WEBVTT 00:00:08.619 --> 00:00:11.500 What's going on, Pursuers? Welcome to The Pursuit 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:14.699 of Calling, the podcast that provides you with 00:00:14.699 --> 00:00:17.600 the strategies and tools needed to successfully 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:21.199 discover and pursue your calling. Whether it's 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:23.600 through inspiring stories, thought -provoking 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:26.519 interviews, or quick, insightful episodes on 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:28.940 personal growth and development, we've got you 00:00:28.940 --> 00:00:32.700 covered. I'm your host, Thomas Carney. Enjoy 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:40.630 the episode. We're just going to freeform this 00:00:40.630 --> 00:00:43.289 one, everyone. How's it going, Pursuers? Welcome 00:00:43.289 --> 00:00:45.049 to this episode of the Pursuit of Calling podcast, 00:00:45.469 --> 00:00:47.729 where you already heard that in the intro. Guys, 00:00:47.770 --> 00:00:51.149 I'm so tired. It's been a week. There's a few 00:00:51.149 --> 00:00:52.710 things happening right now. There's a lot happening 00:00:52.710 --> 00:00:55.229 in my life. You might already know. I'm going 00:00:55.229 --> 00:00:56.630 to move my camera up my camera a little bit. 00:00:58.549 --> 00:01:02.929 I am officially a week into entrepreneurship. 00:01:03.469 --> 00:01:07.010 I got one client. Not we haven't started yet. 00:01:07.049 --> 00:01:09.510 We're starting after I get back from my mission 00:01:09.510 --> 00:01:13.370 trip to Uganda. That's right. We're going back 00:01:13.370 --> 00:01:16.730 to Uganda for this time. I'm going to be on the 00:01:16.730 --> 00:01:19.129 ground for eight days. That was a lot of information. 00:01:19.609 --> 00:01:23.469 But for me, it's 7 .51 at night and I've been 00:01:23.469 --> 00:01:27.489 moving constantly. It's besides like one hour 00:01:27.489 --> 00:01:29.510 where I stopped watching one episode of Psych 00:01:29.510 --> 00:01:33.290 because I wanted to take a break. Sorry, I'm 00:01:33.290 --> 00:01:39.340 just like, oh. And I'm so tired. And I'm so excited. 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:42.319 I'm not going to talk about the entrepreneurship 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:44.700 this episode. That's going to be the episode 00:01:44.700 --> 00:01:47.459 I record for next week. But right now, when you 00:01:47.459 --> 00:01:50.379 listen to this episode, I'm going to be in Uganda 00:01:50.379 --> 00:01:53.159 on the ground. That's the first full day. You're 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:55.219 listening to this on Tuesday. We're arriving 00:01:55.219 --> 00:02:00.980 Monday night there. So it's going to be a good 00:02:00.980 --> 00:02:04.599 day. It's going to be a good time. a long time 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:07.299 on a plane, but we're going to be very tired. 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:10.539 And we're also going to be very excited. So I 00:02:10.539 --> 00:02:13.300 think that will, I think that will circumvent 00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:21.099 the tiredness a little bit, but anyway, there 00:02:21.099 --> 00:02:26.400 we go. I'm not looking to teach anything that 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:29.439 says this episode. I really just wanted, I didn't 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:31.439 prepare anything. So I just figured I would. 00:02:32.129 --> 00:02:34.449 chat with you guys for a second. I want to tell 00:02:34.449 --> 00:02:37.449 you guys, it's like, why am I going back to Uganda? 00:02:38.669 --> 00:02:40.509 I went last year. If you've been listening to 00:02:40.509 --> 00:02:42.370 this episode for long enough, you know that I 00:02:42.370 --> 00:02:46.150 went to Uganda once before. And the reason I 00:02:46.150 --> 00:02:48.169 was going then was because one, I wanted to meet 00:02:48.169 --> 00:02:53.439 my compassion kid, Shafiq. And there was. Other 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:55.120 reasons why I wanted to go, like I wanted to 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:58.020 prove myself to myself and to others that I could, 00:02:58.039 --> 00:02:59.979 despite their circumstances, I wanted to prove 00:02:59.979 --> 00:03:04.199 that despite having a neurological condition 00:03:04.199 --> 00:03:07.139 that causes chronic pain every day, that I could 00:03:07.139 --> 00:03:08.840 still travel to the other side of the world and 00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:12.319 spread the love of Jesus Christ. Like that my 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:14.520 circumstances determine what I can do and the 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:17.699 calling that God has for me. And it was fantastic 00:03:17.699 --> 00:03:22.379 and better than I could have ever imagined. And 00:03:22.379 --> 00:03:25.639 I ended up being in the least amount of pain 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:29.099 that I had been in a very, very long time while 00:03:29.099 --> 00:03:34.340 I was there in Uganda, which blows my mind. It's 00:03:34.340 --> 00:03:38.240 probably the food. Very starchy. Anyway, the 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:44.879 reason I'm going back, though. It's kind of this 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:46.819 part of it. Sure. It can be like, Oh, because 00:03:46.819 --> 00:03:48.520 I have this condition, I want to improve them 00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:51.300 again. I want to make sure that I don't know 00:03:51.300 --> 00:03:52.840 if it's the right thing to say that I want to 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:57.539 make sure that I'm keeping that same vibe, I 00:03:57.539 --> 00:03:58.879 guess, is what's popping in my head. I don't 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:01.979 really think that's the right word, but I'm going 00:04:01.979 --> 00:04:04.840 back specifically because I want to continue 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:08.120 to spread the love of Jesus Christ, despite my 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:11.139 circumstances. I know I can do that here. I can 00:04:11.139 --> 00:04:13.199 do that here in the U .S., here in Pittsburgh, 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:19.379 Pennsylvania. But man, think of that without 00:04:19.379 --> 00:04:24.399 putting me on a pedestal, without patting myself 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:30.040 on the back. Think of the testament that I can 00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:33.889 be to other people. That could be the other people 00:04:33.889 --> 00:04:36.569 with anyone to say like, if I can do something 00:04:36.569 --> 00:04:40.290 hard where I used to be whenever I was trying 00:04:40.290 --> 00:04:41.769 to figure out what my condition was, whenever 00:04:41.769 --> 00:04:46.589 I was still having doubts that Jesus could and 00:04:46.589 --> 00:04:48.910 would heal me one day, whether it be on this 00:04:48.910 --> 00:04:52.250 side of eternity or the next, and we're really 00:04:52.250 --> 00:04:54.629 wanting it to be on this side. I went from being 00:04:54.629 --> 00:04:57.500 in the fetal position on the floor. crying my 00:04:57.500 --> 00:04:59.300 eyes out because another doctor told me they 00:04:59.300 --> 00:05:01.680 didn't know what was going on to then going to 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:05.360 Uganda because I wanted to, I didn't want to 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:07.379 be that person. I didn't want to, I wanted to 00:05:07.379 --> 00:05:10.160 be somebody that's relying on God to be my provider, 00:05:10.220 --> 00:05:13.620 not just provider for resources, but provide 00:05:13.620 --> 00:05:15.980 not just for physical resources, but for spiritual 00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:19.639 resource. This is a heavy spiritual episode. 00:05:21.060 --> 00:05:24.160 I'm going on a mission trip. And it's because 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:29.529 of God that this is even possible. So I have, 00:05:29.709 --> 00:05:31.529 while I'm going on this mission trip, there's 00:05:31.529 --> 00:05:35.269 another reason. Again, I mentioned last time 00:05:35.269 --> 00:05:37.389 I went because I wanted to meet my sponsored 00:05:37.389 --> 00:05:41.209 kid, Shafiq. And now since between then and this 00:05:41.209 --> 00:05:43.509 year, I picked up another compassion child. His 00:05:43.509 --> 00:05:45.730 name is, his name, I always said the wrong name. 00:05:46.149 --> 00:05:52.810 His name is Elijah. And he is the cousin of Aaron 00:05:52.810 --> 00:05:56.779 who passed away when he was 10. And I was sponsoring 00:05:56.779 --> 00:06:00.620 him at the time. And last year, I got to meet 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:03.019 his family, Aaron's family. I got to pray with 00:06:03.019 --> 00:06:05.980 them. I got to see their home, which is literally 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:08.660 a mud hut with a thatched roof. It's probably 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:10.720 the size of the room that I'm sitting in right 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:15.199 now. I'm so blessed. We're so blessed to live 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:24.790 here in the United States. I got so awkward around 00:06:24.790 --> 00:06:29.529 the mom and I'm like, and like, I didn't know 00:06:29.529 --> 00:06:37.889 how to react that sometimes, but man, I'm so 00:06:37.889 --> 00:06:42.209 excited to go. Like when you're listening to 00:06:42.209 --> 00:06:46.250 this, this is, I'll be there. And then, and if 00:06:46.250 --> 00:06:48.310 you can pray for me, that'd be fantastic because 00:06:48.310 --> 00:06:52.750 I'm Last year, I barely slept at all. I'm bringing 00:06:52.750 --> 00:06:54.329 some supplements this time to hopefully help 00:06:54.329 --> 00:06:59.550 me out. AGZ it's called. It's the same product 00:06:59.550 --> 00:07:02.769 as AG1 or what used to be called Athletic Greens. 00:07:04.509 --> 00:07:06.550 Not the same product, but different products 00:07:06.550 --> 00:07:08.810 in company. And it has a bunch of stuff to help 00:07:08.810 --> 00:07:13.649 you have good sleep. So prayers that that works 00:07:13.649 --> 00:07:21.389 out for me. Guys, I don't know what's going to 00:07:21.389 --> 00:07:23.649 happen this time. I don't know what God's going 00:07:23.649 --> 00:07:26.029 to do. But I know what he did last time. I'm 00:07:26.029 --> 00:07:28.329 so excited to see what's going to happen this 00:07:28.329 --> 00:07:37.350 time. I have no idea. And guys, pursuers, I want 00:07:37.350 --> 00:07:41.930 to show you. That despite the circumstances that 00:07:41.930 --> 00:07:43.389 you're living in, whether you're in a physical 00:07:43.389 --> 00:07:47.050 condition like me, or you have a life circumstance 00:07:47.050 --> 00:07:50.269 that makes you think that you're counted out 00:07:50.269 --> 00:07:53.189 from the pursuit of your calling, from living 00:07:53.189 --> 00:07:55.350 it out and living it well, living it with excellence, 00:07:55.509 --> 00:07:59.129 I'm telling you, that's a lie. Your circumstances 00:07:59.129 --> 00:08:04.269 don't determine your calling. God does. You might 00:08:04.269 --> 00:08:09.189 be thinking, how is you going to Uganda? Is that 00:08:09.189 --> 00:08:12.269 like your calling to be a missionary? Like, no, 00:08:12.490 --> 00:08:15.189 like not constantly, not all the time. I don't 00:08:15.189 --> 00:08:20.269 think so anyway. But it is my calling, one, to 00:08:20.269 --> 00:08:21.670 spread the love of Jesus Christ. It's like it's 00:08:21.670 --> 00:08:24.250 every Christian's calling, but it's also my calling. 00:08:24.910 --> 00:08:27.589 I personally believe that one of the vehicles 00:08:27.589 --> 00:08:31.029 I use to do that is to help people pursue the 00:08:31.029 --> 00:08:32.809 calling that God's put on their lives and pursuing 00:08:32.809 --> 00:08:38.169 it well. And I want to be able to provide shafiq 00:08:38.169 --> 00:08:41.549 and provide elijah with the finances through 00:08:41.549 --> 00:08:46.629 my donations to be able to live a life that where 00:08:46.629 --> 00:08:49.669 they can learn about jesus christ they can learn 00:08:49.669 --> 00:08:52.110 who he is and then they can discover the calling 00:08:52.110 --> 00:08:54.590 that he has on their lives but i also want to 00:08:54.590 --> 00:08:56.370 go to them and show them that there is somebody 00:08:56.370 --> 00:08:58.490 else on the other side of the world that loves 00:08:58.490 --> 00:09:00.610 them and cares about them even if they don't 00:09:00.610 --> 00:09:04.070 understand that elijah's five and shafiq is nine 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:07.899 I don't even know if they understand where we're 00:09:07.899 --> 00:09:09.399 coming from, that I'm coming from the United 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:14.419 States, but one day they will. One day they're 00:09:14.419 --> 00:09:17.279 going to realize that there's a guy that came 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:24.860 from the other side of the world to see me. And 00:09:24.860 --> 00:09:30.080 imagine if that was you. It was that somebody 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:33.379 loved you so much that they would travel halfway 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:36.429 across the world for you. Imagine being on that 00:09:36.429 --> 00:09:39.370 receiving end of it and it's like, I don't know. 00:09:39.990 --> 00:09:43.250 I don't know how I'd feel. I'm just so happy 00:09:43.250 --> 00:09:47.350 to be able to be a part of that, be a part of 00:09:47.350 --> 00:09:51.730 what Jesus is doing and be the light, be a salt 00:09:51.730 --> 00:09:57.230 of the earth. Not just the salt of Pittsburgh, 00:09:57.509 --> 00:10:06.039 but the salt of the earth. Guys, I'm going to 00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:09.940 keep rambling if I continue to talk. I guess 00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:13.159 I apologize if you're not a Christian, but if 00:10:13.159 --> 00:10:16.240 you made it through this whole episode, phenomenal. 00:10:17.379 --> 00:10:21.379 I want you to just contemplate Jesus right now. 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:25.379 Contemplate God. I think I told a coworker before 00:10:25.379 --> 00:10:28.740 I left, I think I can say where I was employed, 00:10:28.899 --> 00:10:31.899 NEP, before I left that company. I don't know 00:10:31.899 --> 00:10:35.519 if I should have said that. Before I left that 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:40.299 company, I went around to each coworker and evangelized 00:10:40.299 --> 00:10:42.039 a little bit. And I told one coworker who didn't 00:10:42.039 --> 00:10:44.379 want anything to do with it. I just told him 00:10:44.379 --> 00:10:46.460 like, there's enough evidence to God to be curious. 00:10:48.139 --> 00:10:50.120 There's enough evidence to prove that God exists 00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:52.860 to at least be a little curious about him. And 00:10:52.860 --> 00:10:56.419 don't know what that did, but I want to say that 00:10:56.419 --> 00:10:59.169 to you. If you don't know about Jesus, if you're 00:10:59.169 --> 00:11:01.350 not sure of who he is, if you're agnostic or 00:11:01.350 --> 00:11:09.350 you're atheist, just get a little curious. What 00:11:09.350 --> 00:11:16.169 does that hurt? All right, guys. Thank you for 00:11:16.169 --> 00:11:18.690 listening to this episode of the Pursuit of Calling 00:11:18.690 --> 00:11:22.929 podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, if you 00:11:22.929 --> 00:11:26.549 enjoyed it, if you learned something, If you 00:11:26.549 --> 00:11:31.590 felt something, share it with anyone that you 00:11:31.590 --> 00:11:33.669 feel like would benefit from hearing the message 00:11:33.669 --> 00:11:38.490 that is in this podcast today. And I'm going 00:11:38.490 --> 00:11:40.990 to be sharing some reels from it, maybe when 00:11:40.990 --> 00:11:44.809 I get back. But if you see those come around 00:11:44.809 --> 00:11:48.450 your Instagram, go ahead and share that with 00:11:48.450 --> 00:11:52.250 your friend. Repost it on Instagram. Put it on 00:11:52.250 --> 00:11:54.909 your story on Facebook. Don't forget to give 00:11:54.909 --> 00:11:57.610 a five -star review on Spotify and write a review 00:11:57.610 --> 00:12:02.450 on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Give a thumbs up 00:12:02.450 --> 00:12:04.750 on YouTube and write a comment and let me know 00:12:04.750 --> 00:12:09.690 how I'm doing. Tell me if this resonated with 00:12:09.690 --> 00:12:12.850 you. I would love to know how. I would love to 00:12:12.850 --> 00:12:15.070 know where you are in the pursuit of your calling. 00:12:15.149 --> 00:12:16.870 Go ahead and put that in the comment below if 00:12:16.870 --> 00:12:20.070 you're watching this on YouTube. And also, guys, 00:12:20.289 --> 00:12:24.440 just again, thank you. Thank you for listening. 00:12:24.679 --> 00:12:26.840 Thank you for being here. Thank you for if you 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:28.519 listen to it. If you've been here for a long 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:30.340 time, I want to I want to say I just appreciate 00:12:30.340 --> 00:12:36.960 you. Guys, don't forget pursuers. Pursue your 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:40.299 calling. Well, do it with excellence. I love 00:12:40.299 --> 00:12:41.399 you guys. Peace.