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Welcome to the Thuravot Journey.

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We're a new podcast dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs to uncover and embrace their

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purpose here on earth.

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As multifaceted human beings, we strive to navigate our financial, mental, physical,

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and spiritual well-being.

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And that's what this podcast is all about.

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We're here to inspire, uplift, and equip you with the tools to thrive on your journey

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to greatness.

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All we ask in return is your support.

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One, subscribe to our YouTube channel or to download the podcast from your favorite platform.

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Your engagement, it helps us grow and attract incredible guests who will enrich your life

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with valuable insights and wisdom.

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Now in turn, we promise to keep bringing you content that enlivens, edifies, and elevates

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your journey, not just as an entrepreneur, but as a human being.

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And with that, I want to thank you for being a part of the Thuravot Journey.

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And welcome to another episode of the Thuravot Journey.

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I'm your host, L. Michael Burt.

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And today we, oh my God, I don't even really have words right now because I'm excited to

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bring to you three of my great friends, supposed to be four, but three of my great friends,

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my ace boom, coon with my trues that we met years ago and we'll talk about.

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And I have Reagan Sidney, Mark Davis, Chris Gibson.

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What's up, y'all?

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Hey, baby.

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What's up?

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What's up?

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I'm good to be here.

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What is it?

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It is.

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Hi.

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Hi.

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My name is Mark.

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Okay, we have a.

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What's going to be about podcasts?

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You're going to get, you're going to put the whole life in life.

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You're going to put the whole shit down.

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You're going to get the real.

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This honestly is probably one of the most surreal moments that I've had on a podcast

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and I do a lot of this.

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So this is honestly the most surreal moments that I've had in this kind of space.

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So I'm glad you're here.

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Yes.

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And I'm super grateful.

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Thank you for inviting me and I'm excited.

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Well, when I was talking to Yvonne, who she's the she helps produce, she produces the podcast

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with me.

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And I was like, I had, I thought of this episode because I was talking to people that I don't

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really know, right?

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I get a moment to meet with them and I can create an instant connection with them.

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And I was like, what would it be like for someone that I already know that I know they know me,

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I know them and how would that energy actually flow as we're just looking at each other through

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the camera?

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Right?

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Yeah.

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My first question for you, all three.

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Who is Reagan Sidney?

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Who is Marc Davis?

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Who is Chris Gibson?

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Reagan, go ahead and start today.

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Today.

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Yeah.

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Who are you today?

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Today.

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So today, Reagan Sidney is a event planner.

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She is a chef.

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She is a political influencer here in town of New Orleans.

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She lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she grew up in Ann Arbor, as most of you do

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know, but she's been here for the last almost 20 years now, 17 years.

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She's single.

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She's a homo.

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Hello.

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Ready to mingle?

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There you go.

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I know.

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I'm so crazy is I've been trying to date and I just like being single.

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Okay.

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I know what it is.

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I'm being beautiful and this skin and I just realized I actually had to break up with someone

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recently and I feel bad because I didn't do it.

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I didn't do it.

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And I own that.

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I did not do it well and I had to apologize because I just realized that this is not what

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I want for my life and I didn't do it well.

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So yeah.

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What are you smiling at?

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I'm bucketing mom.

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I have an amazing dog.

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Yes, you're here in the background.

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That's a dog that you hear in the background.

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I bought this house what three months ago and has a pool and an outdoor space and all

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the things that I've been wanting literally my whole life.

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And so I'm, I cannot tell you how much I am so grateful to God that he finally found a

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way to give me everything that I've been wanting.

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There you go.

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That's just the beginning and that's what he's telling me.

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It's just the beginning.

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Even when I had this house blessed, God told me that this is just, this is your first house.

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This is not the house.

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This is the start of home.

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Okay.

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Mark Davis, who is Mark Davis?

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Yes, indeed.

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Well, I'm just a brother of peace, love, and joy.

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From the D, Goliath, I could finally say something like that.

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What's this trying to live a life of purpose?

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And yes, indeed, continue to live with love.

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I'm a financial aid advisor.

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I'm a new author, screenwriter, lover.

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No.

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Well, yeah, just on a mission to really, at this stage in my life, give back in ways

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that's authentic to me.

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In a nutshell, that's what who Mark Davis is and what I'm all about.

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Well, hello, Mark Davis.

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Yes, indeed.

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AKA Pock.

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Pock?

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Yeah.

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My Western folks still got the day going.

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That's so funny.

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Yeah.

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It's so funny because, you know, we're still connected, even though if we don't talk for

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months or years, it's like when we do talk, we pick up right where we left off, there's

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like nothing missing, right?

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Mark and I had a conversation, I don't know, it was months ago, and I was like, oh man,

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it's been so long. Do I even call him Pock anymore?

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Like, you know, but he was like, people still call me Pock, man.

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Yeah, for sure.

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Yeah.

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He called me the other day and he was like, happy birthday Pock.

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So it's all love, man.

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Right.

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Well, most indeed.

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Chris.

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Well, man, I just, again, I'm honored to be on this podcast.

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I see what you're doing, Sands.

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You're doing an amazing job.

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And so when you called, I was like, man, anything, anytime, any place, just let me know.

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I'll be there.

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So thank you for this opportunity.

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But I think Reagan hit it on the head.

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And when you ask that question, like, if you mean right now, today, I will speak from the

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current tense.

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And so I am a father of two amazing kids, Olivia Jonah.

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My daughter is a junior at University of Texas in Austin.

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My son is a junior in high school.

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And so I'm also a husband to Monique Gibson of 22 years.

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She's an amazing woman.

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And guess what y'all?

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Mike Burt is the one who hooked me up with my wife just in case y'all didn't know.

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No.

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I don't want to do this.

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I'm a Cupid.

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Yes.

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So Mike is.

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No idea.

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Let's go.

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Mike, without Mike, I'm not here.

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I'm not married.

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I don't have kids.

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I'm not married.

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So I think I'm a little different.

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So my life would probably be a little different,

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but I am a principal.

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I've been in education now for going on 23 years.

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I've been an administration for the last 10.

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I am an author and I am in ordained minister as well.

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And I believe my calling in life is just to basically be an example of Christ

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and make Christ known and then just make his love known.

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And so that's what I do.

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I try to love people, love kids obviously,

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and just do what I do.

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There you go.

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Well, again, welcome, y'all.

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Hey, the funny thing is I was always thinking

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through time after Western and all that.

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I was like, man, we met in 1995.

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95, 96, yeah.

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Yeah, 95, 90.

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Wow.

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Oh yeah, 95, 96.

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I think, well, Christ, I met in 97, I think.

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Yeah.

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Pocket Night News each other says 95.

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Yeah, friggin' 96.

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96.

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Christ, 96, 97, I think it's 97.

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That's right.

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Mm-hmm.

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How much time has flown by, man?

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A long time.

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You know what I mean?

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I met a kid today, I met a woman today, a woman,

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grown as a woman.

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She was born in 94.

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She was born in 94.

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I could have been your mama.

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God bless me that I'm not children.

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Hey, listen.

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I'm just saying.

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Listen, it's some people our age that's grandparents, so.

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That's true, yeah.

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A lot of our friends are grandparents.

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Yeah, that's real.

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A lot of our friends are grandparents.

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Yeah, well, I'm a great uncle.

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And like, you know, 47, going on 48,

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I'm like a great, great uncle actually.

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It's a lot, man.

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Yeah.

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Wow.

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But it's a blessing indeed for sure.

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It is a blessing.

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It's children.

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I love them.

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I can't see Mickey.

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So, Mark, do you have children?

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No, no kids.

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Me either.

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Yeah.

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Single, no kids.

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I'm the only one on this podcast who got kids.

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You're the only one on this podcast

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and married.

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And Eric was here.

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He was here with you.

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Yeah, yeah.

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Well, we are missing a fourth person, Eric.

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Eric is actually his anniversaries on Thursday.

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And he did not tell his wife he was gonna be

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on a podcast today.

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So she booked him and her a flight

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to Denver, Colorado for the anniversary.

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Oh, wow.

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He called me today or yesterday, he was like,

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man, I can't make it, man.

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My wife, man.

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She booked me a flight, man, in Denver.

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I was like, bro, like, did she not tell her you

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were gonna be on a podcast?

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Nah, man, I did.

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I thought we was gonna do something.

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No, bro.

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I thought it was gonna be a regular Wednesday night.

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Right.

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Right.

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So we are missing him, but he's here in spirit

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and in the air.

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Now, is he married?

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Well, he's married.

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Does he have kids too?

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He, yeah, he has one kid from earlier.

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Not from the marriage.

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So this is his second marriage.

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Okay.

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Yeah, from, yeah, this,

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yeah, second marriage.

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Yeah.

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So, you know, Mark hit on some of the things

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that we're gonna talk about, but I wanna kind of share

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the intention of the show and we'll get deep into it later on,

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but really the intention of the show is to show

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like transformative stories, your stories,

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and talk about you finding your purpose

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or are you finding your purpose

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and talk about your power of resilience,

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your vision and authenticity in creating a life

266
00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:06,040
of greatness and significance.

267
00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:08,920
It's a lot, right?

268
00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:10,000
Yeah, that's deep.

269
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,240
It's very, very, a lot of mouthful.

270
00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:13,080
My head.

271
00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:13,920
Peace.

272
00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:14,760
On a Wednesday night too.

273
00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:15,600
I mean, gosh.

274
00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:17,440
You're unhappy at it.

275
00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:18,400
It'll only work.

276
00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:19,240
I don't know.

277
00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:20,240
Please, I don't know.

278
00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:21,080
I don't know.

279
00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:21,920
I don't know.

280
00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:23,240
I don't know.

281
00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:24,560
I don't know.

282
00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:25,720
What's on your mind when I say,

283
00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:27,080
Reagan, you go first.

284
00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:28,400
Don't.

285
00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:29,240
Why?

286
00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:31,320
I wasn't gonna do that.

287
00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:32,160
I wasn't gonna do that.

288
00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:33,120
No, it's good.

289
00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:33,960
Reagan, go for it.

290
00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:34,960
No, I'm just kidding.

291
00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:38,960
What's on your mind when I say that though?

292
00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:45,680
Well, I mean, I will say this.

293
00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:50,680
I think the, what's happened in my life

294
00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:53,520
is that I have continuously evolved.

295
00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:58,520
There's never been a moment even between,

296
00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:04,120
like I remember my twenties when I moved to Maryland,

297
00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:09,120
I found myself as a woman for the first time.

298
00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,040
I think I was a little girl, younger,

299
00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:22,720
when I was in my early 20s, 18, 19, 20s.

300
00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:25,640
But when I turned 25, 26, 27,

301
00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:31,520
there was a change that happened that I found myself.

302
00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:35,040
And I actually dated an older man at that time.

303
00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:40,040
So he helped me kind of navigate that space.

304
00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:46,960
In my 30s, I learned how to be broke and be good.

305
00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:49,440
What does that mean?

306
00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:51,440
As a person was.

307
00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:52,280
30s?

308
00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:55,280
Oh, what a horrible day.

309
00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:57,680
What's so damn broke?

310
00:13:57,680 --> 00:13:59,000
God, why?

311
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:00,840
It's every time.

312
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:05,840
But I went to Israel, I went to Jamaica,

313
00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:10,440
I've been to all these places.

314
00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,720
And I just enjoyed my 30s, but it was hard.

315
00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:20,720
Like I worked really, really hard to just live, right?

316
00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:25,640
And I think what other 30 year olds need to understand is,

317
00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:27,880
it's not gonna be easy because you're trying to find

318
00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:31,040
your footing and trying to learn how to save

319
00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:35,040
and still live and still, you're an adult now,

320
00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:36,280
when you're in your 30s.

321
00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,400
But then when you hit your 40s.

322
00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:42,440
Things started to cost a little better.

323
00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:43,280
Maybe.

324
00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:44,120
Maybe.

325
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,440
You make a little more better decisions.

326
00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,920
You know, sexually free, honestly.

327
00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:55,680
And I think that's something to be said about women,

328
00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,400
especially black women who don't own always

329
00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:00,400
their sexuality very well.

330
00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:06,600
I think also we are moving into learning how to spin

331
00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:11,600
and save and make really good financial decisions,

332
00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:15,480
which is super important at this age.

333
00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:18,840
I bought this house because I make entirely

334
00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:20,160
too much money not to.

335
00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:21,640
Like it just didn't make sense not to.

336
00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:22,480
You know what I'm saying?

337
00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,440
Like I just, I don't have a husband.

338
00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:26,000
I don't have anybody else.

339
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,040
So when I don't make them rent, guess what?

340
00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:28,880
Ain't no rent.

341
00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:32,760
I'm gonna take more games.

342
00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:34,640
I'm gonna take it all out.

343
00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:36,640
I'm gonna take it all out.

344
00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:40,640
But I'm also, I mean, I'm also a bona fide hustler.

345
00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:44,080
Reagan, always have been.

346
00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,080
I don't have a problem working hard.

347
00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,320
And I think that's one thing that I would,

348
00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:54,720
if I could teach this generation that's coming up right now,

349
00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:57,320
they have a hard time working hard.

350
00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,640
And they don't know what that looks like.

351
00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:03,960
They don't understand how important it is

352
00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,640
to give your all to somebody and to something.

353
00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:11,000
This is why their relationships don't work.

354
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,840
And this is also why they can't keep a job.

355
00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:14,800
You know, that's a good question.

356
00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:17,120
I mean, that's a good view.

357
00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:18,320
What do you think is,

358
00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:23,440
what does influence their actions

359
00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:24,920
into being that kind of person?

360
00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:27,720
You guys, any?

361
00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:28,720
Anyone.

362
00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:30,840
I was gonna think as I'll tell you what it is.

363
00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:32,720
It's us.

364
00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:34,320
It's our fault.

365
00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:35,600
We made it look easy.

366
00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:42,400
It's their parents said, we got you no matter what.

367
00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:45,000
And that's the problem.

368
00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:49,160
Any thoughts on that?

369
00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:55,600
I mean, I can attest to that and agree to that,

370
00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,800
that parents played a part.

371
00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:02,400
I would think the change in technology plays

372
00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:04,320
a huge role as well.

373
00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:05,160
Yeah.

374
00:17:06,360 --> 00:17:10,720
A bigger role than I think we even can imagine, right?

375
00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:13,240
Like just think of kids now nowadays,

376
00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:17,400
they're just seeing snapshots, highlight reels.

377
00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,360
In real time, well, I don't know how real

378
00:17:21,360 --> 00:17:24,760
you wanna call social media platforms,

379
00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:28,120
you know, with respect to the podcast, of course.

380
00:17:28,120 --> 00:17:32,000
Yeah, you know, it's part of the social media.

381
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:33,600
Where you going with this, man?

382
00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,200
No, but I think that place,

383
00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:40,000
a huge part of it with the younger generation

384
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,920
and how they feel and how they might approach life

385
00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:47,920
and maybe being a little bit more reserved, if you will.

386
00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:50,680
And their approach with things and work.

387
00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:55,600
So I think social media definitely put a spin on that

388
00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:58,920
for sure for them and the younger generation.

389
00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:00,960
Yeah, Chris, you have two teenagers.

390
00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:04,760
One in college, one high school, doing well.

391
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:07,520
What is your view?

392
00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:10,800
Yeah, so no, I think Mara Kiddit on the head

393
00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:13,520
and I'm gonna speak from more,

394
00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:15,440
I can speak from a parental's perspective,

395
00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,200
but I also can speak from a principal perspective

396
00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:19,560
because I see it in my school.

397
00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:23,240
So what's different now is, you know,

398
00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:26,560
social media has changed everything.

399
00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:29,680
It has changed the way people parent their kids.

400
00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,960
It has changed traditional values that we grew up with.

401
00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:36,880
Your image is everything at this point.

402
00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:42,760
And even if you have kids who grow up in a two parent home

403
00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:47,000
or they are raised well or they're involved

404
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:48,400
in all these activities,

405
00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:51,840
they still have to battle comparison.

406
00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:56,840
They still have to battle keeping up with the Joneses.

407
00:18:56,840 --> 00:19:00,520
And, you know, they have the imagery of the Kardashians

408
00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:05,120
or, you know, Nicki Minaj or, you know, whoever it is,

409
00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:06,840
that's who they're trying to be like.

410
00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:09,840
And so they bring that into the schoolhouse.

411
00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:13,080
And so, you know, when we have dress code violations,

412
00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:14,200
they don't understand that.

413
00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:19,080
Or if they're talking back to the teachers or adults,

414
00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:21,520
parents are like, well, what's wrong with that?

415
00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:23,040
She's expressing herself, you know,

416
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:25,680
she's advocating for herself.

417
00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:27,640
And we're just like, okay,

418
00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:30,240
if my mama had to come up here and talk to me

419
00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:32,760
about this stuff, she would be on the news.

420
00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:36,480
It's like today, you don't have that.

421
00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:40,040
I mean, it's like, you know, you're parenting parents.

422
00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:43,400
I mean, we have to have parenting classes for parents.

423
00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:46,640
And it's just a totally different dynamic.

424
00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:47,920
And I think you can even go,

425
00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,280
and that's not even including COVID.

426
00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,480
You know, what COVID did to that, you know,

427
00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:56,120
demographic of children is amazing.

428
00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:57,800
And they're still coming out of that.

429
00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:00,960
So I think when you compare, you know,

430
00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,320
that with the social media, with the different era,

431
00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:08,360
you know, our society is way different

432
00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:10,880
than it was even just 15 years ago.

433
00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:14,800
When you were talking about that,

434
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:18,280
my mind went back, back to elementary.

435
00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:21,520
I remember my mom got some kind of note

436
00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:25,120
for how I was acting or my classes or whatever.

437
00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:28,120
So we went to the school,

438
00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:30,680
we walked down the street to the school.

439
00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:32,680
My mom talked to the teacher,

440
00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:34,440
got done talking to the teacher,

441
00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:36,400
you walk them back up the street.

442
00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,120
And my mom asked me, are you going to do,

443
00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:44,120
I don't know, homework or whatever the teacher had asked me

444
00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:47,320
to do or told her about that I should be doing.

445
00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:51,600
I said, no, just like that.

446
00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:53,280
I didn't know what was coming next.

447
00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:54,120
Wow.

448
00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:55,840
You went to the house and she said,

449
00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:57,160
what'd you say?

450
00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:58,000
No.

451
00:20:58,000 --> 00:20:58,840
No.

452
00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:01,840
I got my butt torn up.

453
00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:02,680
Probably.

454
00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:03,520
Yeah.

455
00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:05,320
Now you know that probably wouldn't happen today though.

456
00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,000
No, no, no, no.

457
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:07,840
No.

458
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:09,240
No, not, yeah.

459
00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:10,760
Well, that's your right.

460
00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:11,600
That's your right.

461
00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:13,360
No, it's not your right.

462
00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:15,040
And that's the problem.

463
00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,360
These rights and reserves and all of that.

464
00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:19,520
Now don't get me wrong.

465
00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:20,680
I mean, we can go down,

466
00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:24,680
there is a whole level of politics

467
00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,440
that go behind this, right?

468
00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:33,680
And we're not gonna go,

469
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,040
hopefully we'll stay away from that tonight

470
00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:38,160
because I don't have it in me.

471
00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:40,920
But I will say this,

472
00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:43,080
I think there's something to be said

473
00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,360
about parenting your kids.

474
00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:49,360
And one thing,

475
00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:51,840
my brother has four boys.

476
00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:57,000
And all of them respect him to an amazing level

477
00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:58,760
because he don't play that shit.

478
00:21:58,760 --> 00:21:59,760
Ryan don't play.

479
00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:03,720
But he is like, listen,

480
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,800
my father raised me, my mother raised me

481
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:09,760
and what I am gonna do is raise my sons.

482
00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:14,760
And it's something about that that has to be said.

483
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:19,800
Like you have, you're not your kid's friend.

484
00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:20,920
Correct.

485
00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:23,440
You are their parent.

486
00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,440
It is your responsibility to make sure

487
00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:27,640
that they don't kill me.

488
00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:30,320
Right.

489
00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:32,280
Get your kids.

490
00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:33,120
Get your kids.

491
00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:33,960
Get your kids.

492
00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:34,800
Get your kids.

493
00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:36,120
Get your kids.

494
00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:36,960
Yeah.

495
00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:37,800
Get your kids.

496
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:39,400
Hold on, let me get my.

497
00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:40,240
Get your kids.

498
00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:41,080
Yeah.

499
00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:42,240
Hi, real quick.

500
00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:45,880
Why is that a thing?

501
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:48,400
Yeah.

502
00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:50,640
Yeah, you're right.

503
00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:53,800
It's the difference of generations for sure.

504
00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:55,520
Yeah.

505
00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,880
Being raised by social media is just a travesty.

506
00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,400
I mean, the intention of what social media

507
00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,000
was supposed to be was more to connect and,

508
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:05,720
you know, all that good stuff.

509
00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:08,080
But it's been, it's been bastardized.

510
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:09,400
It's been.

511
00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:10,240
It was back up.

512
00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:11,080
It was not.

513
00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:12,720
It was to share information.

514
00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:13,560
Share information.

515
00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:14,400
You're right.

516
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:19,400
Remember the World Wide Web was not for anything else,

517
00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:22,160
but to share information.

518
00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,760
We were only supposed to be doing this.

519
00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:28,640
Remember this back when we were in like 10th and 9th grade,

520
00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:30,800
back in the 1900s, and we,

521
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,400
10th and 11th of the week.

522
00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:34,920
Oh, we're gonna give you this thing.

523
00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:37,720
And all you have to do is click this button.

524
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:38,560
Yeah, but wait,

525
00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:40,760
why'd you say 1900s like that though?

526
00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:42,200
18th?

527
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:43,040
Yeah.

528
00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:44,360
Reagan.

529
00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:45,800
Why'd you say 1900s like that?

530
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:47,120
Like we like, but who's the next?

531
00:23:47,120 --> 00:23:48,720
Oh, back in the 1900s.

532
00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:50,520
Back in the 1900s.

533
00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,920
Hold on a second, my friends are crazy.

534
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:56,280
One of my good friends told me that.

535
00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:58,200
She was like, back in the 1900s.

536
00:23:58,200 --> 00:23:59,480
This is how we were raised.

537
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:01,200
I was like, is she not wrong?

538
00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:02,520
It makes me feel so old.

539
00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:03,520
Yeah.

540
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,240
Cause 2000s is very different.

541
00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:07,560
Yeah, it is.

542
00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:08,400
It is.

543
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:09,240
Yeah.

544
00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:11,160
That's true.

545
00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:12,960
Anything else to be said about that?

546
00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:17,480
I mean, you got these millennials who are parents.

547
00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:20,320
And I think, you know, like I deal with a lot of parents

548
00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:25,320
who, you know, they're probably in their mid 30s

549
00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:28,280
and or maybe younger than that.

550
00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:29,120
Yeah.

551
00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:32,160
And their idea of parenting is totally different.

552
00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:34,040
You know, they, it used to be where like,

553
00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,040
if a teacher called you, your parents,

554
00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:38,360
for and just said, Hey, you know,

555
00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,400
Mike was talking in class today or, you know,

556
00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:43,720
Reagan didn't do her homework or, you know,

557
00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:46,040
Mark wasn't, you know, paying attention.

558
00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:47,280
Man, that was it.

559
00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:48,440
There was no debate.

560
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:49,600
There was no argument.

561
00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:51,840
It was like, okay, I'll thank you for calling.

562
00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:54,040
I'm gonna handle it today.

563
00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,640
No, that whole conversation is like, well,

564
00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:00,000
what do you mean, you know, she didn't have her homework.

565
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:00,920
I know she turned it in.

566
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:02,160
You just lost it or something.

567
00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:04,240
I mean, like there's just, it's talking about it.

568
00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:08,320
It is not a partnership like it used to be.

569
00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:10,920
And I think that's one reason why you see a lot

570
00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,040
of educators today leaving the field

571
00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:17,560
because they don't want to put up with these parents.

572
00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:22,240
It's not the kids because the kids are gonna be kids.

573
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,680
Their brains are not fully developed.

574
00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,440
We expect kids to make mistakes.

575
00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:29,320
That's why they're in school.

576
00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,520
I could deal with kids all day.

577
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:35,920
It's the parents that take the air out of the room.

578
00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:38,680
And so I think that's the issue and the problem

579
00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,600
that a lot of us are having, at least in my field.

580
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:43,760
So.

581
00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:45,040
Yeah, that makes sense.

582
00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:47,600
How do you navigate that as a principal?

583
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,680
I mean, it's hard because I, you know,

584
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,720
I have to be professional at all times,

585
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:54,200
even when I don't want to be.

586
00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:59,000
And I have to remember these things when I speak to people.

587
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:03,320
And I try to leave with love and encouragement,

588
00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:07,480
but it's hard, man, because like I've been cussed out.

589
00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:11,560
I've been, you know, blasting on social media.

590
00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:14,320
You know, you name it, I've probably dealt with it.

591
00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,840
But, you know, the one thing that my mentor always told me

592
00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:20,640
was, look, man, as long as you stick to policy,

593
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,720
data and facts, you'll always come out on top.

594
00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:25,960
And that's true.

595
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,000
And so, you know, you don't have to like me,

596
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,000
but I'm gonna tell you how it is.

597
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,520
And, you know, afterwards we can hug or cry it out,

598
00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:36,120
but you gotta be honest with parents, man,

599
00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:40,400
because if you don't, they're gonna have a very false sense

600
00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:41,560
of who their children really are,

601
00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:43,360
because there's two stages.

602
00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:45,480
There's the stage at home,

603
00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:47,560
and then there's a stage at school.

604
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:50,680
The stage at school has an audience

605
00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:52,440
that they don't have at home.

606
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:54,640
So when you call home and say, hey, you know,

607
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:56,360
Johnny was doing this, they're like, what?

608
00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:57,480
Not my Johnny.

609
00:26:57,480 --> 00:26:59,240
And you're like, yes, ma'am, it was your Johnny.

610
00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:00,080
We got it on here.

611
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:01,400
Yeah, differently.

612
00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:04,800
So I mean, you know, so yeah, deal with that.

613
00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:06,240
It's never their Johnny.

614
00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:08,280
No, not my Johnny.

615
00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:10,240
No, it was Johnny.

616
00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:12,920
Yeah, I got it.

617
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:14,040
I got it.

618
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:18,080
And Chris, you know, since you are an educator

619
00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:22,880
in that system, it seemed like even before social media

620
00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:25,040
took off and the internet took off,

621
00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:28,440
there still seemed like it was a fine line

622
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:33,440
between parents disciplining their kids

623
00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:35,880
and the school system.

624
00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,200
You know, at a certain point in time, it was like,

625
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,240
hey, we don't wanna hear about a certain level

626
00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:43,200
of discipline for your child,

627
00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:46,120
or it's gonna be an issue with CPS or whoever

628
00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:47,400
with the school.

629
00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:49,680
And that was even before social media.

630
00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:54,680
So did that have an impact on, you know, parenting

631
00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,760
and how, you know, what parents are allowed

632
00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:00,000
or what they can and cannot do,

633
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,960
you know, as far as laws and looking at it

634
00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:08,480
from a school's perspective, you know,

635
00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:10,600
what was the effects of that?

636
00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:13,640
Yeah, I think a lot of that depends on where you work,

637
00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:16,000
because I can tell you, I started my career

638
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:19,920
out in Detroit public schools on the East side.

639
00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:23,960
The person's lower East side by Mac and B-week.

640
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,320
It was a great hood over there.

641
00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:27,480
I know it well.

642
00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:30,160
But I learned so much at that campus.

643
00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:33,400
Man, I used to have parents ask me for my belt

644
00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:35,360
to whoop their kids.

645
00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:38,800
And I was like, go, you know, like,

646
00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,080
I'm a queen of the whole field, you know.

647
00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:44,080
So in those kind of environments, you know,

648
00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:46,440
we were like, do what you gotta do, but you're right.

649
00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,720
I think in today's society, that would be frowned upon,

650
00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,000
but I think it depends on the district.

651
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,760
Like if you're in a suburban district versus

652
00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,600
an urban district, a rural district,

653
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:02,280
those things can make a difference.

654
00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,160
But, you know, and there's people who have different

655
00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:07,840
philosophies of discipline in their child.

656
00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:10,560
Like there's some people who don't believe in spankings.

657
00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:12,640
You know, they believe in the time out

658
00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:15,560
and they believe in verbal conversations and all of that.

659
00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:17,320
And that's great.

660
00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:19,920
But I mean, I just know how I was raised.

661
00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:21,720
And I'm not saying that I was raised perfectly,

662
00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,120
but I got that bill.

663
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:27,600
And I knew once I kept getting that bill,

664
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:29,160
I was like, you know what, this ain't worth it.

665
00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:30,320
Let me just forget it.

666
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:32,240
Let me just go ahead and line up.

667
00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:33,880
And get it right.

668
00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:35,280
That was how my parents raised me.

669
00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:37,400
So, yeah.

670
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:41,040
So New Orleans has a all black male high school

671
00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:42,320
called St. Augustine.

672
00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:44,200
It's St. Augustine.

673
00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:47,400
It's one of the best high schools almost in the country.

674
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,160
And it started out, my father went there,

675
00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:51,920
my pastor went there.

676
00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:54,480
Most black men, prominent black men

677
00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:58,680
that live here in New Orleans have been to this high school.

678
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:02,480
They graduated from this high school.

679
00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:06,120
They had corporal punishment up until, I think,

680
00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:08,440
like four or five years ago.

681
00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,520
What's corporate punishment at a high school?

682
00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:14,160
They used to put them in a cut.

683
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:14,560
Yes.

684
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:15,360
No.

685
00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:17,640
What?

686
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:19,520
Which used to be illegal years ago.

687
00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:20,360
And was legal years.

688
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:20,840
Oh, yeah.

689
00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:21,560
I get that.

690
00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:22,040
Yeah.

691
00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:22,880
Ears.

692
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:23,320
Ears.

693
00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:24,560
Ears.

694
00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:25,840
Now, don't get me wrong.

695
00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:27,600
Now, they have taken it out.

696
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:34,000
But these kids are still graduating at almost 100% rate.

697
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,240
They are not failing.

698
00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:38,120
And they are making millions.

699
00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:43,200
I think they did $3 million last year in scholarships.

700
00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:46,480
Like, this school is not to be played with.

701
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:52,280
But the end of the discussion is, how do we make sure our,

702
00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:54,760
let's hone this bag down.

703
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:58,560
How do we make sure our kids are doing well?

704
00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:01,240
I mean, as much as I appreciate white kids and I'm

705
00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:04,360
a little bit whatever, I'm sorry, it ain't my thing.

706
00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:06,040
I care about our kids.

707
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:09,520
And what are we going to do to make sure that they are good?

708
00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:12,640
And this is the kind of situation that we're talking about.

709
00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:19,320
Like, our kids at St. Aug are doing well and graduating

710
00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:23,280
and going on to three and four levels of college

711
00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:27,880
after that, finishing secondary educations

712
00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:33,280
because they have discipline.

713
00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:35,960
Now, they don't corporal discipline anymore.

714
00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:36,800
They used to.

715
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:38,040
They can't do it anymore.

716
00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:40,760
They outlawed it and all this other stuff, whatever.

717
00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,320
But they said they can see the difference.

718
00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:45,080
But they have always, I mean, we're

719
00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:48,240
talking about senators and congressmen.

720
00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:51,440
And I mean, they do well.

721
00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:52,040
Nice.

722
00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:55,680
Because there is a high level of discipline.

723
00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,800
Children need discipline.

724
00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:01,560
So you think discipline is missing?

725
00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:04,120
My mom is still coming to my house to see this first.

726
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:09,520
That's funny.

727
00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:10,720
Mine too.

728
00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:11,320
Mine too.

729
00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:12,520
I'm a real dad.

730
00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:15,520
And I wish I would question that.

731
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:17,720
As much as, I mean, my mother and I are best friends.

732
00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:21,080
But there is a moment when she turns into Cynthia's mama.

733
00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:22,880
And I'd be like, OK, yes, mom.

734
00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:24,960
OK, I'm sorry.

735
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:26,560
Well, let's turn the tables here a little bit.

736
00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:30,880
Like, when we're talking about kids of this generation

737
00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:33,080
and how they're growing up, let's go back to our generation

738
00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:35,600
how we grew up.

739
00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:39,840
You guys have grown up and you've

740
00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:42,120
accomplished so much in your life.

741
00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:43,480
Let's talk about it a little bit.

742
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:48,160
Mark, you wrote a children's book, which I never, like,

743
00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:49,120
where did that come from?

744
00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:50,560
Whatever had thought that.

745
00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:51,560
Go.

746
00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:52,440
Come on, y'all.

747
00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:54,520
Let me say this.

748
00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:56,880
Mark wrote a script.

749
00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:58,480
I was living in Los Angeles at the time.

750
00:32:58,480 --> 00:32:59,560
And he gave me the script.

751
00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:04,920
Somewhere in my email that got lost,

752
00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:06,640
I asked for another script.

753
00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:07,480
He said no.

754
00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:08,160
He told me no.

755
00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:09,560
He said, man.

756
00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:10,720
You know what?

757
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:13,440
That's a bold face lie on your part.

758
00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:15,840
He told me I'm not giving it to you again, Bert.

759
00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:17,160
That's what he said.

760
00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:17,840
I don't have it.

761
00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:19,840
Maybe the third time I said no.

762
00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:20,720
Maybe.

763
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:21,680
Maybe.

764
00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:26,000
But you went from writing a script to writing a children's

765
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:27,000
book.

766
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,240
How did that come about?

767
00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:31,520
Well, you know, Bert.

768
00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:32,360
Here we go.

769
00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:34,640
I always had a net for storytelling.

770
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:38,400
So I mean, even as a kid, I would write poems.

771
00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:41,680
I would draw just being a creative person.

772
00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:45,320
So as I went off to college, I definitely

773
00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:46,560
had a love for film.

774
00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:48,960
So film was my thing, as you know,

775
00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:51,480
study communications with the emphasis in film.

776
00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:54,600
And that's how I fell into screenwriting.

777
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:57,960
So screenwriting, again, was just another opportunity

778
00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,720
for me to express myself in storytelling.

779
00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:04,240
So fast forward.

780
00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:05,520
Graduated from college.

781
00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:09,360
Still writing screenplays, as you know.

782
00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:13,560
And there's a bigger screenplay.

783
00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:17,600
Writing screenplays is more than just writing screenplays.

784
00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:19,320
It's the stuff that you don't see

785
00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:21,120
is trying to sell the screenplays,

786
00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:22,680
trying to get noticed.

787
00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:24,680
Producers.

788
00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:29,040
Submitting my screenplays to festivals and writing workshops

789
00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:31,240
and competitions, which is cool.

790
00:34:31,240 --> 00:34:32,120
You get noticed.

791
00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:33,720
You get critiqued.

792
00:34:33,720 --> 00:34:38,160
Good critique, but you know, I went from screenwriting

793
00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:40,240
to saying, OK, all right.

794
00:34:40,240 --> 00:34:42,000
I want to, like I said, I got to the point

795
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:43,800
where I wanted to get back.

796
00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:47,200
And I felt like the screenplays was cool,

797
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:49,000
but I wanted to give back in real time.

798
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:50,400
What could I do?

799
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,160
I like to tell stories.

800
00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:55,000
So it's funny that we started off

801
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:56,880
with talking about kids and children.

802
00:34:56,880 --> 00:34:59,880
So what better way to give back is

803
00:34:59,880 --> 00:35:01,520
to start with the kiddos.

804
00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:06,600
So I'm just like, let me give back in the way that I know how

805
00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:08,600
is through my storytelling.

806
00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:13,000
So that's when I wrote the children's book.

807
00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:17,960
The theme of the children's book is self-empowerment.

808
00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:20,440
So it's a cool children's book.

809
00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:21,800
It has a nice, fun story.

810
00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:23,560
Got the illustrations, all that stuff.

811
00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:27,120
But it's a message in there of self-confidence.

812
00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:29,200
Because like we said, with social media

813
00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:33,680
and all the images and influences that our kids are going through

814
00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:37,040
or seeing, they're going to need this self-confidence

815
00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:40,520
to get them through the journey that they're going to go on.

816
00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:46,240
So that's how the children's book all came about.

817
00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:49,760
Did you sit down and one day it was like,

818
00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:51,560
I'm going to write a children's book.

819
00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:52,480
You know what?

820
00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:54,880
Literally, that's how it came about.

821
00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:57,480
I was like, you know what's funny?

822
00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:00,640
For those who are creatives, especially in storytelling,

823
00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,720
you always got stories in your mind.

824
00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:06,160
You're always just thinking that way in a creative way.

825
00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:08,600
It's just how it happens.

826
00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:11,520
So one day I was just sitting down and the story just kept

827
00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:15,320
popping in my head about a children's story.

828
00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:18,720
With the whole nine, with the cartoons,

829
00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:20,560
the little animal cartoons, the whole thing,

830
00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:21,800
I'm just envisioning it.

831
00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:23,960
And I was like, man, I need to do something with this.

832
00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:25,000
So I called a friend of mine.

833
00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:27,320
I was like, man, I think I'm going to write a children's book.

834
00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:28,720
She was like, really?

835
00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:29,600
Like, yeah.

836
00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:32,960
So you sit down and start writing out

837
00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:35,080
the premise of the story, characters,

838
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:37,880
and everything to the life of its own.

839
00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:41,280
And I birthed my first children's book.

840
00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:42,480
So there you go.

841
00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:42,960
Yeah.

842
00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:44,280
Mark Davis.

843
00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:45,400
Yeah.

844
00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:48,480
What's up, Thriveau journey listeners and watchers?

845
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846
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847
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848
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849
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850
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851
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852
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853
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854
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855
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856
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857
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858
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859
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860
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861
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862
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863
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864
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865
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866
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867
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868
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869
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870
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871
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872
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873
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874
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All right, we're doing the spot.

875
00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:13,240
Let's get back to the podcast.

876
00:38:13,240 --> 00:38:14,080
Yeah.

877
00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:15,800
Chris, you wrote a book too, right?

878
00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:16,640
I did.

879
00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:19,720
Yours is more devotional.

880
00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:21,960
Yeah, it's a 31-day devotional.

881
00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:24,120
It's called Fellowship with the Father.

882
00:38:24,120 --> 00:38:25,720
And I self-published it.

883
00:38:25,720 --> 00:38:27,280
It's on Amazon.

884
00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:29,240
And I made it very cheap for everybody.

885
00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:30,480
It's like 10 bucks.

886
00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:33,720
But no, what happens?

887
00:38:33,720 --> 00:38:35,240
You'll put the link in the description and everything

888
00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:36,760
so people can go to your stuff.

889
00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:37,600
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

890
00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:40,720
So, you know, I had, you know,

891
00:38:40,720 --> 00:38:41,840
the Lord had been dealing with me

892
00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:45,440
about writing this devotional for a few years.

893
00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:47,840
And I just kept putting it off.

894
00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:50,800
And when COVID happened, I had nothing but time.

895
00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:55,800
And so I had, I was already used to writing letters

896
00:38:57,120 --> 00:38:59,960
to the partners of our ministry.

897
00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:01,960
And so what I did was I basically went back

898
00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:03,960
and looked at some of those letters

899
00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:07,840
and just kind of compiled them into devotionals.

900
00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:11,720
And I tried to make it as very simple

901
00:39:11,720 --> 00:39:13,880
so that a kid could understand it.

902
00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:15,640
I didn't want to make it super deep.

903
00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:19,800
I didn't want to make it controversial or anything like that.

904
00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:22,760
It's just basic foundational principles

905
00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:26,160
that I think anybody could grab ahold to.

906
00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:29,720
And so, you know, I had it for 31 days.

907
00:39:29,720 --> 00:39:30,920
There's 31 devotionals.

908
00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:33,200
Again, it's called fellowship with the Father.

909
00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:34,480
And that's exactly what it is.

910
00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:36,920
It's just, it's a time you get up in the morning.

911
00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:39,760
Some people do their devotions when they first get up.

912
00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:43,000
And so I didn't make them super long.

913
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,120
They're pretty short in fact.

914
00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:48,880
And so I released that really during the pandemic

915
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:53,880
because before COVID, I spoke at a lot of churches,

916
00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:59,200
a lot of men's conferences, seminars,

917
00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:01,440
you know, all that kind of stuff.

918
00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:05,760
And once COVID happened, they shut all that down.

919
00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:07,960
And so I was like, all right,

920
00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:12,240
if I can't go there physically, this book can go anywhere.

921
00:40:12,240 --> 00:40:14,840
And so that's when I wrote the book, I was like, all right,

922
00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:17,280
this is, you know, anybody can get this wherever they're at.

923
00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:19,680
And so that's why I wrote it.

924
00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:21,600
And, you know, I was finally obedient.

925
00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:22,760
So I did it.

926
00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:25,720
And I've got a really good feedback on it.

927
00:40:25,720 --> 00:40:27,520
I didn't write the book to make money.

928
00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:30,560
I mean, that was not even a thing for me.

929
00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:33,040
I just wanted to put a resource into the hands of people

930
00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:37,360
who needed something from God.

931
00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:39,520
And so that's what I did.

932
00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:42,280
That's you, Chris, a good heart guy.

933
00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:43,880
Such a good guy.

934
00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:47,240
And we get to miss Reagan.

935
00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:52,040
Reagan, you know, oftentimes I think when you came to Los Angeles

936
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:55,440
and visited me and we went across that.

937
00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:59,000
Now that was right before the show, too.

938
00:40:59,680 --> 00:41:01,600
Was that before the show or during it?

939
00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:03,720
Before.

940
00:41:03,720 --> 00:41:04,600
Where before?

941
00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:06,240
Yeah.

942
00:41:06,240 --> 00:41:11,280
And we went out to, we were in Malibu.

943
00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:12,120
We went to Malibu.

944
00:41:12,120 --> 00:41:13,720
We went across to Panga County.

945
00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:15,040
Did you drive or did I drive?

946
00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:15,960
I drove.

947
00:41:15,960 --> 00:41:17,000
You drove?

948
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,800
And you won't take me nowhere.

949
00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:22,160
You remember that?

950
00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:23,120
I did.

951
00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:23,960
All right.

952
00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:24,800
She got to control it.

953
00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:25,680
She got to control it.

954
00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:26,520
But I had a good time.

955
00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:28,120
I often think about that.

956
00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:31,520
And it was so good to see you then.

957
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:33,200
Of course we talked.

958
00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:34,800
That was before the show.

959
00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:35,960
That's crazy.

960
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:36,800
Yeah.

961
00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:38,800
And life does what it does.

962
00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:40,320
Life did what it did.

963
00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:41,160
It did.

964
00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:46,160
And your life changed in many different ways.

965
00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:47,200
Please.

966
00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:52,200
And let's talk about you being a chef now

967
00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:57,400
and placing forth on Masterchef.

968
00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:00,280
Like, how did that come about?

969
00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:03,120
I mean, talk about it like this.

970
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:05,280
I remember she called me.

971
00:42:05,280 --> 00:42:09,080
I feel every time I say it or hear it,

972
00:42:09,080 --> 00:42:11,800
it's like, really good.

973
00:42:11,800 --> 00:42:12,640
Yeah.

974
00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:15,440
And I remember we had a conversation

975
00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:19,520
before the actual show aired,

976
00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:22,000
but I was really excited for you.

977
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:27,000
And I got to see Reagan Sidney on Masterchef.

978
00:42:28,160 --> 00:42:29,000
On TV.

979
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:30,000
On national TV.

980
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:31,640
On TV.

981
00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:33,080
Showing out.

982
00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:34,360
How did that come about?

983
00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:35,200
Okay.

984
00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:38,200
So pandemic.

985
00:42:38,200 --> 00:42:40,080
Same as Chris.

986
00:42:40,080 --> 00:42:43,040
Like God was really dealing with me.

987
00:42:43,040 --> 00:42:47,200
And I would say this, my pastor said this.

988
00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:49,160
This is the time that if you want to change

989
00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:51,360
or elevate your life, do it now.

990
00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:53,920
Perfect time.

991
00:42:53,920 --> 00:42:56,120
Like there's nothing else happening.

992
00:42:56,120 --> 00:42:56,960
Right.

993
00:42:56,960 --> 00:42:57,880
Go get it.

994
00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:00,800
And then he looks at me just like we're talking right now.

995
00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:02,120
And he looks through the camera.

996
00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:04,400
Cause we're on like that zoom thing.

997
00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:07,200
And he's like, Reagan, you like to cook.

998
00:43:07,200 --> 00:43:09,400
You should go live.

999
00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:12,200
And I was like, go live.

1000
00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:13,600
Like, yeah.

1001
00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:16,680
He was like the same way you do with the radio show.

1002
00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:18,080
Do it with cooking.

1003
00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:19,720
And I was like, oh, okay.

1004
00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:26,600
Two years, every Tuesday, I went live.

1005
00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:30,080
When I came out of the pandemic,

1006
00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:35,080
I got a couple phone calls from a couple different shows.

1007
00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:37,040
Like, hey, we saw your videos.

1008
00:43:37,040 --> 00:43:41,760
We think you're money and amazing and all the things.

1009
00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:43,480
And I was like, huh, me?

1010
00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:45,480
It's like, yes.

1011
00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:49,080
And then I got a phone call from an A18 number and that's LA.

1012
00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:51,280
And you always answer LA phone call.

1013
00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:56,280
And he said, hey, I just want you to know,

1014
00:43:57,400 --> 00:44:01,400
I think that you are the perfect person for a master chef.

1015
00:44:01,400 --> 00:44:03,600
And we would like for you to be on the show.

1016
00:44:05,240 --> 00:44:06,840
So that's how that started.

1017
00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:08,680
I did not call him.

1018
00:44:08,680 --> 00:44:10,000
Wow.

1019
00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:14,440
Cause whatever God has for you, he will chase you down.

1020
00:44:14,440 --> 00:44:15,280
Say that.

1021
00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:17,120
That's all right.

1022
00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:18,440
We're gonna do it.

1023
00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:19,280
We're gonna do it.

1024
00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:20,120
We're gonna do it.

1025
00:44:20,120 --> 00:44:23,680
Well, literally chase you down.

1026
00:44:23,680 --> 00:44:24,520
Yeah.

1027
00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:26,400
You do not have to go after it.

1028
00:44:26,400 --> 00:44:27,680
It will come and get you.

1029
00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:29,320
Yeah.

1030
00:44:29,320 --> 00:44:31,080
In that moment, well, first of all,

1031
00:44:31,080 --> 00:44:35,480
what was it like being a contestant that placed fourth?

1032
00:44:35,480 --> 00:44:37,440
Almost in the finale.

1033
00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:39,720
What was it?

1034
00:44:39,720 --> 00:44:40,560
What was it like?

1035
00:44:40,560 --> 00:44:41,520
So we'll talk about that in a second.

1036
00:44:41,520 --> 00:44:42,480
Let me get there.

1037
00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:43,320
Okay.

1038
00:44:43,320 --> 00:44:46,160
So out of 40,000 people that applied,

1039
00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:47,480
now remember they called me.

1040
00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:50,880
40,000 people applied.

1041
00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:51,720
That's a lot.

1042
00:44:51,720 --> 00:44:53,040
That's a lot of cooking people.

1043
00:44:53,040 --> 00:44:55,960
They brought 80 people to the show.

1044
00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:57,080
Out of those 80.

1045
00:44:57,080 --> 00:44:58,840
And I remember the day that I made it.

1046
00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:02,080
And I don't talk about this story often at all.

1047
00:45:02,080 --> 00:45:03,840
Because it was a little personal.

1048
00:45:03,840 --> 00:45:05,720
That's a little different.

1049
00:45:05,720 --> 00:45:09,120
Well, at this point, we had been there for a week

1050
00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:13,280
and we had did all our auditions to just get on the show.

1051
00:45:13,280 --> 00:45:16,200
Like they do a whole nother set of auditions

1052
00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:17,360
just to get on the show.

1053
00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:20,600
Excuse me.

1054
00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:21,440
And so,

1055
00:45:23,640 --> 00:45:25,440
so I'm like, they're like,

1056
00:45:25,440 --> 00:45:28,520
everybody has to be packed by like 7 a.m.

1057
00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:31,280
and you have to go downstairs and you have to be ready.

1058
00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:33,400
And they're gonna call you,

1059
00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:35,520
but like nine, well, it's 10.

1060
00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:36,520
They ain't call me.

1061
00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:38,240
I'm like, oh, Lord Jesus.

1062
00:45:38,240 --> 00:45:39,080
Oh, my God.

1063
00:45:41,080 --> 00:45:43,000
Where were you supposed to go?

1064
00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:43,840
Oh, God.

1065
00:45:45,800 --> 00:45:47,040
I'm packed all up.

1066
00:45:47,040 --> 00:45:48,480
I'm taking a long time though,

1067
00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:49,320
because I'm taking my time.

1068
00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:51,200
Because I'm like, I know y'all not sending me home.

1069
00:45:51,200 --> 00:45:53,600
I'm trying to stay in this same room.

1070
00:45:53,600 --> 00:45:54,440
Right.

1071
00:45:56,440 --> 00:45:57,920
I still had the came and got me.

1072
00:45:57,920 --> 00:46:01,160
They brought a wagon to put all my stuff downstairs.

1073
00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:04,720
And when I walked in a room,

1074
00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:06,920
I'll never forget this.

1075
00:46:06,920 --> 00:46:09,720
I walked in a room and everybody was like,

1076
00:46:09,720 --> 00:46:11,280
no, no, no.

1077
00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:12,640
You're here.

1078
00:46:12,640 --> 00:46:13,480
We made it.

1079
00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:18,720
So they, based on your presence.

1080
00:46:18,720 --> 00:46:20,560
Based on my presence.

1081
00:46:20,560 --> 00:46:22,600
Cause I was literally the,

1082
00:46:22,600 --> 00:46:25,160
I think the third to last person

1083
00:46:25,160 --> 00:46:26,600
that made it into the room.

1084
00:46:27,680 --> 00:46:29,600
Based on my presence,

1085
00:46:29,600 --> 00:46:32,320
they knew that they had made it onto the show

1086
00:46:32,320 --> 00:46:33,320
and they were wrong.

1087
00:46:34,960 --> 00:46:36,360
Because that's who you are.

1088
00:46:36,360 --> 00:46:37,200
As you always been,

1089
00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:38,280
your presence is pretty strong.

1090
00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:39,280
Your energy.

1091
00:46:39,280 --> 00:46:40,480
They went raw.

1092
00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:41,320
I promise you.

1093
00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:42,520
I was like, oh my God.

1094
00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:43,440
What y'all talking about?

1095
00:46:43,440 --> 00:46:44,760
I was like, we made it.

1096
00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:46,080
They was like, we made it.

1097
00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:46,920
We made it.

1098
00:46:46,920 --> 00:46:47,840
We gon' be all right.

1099
00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:49,000
We gon' be all right.

1100
00:46:50,200 --> 00:46:53,040
But that was the 80 that made it onto the show.

1101
00:46:54,600 --> 00:46:58,200
Those 80 had to make, bring down.

1102
00:46:58,200 --> 00:46:59,760
I'm sorry.

1103
00:46:59,760 --> 00:47:02,440
Those 20, so in this room,

1104
00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:05,920
those 80 had to become 20.

1105
00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:09,160
And that's what we see on TV.

1106
00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:10,760
That's what you all see on TV.

1107
00:47:10,760 --> 00:47:12,720
The 80 that comes 20.

1108
00:47:12,720 --> 00:47:13,560
Yeah.

1109
00:47:13,560 --> 00:47:14,400
Yeah.

1110
00:47:15,240 --> 00:47:16,080
Were you scared?

1111
00:47:19,600 --> 00:47:21,440
Talking to Gordon Ramsay.

1112
00:47:21,440 --> 00:47:26,440
I just, I mean, I just knew whatever was supposed to be

1113
00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:28,000
was gon' be.

1114
00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:29,400
I could not.

1115
00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:30,840
It was nothing I could do.

1116
00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:33,120
I'm 45 years old.

1117
00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:35,160
I'm older than half the people in this room,

1118
00:47:35,160 --> 00:47:37,120
more than half the people in this room.

1119
00:47:38,320 --> 00:47:40,560
I'm the top, me and Michelle,

1120
00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:43,120
and I think two other people was my age.

1121
00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:45,200
That was it.

1122
00:47:45,200 --> 00:47:46,600
Yeah, but you don't look like it.

1123
00:47:46,600 --> 00:47:47,920
Oh, you don't.

1124
00:47:47,920 --> 00:47:49,720
You don't look like it.

1125
00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:51,080
Okay, I appreciate that, sir.

1126
00:47:51,080 --> 00:47:52,720
I did it.

1127
00:47:52,720 --> 00:47:53,560
Yes, I did.

1128
00:47:54,760 --> 00:47:56,600
Yeah, I'm starting to look like I'm in my 40.

1129
00:47:56,600 --> 00:47:58,160
That's not at all.

1130
00:47:58,160 --> 00:48:02,400
But you know, I'm not, I'm brown-skinned.

1131
00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:04,400
I got, I'm not a little girl.

1132
00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:05,240
I'm not skinny.

1133
00:48:05,240 --> 00:48:09,400
I'm not, you know, all the things that society tells you

1134
00:48:09,400 --> 00:48:10,520
that you aren't.

1135
00:48:10,520 --> 00:48:15,520
And here I am, literally the face of this show this year.

1136
00:48:15,960 --> 00:48:16,800
Right?

1137
00:48:16,800 --> 00:48:19,880
Like, I'm watching the program

1138
00:48:19,880 --> 00:48:21,480
and I'm watching all the people.

1139
00:48:21,480 --> 00:48:23,440
It's me every other second.

1140
00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:26,280
If you go back and watch the commercials,

1141
00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:27,840
come on, the commercials.

1142
00:48:29,320 --> 00:48:32,240
They giving this black girl on in small men?

1143
00:48:32,240 --> 00:48:34,760
They're giving this woman on it.

1144
00:48:34,760 --> 00:48:36,080
Yeah.

1145
00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:37,560
That's good for you though.

1146
00:48:37,560 --> 00:48:40,600
Not just me, for us.

1147
00:48:40,600 --> 00:48:42,560
This was about all of the,

1148
00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:43,920
and I really do mean this.

1149
00:48:43,920 --> 00:48:47,120
Like, I'm so grateful that I was able to show

1150
00:48:47,120 --> 00:48:48,560
what black women can do.

1151
00:48:49,640 --> 00:48:51,120
So you put the representation of-

1152
00:48:51,120 --> 00:48:53,680
That's for an older age, right?

1153
00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:54,520
Yeah, okay.

1154
00:48:54,520 --> 00:48:56,960
So when I meet people on the street who stop me,

1155
00:48:56,960 --> 00:48:59,680
literally stop me all the time.

1156
00:48:59,680 --> 00:49:01,960
And I watched you and you were amazing.

1157
00:49:01,960 --> 00:49:04,880
And I'm like, I was an, I was us.

1158
00:49:04,880 --> 00:49:06,800
Cause it get greater later, baby.

1159
00:49:08,200 --> 00:49:10,880
Cause you know when you're actually on the show,

1160
00:49:10,880 --> 00:49:16,080
you are a representation of the collective.

1161
00:49:16,080 --> 00:49:17,240
All of us.

1162
00:49:17,240 --> 00:49:21,760
This is not just me and I'm grateful.

1163
00:49:21,760 --> 00:49:24,360
I'm grateful to be the representative.

1164
00:49:24,360 --> 00:49:26,200
But at the end of the day, this is not about me.

1165
00:49:26,200 --> 00:49:27,480
This is about all of us.

1166
00:49:28,520 --> 00:49:29,960
Well, in that moment.

1167
00:49:29,960 --> 00:49:32,520
You know what that's like too though, my friend.

1168
00:49:32,520 --> 00:49:35,440
I mean, you were on one of the top television shows.

1169
00:49:35,440 --> 00:49:36,600
Can we talk about that?

1170
00:49:36,600 --> 00:49:37,440
Yeah, I was gonna say.

1171
00:49:37,440 --> 00:49:40,440
I mean, so you had some success in that world yourself.

1172
00:49:40,440 --> 00:49:41,280
And I'm sure you-

1173
00:49:41,280 --> 00:49:42,120
Absolutely.

1174
00:49:43,120 --> 00:49:44,640
Yeah, I get it.

1175
00:49:44,640 --> 00:49:46,480
Okay, back to you.

1176
00:49:46,480 --> 00:49:47,720
A little bit.

1177
00:49:47,720 --> 00:49:48,680
Back to you.

1178
00:49:48,680 --> 00:49:49,520
Yeah.

1179
00:49:50,520 --> 00:49:51,960
I really love it.

1180
00:49:51,960 --> 00:49:54,760
Now actually, when you're in your moments,

1181
00:49:54,760 --> 00:49:58,440
when you're sitting down thinking about creating scripts

1182
00:49:58,440 --> 00:49:59,720
or writing another book,

1183
00:49:59,720 --> 00:50:04,720
or you're in your world of, you know,

1184
00:50:04,920 --> 00:50:07,000
being a chef and catering,

1185
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:09,320
do you feel like you're in your purpose?

1186
00:50:09,320 --> 00:50:10,160
Absolutely.

1187
00:50:10,160 --> 00:50:11,480
Yeah.

1188
00:50:11,480 --> 00:50:13,160
Absolutely.

1189
00:50:13,160 --> 00:50:14,000
What is it like to live-

1190
00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:15,400
Doesn't feel like work.

1191
00:50:15,400 --> 00:50:16,600
Cause it's not work.

1192
00:50:16,600 --> 00:50:17,440
Yeah.

1193
00:50:17,440 --> 00:50:18,280
It's not work.

1194
00:50:18,280 --> 00:50:19,680
Now I'm tired,

1195
00:50:19,680 --> 00:50:20,520
but I'm not-

1196
00:50:20,520 --> 00:50:21,360
For sure.

1197
00:50:21,360 --> 00:50:24,840
But I'm not, and I'd rather be spent than done.

1198
00:50:25,760 --> 00:50:26,840
Right.

1199
00:50:26,840 --> 00:50:28,160
Two different levels.

1200
00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:29,800
Yeah.

1201
00:50:29,800 --> 00:50:31,640
Now on this journey though,

1202
00:50:31,640 --> 00:50:33,080
there's been failure, right?

1203
00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:35,280
Like what has failure played?

1204
00:50:35,280 --> 00:50:37,120
Or how's that played in your journey?

1205
00:50:39,320 --> 00:50:41,200
Who wants to talk about that?

1206
00:50:41,200 --> 00:50:42,400
No.

1207
00:50:42,400 --> 00:50:45,120
It's a part of life, you know what I'm saying?

1208
00:50:45,120 --> 00:50:48,560
It's the part of being a human, you know what I mean?

1209
00:50:49,840 --> 00:50:51,240
Yeah.

1210
00:50:51,240 --> 00:50:52,400
It's a big part of it.

1211
00:50:52,400 --> 00:50:53,240
Mikey, what-

1212
00:50:53,240 --> 00:50:54,840
It's the human part of it.

1213
00:50:54,840 --> 00:50:55,680
It's-

1214
00:50:55,680 --> 00:50:56,520
Okay, how do you-

1215
00:50:56,520 --> 00:50:57,840
Go ahead, Mike.

1216
00:50:57,840 --> 00:51:00,440
The reason why we can enjoy this moment, right?

1217
00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:01,280
For sure.

1218
00:51:01,280 --> 00:51:03,600
Cause if you don't know what that looks like,

1219
00:51:03,600 --> 00:51:05,840
you have no idea what it's like.

1220
00:51:05,840 --> 00:51:08,480
Do you know what it feels like to be broke and cold?

1221
00:51:09,440 --> 00:51:10,760
That's what I'm getting through.

1222
00:51:10,760 --> 00:51:11,600
Like you had-

1223
00:51:11,600 --> 00:51:12,560
Broke and cold.

1224
00:51:12,560 --> 00:51:16,320
We've all had our spaces where being broke and cold.

1225
00:51:16,320 --> 00:51:17,160
I don't know about Mark.

1226
00:51:17,160 --> 00:51:18,000
Broke and cold.

1227
00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:18,840
Mark, Mark was just-

1228
00:51:18,840 --> 00:51:19,680
Broke and cold.

1229
00:51:19,680 --> 00:51:20,520
But-

1230
00:51:20,520 --> 00:51:21,360
What?

1231
00:51:21,360 --> 00:51:22,880
Mark, Mark, Mark just,

1232
00:51:22,880 --> 00:51:24,480
he's just that cool person that you look at,

1233
00:51:24,480 --> 00:51:26,680
he'd be like, man, I just got it together, man.

1234
00:51:26,680 --> 00:51:28,880
Nah, yeah.

1235
00:51:28,880 --> 00:51:31,400
But that's just perception, right?

1236
00:51:31,400 --> 00:51:32,240
Okay.

1237
00:51:32,240 --> 00:51:33,200
Yeah, yeah.

1238
00:51:33,200 --> 00:51:38,200
I think through tragedy is probably one of the biggest

1239
00:51:38,520 --> 00:51:42,400
ways that I'm finding myself.

1240
00:51:42,400 --> 00:51:45,040
And I'm embracing change.

1241
00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:50,900
And we spoke to just evolving as a person.

1242
00:51:52,280 --> 00:51:54,880
The good has a place.

1243
00:51:54,880 --> 00:51:58,320
And it has a part of the process,

1244
00:51:58,320 --> 00:52:02,400
but I think the bad, the nodes,

1245
00:52:02,400 --> 00:52:06,200
hearing no, being cold will,

1246
00:52:06,200 --> 00:52:08,880
has a part in that process as well.

1247
00:52:08,880 --> 00:52:11,800
Even probably even bigger role than what we can do.

1248
00:52:11,800 --> 00:52:16,640
Than what we can imagine because it makes us more aware.

1249
00:52:16,640 --> 00:52:18,240
We feel it a little bit more,

1250
00:52:18,240 --> 00:52:22,560
makes us a little bit more aware of what is and what isn't.

1251
00:52:22,560 --> 00:52:27,240
So through tragedy was one of the biggest catalyst

1252
00:52:27,240 --> 00:52:32,240
that took me to just different heights of becoming who

1253
00:52:33,320 --> 00:52:36,760
I'm ultimately was brought here to be.

1254
00:52:36,760 --> 00:52:37,960
So yes.

1255
00:52:37,960 --> 00:52:39,120
Yes, for sure.

1256
00:52:39,120 --> 00:52:39,960
Yes, sir.

1257
00:52:39,960 --> 00:52:42,800
Real talk.

1258
00:52:42,800 --> 00:52:44,040
It's the nose.

1259
00:52:44,040 --> 00:52:45,320
It's the nose.

1260
00:52:45,320 --> 00:52:46,560
It's the cold nights.

1261
00:52:46,560 --> 00:52:50,680
It's how I make this bill get paid.

1262
00:52:51,920 --> 00:52:52,760
It's the-

1263
00:52:52,760 --> 00:52:54,080
Yeah, that's what I said.

1264
00:52:54,080 --> 00:52:56,560
Yeah, what you know for it.

1265
00:52:56,560 --> 00:52:57,400
It's hard.

1266
00:52:57,400 --> 00:52:58,240
I feel it too.

1267
00:52:58,240 --> 00:53:02,840
As a single woman, we make significantly less than men do.

1268
00:53:03,720 --> 00:53:05,520
Which is, it's not cool.

1269
00:53:05,520 --> 00:53:06,360
Period.

1270
00:53:07,360 --> 00:53:08,560
Like I don't care what you-

1271
00:53:08,560 --> 00:53:10,000
I forgot.

1272
00:53:12,600 --> 00:53:14,280
We doing the same job.

1273
00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:15,600
Right, right.

1274
00:53:15,600 --> 00:53:16,440
I'm glad.

1275
00:53:18,840 --> 00:53:19,880
Taraji P. Henson.

1276
00:53:19,880 --> 00:53:20,800
Yes, girl.

1277
00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:22,360
Yeah, Taraji P. Henson, you know,

1278
00:53:22,360 --> 00:53:24,720
she had a whole thing about that.

1279
00:53:24,720 --> 00:53:26,000
And it is, it's a real deal.

1280
00:53:26,000 --> 00:53:27,560
It's a real thing.

1281
00:53:27,560 --> 00:53:28,400
It is.

1282
00:53:28,400 --> 00:53:29,240
Yeah.

1283
00:53:29,240 --> 00:53:30,080
Right, Grace?

1284
00:53:30,080 --> 00:53:30,920
No, I was just-

1285
00:53:30,920 --> 00:53:33,920
I think like Reagan hit it on the head earlier.

1286
00:53:33,920 --> 00:53:36,640
I think I'm a firm believer that what God has for you

1287
00:53:36,640 --> 00:53:38,520
is specifically for you.

1288
00:53:38,520 --> 00:53:43,520
And I think we have to stay away from that thing

1289
00:53:43,600 --> 00:53:44,760
called comparison.

1290
00:53:45,720 --> 00:53:50,120
Because it's very easy to fall into that trap.

1291
00:53:50,120 --> 00:53:53,960
And I had a mentor tell me years ago, he said,

1292
00:53:53,960 --> 00:53:55,960
Chris, you gotta understand something.

1293
00:53:57,000 --> 00:54:00,720
Some of the knows that you got that we've been talking about,

1294
00:54:00,720 --> 00:54:03,400
some of the things that you thought were for you

1295
00:54:03,400 --> 00:54:04,960
or that you really wanted,

1296
00:54:04,960 --> 00:54:08,960
you will never know what God saved you from.

1297
00:54:09,960 --> 00:54:11,560
God knows.

1298
00:54:11,560 --> 00:54:14,440
And I think sometimes, you know, we get frustrated

1299
00:54:14,440 --> 00:54:17,120
or we get mad because we didn't get that job.

1300
00:54:17,120 --> 00:54:18,960
Or, you know, we didn't get that house

1301
00:54:18,960 --> 00:54:22,160
or we didn't get whatever, the relationship didn't work.

1302
00:54:22,160 --> 00:54:25,040
And it's like, you know, sometimes it's like,

1303
00:54:25,040 --> 00:54:27,760
with God, it's like, he's like, look, you don't need that.

1304
00:54:27,760 --> 00:54:29,920
And, you know, you don't want that.

1305
00:54:29,920 --> 00:54:31,240
You may not see it right now,

1306
00:54:31,240 --> 00:54:33,240
but you will see it eventually.

1307
00:54:33,240 --> 00:54:34,080
Amen.

1308
00:54:34,080 --> 00:54:36,520
And in fact, in your life on specific things

1309
00:54:36,520 --> 00:54:38,360
that didn't work out,

1310
00:54:38,360 --> 00:54:41,600
you gonna be like, man, I'm so glad I didn't take that.

1311
00:54:41,600 --> 00:54:45,680
I'm so glad that, you know, that job went, you know,

1312
00:54:45,680 --> 00:54:48,480
that company went, you know, arms, you know.

1313
00:54:48,480 --> 00:54:51,800
So there's so many things how that this life,

1314
00:54:51,800 --> 00:54:55,360
this journey, we're on the way it works.

1315
00:54:55,360 --> 00:54:57,760
But the thing is you have to take each step

1316
00:54:57,760 --> 00:54:59,360
that's in front of you.

1317
00:54:59,360 --> 00:55:00,920
And I think that's how God works.

1318
00:55:00,920 --> 00:55:03,680
He doesn't always show you the big picture.

1319
00:55:03,680 --> 00:55:05,880
He's just like, okay, do this.

1320
00:55:05,880 --> 00:55:06,720
Well, you did that.

1321
00:55:06,720 --> 00:55:08,240
Okay, good, do this.

1322
00:55:08,240 --> 00:55:10,040
Okay, now do this.

1323
00:55:10,040 --> 00:55:11,680
And then as you keep going,

1324
00:55:11,680 --> 00:55:13,920
you start to see the bigger picture.

1325
00:55:13,920 --> 00:55:16,440
But very rarely is he just like, okay, bam,

1326
00:55:16,440 --> 00:55:19,680
Reika, you about to be on this awesome television.

1327
00:55:19,680 --> 00:55:21,280
Could you handle that?

1328
00:55:21,280 --> 00:55:24,000
If he told you that, could you handle that?

1329
00:55:24,000 --> 00:55:24,840
10 years before?

1330
00:55:24,840 --> 00:55:25,840
Absolutely not.

1331
00:55:25,840 --> 00:55:26,680
Exactly, right there.

1332
00:55:26,680 --> 00:55:29,640
And that's the snow's door that you're talking about.

1333
00:55:29,640 --> 00:55:30,480
Exactly.

1334
00:55:30,480 --> 00:55:31,800
Yes.

1335
00:55:31,800 --> 00:55:32,840
Exactly.

1336
00:55:32,840 --> 00:55:35,520
And I was like, I had no idea that I could cook like this

1337
00:55:35,520 --> 00:55:38,920
until I took two years to comb the craft.

1338
00:55:38,920 --> 00:55:39,760
Right.

1339
00:55:39,760 --> 00:55:40,600
Right.

1340
00:55:40,600 --> 00:55:42,760
But God had to literally prepare me

1341
00:55:42,760 --> 00:55:44,520
for that door to be opened.

1342
00:55:45,720 --> 00:55:48,920
More than anything, he gave me a radio show for three years

1343
00:55:48,920 --> 00:55:50,960
so that I could learn how to talk on TV.

1344
00:55:53,240 --> 00:55:55,800
And I was a TV show, it was a radio show

1345
00:55:55,800 --> 00:55:59,080
that I had to wake up at six o'clock in the morning.

1346
00:55:59,080 --> 00:56:02,040
And I woke up with you a lot of times.

1347
00:56:02,040 --> 00:56:03,960
I wake up like, I was rigging.

1348
00:56:05,960 --> 00:56:06,800
Yeah.

1349
00:56:06,800 --> 00:56:09,000
Oh my God, how?

1350
00:56:09,000 --> 00:56:13,240
And he said because, because I haven't expected it.

1351
00:56:13,240 --> 00:56:14,240
There you go.

1352
00:56:14,240 --> 00:56:16,880
And we never know what our future is.

1353
00:56:16,880 --> 00:56:18,880
I mean, we can create it in our minds and our souls

1354
00:56:18,880 --> 00:56:21,520
or whatever we can create what the future's going to be.

1355
00:56:21,520 --> 00:56:24,120
But on that journey, we never know

1356
00:56:24,120 --> 00:56:25,720
what it's going to look like.

1357
00:56:25,720 --> 00:56:27,760
We don't know the ups, the downs, the ins and outs

1358
00:56:27,760 --> 00:56:32,760
of what lies on our journey in our purpose-driven life.

1359
00:56:33,120 --> 00:56:34,160
You just don't know.

1360
00:56:34,160 --> 00:56:35,000
Yeah.

1361
00:56:35,000 --> 00:56:35,840
Yeah.

1362
00:56:35,840 --> 00:56:38,120
And I want to go back to one thing Chris said,

1363
00:56:38,120 --> 00:56:39,960
and I think it's super important.

1364
00:56:39,960 --> 00:56:43,120
We gotta thank God for the closed doors.

1365
00:56:43,120 --> 00:56:45,680
Like there are things that he,

1366
00:56:45,680 --> 00:56:47,160
and you can see it behind you,

1367
00:56:47,160 --> 00:56:49,920
like, oh man, I'm so glad I didn't do that.

1368
00:56:49,920 --> 00:56:50,760
You know what I mean?

1369
00:56:50,760 --> 00:56:53,680
Like I so grateful.

1370
00:56:53,680 --> 00:56:55,920
But then there was one more thing that you said,

1371
00:56:55,920 --> 00:56:58,160
God will show you, don't do this, do that.

1372
00:56:58,160 --> 00:57:02,640
But if you don't pray and connect with him,

1373
00:57:02,640 --> 00:57:04,000
you can't hear.

1374
00:57:06,520 --> 00:57:09,000
This part is being able to hear.

1375
00:57:10,520 --> 00:57:11,360
Yeah.

1376
00:57:11,360 --> 00:57:14,320
You don't miss that voice.

1377
00:57:14,320 --> 00:57:17,280
If y'all don't hear nothing else from us today,

1378
00:57:17,280 --> 00:57:18,520
yeah.

1379
00:57:18,520 --> 00:57:20,880
You gotta be in tune.

1380
00:57:20,880 --> 00:57:22,360
That piece right there.

1381
00:57:22,360 --> 00:57:25,640
And I'm not, I mean, I am,

1382
00:57:25,640 --> 00:57:28,520
I'm super saved, whatever you want to call it.

1383
00:57:28,520 --> 00:57:31,520
I'm not, I ain't Chris, I ain't married, I do things,

1384
00:57:31,520 --> 00:57:32,360
I have a life.

1385
00:57:32,360 --> 00:57:33,200
I can't.

1386
00:57:35,760 --> 00:57:37,080
However.

1387
00:57:37,080 --> 00:57:38,520
Hey, no judgment.

1388
00:57:38,520 --> 00:57:40,120
No judgment.

1389
00:57:40,120 --> 00:57:41,160
Not at all.

1390
00:57:41,160 --> 00:57:43,320
I hear from God regularly.

1391
00:57:43,320 --> 00:57:47,960
And when I don't, I stop, I move, I fall out,

1392
00:57:47,960 --> 00:57:49,640
I do whatever I need to do.

1393
00:57:49,640 --> 00:57:52,160
Cause I know I'm supposed to hear from him daily.

1394
00:57:52,160 --> 00:57:54,360
And if I don't, there's something going on.

1395
00:57:54,360 --> 00:57:56,920
But you know what though, that's part of the journey.

1396
00:57:56,920 --> 00:57:58,880
We all, all four of us,

1397
00:57:58,880 --> 00:58:02,160
you go back to when we were in Kalamazoo.

1398
00:58:02,160 --> 00:58:03,120
That part.

1399
00:58:03,120 --> 00:58:06,320
We all have a past, okay?

1400
00:58:06,320 --> 00:58:09,080
We all have done things.

1401
00:58:09,080 --> 00:58:09,920
I,

1402
00:58:11,360 --> 00:58:12,360
I'm, you know.

1403
00:58:12,360 --> 00:58:13,600
Look.

1404
00:58:13,600 --> 00:58:14,440
Do that.

1405
00:58:14,440 --> 00:58:15,280
I mean,

1406
00:58:15,280 --> 00:58:17,440
Oh, look at Chris, he's,

1407
00:58:17,440 --> 00:58:18,280
he was,

1408
00:58:18,280 --> 00:58:19,120
you know.

1409
00:58:19,120 --> 00:58:21,840
I'm gonna let him tell y'all that.

1410
00:58:21,840 --> 00:58:24,240
But we, we evolve.

1411
00:58:24,240 --> 00:58:25,320
That's what we know.

1412
00:58:25,320 --> 00:58:26,640
That's what we know.

1413
00:58:26,640 --> 00:58:27,640
That's what we know.

1414
00:58:27,640 --> 00:58:28,480
Yeah.

1415
00:58:28,480 --> 00:58:30,680
So, I mean, but, but that's,

1416
00:58:30,680 --> 00:58:32,680
that's what makes us who we are.

1417
00:58:32,680 --> 00:58:36,240
And that's what allows me to have, you know,

1418
00:58:36,240 --> 00:58:37,080
very trans people.

1419
00:58:37,080 --> 00:58:38,200
He's counter-relationship.

1420
00:58:38,200 --> 00:58:39,440
With my daughter.

1421
00:58:39,440 --> 00:58:41,880
Who my daughter is doing in college now.

1422
00:58:41,880 --> 00:58:43,320
She's going to parties, you know,

1423
00:58:43,320 --> 00:58:45,480
she's got her friends.

1424
00:58:45,480 --> 00:58:48,000
And I can have genuine conversations with her and say,

1425
00:58:48,000 --> 00:58:49,480
Hey baby, I did that.

1426
00:58:49,480 --> 00:58:51,000
Or, Hey babe, don't do this.

1427
00:58:51,000 --> 00:58:53,640
You know, her mother as well.

1428
00:58:53,640 --> 00:58:56,000
But that's why I don't, you know,

1429
00:58:56,000 --> 00:58:58,880
I don't, I don't look back on, on my college days

1430
00:58:58,880 --> 00:59:00,960
or when we were young adults and be like,

1431
00:59:00,960 --> 00:59:03,960
man, I shouldn't have done that because that's how we learn.

1432
00:59:03,960 --> 00:59:04,800
You learn by new.

1433
00:59:04,800 --> 00:59:06,520
But maybe we had us a time.

1434
00:59:06,520 --> 00:59:07,560
Yeah.

1435
00:59:07,560 --> 00:59:09,200
Oh, we had us a time.

1436
00:59:09,200 --> 00:59:11,280
Oh, yes we did.

1437
00:59:11,280 --> 00:59:12,120
We, yes we did.

1438
00:59:12,120 --> 00:59:13,440
1998 is all the time.

1439
00:59:13,440 --> 00:59:15,440
Back in the 1900s.

1440
00:59:15,440 --> 00:59:17,440
Back in the 1900s.

1441
00:59:17,440 --> 00:59:21,440
1998 was a year, man.

1442
00:59:21,440 --> 00:59:23,440
1998 was a year.

1443
00:59:23,440 --> 00:59:24,440
It was.

1444
00:59:24,440 --> 00:59:25,440
That was you.

1445
00:59:25,440 --> 00:59:26,440
Oh my goodness.

1446
00:59:26,440 --> 00:59:28,440
1998 was wonderful actually.

1447
00:59:28,440 --> 00:59:30,440
It was a great year.

1448
00:59:30,440 --> 00:59:34,440
But you know what, as, as I'm thinking as you're,

1449
00:59:34,440 --> 00:59:36,440
as you're sharing all this,

1450
00:59:36,440 --> 00:59:38,440
if your life was a movie,

1451
00:59:38,440 --> 00:59:40,440
what movie would it be?

1452
00:59:40,440 --> 00:59:43,440
Or what's the, what would be the title of your movie?

1453
00:59:43,440 --> 00:59:48,440
Oh, Lord.

1454
00:59:48,440 --> 00:59:49,440
Hey, that's a good one.

1455
00:59:49,440 --> 00:59:51,440
There's some good thoughts right there.

1456
00:59:51,440 --> 00:59:52,440
Right.

1457
00:59:52,440 --> 00:59:53,440
All right.

1458
00:59:53,440 --> 00:59:54,440
You know what?

1459
00:59:54,440 --> 00:59:58,440
The movie that comes to mind for me is Malcolm X.

1460
00:59:58,440 --> 01:00:04,440
And I say that because Malcolm went through so many different

1461
01:00:04,440 --> 01:00:07,440
evolutions of himself.

1462
01:00:07,440 --> 01:00:08,440
Okay.

1463
01:00:08,440 --> 01:00:09,440
Okay.

1464
01:00:09,440 --> 01:00:10,440
There's no,

1465
01:00:10,440 --> 01:00:12,440
there's no Malcolm X without Detroit red.

1466
01:00:12,440 --> 01:00:14,440
Right.

1467
01:00:14,440 --> 01:00:20,440
So when I think about my life and all the changes at certain

1468
01:00:20,440 --> 01:00:24,440
chapters of my life that I have gone through that brought me to

1469
01:00:24,440 --> 01:00:30,440
today, I would say, man, Malcolm X, Malcolm went through all those

1470
01:00:30,440 --> 01:00:35,440
changes to become the great man that he is today.

1471
01:00:35,440 --> 01:00:40,440
And so have Mark Davis has went through, like y'all said,

1472
01:00:40,440 --> 01:00:43,440
those times at Western or even before that, the times in high

1473
01:00:43,440 --> 01:00:46,440
school, the times in college, younger adulthood, all the

1474
01:00:46,440 --> 01:00:49,440
mistakes, Reagan said, man, I wish I would have done something

1475
01:00:49,440 --> 01:00:52,440
differently or maybe I could have done it that way, all those

1476
01:00:52,440 --> 01:00:56,440
things, but all those things add enough to today and making you

1477
01:00:56,440 --> 01:00:58,440
that person that you are today.

1478
01:00:58,440 --> 01:00:59,440
You wouldn't go back.

1479
01:00:59,440 --> 01:01:01,440
You wouldn't change none of those things.

1480
01:01:01,440 --> 01:01:02,440
One thing.

1481
01:01:02,440 --> 01:01:03,440
Yeah.

1482
01:01:03,440 --> 01:01:04,440
You have, hey, I have no regrets.

1483
01:01:04,440 --> 01:01:05,440
Right.

1484
01:01:05,440 --> 01:01:06,440
Yeah.

1485
01:01:06,440 --> 01:01:10,440
Because we understand, I think we're aware of what the things

1486
01:01:10,440 --> 01:01:13,440
like we were saying, that's supposed to happen.

1487
01:01:13,440 --> 01:01:14,440
Right.

1488
01:01:14,440 --> 01:01:17,440
What was supposed to happen did happen.

1489
01:01:17,440 --> 01:01:18,440
Right.

1490
01:01:18,440 --> 01:01:22,440
I'm just glad to see where we are today in this moment.

1491
01:01:22,440 --> 01:01:26,440
So yeah, the movie I would say will be Malcolm X and that's the

1492
01:01:26,440 --> 01:01:27,440
reason why.

1493
01:01:27,440 --> 01:01:28,440
Yeah.

1494
01:01:28,440 --> 01:01:30,440
I like that, man.

1495
01:01:30,440 --> 01:01:33,440
I was just trying to set the tone.

1496
01:01:33,440 --> 01:01:36,440
You said movie Mike, so it got my, you know, me.

1497
01:01:36,440 --> 01:01:39,440
You could have been the first person to answer, right?

1498
01:01:39,440 --> 01:01:41,440
Chris, what about you, Reagan?

1499
01:01:41,440 --> 01:01:43,440
No, no, first go first.

1500
01:01:43,440 --> 01:01:44,440
I'm glad.

1501
01:01:44,440 --> 01:01:47,440
So I mean, I can't, I don't think there's, I don't know, there may

1502
01:01:47,440 --> 01:01:50,440
be a movie called this, but I would, as you asked the question

1503
01:01:50,440 --> 01:01:53,440
and we're, I'm thinking I'm reflecting on this conversation

1504
01:01:53,440 --> 01:01:56,440
for me, I would mine the name of the movie, I would say,

1505
01:01:56,440 --> 01:01:59,440
I'm not sure if it's the movie, but I'm not sure.

1506
01:01:59,440 --> 01:02:03,440
I'm thinking I'm reflecting on this conversation for me, I would

1507
01:02:03,440 --> 01:02:08,440
the name of my movie would be full circle because we've come

1508
01:02:08,440 --> 01:02:11,440
full circle to the point where, you know, I don't believe we've

1509
01:02:11,440 --> 01:02:12,440
arrived.

1510
01:02:12,440 --> 01:02:14,440
Like you never, you never arrive, you know what I'm saying?

1511
01:02:14,440 --> 01:02:18,440
And once you feel that way, that's a dangerous place to be.

1512
01:02:18,440 --> 01:02:20,440
But you guys were being on your way out.

1513
01:02:20,440 --> 01:02:21,440
Look, yeah.

1514
01:02:21,440 --> 01:02:27,440
When you look back from where you were, you know, as a freshman

1515
01:02:27,440 --> 01:02:33,440
at WMU in 95, 96 versus where we are today, November 20th,

1516
01:02:33,440 --> 01:02:38,440
2024, you know, those, we've had a lot of full circle moments

1517
01:02:38,440 --> 01:02:43,440
there, you know, as adults, as professionals, you know, me as

1518
01:02:43,440 --> 01:02:48,440
as a husband, as a father, you know, I was, I look at my life

1519
01:02:48,440 --> 01:02:51,440
and I, you know, I feel like I'm married.

1520
01:02:51,440 --> 01:02:54,440
I was married at 25 years old.

1521
01:02:54,440 --> 01:02:58,440
And I didn't know how to be married at 25.

1522
01:02:58,440 --> 01:03:01,440
Like my parents, I had a great example with them, but nobody,

1523
01:03:01,440 --> 01:03:04,440
there's no like book on how to be married.

1524
01:03:04,440 --> 01:03:05,440
You know what I'm saying?

1525
01:03:05,440 --> 01:03:07,440
Like you just, you got to figure that out.

1526
01:03:07,440 --> 01:03:08,440
Yeah.

1527
01:03:08,440 --> 01:03:09,440
Yeah.

1528
01:03:09,440 --> 01:03:14,440
And so I was a father at 27, you know, then I, you know, so then

1529
01:03:14,440 --> 01:03:19,440
I was a father again at 31 and, you know, dealing with balancing

1530
01:03:19,440 --> 01:03:24,440
career, you know, my wife, you know, her career, my career,

1531
01:03:24,440 --> 01:03:28,440
you know, changing states and cities, you know, going somewhere

1532
01:03:28,440 --> 01:03:31,440
where I didn't know anybody except for, I just listened to what

1533
01:03:31,440 --> 01:03:36,440
God told me to do, came to Texas, left everybody back in Detroit.

1534
01:03:36,440 --> 01:03:37,440
Absolutely.

1535
01:03:37,440 --> 01:03:38,440
Love it.

1536
01:03:38,440 --> 01:03:39,440
The South is amazing.

1537
01:03:39,440 --> 01:03:40,440
Love it.

1538
01:03:40,440 --> 01:03:41,440
I was mad.

1539
01:03:41,440 --> 01:03:43,440
Look, when I got here, I was like, man, I should have came here

1540
01:03:43,440 --> 01:03:48,440
10 years ago, but, you know, anyway, so I would just say it's

1541
01:03:48,440 --> 01:03:52,440
a full circle moment, but we're, but it's, it's, it's not done.

1542
01:03:52,440 --> 01:03:55,440
It's, it's continuing to evolve.

1543
01:03:55,440 --> 01:03:57,440
Hence circle.

1544
01:03:57,440 --> 01:03:58,440
Yeah.

1545
01:03:58,440 --> 01:03:59,440
Full circle.

1546
01:03:59,440 --> 01:04:01,440
Full circle.

1547
01:04:01,440 --> 01:04:02,440
Great.

1548
01:04:02,440 --> 01:04:04,440
Well, I'm not that creative.

1549
01:04:04,440 --> 01:04:06,440
So.

1550
01:04:06,440 --> 01:04:07,440
Wise.

1551
01:04:07,440 --> 01:04:09,440
Oh, lies you tell.

1552
01:04:09,440 --> 01:04:11,440
I am.

1553
01:04:11,440 --> 01:04:17,440
So I'm, I find myself as me along in both the best man and the

1554
01:04:17,440 --> 01:04:18,440
best man holiday.

1555
01:04:18,440 --> 01:04:26,440
Like I am super successful and was hung up on somebody for a very

1556
01:04:26,440 --> 01:04:30,440
long time.

1557
01:04:30,440 --> 01:04:35,440
And it, I couldn't, I couldn't break, I couldn't break it.

1558
01:04:35,440 --> 01:04:36,440
I didn't know how to.

1559
01:04:36,440 --> 01:04:38,440
Is this from the conversations that I know we've had in the

1560
01:04:38,440 --> 01:04:39,440
past?

1561
01:04:39,440 --> 01:04:55,440
No, I love that person so much that I didn't know how to not.

1562
01:04:55,440 --> 01:05:00,440
And it was one of those moments in my life.

1563
01:05:00,440 --> 01:05:03,440
And it's probably why I'm not married to this day because I

1564
01:05:03,440 --> 01:05:08,440
never knew how not to love them.

1565
01:05:08,440 --> 01:05:11,440
And I'm not married to this day because I never knew how to

1566
01:05:11,440 --> 01:05:12,440
love them.

1567
01:05:12,440 --> 01:05:16,440
And even 20 years later.

1568
01:05:16,440 --> 01:05:19,440
I don't even trust myself to love somebody.

1569
01:05:19,440 --> 01:05:23,440
And that, that.

1570
01:05:23,440 --> 01:05:26,440
I, as a matter of fact, like I just told, I told a friend of mine

1571
01:05:26,440 --> 01:05:27,440
today.

1572
01:05:27,440 --> 01:05:30,440
I just broke up with somebody a couple of days ago.

1573
01:05:30,440 --> 01:05:32,440
And I didn't do a very good job of it.

1574
01:05:32,440 --> 01:05:33,440
And I felt bad.

1575
01:05:33,440 --> 01:05:34,440
I had to apologize.

1576
01:05:34,440 --> 01:05:35,440
Like I'm like.

1577
01:05:35,440 --> 01:05:37,440
I'm not your girl.

1578
01:05:37,440 --> 01:05:38,440
I'm your girl.

1579
01:05:38,440 --> 01:05:39,440
I'm your girl.

1580
01:05:39,440 --> 01:05:40,440
I'm your girl.

1581
01:05:40,440 --> 01:05:41,440
I'm your girl.

1582
01:05:41,440 --> 01:05:42,440
And I'm not your girl.

1583
01:05:42,440 --> 01:05:43,440
I'm your girl.

1584
01:05:43,440 --> 01:05:45,440
So I am, I'm knee along in the fact that I'm super successful.

1585
01:05:45,440 --> 01:05:46,440
Love my life.

1586
01:05:46,440 --> 01:05:49,440
But I love my life.

1587
01:05:49,440 --> 01:05:50,440
And I'm not unhappy.

1588
01:05:50,440 --> 01:05:51,440
Right.

1589
01:05:51,440 --> 01:05:53,440
You know what I'm saying?

1590
01:05:53,440 --> 01:05:56,440
Like I wish I, I understand when people, oh, she's so she just

1591
01:05:56,440 --> 01:05:57,440
broke it.

1592
01:05:57,440 --> 01:06:00,440
I'm not broken about me, baby.

1593
01:06:00,440 --> 01:06:08,440
I'm good.

1594
01:06:08,440 --> 01:06:09,440
Trust me.

1595
01:06:09,440 --> 01:06:11,440
I love being in this house by myself.

1596
01:06:11,440 --> 01:06:13,440
Me and my old boy right here.

1597
01:06:13,440 --> 01:06:14,440
We good.

1598
01:06:14,440 --> 01:06:15,440
Amazing souls.

1599
01:06:15,440 --> 01:06:17,440
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1651
01:08:03,440 --> 01:08:04,440
Now, back to it.

1652
01:08:04,440 --> 01:08:05,440
So, my question was,

1653
01:08:05,440 --> 01:08:07,440
I just wanted to know if Reagan

1654
01:08:07,440 --> 01:08:10,440
saw herself or was interested

1655
01:08:10,440 --> 01:08:12,440
in the idea of marriage.

1656
01:08:12,440 --> 01:08:14,440
And the reason why I wanted to ask that is

1657
01:08:14,440 --> 01:08:16,440
because I was just going to tell her

1658
01:08:16,440 --> 01:08:20,440
that God will give you the desires of your heart.

1659
01:08:20,440 --> 01:08:22,440
And just like he did with the show

1660
01:08:22,440 --> 01:08:24,440
that you were on that turned out amazing.

1661
01:08:24,440 --> 01:08:26,440
Right?

1662
01:08:26,440 --> 01:08:29,440
A mate for him is just as simple or just as easy.

1663
01:08:29,440 --> 01:08:31,440
So, I just didn't know what you're...

1664
01:08:31,440 --> 01:08:32,440
All right, Bishop.

1665
01:08:32,440 --> 01:08:34,440
I see you, Bishop.

1666
01:08:34,440 --> 01:08:36,440
Well, we have a preacher in the house.

1667
01:08:36,440 --> 01:08:37,440
That's me.

1668
01:08:37,440 --> 01:08:39,440
Good Christian, good word.

1669
01:08:39,440 --> 01:08:41,440
However, not that, not that.

1670
01:08:41,440 --> 01:08:42,440
No.

1671
01:08:42,440 --> 01:08:43,440
Yeah.

1672
01:08:43,440 --> 01:08:49,440
Honestly, no, I just want to be with somebody.

1673
01:08:49,440 --> 01:08:53,440
And I don't know if I've done myself down for this or not.

1674
01:08:53,440 --> 01:08:56,440
But I just want to be coupled.

1675
01:08:56,440 --> 01:08:59,440
Like, I like having a person around

1676
01:08:59,440 --> 01:09:01,440
than that every day.

1677
01:09:01,440 --> 01:09:04,440
I don't know how you sleep with somebody every day.

1678
01:09:04,440 --> 01:09:06,440
That's weird.

1679
01:09:06,440 --> 01:09:08,440
And I don't know how, you know...

1680
01:09:08,440 --> 01:09:11,440
But also,

1681
01:09:11,440 --> 01:09:14,440
I haven't ever been with somebody ever,

1682
01:09:14,440 --> 01:09:17,440
every day.

1683
01:09:17,440 --> 01:09:22,440
I mean, I guess it's since back in the 1900s.

1684
01:09:22,440 --> 01:09:25,440
Because we literally, them, had lived together.

1685
01:09:25,440 --> 01:09:28,440
So, I don't know what that was.

1686
01:09:28,440 --> 01:09:30,440
I don't know what it's like to not have,

1687
01:09:30,440 --> 01:09:34,440
to like not, to share space with somebody like that.

1688
01:09:34,440 --> 01:09:35,440
Yeah.

1689
01:09:35,440 --> 01:09:38,440
I think more than anything, it's a space thing.

1690
01:09:38,440 --> 01:09:39,440
Honestly.

1691
01:09:39,440 --> 01:09:40,440
I have to be honest about that.

1692
01:09:40,440 --> 01:09:42,440
Like, I don't think it's more than...

1693
01:09:42,440 --> 01:09:46,440
Of course, I mean, I've been in love a couple times.

1694
01:09:46,440 --> 01:09:48,440
I've been in love, love.

1695
01:09:48,440 --> 01:09:50,440
Yeah.

1696
01:09:50,440 --> 01:09:53,440
What about you, Mark?

1697
01:09:53,440 --> 01:09:55,440
What's his name?

1698
01:09:55,440 --> 01:09:57,440
What we asking here?

1699
01:09:57,440 --> 01:09:59,440
I was going to ask you the same question.

1700
01:09:59,440 --> 01:10:01,440
The same what?

1701
01:10:01,440 --> 01:10:03,440
What's the question?

1702
01:10:03,440 --> 01:10:04,440
I'll ask a single.

1703
01:10:04,440 --> 01:10:06,440
Don't just put this on me.

1704
01:10:06,440 --> 01:10:07,440
That's what I'm saying.

1705
01:10:07,440 --> 01:10:08,440
I'm sharing the love.

1706
01:10:08,440 --> 01:10:10,440
I'm taking over the host duties for Mike.

1707
01:10:10,440 --> 01:10:11,440
So, I was...

1708
01:10:11,440 --> 01:10:12,440
Right, I see.

1709
01:10:12,440 --> 01:10:13,440
Yeah.

1710
01:10:13,440 --> 01:10:15,440
No, so, Mark, I was thinking about you.

1711
01:10:15,440 --> 01:10:16,440
You got to ask questions.

1712
01:10:16,440 --> 01:10:17,440
That's good.

1713
01:10:17,440 --> 01:10:18,440
Go ahead, Chris.

1714
01:10:18,440 --> 01:10:21,440
Now, I was saying, do you see yourself, you know, married,

1715
01:10:21,440 --> 01:10:23,440
or is that something that you want to do,

1716
01:10:23,440 --> 01:10:26,440
or are you interested in?

1717
01:10:26,440 --> 01:10:28,440
I would say so.

1718
01:10:28,440 --> 01:10:32,440
I would say that I'm open to the idea, for sure.

1719
01:10:32,440 --> 01:10:36,440
Especially now more than ever,

1720
01:10:36,440 --> 01:10:39,440
I would say that I'm definitely open to the idea.

1721
01:10:39,440 --> 01:10:43,440
I mean, it was cool to, you know, do my thing,

1722
01:10:43,440 --> 01:10:45,440
you know, back in the day,

1723
01:10:45,440 --> 01:10:49,440
I had no strings attached, but now I'm on some strings attached.

1724
01:10:49,440 --> 01:10:52,440
But I think, again, like, I mean,

1725
01:10:52,440 --> 01:10:56,440
we had conversations about becoming, right?

1726
01:10:56,440 --> 01:11:01,440
And I think for me, in the past,

1727
01:11:01,440 --> 01:11:04,440
I don't think I would, even though I might have wanted it,

1728
01:11:04,440 --> 01:11:07,440
I don't think it would have been the right time.

1729
01:11:07,440 --> 01:11:14,440
So, I feel blessed that things happen the way they have happened

1730
01:11:14,440 --> 01:11:18,440
and that we're ready up to be successful when that time happens.

1731
01:11:18,440 --> 01:11:19,440
Yeah.

1732
01:11:19,440 --> 01:11:23,440
So, whenever that time happens, and, you know,

1733
01:11:23,440 --> 01:11:26,440
if it's in God's plan, I feel like that I'll be ready to walk

1734
01:11:26,440 --> 01:11:29,440
through that door, for sure.

1735
01:11:29,440 --> 01:11:30,440
Indeed.

1736
01:11:30,440 --> 01:11:31,440
Indeed.

1737
01:11:31,440 --> 01:11:32,440
Mike Branson.

1738
01:11:32,440 --> 01:11:34,440
Get in on the table.

1739
01:11:34,440 --> 01:11:37,440
I'm going to, to be honest, I'm like, I'm like Reagan.

1740
01:11:37,440 --> 01:11:40,440
No, I coupled, have been made for life.

1741
01:11:40,440 --> 01:11:41,440
Yes.

1742
01:11:41,440 --> 01:11:43,440
I don't, I think it's a space thing for me too.

1743
01:11:43,440 --> 01:11:48,440
Like I, like my space, don't like living with people.

1744
01:11:48,440 --> 01:11:50,440
I mean, you know.

1745
01:11:50,440 --> 01:11:56,440
Hey, can I tell them real quick about how you hooked me up?

1746
01:11:56,440 --> 01:11:58,440
Yeah, go ahead.

1747
01:11:58,440 --> 01:11:59,440
You like what?

1748
01:11:59,440 --> 01:12:02,440
So, you know, and Reagan, you'll appreciate this.

1749
01:12:02,440 --> 01:12:06,440
So, back on the back when we were at Western,

1750
01:12:06,440 --> 01:12:09,440
you know, our fraternity alpha files where we,

1751
01:12:09,440 --> 01:12:12,440
we like to try to support other organizations.

1752
01:12:12,440 --> 01:12:17,440
And so there was one weekend where YBBW had something called

1753
01:12:17,440 --> 01:12:18,440
the quiet storm.

1754
01:12:18,440 --> 01:12:20,440
I don't know if y'all remember that.

1755
01:12:20,440 --> 01:12:22,440
Nothing, nothing but slow jams.

1756
01:12:22,440 --> 01:12:23,440
That's all it was.

1757
01:12:23,440 --> 01:12:24,440
Slow jams, right?

1758
01:12:24,440 --> 01:12:26,440
Hey, I can't believe, of course you remember this.

1759
01:12:26,440 --> 01:12:27,440
Yeah.

1760
01:12:27,440 --> 01:12:31,440
So that weekend there were some other events going on and so.

1761
01:12:31,440 --> 01:12:33,440
Your wife was in Alaska?

1762
01:12:33,440 --> 01:12:35,440
Yeah, she did.

1763
01:12:35,440 --> 01:12:36,440
Yeah.

1764
01:12:36,440 --> 01:12:37,440
I remember her.

1765
01:12:37,440 --> 01:12:38,440
That was crazy.

1766
01:12:38,440 --> 01:12:43,440
There's a reason why you, why you wouldn't, but I'll tell you.

1767
01:12:43,440 --> 01:12:48,440
So, so we all did divvied up like there was a party at

1768
01:12:48,440 --> 01:12:52,440
Grand Valley's the brothers that went there.

1769
01:12:52,440 --> 01:12:56,440
Me and Mike were assigned to go to the YBBW event.

1770
01:12:56,440 --> 01:12:57,440
And I think there was another event.

1771
01:12:57,440 --> 01:12:59,440
So we all kind of split up.

1772
01:12:59,440 --> 01:13:03,440
So when we get to the slow jant, the quiet storm,

1773
01:13:03,440 --> 01:13:07,440
my wife walks in and she's with at the time.

1774
01:13:07,440 --> 01:13:08,440
I didn't know this was her brother.

1775
01:13:08,440 --> 01:13:10,440
So she's with the guy.

1776
01:13:10,440 --> 01:13:13,440
So she walks in and I'm like, man, who was that?

1777
01:13:13,440 --> 01:13:15,440
And Mike was like, I know her.

1778
01:13:15,440 --> 01:13:17,440
And I was like, man, you don't know her.

1779
01:13:17,440 --> 01:13:18,440
And he's like, man, we worked together.

1780
01:13:18,440 --> 01:13:19,440
I know her.

1781
01:13:19,440 --> 01:13:21,440
I was like, go, go talk to her again.

1782
01:13:21,440 --> 01:13:23,440
I want to see you go, go, go talk to her.

1783
01:13:23,440 --> 01:13:29,440
And he's like, yeah, he's like, he goes over there.

1784
01:13:29,440 --> 01:13:33,440
And sure enough, he's talking to her for about 10 minutes.

1785
01:13:33,440 --> 01:13:36,440
And he comes back and he's like, yo, that dude,

1786
01:13:36,440 --> 01:13:39,440
she's with, that's her brother.

1787
01:13:39,440 --> 01:13:41,440
So I was like, oh, ring man.

1788
01:13:41,440 --> 01:13:44,440
And I kind of figured because her brother was on the dance floor

1789
01:13:44,440 --> 01:13:46,440
danceable all kind of women.

1790
01:13:46,440 --> 01:13:50,440
So I was like, look, this dude must be either.

1791
01:13:50,440 --> 01:13:52,440
She went to Western.

1792
01:13:52,440 --> 01:13:54,440
She went to Western.

1793
01:13:54,440 --> 01:13:56,440
So she went to Western, but she graduated.

1794
01:13:56,440 --> 01:14:00,440
She came out in 97.

1795
01:14:00,440 --> 01:14:05,440
But then she went to law school in Chicago.

1796
01:14:05,440 --> 01:14:10,440
And she came back to Western for her MBA.

1797
01:14:10,440 --> 01:14:13,440
So that's where I met her was in grad school.

1798
01:14:13,440 --> 01:14:16,440
Because I was like, go here, Chris.

1799
01:14:16,440 --> 01:14:20,440
Yeah, she's a little older than me, you know,

1800
01:14:20,440 --> 01:14:23,440
but I didn't realize that because she doesn't look it.

1801
01:14:23,440 --> 01:14:26,440
And so when we were dancing, I'm asking her like, you know,

1802
01:14:26,440 --> 01:14:29,440
trying to get to know her and like, she's telling me all this

1803
01:14:29,440 --> 01:14:31,440
stuff she had been doing.

1804
01:14:31,440 --> 01:14:34,440
You know, she was like, why should work at GM and oh, you know,

1805
01:14:34,440 --> 01:14:38,440
she was in the military and I'm like, wait a minute.

1806
01:14:38,440 --> 01:14:42,440
Oh, I'm like, what's going on?

1807
01:14:42,440 --> 01:14:48,440
Like, you know, 22, 23, you know, well, at that time she was 29.

1808
01:14:48,440 --> 01:14:49,440
Yeah.

1809
01:14:49,440 --> 01:14:52,440
So it made sense.

1810
01:14:52,440 --> 01:14:53,440
Right.

1811
01:14:53,440 --> 01:14:55,440
So I was like, okay, but yeah,

1812
01:14:55,440 --> 01:14:57,440
Mike Burt had his hand all in that.

1813
01:14:57,440 --> 01:15:00,440
So yeah.

1814
01:15:00,440 --> 01:15:04,440
And I had foreseen that they would be together forever.

1815
01:15:04,440 --> 01:15:05,440
And look at that.

1816
01:15:05,440 --> 01:15:06,440
Yeah.

1817
01:15:06,440 --> 01:15:11,440
I had no idea she was older than you, but that makes sense.

1818
01:15:11,440 --> 01:15:12,440
Yeah.

1819
01:15:12,440 --> 01:15:14,440
I did not know her.

1820
01:15:14,440 --> 01:15:15,440
Yeah.

1821
01:15:15,440 --> 01:15:16,440
Yeah.

1822
01:15:16,440 --> 01:15:18,440
I mean, she, like I said, she wasn't on the yard like that.

1823
01:15:18,440 --> 01:15:22,440
I mean, because like you figure she was gone with our sophomore

1824
01:15:22,440 --> 01:15:23,440
year.

1825
01:15:23,440 --> 01:15:24,440
Oh, no.

1826
01:15:24,440 --> 01:15:26,440
The conversation definitely came up.

1827
01:15:26,440 --> 01:15:28,440
And I was like, you know,

1828
01:15:28,440 --> 01:15:31,440
and then she came back and I was like,

1829
01:15:31,440 --> 01:15:33,440
why are you doing that?

1830
01:15:33,440 --> 01:15:37,440
Yeah.

1831
01:15:37,440 --> 01:15:39,440
Yeah, we could talk.

1832
01:15:39,440 --> 01:15:44,440
But you know what though, and Reagan, I'll tell you this.

1833
01:15:44,440 --> 01:15:47,440
I can, I remember this like yesterday.

1834
01:15:47,440 --> 01:15:50,440
I was in my apartment and it was,

1835
01:15:50,440 --> 01:15:57,440
this was probably October of 1999.

1836
01:15:57,440 --> 01:15:58,440
Okay.

1837
01:15:58,440 --> 01:16:01,440
And I was praying and I had asked God,

1838
01:16:01,440 --> 01:16:08,440
I said, Lord, I need you to send me a wife because I'm tired of,

1839
01:16:08,440 --> 01:16:13,440
you know, doing the do I'm tired, you know, this rat race.

1840
01:16:13,440 --> 01:16:16,440
And I just, I'm just being real.

1841
01:16:16,440 --> 01:16:20,440
Like, I'll, you know, you know, doing the thing, whatever.

1842
01:16:20,440 --> 01:16:24,440
So I just like, I'm just tired of it.

1843
01:16:24,440 --> 01:16:27,440
I got stories.

1844
01:16:27,440 --> 01:16:37,440
I just, I just felt like it was, I was tired of it.

1845
01:16:37,440 --> 01:16:40,440
And so I was like, Lord, I need you to send me a wife.

1846
01:16:40,440 --> 01:16:45,440
I met Monique in February of 2000.

1847
01:16:45,440 --> 01:16:46,440
Wow.

1848
01:16:46,440 --> 01:16:48,440
So you figured that's what November, December, January,

1849
01:16:48,440 --> 01:16:50,440
that's four months later.

1850
01:16:50,440 --> 01:16:52,440
What I'm going to tell you is this.

1851
01:16:52,440 --> 01:16:53,440
Yeah.

1852
01:16:53,440 --> 01:16:54,440
I'm not doing that.

1853
01:16:54,440 --> 01:16:57,440
And that's, you know, that's fine.

1854
01:16:57,440 --> 01:16:58,440
Yeah.

1855
01:16:58,440 --> 01:17:00,440
You got to do it when you're ready.

1856
01:17:00,440 --> 01:17:01,440
Yeah.

1857
01:17:01,440 --> 01:17:03,440
I will say this.

1858
01:17:03,440 --> 01:17:07,440
I have, I have, I've prayed that prayer, but I also, you know,

1859
01:17:07,440 --> 01:17:10,440
I go a couple of weeks and I'll be like, you know what, never mind.

1860
01:17:10,440 --> 01:17:18,440
And at the same time, I just, you know, the, the, it's not that I

1861
01:17:18,440 --> 01:17:20,440
don't want a relationship.

1862
01:17:20,440 --> 01:17:22,440
It's not, not at all.

1863
01:17:22,440 --> 01:17:23,440
I do.

1864
01:17:23,440 --> 01:17:26,440
I want to be in a very stable relationship.

1865
01:17:26,440 --> 01:17:29,440
I just don't have the trust factor.

1866
01:17:29,440 --> 01:17:30,440
Yeah.

1867
01:17:30,440 --> 01:17:33,440
To go past the relationship to marriage.

1868
01:17:33,440 --> 01:17:37,440
And once I, I have not met a man.

1869
01:17:37,440 --> 01:17:44,440
I have honestly met a lot of amazing people, but I've never met

1870
01:17:44,440 --> 01:17:46,440
my father, my child.

1871
01:17:46,440 --> 01:17:48,440
And women know that kind of stuff.

1872
01:17:48,440 --> 01:17:52,440
Yeah.

1873
01:17:52,440 --> 01:17:54,440
Listen, I real tough.

1874
01:17:54,440 --> 01:17:58,440
I have not had a child because I never met the father of my child.

1875
01:17:58,440 --> 01:18:01,440
And I have no bag for no, just regular Nick.

1876
01:18:01,440 --> 01:18:02,440
Yeah.

1877
01:18:02,440 --> 01:18:03,440
Yeah.

1878
01:18:03,440 --> 01:18:04,440
This ain't.

1879
01:18:04,440 --> 01:18:05,440
Come on.

1880
01:18:05,440 --> 01:18:07,440
It's not regular.

1881
01:18:07,440 --> 01:18:10,440
And you can't raise a regular baby out this regular vibe.

1882
01:18:10,440 --> 01:18:12,440
This ain't no regular body.

1883
01:18:12,440 --> 01:18:13,440
Okay.

1884
01:18:13,440 --> 01:18:14,440
There you go.

1885
01:18:14,440 --> 01:18:15,440
Preach.

1886
01:18:15,440 --> 01:18:18,440
That's interesting.

1887
01:18:18,440 --> 01:18:20,440
That's interesting.

1888
01:18:20,440 --> 01:18:26,440
Cause some, some might say they might say that maybe you have met

1889
01:18:26,440 --> 01:18:30,440
your husband, but you just wasn't ready to receive him yet.

1890
01:18:30,440 --> 01:18:31,440
No.

1891
01:18:31,440 --> 01:18:33,440
You know, that's not.

1892
01:18:33,440 --> 01:18:35,440
There's just no.

1893
01:18:35,440 --> 01:18:37,440
There was one man.

1894
01:18:37,440 --> 01:18:39,440
I'll say it again.

1895
01:18:39,440 --> 01:18:40,440
What?

1896
01:18:40,440 --> 01:18:44,440
It was a long time ago.

1897
01:18:44,440 --> 01:18:46,440
But life is.

1898
01:18:46,440 --> 01:18:49,440
To them.

1899
01:18:49,440 --> 01:18:54,440
Life had the way, what does people say now life be life and life has.

1900
01:18:54,440 --> 01:18:55,440
Yes.

1901
01:18:55,440 --> 01:18:57,440
Yeah.

1902
01:18:57,440 --> 01:19:01,440
We're about to, you know, kind of bring this to a close, but I want to

1903
01:19:01,440 --> 01:19:02,440
know.

1904
01:19:02,440 --> 01:19:09,440
What would your person now, what advice would you give to your younger

1905
01:19:09,440 --> 01:19:15,440
yourself?

1906
01:19:15,440 --> 01:19:16,440
Man.

1907
01:19:16,440 --> 01:19:18,440
Um,

1908
01:19:18,440 --> 01:19:21,440
I would say to my,

1909
01:19:21,440 --> 01:19:23,440
my younger self.

1910
01:19:23,440 --> 01:19:26,440
It's okay to be you.

1911
01:19:26,440 --> 01:19:28,440
Lean into who you truly are.

1912
01:19:28,440 --> 01:19:30,440
Be authentic.

1913
01:19:30,440 --> 01:19:33,440
Because that is truly your superpower.

1914
01:19:33,440 --> 01:19:36,440
You don't have to be anything else but yourself.

1915
01:19:36,440 --> 01:19:39,440
And that's more than enough.

1916
01:19:39,440 --> 01:19:44,440
Mark X.

1917
01:19:44,440 --> 01:19:47,440
But yeah, that's what I would say.

1918
01:19:47,440 --> 01:19:49,440
I love it.

1919
01:19:49,440 --> 01:19:50,440
Yeah.

1920
01:19:50,440 --> 01:19:51,440
That's good.

1921
01:19:51,440 --> 01:19:52,440
Yeah.

1922
01:19:52,440 --> 01:19:55,440
Um, I think for me, I would.

1923
01:19:55,440 --> 01:19:56,440
Um,

1924
01:19:56,440 --> 01:19:59,440
I would just say, you know, take your time.

1925
01:19:59,440 --> 01:20:02,440
Uh, there's no rush to get where you need to be.

1926
01:20:02,440 --> 01:20:05,440
Um, it's all in due season.

1927
01:20:05,440 --> 01:20:10,440
And nothing that you can do is going to help you get there any faster

1928
01:20:10,440 --> 01:20:13,440
because even if you do, you're not going to be ready for it.

1929
01:20:13,440 --> 01:20:18,440
And so you have to live in the moment and enjoy the process because I

1930
01:20:18,440 --> 01:20:22,440
think, you know, we all want that glory, but you don't want to go

1931
01:20:22,440 --> 01:20:23,440
through the process.

1932
01:20:23,440 --> 01:20:24,440
Okay.

1933
01:20:24,440 --> 01:20:27,440
Process is what, what shapes you.

1934
01:20:27,440 --> 01:20:30,440
It's what forms you, you know, which is what you need.

1935
01:20:30,440 --> 01:20:34,440
Um, and so I would, I would probably just tell myself that if I

1936
01:20:34,440 --> 01:20:39,440
was, you know, back at Western in 1995 and in Kalamazoo.

1937
01:20:39,440 --> 01:20:40,440
So.

1938
01:20:40,440 --> 01:20:42,440
Yes.

1939
01:20:42,440 --> 01:20:43,440
Well said.

1940
01:20:43,440 --> 01:20:44,440
Well said.

1941
01:20:44,440 --> 01:20:47,440
I think I would say both of those things to myself.

1942
01:20:47,440 --> 01:20:49,440
And I will also say that.

1943
01:20:49,440 --> 01:20:50,440
It doesn't happen.

1944
01:20:50,440 --> 01:20:52,440
Happen today.

1945
01:20:52,440 --> 01:20:54,440
Everything has a process.

1946
01:20:54,440 --> 01:20:55,440
Just like you said.

1947
01:20:55,440 --> 01:20:56,440
And.

1948
01:20:56,440 --> 01:20:57,440
Just relax.

1949
01:20:57,440 --> 01:20:58,440
Yeah.

1950
01:20:58,440 --> 01:20:59,440
Just relax.

1951
01:20:59,440 --> 01:21:00,440
Yeah.

1952
01:21:00,440 --> 01:21:05,440
You ain't got to make it work.

1953
01:21:05,440 --> 01:21:06,440
It will work.

1954
01:21:06,440 --> 01:21:08,440
Yeah.

1955
01:21:08,440 --> 01:21:09,440
Yeah.

1956
01:21:09,440 --> 01:21:13,440
And I said this earlier and I really truly do mean this.

1957
01:21:13,440 --> 01:21:16,440
The blessings that God has for you will chase you down.

1958
01:21:16,440 --> 01:21:19,440
You don't have to go chasing them down.

1959
01:21:19,440 --> 01:21:20,440
Like that.

1960
01:21:20,440 --> 01:21:22,440
That's not a blessing.

1961
01:21:22,440 --> 01:21:23,440
That may even be a curse.

1962
01:21:23,440 --> 01:21:24,440
So be very careful.

1963
01:21:24,440 --> 01:21:25,440
Mmm.

1964
01:21:25,440 --> 01:21:32,440
What's it close for a reason.

1965
01:21:32,440 --> 01:21:34,440
Door is closed for a reason.

1966
01:21:34,440 --> 01:21:35,440
I agree with that.

1967
01:21:35,440 --> 01:21:36,440
Yeah.

1968
01:21:36,440 --> 01:21:38,440
What's the future look like for y'all?

1969
01:21:38,440 --> 01:21:41,440
My minus this four years that we're about to go through.

1970
01:21:41,440 --> 01:21:42,440
I don't want to get us started.

1971
01:21:42,440 --> 01:21:43,440
I don't want to get started.

1972
01:21:43,440 --> 01:21:44,440
Oh,

1973
01:21:44,440 --> 01:21:45,440
make our own money.

1974
01:21:45,440 --> 01:21:47,440
I ain't worried about these.

1975
01:21:47,440 --> 01:21:58,440
I am sorry.

1976
01:21:58,440 --> 01:21:59,440
You got me misidentified.

1977
01:21:59,440 --> 01:22:02,440
This is a black woman's nap time.

1978
01:22:02,440 --> 01:22:03,440
Shut up and be quiet.

1979
01:22:03,440 --> 01:22:04,440
We don't know what it is.

1980
01:22:04,440 --> 01:22:05,440
White women.

1981
01:22:05,440 --> 01:22:07,440
Y'all go on and fix this.

1982
01:22:07,440 --> 01:22:08,440
Good.

1983
01:22:08,440 --> 01:22:10,440
Your future right now.

1984
01:22:10,440 --> 01:22:11,440
I don't know what it is.

1985
01:22:11,440 --> 01:22:12,440
I don't know what it is.

1986
01:22:12,440 --> 01:22:13,440
I don't know what it is.

1987
01:22:13,440 --> 01:22:14,440
I don't know what it is.

1988
01:22:14,440 --> 01:22:15,440
I don't know what it is.

1989
01:22:15,440 --> 01:22:17,440
I don't know what it is.

1990
01:22:17,440 --> 01:22:18,440
Your future right now.

1991
01:22:18,440 --> 01:22:19,440
Nap time.

1992
01:22:19,440 --> 01:22:24,440
It's time for me to have my own TV show.

1993
01:22:24,440 --> 01:22:25,440
Okay.

1994
01:22:25,440 --> 01:22:26,440
We're talking about that.

1995
01:22:26,440 --> 01:22:27,440
I am,

1996
01:22:27,440 --> 01:22:29,440
I actually hosted a woman.

1997
01:22:29,440 --> 01:22:31,440
That just finished doing.

1998
01:22:31,440 --> 01:22:33,440
What's the name of that show?

1999
01:22:33,440 --> 01:22:36,440
What's the boy that is doing the number one show right now?

2000
01:22:36,440 --> 01:22:37,440
Alex Cross.

2001
01:22:37,440 --> 01:22:38,440
Oh,

2002
01:22:38,440 --> 01:22:49,440
my second.

2003
01:22:49,440 --> 01:22:51,440
I just randomly cook for her.

2004
01:22:51,440 --> 01:22:53,440
I just watched the whole thing.

2005
01:22:53,440 --> 01:22:54,440
Oh my God.

2006
01:22:54,440 --> 01:22:55,440
It was so good.

2007
01:22:55,440 --> 01:22:56,440
It was very good.

2008
01:22:56,440 --> 01:22:57,440
It was good.

2009
01:22:57,440 --> 01:22:58,440
It was so good.

2010
01:22:58,440 --> 01:22:59,440
It was super good.

2011
01:22:59,440 --> 01:23:01,440
Let me stay focused.

2012
01:23:01,440 --> 01:23:03,440
So you can talk and I can talk.

2013
01:23:03,440 --> 01:23:04,440
I can talk and I can talk.

2014
01:23:04,440 --> 01:23:05,440
I can talk and I can talk.

2015
01:23:05,440 --> 01:23:06,440
I can talk and I can talk.

2016
01:23:06,440 --> 01:23:07,440
I can talk and I can talk.

2017
01:23:07,440 --> 01:23:08,440
I can talk and I can talk.

2018
01:23:08,440 --> 01:23:09,440
I can talk and I can talk.

2019
01:23:09,440 --> 01:23:10,440
I can talk and I can talk.

2020
01:23:10,440 --> 01:23:11,440
I can talk and I can talk.

2021
01:23:11,440 --> 01:23:12,440
I can talk and I can talk.

2022
01:23:12,440 --> 01:23:13,440
I can talk and I can talk.

2023
01:23:13,440 --> 01:23:14,440
I can talk and I can talk.

2024
01:23:14,440 --> 01:23:15,440
So y'all can talk and I can go to sleep.

2025
01:23:15,440 --> 01:23:16,440
I can talk and I can go to sleep.

2026
01:23:16,440 --> 01:23:17,440
So I want my own TV show.

2027
01:23:17,440 --> 01:23:19,440
And I know that.

2028
01:23:19,440 --> 01:23:22,440
You know, there are times and spaces for everything.

2029
01:23:22,440 --> 01:23:24,440
And I'm just waiting for that to happen.

2030
01:23:24,440 --> 01:23:25,440
And like I said,

2031
01:23:25,440 --> 01:23:27,440
this woman came into my house and she was like,

2032
01:23:27,440 --> 01:23:31,440
I'm about to rework this whole show because you are perfect for it.

2033
01:23:31,440 --> 01:23:32,440
There you go.

2034
01:23:32,440 --> 01:23:33,440
Okay.

2035
01:23:33,440 --> 01:23:34,440
You walked me your purpose.

2036
01:23:34,440 --> 01:23:35,440
You see that.

2037
01:23:35,440 --> 01:23:36,440
Yeah.

2038
01:23:36,440 --> 01:23:38,440
That's the essence of this show.

2039
01:23:38,440 --> 01:23:39,440
Walk it in your purpose.

2040
01:23:39,440 --> 01:23:40,440
Yeah.

2041
01:23:40,440 --> 01:23:41,440
Here we go.

2042
01:23:41,440 --> 01:23:45,440
And being in the right space and opening the right time and saying the right thing.

2043
01:23:45,440 --> 01:23:46,440
And hearing from God.

2044
01:23:46,440 --> 01:23:50,440
Cause I literally was like, I'm going to talk to my friend all week.

2045
01:23:50,440 --> 01:23:52,440
Why am I going to talk to my friend?

2046
01:23:52,440 --> 01:23:53,440
Let me call him.

2047
01:23:53,440 --> 01:23:54,440
What are you doing?

2048
01:23:54,440 --> 01:23:58,440
He was like, oh, I was going to call you and say, I wanted to come over.

2049
01:23:58,440 --> 01:23:59,440
Come over.

2050
01:23:59,440 --> 01:24:00,440
I'm going to bring some friends.

2051
01:24:00,440 --> 01:24:01,440
Bring them.

2052
01:24:01,440 --> 01:24:03,440
Now somebody else would have said,

2053
01:24:03,440 --> 01:24:06,440
I'll be bringing nobody over to my house.

2054
01:24:06,440 --> 01:24:07,440
I believe in that.

2055
01:24:07,440 --> 01:24:09,440
Cause you never know.

2056
01:24:09,440 --> 01:24:13,440
Close doors are great, but open ones are too.

2057
01:24:13,440 --> 01:24:14,440
Yes.

2058
01:24:14,440 --> 01:24:16,440
Yes, they did.

2059
01:24:16,440 --> 01:24:18,440
So if I could tell anybody anything,

2060
01:24:18,440 --> 01:24:22,440
I know this is probably my last moment of talking and I'm going to say this.

2061
01:24:22,440 --> 01:24:26,440
Just know that everything that God has put inside of you,

2062
01:24:26,440 --> 01:24:29,440
he's going to make happen.

2063
01:24:29,440 --> 01:24:34,440
Cause he is a God who is a provider.

2064
01:24:34,440 --> 01:24:37,440
He is, he is awesome.

2065
01:24:37,440 --> 01:24:38,440
He is amazing.

2066
01:24:38,440 --> 01:24:40,440
And he can see before we can.

2067
01:24:40,440 --> 01:24:42,440
Your story is already written.

2068
01:24:42,440 --> 01:24:47,440
If you don't take the steps, that's all you.

2069
01:24:47,440 --> 01:24:50,440
So I'm a Christian friend.

2070
01:24:50,440 --> 01:24:52,440
We don't have to ask the awesome.

2071
01:24:52,440 --> 01:24:59,440
And I was going on mute.

2072
01:24:59,440 --> 01:25:01,440
So I was talking to them all.

2073
01:25:01,440 --> 01:25:02,440
No, we love it.

2074
01:25:02,440 --> 01:25:03,440
Don't go on mute.

2075
01:25:03,440 --> 01:25:08,440
All right, Merck, Chris.

2076
01:25:08,440 --> 01:25:11,440
Man, what is the future looks like?

2077
01:25:11,440 --> 01:25:14,440
I think it's bright.

2078
01:25:14,440 --> 01:25:19,440
I'm very hopeful for great things to come.

2079
01:25:19,440 --> 01:25:21,440
More, more love.

2080
01:25:21,440 --> 01:25:24,440
More living, more life.

2081
01:25:24,440 --> 01:25:29,440
More inspiration, more books, more giving.

2082
01:25:29,440 --> 01:25:31,440
More becoming.

2083
01:25:31,440 --> 01:25:34,440
We've been saying this whole podcast.

2084
01:25:34,440 --> 01:25:36,440
Trust the process.

2085
01:25:36,440 --> 01:25:39,440
So it's more in leaning into trusting that process,

2086
01:25:39,440 --> 01:25:41,440
but take it a step further.

2087
01:25:41,440 --> 01:25:45,440
I want to surrender to that process as well.

2088
01:25:45,440 --> 01:25:47,440
So yeah.

2089
01:25:47,440 --> 01:25:51,440
And that's for somebody who's listening that really needed that

2090
01:25:51,440 --> 01:25:52,440
at the moment.

2091
01:25:52,440 --> 01:25:54,440
Whatever moment that they're listening to.

2092
01:25:54,440 --> 01:25:56,440
So that was well said.

2093
01:25:56,440 --> 01:25:57,440
Yeah.

2094
01:25:57,440 --> 01:25:59,440
Good stuff.

2095
01:25:59,440 --> 01:26:04,440
So for me right now, I'm wrapping up my first semester of

2096
01:26:04,440 --> 01:26:06,440
doctoral school.

2097
01:26:06,440 --> 01:26:11,440
I'm getting a doctorate in educational leadership.

2098
01:26:11,440 --> 01:26:14,440
You know, I, it was something that.

2099
01:26:14,440 --> 01:26:17,440
No friends.

2100
01:26:17,440 --> 01:26:19,440
I always kind of wanted to do it,

2101
01:26:19,440 --> 01:26:22,440
but I just kept putting it off and off and off.

2102
01:26:22,440 --> 01:26:25,440
And I finally just, you know, the Lord was like,

2103
01:26:25,440 --> 01:26:27,440
look, I'm going to keep bringing it up until you do it.

2104
01:26:27,440 --> 01:26:32,440
And so at 47 years old, you know, I was like, all right,

2105
01:26:32,440 --> 01:26:35,440
you know what, let me just go ahead and put the work in and

2106
01:26:35,440 --> 01:26:37,440
knock it out in two and a half years and I'll be done.

2107
01:26:37,440 --> 01:26:40,440
So for me, that's, that's my immediate future.

2108
01:26:40,440 --> 01:26:44,440
But you know, I'm going to have a daughter that's going to be

2109
01:26:44,440 --> 01:26:46,440
graduating college in another year.

2110
01:26:46,440 --> 01:26:48,440
And then she's going to physical therapy school.

2111
01:26:48,440 --> 01:26:51,440
So I'm still going to be paying her tuition and my tuition.

2112
01:26:51,440 --> 01:26:53,440
You know, so.

2113
01:26:53,440 --> 01:26:55,440
Daddy do this.

2114
01:26:55,440 --> 01:26:58,440
I think, you know, my future is, is really,

2115
01:26:58,440 --> 01:27:00,440
I've been one of those people, you know how you ask people

2116
01:27:00,440 --> 01:27:03,440
like, what do you want to do five years from now or 10 years

2117
01:27:03,440 --> 01:27:04,440
from now?

2118
01:27:04,440 --> 01:27:06,440
I've never been good at that.

2119
01:27:06,440 --> 01:27:08,440
Like I can't even tell you what you're doing.

2120
01:27:08,440 --> 01:27:11,440
I'm going to do next week because I'm, I'm trying to live in the

2121
01:27:11,440 --> 01:27:12,440
moment.

2122
01:27:12,440 --> 01:27:15,440
In the moment, I'm trying to take one step at a time and I just

2123
01:27:15,440 --> 01:27:17,440
try to take advantage of what's in front of me.

2124
01:27:17,440 --> 01:27:21,440
And so I have some ideas of like what I would like to do,

2125
01:27:21,440 --> 01:27:25,440
but ultimately I would rather be led to what I'm supposed to do as

2126
01:27:25,440 --> 01:27:27,440
opposed to just doing anything.

2127
01:27:27,440 --> 01:27:30,440
And so, you know, for me, I would say that's,

2128
01:27:30,440 --> 01:27:32,440
that's my future as of today.

2129
01:27:32,440 --> 01:27:33,440
Got it.

2130
01:27:33,440 --> 01:27:34,440
Yeah.

2131
01:27:34,440 --> 01:27:38,440
You know what, I appreciate each and every one of you.

2132
01:27:38,440 --> 01:27:40,440
I appreciate your time.

2133
01:27:40,440 --> 01:27:42,440
I appreciate your minds.

2134
01:27:42,440 --> 01:27:47,440
I appreciate how you gave to this moment and this and it was just,

2135
01:27:47,440 --> 01:27:48,440
it was amazing.

2136
01:27:48,440 --> 01:27:50,440
I think it's probably the best.

2137
01:27:50,440 --> 01:27:54,440
I've had podcasts that's aired and podcasts that's going to air

2138
01:27:54,440 --> 01:27:55,440
after this.

2139
01:27:55,440 --> 01:27:58,440
And this is probably one of the best moments that I've had.

2140
01:27:58,440 --> 01:28:02,440
I've had a lot of great, great, great, great, great, great, great,

2141
01:28:02,440 --> 01:28:05,440
moments that I've had on the podcast.

2142
01:28:05,440 --> 01:28:12,440
You taught me some things and I'm so, so grateful to have you guys in my life,

2143
01:28:12,440 --> 01:28:17,440
even though it's across the screen like this, but it's all good because we do

2144
01:28:17,440 --> 01:28:19,440
talk and I appreciate you.

2145
01:28:19,440 --> 01:28:20,440
I love you all.

2146
01:28:20,440 --> 01:28:25,440
And thank you for being on the Thriveau Journey podcast.

2147
01:28:25,440 --> 01:28:26,440
I love you all.

2148
01:28:26,440 --> 01:28:27,440
Love you too, brother.

2149
01:28:27,440 --> 01:28:34,440
I appreciate you, man.