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Hello and welcome to the Lawn Hustle.

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Season number one, episode number 11.

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In this week's episode and next week's episode,

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we're going to discuss leadership and what does it take to be a great leader.

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When I started my business,

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I said someone in Newcastle,

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Indiana has to be the best.

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It might as well be me.

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And if it's meant to be, it's up to me.

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My attitude will determine my altitude.

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Attitude can make or break me and you.

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So what does it take to be a good leader, a great leader?

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Leaders must develop problem solving skills.

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I've been in business for 15 years and I can't speak for you,

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but I can speak for me and I can speak for

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professional lawn maintenance because in 15 years,

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we have had to deal with our share of problems.

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And I had to develop problem solving skills in order to rebound or recover from

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a problem and continue to work my business.

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I refuse to let problems define me.

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I said in my very first podcast,

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I am a throat cancer survivor.

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I refuse to let that define me.

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It changed me, but it did not break me.

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And I refuse to be defined by cancer.

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So great leaders has to develop problem solving skills.

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Great leaders must learn the art of delegation.

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If your business is going to grow and succeed,

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the sooner you learn the value of delegation,

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the better off you will be.

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So what is delegation?

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Delegation is assigning team members certain tasks within the business and giving them the time and the freedom to work on that task until it is accomplished.

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It might be something as simple as handing your lead foreman a daily schedule of properties that need to be serviced.

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Here's the list.

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Go do it.

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And giving them the freedom and the liberty to accomplish what needs to be accomplished that day without looking over their shoulder, without following them.

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Give them time and space to complete the task that has been given them.

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And if they fail, then you as the leader must step in and show them why they failed, what went wrong,

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and what we can do better the next time so we can be successful.

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Delegation, giving your team responsibility, frees you up as the business owner to do what only you can do.

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Because there are some things in running and operating a business that only you can do.

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Cannot be delegated, cannot be assigned, cannot be given to someone else.

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You and you alone must do it.

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Not only do you need to learn the skill of problem solving and the value of delegation,

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you need to be capable of navigating any and all challenges that arise.

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Now you and I both know running a business can be challenging.

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Day to day operation, meeting payroll, obtaining quality employees, customer satisfaction.

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All of these things can be draining.

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All of these things can challenge us.

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But someone said if you want to grow, you've got to reach beyond yourself.

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You've got to break through your comfort zone and stretch yourself.

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You have to be able to meet every challenge that arises.

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We've had our share of challenges in 15 years.

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Equipment breakdowns, finding and obtaining good employees.

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What do you do when a mower breaks down?

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And you only have so many mowers.

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And you have a list of properties that has to be maintained.

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What do you do?

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As the leader, you've got to meet that challenge.

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Your employees still need to work.

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They still need to make a living.

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You can't just shut down because a mower's down.

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What are you going to do?

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You might have to go rip one.

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You might have to invest in new equipment.

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Finding an answer to the challenge.

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Exceptional leaders possess a certain X factor that makes it seem as though they inherently know what to do.

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That's not always the case.

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I have walked the floors.

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I have lost sleep.

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I have had health issues because of stress and pressure.

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I've not always known what to do.

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According to Harvard Business School Professor Linda Hill,

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Hill is one of the top experts in leadership.

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But she said that star leaders aren't born with superhuman capabilities.

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Leaders are not born.

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They are made.

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Vince Limbarty, a great football coach, added to that.

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They are made through work.

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Leaders are not born.

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They are made.

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It's been said, if you see a turtle on a fence post,

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you know somebody put it there.

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What does that have to do with us?

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Just like someone placing that turtle on a fence post.

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You did not, and I did not, arrive to where we are by ourself.

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Someone helped us along the way.

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Someone made an investment.

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Someone gave of themselves their time, their energy, and their wisdom.

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Leaders are not born.

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They are made.

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In my life, I have had some great men.

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They invested in me.

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And they deposited something in me to make me a better person, a better man,

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a better husband, a better father, a better citizen,

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and a better business owner.

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That's part of being made.

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You see, all of us are born exactly the same.

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No hair, no teeth.

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But we grow and we develop and we become.

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So it is in our business.

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We all start out green, not really knowing what to do or even how to do it all.

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But there are people along the way that make an investment in us to help us grow, mature, and become.

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Leaders are not born.

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They are made.

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Leaders must develop the ability to adapt.

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What do I mean by that?

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For example, your crew is out mowing and all of a sudden out of nowhere,

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you lose a wheel motor or a hydro pump goes out.

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Now you have to adapt to that situation in order to keep business going.

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You have to be able to adapt if you want to grow.

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You have to develop tenacity and fortitude.

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You must develop a thick skin and a strong back and broad shoulders to hold your head up high

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and learn what it takes to overcome.

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Leadership is a process of self development.

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Now I said leaders are not born.

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They are made and they are made because of other people's investment.

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But if you want to be a leader, you have to make an investment in yourself.

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You have to learn the art of investing time, effort and energy into yourself to help you grow and mature and become.

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It's a process and it does not happen overnight.

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It takes time to become a good leader.

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Even though men have invested in me, they did not teach me how to lead.

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I had to learn that from my experiences and from facing adversity,

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stepping outside of the spaces where I felt safe,

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those things are powerful teachers stretching beyond your comfort zone,

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willing to step into the unknown,

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willing to walk through dark times of your life so you can enjoy the sunshine

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when it comes.

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You have to get comfortable being uncomfortable.

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If you want to be a leader,

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we learn from our experiences, we learn from our mistakes.

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And yes, I have made my share of mistakes.

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And I have created some of my own problems.

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Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result.

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You have to learn from your mistakes.

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You have to learn from your failures.

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You have to learn from your shortcomings.

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If you want to be a good leader, you must become a good follower.

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Let me say that again.

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To be a good leader, you must become a good follower.

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Now on social media, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook,

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I see all of our industries leading influencers.

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I follow them.

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I watch their content.

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I read people's comments and I read their replies.

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Why?

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Because I want to be a good leader and I can learn not only from my own experiences,

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but I can learn from other people's experiences.

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Leaders must be readers.

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I ask you, what is the last two books that you have read?

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I'm currently reading How to Win Friends and Influence People by Del Carnegie.

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The last book I completed, I won.

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LCR Media had their 24 days of giving during the holiday season.

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You had to like a post, tag a friend, and share it.

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I seen the book that were given away, the heart of a hustler.

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I thought I want to be a hustler.

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I liked the post, tagged a friend, shared it to my Instagram stories,

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and I won the book.

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When the book arrived at my house, that evening I sat down and started reading this book.

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And I could not, for the life of me, put this book down.

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I tried to go to bed the same time every night, I tried to get up the same time every morning.

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But this night, I could not put the book down until I had read the entire book.

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It's an immigrant's story.

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It's a story about his journey, his upbringing, his struggles, his battles.

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The things this man went through to find success in America, overcoming addictions, overcoming family situations and circumstances,

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and to be a successful businessman today.

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It is an amazing story.

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I've been in business for 15 years, but I read this book because I want to be more, I want to do more, I want to possess more.

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I want to be a hustler every single day.

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If you have not read the book, I challenge you to find a copy of the heart of a hustler and read it,

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and learn from it, and apply it to your life.

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It'll light a fire in you just like it did me.

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Leadership, do you have what it takes to be a great leader?

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We're going to pause right here.

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And next week, we're going to talk about eight characteristics of leadership.

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I challenge you, be the best version of you that you possibly can be.

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If it's meant to be, it's up to me.

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You and I determine our altitude, how high we can go, how much success we can have.

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Investing in our self, learning, reading, being mentored by other people.

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All of these things help us become better leaders.

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I wish you nothing but success, happiness.

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Now, go be the best you can be.

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I hope you have a great week.

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We'll see you next week for a new video.