WEBVTT 00:00:00.430 --> 00:00:35.369 you to Tell Me What Happened, the podcast that 00:00:35.369 --> 00:00:38.390 features folks from all walks of life telling 00:00:38.390 --> 00:00:42.729 us one childhood story and how that story, that 00:00:42.729 --> 00:00:47.109 experience has impacted who they are today. I'm 00:00:47.109 --> 00:00:50.649 your host, Jay Rehack. And like you, I've had 00:00:50.649 --> 00:00:53.630 my share of childhood experiences, some of them 00:00:53.630 --> 00:00:57.729 painful, some of them joyous. But I like to think 00:00:57.729 --> 00:00:59.590 that everything that happened to me has made 00:00:59.590 --> 00:01:02.869 me a better person. Tell me what happened is 00:01:02.869 --> 00:01:06.069 sponsored by sidelining publishing publishers 00:01:06.069 --> 00:01:09.150 of quality books including Susan Salvador's classic 00:01:09.150 --> 00:01:12.489 one little act of kindness Tell me what happened 00:01:12.489 --> 00:01:17.189 is also sponsored by laugh saver comm visit laugh 00:01:17.189 --> 00:01:20.450 saver comm and record your laughter We'll keep 00:01:20.450 --> 00:01:24.510 it for you now and forever. It's free and your 00:01:24.510 --> 00:01:27.790 children and your grandchildren and your great 00:01:27.790 --> 00:01:30.859 -grandchildren will appreciate it That's LaughSaver 00:01:30.859 --> 00:01:35.439 .com. And by the way, LaughSaver .com is going 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:38.260 to be an app starting June 1st, so look for it 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:47.099 on your Apple or Android phone. Alright, today 00:01:47.099 --> 00:01:53.030 I have as my guest, Dr. Philip Neely. Dr. Philip 00:01:53.030 --> 00:01:56.930 R. Neely Jr. is a 22 -year career law enforcement 00:01:56.930 --> 00:02:00.230 officer, having served in progressively responsible 00:02:00.230 --> 00:02:03.590 leadership and field positions in local enforcement 00:02:03.590 --> 00:02:07.849 agencies. Additionally, Dr. Neely is currently 00:02:07.849 --> 00:02:11.289 working in education, instructing, advising, 00:02:11.770 --> 00:02:14.990 and mentoring adult learners. Welcome to the 00:02:14.990 --> 00:02:20.150 show, Dr. Philip Neely. Well, thank you, sir. 00:02:21.409 --> 00:02:24.389 Doctor, are you ready to tell your story? Yes, 00:02:24.449 --> 00:02:26.349 sir. All right, doctor. I'm going to get out 00:02:26.349 --> 00:02:28.110 of the way. And at the end, I'm going to ask 00:02:28.110 --> 00:02:30.389 you just one question. How do you think that 00:02:30.389 --> 00:02:33.310 experience has impacted who you are as an adult? 00:02:33.889 --> 00:02:38.110 So take it away, Dr. Neely. All right. Thank 00:02:38.110 --> 00:02:39.729 you. And thank you for allowing me to share my 00:02:39.729 --> 00:02:42.349 story. I want to come to you today to talk about 00:02:42.349 --> 00:02:45.710 growing up in family issues and identity crises 00:02:45.710 --> 00:02:49.990 and how running running track really took me 00:02:49.990 --> 00:02:52.909 away from this. But I go early on to tell you 00:02:52.909 --> 00:02:55.509 about the fact that as a young child, my mother 00:02:55.509 --> 00:02:58.189 died when I was two, raised by a grandmother 00:02:58.189 --> 00:03:00.150 who was a lot older who couldn't read or write. 00:03:00.750 --> 00:03:03.650 All of my uncles and aunts had already been to 00:03:03.650 --> 00:03:07.870 prison or have criminal records. So it was like 00:03:07.870 --> 00:03:09.550 you're a product of your environment. You're 00:03:09.550 --> 00:03:12.590 doomed to fail from the start. Lead us to say 00:03:12.590 --> 00:03:15.949 that my father was in prison already and I was 00:03:15.949 --> 00:03:19.280 just two years old. So my whole goal in the rest 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:21.460 of my life was to be something with my life. 00:03:22.139 --> 00:03:24.500 As I looked at the early on in my childhood, 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:28.800 that issue of family crises continue to haunt 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:31.099 me as I went about my elementary school days, 00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:33.400 getting in trouble, fighting in school, being 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:36.900 suspended from school, going on and possibly 00:03:36.900 --> 00:03:39.560 ending up in juvenile once or twice. Didn't do 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:42.599 any time, but taking the juvenile hall and my 00:03:42.599 --> 00:03:44.860 mother had to come get me for fighting. you know, 00:03:44.860 --> 00:03:46.719 running from the police, things of that nature, 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:48.919 getting involved with local gangs in their neighborhood. 00:03:49.879 --> 00:03:52.360 And so these identity crisis, which I found out 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:54.759 later, was the issue because of the fact that 00:03:54.759 --> 00:03:59.240 I didn't know who I was. My father was in jail 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:01.620 when I was two. He stayed in jail. He got out 00:04:01.620 --> 00:04:03.259 when I was, well, in prison. He got out when 00:04:03.259 --> 00:04:06.560 I was about 16, 17 years old. My mother, my real 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:08.620 mother, died when I was two. My grandmother raised 00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:13.069 me. And she had 12 other kids, so. Most of those 00:04:13.069 --> 00:04:16.569 kids were in and out of county jails, state prisons, 00:04:16.810 --> 00:04:20.449 or juvenile detention centers. So it was like 00:04:20.449 --> 00:04:22.430 I was struggling with this identity crisis. And 00:04:22.430 --> 00:04:25.990 when I got about maybe 12, 13 years old, a good 00:04:25.990 --> 00:04:28.850 friend of mine introduced me to running. And 00:04:28.850 --> 00:04:31.209 I found out that was my lifesaver, being able 00:04:31.209 --> 00:04:33.990 to run track. It helped me to establish that 00:04:33.990 --> 00:04:36.970 identity. How did I establish it? It gave me 00:04:36.970 --> 00:04:40.139 a purpose. I realized I had something more in 00:04:40.139 --> 00:04:42.680 life to give than to just run the street, fight, 00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:45.220 and to be a part of gang activity growing up 00:04:45.220 --> 00:04:48.399 in the inner city of Atlanta, Georgia. So we 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:50.600 began to run, and I found out I had a career 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:54.100 there. And track took me away from being in the 00:04:54.100 --> 00:04:56.860 streets at night, running out during the daytime, 00:04:57.100 --> 00:04:59.980 involved with other activities that wasn't really 00:04:59.980 --> 00:05:03.079 representation of my character, of my parents 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:05.660 that was raising me and my grandmother. Going 00:05:05.660 --> 00:05:08.790 on the run summer track gave me different viewpoint 00:05:08.790 --> 00:05:11.589 on life and I found that I had something so now 00:05:11.589 --> 00:05:13.670 I started to change. I started to look at things 00:05:13.670 --> 00:05:17.250 different but I was still struggling as my father 00:05:17.250 --> 00:05:20.149 would come home, stay home about a year and go 00:05:20.149 --> 00:05:22.910 back to prison again. You know he came home a 00:05:22.910 --> 00:05:25.670 couple times and wanted to try and play dad when 00:05:25.670 --> 00:05:28.949 he came home and his parents want to play grandma 00:05:28.949 --> 00:05:31.209 to me which I really didn't know them because 00:05:31.209 --> 00:05:34.910 all I knew was my grandmother coming up and you 00:05:34.910 --> 00:05:37.050 know with her having a lot of medical issues 00:05:37.389 --> 00:05:39.589 Being able to do whatever I wanted to do because 00:05:39.589 --> 00:05:42.509 I was a young kid and she was a lot older raising 00:05:42.509 --> 00:05:45.509 me, put me in a bad position. But I must say 00:05:45.509 --> 00:05:48.329 with her strong upbringing and her roots that 00:05:48.329 --> 00:05:51.029 she developed and planted in us made me better. 00:05:51.850 --> 00:05:54.209 Gave me that sense of identity, gave me that 00:05:54.209 --> 00:05:57.230 fear that I needed as I went through and got 00:05:57.230 --> 00:05:59.509 into elementary school and got into middle school 00:05:59.509 --> 00:06:02.509 where the problems still continue with the fighting. 00:06:02.970 --> 00:06:06.410 Wanted to try to release this anxiety by ain't 00:06:06.410 --> 00:06:09.209 by displaying my anger to others. I didn't realize 00:06:09.209 --> 00:06:11.029 it until later on in life. That's what it was. 00:06:11.230 --> 00:06:13.170 Back then, I just thought it was part of, this 00:06:13.170 --> 00:06:15.550 is what I'm supposed to do. But as I got older, 00:06:15.629 --> 00:06:19.310 I realized that I was acting out because I didn't 00:06:19.310 --> 00:06:22.129 understand my life. I didn't understand where 00:06:22.129 --> 00:06:24.129 I was going. I didn't even know that was a purpose 00:06:24.129 --> 00:06:26.290 about what I was supposed to do. I could have 00:06:26.290 --> 00:06:28.170 made any grades I wanted. My grandmother couldn't 00:06:28.170 --> 00:06:29.889 read or write. My aunts and uncles were being 00:06:29.889 --> 00:06:32.850 out of hospital. They was all on drugs, marijuana, 00:06:33.089 --> 00:06:36.230 cocaine, heroin. They wasn't on drugs, they were 00:06:36.230 --> 00:06:39.069 drunk every week during the day, you know, doing 00:06:39.069 --> 00:06:40.689 all kinds of things. None of them had really 00:06:40.689 --> 00:06:42.709 good jobs or anything. None of them graduated 00:06:42.709 --> 00:06:45.509 from college. Only one or two had gone to high 00:06:45.509 --> 00:06:47.389 school and finished. The other was all high school 00:06:47.389 --> 00:06:49.889 dropouts. So it was like I was just spinning. 00:06:50.490 --> 00:06:52.750 I couldn't find a way to stop spinning. And track 00:06:52.750 --> 00:06:55.449 was continuing to be my guiding point. As I got 00:06:55.449 --> 00:06:59.329 in high school, I started again and then I began 00:06:59.329 --> 00:07:02.750 to back up as track began to take over my life, 00:07:02.769 --> 00:07:05.490 the coach. my best friend Winford who introduced 00:07:05.490 --> 00:07:08.129 me to track and then my coach who says this is 00:07:08.129 --> 00:07:13.230 you and as early on in high school I began to 00:07:13.230 --> 00:07:16.850 win championships win races and I found the purpose 00:07:16.850 --> 00:07:19.290 I found it this is what I wanted to do this is 00:07:19.290 --> 00:07:21.550 going to help me get where I want to be I never 00:07:21.550 --> 00:07:24.129 thought about going to college you know my whole 00:07:24.129 --> 00:07:25.970 thing was I probably wouldn't finish high school 00:07:25.970 --> 00:07:28.350 I'd been suspended about 12 times from public 00:07:28.350 --> 00:07:32.089 schools for fighting being disrupted As a youth, 00:07:32.290 --> 00:07:34.769 my childhood was just out of control. I was just 00:07:34.769 --> 00:07:37.449 lucky that I did not spend any time in the juvenile 00:07:37.449 --> 00:07:39.490 detention center, even though I had been taken 00:07:39.490 --> 00:07:42.810 down twice and released on petitions. Though 00:07:42.810 --> 00:07:44.649 the two times that I went down was enough to 00:07:44.649 --> 00:07:47.629 scare me, and I use it as that scare me straight, 00:07:47.750 --> 00:07:49.569 and so I look at it now and I start to think 00:07:49.569 --> 00:07:53.269 about it. As I got toward my senior year in high 00:07:53.269 --> 00:07:55.490 school, track became really prominent in my life. 00:07:56.050 --> 00:07:58.540 I saw it was gonna take me somewhere. My mom 00:07:58.540 --> 00:08:00.540 told me, don't worry about school, drop out, 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:03.319 go in the army, go in the military, would she 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:04.839 like the army? And I thought I would do that 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:06.899 just to impress her. My grandmother, I felt how 00:08:06.899 --> 00:08:09.019 old her that. But then I started getting all 00:08:09.019 --> 00:08:11.920 these track scholarships to go to big schools. 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:14.600 Well, the problem was I couldn't get into the 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:16.180 big schools because I didn't have any grades. 00:08:16.740 --> 00:08:20.399 I had always felt like it took 315 credit hours 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:23.360 to graduate from Atlanta public schools. I didn't 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:26.879 care if I got an A or a D, I still got five credit 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:30.009 hours. So in my mind, not knowing, coming from 00:08:30.009 --> 00:08:32.950 an uneducated family, why strive for an A when 00:08:32.950 --> 00:08:34.750 I can get a D and still get those five hours 00:08:34.750 --> 00:08:37.149 and still graduate? That was always my philosophy. 00:08:38.029 --> 00:08:40.970 But it changed when I took the SAT to get into 00:08:40.970 --> 00:08:43.830 college and I scored very high. It was just amazing 00:08:43.830 --> 00:08:46.370 to the scouts, like, how did his kids go so high 00:08:46.370 --> 00:08:49.350 on the SAT when he don't have any grades? And 00:08:49.350 --> 00:08:50.730 I explained this to them and they looked at me 00:08:50.730 --> 00:08:52.470 and laughed, you know, and I laughed too because 00:08:52.470 --> 00:08:54.769 I didn't know. So I was able to get my grades 00:08:54.769 --> 00:08:57.799 up and get into a D3 University. I went over 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:00.220 to Clark Atlanta University. But this was the 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:03.200 key guy to get me out of high school into college 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:06.740 and save me from being put into the system, you 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:08.259 know, because I didn't want to be a part of that 00:09:08.259 --> 00:09:10.779 system, which I felt I was on the road to, that 00:09:10.779 --> 00:09:13.519 pipeline from schools to prison. I felt that's 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:15.740 where I was. But this track thing really changed. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:18.059 And then going into college, you know, it changed 00:09:18.059 --> 00:09:20.860 so much. I began to win championships. I was 00:09:20.860 --> 00:09:23.039 doing very well. I was mashing in what I wanted 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:26.279 to do. You know, I had gone to school for education. 00:09:26.679 --> 00:09:29.320 I wanted to be a physical education teacher. 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:31.559 And I had always said that I wanted to be a police 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:33.460 officer. So I was going to graduate and go into 00:09:33.460 --> 00:09:36.480 the police academy. And then I ended up dropping 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:39.559 out my senior year and joining the police department. 00:09:40.440 --> 00:09:42.320 You know, I said, you know what? School doesn't 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:44.639 matter to me. I want to be a cop. I don't need 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:47.500 a degree to be a cop. And so now that changes 00:09:47.500 --> 00:09:50.759 my mindset when I hear that. Because in the United 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:52.580 States, all it takes to be a law enforcement 00:09:52.580 --> 00:09:54.929 officer. just to have a high school diploma or 00:09:54.929 --> 00:09:58.669 GED. So I said, why go on to college and continue 00:09:58.669 --> 00:10:00.409 with this when I'm just going to the police department? 00:10:00.429 --> 00:10:02.730 I did. I had a great career and then I had a 00:10:02.730 --> 00:10:04.049 chief to come back and tell me you need to go 00:10:04.049 --> 00:10:06.870 back and finish your degree. So I went back and 00:10:06.870 --> 00:10:09.029 finished for promotional status and the badge 00:10:09.029 --> 00:10:12.990 my career. So when I look at this, it changed 00:10:12.990 --> 00:10:17.450 my life. So my childhood in this crisis, growing 00:10:17.450 --> 00:10:20.190 up with identity crisis, not knowing who I was, 00:10:20.389 --> 00:10:23.059 being led out through running. something a gift 00:10:23.059 --> 00:10:25.799 that God gave me the ability to run. Nothing 00:10:25.799 --> 00:10:28.340 added, just the ability to run and run fast. 00:10:29.059 --> 00:10:32.980 Really kept me from not only going to jail or 00:10:32.980 --> 00:10:36.740 prisons, but from being killed. I lost a lot 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:39.480 of people on the way, a lot of friends. As I 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:41.279 joined the police department, TRAC continued 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:44.259 to help me. I accelerated, I was very well, I 00:10:44.259 --> 00:10:47.940 did very well in it. I felt like this was the 00:10:47.940 --> 00:10:50.559 guiding principle that made me want to do more 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:53.379 and want to do better. So now what I like to 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:55.500 do, I go back and I like to talk to the youth 00:10:55.500 --> 00:10:59.120 about there is a way out. There is a way to change. 00:10:59.379 --> 00:11:01.799 Just because you mess up once or twice doesn't 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:04.360 mean it's over. I went down to juvenile hall 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:08.299 twice and both times I was lucky I had a grandmother 00:11:08.299 --> 00:11:10.279 that cared enough about me to come and get me 00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:13.200 and not leave me in the system. But those two 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:15.720 times was enough to change me, even have an identity 00:11:15.720 --> 00:11:18.679 crisis. Growing up with parents that was alcoholics. 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:21.220 drug addicts. You know, my grandmother didn't 00:11:21.220 --> 00:11:23.399 do drugs, but she drunk liquor and beer all day 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:27.279 like water. All of my uncles and aunts, you know, 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:31.279 either they was on drugs or alcoholics. You know, 00:11:31.340 --> 00:11:34.299 none of them had real careers. It was strange, 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:36.159 you know, I was one of the first to go ahead 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:38.440 and graduate from the police academy, get a good 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:40.679 job, go back and get a four -year college degree, 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:43.840 and now able to talk and mentor to other youth 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:46.179 about what they can do to change their life. 00:11:46.409 --> 00:11:49.990 I'm a living testimony that you can change. I'm 00:11:49.990 --> 00:11:52.750 a living testimony because I came from the projects. 00:11:53.330 --> 00:11:55.470 Early on, we were living in Perry homes. Then 00:11:55.470 --> 00:11:58.509 we moved out to Faber Road into a low income 00:11:58.509 --> 00:12:00.529 house in a month, probably bought a house in 00:12:00.529 --> 00:12:02.929 Southwest Atlanta. But it was still wasn't a 00:12:02.929 --> 00:12:04.750 real like two, three bedroom house, you know, 00:12:04.809 --> 00:12:06.909 about eight or nine of us in there. You know, 00:12:06.929 --> 00:12:08.730 so this is where we live, you know, spend our 00:12:08.730 --> 00:12:11.190 whole life on food stamps, welfare, depending 00:12:11.190 --> 00:12:16.059 on the system to survive. So I don't. agree with 00:12:16.059 --> 00:12:18.240 that notion anymore about your product or your 00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:20.919 environment. I don't believe that. I believe 00:12:20.919 --> 00:12:23.220 I came from a rough environment, but I made it 00:12:23.220 --> 00:12:25.860 through that. Not because someone gave me a handout, 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:28.480 but I felt that those people that reached out 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:31.340 to me gave me a hand up. They lifted me up and 00:12:31.340 --> 00:12:34.139 showed me how I can do better. Things that I 00:12:34.139 --> 00:12:36.700 can do to make myself better. Not saying, here 00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:38.980 go a million dollars and I go do this. You know, 00:12:38.980 --> 00:12:41.580 even when it came to track, you know, it didn't 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:44.059 come easy. I could run. Running was easy to do. 00:12:44.250 --> 00:12:46.789 But winning was hard because you had to train, 00:12:47.009 --> 00:12:48.610 you had to drive, you had to get the mindset. 00:12:49.529 --> 00:12:52.610 And that mindset is what began to carry me through 00:12:52.610 --> 00:12:55.850 my adult life as I went back and continued my 00:12:55.850 --> 00:12:58.970 education, continued my training in law enforcement, 00:12:59.389 --> 00:13:02.169 continued to grow and make myself better. So 00:13:02.169 --> 00:13:04.269 now when we talk to our youth, I like to tell 00:13:04.269 --> 00:13:07.909 the youth that you can be better than what you 00:13:07.909 --> 00:13:11.830 see, what you have shown to be and what you're 00:13:11.830 --> 00:13:14.320 doing. You can be better. All you have to do 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:17.679 is apply yourself. I'm a living example of it. 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:19.899 You know, thinking about where I came from. Even 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:23.740 now, I still continue to push myself and grow 00:13:23.740 --> 00:13:25.940 and be better. So now, as we look at all the 00:13:25.940 --> 00:13:27.919 gun violence that we're faced with in our streets, 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:31.379 my family issue takes me back to say, put down 00:13:31.379 --> 00:13:35.840 the guns. Put down your fists and pick up your 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:38.759 mind. The fight is no longer physical. So these 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:40.700 young kids, and I told them I was suspended 12 00:13:40.700 --> 00:13:43.080 times from Atlanta Public School. because I thought 00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:45.639 fighting was my way out. Made me look tough, 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:47.860 made me look bad. The only thing it did was ruin 00:13:47.860 --> 00:13:50.440 my record. So I had to learn to put down my fist 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:54.100 and pick up my mind. The fight can be won spiritually, 00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:57.539 mentally, and if you can have a good spiritual 00:13:57.539 --> 00:14:00.320 fight, a good mental fight, you can win without 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:02.740 a physical fight. And that's where we are now. 00:14:02.779 --> 00:14:05.600 So my goals and my accomplishments, from that 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:08.799 point it led me to going back, becoming a police 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:11.710 major. I was third in command when I left the 00:14:11.710 --> 00:14:14.889 police agency after 22 years and only left because 00:14:14.889 --> 00:14:17.710 I had obtained all of my degrees, associate, 00:14:17.870 --> 00:14:21.710 bachelor's, master's, doctorate degree, several 00:14:21.710 --> 00:14:25.149 other command school colleges, command schools 00:14:25.149 --> 00:14:27.690 that I had attended to get command operation 00:14:27.690 --> 00:14:30.909 skills like St. Leo University Command Officer 00:14:30.909 --> 00:14:33.409 Management Program, Georgia Law Enforcement Command 00:14:33.409 --> 00:14:36.429 Officer College, things of that nature. So I 00:14:36.429 --> 00:14:38.330 think at that point I have done all I can do 00:14:38.330 --> 00:14:41.990 inside. my job now is to transition outside and 00:14:41.990 --> 00:14:44.870 go into training to help others to see and understand 00:14:44.870 --> 00:14:47.029 the things I've done, how I can make them better 00:14:47.029 --> 00:14:49.490 and help them to grow and be better in what they 00:14:49.490 --> 00:14:53.090 do. So with that, Jay, I said, that's my story 00:14:53.090 --> 00:14:56.049 in a nutshell. I know it's not long, but I want 00:14:56.049 --> 00:14:58.490 to state a one issue and that issue was the family 00:14:58.490 --> 00:15:04.309 crisis, which overcame by running. That's incredible, 00:15:04.330 --> 00:15:08.529 doctor. I have to tell you that I'm always impressed 00:15:08.529 --> 00:15:13.570 when people overcome adversity and, uh, honestly, 00:15:14.230 --> 00:15:18.110 I am not someone who suffered very much or whatever. 00:15:18.450 --> 00:15:21.490 And the idea that you sort of were short on role 00:15:21.490 --> 00:15:25.710 models and, uh, you know, had such a tough, uh, 00:15:25.909 --> 00:15:28.590 you know, family surrounding. I'm sort of astounded 00:15:28.590 --> 00:15:34.399 though, still that you were Had the ability I 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:36.179 understand the idea of fighting because I'd be 00:15:36.179 --> 00:15:39.679 fighting all the time if I were you I got into 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:41.820 a lot of fights myself as a young guy and I didn't 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:44.059 have half the issue a tenth of the issues that 00:15:44.059 --> 00:15:47.000 you had but I still kind of curious you've already 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:48.779 answered the question of how it's impacted your 00:15:48.779 --> 00:15:52.659 life, but What was that? What was the key moment? 00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:54.279 I understand. It's the fact that you knew how 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:57.279 to run or whatever But was there a coach or an 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:00.350 individual who said hey? You can do this. I mean 00:16:00.350 --> 00:16:02.529 because running you can't just be a good runner. 00:16:02.750 --> 00:16:05.210 You have to I'm sure go through training I mean, 00:16:05.350 --> 00:16:08.149 you know these guys you got you know, you got 00:16:08.149 --> 00:16:12.590 to practice all the time and You know what motivated 00:16:12.590 --> 00:16:14.649 you at that time or how did you know? Hey, I 00:16:14.649 --> 00:16:17.610 got to do this I understand that a couple of 00:16:17.610 --> 00:16:21.049 times in the juby, you know motivated you but 00:16:21.049 --> 00:16:23.710 Was there a coach or somebody individually who 00:16:23.710 --> 00:16:25.549 pushed you in that regard or was it just yourself? 00:16:25.549 --> 00:16:27.970 He just had a little light bulb moment Yeah, 00:16:27.970 --> 00:16:29.809 I didn't see it. It was a friend of mine, Murphy 00:16:29.809 --> 00:16:32.490 Jordan. He had been running all his life from 00:16:32.490 --> 00:16:35.169 youth athletics all the way up to high school. 00:16:35.309 --> 00:16:37.509 And he caught me in the middle of going to high 00:16:37.509 --> 00:16:39.649 school like that junior year when things were 00:16:39.649 --> 00:16:41.990 going. I mean, it was my sophomore year, freshman, 00:16:42.049 --> 00:16:43.649 sophomore year when things were just starting 00:16:43.649 --> 00:16:46.309 to level out. But I was starting to get back 00:16:46.309 --> 00:16:49.289 in trouble again. And my mom had bought me a 00:16:49.289 --> 00:16:52.509 motorcycle. And I didn't realize that I wasn't 00:16:52.509 --> 00:16:54.169 supposed to ride that motorcycle on the street 00:16:54.169 --> 00:16:55.629 because it was a street bike and I didn't have 00:16:55.629 --> 00:16:57.289 a driver's license. The police got behind us 00:16:57.289 --> 00:17:00.090 and I took off and ran from it. Long story short, 00:17:00.090 --> 00:17:02.889 I was caught. They took me down to juvenile again. 00:17:03.190 --> 00:17:05.369 And that's when the judge said, listen, if you 00:17:05.369 --> 00:17:07.769 come back down here one more time, I'm gonna 00:17:07.769 --> 00:17:10.490 give you six months in juvenile detention. And 00:17:10.490 --> 00:17:13.390 when I got home, my best friend Wimpy Jordan 00:17:13.390 --> 00:17:16.069 was sitting on my doorstep. He said, you got 00:17:16.069 --> 00:17:18.670 too much talent to be doing what you're doing. 00:17:18.849 --> 00:17:21.430 I said, well. you know, fighting around the motorcycle. 00:17:21.549 --> 00:17:23.170 Yeah, but you know what you're doing is wrong. 00:17:23.750 --> 00:17:26.329 Man, you got too much talent. So, yes, that light 00:17:26.329 --> 00:17:28.210 bulb did go off, but it didn't go off initially. 00:17:28.569 --> 00:17:31.690 It was Winfrey Jordan that came to me and showed 00:17:31.690 --> 00:17:34.710 me what was inside of me that I didn't see. You 00:17:34.710 --> 00:17:36.289 know, I just thought running was a childhood 00:17:36.289 --> 00:17:38.549 thing. I didn't think it was competitive. I didn't 00:17:38.549 --> 00:17:39.730 think it was something that would take you to 00:17:39.730 --> 00:17:41.809 college. I didn't think it was something that 00:17:41.809 --> 00:17:45.490 would give you fame and glory and help you understand 00:17:45.490 --> 00:17:48.569 your purpose. But as I went through, it did. 00:17:48.670 --> 00:17:52.349 It showed me my purpose. It helped me to focus. 00:17:52.769 --> 00:17:55.730 So now I always think about that saying, when 00:17:55.730 --> 00:17:58.170 all about you fails, you keep your head about 00:17:58.170 --> 00:18:00.529 you. Running makes you think. It's a discipline. 00:18:01.490 --> 00:18:03.529 You want to fight. You want to release that anger. 00:18:03.549 --> 00:18:05.730 Run as fast as you can around that track or whatever. 00:18:06.250 --> 00:18:09.289 You run 100, 200 to 400. And you release that 00:18:09.289 --> 00:18:11.329 anger as you run it. And when you get there, 00:18:11.349 --> 00:18:13.289 you stop. And then you get your mind back right. 00:18:13.630 --> 00:18:15.529 In terms of conditioning of the mind, I really 00:18:15.529 --> 00:18:17.589 appreciate it. worth it for that and I told him 00:18:17.589 --> 00:18:21.190 that a while back the last time I seen him. Well 00:18:21.190 --> 00:18:23.509 that's beautiful. I'm going to include him in 00:18:23.509 --> 00:18:26.569 the description of this story because the whole 00:18:26.569 --> 00:18:28.869 world I think actually owes him a little bit 00:18:28.869 --> 00:18:31.210 of debt of gratitude because thanks to him you 00:18:31.210 --> 00:18:33.589 know you're able to have had a wonderful career 00:18:33.589 --> 00:18:36.529 and obviously reach out to young people now and 00:18:36.529 --> 00:18:40.859 everything like that but but for a man like that, 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:43.200 a young man like that who was smart enough to 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:45.720 see it and you were smart enough to understand 00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:48.599 the man. Things might have come out differently 00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:51.160 for you and we would have lost you, you know, 00:18:51.220 --> 00:18:54.599 to a system like you said. So hats off to him, 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:57.160 hats off to you, doctor. I mean, your backstory 00:18:57.160 --> 00:19:02.559 is a sad one. Your success is incredibly impressive, 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:06.359 but also highly motivational to me because I 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:08.720 was a school teacher for many. I saw kids who 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:10.819 had really tough backgrounds and I saw how hard 00:19:10.819 --> 00:19:13.920 it is, you know, it's easy to throw your hands 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:16.099 up and just say, forget it. And you didn't do 00:19:16.099 --> 00:19:19.480 that. And I do always, I always feel badly for 00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:23.779 kids who aren't able to do what you did, you 00:19:23.779 --> 00:19:25.400 know, and I'm not just talking about being a 00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:27.319 great runner, but I'm talking about the ability 00:19:27.319 --> 00:19:33.920 to push that aside until your own manhood. And, 00:19:34.099 --> 00:19:35.099 you know, you were able to do what you had to 00:19:35.099 --> 00:19:38.650 do. Your story is impressive. I think one of 00:19:38.650 --> 00:19:41.269 the things too was, you know, in order to do 00:19:41.269 --> 00:19:43.710 that, I had to reframe and push back from alcohol 00:19:43.710 --> 00:19:46.190 and drugs at the time, where I was surrounded 00:19:46.190 --> 00:19:48.890 with it, right? And it wasn't something I wanted. 00:19:49.329 --> 00:19:52.329 Having a daddy in prison who's saying, everybody's 00:19:52.329 --> 00:19:53.450 telling me you're going to be just like your 00:19:53.450 --> 00:19:55.309 daddy, a convict, you're going to end up in prison 00:19:55.309 --> 00:19:57.509 like your daddy. And I'm trying to show them 00:19:57.509 --> 00:20:00.130 I'm not going to be like him. That's what turned 00:20:00.130 --> 00:20:03.369 me to law enforcement. Great story doc and I 00:20:03.369 --> 00:20:05.769 have to tell you like I said my listeners a lot 00:20:05.769 --> 00:20:08.549 of my listeners are young and so I think they're 00:20:08.549 --> 00:20:12.210 gonna be Motivated and grateful to have heard 00:20:12.210 --> 00:20:14.589 this particular podcast So I want to thank you 00:20:14.589 --> 00:20:16.769 for being on the show telling your story. It's 00:20:16.769 --> 00:20:19.230 courageous for you to even tell the story But 00:20:19.230 --> 00:20:20.990 more courageous for you to have lived this life 00:20:20.990 --> 00:20:24.430 for the last adult 22 years and more Thank you 00:20:24.430 --> 00:20:27.299 for being who you are Thank you for having me. 00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:28.980 All right. Well, that's our show. I'd like to 00:20:28.980 --> 00:20:32.599 thank my guest, Dr. Philip Neely. I'd also like 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:36.440 to thank our sponsors, Sidelining Publishing, 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:38.299 publishers of quality books, including Susan 00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:41.619 Solidar's One Little Act of Kindness, and laughsaver 00:20:41.619 --> 00:20:53.519 .com. So, in honor of Dr. Neely and his ability 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:58.700 to Stop fighting when that is an instinct. And 00:20:58.700 --> 00:21:02.940 instead to turn to running and processing, I'm 00:21:02.940 --> 00:21:05.000 gonna end this show as I often do with Susan 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:08.519 Salador's classic, I've Got Peace in My Fingers. 00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:12.180 So until next time, this is Jay Rehanek asking 00:21:12.180 --> 00:21:14.500 you all to please stay safe out there and try 00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:18.619 not to hurt anybody. I've got peace, peace, peace 00:21:18.619 --> 00:21:23.480 in my fingers. Watch what I can do. I've got 00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:26.759 peace. I've got peace, peace, peace in my fingers. 00:21:26.859 --> 00:21:30.819 I'm gonna shake hands with you. I've got peace, 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:35.619 peace, peace in my fingers. Watch what I can 00:21:35.619 --> 00:21:40.680 do. I've got peace, peace, peace in my fingers. 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:44.880 I'm gonna shake hands with you. I've got words, 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:51.059 words, words in my head Watch what I can do I've 00:21:51.059 --> 00:21:55.160 got words, words, words in my head I'm gonna 00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:59.759 talk things over with you I've got words, words, 00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:05.180 words in my head Watch what I can do I've got 00:22:05.180 --> 00:22:09.359 words, words, words in my head I'm gonna talk 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:14.160 things over with you I've got love Love, love 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:19.720 in my heart Watch what I can do I've got love, 00:22:19.859 --> 00:22:24.279 love, love in my heart I'm gonna give some to 00:22:24.279 --> 00:22:30.019 you I've got love, love, love in my heart Watch 00:22:30.019 --> 00:22:35.880 what I can do I've got love, love, love in my 00:22:35.880 --> 00:22:40.480 heart I'm gonna give some to you I've got peace, 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:45.460 peace, peace in my fingers. Words, words, words 00:22:45.460 --> 00:22:50.059 in my head. I've got love, love, love in my heart. 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:52.279 I'm gonna give song to you.