1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,560 I think that when you have, you know, a hobby or passion and you have an opportunity to pursue 2 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:18,200 it, I think that those can sometimes turn into like the greatest experience and best 3 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:20,880 memories of your life. 4 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,240 I don't want to have any regrets, so I'll leave it all out there. 5 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:29,560 You know, I'll do what I can to the best of my abilities or, you know, say whatever I have 6 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:35,840 to say to get, you know, my point or my heart across and, you know, let the cards fall, 7 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,560 how they fall. 8 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:44,440 Thank you for joining me on another episode of Life's Next Lesson Plan. 9 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:50,760 I'm Rachel and I started this podcast during my 29th and last year as a high school teacher. 10 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:55,800 The goal of my work with this podcast, as well as my Live and Learn Patreon, is to create 11 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,400 a connection where we are all teachers. 12 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,320 We all have lessons and stories to share that can help others. 13 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:07,040 I'm so fortunate to be able to extend the four walls of my previous classroom to an 14 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:11,360 unlimited audience where we can all learn from each other. 15 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,840 And my guests are some of the most inspirational people with the best stories and lessons I 16 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:19,480 know, which is why I want to share them with you. 17 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,440 Their words are something everyone should hear. 18 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:27,160 It is my hope that you are able to take away something from each episode to apply to your 19 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:33,480 own life, whether that be a career search, a path to a more fulfilling life, or new ideas 20 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:36,000 on current topics. 21 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:41,560 Today I'm joined by another unbelievably inspirational former student here to share 22 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:47,080 with you, Blake Leeson, who is now a professional volleyball player in Europe. 23 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:52,560 Blake's story will reinforce my main message of this podcast, that taking that chance to 24 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,920 live out your dreams means living with no regrets. 25 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:01,800 His wisdom reaches far beyond any lesson I could teach, and I'm honored to have him 26 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:08,680 here to share his story and his life lessons with you. 27 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:18,480 100% of men and women have hormones, and with the increased presence of processed foods 28 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:23,840 and environmental toxins, it's more important than ever to make mindful choices in the products 29 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:25,560 we use every day. 30 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:31,300 That's why I trust Q&G, high-performing, clean products designed to support hormone 31 00:02:31,300 --> 00:02:35,840 health while reducing exposure to harmful chemicals. 32 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:41,840 Because this topic has been my primary focus since ending birth control in 2024, in an 33 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:47,960 attempt to regulate my changing mid-life hormones, after making healthy swaps in my diet, personal 34 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:53,880 care products, and exercise routine, I've been able to lower my dose of anxiety medication 35 00:02:53,880 --> 00:03:00,120 I once relied very heavily on, and have restored balance to my nervous system and cleared up 36 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,000 the brain fog I was experiencing in perimenopause. 37 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:11,160 Q&G has played a key role in this transformation, offering safe, effective, non-toxic solutions 38 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:13,680 that support my wellness journey. 39 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:19,160 If you listened to episode 16 with certified Mayo Clinic health and wellness coach Tracey 40 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:24,440 Danielson Mitchell, you heard our talk about the importance of hormone health. 41 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:29,000 Coming in March, I'll be doing a deep dive into heart and hormone health on my Live and 42 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:35,160 Learn Patreon, where I'll list all the tests, supplements, and product swaps that have helped 43 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:37,680 me balance my hormones in my 50s. 44 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:42,560 Plus, Tracey will be back to answer all your heart and hormone health questions at the 45 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:44,240 end of the month. 46 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:49,040 If you're on this journey with me and are interested in exploring you and Grace's trusted, 47 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:58,960 non-toxic products, visit my link at hueandgrace.com.slashlessonplan to receive 10% off and free shipping. 48 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:05,200 You can also reach out to me at any time with questions at nextlessonplan.gmail.com. 49 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,640 Live and learn with me as we focus on living fully and feeling our best. 50 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:15,040 Visit hueandgrace.com.slashlessonplan to see how easy it is to start making some healthy 51 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:25,280 swaps on the way to non-toxic living. 52 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:34,000 So today, I'm so excited to welcome a former student of mine, Blake Leeson, to the podcast. 53 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:41,120 Blake and I met in pubs or journalism class back in the day. 54 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:47,120 And it was funny because I was telling my current students who I was recording with 55 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:48,600 this coming weekend. 56 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,560 And we have a poster that sits in my room. 57 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:57,200 They made these read posters and we were all holding a book in the poster. 58 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:02,760 And I said, it's that guy, the tall guy in the poster. 59 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,120 And so they're like, oh, yeah, he is tall. 60 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,640 That I had to explain what he does. 61 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:13,760 But I'll let him explain how his height probably has worked to his advantage and what he is 62 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:14,920 doing in life. 63 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:16,520 So welcome, Blake. 64 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:20,960 And can you give the listeners a little bit of background on yourself? 65 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,680 Yeah, absolutely. 66 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:25,760 I appreciate you for having me on. 67 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:33,040 And it's been quite a journey since graduating homestead in 2014, for sure. 68 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,400 A little bit of background on myself. 69 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:41,480 I would say that, like I just mentioned, I graduated homestead in 2014. 70 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:49,400 And without getting into specific topics of some more of the questions, but I decided 71 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:54,560 that I wanted to continue athletics after high school and I was involved in a bunch of different 72 00:05:54,560 --> 00:06:03,040 sports and I eventually decided to go to Ohio State University and play volleyball there. 73 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:08,240 And there's some backstory that we can talk about later on, but I ended up going to play 74 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:16,080 volleyball there collegially, walked off, and eventually ended up getting scholarship. 75 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:21,080 Did my bachelor's, did my master's there, then had the opportunity to go play volleyball 76 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:23,560 professionally overseas. 77 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:29,120 And I took it, jumped at the opportunity, loved the travel, loved to see different areas 78 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:33,200 of the world and just how different people operate in different communities. 79 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:35,960 I thought that was a really cool experience to at least try to see, at least for a year 80 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,520 or two and see how it goes. 81 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:44,560 I was hooked and I loved that experience and traveling and I've been doing that ever 82 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:46,360 since. 83 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:51,440 And I'm going on to, this is your sixth now for me, playing internationally. 84 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:56,640 And that's kind of up to speed since high school at least. 85 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:59,120 I've been up to and I'm going back in between. 86 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:07,120 So six years and you, I think said 14 different countries. 87 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:10,440 Yeah, I actually recounted and I missed a couple. 88 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:12,920 I think I was at 17 or 18. 89 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:14,480 Oh my goodness. 90 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:15,480 Wow. 91 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:16,640 One that I've put in. 92 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:17,640 Okay. 93 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:18,640 Yeah. 94 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,760 That's a lot to pack into six years. 95 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:28,520 Okay, so yes, we want to hear a little bit more about what led you to this amazing life 96 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:30,240 that you're living right now. 97 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:37,480 So going back to your high school days and then leading into your college days, what 98 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:43,680 are some of the biggest events that occurred for you in high school and then into college 99 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:44,680 as well? 100 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:45,680 Yeah, absolutely. 101 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:52,400 Obviously, everyone's probably got a unique store in mind. 102 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:56,400 It is interesting because my whole life I played football. 103 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:01,760 As you know very well, it's like the macro one things what area has a pretty good feeder 104 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:06,440 program and Cardinal football program starts like fifth or sixth grade. 105 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:12,920 So I was at the mat for ever since I could remember and played up until high school. 106 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:17,120 All my friends were in that program and a lot of the sport. 107 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:24,800 But as you know, I'm not the most large individual this way. 108 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:31,600 That I played until my sophomore year where I ended up having a conversation with one 109 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:39,200 of the varsity coaches at that point that basically ended up in saying that they decide 110 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:44,120 to go with another player for varsity for starting. 111 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:50,400 I played quarterback during that time and in Cardinal. 112 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:58,040 So that was a tough kill to swallow because I thought that I was talented enough to continue 113 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:02,200 that journey and continue trying to play in college because I was always a goal of 114 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:03,200 mind. 115 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,200 I wanted to play football, I wanted to play football in college. 116 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:11,840 I think that that realization definitely opened up a new window or new opportunity for me to 117 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:14,480 explore other options. 118 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:20,440 So as much as it pained me to hear that in the moment, I think that Heinz had 2020 look 119 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:24,440 back at that and it's honestly like a blessing disguise. 120 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,800 Although I love the sport, physically I think that it would have definitely taken a bigger 121 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:33,640 toll than volleyball on my body and maybe my head with everything coming out now with 122 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:39,080 the CT and all the damage that can go beyond the sport. 123 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:41,120 So I think everything happens for a reason. 124 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,440 Big believer in that as cliche as it sounds. 125 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,480 So I ended up not playing my junior year. 126 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:54,280 I switched sports to volleyball, which was not a popular decision in homestead sports. 127 00:09:54,280 --> 00:10:00,760 As we probably both know, not a successful program like the football team got a lot of 128 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:06,120 flack for that decision and I don't want to say I was ostracized, but I definitely had 129 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:13,640 friends in the football team that did not think that was a cool decision by any means, 130 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:14,640 which is fine. 131 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:18,480 You're in high school and that stuff matters a little bit more than it does now. 132 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:22,200 So I'm still very thankful that I ended up making that decision. 133 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:26,280 But when you're in the moment, you're definitely like, wow, am I screwing up everything or 134 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:27,840 am I making the wrong choice? 135 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:32,520 Even if something as little as switching sports. 136 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:36,920 So it's crazy the domino effect that it has because I went from a team that was winning 137 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:42,040 state championships to a team that barely won a game a year. 138 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:49,960 It was quite the difference of competitive nature and just like what you expect out of 139 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,280 yourself and your teammates. 140 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:57,680 It was definitely eye-opening too because all of our team didn't have that demeanor that 141 00:10:57,680 --> 00:11:01,200 I expected to transition to any sport at home. 142 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:04,280 So it just wasn't the culture of the team at the time. 143 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:08,120 And I actually found out recently that they just won conference, so good for that. 144 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:11,280 But I'm on the map. 145 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:13,880 But yeah, so I ended up switching sports. 146 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:15,280 I had this couple injuries. 147 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:19,160 I broke my hand my sophomore year. 148 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:26,040 So that was another reason why I decided to switch sports along with what the coach said. 149 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:31,320 I kind of used that as a chip on my shoulder because when I was younger, I got, I mean, 150 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:33,240 everyone gets made fun of. 151 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:35,680 I think you should get made fun of to a degree. 152 00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:39,040 I think it makes you more well-rounded. 153 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:44,240 But I got made fun of for my size and my weight and just how skinny I was. 154 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:50,080 And I think that definitely played a role in like the chip on my shoulder type of mentality 155 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,640 I kind of took into switching sports. 156 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:56,120 Because as I mentioned before, it wasn't a cool thing to do. 157 00:11:56,120 --> 00:12:01,560 So switching sports was definitely a big thing for me. 158 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:03,960 And I didn't know about men's volleyball. 159 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:04,960 It wasn't big. 160 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:09,360 I would argue that still not that large, but it's definitely growing, especially with 161 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:13,000 the witness leagues now with the country either sport or professional in the leagues. 162 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:18,160 I think that, you know, in 40 years when I'm retired, I'll look back and it may be like 163 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:21,560 a cool sport now for guys to play. 164 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:23,840 At least I hope that that's the direction it's headed. 165 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:30,120 But yeah, so not to ramble, but I switched sports my into my junior year. 166 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:36,800 I played volleyball for my first year of high school, my junior year. 167 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:39,200 And then we were not very good. 168 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:41,960 I think we won maybe one or two games tops. 169 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:48,120 So we were bad, but I had a great time with the guy and they were good people. 170 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,600 Still guys I talked to this day actually. 171 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:55,000 So it's interesting how that all plays out. 172 00:12:55,000 --> 00:13:00,840 And then junior year I played one more year and during junior year, I was like, hey, I'm 173 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:04,840 kind of half decent at this for not have been, you know, played as long as I have. 174 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:09,000 Because typically how it works with volleyball is like West Coast is primarily where all 175 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:12,760 the men's players come from all the towns, men's player players. 176 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:19,120 So they're starting, you know, use ages, you know, eighth, ninth grade, maybe even earlier 177 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:20,120 sometimes. 178 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:24,440 So I still want to play sports in college. 179 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:28,040 I loved competing. 180 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:31,000 And I thought maybe, hey, like, what's there to lose? 181 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:32,000 I've got nothing to lose. 182 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:33,440 I'm going to put some film together. 183 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:39,280 I'm going to send out filmed every college coach I can find on the face of the earth 184 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:44,920 because in my opinion, if you can't be your own self advocate, not a lot of things always 185 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:46,200 just fall into your lap. 186 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,040 You know, you got to go out and you got to, if you want something from my experiences 187 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:54,560 like you have to put yourself out there and you have to put yourself in a position that 188 00:13:54,560 --> 00:14:00,640 you might get blessed with an opportunity or meet someone or come into contact where 189 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:04,600 a door opens and it gives you an opportunity to walk through a tight deal. 190 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:06,840 And that's kind of how it's always been in my life. 191 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:12,240 And if it wasn't for switching sports and sending out those emails, I would never had 192 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,760 an opportunity to walk on it on a high-state. 193 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:20,160 And when I got that email, you know, I told my parents I was going to send out emails 194 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:24,080 and my mom was super supportive, but my dad's more of a realist. 195 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:28,800 And he's, you know, he told me he was telling my mom that, you know, what is he doing that 196 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,720 before he's never going to get a reply. 197 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:37,480 So it's been, it's definitely been an interesting ride looking back on it. 198 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:43,360 But I got a reply from a couple of schools in Ohio State was one of them. 199 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:49,240 I fell in love with the place when I walked on campus and the head coach actually came 200 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:55,280 to Ohio or came to the Mech-Lon area to watch another player in the area that they were 201 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:56,280 offering scholarship to. 202 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:59,600 And he came up to one of our practices. 203 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:04,720 He offered me a walk-on spot, which is code for, you know, you're still to pay tuition, 204 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:09,040 but not state tuition, but you have a spot on a tee. 205 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,960 And my parents budgeted for state school, which is more than I could ask any parents 206 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:14,840 to do, especially with the cost of tuition today. 207 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:19,080 So like the fact they're able to save enough money for me to further my education in any 208 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,440 capacity I think is incredible. 209 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:27,160 But Ohio State out of state tuition was more than that budget. 210 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:34,200 So I was kind of on a one and done type year contract going to Ohio State at my side. 211 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:38,360 Figured out how to find an extra 30 grand a year out of nowhere, you know. 212 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:42,520 So I was like, you know what, I'm going to regret this isn't for the rest of my life. 213 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:44,000 I don't go and my parents are on board. 214 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,840 Like, yeah, I go for one year, try it out, see how it goes, type deal. 215 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:51,880 So I went, I got on campus. 216 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,360 I was by far the worst player in that gym. 217 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:56,160 It was not even close. 218 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:00,800 And it was very, very apparent that I had a lot of work to do, especially in like the 219 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:01,800 strength department. 220 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:08,800 I was just not physically where I need to be compared to the other guys. 221 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:15,640 So the head coach actually wanted me to redshirt, which I was not a fan of because I was kind 222 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:21,280 of on a shot clock for earning scholarship and, you know, making a name for myself enough 223 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:26,600 to make enough money to make the difference up between state and state tuition. 224 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:31,040 So here again, this isn't life or death, but for, you know, an 18 year old kid who was 225 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:35,520 a pretty big deal of time, I was, didn't want to leave. 226 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:36,520 Love the place. 227 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:37,520 Love my roommates. 228 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:38,520 Love my teammates. 229 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:40,020 Love the campus. 230 00:16:40,020 --> 00:16:42,520 People always say, why don't you go to Wisconsin, you know, like you traitor. 231 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:47,240 Well, they don't have a men's team, so I can't be a traitor. 232 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:53,600 But yeah, so long story short, in that department, it was just, it was a kind of a full circle 233 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:54,600 event. 234 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:56,600 I was the only player who redshirted. 235 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:00,200 And if you're familiar with that term, it's basically, I was the only person in travel. 236 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:05,320 I worked one-one for a year straight with our strength coach, Andy Britton, who is an 237 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:07,520 incredible human being. 238 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:13,120 And I attribute a lot of my success to you, especially after that time. 239 00:17:13,120 --> 00:17:15,120 So he spent every day with me in the weight room. 240 00:17:15,120 --> 00:17:18,360 We got to know each other really well. 241 00:17:18,360 --> 00:17:20,440 And thought I was getting stronger. 242 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:23,080 I thought I was putting in a lot of good work. 243 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,280 And it came to the end of that first year. 244 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,000 And I was like, well, I gave it my all. 245 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:29,440 You know, I didn't play. 246 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,720 It's like, I can't afford to go here anymore. 247 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:37,760 I got my transfer papers ready to go to Minnesota and play club ball with some friends that 248 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:39,160 also went there from Homestead. 249 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:46,960 I was also looking at going to play in Oshkosh, where some of my aunt and uncles went and 250 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:49,720 just kind of lived closer to home. 251 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:52,640 And I had a meeting with my head coach at the time. 252 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:58,520 And before, I probably made a month before the second semester was over. 253 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:00,600 So I ended the year type time. 254 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:06,200 And he's like, Blake, we like the work you've done. 255 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:07,200 We've seen the improvement. 256 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:12,240 And like, we want to offer you the difference of in-state, cost-state tuition. 257 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:17,720 And I like was super, super emotional there because it was, I thought I was pretty much 258 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:18,720 done. 259 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:20,920 I thought that I was transferring. 260 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:22,640 I didn't tell him that I had my papers ready. 261 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:27,000 But I mean, I knew from a financial standpoint, I wasn't going to take on X amount of dollars 262 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:34,520 of debt because that was my goal to not come out of college with any student loan debt. 263 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:39,640 And I didn't want to take on that financial responsibility regardless of how good the 264 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:40,640 opportunity was. 265 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:46,400 I just didn't want to put myself in a hole after coming out of college. 266 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:48,880 So hearing that from him was awesome. 267 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:54,720 And getting to that point was definitely open the doors for everything else because from 268 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:58,840 then on out, I just all fell into place. 269 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,920 I got, I don't want to say it was all luck because I did work exceptionally hard that 270 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,920 year and put myself out there to give myself an opportunity. 271 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:15,520 But that year after was, I'd say, one of the best years of my life. 272 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:18,760 I ended up starting every single game that next season. 273 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:25,480 We went like 32 and two or 32 and three and we won a national championship at Penn State. 274 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:31,440 And I was fortunate enough to have the match winning kill against BYU in that match. 275 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:37,760 So that was a very surreal feeling to go from thinking you're going to leave not financially 276 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,520 being able to stay there to getting scholarship. 277 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:43,560 And then that next year, winning a national championship. 278 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:48,880 It was a very flick of a switch type moment from one year to the next. 279 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,520 So that was a really cool experience. 280 00:19:52,520 --> 00:20:00,320 And I was just extremely lucky to be on a team that was really, really talented. 281 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:06,360 I mean, I slid into a spot that was the pieces were there and I've tried to fill that last 282 00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:07,360 piece. 283 00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:13,200 I actually got recruited as a right side, right side, which is not the position I play 284 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,680 now, but I had a meeting with a coach during the time was like, Hey, what's the fastest 285 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:17,680 way on the floor? 286 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:20,240 What's the fastest way to get scholarship? 287 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,720 Because only playing for two years in high school, you're not necessarily like locked 288 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:25,000 into a certain position. 289 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:29,480 You know, it's still pretty early in your, in your fresh in terms of like body mechanics 290 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:30,720 and things like that. 291 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:37,920 So I was like, Hey, if you need me somewhere, where is the most needed position and that 292 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:42,720 I can potentially are in scholarship and he's like, we need middles. 293 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:47,000 And I was like, all right, guess I'm going to try and be a middle. 294 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:49,520 So that was kind of that. 295 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:51,880 Now do I love playing middle? 296 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:58,120 Not necessarily, but it was the, it was the opportunity that I had and I tried to make 297 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:02,160 the most of it and it kind of just fell in place after that. 298 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:04,120 The year after that, we had another incredible year. 299 00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:06,720 We had everybody returning except for one starter. 300 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:08,800 We got a transfer from France. 301 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:14,440 We actually knew my roommate, my one of my best friends, Nick surgeon, who's Polish. 302 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:19,480 And he filled in that O2 spot and we went back to back and won another national championship 303 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:25,880 the following year in 2016, 2017. 304 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:31,720 And we just went on a crazy run and I just fell in love with the sport. 305 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:37,640 We, the second national championship happened to be at home, which is the odds of that happening 306 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:42,400 and you playing in it is like crazy because as you know, another sports, I'm sure they 307 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,000 make those bids like years ahead of time. 308 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,560 So it wasn't just like, Oh, like we're good this year. 309 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:48,560 We're going to bid for it. 310 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:52,920 It was like, that was set five, six years in advance and it happened to line up when 311 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:53,920 we were at home. 312 00:21:53,920 --> 00:22:02,320 So being the final game was in our state on 17, we had like 10,000 people in the arena 313 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:09,360 for our game, which for men's volleyball in the country of America and specifically Ohio, 314 00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:15,960 which is like a very like football wrestling oriented type state. 315 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:20,120 And if you play men's volleyball, it's probably, I don't want to say frowned upon or looked 316 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:25,440 down upon, but it's not like an actual line of sports you could play as a male. 317 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:30,000 So having 10,000 bucks, I show up for that game who maybe didn't even know we had a men's 318 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,400 volleyball team at the time was crazy walking out in front of that arena. 319 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,880 It's a memory I will never forget. 320 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:38,800 You couldn't hear yourself think. 321 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:42,760 And to this day, it's the most people I've ever played in front of. 322 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:48,600 And so from there, yeah, I just, we finished with two national championships and three 323 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:54,840 top first championships from 2015 to 2019 from the time I was there. 324 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:57,920 So we had a pretty great run. 325 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:03,360 And after those national championships, I think I can say this now because I don't 326 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:09,000 think that I'll do matters anymore, but I had some agents contact me. 327 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:13,120 So I was like, Oh, there's like professional volleyball overseas. 328 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:19,280 It's like you can go travel and see the world and get your expenses covered for you relatively 329 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:21,240 and get to play a sport. 330 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,600 Like that sounds incredible. 331 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:29,360 So I didn't talk to him immediately, but as time went on, I got closer to graduating. 332 00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:35,080 I lined something up and from there, it was the rest was the history. 333 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:39,000 I went and played in my first year. 334 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:45,120 And then I went to Switzerland and then Germany and then had a little stint in between where 335 00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:47,520 I wasn't sure if I was going to play again. 336 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:52,040 Had some personal things that popped up in my life. 337 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,160 And I was kind of at a crossroads of do I quit? 338 00:23:55,160 --> 00:24:02,800 Do I continue pushing and falling in a dream that I had to play like at the highest level? 339 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:06,880 You know, families, relationships involved and things like that make you say, I can 340 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:10,360 guess yourself to a degree in some of those situations. 341 00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:13,360 So went through a little bit of that year and there. 342 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:19,560 I thought I was going to quit and then ended up getting a kind of like a breakthrough contract 343 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,600 on the team I'm at on now. 344 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:26,040 That just is one of the coolest places I've ever played for. 345 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:30,680 And then the team is really, really incredible. 346 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:35,480 So that I kind of sped through that last part and go in more detail if you like, but that's 347 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:40,760 kind of the wholesome opposite of how I got to here and now. 348 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:46,040 And I just think that it's been a crazy ride looking back because I look at it back and 349 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:50,800 I think, oh, like if I didn't switch sports, what would I be doing now? 350 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:54,680 If I didn't have that coach tell me, you know, XYZ, they kind of put a salad taste in my 351 00:24:54,680 --> 00:25:00,040 mouth about, you know, competing for it and having to fight for it, you know, where would 352 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:01,040 I be now? 353 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:03,320 Like something that I missed too. 354 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:05,000 I think I remember this. 355 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,120 I was in a year class in a boot probably. 356 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:12,080 My junior here, I believe, I don't remember the time frame exactly, but I tore 75% of 357 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:15,840 my Achilles, which was another, you know, bump in the road. 358 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:20,040 And I had, this is why you always get multiple opinions whenever you go to a doctor. 359 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:24,000 Let me tell you, I had one doctor basically looking nine said that I'd never played competitive 360 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,680 sports ever again. 361 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:28,800 And that was a tough kill to swallow. 362 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:30,520 Obviously it turned out fine. 363 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:36,920 But I got another opinion that was like, we can rehab it and you can try and work it 364 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:37,920 back. 365 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:43,320 We'll do, you know, ultrasound therapy and ultrasound therapy and regrow the tissue to 366 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,360 try and resilitify that cut. 367 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:51,920 I actually tore it in gym class with Dan Kloss and on, what was the gym class called? 368 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:54,600 You got your lifetime sports or something? 369 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:55,600 Yes. 370 00:25:55,600 --> 00:26:02,960 I was riding a bike that was not big enough for the size of myself. 371 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:08,160 It was a little bit too high and snapped off with my Achilles gearbox. 372 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:10,640 So you live and you learn. 373 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:13,600 I haven't written a book since the last one. 374 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:14,600 Yeah. 375 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,560 So it's, it's just been a wild ride. 376 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:26,040 And I'm very thankful for the opportunities and the people I've met through it because 377 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:31,320 I just can't imagine, I can't imagine any other way after everything that I've done. 378 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:32,320 Right. 379 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:33,320 Wow. 380 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:37,400 Your story is such a testament to the other cliche, right? 381 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:41,200 Like when one door closes, another one opens. 382 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:48,080 And yeah, having been around high school students for 29 years, when these things happen, it's 383 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:50,120 like their life is over, right? 384 00:26:50,120 --> 00:26:52,600 It's like a huge thing at the time. 385 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:57,360 And then like you said, you have to deal with the peer reaction and you're dealing with 386 00:26:57,360 --> 00:26:58,840 your own emotion. 387 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:02,320 And there's two paths that you can take, right? 388 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:05,640 Like you could have said, well, I can't play football. 389 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:06,960 So forget it. 390 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:12,720 Like that's just out the window, but you definitely looked at that and saw another opportunity 391 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:14,040 and went for it. 392 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:19,440 And when you said that when you walked into Ohio State and you felt you were the worst 393 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:26,560 player, how could you have imagined that you would be sitting here talking about the accomplishments 394 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:28,520 that you've had today? 395 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:35,200 And you wouldn't without that what seemed to be life-ending situation that happened. 396 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:40,280 And there's so many times as a teacher of high school students that I want to say, this 397 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:42,680 won't matter. 398 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:48,120 Or it's going to be okay or even better than you could have imagined, which your story 399 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:50,120 is definitely a testament to. 400 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:56,920 I know just talking in my last guest episode or a few ago with Anna Strelow, who, you know, 401 00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:59,080 her dream was always to be a professional athlete. 402 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:00,400 She was a soccer player. 403 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:03,760 She thought she was going to, you know, that was her path. 404 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:10,560 And after doing a half marathon one time, now, story, story, story, she's a professional 405 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:12,360 Ironman triathlete, right? 406 00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:15,280 She never could have predicted that. 407 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:21,920 But all these, you know, follow the doors that open, I think is such great advice. 408 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,480 Definitely in your story is a testament to that. 409 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:30,720 So for those of us or at least me or anybody who's not familiar with what the process looks 410 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:37,680 like of becoming a professional athlete, we got to hear the amazing story of how you got 411 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:44,000 to these national championship experiences from switching sports midway through your 412 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:45,240 high school career. 413 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:47,040 So what does that look like? 414 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,520 Does that happen during your senior year? 415 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,160 I know you said you had agents reaching out to you. 416 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:55,520 Can you explain to us kind of how that all works? 417 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:57,160 Yeah, absolutely. 418 00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:02,920 I think that if you're one of those players in college that are already getting looks 419 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:08,040 from the national team, like that's a conversation that they have with you. 420 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:12,400 And I know a couple of those guys that were in those places that went to those California 421 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:18,080 schools that were kind of already in the USA pipeline even before college. 422 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:21,160 You know, they have those feeder programs that work their way up and they're kind of 423 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:25,560 just like a shoe in and they have those relationships where, you know, they give those athletes 424 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,640 that advice and those agents to talk to. 425 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:32,920 I was obviously a little different along with a lot of other people that go and play who 426 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,840 don't have that connection, I guess, right away. 427 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:41,760 So when I got reached out to by an agent, I was like, well, this is weird. 428 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:42,880 Like, is this legit? 429 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:43,880 Is this real? 430 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:46,840 Like, because I had no idea. 431 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:48,600 And what you don't know, you don't know. 432 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:53,040 So you try and find out as much as you possibly can about, you know, who is this agent? 433 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,480 Are there anybody who played in a pass for your school? 434 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:57,600 Anybody you know through mutual friends? 435 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:01,840 You can talk to to get advice, you know, places that are good to go, places you want to stay 436 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:02,840 away from, right? 437 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:08,200 Because you're essentially picking up your life and moving to this random village or 438 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:12,480 random city in the middle of Europe that you've never been to and never heard anybody from. 439 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:16,120 And you know, you may not know a single person, you know, you may not even have an American 440 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:22,040 on your team or Canadian or so that definitely a little nerve wracking, but also kind of 441 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:23,200 exciting at the same time. 442 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:24,600 I mean, it's not for everybody. 443 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:30,920 But so after I got that message from a few agents, I was like, all right, so what's the 444 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:32,600 process from here to ideal? 445 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:38,440 And I was actually works is you sign with, you know, an agent who, you know, typically 446 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:43,400 takes, you know, a standard five to 15%. 447 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:48,320 I've heard, I guess, and you're from that range of a part of whatever contract they 448 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:53,800 get you as like a finder's fee also, like just to have somebody on your side in case, 449 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:55,800 you know, it's a lack of better term shit. 450 00:30:55,800 --> 00:31:02,080 It's a fan and something goes wrong because there's a legal way of doing it. 451 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:05,880 And then there are also agents that don't necessarily are not backed by the FIBB, which 452 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:13,800 is like the overarching organization that like runs volleyball in Europe. 453 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:17,000 So they're like agents who are licensed and agents who are not. 454 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:21,080 And so just making sure you make the right choice in that direction. 455 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:26,400 I tried to talk to as many older graduates of Ohio State that I found out that played 456 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:31,640 or any mutual friends of other programs that went and played for a couple of years or many 457 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:34,040 years. 458 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:37,800 So once I picked, you know, an agent and thought that, you know, this is the right choice for 459 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:39,040 me. 460 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:42,440 They basically contact, you know, their connections and teams. 461 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:50,600 Usually a lot of these agents are former players or well rounded individuals just in the community 462 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:55,320 of volleyball and know a lot of people that have a lot of connections to different leagues 463 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:59,360 or different countries or different managers or different coaches. 464 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:02,640 And those connections, obviously you have to have the talent because they have to, you 465 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:05,800 know, see your film and whatnot. 466 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:11,160 But basically they, those agents help you put together like a volleyball resume per 467 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:12,160 set. 468 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:16,360 So just like you would for a job, basically I have a CV, which is like highlight film, 469 00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:21,920 two or three games clipped up and then like accomplishments, stats, stuff like that basically 470 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:27,280 in like a, you know, a normal resume format but for volleyball essentially. 471 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:31,240 And you have that kind of constructed and you give that to your agent, you help them 472 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:34,960 together and they send it out to teams. 473 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:38,360 And essentially it's like a wait and see game, you know. 474 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:42,680 Obviously if you're, you know, one of the best players in the world, like in any sport, 475 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:46,440 you know, even football, you may have, you know, people knocking on your door to, you 476 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:48,680 know, offer you big, big league contracts. 477 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:53,120 Not the case in my situation, but at the top of the top, you know, of the sport, there 478 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:57,040 are players that are getting over a million dollars in volleyball. 479 00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:01,400 So those players definitely probably have people seeking them out to a degree. 480 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:05,800 But typically how most players are handled is, it's the way I'm explaining. 481 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:10,440 So once you have that volleyball CV, your agent kind of goes and talks to different 482 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:11,440 teams. 483 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:15,680 And I may say as a player, like I had a preference to not play in certain countries based on 484 00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:21,480 things I've heard, you know, not getting paid on time or like things being a little shady. 485 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:24,480 Some countries are more professional than others. 486 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:28,840 And once you find out, you know, what's a better move if you have the ability to avoid 487 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:33,720 those leagues for other leagues, then that's typically how most people I've talked to 488 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:37,640 navigate it essentially, if that makes sense. 489 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:44,760 So Finland was my first country, nothing crazy in terms of league level, but it was a fine 490 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:45,760 place to start. 491 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:47,600 And it was a good experience. 492 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:51,640 I did have one American on my team actually from the University of Loyola. 493 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:59,120 So that was nice to have a former, I guess, American on my team. 494 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:04,760 And then after that, I went to Switzerland, did not have any Americans on my team. 495 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:10,960 And then after that, I went to Germany, or I had two other Americans on my team. 496 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:16,440 So it's very common for you to have Americans in your league, not necessarily always on 497 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:17,440 your team though. 498 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:20,840 And there are some leagues that like really enjoy having Americans. 499 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:24,240 And there's some leagues who are one of my best friends on this team. 500 00:34:24,240 --> 00:34:25,240 This first year was in Bulgaria. 501 00:34:25,240 --> 00:34:30,880 And he was the only American to ever play in Bulgaria to my knowledge. 502 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:36,000 So it's like he was kind of on Island a little bit when he went on this first year. 503 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:37,720 So that's kind of how the process works. 504 00:34:37,720 --> 00:34:42,720 Obviously, they send you, you know, contract negotiation to get into like the nitty gritty 505 00:34:42,720 --> 00:34:44,560 of that stuff just to get people an idea. 506 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:46,720 Everyone's like, oh, like, you know, what's your day like? 507 00:34:46,720 --> 00:34:48,920 Or how does the contract work? 508 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:50,480 Every club's a little different. 509 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:57,040 And every league's a little different, but a lot of standard clubs will cover your housing. 510 00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:01,680 Usually, they will cover your insurance as well. 511 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:06,320 Some clubs or the better clubs will, you'll get a car. 512 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:09,480 And that will also be covered. 513 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:10,960 Usually it's covered in logos. 514 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:14,400 Mine is covered in logos. 515 00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:19,760 And you're driving around like a billboard on wheels, but it's cool. 516 00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:23,960 And then typically, you know, you can say whether you want to live alone or live, you 517 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:27,840 know, with a roommate, and that's kind of just up to like the club and, you know, the 518 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:33,560 availability of what apartments that they own or they range or they lease or whatnot. 519 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:39,800 And some clubs provide like a meal a day when the money is not as lucrative. 520 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:45,280 If it's like my first year, it was like every day I could go to this, you know, team sponsor 521 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:48,760 who happened to be a restaurant and you could have lunch for free. 522 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:51,320 That's how they like mitigate some of your costs when you're not financially getting 523 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:55,360 paid that much, which was like my first year for sure. 524 00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:58,920 But again, like it's part of the experience. 525 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:04,920 Like I think that, you know, if you believe in, you know, you believe in yourself and 526 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:11,240 you believe in, you get the opportunity and try and really put all your eggs in one basket. 527 00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:17,160 But it's really turned out to be a cool experience getting to, you know, work with agents and 528 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:19,000 travel and see even parts of the world. 529 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:23,560 So in terms of like the contract and how a viable works, I hope that answered it a little 530 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:24,560 bit. 531 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:31,480 But yeah, the top, the top, the top leagues, you know, they don't, you're getting paid 532 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:36,600 so much they're not finding you, you know, they're not getting your apartment that you're 533 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:40,200 getting paid so much that you can get your own apartments. 534 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:41,400 There's levels to it, right? 535 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:44,560 Like there are leagues that are known for, you know, starter leagues that are leagues 536 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:46,960 that are like middle of the road or like top five. 537 00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:51,720 And there's like, you know, the top two to three leagues in the country or in the world 538 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:57,000 where most players are getting some serious money. 539 00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:04,480 So it just all depends on just like the ability to play on like a national or European level 540 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:08,480 and enter competition is also something that is super valuable. 541 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:13,240 My first two years I did not play on a team that played in any European competition. 542 00:37:13,240 --> 00:37:18,160 And historically that means the team isn't as good in the league. 543 00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:22,080 If that makes sense, I'm not familiar with like European soccer and Champions League 544 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:28,080 how it works and whatnot, but every country usually has one or two teams in each league 545 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:33,560 that play in Champions League, which is like the best teams in every league play in like 546 00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:35,480 a tournament essentially. 547 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:39,080 So the team I'm on this year and last year played in Champions League. 548 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:43,240 It was us at Berlin recycling volleyball club. 549 00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:47,440 So it was Luhrenberg team I played for as for Julian Bergen and Berlin with the two 550 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:50,320 teams in Germany that represented Champions League. 551 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:54,920 And then so example, like France will submit one or two teams based on the previous year 552 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:56,800 and how well they performed. 553 00:37:56,800 --> 00:38:01,800 Italy would submit one or two teams and all those teams were playing in the tournament 554 00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:05,240 in the year while you were doing regular season only in your league. 555 00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:06,240 If that makes sense. 556 00:38:06,240 --> 00:38:07,240 Oh, wow. 557 00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:09,880 So we're playing weekends on a Saturday or Sunday. 558 00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:13,160 And like for example, we just played a team in Munich. 559 00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:17,640 But before that we played a Champions League in Chemin, France. 560 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:21,600 So not every team has that luxury. 561 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:25,560 These past two years I've been super blessed, super fortunate to be able to play in that 562 00:38:25,560 --> 00:38:27,600 because it's rare. 563 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:33,520 Like I said, only one or two teams and the better leagues get that opportunity. 564 00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:38,040 And some leagues don't even get any nominations if the league isn't strong, isn't that strong, 565 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:40,760 if that makes sense. 566 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:44,440 So that's been a really cool, cool aspect of the job as well just to travel more. 567 00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:49,000 That's why the number of my playing country has been so high because playing last year 568 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:50,000 is three teams. 569 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:58,800 You know, Bulgaria, Greece, France, Spain, you know, you play in a bunch of different 570 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:02,440 countries when you play in that type of competition versus if you only play for a team that plays 571 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:06,560 in your country, then you're only playing for some teams against some other country. 572 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:11,440 Oh, that makes sense then, why I can never track where you are. 573 00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:18,040 So have you been with the same agent the whole time and do they have to renegotiate a new 574 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:21,240 contract for you after every season? 575 00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:23,640 Yeah, yes and no. 576 00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:26,160 So I have not been with the same agent the entire time. 577 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:35,200 I made a not a great business decision, but I had a swithing agent after my first year 578 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:37,280 in Germany. 579 00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:40,760 I played in Finland, Switzerland, and then I got an opportunity in Germany. 580 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:44,160 In Germany it was the best that I played in up to that point, but the team in Germany 581 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:46,520 was about a half team. 582 00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:51,280 So we were not great, but the level of the league was higher than the previous two leagues 583 00:39:51,280 --> 00:39:54,120 I played in. 584 00:39:54,120 --> 00:40:00,840 And I had a really good season that year where I was top three in attacking percentage for 585 00:40:00,840 --> 00:40:05,120 my position and kind of was a little bit of a breakout year for me. 586 00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:12,000 I got noticed by some better clubs, one of them being the one I was on right now. 587 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:17,600 And that opened some doors for that. 588 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:21,000 Sorry, I totally forgot your question. 589 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:25,040 Did you switch, you talked about switching agents and then do they have to negotiate 590 00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:27,160 a new contract for you after every season? 591 00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:33,720 I switched agents that year and I ended up switching agents to a bigger agency. 592 00:40:33,720 --> 00:40:37,160 I knew that this was a possibility of happening. 593 00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:41,200 So it was a little bit of a gamble, but there are some agents who have, you know, they keep 594 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:48,480 10 to 15 people or 20 people and there are some agents who have got like 50, 100, 150 595 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:53,120 players and then okay, you have to think about it rationally. 596 00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:55,920 Where am I at that list? 597 00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:59,560 You know, with agent has 15, maybe I'm a big fish in a small pond. 598 00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:03,880 And agent has 150, maybe I'm a small fish in a big pond. 599 00:41:03,880 --> 00:41:11,320 And that's something I came to realize when I made that switch is that the level of communication 600 00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:14,240 stuff wasn't as good to some degree. 601 00:41:14,240 --> 00:41:19,920 And I was kind of left on the island and that was around a time when I actually came back 602 00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:25,080 and worked for like six months and coached volleyball and did a volunteer opportunity 603 00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:28,360 in Chicago where my brother lives with his family. 604 00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:33,560 And I thought I was done playing even after one of my best seasons just because I made 605 00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:40,960 a core decision where I ended up basically with no contracts that were necessarily vertical 606 00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:44,840 move, they're all kind of horizontal moves. 607 00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:48,360 So I don't want to say I drank the tea, but I drank the tea of this one agent and it didn't 608 00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:49,640 end up working out well for me. 609 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:53,360 So I kind of have a good gap here almost where I kind of screwed myself over a little bit. 610 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:55,520 And I thought I was done after that. 611 00:41:55,520 --> 00:42:00,480 So, but the short answer to your question is yes, they are renegotiated each year. 612 00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:04,440 Some teams will sign me on a two year or three year. 613 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:06,000 I've only signed once. 614 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,360 I've signed one here my first year. 615 00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:12,760 And I re-signed again on a one my second year, but there are guys on my team that have been 616 00:42:12,760 --> 00:42:15,440 signed for two or three years. 617 00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:18,840 Typically the local guys, if there's like this one local guy on our team that's a very 618 00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:21,720 good player and they want to keep him here. 619 00:42:21,720 --> 00:42:26,800 So like it's a little bit different of a situation because his family's here and stuff like that. 620 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:29,600 And also a lot of players, unless it's like really good money, they wouldn't sign a two 621 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:34,320 year and go someplace they've never been before without seeing the clubs, seeing the 622 00:42:34,320 --> 00:42:43,600 organization because America, especially coming from Dan Stilgale, athletes don't understand 623 00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:46,880 until they go play overseas how good they have it. 624 00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:52,520 There's a lot of things that happen overseas that you just take for granted once you get 625 00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:55,360 over here because you just realize like, wow, that was done for me in college. 626 00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:59,960 Especially if you play like a power five school or if you went to like a big division or 627 00:42:59,960 --> 00:43:02,120 not high school even. 628 00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:09,200 Sometimes you take for granted that they pay active attention to state side, kind of get 629 00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:12,280 overlooked to some degree in Europe. 630 00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:17,800 The emphasis on some of those items just don't, they're not a priority. 631 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:23,000 So they get lost a little bit here and there and that can be frustrating to some Americans 632 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:24,800 or North Americans even. 633 00:43:24,800 --> 00:43:31,520 But yeah, that's the short answer is yeah, the ring adosha year and that's when you obviously 634 00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:35,760 can have your agent say, hey, like I've been played well, you know, he wants 10%, you know, 635 00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:40,560 whatever he wants, you know, a nicer apartment or, you know, he wants to bring his wife or 636 00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:43,480 you know, things like that are all like negotiable pieces. 637 00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:48,880 It depends on what you play and like what type of financial situation the club is in 638 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:52,280 or what they can offer, what they're willing to offer based on like how well you play 639 00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:53,280 essentially. 640 00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:55,520 Wow, that's super interesting. 641 00:43:55,520 --> 00:43:58,200 All new information to me have no idea. 642 00:43:58,200 --> 00:43:59,200 Yeah. 643 00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:04,320 So you mentioned a couple of your career highlights before we move on. 644 00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:09,320 Are there any other highlights that you want to mention before we get into kind of your 645 00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:12,520 goals of where you are at this stage of your life? 646 00:44:12,520 --> 00:44:18,360 Yeah, I would say like, I think my house to me like every every time I've like achieved 647 00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:23,360 like a pretty big highlight like the year before has always been one that's been very 648 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:24,520 testing. 649 00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:26,840 I've found. 650 00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:31,720 I think that, you know, before, you know, game, win national championship and all that 651 00:44:31,720 --> 00:44:34,920 stuff happened in college and like thinking I was going to play in college or thinking 652 00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:38,200 I had to leave our state like with the injuries and stuff like that. 653 00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:44,440 Then I had some pretty great successes after that. 654 00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:50,920 Same thing happened in in professionally like I was ready to hang it up. 655 00:44:50,920 --> 00:44:59,560 I was I was I was in a long term relationship for a number of years that I thought was was 656 00:44:59,560 --> 00:45:03,840 probably going to last or be the one per se. 657 00:45:03,840 --> 00:45:08,040 And like I was making a decision based on like, oh, do I still want to, you know, play 658 00:45:08,040 --> 00:45:09,360 and live out this dream? 659 00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:14,360 And when I was like pretty pretty low point, I would say like your your questioning if 660 00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:18,560 you know you should continue because you know you're put in three years and you know you 661 00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:23,160 don't know if you've moved the traction and financially like it was the first couple years 662 00:45:23,160 --> 00:45:26,400 from you was a struggle. 663 00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:32,320 And I think that having that realization again, just being like, no, like I'm so close, like 664 00:45:32,320 --> 00:45:37,520 I'm right there, like stay stay with it has been something that like has really paid dividends 665 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:41,600 now more so than ever before in my life. 666 00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:46,640 Because if I would have quit then I wouldn't have achieved any of the accomplishments professionally 667 00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:54,520 that I've had up until that point because up until that point, I wasn't on a team that 668 00:45:54,520 --> 00:45:56,560 won anything. 669 00:45:56,560 --> 00:45:58,840 We never placed. 670 00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:05,240 So the past two years, we got third in the industry last year. 671 00:46:05,240 --> 00:46:10,600 So we meddled, which was awesome is first time getting a medal for me personally in a league. 672 00:46:10,600 --> 00:46:14,960 And then we also played Champions League. 673 00:46:14,960 --> 00:46:22,800 So we in our champions name pool last year, we finished third out of four, which on paper 674 00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:27,440 was never supposed to happen because if you looked at just sure budget of those teams, 675 00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:30,360 we were by far the lowest budget. 676 00:46:30,360 --> 00:46:32,680 So on paper, we should have been last. 677 00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:35,520 So just to squeeze out that third place was awesome. 678 00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:39,640 And we ended up going to see the cuff. 679 00:46:39,640 --> 00:46:43,440 I don't want to get too nitty-gritty basically it's like Stampingons League. 680 00:46:43,440 --> 00:46:47,120 And then that's like the top one, two teams that we lead. 681 00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:51,600 And there's thing called CeeV Cup, which is like that three, four spot. 682 00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:56,000 So basically we got not the Champions League, but then we got moved into playoffs of CeeV 683 00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:57,360 Cup. 684 00:46:57,360 --> 00:46:59,200 We won in CeeV core files. 685 00:46:59,200 --> 00:47:02,640 We won in CeeV semifinals. 686 00:47:02,640 --> 00:47:08,440 Then we made to the finals and we played like a Polish team that's very, very strong. 687 00:47:08,440 --> 00:47:09,920 It's one of the strongest leagues in the world. 688 00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:14,560 And then the fourth and last, but we got second in CeeV Cup. 689 00:47:14,560 --> 00:47:18,400 So that was another medal that we were able to get, which is a really cool experience 690 00:47:18,400 --> 00:47:22,320 playing internationally, especially the semifinal. 691 00:47:22,320 --> 00:47:29,600 We played a team in Turkey and we got smacked at their place 3-0. 692 00:47:29,600 --> 00:47:35,600 And then we came back and in international competition, it's based on points. 693 00:47:35,600 --> 00:47:39,520 So it's like three set win and a four set one is three points. 694 00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:43,080 One of the five set win is two points to the winner and one point to the loser. 695 00:47:43,080 --> 00:47:47,640 So for us to tie it at home, we'd have to win in three or four sets to get the golden 696 00:47:47,640 --> 00:47:49,040 set, which is like a tie breaker. 697 00:47:49,040 --> 00:47:50,040 It's kind of fun. 698 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:51,200 It's unique. 699 00:47:51,200 --> 00:47:54,880 So they won in three at their place and then they have to come to us. 700 00:47:54,880 --> 00:47:59,120 And if we didn't win in three or four, we wouldn't get the golden set and we would be 701 00:47:59,120 --> 00:48:00,600 knocked out. 702 00:48:00,600 --> 00:48:06,160 So we lost the first set at home, aka we'd have to win the next three to even have a 703 00:48:06,160 --> 00:48:07,160 chance. 704 00:48:07,160 --> 00:48:12,200 So we won the next three, forced a golden set, which is just one set of volleyball to 705 00:48:12,200 --> 00:48:14,200 determine who moves on. 706 00:48:14,200 --> 00:48:19,280 And we won the golden set at home, which pushes to the final, which was maybe one of the coolest 707 00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:21,000 moments internationally I've had. 708 00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:25,560 Because I was at home and something to sold out crowd. 709 00:48:25,560 --> 00:48:29,160 And then we went to Poland and got our butt kicked in three-fifths. 710 00:48:29,160 --> 00:48:34,600 It was still a great experience to get to that point because for example, the team we 711 00:48:34,600 --> 00:48:41,120 played in and Poland has guys that are getting paid over $500,000 to do their job. 712 00:48:41,120 --> 00:48:46,960 And let's just say like, I'm not hurting for money, but nobody on our team is getting paid 713 00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:47,960 $500,000. 714 00:48:47,960 --> 00:48:52,120 Let's just put it like that. 715 00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:56,320 So you're kind of saying like it's always darkest before the dawn. 716 00:48:56,320 --> 00:48:59,720 Like you had these lows and then you had these highs. 717 00:48:59,720 --> 00:49:00,720 Correct. 718 00:49:00,720 --> 00:49:01,720 Yeah. 719 00:49:01,720 --> 00:49:02,720 Yeah. 720 00:49:02,720 --> 00:49:07,160 And I think that 2023 year for me was probably one of the hardest years of my life just because 721 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:14,720 I was like, I thought that like all the work kind of didn't succumb to anything. 722 00:49:14,720 --> 00:49:17,840 And that same like it has to all the time, but obviously like when you put so much into 723 00:49:17,840 --> 00:49:24,160 something, you want to push to get something out the other end, which I think is the normal 724 00:49:24,160 --> 00:49:28,400 human nature thing to have. 725 00:49:28,400 --> 00:49:32,720 So getting to that point after thinking, you know, maybe it's time to hang up or maybe, 726 00:49:32,720 --> 00:49:35,040 you know, this isn't for me or whatnot. 727 00:49:35,040 --> 00:49:41,520 I think it's also like when you realize like who is truly in your corner and like who is 728 00:49:41,520 --> 00:49:44,320 like there for you, no matter what as cliche as it sounds. 729 00:49:44,320 --> 00:49:52,080 I mean, I've just, I've, I've realized that a lot in life that just like it's, it's when, 730 00:49:52,080 --> 00:49:53,680 it's when it's not convenient. 731 00:49:53,680 --> 00:49:58,600 When you, when you find out who's really in your corner and who wants to see you doing 732 00:49:58,600 --> 00:49:59,600 well regardless. 733 00:49:59,600 --> 00:50:00,600 So. 734 00:50:00,600 --> 00:50:01,600 Oh yeah. 735 00:50:01,600 --> 00:50:02,960 Big life moments that happens. 736 00:50:02,960 --> 00:50:05,160 Definitely low points in life that happens. 737 00:50:05,160 --> 00:50:06,160 Right. 738 00:50:06,160 --> 00:50:13,400 So you definitely have a lot of life experience and stories to impart on others. 739 00:50:13,400 --> 00:50:19,280 So let's just transition right into your lesson that you have for us today. 740 00:50:19,280 --> 00:50:20,280 Yeah. 741 00:50:20,280 --> 00:50:21,280 Absolutely. 742 00:50:21,280 --> 00:50:29,880 I, like I mentioned, I follow a lot of, I don't want to say inspirational quote like 743 00:50:29,880 --> 00:50:36,200 counts because that makes me sound very strange, but I really value like different perspectives. 744 00:50:36,200 --> 00:50:39,880 And I think that the more you can surround yourself with, with different viewpoints, 745 00:50:39,880 --> 00:50:45,360 I think the, the more like well shaped, shaped you can, you can look at life and go about 746 00:50:45,360 --> 00:50:46,360 life. 747 00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:49,600 So a lot of people are familiar with Jay Shetty. 748 00:50:49,600 --> 00:50:54,000 He's got a quote that says open every door that you possibly can the doors that close, 749 00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:57,640 let them close and keep walking through the ones that remain open. 750 00:50:57,640 --> 00:51:04,440 I just think that for me personally and, and in my lights that things that I like had that 751 00:51:04,440 --> 00:51:11,520 gut like I really want to do this, like we're not always the most safe or they're very nerve 752 00:51:11,520 --> 00:51:19,760 wracking and just like not the ones that you know, maybe your stereotypical family or stereotypical 753 00:51:19,760 --> 00:51:22,040 answer would be to do in life. 754 00:51:22,040 --> 00:51:26,960 Because at the end of the day, it's all you can do as cliche and corny as that sounds, 755 00:51:26,960 --> 00:51:29,040 but you don't know until you try. 756 00:51:29,040 --> 00:51:33,920 So I think that would be that lesson for, for me personally. 757 00:51:33,920 --> 00:51:38,040 We must follow the same accounts because you're saying exactly what the advice that I have 758 00:51:38,040 --> 00:51:43,800 been trying to follow as I make this decision to retire before my pension is ready. 759 00:51:43,800 --> 00:51:49,200 And you know, a lot of teachers have very strong opinions about the choice that I'm making, 760 00:51:49,200 --> 00:51:53,680 but regret like there are things or other things that I want to do in a different way 761 00:51:53,680 --> 00:51:56,120 I want to live my life and I'm just going to go for it. 762 00:51:56,120 --> 00:52:00,040 So thank you for reconfirming the choices that I am making. 763 00:52:00,040 --> 00:52:01,640 It's so wise, so wise. 764 00:52:01,640 --> 00:52:09,000 Okay, so let's help other people who are listening with some takeaways as optional homework. 765 00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:14,320 What would you suggest for them to do to make, take some action steps? 766 00:52:14,320 --> 00:52:23,040 Yeah, I just think for me it's like you, I just think that it's so important to like 767 00:52:23,040 --> 00:52:29,680 take a serious step or effort in, and whatever it is that you wish you would have done or 768 00:52:29,680 --> 00:52:31,600 wish you would have tried. 769 00:52:31,600 --> 00:52:34,440 I think there's a lot of things as you get older that you're like, oh, I would know if 770 00:52:34,440 --> 00:52:37,520 I would know if I was 20 again, what would I have done? 771 00:52:37,520 --> 00:52:40,880 Well, you're not 20 again, and you're never going to be 20 again. 772 00:52:40,880 --> 00:52:42,680 So why not start now? 773 00:52:42,680 --> 00:52:48,120 You know, I'm not saying you got, you know, flipped your world upside down, but you, it's 774 00:52:48,120 --> 00:52:52,360 like people have time you have weekends you have after work and it's like if you, if you 775 00:52:52,360 --> 00:52:57,440 want to make something happen, you can, you know, foster that in your off time to develop 776 00:52:57,440 --> 00:52:58,440 it in your full time. 777 00:52:58,440 --> 00:52:59,840 It doesn't even have to be a job. 778 00:52:59,840 --> 00:53:07,480 It can be, it can be a hobby, it can be a person, it can be truly anything, you know, 779 00:53:07,480 --> 00:53:13,000 it just, I think that people get stuck in their ways. 780 00:53:13,000 --> 00:53:19,160 And I think that's true a lot of times. 781 00:53:19,160 --> 00:53:24,680 The more I've traveled, the more I've met people both younger and older. 782 00:53:24,680 --> 00:53:28,240 And obviously now everyone has the luxury of traveling as much as I have, but I think 783 00:53:28,240 --> 00:53:31,920 it's given me a very unique perspective on like life. 784 00:53:31,920 --> 00:53:38,120 And I just challenge people to, to take that step or do that thing that, that is maybe 785 00:53:38,120 --> 00:53:43,800 uneasy or, you know, that they're scared to do because it's like, I always go back to, 786 00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:46,640 you know, and not saying, you know, a desk job is like the worst thing in the world. 787 00:53:46,640 --> 00:53:53,840 But it's like, whatever you're fearing, it's like, you can always go back to that. 788 00:53:53,840 --> 00:53:55,480 It's like, okay, it's sales. 789 00:53:55,480 --> 00:53:56,480 All right. 790 00:53:56,480 --> 00:54:03,000 And then, then what, you go back and you know, you take that job and you start again or like 791 00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:05,720 it goes back to not wanting to have that regret aspect. 792 00:54:05,720 --> 00:54:11,920 So I just, I wish that anybody listening takes a serious shot at whatever that thing 793 00:54:11,920 --> 00:54:18,480 may be for them personally, because I think regret is, is for me the biggest thing in 794 00:54:18,480 --> 00:54:23,160 my life that I would have a hard time sleeping at night at the end of the day. 795 00:54:23,160 --> 00:54:24,800 So hopefully that's clear. 796 00:54:24,800 --> 00:54:25,800 Yes. 797 00:54:25,800 --> 00:54:30,600 I think that's, I saw something the other day that said, you are never going to be younger 798 00:54:30,600 --> 00:54:32,120 than you are today. 799 00:54:32,120 --> 00:54:33,120 Yeah. 800 00:54:33,120 --> 00:54:36,240 So one day just keeps passing into the next. 801 00:54:36,240 --> 00:54:38,680 And so it has nothing to do with age. 802 00:54:38,680 --> 00:54:41,280 It has to do with courage, right? 803 00:54:41,280 --> 00:54:44,040 And be willing to take that step. 804 00:54:44,040 --> 00:54:45,040 Yeah. 805 00:54:45,040 --> 00:54:46,240 Such wise words, Blake. 806 00:54:46,240 --> 00:54:48,680 Thank you so much for being here today. 807 00:54:48,680 --> 00:54:51,360 I cannot wait to share your story. 808 00:54:51,360 --> 00:54:53,920 It's amazing with all of the listeners. 809 00:54:53,920 --> 00:54:54,920 Thank you. 810 00:54:54,920 --> 00:54:56,400 I appreciate you having me on. 811 00:54:56,400 --> 00:54:59,080 It's been a pleasure. 812 00:54:59,080 --> 00:55:06,520 I hope you found Blake's words as inspirational as I did. 813 00:55:06,520 --> 00:55:10,880 Next week I'll be back with a new lesson and more takeaways to apply to your classroom 814 00:55:10,880 --> 00:55:12,120 or to your life. 815 00:55:12,120 --> 00:55:21,120 If you'd like to subscribe to our email newsletter for special offer, just email us at nextlessonplan.com. 816 00:55:21,120 --> 00:55:25,440 If you're looking for more lessons and more personal content, you can join my, join my 817 00:55:25,440 --> 00:55:31,680 live and learn Patreon for $5 a month or purchase single episodes. 818 00:55:31,680 --> 00:55:36,600 There I share more in depth content and lesson plans that you can subscribe to or purchase 819 00:55:36,600 --> 00:55:40,160 an individually if the topic interests you. 820 00:55:40,160 --> 00:55:44,720 In the meantime, please be sure to follow us at 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