and pick them up when they fall and be there for them. 216 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:44,960 You're using that gift that God gave you of recovery to be able to help other people and 217 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:49,360 help God give people that same gift. 218 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:58,960 You're an instrument for that. 219 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:09,840 I think there's a lot of... I'm trying to think of the word. 220 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:11,840 There's a lot of credence. 221 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:15,080 That's not the same word I was thinking of, but that makes sense. 222 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:17,080 There's a lot of credence to that. 223 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:22,320 There's a lot of... You get a lot out of thinking. 224 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:28,880 Anybody can think of what have I gone through because I know I'm not the only one. 225 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,800 Like me with my medical condition, it would be so cool one day. 226 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:32,800 Get through this. 227 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:36,840 I know there's other people out there that have already gone through this part of having 228 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:41,880 muscular dystonia, if that's what I have, like Dr. Torchoria, but having just chronic 229 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:45,920 pain will say there's millions and millions of people that have gone through it and have 230 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:49,360 gone through the other side where they're managing it now or have completely got rid 231 00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:51,800 of it and helping other people get to that point. 232 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,080 I would love to be one of those people. 233 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:59,160 I would do it in a way that aligns with the purpose that God has on my life. 234 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:07,680 To be able to be like, yeah, I know it sucks, but I also know where you have the potential 235 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:09,720 to get to. 236 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:23,800 That's a really cool feeling to think about that. 237 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:29,520 I want to ask my other questions, but at the same time, it's like it's really such a pivot, 238 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:30,520 a hard pivot. 239 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:31,520 But like, oh man. 240 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:38,200 Well, before I go on, do you have anything you would want to add? 241 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:45,280 Yeah, I was thinking of a book that I had read a little while ago, Fathered by God by 242 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:52,200 John Eldridge, just those different stages of life where you're as a kid and then growing 243 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:59,360 to become an adult and then as an adult being able to help others and just those different 244 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:08,840 stages of life where you are served and then you're able to serve others and being able 245 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:12,920 to utilize your life experiences. 246 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:22,360 Whether you're in Alcoholics Anonymous or another fellowship, we all crave that fellowship of 247 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:30,280 being able to find people that are like-minded and maybe have gone through different experiences 248 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:39,720 or different trauma and just being able to heal ourselves and then utilizing those experiences 249 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:44,280 to help others. 250 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:55,640 In AA, something that I've heard, that dark past can become our most valued possession 251 00:23:55,640 --> 00:24:04,240 and being able to bring back that life and somebody else and then continuing that chain 252 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:10,200 reaction from person to person over time. 253 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,800 That's really cool. 254 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:15,400 I love it. 255 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:21,840 I love the idea you can use that dark past because people are always like, you don't 256 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:31,440 know at the time, but there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. 257 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:32,800 We believe that God's that light. 258 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:36,520 We believe that God's that guiding force, that guiding power. 259 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,680 He puts light on our path and guides our steps. 260 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:47,880 Even whenever we're not saying explicitly, even if we're full on, don't believe in the 261 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:50,480 say we're in the point of our lives, we're not following Christ at all. 262 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:55,240 A lot of times when we're in those dark, not all the time, but sometimes we're in those 263 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,720 dark spots because we're not following God. 264 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:03,480 Then we look back and if you get to that point where you're following Christ and you can 265 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:09,320 look back and be like, wow, God actually brought me through that. 266 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,280 I never thought I was going to get out of it. 267 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,280 I don't know where I'd be otherwise. 268 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:22,240 Again, I'm kind of rambling, but I just... I don't know. 269 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:23,240 It's cool. 270 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:27,880 I think back to him, it's like, wow. 271 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:29,440 I wrote down that book you mentioned. 272 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:32,240 You said Fathered by God by John Eldridge? 273 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:33,240 Yes. 274 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:38,240 Okay, cool. 275 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:46,600 I think one of the questions I have here is talking about... You've gone through struggles 276 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:47,600 and you've already mentioned that. 277 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,600 That's a big part of your testimony. 278 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:58,640 That's a big part of your... That's a big part of your personal... Is your past struggles. 279 00:25:58,640 --> 00:25:59,640 Correct. 280 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:10,480 During those times, you're not really thinking purpose when you're in the dark. 281 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:18,840 Yeah, you're not comprehending that at all. 282 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:25,640 If you could go back to that person, to go back to you, or talk to the person that whenever 283 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:30,360 you feel like you're looking into a mirror, what do you typically say to the person? 284 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:36,400 It's not something that particularly maybe has to do with something with purpose, but 285 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:42,840 to show somebody and to help people understand that they're valued and that they have value 286 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:43,840 and that they have a purpose. 287 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:50,400 Then eventually that would help them understand that they have a purpose. 288 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,440 What do you typically say to somebody? 289 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,960 If you were like somebody who was like, man, I just don't feel like I have anything going 290 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:57,960 on. 291 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:02,600 I don't feel like I have a purpose and I don't feel like there's any reason for me to be 292 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:03,600 here. 293 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:05,480 What would you say? 294 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:15,600 Just try to be encouraging. 295 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:23,000 For me, in that darkness, it's hard to see anything, really. 296 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:30,520 Just being stuck in that and not really having a will to live or kind of being afraid to 297 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:34,600 live but scared to die in a way. 298 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:42,440 And like, why am I even here? 299 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:53,000 But by the grace of God, just through the chain of events that have happened in my life 300 00:27:53,000 --> 00:28:02,120 and just looking for something different or a better way of living and stumbling upon 301 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:18,320 recovery and being surrounded by so many great men and women and being poured into. 302 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:25,320 It's hard to say one specific thing that you might say, but depending on the case that 303 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:34,880 you're dealing with or the circumstances that somebody's going through and just allowing 304 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:43,840 God to speak or to work through you to be able to… because God knows what needs to 305 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:47,840 be said or what needs to happen. 306 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:58,400 I don't have the words, but as long as I'm willing to be a vessel for God and allow him 307 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:08,000 to work through me, that's when I can be utilized to say something encouraging or to 308 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:15,240 be able to give something to somebody else. 309 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:21,920 And again, in AA they say you can't keep it unless you give it away. 310 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:34,040 And just being able to give back from all that I've been blessed with and given, it's 311 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:42,440 just now being able to see that cycle, it's beautiful. 312 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:52,840 I know going through it, it's tough and it seems like it's never ending. 313 00:29:52,840 --> 00:30:00,200 And just going after those pleasurable things of drinking and smoking and other substance 314 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:09,760 and just trying to find the solution, trying to find an outward solution for an inside 315 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:21,280 job because ultimately for alcoholism that disease starts in the mind. 316 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:33,080 Alcohol is but a symptom and I have to look inwardly to be able to rectify and to start 317 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:41,840 to heal and being connected with other people that have gone through similar things and 318 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:57,960 hearing their experiences and just surrendering to God or as they say in AA your higher power. 319 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:06,640 It's just beautiful to be able to see that now. 320 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:18,040 I just have to process that because what you mentioned, I think it was really good, essentially 321 00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:34,480 don't look for external solutions for an internal problem and I'm like, dude, that's deep. 322 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:36,600 But it's real. 323 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:44,520 That starts in the mind and it starts in the mind and it affects your soul and your spirit. 324 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:47,480 If you can't get your mind right, you're not going to get your body right. 325 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:51,240 You're not going to get your soul right or vice versa. 326 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:58,040 You get your soul right, get your mind right, lead you to get your body right and help you 327 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,720 get your life right. 328 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:09,080 You deal with the internal and the external follow. 329 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:12,800 When my life changed, I never relied on alcohol. 330 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:21,160 It's part of our society to rely on alcohol to be like, oh man, I had a special rough 331 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:24,480 day, get me a beer. 332 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:26,680 That was the culture I grew up in. 333 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:31,800 I'm not sure you could say grew up in, but I wasn't in college. 334 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:36,680 My dad was more like, I need a beer so I can fall asleep because it helps me sleep. 335 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:42,200 Now he knows, yeah, that probably wasn't the best thing. 336 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:44,400 It's not the right kind of sleep. 337 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:50,680 It's not the right kind of tired. 338 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:56,240 Once I shifted my life, me, I started going in more with Christ. 339 00:32:56,240 --> 00:33:05,560 I was never addicted to alcohol, but my craving for it just fell away. 340 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:13,000 I tried, I'll have very small drinks every now and then, very minor. 341 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:15,800 I literally had maybe a couple ounces at my parents' house. 342 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:16,800 I had some whiskey. 343 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:17,800 I went to try it. 344 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:18,800 It was from the 60s. 345 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:23,800 I was like, sure. 346 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:31,440 The ancient stuff. 347 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:34,440 My craving disappeared. 348 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:38,720 One reason was I don't want to spend the money on beer because it's expensive. 349 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,720 If I drink beer, it's an IPA. 350 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:43,720 That's expensive. 351 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:49,440 I remember my last beer run was $74 because I only bought IPAs. 352 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:52,440 I wasn't keeping a budget. 353 00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:57,440 I looked at it and I was like, oh, that's a lot of money. 354 00:33:57,440 --> 00:33:58,440 Cool. 355 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:03,200 When I moved to the place I'm at now, I literally threw away all of my bottles. 356 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:05,640 I was like, man, those have been sitting in my cabinet for two years. 357 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:10,360 I was going to throw them away because they were going to take up space at this point. 358 00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:11,360 I just tossed them. 359 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:12,360 I was like, whatever. 360 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:14,360 I tossed a couple bottles of stuff. 361 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:20,520 That's probably the 10% that I consider that what I want to keep. 362 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:24,560 Sure, if I ever try that, if everyone wants it, it's there. 363 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:25,960 Everything else is gone. 364 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:28,960 You keep the 10% of the stuff. 365 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:29,960 I'm like, cool. 366 00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:36,360 I still haven't had an actual full drink in years. 367 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:38,080 I'm not trying to put myself on any pedals. 368 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:43,520 I'm just thinking about when you get your life right, all these things are for changing. 369 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:50,280 You're things that you go to for... We're kind of off the talking purpose, but we're 370 00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:51,280 like, I don't care. 371 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:52,280 Very good. 372 00:34:52,280 --> 00:35:00,160 I don't want to speak to... We can talk to each other. 373 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:06,600 You can talk to the listener, but listeners, hopefully you get more than one. 374 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:07,600 It's just one. 375 00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:08,600 I hope you're having a good time. 376 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:17,440 I hope you're learning a lot and your life is being made better as a result. 377 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:24,280 When I personally accepted Christ into my life and started getting my life in a better 378 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:28,520 position, the natural response without me even thinking about it was for things that 379 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:32,960 were unhealthy for me to do to fall away. 380 00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:35,920 For me to actually think more about things like, what is the calling? 381 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:37,360 It's on my life. 382 00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:43,120 Why am I here? 383 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:47,880 It caused me to be like, man, I just kind of went with the flow of what everybody says 384 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:50,880 to do. 385 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:56,960 It feels like I became aware of the matrix. 386 00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:00,920 Wait a second. 387 00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:02,360 Is this really what's happening? 388 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:03,360 Is this really it? 389 00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:08,360 That's literally how I feel. 390 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:14,960 I'm not like some people who believe we're in the matrix, but it's like I woke up. 391 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:15,960 I went to college. 392 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:19,280 I went to high school. 393 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:20,280 I went to college. 394 00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:21,280 I got a job. 395 00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:24,280 At one point, I had a girlfriend. 396 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:30,340 I'm like, wow, that's what you're supposed to do. 397 00:36:30,340 --> 00:36:31,920 That's what life is. 398 00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:35,280 That's what everybody says. 399 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:38,440 And then if you question it, people think you're weird. 400 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:41,520 And I'm like, good, I hate normal. 401 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:46,520 Like, normal, like, nobody, nobody ever succeeded 402 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:50,280 by being normal. 403 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:53,060 Boom, mic drop. 404 00:36:53,060 --> 00:36:55,720 Like, I've never ever did anything awesome 405 00:36:55,720 --> 00:36:57,240 by being a normal human being. 406 00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:00,200 Cause normal people are boring. 407 00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:03,400 And normal people, like, maybe they copy stuff 408 00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:05,240 and it's nothing worthwhile. 409 00:37:05,240 --> 00:37:09,600 I'm hitting so many, I'm probably making people angry. 410 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:11,440 If some people, I'll probably make somebody angry. 411 00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:13,280 But that's fine. 412 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:15,280 That's fine, you can be angry, it's okay. 413 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:16,400 You don't have to listen. 414 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:19,840 Don't give me a one star, those are worthless. 415 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:22,840 We don't need one star reviews. 416 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,200 Give us a five star though, I didn't say that yet. 417 00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:32,200 But like, man, like, I lost my whole train of thought. 418 00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:37,200 But like, the whole purpose of purpose, right? 419 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:43,320 It's the whole purpose of purpose to, it is like, 420 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:46,680 like maybe it is doing what everybody else does, 421 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:51,200 but with a different realization of like, 422 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:52,640 I'm actually gonna use this in a different way. 423 00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:54,120 Like, it is, for many people, like, 424 00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:55,440 we need people to be at desktop. 425 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:57,140 We need people to be like developers 426 00:37:57,140 --> 00:37:59,780 and like construction workers and stuff like that. 427 00:37:59,780 --> 00:38:04,480 And to go along that normal, quote unquote normal path. 428 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:08,320 But we need the people who are staying the gap, 429 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:11,080 who are like, I'm not just here to go with the flow. 430 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:13,640 I'm here to make a difference. 431 00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:15,440 I'm here to help other people 432 00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:16,820 get through their struggles like you. 433 00:38:16,820 --> 00:38:21,620 We're here to like, we're here to make, 434 00:38:23,300 --> 00:38:24,840 I'm not here to just do the job, 435 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:26,960 I'm here to do it with excellence. 436 00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:31,000 Because that's why I'm here. 437 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:33,040 I'm here to do an excellent, 438 00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:34,800 I'm here to do an excellent job 439 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:37,400 because I'm not here for me, I'm here for the kingdom. 440 00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:40,560 I'm not here for the, I'm not here for me, 441 00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:42,280 I'm here for the people around me, you know? 442 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:44,280 Like, it's not just, ah! 443 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:49,280 I like, like, when you finally, like, 444 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:54,320 sometimes you just wanna like, tell people to wake up. 445 00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:55,160 Right. 446 00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:58,020 And be like, guys, like, this is not all there is. 447 00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:01,080 Like, there's more to your life 448 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:02,680 than what you're doing right now. 449 00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:04,880 No matter what you're doing, there's more to life. 450 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:05,720 Yeah. 451 00:39:05,720 --> 00:39:06,540 There's always more. 452 00:39:06,540 --> 00:39:08,520 And like, not saying you should always try 453 00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:10,060 to get to the new thing, the new shiny thing, 454 00:39:10,060 --> 00:39:11,960 but I'm like, there's always, like, 455 00:39:12,880 --> 00:39:15,240 like, your purpose isn't just, it isn't in the box. 456 00:39:15,240 --> 00:39:17,840 Your purpose, like, I love what John Maxwell says. 457 00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:19,520 I said it on the podcast before. 458 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:20,680 I know, I'm talking a lot. 459 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:23,120 And I wanna, I wanna, I wanna you to say something. 460 00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:24,200 I wanna see if you have something. 461 00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:26,880 But like, John Maxwell says, 462 00:39:26,880 --> 00:39:29,260 a calling is a purpose with a divine touch. 463 00:39:30,180 --> 00:39:31,800 I don't think, you know, he says it all the time. 464 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:32,760 Don't know if he still said it. 465 00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:33,600 He said it once. 466 00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:36,520 I'm like, he said it at least once. 467 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:41,520 But, but like, I'm like, man, a calling, 468 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:43,920 for people who don't really know where, 469 00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:45,720 how I got to that, like, thought process, 470 00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:47,240 they ended up coming to that point. 471 00:39:47,240 --> 00:39:49,720 I'm like, I know, I know it might not make sense. 472 00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:51,880 I'm like, how I came to, like, John Maxwell said this thing 473 00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:53,080 after everything I just said. 474 00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:56,600 But like, like, just think about that. 475 00:39:56,600 --> 00:39:59,440 The purpose, like, if your purpose, 476 00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:02,400 I already said, if your purpose isn't bigger than you, 477 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:03,240 then it's not a purpose. 478 00:40:03,240 --> 00:40:07,920 But I think what the case John Maxwell was making was, 479 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:11,880 if your purpose is bigger than you, then it's a calling. 480 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,680 And I feel that other people can say other things. 481 00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:18,920 Like, I think your purpose goes with you everywhere you go 482 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:22,280 and get out multiple callings for the same purpose. 483 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:26,440 And there's, and like, but you can think about that 484 00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:28,360 in any way you want. 485 00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:30,520 Like, or seriously, like, I think there's, 486 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:32,360 I've heard like, during this series, 487 00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:33,880 I've heard people say, like, 488 00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:36,200 their perspective on purpose. 489 00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:37,480 And I think they're all right. 490 00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:39,200 Like, I don't think any of them are wrong. 491 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:43,840 I'm just like, but I'm like, people have this purpose 492 00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:45,280 that goes with them everywhere they go. 493 00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:50,280 And like, they're calling, like, and they're calling, 494 00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:54,560 and I don't know if there's one calling, you know? 495 00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:59,560 Yeah, there's, you could have like, 496 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:04,760 numerous different callings in life. 497 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:09,200 Like, in one season you could be here, 498 00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:14,200 and then the next over here, or wherever life may lead, 499 00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:17,560 as God leads you through life. 500 00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:21,520 And everybody has a different perspective 501 00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:24,640 and different experiences in life 502 00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:29,240 and different outlook on what they perceive purpose 503 00:41:29,240 --> 00:41:30,760 and calling to be. 504 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:31,880 Yeah. 505 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:36,880 And having those awakenings in life 506 00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:44,440 and being able to see life for what it really is, 507 00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:49,440 not like being stuck and having the blinders on 508 00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:53,840 and not being able to see clearly, 509 00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:58,840 and starting to see like the spiritual realm 510 00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:03,840 in the physical world is like, 511 00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:08,840 you see so much more than what people 512 00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:10,200 that aren't aware of that. 513 00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:11,040 Yeah. 514 00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:14,000 And it's like, how can you see that? 515 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:15,240 How can't you see that? 516 00:42:15,240 --> 00:42:19,080 But if you're looking at it from their perspective, 517 00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:22,360 they just aren't awake to that. 518 00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:25,760 They're still like, I guess in a way asleep. 519 00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:26,600 Yeah. 520 00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:31,600 And just have to kind of understand that in a way, 521 00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:37,640 just trying to look at things 522 00:42:37,640 --> 00:42:40,640 through different perspectives or something 523 00:42:40,640 --> 00:42:44,760 that just popped into my head. 524 00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:48,880 Hearing from Jaco Willink, 525 00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:53,880 he in one of his podcasts 526 00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:57,840 mentioned about being able to detach 527 00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:02,840 and being in the military 528 00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:07,200 and being able to take a step back in that chaotic moment 529 00:43:07,200 --> 00:43:10,120 and being able to analyze the situation, 530 00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:12,120 like detaching from the emotion 531 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:15,200 and seeing things clearly 532 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:17,280 and being able to move forward 533 00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:21,520 and progress through that, 534 00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:24,400 whether it's chaotic or not, 535 00:43:26,240 --> 00:43:30,720 just handling each situation as they present themselves 536 00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:37,000 and continuing to proceed whatever the day might bring. 537 00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:40,760 And whether it's a hundred different things 538 00:43:40,760 --> 00:43:43,040 getting pulled in like 50 different directions 539 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:46,280 or if it's smooth sailing, 540 00:43:46,280 --> 00:43:50,280 whatever it may be, just kind of, 541 00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:54,360 and it takes a long time to get there. 542 00:43:54,360 --> 00:43:57,680 Like, I mean, something might be easier for some people, 543 00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:03,760 but there could be more callings 544 00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:06,760 that I don't even know about in my life yet 545 00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:09,200 that down the line I might discover 546 00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:14,200 and just start to learn about. 547 00:44:14,960 --> 00:44:17,000 The more I learn about myself 548 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:20,480 through taking the action daily, 549 00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:23,280 and if I'm not taking the action every day, 550 00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:26,840 then I could potentially start to go backwards 551 00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:30,840 because an analogy they use in AA, 552 00:44:30,840 --> 00:44:35,840 is like in recovery, 553 00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:38,360 you're kind of walking up and down an escalator. 554 00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:39,600 If you're not moving forward, 555 00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:41,000 then you're moving backwards. 556 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:41,840 Yeah. 557 00:44:43,640 --> 00:44:48,640 It could relate to other fat assets of life 558 00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:52,280 and just, 559 00:44:55,240 --> 00:44:59,240 because the devil or the enemy is always there 560 00:44:59,240 --> 00:45:04,240 or the enemy is always trying to take us out. 561 00:45:04,240 --> 00:45:08,240 I know I can see that more clearly now 562 00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:14,440 and seeing those different cycles where he is attacking 563 00:45:14,680 --> 00:45:19,400 or trying to utilize temptation 564 00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:24,400 or just persuade me away or a lot of, 565 00:45:25,120 --> 00:45:27,400 I know for me there's a lot of distractions 566 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:30,120 or potential distractions, 567 00:45:30,120 --> 00:45:33,520 especially with all the technology and social media 568 00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:38,040 and just the mindless scrolling 569 00:45:38,040 --> 00:45:41,720 or seeing different advertisements. 570 00:45:41,720 --> 00:45:42,560 Yeah. 571 00:45:44,360 --> 00:45:48,760 Just in different points, 572 00:45:48,760 --> 00:45:50,960 trying to be aware of that 573 00:45:50,960 --> 00:45:55,680 and to kind of sidestep it and move around it 574 00:45:55,680 --> 00:45:59,560 and be able to continue to proceed in life 575 00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:01,320 wherever I'm at, 576 00:46:01,320 --> 00:46:06,000 whether at work or in some other activity 577 00:46:07,400 --> 00:46:11,640 and just continuing to strengthen that armor 578 00:46:11,640 --> 00:46:13,640 to be able to be prepared 579 00:46:13,640 --> 00:46:15,880 for whatever there is those attacks. 580 00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:20,960 No man, that's really good. 581 00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:23,240 Like you made me think a while ago, 582 00:46:23,240 --> 00:46:25,360 I was like going off my own little world for a second 583 00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:28,240 because I'm gonna say this 584 00:46:28,240 --> 00:46:29,800 and then we probably should wrap up 585 00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:31,440 because we've been going for a while. 586 00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:33,640 I didn't realize, it's 424. 587 00:46:33,640 --> 00:46:38,280 But you made me think about my current situation 588 00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:39,680 and I'll probably maybe talk about that. 589 00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:41,760 Maybe I'll do a solo episode one time, 590 00:46:41,760 --> 00:46:42,760 through it a little bit more. 591 00:46:42,760 --> 00:46:47,760 But talking about detaching yourself 592 00:46:48,520 --> 00:46:51,600 from the situation and away from the emotion 593 00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:53,960 and what is this situation 594 00:46:53,960 --> 00:46:56,800 in its most factual true sense 595 00:46:56,800 --> 00:46:59,320 and what makes the most sense to do right now. 596 00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:02,680 And that's something I need to work on 597 00:47:02,680 --> 00:47:04,720 because I'm in a highly emotional person. 598 00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:10,800 It's not a bad thing. 599 00:47:10,800 --> 00:47:12,520 My emotions are just very prevalent 600 00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:15,320 and I feel like they're on the surface a lot of the time. 601 00:47:17,120 --> 00:47:19,840 And so it's really hard for me to do that, 602 00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:23,640 to detach myself, detach my emotions 603 00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:26,760 from the situation so I can just look at it for what it is 604 00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:31,760 and not letting it be influenced by any emotion. 605 00:47:31,920 --> 00:47:32,800 I don't wanna say good or bad 606 00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:35,000 because I don't think there are necessarily any bad emotions. 607 00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:37,200 I think God gave us all of them for a reason. 608 00:47:43,360 --> 00:47:46,600 But yeah, I think that's really, really good. 609 00:47:46,600 --> 00:47:49,080 I don't wanna, we could go longer. 610 00:47:49,080 --> 00:47:49,920 I know we could. 611 00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:53,160 So maybe we will another time 612 00:47:53,160 --> 00:47:54,000 and we'll see. 613 00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:57,800 But this was great, a fantastic conversation. 614 00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:01,840 To wrap up, Taylor, 615 00:48:01,840 --> 00:48:03,720 you already kind of mentioned a couple resources 616 00:48:03,720 --> 00:48:04,960 and I'll ask you about that podcast 617 00:48:04,960 --> 00:48:06,280 after we're done recording. 618 00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:08,800 They did mention, I'm gonna link to it. 619 00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:13,000 But what are some, 620 00:48:14,320 --> 00:48:15,720 if you have any other resources, 621 00:48:15,720 --> 00:48:16,600 when it comes to purpose, 622 00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:18,400 when it comes to helping people discover 623 00:48:18,400 --> 00:48:20,600 or get out of the rut that they're in, 624 00:48:20,600 --> 00:48:23,160 what are some really good, 625 00:48:23,160 --> 00:48:24,200 what are some resources, 626 00:48:24,200 --> 00:48:26,440 like top ones that you would recommend to people typically? 627 00:48:26,440 --> 00:48:28,960 Like books, podcasts, I mean you already mentioned both, 628 00:48:28,960 --> 00:48:31,840 but if you have any other ones that you can think of. 629 00:48:31,840 --> 00:48:35,920 Yeah, two books that come to mind. 630 00:48:35,920 --> 00:48:39,800 One I read recently is The Body Keeps the Score, 631 00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:42,920 just kind of learning about the mind 632 00:48:42,920 --> 00:48:45,560 and being able to work through trauma 633 00:48:45,560 --> 00:48:50,520 or different catastrophic events that might have occurred 634 00:48:50,520 --> 00:48:53,800 in life and being able to understand 635 00:48:53,800 --> 00:48:55,480 or start to understand the mind 636 00:48:55,480 --> 00:49:00,120 and just kind of moving forward and progressing. 637 00:49:00,120 --> 00:49:03,640 The author really articulates on that 638 00:49:03,640 --> 00:49:08,240 and just so many examples of people 639 00:49:08,240 --> 00:49:13,240 that he has worked with over time. 640 00:49:13,280 --> 00:49:15,520 Another book that I'm currently reading 641 00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:20,520 with a men's group right now 642 00:49:23,560 --> 00:49:27,200 is called How God Makes Men 643 00:49:27,200 --> 00:49:32,200 and just uses or utilizes different people from the Bible 644 00:49:34,920 --> 00:49:39,920 on how they were transformed from their situation 645 00:49:40,160 --> 00:49:42,360 and how God utilized them. 646 00:49:42,360 --> 00:49:47,360 It's just amazing, more insight on these biblical people 647 00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:58,000 and yeah, those two books, 648 00:49:59,600 --> 00:50:03,480 I haven't listened to a lot of podcasts, 649 00:50:03,480 --> 00:50:08,480 but at some point I'm kind of hoping, 650 00:50:08,480 --> 00:50:13,480 or I'm currently working on a poetry book myself 651 00:50:16,440 --> 00:50:21,440 and just with over the past few years, 652 00:50:23,080 --> 00:50:24,680 just getting into writing a lot 653 00:50:24,680 --> 00:50:29,680 and just really loving it 654 00:50:29,800 --> 00:50:34,800 and just the words kind of flow out of me at various times 655 00:50:34,800 --> 00:50:39,800 and it's crazy how God works and how God speaks 656 00:50:41,880 --> 00:50:44,520 and just being able to utilize that. 657 00:50:44,520 --> 00:50:49,520 So at some point that book could potentially come out. 658 00:50:50,320 --> 00:50:52,200 Oh yeah, now it's coming out. 659 00:50:52,200 --> 00:50:53,040 It's gonna happen. 660 00:50:53,040 --> 00:50:54,200 Yeah, it will. 661 00:50:54,200 --> 00:50:57,200 That's awesome. 662 00:50:57,200 --> 00:51:00,040 It was the title that I was thinking of for it 663 00:51:00,040 --> 00:51:03,280 is called Recovery Remedy. 664 00:51:03,280 --> 00:51:04,120 Okay. 665 00:51:04,120 --> 00:51:07,920 And yeah. 666 00:51:07,920 --> 00:51:09,160 That's awesome, man. 667 00:51:09,160 --> 00:51:10,080 Love it. 668 00:51:10,080 --> 00:51:12,680 We'll see, I don't know when that would be, 669 00:51:12,680 --> 00:51:16,960 but just continuing to grow in purpose and writing 670 00:51:16,960 --> 00:51:20,400 and at some point that will come out 671 00:51:20,400 --> 00:51:25,400 and it was kind of feeling like, 672 00:51:25,400 --> 00:51:28,960 could I read one of the poems that I have? 673 00:51:28,960 --> 00:51:30,960 Sure, go for it, man. 674 00:51:30,960 --> 00:51:35,960 Yeah, it was just something that I've read 675 00:51:37,960 --> 00:51:42,760 after giving out or sharing my experience at a meeting 676 00:51:42,760 --> 00:51:47,760 and it's just trying, 677 00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:50,040 not trying to hold it in 678 00:51:50,040 --> 00:51:55,040 and being able to share the words that God provides. 679 00:51:55,040 --> 00:51:57,240 The words that God provides. 680 00:51:57,240 --> 00:51:58,800 Yeah. 681 00:51:58,800 --> 00:52:01,120 There's like two different parts to it. 682 00:52:01,120 --> 00:52:02,920 It's called Welcome Home. 683 00:52:04,280 --> 00:52:05,600 So here we go. 684 00:52:06,760 --> 00:52:09,040 Lost soul come to become whole. 685 00:52:09,040 --> 00:52:12,840 Molding your role, wearing the soul, filling the hole. 686 00:52:12,840 --> 00:52:16,280 Shedding the old to make way for the new. 687 00:52:16,280 --> 00:52:18,320 The brighter vision's in view. 688 00:52:18,320 --> 00:52:19,880 What will you choose? 689 00:52:19,880 --> 00:52:21,960 What are you willing to lose? 690 00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:25,080 Descending to worse or deciding to put in the work? 691 00:52:25,080 --> 00:52:27,240 Of course, things could always be worse. 692 00:52:27,240 --> 00:52:28,480 I'll be fine. 693 00:52:28,480 --> 00:52:31,400 Starting to deny, declining to get high. 694 00:52:31,400 --> 00:52:33,680 Losing the sight and the eye of why. 695 00:52:33,680 --> 00:52:34,880 Who knows? 696 00:52:34,880 --> 00:52:37,800 As the symptoms show unwillingness to grow, 697 00:52:37,800 --> 00:52:40,800 bestow the glow, setting the ducks in a row 698 00:52:40,800 --> 00:52:43,440 to ascending from low, paying what we owe. 699 00:52:45,640 --> 00:52:47,920 Discovering better, no need to render, 700 00:52:47,920 --> 00:52:50,520 playing the pretender, estimating the weather 701 00:52:50,520 --> 00:52:52,120 while holding everything together. 702 00:52:53,080 --> 00:52:54,880 Let it all go to bestow, 703 00:52:54,880 --> 00:52:57,440 learning which way to go from the one who knows. 704 00:52:57,440 --> 00:53:00,320 Venturing on the voyage, bleeding out the baggage, 705 00:53:00,320 --> 00:53:02,960 clearing up the static while quitting this habit. 706 00:53:02,960 --> 00:53:04,720 I've had it, no more. 707 00:53:04,720 --> 00:53:08,240 Take a step back to reset, regroup and respond. 708 00:53:08,240 --> 00:53:10,840 Wanting to attack, avenging all the attacks 709 00:53:10,840 --> 00:53:13,720 that linger in last will pass their welcome. 710 00:53:13,720 --> 00:53:16,920 The passage to the well, passing through hell, 711 00:53:16,920 --> 00:53:19,480 starting to realize and dwell on ourselves. 712 00:53:19,480 --> 00:53:22,480 Mending, melting the miserable mind, 713 00:53:22,480 --> 00:53:25,880 intertwining, dividing the line, sin subsiding, 714 00:53:25,880 --> 00:53:29,160 denying the line to undermining the underlying issues. 715 00:53:29,160 --> 00:53:32,880 Roots rotting, the faulty foundation 716 00:53:32,880 --> 00:53:35,240 scattered from where our aim is. 717 00:53:35,240 --> 00:53:36,240 Is the flame wet? 718 00:53:36,240 --> 00:53:37,800 Where are you stationed? 719 00:53:37,800 --> 00:53:39,480 What's the underlying notion? 720 00:53:40,320 --> 00:53:43,400 Gain your focus, fix the broken lens. 721 00:53:43,400 --> 00:53:45,560 Stop to pretend and to pretense, 722 00:53:45,560 --> 00:53:47,800 starting a new sequence of events 723 00:53:47,800 --> 00:53:51,120 from the decent to become decent. 724 00:53:51,120 --> 00:53:53,480 In the mix, contributing member 725 00:53:53,480 --> 00:53:55,040 from the weather in December. 726 00:53:55,040 --> 00:53:56,800 Remember, it gets better. 727 00:53:56,800 --> 00:53:59,280 Keep coming back to attract the act 728 00:53:59,280 --> 00:54:02,520 of learning how to laugh and relax on the comeback, 729 00:54:02,520 --> 00:54:05,720 ready to act in the fashion that your father's after. 730 00:54:08,040 --> 00:54:08,880 Dude. 731 00:54:08,880 --> 00:54:11,760 That's awesome, man. 732 00:54:11,760 --> 00:54:12,600 I really do. 733 00:54:12,600 --> 00:54:13,880 Man, that's great. 734 00:54:13,880 --> 00:54:15,720 You're awesome, man. 735 00:54:15,720 --> 00:54:17,880 Fantastic. 736 00:54:19,400 --> 00:54:20,520 Well, thank you for reading that. 737 00:54:20,520 --> 00:54:21,760 Definitely. That was great. 738 00:54:21,760 --> 00:54:22,600 Yeah. 739 00:54:24,400 --> 00:54:28,840 And like, man, I wanna ask one more question, 740 00:54:28,840 --> 00:54:30,680 but I was like, man, that'd be a great spot to end it, 741 00:54:30,680 --> 00:54:31,880 but I have one more question. 742 00:54:31,880 --> 00:54:32,720 Sure. 743 00:54:36,480 --> 00:54:39,120 Who do you think would be a good guest 744 00:54:39,120 --> 00:54:40,160 to have on this podcast? 745 00:54:40,160 --> 00:54:42,520 Who do you think, who would you recommend? 746 00:54:42,520 --> 00:54:47,520 Well, the first person that comes to mind 747 00:54:52,560 --> 00:54:54,440 is a good friend of mine. 748 00:54:56,480 --> 00:54:58,520 His name's, he also goes to the church 749 00:54:58,520 --> 00:55:00,720 that we go to, Pat Barnes. 750 00:55:00,720 --> 00:55:01,640 Pat Barnes, yeah. 751 00:55:04,240 --> 00:55:09,240 He's been such a positive influence on my life 752 00:55:09,240 --> 00:55:13,320 and has really helped me in the right direction 753 00:55:13,320 --> 00:55:14,600 over these past few years 754 00:55:14,600 --> 00:55:19,600 and just really has benefited my life. 755 00:55:19,880 --> 00:55:20,720 Yeah. 756 00:55:21,600 --> 00:55:23,000 Can't thank him enough. 757 00:55:23,000 --> 00:55:23,920 Yeah. 758 00:55:23,920 --> 00:55:24,760 It's really awesome, man. 759 00:55:24,760 --> 00:55:26,560 Thank you for that recommendation. 760 00:55:28,480 --> 00:55:31,440 Well, man, thank you for being on the podcast. 761 00:55:31,440 --> 00:55:32,280 Definitely. 762 00:55:33,640 --> 00:55:36,320 I don't know when these episodes gonna come out, 763 00:55:36,320 --> 00:55:37,200 but it will. 764 00:55:37,200 --> 00:55:39,880 I will make sure that it happens at some point. 765 00:55:41,360 --> 00:55:44,680 This recording has kinda rejuvenated that part of me. 766 00:55:44,680 --> 00:55:47,120 I'm like, man, I gotta get on this again. 767 00:55:47,120 --> 00:55:50,440 I'm really happy that we got the opportunity to do this. 768 00:55:50,440 --> 00:55:52,840 Guys, if you liked this episode, 769 00:55:52,840 --> 00:55:54,680 well, first, thank you for listening to this point. 770 00:55:54,680 --> 00:55:55,520 That's awesome. 771 00:55:56,960 --> 00:55:59,240 And if you haven't already, give us a five-star review 772 00:55:59,240 --> 00:56:01,600 on every platform you're on. 773 00:56:03,240 --> 00:56:04,560 Spotify, that's Apple. 774 00:56:04,560 --> 00:56:06,320 Give us a comment. 775 00:56:06,320 --> 00:56:09,040 Let us know what you think of this episode 776 00:56:09,040 --> 00:56:11,600 on Spotify or Apple podcasts. 777 00:56:11,600 --> 00:56:13,800 And I mean, you could on YouTube too, 778 00:56:13,800 --> 00:56:17,320 but I feel like this podcast, there's not many videos 779 00:56:17,320 --> 00:56:19,400 you probably wanna listen to on Spotify or Apple. 780 00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:20,240 I don't know. 781 00:56:20,240 --> 00:56:21,080 Up to you. 782 00:56:22,360 --> 00:56:23,840 Eventually, we'll have a consistent video, 783 00:56:23,840 --> 00:56:24,680 but that's not right now. 784 00:56:24,680 --> 00:56:27,600 Anyway, thank you. 785 00:56:27,600 --> 00:56:29,800 And share us on your social medias. 786 00:56:29,800 --> 00:56:31,040 If you liked this episode, 787 00:56:31,040 --> 00:56:35,080 message, technically short, on Instagram. 788 00:56:35,080 --> 00:56:37,720 And see you guys next time, guys. 789 00:56:37,720 --> 00:57:05,560 All right, see ya.