Podcasts about 13you

Go and make disciples… the privilege of Gardening with God: Matthew 28: cultivating, planting, tending, reaping: making disciples. The soils of souls Mark 4:1- Salvation - grace through faith - this is God's work Ephesians 2:5-10“...it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Here's where God's effort and our effort walk in stride Phil 2:12-13 “...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” He's made and is making His effort, doing the work, works, good works - now it is ours to join Him in “making every effort” (2Pe 1:5): - Working with God - this was God's intention for the beginning - tending, working His garden - me, you, me and you together, us - the Church - is, now, the Garden in and for which we work (Rom 12-16; 1Cor 12-14) - Genesis 2:5-9 “5Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground…” - Hired hands and servants, ambassadors and priests Sanctification - ongoing tending to and of the garden God's role - purification - Isaiah 6 Our role - cleanse ourselves, choosing righteousness by denying ourselves - our flesh's desires - 2Tim 3 And tap into God's Spirit - Galatians 5:13-14,16-18 “13You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Aid one another in growth and holiness Galatians 6:1-5 1Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5for each one should carry their own load.

Go and make disciples… the privilege of Gardening with God: Matthew 28: cultivating, planting, tending, reaping: making disciples. The soils of souls Mark 4:1- Salvation - grace through faith - this is God's work Ephesians 2:5-10“...it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Here's where God's effort and our effort walk in stride Phil 2:12-13 “...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” He's made and is making His effort, doing the work, works, good works - now it is ours to join Him in “making every effort” (2Pe 1:5): - Working with God - this was God's intention for the beginning - tending, working His garden - me, you, me and you together, us - the Church - is, now, the Garden in and for which we work (Rom 12-16; 1Cor 12-14) - Genesis 2:5-9 “5Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground…” - Hired hands and servants, ambassadors and priests Sanctification - ongoing tending to and of the garden God's role - purification - Isaiah 6 Our role - cleanse ourselves, choosing righteousness by denying ourselves - our flesh's desires - 2Tim 3 And tap into God's Spirit - Galatians 5:13-14,16-18 “13You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Aid one another in growth and holiness Galatians 6:1-5 1Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5for each one should carry their own load.

 Pre-order Michele's book on talking to customers! https://deployempathy.com/order Marie's course, Notion Mastery: https://notionmastery.com/ Marie's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariepoulin Marie's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKvnOhqTeEgdNt1aJB5mVng Marie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariepoulin/  Michele Hansen  00:00Welcome back to Software Social. This episode is sponsored by Approximated. If you need to connect custom user domains to your app, Approximated can help. It can route any domain or subdomain to any application, all easily managed with a simple API or web dashboard. You can have unlimited connected domains automatically secured with SSL certificates for one flat rate. Website builders, communities and marketplaces all happily use Approximated every day to manage thousands of custom domains for their users. And it was built by an indie founder just like you, so every support request is handled by a developer who will personally help you out. Head over to Approximated.app today and mention Software Social when you sign up to get an extra month for free.  Michele Hansen Hey, welcome back to Software Social. We have another guest with us this week. I am so excited to have my friend, Marie Poulin, here today. She is the creator of Notion Mastery, which is this amazing Notion course that has over 1200 students, averaging $45,000 MRR. Pretty amazing business that she has built up. Welcome to Software Social, Marie. Marie Poulin  01:18Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to chat.  Michele Hansen  01:21So um, people listening may know you from all of your YouTube videos and courses with Notion, which have been crazy successful, and only, only, since October 2019, since you launched it, but I actually want to talk about something else. So you had another business, a course business called Doki, and actually, the last time I spoke, like, like, like, actually spoke with you like, internet friend is so funny. Like, I feel like I talk to you all the time, but actually, like talk to you, talk to you, was you and your husband, Ben, were thinking about what to do with Doki and whether you should sell it or shut it down. Marie Poulin  02:15Yes, and you very kindly reached out with some suggestions on how we might handle that. And it, it sort of wasn't, I don't want to say it wasn't our passion anymore, but yeah, you know, Ben got offered a full time gig. So for anybody listening, my husband and I teamed up back in 2014 to, to run our company together. We built a software and we ran it for I mean, five-ish years or so, and I think neither one of us was, it was definitely our first software project. And it was that build a giant software project that does all of the things and, you know, kind of wishing that we had done something smaller when we learned about the whole software building all of the different pieces. And so when we first went to MicroCon, that was, it was just so eye opening how many things we had done wrong, and it was it was a really wonderful learning experience. But I think it kind of showed us that there were parts of that, that just, I don't know that either of us was super excited to go 100% all in on it. I liked the working with people side of online courses and actually shipping and working on their websites, and just all of, all the other pieces of it other than the software. And so the burden was really on Ben to build all the features and do customer support, and, you know, he was pretty much like the solo founder handling all of those parts of the software, and I was handling more of the consulting side of it. And it was a huge burden on him. It was huge. And so when he got offered a full time job, it was a chance for him to step into more of a leadership role, be challenged, be working with other people, and it just, he really flourished. And I think it was something he was missing. Like, when you're a solo founder, you're just, you know, you're wearing every single hat. You're making all the decisions. And if you're bumping up against stuff you've never seen, it's pretty tough. It's a tough life to be, to be solo founder. So I was really encouraging him to, to kind of explore this new venture, but it sort of meant that Doki got left in the dust a little bit. And so we kind of took our foot off the gas, and just in this year in January 2021 we decided what if we just kind of shut down signups and, and just kind of let it do its thing and just kind of keep supporting the clients that were still using it, more like our consulting clients and not really market at widely. And so we did and I was like, how do you feel about this? And he's like, oh, I feel I feel so relieved. And I think that was really important that it didn't feel sad. It didn't feel like oh no, we're shutting this thing down. Like he felt like no, this is a chapter of my life that was great. And now it's over. So it's been a journey. Michele Hansen  04:54So, I mean on, you know, on this podcast, you know, we talk a lot about like, getting a SaaS off of the ground, or I guess, in my case now, like, getting an info product off the ground, and then also running those companies. But there's this other phase of it, which is exiting, and sometimes exiting means selling a company, or, you know, being acquihired by someone, or it means shutting it down. And I'm wondering if you can kind of talk through that a little bit about how you guys decided to sunset it, rather than sell it. Marie Poulin  05:37Yeah, because we had gone through this conversation back and forth. And we even had, you know, several people who had made offers to buy, and it felt actually pretty close, like, that was something we were really seriously considering. And again, you're, it was just really, really valuable to get your, your insights on that, and to have somebody that, you know, not attached to it just kind of as an outsider giving us perspective on that. And so we, we had some meetings, and we definitely considered it, and I think the burden of what would have needed to happen to be able to make that handoff happen in a way, such that it could actually be successful for those who are taking it over, felt too big for Ben. I think it was, again, given that his attention was elsewhere, it there was just such a cognitive load associated with all of that cleanup work, and just, just kind of the whole process of that transition. And it's possible that it may not have actually been that much work. It's kind of hard to know, in hindsight, but I think the anticipation of that, and just, you know, when Ben does something, he wants to do it properly, and he wouldn't have felt good, I think to just kind of pass it off as is knowing how much legacy work needed to be rebuilt. And he, he just didn't feel comfortable with it. And I was like, you know, I don't know this stuff as well as you do. And if you feel really confident and happy to just kind of say, you know, what, we're totally cool to just, like, the, the amount just kind of doesn't match up with, with what it would be worth to do that work, and how much extra time it would have taken him outside of his full time job. It just, it didn't feel like it was quite worth it to do that investment of the work. So that was a decision I sort of felt it was kind of up to them to make as a burden was really on him, and I think he felt a huge relief, honestly, even just like taking the signup off of the site. And just realizing, like, our business has gone in such a different direction, and it's okay to say goodbye to this chapter, and so it felt good. And I think that was really important is can we stand behind this decision? Does it feel good? Does it release a certain, you know, energetic burden, and it really did, and so that we felt good at the end of the day, for us that, that was the right decision. Michele Hansen  07:44I'm struck by how much respect I hear in that. You know, there's the respect that you have for Ben, that this was something that he knew really well and what like, had, you know, that, that, that transition work would have been on on him and your respect for that. And then his and also sort of both of your respect for your emotions, and recognizing those as valid and worth prioritizing, and, because I think some people say, oh, well, I'll, you know, get a lot of money from this. So you know, screw my feelings, like, you know, just have to suck it up, suck it up and do it. Like, I mean, the the market for even small SaaS companies like Doki, like, like, just for content, like, how much was Doki, like, making when you decided to shut it down? I mean, Ben would certainly have a better sense of the numbers at that point that we made the decision. I mean, certainly the pandemic did have a big impact. And we'd already kind of stopped doing any new feature development, even maybe the year before the pandemic hit. So I would say, you know, at its height, maybe $50,000 in a year. So we had some months that were like 4k, maybe 5k, and so by the time we shut it down, it was like 2500 to 2000. Like, nothing to sneeze at in terms of it was very low maintenance and, you know, covers our mortgage and expensive, like, that's awesome. But there is that mental load that's required there that you're kind of always thinking about that uptime, or you're thinking about how long, how long can we go not adding any features and not doing anything to really kind of improve or support or even do any marketing. So in some ways, it sort of felt like there was a time limit on how long we could get away with just, just letting it kind of simmer in the, in the background and not give it its full attention, and so it didn't feel good in that way that it it did have this sort of energetic burdensome feeling, and so respect is is absolutely huge. Like, you know, both Ben and I are incredibly autonomous. Like, we have always kind of worked almost like two separate founders under the same brand umbrella. So even when we partnered up, we still very much had our own projects, our own clients, and there's a lot of trust there with like, Ben and I are very different people, very different types of projects, very different things that light us up. And so, you know, Ben has higher anxiety than I do, and when we first launched Doki, I know the feeling of always being on and having to answer those customer support questions, and I think it takes a bigger toll on him than, than it might other people. And so that has to be factored in, like, what's the point of building these, like, software and these businesses that support our lives when it's just adding to our daily stress? Like, that's, that's not the point, right? So I think for both of us, it does really matter. Like, what kind of life are we building for ourselves? And if, are we building something that just feels like another job, but we just kind of built our own jail? Like, that's, that's not really fun. So I think we have a lot of understanding and respect for, yeah, what kind of life are we building, and ideally reducing stress and not adding to it so that, that was really important to me that he felt really good about that enclosure and didn't feel like oh, this was a failure, or, you know, it didn't go the way we wanted. For me, I'm like, holy crap, we learned an epic crap ton. You know, we just, it was just absolute, you know, entrepreneurship school on steroids. Like, you know, you just learned so many different parts from your customer research and the technical capacity and all the decisions that once you've done it once, and then it's almost too late, like, the wheels are in motion, and you've already, there's already, like, technical debt as soon as you started. It's a wonderful learning opportunity, and part of us wishes we'd tried it on something small, but my gosh, the learning has been incredible. So I don't, I don't regret any of it, and I don't think he does, either. It's the reason he has the job that he does now. It, he's, he's just like, both of us, I think are just highly skilled people that are going to adapt whatever happens like okay, cool. That was an awesome chapter. Next. What's next, you know.  You guys are incredibly emotionally intelligent and atuned, and, I mean, yeah, I mean, that you take that kind of focus is really, I think, remarkable and really commendable. And, you know, so after we had we had talked last fall, I guess, you guys were still kind of, you were unclear on whether you were going to shut it down or you were going to sell it, and I just tweeted out if anybody was interested in buying a SaaS, I think I said it had like 2.4k MRR. And I got so many messages after that, but I actually just got another one last week, and I got one, like, three months ago, like, the market for really, like really tiny SaaS companies is just, just bonkers. And I think it's so amazing that you prioritized how, like, not just the money, but how you felt about it. Now, of course that the notion courses making 45,000 a month and Ben has a full time job, like, that sort of makes it a little bit easier to make decisions that are not just guided by the financials, I imagine. Marie Poulin  13:16Definitely. That's true. Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure that, that was a part of it was just, okay, we're not we don't have to make a purely financial decision right now, so what's going to feel, yeah, what's gonna feel the best? And I guess, yeah, I guess they didn't realize that maybe not everybody is as driven that way, but I'm definitely a very feelings driven person, and I know, we've talked about this a little bit with, with the sort of, you know, likely being an ADD or ADHD founder, and just, I didn't realize before, I think, how much of my decision making around how I've shaped my business has been, like, I've talked about it in terms of alignment and, you know, values-driven and that sort of thing. But I think part of it is I cannot muster up the energy to do stuff I'm not super freakin' stoked about. So I do kind of factor that into all my decisions. Like, I'm never going to design services that I'm going to be resentful of as soon as I'm designing them. It's like, if I already know I'm going to be resentful doing all these calls, like, I just cannot make that, that service available. So I do think I've gotten pretty tuned into like, alright, what's the stuff that lights me up, and how do I craft my offers so that I can be totally shining and excited about them? Because that, that's just, I guess, how I move through the world. Michele Hansen  14:34It seems like you combine this incredible self-awareness about what energizes you and prioritizing what energizes you with this huge sense of responsibility for the users of what you have created. Marie Poulin  14:54Yeah, I'd like, I'd like to think so. I mean, you know, one of the things that happened when we first launched Doki, was that people were signing up for it, and then they weren't shipping. Right? It's like anything now, like the time that it takes to actually launch a course, and I know you've had, you know, episodes with Colleen about this of just what it really takes to really grow an online course and actually make it a sustainable living. And so people would, would sign up thinking the tech was gonna solve that for them, and they're all, like, ready to go, and they they pick the technology well before they have their content created. And it didn't feel good that there were people paying us a monthly thing and they had never shipped a course yet. So, the first thing I did was like, well, we need to get people shipping faster, how do I do this? And I ended up creating a course that was run your learning launch that was trying to get people to like, get the shitty first draft of your course out as soon as possible, right. Like, co-create it with people. I'm a huge, huge believer, in co-creating products with your people. They are going to tell you what they want, they tell you what they need, and then the words that they use in those sessions, in those live calls that you're doing with people, that's exactly what shapes your, your sales pages and stuff. So I, I'm just a big fan of working with people on this stuff, and not just, you know, working in secret for six months building a thing, and then you know, putting it out into the world. Like, we know that it just it just doesn't work that way. So yeah, I think I do carry a huge, huge respect for, for the users that are signing up for my thing. It is a responsibility I do not take lightly. And so even right now with, with the course, I've been working for six months on the new curriculum. It's like, where can I look at all the places that people are stumbling, and maybe we overwhelm new, new people that are coming in like going, oh, my gosh, this course is so big, and then they get scared, and they run away and then they don't complete the course. Like, it does matter to me not just that they complete it, but they actually do experience some kind of transformation through that process. So like, how can I improve the learning outcomes? How can I design this better? I can't help myself, like maybe that's partly a bit of perfectionism. But it's like, I want this to be a really epic experience for them and be really memorable. And, in a way, that's my marketing, right? It's like other people sharing with other people, their experience of the course. To me that feels way better, and way easier than like, chucking a bunch of money into ads and just like getting it in front of people. It's like, no, I want the users to be so excited about it, that they are shouting it from the rooftops and getting people in the door. So yeah, that matters for sure. Michele Hansen  17:20It's so interesting, you're talking about like, building collaboratively with people, and, you know, I like I'm a huge advocate of talking to people and talking to customers, but I never really built in public, so to speak, until a couple of months ago, when I was writing my book. And you know, to what you said about, you know, getting early feedback from people and building it with them, that, that has been an incredibly, like, a transformative experience. And it's, it's really remarkable when you combine that combination of, as you said, something that you are super stoked about with other people who are stoked about it, like, you know, like to kind of, you know, talk a little bit about being like, you know, ADHD founder. So like, for so for, just to give us sort of a little bit of context. So like, I was diagnosed with ADD at 11, which I guess they don't diagnose people with anymore, because apparently, like, they were only diagnosing girls with it, or something. So now everything is all under ADHD. And you sort of are recently exploring, like, whether you're ADHD, and so but like, on this, this combination of, you know, working on something you're really passionate about, and then in the course of working on it in public, finding other people who are really passionate about it, who help you improve it, like, I feel like that puts my hyper focus in this insane overdrive. Marie Poulin  18:54Yeah. How do you how do you control that? I'm so, I'm so curious kind of what your, Michele Hansen  18:58I don't. I, yesterday, I was so annoyed that I had to stop working and make dinner. I was like, can't I just work for like, 48 hours straight, like, and, which is, like, not, like, I, like, my work life balance is a lot better than it used to be like, but I just like it's so, it's, like, painful when I'm really interested in something because it's like, yesterday, I was like, working on the book, like and it was just I was so, like, so fired up about what I was working on. And then I was like, okay, actually, like, we need to, we need to eat. Like, and I have you know, we have a family and like, my husband was mowing the lawn and like, you know, so I was like, okay, I need to like go to the grocery store like, I need to shift gears, but like, the whole time I was there like, you know, yes, I bought like lettuce and yogurt and whatever else we needed, but like, my brain was still like, writing.  Marie Poulin  19:48Somewhere else.  Michele Hansen  19:49Like, my brain like, was writing and I think, you know, to what you said about how you and Ben work very like, autonomously, like, Mathias and I work together for the most part, and I think this gets frustrating sometimes when I'm still thinking about something else, but I don't give any, like, outward signals of that. I'm just like, a little bit quiet. And like, he like, talks to me and like, I just don't know,  Marie Poulin  20:12You're nodding and say you're listening, but you're writing in your head. Yeah. Michele Hansen  20:14Yeah. Like, I don't even acknowledge it or, like, I seem like I'm listening. And then he asked me 10 minutes later, like about what he had told me about, and I'm like, what, like, this is new, and he's like, seriously. Like, the hyper focus can be amazing, but also kind of detrimental at the same time because if I have to do anything else, I'm just cranky. Marie Poulin  20:40I definitely, I definitely relate to this, and I think this was, this was one of the the signs like, I, I thought, well, I couldn't possibly have ADHD because like, I've been self-employed for 12 years, and I have a successful business and I get things done, and, you know, I sort of had a lot of misconceptions around what it meant to be or have ADHD because my sister has ADHD, too. And she is like, the poster child of what what you think of when you think of ADHD, and very hyperactive, super distracted, extremely extroverted, just like, a million thoughts, like, interrupting other thoughts. And, and I was like, okay, that's what ADHD looks like. It was very distinct. And so because I get things done, I sort of thought, I just had a different perception of it, and I realized that the hyper focus binges that I go on that were like, oh, that explains why like, it can be really hard to tear myself away from, from the screen, and it almost becomes borderline obsessive, and it can be really difficult to manage. So that is one of the signs I started to be like, oh. It always happens in these super inconsistent bursts, right? Very, very wildly inconsistent. And I always, yeah, like, frick, if you just have a dial, you could, you could, you could turn that on when you needed to, but oh my gosh, so I can relate to that. Just, it's inconvenient, and yeah, it's also the thing that helps us kind of push forward and get things done, and it's a wonderful thing when it's there, but it can happen at the detriment of other parts of our lives. So that's definitely something that I struggle with, for sure. Michele Hansen  22:13You know, I, like, I relate so hard to that, because I can't possibly, you know, have ADHD because you get so much done. Like, when I was in college, I think there was like, a running joke about how many jobs and side projects I had at any given time. Like, I think it was like, I had, it was like, six. Like, I had a part time job, I had an internship, I had like, volunteering, I had, like, all of these like, side projects with my own going on, like, um, and, but when I, so when I was diagnosed as a kid, like it was very much presented as I had this deficit of focus. And then I had to overcome that deficit of focus, and then like, that was it. And like, I, so I was never like, really in therapy or any sort of treatment. Like I was taught how to manage that, like calendars, and like, planners became a huge part of my life. But when I was, this was when I was in elementary school. So when I was in middle school, I was supposed to have like, you know, a tutor, and like somebody who like worked with me on it, and like, a plan, they call it a 504 plan in the US, but I never actually had it because my grades were too high. And,  Marie Poulin  23:21People always think you need the support, right?  Michele Hansen  23:22Right. Because it was like, oh, like if you you know, if you have those, like if you have this deficiency, like, she's overcome the deficiency if she's getting A's and B's, so there's no problem here. And I didn't, really for me, it wasn't only until the last like six months or a year that I started understanding all of these other facets of it that, like, it's not just that sometimes I have trouble focusing on tasks I don't want to do. Like, there's all of these other things like, you, you know, that, there's the hyper focus you mentioned, there's the like, the perfectionism that you touched on earlier, you know, there are those kind of, you know, everyone's experience of it is different. But like, I, there's just so many things that like, I thought were me things that were just kidn of weird about me. And then it turns out, there's all these other people who are weird, like me, and, Marie Poulin  24:16To read other people's descriptions, and you go, are you kidding me? Like, that's a, that's a thing? I'm not alone? Or like, I thought it was just a family quirk, and then you're like, oh, or is it that actually a good chunk of my family also, you know, like sister's diagnosed and when you look at the behaviors, you're like, oh, yeah, like, it would explain why our family kind of operates this way. And, you know, the more you start to meet people, you're like, oh, okay, there's, there's maybe a reason, too, that, and I don't know if you if you feel this too, but that for example, people with ADHD seem drawn to my work or drawn to my, my style, right? Because I think in some ways you get attracted to different people's communication styles, and I realized, like, in certain calls that I would I have with people that were very energizing, I didn't realize this at the time, it's almost like, you know, when you like, once you see it, you start to see it everywhere, of all the people that I connect with that had ADHD that I didn't know, I was like, oh my gosh, that explains why when we get on a call, neurons are firing, and we're all over the map, and we're just like changing gears, like, constantly, and it just feels like this creative spark is just like, going and going and it's incredible. It's a very different experience with someone whose brain doesn't work that way, and I, I started to clue in, I'm like, oh, maybe there's a reason. And then when you start to look at the behaviors, I'm like, okay, like, it would explain a lot. You know, and you start to kind of look backwards and be like, oh, yeah, all those behaviors start to kind of click into place. And you see, actually, things with a new lens. And when I look at past behaviors, and maybe ways I've really, really judged myself, and I was like, oh my gosh, like, I just, I didn't realize, you know, and I think for me, a big part of that is workaholism, in a way. Like I thought, I really judged myself for being like, oh, I'm like a workaholic, a workaholic. And I thought, yes, and like, it's not so black and white like that. I am very driven by the work that I do because I've so carefully crafted work that I don't hate, and so I've designed work that I love. I'm getting to connect with people and ideas get to form, and I'm always doing new things every day. So of course, like it's feeding that dopamine, I'm like, yeah, it's like, I love this. And so, it is really difficult to shut off work. And so I think I carried a lot of guilt that I work on weekends, but also take really long breaks in the middle of the day and go gardening. And so like, I have found my own ebb and flow, and I think I was really harsh on myself with some of that stuff. And then I was like, well, what if it's actually okay, that my brain is a little more activated than the average person or, or it just kind of feeds off information differently, and maybe I want to consume more courses at a time than the average person. And so it's just brought up a lot of interesting reflection that I'm seeing behaviors and maybe a different light, and that I actually find I'm being a little more compassionate with myself to be like, hey, is that Maria's personality is that ADHD? Is that me coping? Like, it's still very much learning for me. So I'm still kind of just keeping an open mind and just really trying to reflect and notice those behaviors now. Michele Hansen  27:20You know, the, we are, you know, what's called sort of neurodivergent people living in a neurotypical world. And I think, from, you touched on sort of that, that guilt about not having sort of, quote, unquote, like, normal patterns for things and ways of thinking about things. And I think unpacking that shame that we don't fit the neurotypical box is so important, because, I think in, you know, education and kind of maybe, and like, when you're not working for yourself, like neurotypical is the standard, and people who don't meet that are kind of just outside of that. And so, like, there's like this, like, we blame ourselves for that. But if instead, you know, we can, like find ways to work on the things that we are passionate about, and that do energize us, then these, like, amazing things can be unlocked. And I think, like, I have noticed that I tend to find a lot of neurodivergent people in the kind of, like, indie SaaS courses like, internet biz world, and I wonder if that's because a lot of us have just felt like we didn't, yeah, like, we didn't really belong and like, but like, the way to, like really bring out like, what we are capable of, like, like, I remember when I worked, you know, in bigger companies, like I always, I would describe myself, like a pin and a pinball machine. Like, I just always felt like I was just like, bouncing around constantly trying to show like, what I was capable of, and like, what I was good at, and like, what I could do and what I could contribute, and that was always, like, way more and different than whatever the role I was in was supposed to be doing. And it was so frustrating. Like, it was like, deeply frustrating, you know, versus now, like, you know, I can focus on the things that, you know, sort of with, I guess, with a little bit of business knowledge, right? Because you can't just focus on things that don't lead to an income. Um, you know, like, yeah, the things that really energize, and like you've said, how this, like, managing your own brain in a way, it's kind of like, maybe what attracted you to notion in the first place, and then kind of prompted you to go on this path of making this amazingly, like, I'm so amazed by all the things you build with Notion, like this tool that, like, helps you not only steer your brain, but like express it in the way that it wants to be expressed that maybe is not really reflected and other tools. Marie Poulin  29:53Yeah, it's a, it's a weird and wonderful thing, but it does feel like this bizarre culmination of all of my weird interests and strengths, and like even the fact that it's kind of like a No Code builder of sorts, right? It's like I have a web design background, and so I think naturally I'm inclined to build information architecture, but do it beautifully. Like, that's what I did for clients. And so, and then even like my design thinking background, and how I've studied systems, or how I've had to find these productivity systems for myself that worked. And the way certain tools, you know, are very opinionated, and they, they sort of force you into, like, like Asana, for example, everything is a task, like, it sort of forces you into one way of thinking, which is great, it's a great task manager. But I'm like, my strategic planning doesn't really fit in there, and how do I connect that to, to, and everything just kind of felt messy. And, you know, as someone with ADHD that already, already feels like I'm everywhere all the time, for me, Notion was this place where like, suddenly I could see everything that was on my plate in one place in a really easy way. So this ability to like, zoom out, zoom in very, very quickly and have it all integrated was just like, ah, everything like has come into place. And it just kind of clicked, and I think I was just so passionate, so excited about it, it felt like you know, I said life was a shit show before Notion. Like I had tried to get to, like you said, lean on calendars, we like find the systems to kind of lean on like a bit of a crutch. But there were still some systems pieces missing that Notion, in a way, forced me to build my own in a way that really worked for my brain. And I don't think it's a coincidence that just so many of the people that have joined the course or that seem really excited about it and get a lot out of it have also mentioned their own ADHD. Like, I literally just saw a message pop up in the forum, like 20 minutes ago that said how they think notion is just an ADHD friendly tool. I'm like, What an interesting thing that, again, it wasn't even on my radar a year ago or two years ago. I didn't even really think about it. I didn't, I certainly didn't even remotely suspect that I would have had it. And yet, now that I'm aware of it, and I'm seeing more conversations around neurodiversity, really just seeing how Notion gives neurodiverse folks a place to be themselves, as kind of cheesy as it sounds, like, the fact that you can just make it what you want it to be. It can be a personal growth engine, it can be a place where you organize your files, you know, daily journaling, like, you name it, whatever you want it to be, it can be a place that inspires you. And so I just, I love to show people like, well, here's how I'm using it for my garden tracking, I just love there's just endless possibilities with it. And I think if you only look at it as a productivity tool, you know, people kind of poopoo it or they're like, oh, procrastinate, procrastinating on building their setups, and let you know, people have all sorts of opinions about it. But I actually think it is, it's a tool for managing your emotions just as much it is as a tool for managing your information. So I find it quite fascinating from a tool for making you more mindful about how you work and what you need, and just noticing your energy. And I didn't, I didn't know all that stuff wasn't stuff that other people did. It's not till showing it to people, and they're like, holy crap, this is the most organized thing I've ever seen in my life. And I'm like, me, are you kidding me? Because like, I see the baseline the scenes, right? It's like, it's, it's funny to me the things that it's only once, you know, to bring it back to your conversation about sharing in public, working in public. When you make your thinking visible, and you share what you're doing out there, that's where I think you start to see what are those spiky points of view that you have? Or what are the interesting ways that you approach stuff that people are like, whoa, I didn't even think of it that way. So yeah, I'm curious, too, in you sharing your stuff publicly, and doing the writing publicly, like, has anything surprised you that you put out there and you're like, oh, wow, I didn't expect that to really land for people or, you know, what did you notice in your process of sharing your stuff publicly? Michele Hansen  33:53Yeah, I mean, so something that actually has surprised me in the last, I've had two people in the last week, tell me how the introduction of my book made them completely rethink how they approach other people. And,  Marie Poulin  34:11Wow Michele Hansen  34:12How they like, didn't even like, they didn't realize like, the extent of empathy and what it was and how they could use it and how it can help them be a better you know, coworker or person and, like, not just someone who's better at making landing pages or making product decisions. And I started out, like, I, so I, the the introduction, I actually originally didn't really have a very good introduction of the book. Like, I didn't define empathy very much or anything. And then one of my early readers was like, I think, I think you need to introduce this a little more. And so I did, and then like, it basically sounds like people are, some people like reading the first 10 pages and then being like, whoa, and then like, going on this other path. And then like, and then they're like, okay, well when I actually like, need to build something I'll come back here for the scripts. But like, having this, and, you know, like we've talked, like we've talked a lot about, like emotional intelligence here, and like, I've had my own journey with there and like, talking about, you know, workaholism, like, is that is that a trait? Or is that a trauma response? Like, it's kind of both, like, and like, so that has been a really important journey for me. By the way, if that resonates with anyone that's called the flight response, just Google that. And, and so that like, like, I have this kind of like, this, like, little dream that like, you know, like, people, nobody puts like, be more empathetic on their to daily to do list, maybe some, maybe you do. But like, nobody really doesn't. But they put like, you know, get more sales, like, write a new landing page, like, figure out which features I should build. Like, those are the things that come up on people's to do lists. And so I have this, like, kind of dream that like, in the process of helping people do those things they already want to do that they will become more empathetic in general and learn that this is a skill that they can apply not just to business, but to the rest of their life, because it's been such an important journey for me, because it's something that I really didn't really learn until my 20s. And, and, yeah, I mean, that's, I don't know. Yeah, it's been very, like, it's been very soul-nourishing for me.  Marie Poulin  36:31The process of writing and sharing?  Michele Hansen  36:34Yeah, I think like, in a very unexpected way, and, you know, kind of talking about ADHD, and so it sounds like what you're doing, like, you sound very much like a systems thinker. And you have built this sort of digital system that reflects your mental system, and in the process of doing so, you're helping people realize that, you know, they could build off of that to build something that reflects their mental system. And it's like, and you're helping them really like, blossom into, into expressing their thinking. And what I'm doing, like, I have, I have had feedback from people who have said, they are ADHD, or autistic, and they have said that, like, this is very, very different for them, for, I mean, for those two groups for very different reasons. But like, I've had people tell me, like, I don't think I'm capable of doing this because, you know, as you said, there's a kind of that stereotype of people who are ADHD that they, like, you know, talk over the people, like, can't stay on a topic, like, you know, just all of that, which, like, I mean, I think if we weren't doing a podcast right now, like, we would be excitedly talking over each other right now, like.  Marie Poulin  37:53I was wondering.  Michele Hansen  37:54I, like, am really holding back. Marie Poulin  37:57Which is exhausting, right? It's like, it takes a lot of energy to, like, tone it down, be normal, like,   Michele Hansen  38:04Oh, I'm gonna go jump on the trampoline after this. But, like, for me, it's like this weird thing, because, because I didn't learn, like, this either wasn't built into me, or I didn't learn it as a kid, like, I've had to really focus on learning how to like, listen to people. Marie Poulin  38:23You're so good at it. Michele Hansen  38:25It became a hyper focus thing for me, like, so I feel like when I'm listening to people, like learning, like, I have to like, I think it's why people are like, oh, this made me realize these things about empathy I didn't even realize, because I had to, like learn empathy and listening at a level that most people don't have to. Like, I had to really understand it. Like, I had to really dive deep into it. Because I just didn't have that, like, I didn't, I was not born with that feature built in. So, and then, but like, I think it kind of became this thing that, like, I hyper focus on. And so like, when I'm talking to someone, like, I'm just like, I'm like, completely submerging myself into them, and like exploring their brain, and I think, you know, talking about like, systems thinkers, like, that's something I love is like, getting to understand the system of somebody else's head and like getting to, like, poke around and all the little corners and be like, oh, why is, what's going on here? Like, we're like, what do we got going on here? Like,  Marie Poulin  39:29I compare it to like, looking at their underwear drawer. You're just like, you get to see like, it's very personal, right? And people are often like embarrassed or they feel a lot of shame because, like, their their space is really messy. But I love that, right.  Michele Hansen  39:42I love mess.  Marie Poulin  39:42It's so beautiful. It's, and I will say, like, in the call that we had with you like, I was so struck by how intently it felt like you were listening. I was like, I, it was like almost disarming. Like when I got off, I was like, I can't think of the last time that someone actually was just there to listen. Like, there was no agenda there. Like, you were you were really just there to be a helpful ear, and it was just quite impressive, I have to say, I was just like, holy crap, Michele is an incredible listener. I was really blown away. And so I love that you got nerdy about listening. So nerdy. I love it. Michele Hansen  40:23I mean, I grew up being, I think the thing, the number one thing I heard growing up was Michele, you never listened, like, you're not listening, you don't listen. Like and like, I have found complex, that I have found that the things that I'm really bad at, like, if I get over that, and then, like, I will, like intensely research it, and it will become a huge focus for me, like, I would like, so like in college, I studied international affairs and economics, and I remember in one of my first classes, one of the professors asked who knew what, like, Bretton Woods was, and, you know, I'm from New England, and I was like, I know, that's a ski resort, but like, I don't know anything else. And like, you know, it's it's the, the post-war monetary system that was set up after the war, basically, to prevent another war, economically. But I didn't like, know that, and I felt like really embarrassed. And I ended up like, really diving into the topic to the point where it was not only my thesis topic, but for like, two years, I wrote papers about related things in other classes, even when I wasn't required to. And now I have this, like, just all of this knowledge about, like, monetary relations in Europe, specifically focused on the US and Germany, like, between, like 1958, and like 1973, really intensely on the 71 to 73 period. And, like, I it's not particularly, like, for what I do, it's not really useful information, but like, kind of like, I feel like that's very similar to how I got into doing listening and interviews because, because I was so bad at it, because I didn't know what I was doing, because I was like, I felt embarrassed that I didn't know what was going on, or like, people had made me feel like I was deficient in that. Like, I think this is where that, like, that hyper focus comes in. It's like, once you like latch on to a topic, like, you can't get your teeth out of it, even if you, like, wanted to.  Marie Poulin  42:28Painfully relateable. I love that you brought this up to you because I think I've done this throughout my my career to where it's like, oh my gosh, like public speaking this is like, I'm terrible at this, I'm so afraid of it, it's like, must hire three different coaches and take five courses and like, read every book, you know. Like, just go down these crazy rabbit holes to go to such an extreme to work on a skill that you know, I was maybe like, not, not that great at it wasn't terrible, but just didn't feel like a strength. And I think I've often felt self conscious of is it a waste of time, when I should be like focusing on my real strengths. And so, I just think it's so funny. There's, there's obviously a trigger there around feeling incompetent, or like, I hate that feeling stupid or feeling like something I'm really bad at is preventing me from succeeding in business. And I, you know, I've shared before a little bit about, like, fear of being on video and fear of being on stage. And so these are all things I've obsessively worked on. And you know, I'll share like a super vulnerable moment from not, not that long ago, but there was ,there was someone who shared with me, they spoke with someone who had taken the course, and it was an older woman. I don't know when she took the course, but maybe she took it like, early on in the course building journey. It's definitely gone through a number of iterations. But she she was like, angry. She was like, oh my gosh, she goes so fast. She's all over the place. She needs to read about adult learning. Like, she's a terrible facilitator. And like, if I showed you my Notion goals page, it's like being a masterful facilitator is literally on my, my big visionary goals. And I was like, oh my God, am I, is this just like a skill I am, I am bad at? Like, it knocked me on my ass and I questioned everything. I was like, oh my god, what's going on? And in the same week, I literally had someone say that my sessions were the thing that they look forward to every week. And it was so weird to get this, like, the most negative criticism I've ever gotten, and the most positive, and it was in that same week that I had actually discovered, that I started to realize I probably had ADHD and I realized that my presentation style and my exploratory show you the possibilities, it's, it's quite different than say someone who might be a little more neurotypical, a little more instructional in style. I know that my vibe, it doesn't jive for everyone, but it really works well for people that have ADHD, and so that's where I was like, oh, crap. So, hiring a course coach, a curriculum designer, a learning advocate, like, I went all deep, and I was like, I'm going to learn about facilitation, I'm going to learn about teaching, I'm going to learn about learning design, like, how can I make this experience so good that, like, nobody could ever say anything like that? You know? And like, fair enough, if someone, like, it doesn't resonate with them, I totally get that. But it just, it just felt holy crap, like, is this is this like, a giant blind spot that I'm not seeing? And, you know, after talking to a number of students, a number of people, it was like, no, like, you know, this is someone who's not very comfortable with computers. This is someone that, like, it doesn't make sense for this type of person to be using Notion. Like, I don't think Notion is the right tool for everyone, and I don't think my instructional style is is for everyone, and I'm okay with that. I've made peace with that. And there's room to to improve that. So I definitely feel you on like, ooh, rabbit hole, here we go. Let's work on this scale. Because like, no one can criticize this again, like I would go all in, just watch me. Michele Hansen  46:04Have you come across the term rejection sensitive dysphoria?  Marie Poulin  46:08I have.  Michele Hansen  46:11So it's this term for how, I don't, I don't have a good way of explaining it. But like, it's for how painful, like, that kind of criticism can be, and how it can either, like, prevent people from wanting something in the first place, or when you get that criticism, it i,  Marie Poulin  46:30Highly motivating.  Michele Hansen  46:32Yeah, but like, it's all-encompassing.  Marie Poulin  46:35Yeah.  Michele Hansen  46:37Like, it's, and then you said that somebody else that same week said how much they loved your course, yet, you're,  You keep ruminating on the bad, right? Ruminating and obsess over and then hyper focus on that, and then go into this mode of, like, wanting to make sure that never ever happens again. And it's like this kind of extreme version of loss aversion, where, you know, we're so afraid of losing something, like, of losing that, in this case, like, that person's, you know, like, their positive feedback on the course or their, their positive experience with it, rather than focusing on the people who already had a positive experience and making it better for the people who is, because like, it's like, do you actively, like, frame your course, or some of your courses as being for ADHD people, or, like, neurodiverse people? Marie Poulin  47:33I don't, again, part of this is I'm not officially diagnosed. And, and, you know, again, I'm still learning about this stuff. And so I partly feel like a little bit of imposter complex around this whole topic to know I want to be very careful, you know, like, just, just being mindful about how I talk about it. And, and, Michele Hansen  47:53Everyone's experience is different of it, like, yeah. Marie Poulin  47:56Totally, totally. And so I just want to be very careful about it, and it is something I've considered of like, maybe it would actually, like, the number of people that have watched the, I have a YouTube video where I'm teaching my sister who has ADHD how to use Notion, and the positive feedback, and the people being like, oh, my gosh, it was so nice to see normal people, like, normal people like me, you know, other people with ADHD, just, just going through this experience. And it did make me wonder like, well, hey, knowing that this is the case, and knowing that it seems to attract these people, should I go in that direction? So it's been on my mind to some, something to maybe mention, and even kind of tease out a little bit, like, in my welcome sequence. When I'm introducing myself, I'm starting to, like, try out using some of the language. And I will say, I've gotten an incredible response. Anytime I've talked about it, it's been really, really positive. So, I don't mention it, but it is something I'm like, maybe like, and should I get a diagnosis to be? Does it matter? I don't really know. I'm not really sure what the, what the protocol is there. But yeah. Michele Hansen  49:01I mean, like, I have a diagnosis, but like, I, I feel like I don't really understand it very well, like, because I just kind of accepted it as this thing that was just wrong with me that I had to control. And then like, that was kind of it. Um, and I like so in my book, actually, in the original newsletters, like I talked about having ADHD and how, you know, focusing on people and listening and like, all that, like, were really difficult for me because of that, and I got so much positive feedback on it, but then I got it into the book, and I, like, one of my reviewers was like, you know, your experience of ADHD is not a universal one. And there's like, and they were saying there's kind of a difference between like writing it in a newsletter, where people know you and they start from a point of kind of the sort of familiarity, like, that they they trust that you come from a good place, but like writing it in a book, people won't know me people won't know like and even if I say this is only my experience of it, like, someone who has had a different experience of the diagnosis or, or like, doesn't, like, that they have the diagnosis doesn't let you know they have made been made to feel less than because of it, or worse. I think both of us kind of tend to view it as this, like, this thing that we could steer and bring out, like, bring out our true selves, so to speak. Like, so I ended up taking it out, but it also feels so relevant, like it, like it feels like this piece of information that people need to know that it's like, Yes, I was known for not being able to listen to anything, so then I focused on it to the point of it being like, this obsessive skill. Almost necessary base information.  Marie Poulin  50:46Part of the story.  Michele Hansen  50:47Yes. And the same way that like, and so I found a way to like, kind of tell that story that I had to listen, like learn how to do this, but like without using the diagnosis, but like, part of me, really. So like, maybe it's like something I can do in a talk or something like that, right? Like, there's not every, like, there's different forums for things.  Marie Poulin  51:04Not every medium needs to, yeah. Michele Hansen  51:05And also where I can kind of explain, and if someone has like a question of like, well, that's not my experience of it, then we can talk about it afterwards. And they can know that I'm coming from a good, I don't, I don't know, I also feel conflicted, because I don't want to, like, I can only speak from my own experience. Like, I am, and again, maybe again this is maybe an ADHD thing, or it's like, I haven't hyper-focused on ADHD itself, so therefore I cannot speak about it.  Marie Poulin  51:29Totally. Oh, my gosh, the hyper-focusing of watching all the videos about ADHD and like, it's just, it's it's so funny looking at all the memes. I was so dismissive of ADHD, because I was like, oh, well, come on. That's all of us for every single meme. And at some point, I was like, wait a second, like, is that all of us? And yeah, it took some digging, and I was like, wait a second here. Michele Hansen  51:52There's some tweets about this that I find myself referencing, and it was either people with ADHD need to stop being so relatable, or I need to go to the doctor. Marie Poulin  52:06Exactly. Michele Hansen  52:07I think, you know, my, so this is super fun talking and relating to you and like, realizing, you know, that we're both not weird. We're weird together. But my, the reason I really wanted to talk to you about this here is because I think people who are neurodivergent, who don't fit the box, like, tend to feel like we're not as capable of things as other people, or we have been made to feel that we're not as capable. And I hear from people that are like, I don't know if I could run a business, like, I can't, you know, like, if I can't focus on one set thing, like, and I'm all over the place, like, I can't possibly run a business. And I think what I like to show and, like, what you show, amazingly, is that not only can you run a business if you have ADHD or any other like, because I noticed all these, like, people in the indie community, like, they're people, like people who just don't fit the box. Like they have, they have disabilities, they have chronic health conditions, they are autistic, like, whatever those things are, like, they have been able to find a home in this place, and like, you can run a business if you're ADHD like, you, like, like, I present myself as evidence and I feel like you are evidence of that, too. Marie Poulin  53:35Absolutely. I think a big part of it comes down to you have to know yourself really well. Like, you have to know your triggers. You have to know how you're incentivized, how you best operate, so that you can either get the support that you need, or again, you can design your products and services in a way that, even though, for example, I've been a generalist for a decade, and it's really only in the last year and a half, two years, that I was like, I'm going all in on Notion. Like, I see an opportunity here, like, let's, let's just try this, I'm going to see, like, what's the worst that could happen? I make, I make some money for for this chapter and I get known as the Notion person and then I can, like, flip the chapter and do the next thing. I've been in general so long, I was like, whatever, let's just give it a try. And what again, what I love about it is my days can be so freakin different. Like, I am not doing the same thing every day even though I'm doing one thing and so you know, it's about finding traction with that one thing but if you can design your business in such a way that you're still getting, you know that dopamine hit or whatever it is that you need, you got to know yourself well enough to know, hey, I really thrive with routine or I really thrive with days that look very different, and then getting someone to support you on your team, like, maybe you have a small team. For me hiring my direct my you know started with a virtual assistant, who is now my, mou know, Director of Operations and having her is no doubt a humongous part of why I've been able to do the kind of growth that I've done. Like, I would have been scrambling wearing all these different hats. So to have someone whose focus is entirely operations and all the nitty gritty, like, export of CSVs, any of the detail work, I'm like, let's just be honest, Marie is not the details person. I've accepted this. And now we have someone who is a details person who frickin loves that stuff. And the stuff that makes me cringe is the stuff that makes her day, and like, what better? Like, that's all you can ask for, I think. So, even if you're just getting support in a really, really tiny way, you know, again, there's just so many opportunities, I think, to get creative with the way you design your business, that it is supporting you. But you do have to, to know yourself really well, I think to know how to do that. Michele Hansen  55:51And what I, you know, ADHD, the first two words of it, or attention deficit, and I find that you show is that it's not a, like, it doesn't have to be this thing that's deficient about you.  Marie Poulin  56:06It's just a little inconsistent, that's all. Michele Hansen  56:08Like, it can be, if you sort of steer it and give it support, like, it can be this amazing thing that you bring to the world. Like, it's not a deficiency. Like, I feel like that's just kind of like, the message I can give to like 11 year old me, like, it's not a deficiency, like you just have to help it come out. Marie Poulin  56:28Well, hyperactivity like that, like you've said before, like the phrase, it just, it doesn't carry a whole lot of positive connotations. And so,  Michele Hansen  56:36No, the whole thing sounds very negative.  Marie Poulin  56:38It does, yeah, we're we're off. Like, there's something broken with us, versus hunter gatherer brain, like different types of brains, I think evolved for different purposes. And, you know, we all, we have our own incredible use cases, like I know, you mentioned in other episodes, the ability to form connections between really disparate stuff very, very quickly. Oh, my gosh, in companies to have that kind of strategic person who can really see those connections, there's no doubt that each of us kind of can plug in somewhere and we can really shine in different ways. But it's, it's tricky, like you said, if we are neurodivergent, in a neurotypical world, it might mean that we might have to take the initiative on that and, and take charge in different ways and kind of carve our own path. Michele Hansen  57:25But then when we do, like, other people seeing like, hey, like, it's not just me, like, you know, you mentioned the, like the Dani Donovan's ADHD comics. I don't know if you've seen those, like, I'm so appreciative that she's so open about it.  Marie Poulin  57:37Yeah.  Michele Hansen  57:39It just, I think, because we have been made to feel deficient or different, like we, you know, I know I tended to like hold this in, and I realized that even like, most of my best friends didn't know I had been diagnosed as a kid until a couple of years ago, because I just never talked about it. I just, like, accepted it, this thing that was wrong with me, and like, whatever, like, we don't need to talk about it. But then we talk about it, and it doesn't actually, yeah, it doesn't have to be. Like, it can really bring whatever our uniquenesses into the world. Marie Poulin  58:08Yeah, I'm hoping it's sort of becoming a little bit more destigmatized, and on Twitter, and it just feels like I'm hearing more about it, and people maybe are getting a little more comfortable talking about it. And even it seems like things that therapists maybe wouldn't recognize before, like, it's starting to become a little bit more known. And so yeah, I'm hoping that, you know, by sharing some of my own honest insights that that it does help destigmatize it. I think the more people, you know, like you and I talking about it, I do think it just kind of opens up the doors a little bit. So, if we can be part of that then you know, yay. If it helps one other person even just kind of embrace their their inner weirdness a little bit, then we've done our, our duty. Michele Hansen  58:52Yes. Exactly. Or embrace the weirdness of, you know, their loved ones, too.  Marie Poulin  58:58Find your weirdos. Yeah. Michele Hansen  58:59Yeah, yeah. Well, I think that's probably a good note to end on today. It has been so fun talking to you, Marie. I feel like we've, we've gone on quite well, like, we normally run half an hour and we're quite over that, but I'm okay with it. I, this is so fun. I'm so grateful that you came on. And so, if people are curious about your courses, or about you, where can they find out more? Marie Poulin  59:26You can check out my website is MariePoulin.com. You'll be able to find the course on there, too. That's NotionMastery.com, pretty active on Twitter. That's that's probably where do most of my chitchat about business and founder life and ADHD and all that sort of thing. So @MariePoulin on Twitter, and if you're curious about more of the, more personal behind the scenes stuff, and plants and gardening, you can check me out on Instagram, too, so. Michele Hansen  59:51Awesome. Thank you so much, Marie.  Marie Poulin  59:54Yeah, thanks for having me. Really fun.

92 In this episode. I introduce you to faith, hope, and love found in 1 Corinthians 13:13You can find the entire about Doubt and Fear lesson on my website.I thought I would teach and hope, but I spent most of this episode explaining faith. The scripture reference is found in Hebrews 11:1-3Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.By it the elders obtained a good testimony.By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Psalm 80:8-13You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.  You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.  The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches.  Its branches reached as far as the Sea, its shoots as far as the River. Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes?  Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it.The reason that the psalmist prays for God to save his people throughout this psalm is because he knows that God is a saving God. He is asking God to do again what he has already done in the past.  This is the same God who rescued his people from slavery in Egypt and led them into the promised land, driving out their enemies so that they could live in security and peace. They weren't just a tiny seedling, they were a great and flourishing vine, whose branches and shoots spread over the whole land. But it didn't last. We see in v.12-13 that God's vineyard – his people – is no longer securely protected. The vine is trampled by animals and eaten by insects. A ruined shadow of its former self. The psalmist asks why, but he already knows the answer. The people had turned away from God. It is God who broke down the walls, but only because the people first broke the covenant.When I read these verses, I find myself thinking 'What a waste.'  Not only is the people's situation terrible in itself - insecure, fearing their enemies on all sides, poor and weak and helpless - but they also know what they have lost.  The picture here shows us just how much better it is to live under God's blessings than to reject him. The people had been warned what would happen if they turned away from God. But they did it anyway, believing that going their own way would lead to something better that what God offered. That isn't just the experience of Old Testament people.v.12-13 are a picture of the effects of sin in our lives, too. It brings ruin and destruction and disappointment.  We know this. But we so easily forget. We need this picture clearly in our minds, for the moments when we are tempted to follow our sinful desires rather than go the way that the Spirit leads. We're so easily fooled into thinking that selfishness, greed, pride, anger or self-sufficiency will bring us the good things we want in life. When in fact they're all ways of knocking down the walls and letting in the wild animals that will destroy the blessings of our relationship with God.

What is often missing from our understanding of the 10 commandments? Exodus 20:1-17 (EHV) Then God spoke all these words:  2I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, where you were slaves.  3You shall have no other gods beside me. 4You shall not make any carved image for yourself or a likeness of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. 5Do not bow down to them or be subservient to them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God. I follow up on the guilt of the fathers with their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren, if they also hate me. 6But I show mercy to thousands who love me and keep my commandments.  7You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not permit anyone who misuses his name to escape unpunished.  8Remember the Sabbath day by setting it apart as holy. 9Six days you are to serve and do all your regular work, 10but the seventh day shall be a sabbath rest to the Lord your God. Do not do any regular work, neither you, nor your sons or daughters, nor your male or female servants, nor your cattle, nor the alien who is residing inside your gates, 11for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. In this way the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it holy.  12Honor your father and your mother so that you may spend many days on the land that the Lord your God is giving to you.  13You shall not commit murder.  14You shall not commit adultery.  15You shall not steal.  16You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.  17You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. If you have any questions or comments, contact Pastor.

What is often missing from our understanding of the 10 commandments? Exodus 20:1-17 (EHV) Then God spoke all these words:  2I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, where you were slaves.  3You shall have no other gods beside me. 4You shall not make any carved image for yourself or a likeness of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. 5Do not bow down to them or be subservient to them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God. I follow up on the guilt of the fathers with their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren, if they also hate me. 6But I show mercy to thousands who love me and keep my commandments.  7You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not permit anyone who misuses his name to escape unpunished.  8Remember the Sabbath day by setting it apart as holy. 9Six days you are to serve and do all your regular work, 10but the seventh day shall be a sabbath rest to the Lord your God. Do not do any regular work, neither you, nor your sons or daughters, nor your male or female servants, nor your cattle, nor the alien who is residing inside your gates, 11for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. In this way the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it holy.  12Honor your father and your mother so that you may spend many days on the land that the Lord your God is giving to you.  13You shall not commit murder.  14You shall not commit adultery.  15You shall not steal.  16You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.  17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. If you have any questions or comments, contact Pastor.

 About our guest:Brian ArdingerBefore Inside Outside, Brian founded the seed-stage accelerator NMotion and co-founded the corporate innovation consultancy Econic. He has worked in Silicon Valley and Asia and served as Chief Marketing Officer at Nanonation working with some of the best brands in the world including Apple, Pepsi, Target, Nike, and Harley-Davidson.InsideOutside.io About Hashtag Midwest:HashtagMidwest.comExecutive Stories PodcastMeet the TeamOur Show Sponsor - New Resources Consulting   Transcript:30:31SUMMARY KEYWORDSmidwest, create, companies, people, entrepreneurs, nebraska, opportunity, innovation, big, business, advantages, startups, talent, coast, build, founders, resources, ability, networks, changingSPEAKERSJason Montague, Brian Ardinger Brian Ardinger 00:06Williams, the founder of Twitter is from Nebraska and left for the coast to build Twitter. I don't want the next Williams in 25 years to have to go to Silicon Valley to create the next Twitter. How do we create a healthy environment where those seeds can be planted, you can start a company, you can raise your hand and say, I want to be an entrepreneur, and you're not laughed out of the room. That's Brian ardinger, creator and founder of inside outside.io and director of innovation at nelnet. In Lincoln, Nebraska, Ryan's here to share the strengths of the Midwest, the incredible scale at the Midwestern marketplace has and companies and entrepreneurs alike can benefit. Special thanks to new resources consulting for sponsoring today's episode. I'm Jason Montague, and welcome to Episode 107 of executive stories on hashtag Midwest. Jason Montague 00:53Well, hello again, folks, we are back again with our second of six interviews on the strengths of the Midwest. And really all the opportunities we have for our region. We spoke to six executives all with expertise in topics like innovation, startup creation and incubation talent attraction and retention and even experts in the Midwest itself and classic Midwestern industries. We got their opinions and advice on our region and wanted to share it with you our audience. Definitely hope you enjoy. Brian, welcome. Sure. Can you introduce yourself and share a little of your background? is Brian Arden GM director of innovation at nail net, and maker of inside outside.io, which is a newsletter podcast and events all focused on innovation. What would you say some of the advantages for businesses and entrepreneurs in the Midwest have in maybe in general? Yes. So some of the advantages I think that startups have here in the Midwest is obviously a connected network of folks that really care about helping new people, new opportunities and new things grow. The other core advantages, I think you have different than this, the kind of the tech hubs is, quite frankly, this this differentiation of capital. So if you think about how you start a business in Silicon Valley, there's a right amount of venture capital, and a lot of ideas can get funded and get moving that way. We're in the Midwest, it's much more about how do you find a core problem that a customer can solve, and then create a business around it, I think the ability for Brian Ardinger 02:24companies in the Midwest to find traction early work with partners, and really build a sustainable business is much different than, again, swinging for the fences, or getting venture capital in the in the tech hubs. And I think some of the advantages the Midwest brings is its central location, you know, the ability to, especially now, if you think about COVID, and this ability for remote work, the ability to work from anywhere, in places where the cost of living is not quite as expensive, where, again, access to people and talent is is readily available, wherever it is in the world, I think gives the Midwest a big advantage in the years moving forward. You know, the other challenge, I think that that the Midwest faces is, is the fact that just lucky, we're just unfamiliar with it, you know, especially from the coasts, you know, I host a conference every year, and we bring in people from all over the world. And when they come to our backyard in Lincoln, Nebraska, they're quite surprised that innovation is happening. But innovation is happening everywhere. And it's like, how do we tell that story? And how do we get folks, wherever they're at to recognize that there are smart, talented people, no matter where they go, and their advantages and opportunities, wherever they're, wherever they're putting their tent down and, and creating value. What do you think our natural advantages are in the Midwest? And for example, I guess I would say things like the benefit of being in close proximity to what I would consider the pioneering industries of the Midwest like agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, etc. Yeah, so I think some of the core advantages that Midwest startups have is access to customers access to a network, and access to kind of existing businesses, you know, and being able to reframe, and remix and reshape old industries into whatever is going to happen next, to be able to take those existing customer bases and those those existing tools, and really reshape them for the new world of work.  Jason Montague 04:24So I'm going to give you a statistic, and I just want you to react to it. So if you take the Midwest and just call it a country, we would be the fourth largest economy on the planet. Bigger than India, bigger than Brazil, bigger than Russia. What do you make of that?  Brian Ardinger 04:40Yeah. So the fact that the Midwest has a huge customer base, and basically it's a massive market, it's much bigger than, you know, a lot of people think of you think of the flyover states, you know, often think of a big economic impact. But places like the Midwest have access to customers and access to talent that you can't necessarily have. On the east and west coast, so it's a different access. Again, a lot of the existing industries that have happened in the have grown up from the Midwest, and your ability to access that, that capital, that talent, the that network, I think is extremely valuable for new companies, again, trying to solve real problems. It's different than, you know, a new app that you want to create. It's it's about really, how do we solve core problems that we've been facing from the beginning? And how do we evolve and change and grow? As the world changes?  Jason Montague 05:32Yeah, I think the statistic is something like 35, or 40%, of Fortune 500 companies are actually located right here inside the Midwest. That's just enormous.  Brian Ardinger 05:42So when you think about the Midwest, and access to capital is clearly different. Obviously, in the coast, you've got this concept of venture capital. And that while you're seeing a rise of that, in the Midwest, Matt is still somewhat of a foreign concept from the standpoint of, there's a huge amount of philanthropy dollars in that there's a lot of dollars in general in the Midwest, but it's not always going to the earliest stage venture backed startup companies. Part of the reason why I think is because it's hard to see where that money goes. And you don't have the the track record, necessarily you have on the coasts. And so we're just now seeing these rise of these early stage startups that are getting to the point where they're raising capital, and then creating huge companies and then returning that capital back into the ecosystem. And so the ability for that, that longevity of to start a company to grow a company to exit that company, and then put that capital back into new companies is just beginning here in the in the Midwest, compared to Silicon Valley, for example.  Jason Montague 06:41So, culturally speaking, some of these massive companies and brands haven't had much experience innovating. I know you said, at one point in our conversation that oftentimes, founders were the last people in, you know, last true visionaries in a particular company. And sometimes those founders haven't been around for 100 years, which is just a very interesting perspective. Maybe talk about that, and the impact that has on these organizations ability to understand the incubation of novel ideas. Brian Ardinger 07:15I think one of the challenges startups face and corporations face here, when it comes to innovation, is the fact that innovation is very different. And starting a brand new company or brand new ideas are different than running an existing business. If you think about the biggest largest companies in the Midwest, and they've been around for hundreds of years, and they haven't had a founder that's been driving that organization for hundreds of years, they built these businesses, and they've, they continue to operate these business models that have been around for a long time, the challenge is that those business models are changing. And you need new people and new faces and new ways of tackling those new business models to adapt and change and to these new market forces. And that speed of changes is accelerating. So if you think about, you know, you used to be able to be on that s&p 500 list for 60 years. And I think the new research shows that, you know, the chances of you being on that list for a long period of time is, you know, down to 12 to 14 years. And so you have to, if you're running a major corporation, you have to think more entrepreneurially, you have to think about this business model that I'm currently optimizing, and building may not be around in the next 1015 years. So how do I think more entrepreneurially? How do I create new value and change the way I'm doing business? in an environment where quite frankly, you haven't had to stretch those muscles in the past before?  Jason Montague 08:35Do you think we have an advantage? I guess, given our proximity to many, let's say 30%, of 35% of major universities in the nation? I mean, these are world renowned research institutions. What do you think, effect that has on on our ability to deliver Brian Ardinger 08:54 the access to talent, and that talent, obviously comes from universities and places where we're educating youth and opportunities to create new research and things along those lines. So I believe there's a huge opportunity, if we tap into not only, you know, educating our youth and giving them an opportunity to learn new things, but then teaching them how to apply that, you know, and not just learn the theoretical things around that. But how do you create value and create new businesses based on what you've learned and and know that you don't have to go to the coast to get that idea, you know, kicked off, you know, that's why I work so strongly in the startup ecosystem is like, how do we create an environment, a healthy environment where those seeds can be planted, you can start a company, you can raise your hand and say, I want to be an entrepreneur, and you're not laughed out of the out of the room. And I think we're doing that now. I think all around the Midwest, you're seeing these cities and these ecosystems that are popping up, that are giving the rise for people with talent and say, hey, I want to start something. How do I do that? How can I get networked? And then how can I grow and build that and so in the next 20 years, we're going to see the The fruits of that labor paying off.  Jason Montague 10:02Let's shift a little bit here, maybe let's talk about some challenges. So in general, what do you think the challenges are in the Midwest, and that the ones I guess, that we really need to overcome?  Brian Ardinger 10:12I think some of the poor challenges that we have here in the Midwest, and that is the fact that we have these existing businesses, we have these existing infrastructures, we've been doing this for a long time, and we've been very successful at it. And that success doesn't always equate to success in the future. And so how do we create a mindset, a skill set, and the toolset necessary to think differently and build differently than we have in the past? And I think that comes from entrepreneurship, I think that comes from looking beyond our borders, and beyond our own, you know, local realm. It's like, how do we create these connections to other Midwestern cities? How do we create these connections to the coasts? How do we create new opportunities for the talent and the people in the business that we're creating?  Jason Montague 10:57Regarding creating connections to other cities inside the Midwest? Do you feel this natural, competitive nature? Maybe the competitive tension of businesses across Midwestern cities? Do you think that's conducive for sharing across boundaries? That would be state boundaries, city, city boundaries, etc.  Brian Ardinger 11:17You know, when it comes to competition, I mean, obviously, whether it's economic development, competition, and you know, cities vying for companies, and that's moving their backyard, I think that's changing the old ways of economic development where, you know, you hope to land a big manufacturing company in your backyard, and you spent millions and millions of dollars to make that happen. And then the jobs would come to that, I think the reverse is actually happening now, where the companies are coming based on where the those talent pools are. And so if we look at where we're doing business right now, and we look at it from a competitive perspective, you know, the challenge becomes, I don't think, you know, a lot of cities in and of themselves can have everything that a company needs. And so to try to not have those connections to other cities and have not have this connection to other networks is a disadvantage. So the better way to think about is like, how can we create these opportunities to do what we're good at, but also have opportunities for networks and resources that we can pull on to help our companies grow in our own backyard? You know, I think, from a competitive perspective, we're not big enough to compete direct head to head to head, you know, a city like Lincoln, Nebraska, to Silicon Valley. But what we can do is we can provide a unique base for our companies, and then provide them resources and connections in that when they do have to go to places that we don't have all the resources for them. Jason Montague 12:42In my conversations with Brian, I was incredibly impressed with his perspective on building and connecting ecosystems. And where he sees the strength is in the Midwest and in relation to our cities and sort of how he sees that I, I agree with him, I think it's very challenging. Even our largest cities could benefit from using and utilizing the skills, resources, talents, industry expertise, across our cities, my hope is that his perspective, which is we need to build those connections, and we need to make them stronger and deeper. And we need to use these resources more fully across across our region. My hope is that perspective is actually shared by our entrepreneurs and innovators, as well as our enterprises and those that are trying to support and build these ecosystems. My hope is that they're not working hard to compete with their neighbors, I think our region has so much to offer. And it would just be a shame, if, as Betsy Ziegler would say, it would be a shame if the matching problem is going unsolved, when it's such a solvable problem, you know, an entrepreneur with a great idea. And the resources happen to exist 150 miles down the road, it sure would be nice if that entrepreneur was able to connect with someone in their city, who would then bring in the ecosystem and the resources from 150 miles away and can have some awareness that that's a big win for our region, no matter where that exists, and not to view wins that happen in other cities as somehow degrading our ability to win collectively. Jason Montague 14:32I'd like to stop and take a minute to say thank you to our sponsors, new resources consulting. I actually know a lot about NRC because I use NRC. I've actually used them in every organization that I've run big or small. And the one thing that I would say about an RC That is impressive and important is that they take a deep deep interest in understanding what success looks like to me and they are as committed Delivering that success with me as any partner that I've ever had. So they have done an amazing job they're very interested and, and focused on my success and our success. And I can't say enough good things about new resources consulting. Jason Montague 15:18As we were joined our conversation, Brian and I talked about the role our universities play in our broader success, the importance of viewing the industries that we pioneered as enormous advantages. And finally, we talked about why Midwesterners are so darn nice. Brian Ardinger 15:42One of the questions I always get asked is about brain drain. And, you know, there's it's a double edged sword, because to a certain extent, some of those folks really do need to go out and explore and understand what the world is around them. I think one of the things that we don't do a good job in the Midwest is his brain draining to other Midwestern cities, and then having those folks come back because, you know, I know for a fact, there's a number of folks that would be happy to come to a big city like Lincoln, Nebraska, that are living in maybe a Bloomington or, you know, another big tent area, but don't want to necessarily be in their hometown for forever, they want to explore and go out. So why not, you know, attract them to another big 10 City, for example, and have them experience something different from what their own backyard, but still be able to go back and have those connections with that with their, I guess, their home city. You know, I'm a firm believer that exploration is key to innovation. And the more we can give access to our younger talent to explore both in our backyard as well as outside, and then, you know, recruit them back from the standpoint of providing them with an opportunity and the frameworks and the tools and the things they need. So when they're ready to come back, they can go back and share what they've learned and build something in their own backyard.  Jason Montague 16:56Do you believe that we struggled to tell the success stories of the Midwest? I mean, is that a problem? And if it is, how do you suggest we fix that?  Brian Ardinger 17:06Yeah, so I think one of the challenges that we have here in the Midwest is our, our inability, quite frankly, to bang the drum, to set to to raise our own profile, there's that humble nature of you know, don't brag and don't boast, we need to get better at that, you know, we need to have an opportunity to say, Hey, there are things going on here, there are opportunities for our talent, there are ways to make money. From an investor's perspective, there are new things that are being created every day here on the Silicon Prairie, or the Midwest, however, you wanted to find that. And our ability to tell those stories, I think is going to be one of the key things of whether we succeed or fail in the next century. You know, how do we tell the stories of our entrepreneurs? How do we tell the stories of our corporate innovators that have, you know, pivoted and changed from their 200 year old business to create new value and new things? And, you know, telling the story so hard, but, you know, sometimes we have to get a rat, get around that Nebraska, nice In my case, or, or something. And, and, and be willing to say, hey, it's okay to tell the stories of success. There's nothing wrong with that.  Jason Montague 18:13You know, it's funny, you just mentioned Nebraska. Nice. I'm assuming it feels like there's a Minnesota nice. Oh, Wisconsin nice. Is it just something as simple as Midwestern nice,  Brian Ardinger 18:24so that that idea of nice, as I've heard from people that have come from founders that have moved from the coast to Nebraska, for example. And one of the first things they always talk about is how easy it is to get connected, and how easy it is to find their way around and get to the access of resources that they need immediately. You know, I know, in fact, in my own backyard, if an entrepreneur comes to our city, you know, within one or two phone calls, I can get them probably connected to the people that they need. And that's just not going to happen in other places. I had an entrepreneur tell me the other day, it's like, when I moved here, I was a little bit taken aback, because I thought everyone was trying to take something from me. So I was like, everyone is so nice, what are they? What's their angle? Then I realized that's just the way people are. It's like, how do we how do we help and grow those new new things that are being created and how we support that. And I think that's what you find in those Midwestern cities that that natural empathy to support new growth. Yeah, that's a very good point. And being, I guess, quote, nice, seems to be a common perception and probably as part of our culture is speaking of that, what do you think the misconceptions are of folks outside of the Midwest about Midwesterners? So obviously, some of the misconceptions I think of the Midwest, from people that I've talked to that have, you know, come here or seen it, and they told me this is different misconceptions are that there's there's no entrepreneurs here. Well, that's clearly not the case. There are clearly people trying to build new businesses and that and clearly people that are trying to build businesses that don't necessarily want to move to New York. Boston to make that happen. Brian Ardinger 20:03You know, I think some of the misconceptions are that there's no capital. And I think, while it is more challenging to find traditional venture capital, I think that is changing, you see the rise of angel networks, you see more and more venture funds coming up in the Midwest. And so that's changing. Brian Ardinger 20:20And I think another misconception is the fact that the, the best talent isn't here, the talent moves away, I just don't think that's the case, I think talent always moves back and forth into particular areas, I've seen a number of folks that have moved back to the Midwest, specifically, because they were burnt out on the coasts, and they were burnt out by the, the way, business was done sometimes. And, you know, the ability to come back to your, your hometown, your home, state, your home region, and put down roots, and actually have an impact. You know, I think, you know, my background is I actually was a boomerang, I left and went lived in Hong Kong for a number of years within Silicon Valley, moved back to Nebraska, because I really felt I could have an impact here, I could really have an opportunity to build something. In my case, it was a, you know, startup accelerator, it was a, you know, a series of events, and, you know, my own company, and then just helping other entrepreneurs get off the ground. And, you know, I could do that here in my back backyard, once I came back and use the experiences and that that I learned from other places, and then, you know, really put my roots down and, and create the next level of things that are going to happen here. And Jason Montague 21:37yeah, I think the statistic is four or 5%, maybe a bit more of venture fund, or sorry, venture spending was based in the Midwest, which is a tiny fraction of of the whole thing. How do you view that number? And I don't know that we need, again, I'm viewing that number in isolation from the system. And that's probably not great. But how do you view the number? And what do you think it tells you about an opportunity or maybe a gap we need to fill?  Brian Ardinger 22:10Yeah, so obviously, venture capital comes to places where there are opportunities to invest in high growth companies in that. And so we're just now kind of about the early stages of creating those types of companies that have the ability to grow and scale such that it returns a venture return, there's plenty of capital in the in the Midwest, I think a lot of it is just education from the standpoint of, you know, in my own backyard, there's a lot of people that made a lot of money off Berkshire Hathaway and, and betting, like Warren Buffett does, and you know, that is definitely not, at least, you know, his original thesis, and that was not about technology, he didn't really do a lot of investing in technology. And it was, you know, value based investing. Now, you know, there's nothing wrong with that particular way of investing, it certainly can, can happen. But there's also an opportunity now for taking a small part of your portfolio, and and betting at that earlier, riskier side, for those out size gains and returns. I think that's, that comes from, you know, that, that that knowledge comes over time, and you have to see examples of that. So if you think about it, you know, angel investing 20 years ago in the Midwest, like, where do you put your money, all the angels, all the angel investing was done at the coast, because that's where the that type of company kind of, kind of flocked to now you're seeing companies, again, created created here in the Midwest that are trying to be, you know, 10, x 100, x types of companies, and you're seeing capital come to try to help those companies succeed, you have to have some success, to both have that capital return into the market, as well as just to showcase that these things can be built in our own backyard. So one, you know, specific example here, and Lincoln, a company called huddle. You know, three guys at the university students, they started a company and you know, 10 years, they grew that company, from three people to 600 people, they now have a six storey building with their logo on it. And, you know, 10 years ago, you might not have thought that that could happen, that three people within the university, I could create something from scratch, and then you know, employ that number of people and build something from scratch. But But you're seeing more and more those types of examples. You know, Indianapolis, for example, with the different types of startups that are happening there, Chicago, there's all sorts of places where you can point to now that they're that they're early stages of these companies growing, exiting, and then returning that capital to seed the next round of startups.  Jason Montague 24:37Yeah, absolutely. Why do you think the nation maybe the world should have the Midwest on their radar?  Brian Ardinger 24:46I think people around the world should really focus on the Midwest for the for the next future. Because I think we're underserved market this point. And and when there's underserved markets, there's an opportunity for early base value investing that you can get you can access early stage startups at an earlier stage, you can get them in relatively inexpensive valuations compared to the coasts and that, and you don't have a lot of the BS that goes around the whole thing. It's like, you can actually meet the founders. And, and and understand what they're building and help them, you know, create the next thing is you're introducing the customers introduce them to networks. And you know, I, I'm really bullish about what's going on in the Midwest, because I think we're just the early, earliest stages of this, like, how do we create new value new creations, new businesses that have never been created before, using the values and talent and resources that we know are in our own backyard? I think the opportunities are endless.  Jason Montague 25:43Yeah, this is where manufacturing was born, manufacturing and building things is really important to us. It's in our DNA. And, you know, we pioneered that. Same with agriculture, innovation in those domains seems like an obvious opportunity. I mean, can anyone else in other parts of the US, or the world really replicate that advantage that we have.  Brian Ardinger 26:07So I think one of the advantages that we bring to the table again, is we're knee deep in these industries, and that we're knee deep in trying to solve these particular types of problems. You know, if you think about a herd of a lot of Ag tech companies trying to spin up in Silicon Valley, and none of the founders have ever been on the farm. And, you know, while they can certainly, maybe talk to the machine learning or the artificial intelligence or things along those lines, at some point, you got to get your hands dirty, and understand what it's really like to deploy to deploy or create these types of solutions. So I think that's where we can either be a bridge to the valley or other places that are creating these types of technologies and in the digital world, and then how do we pair that to the physical world? I think we have the expertise, it's a matter of again, how do we create those networks and the ability for our farmers, for example, to understand that, hey, you're an entrepreneur, too. I think a lot of times, they don't even think that they're entrepreneurs. But by default, they do a lot of the things that entrepreneurs do. And same with, you know, people who are doing manufacturing, they don't necessarily always think of themselves as entrepreneurs, but entrepreneurship and innovation is really all about creating value. So how do you do that, and I think we have the skills to do that. Jason Montague 27:17Maybe before we take off, I really would like to get a little bit more info about the things that you do in your personal work, and some of your incredibly exciting projects, and maybe the things that you're very, very proud of.  Brian Ardinger 27:34Over the last eight years, I've had a really great opportunity to grow and learn and help build a foundation of entrepreneurship and innovation here in the Midwest, whether it was starting end motion when the first startup accelerators here in the Midwest, and helping to fund and seed early stage companies. To the extent that now they've grown and they've exited to Merck animal health, or you know, they've actually created jobs, they've created new things in the world. And being part of that journey, and helping bring a network and people together to make that happen has been, I'm really proud of that. I'm also really proud of the fact that we're educating the Midwest about what innovation is all about. It's not just about startups, it's like everybody in my mind has to have these entrepreneurial skills. As the world changes, as the world evolves faster and faster. The things that got us to where were we were great, are not going to necessarily be the same things that get us to the next level of greatness. And so how do we educate our students? How do we educate our business, existing businesses? How do we educate our startups to learn these new skill sets of innovation and entrepreneurship? And so through things like our inside outside.io platform, which is our weekly podcast, and newsletter and events that we host, you know, our goal and job is really to how do we create that new level of innovator that has the skill sets the mindset and the tool sets necessary to build whatever that next thing is?  Jason Montague 29:05Brian, thanks again for all of your time. Yeah, and I really appreciate your insight here. I know you've been at this a long time and I definitely learned something and I know our listeners will too. Jason Montague 29:17Thank you for listening to this episode of executive stories on hashtag Midwest. Special thanks to azinger media productions for producing the show. Todd Dunst for the original music and new resources consulting for sponsoring today's episode. The team here at hashtag Midwest is working incredibly hard to try and bring you stories from around the Midwest and share the Midwestern story with others. If you want to learn more about what we're trying to do, please go to our website hashtag midwest.com. There you can listen to all of our previous episodes as well as finding us on your favorite podcasting platforms. You can also find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Until next time, take care

Today's Bible Translation Bible translation used in today's episode: Ch. 25-26 NKJV, Ch. 27-30 NIRV Steve Webb Support Please remember that this is a listener supported show. Your support of any amount is needed and very much appreciated. Find out how by clicking here. Thoughts Chapters 25-32 are chapters dealing with the nations surrounding Judah. God has dealt with His chosen people in the chapters previous to these, but now His judgement will be on the godless nations surrounding Judah and Jerusalem. Ezekiel 25 God pronounces judgement on Ammon, Moab, Edom and the Philistines. Ezekiel 26-28 Tyre, a powerful trading city and kingdom, is judged Ezekiel 28 These verses are of special interest to me, in light of today's United States: You were the model of perfection.You were full of wisdom.You were perfect and beautiful.13You were in Eden.It was my garden.All kinds of jewels decorated you.14a: I appointed you to be like a guardian angel.I anointed you for that purpose.Ezekiel 28:12b-13a NIRV 18Your many sins and dishonest trademade your holy places impure.So I made you go up in flames.I turned you into nothing but ashes on the ground.I let everyone see it.19All the nations that knew youare shocked because of what happened to you.You have come to a horrible end.And you will be gone forever.Ezekiel 28:18-19 NIRV Chapter 29 is the first of four chapters which prophecy against Egypt. Israel had long looked to Egypt in times of trouble, going back to Abraham's time in Canaan. (Gen 12:10-20) In Isaiah 31:1, God warned Israel by saying, "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help." Even though Egypt kept Israel in bondage for 400 years, they still looked to Egypt to rescue them from the Babylonians here in Ezekiel's time. So in order to get their eyes off Egypt and on Him, and because of Egypt's pride, God will destroy Egypt. As we read about these once great nations, I think we should be humbled. No nation is so big that God cannot utterly destroy it, if it turns its face against Him or against Israel. Yes, I believe that Israel still holds a special place in God's heart. There are still prophecies yet to be fulfilled that deal with them, and I therefor believe that we should pray for and support Israel. Beloved, I believe that it is imperative that we pray that our nation will return to its original ideal of looking to God for guidance and protection, if we are to survive. And for those of you around the world, not listening from the US, I ask that you pray for us, while also praying for your own country. God is calling people of all nations to follow Him, amen?

Advancing Thru Adversity, Pt. 3 Move Thru It! By Louie Marsh, 12-6-2020   1) These aren’t steps but part of an ongoing CYCLE.   “12Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” (Philippians 3:12, ESV)   “15The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:15–16, ESV)   2) TRUST that God has a way for me.   “8“ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” (Revelation 3:8, ESV)   Remember God is the WAY MAKER.   “7“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” (Revelation 3:7, ESV)   3) REMEMBER:  my weaknesses can’t stop God’s plan.   “11I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.” (Revelation 3:11–12, ESV)   “11For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11–13, ESV)   God wants to WORK THRU my weaknesses.   “8Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.   9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”   Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.   10For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:8–10, ESV)

Matthew 5:13You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

Come on in and check out this interview with the Clicks and Mortar Queen Donnalynn Riley. Donna tells an amazing story of how she went from being the CEO of a retail chain to becoming a Spiritual Coach who is helping entrepreneurs bring ALL of who they are to their businesses. Connect with Donnalynn here at her site: https://www.donnalynnriley.com/ Also, Donnalynn has a 5 Day Masterclass you can sign up for in order: Get Out Of Your Head, Embrace Your Imperfections & Get On Track With Your Business! https://www.donnalynnriley.com/5dc-reg brandon handley00:02All right, 54321 Hey there, spiritual dope. I'm on today with Donna Lynn Riley, who is a licensed spiritual health coach who helps people develop evolve and grow. 00:17The answers they find that their journey, bring them to a new level clarity and emotional adjustment to help them develop their expertise in business systems management and marketing. 00:25And addition to her 12 years as a licensed coach her background is the CEO of a multimillion dollar corporation. 00:31informs her ability to help her clients navigate the inner workings of business systems Operations Management and Marketing so they can successfully put it all together themselves. 00:42I'm going to cut it down because that, that's great. And I'm so excited because, as we're going back and forth a little bit here earlier. This is exactly what this podcast is about. So thank you for joining me today. Donnalynn Riley00:53Oh, it's my pleasure. It's great what you're doing. It's great that you're talking about this. It's really good. brandon handley00:58Thank you. Thank you. So you mentioned that you'd call it a couple of podcasts. So what I always like to say is you know you're here today. We're using this podcast as a vehicle to send somebody out there a message, what is it that they need to hear this coming through you today. Donnalynn Riley01:17Well, I always think people need to know that life can be a lot easier than we're making it. I think that that's a place where 01:29Almost invariably people don't believe that. Right. They just go like, nah, couldn't be that I got to work harder. I gotta do more. I gotta you know think more 01:43I have to put out more effort. It's got a cost more. There's got to be a big, you know, emotional or financial cost to the things that I want in life and really 01:54Life can be so much easier than we make it. And I think that that's the benefit of of this approach of a spiritual practice that supports. 02:06Business life and certainly family life, when I know lots of coaches who do that as well. And, you know, really kind of make it better, just make your life better. brandon handley02:16Yeah, no, absolutely. So the idea is that life doesn't have to be so hard. Donnalynn Riley02:21Really doesn't brandon handley02:23And and also throw out there. I think in the first person that I know that's worked on Broadway. Right. And this is this is a story that you tell 02:30In one of your one of your videos right and helping once you tell people use that story real quick here right now. I love that story about just what you said there. 02:41Do you remember so so I'll take it away. So you were around 19 your brothers like 10 years old or new 02:47Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah 02:50Yeah yeah Donnalynn Riley02:50Okay, okay. I gotcha. Sorry about that. 02:54I was like I was there a long time. I don't know. brandon handley02:58Just getting into it right and 02:59How easy how easy sometimes 03:01For you. Donnalynn Riley03:01Yeah. So what I love about that is that, um, so. Okay, so let me let me kind of lay it out here so I'm like 19 years old I 03:11You know, I'm just out the gate. Right. But I'm 10 foot tall and bulletproof because so was everybody when you're 19 brandon handley03:18Right. Yeah, absolutely. Donnalynn Riley03:19And so when you're not very dinged up 03:22You know, you just think like everything's okay and it's going to work out for me and I kind of lived my life like that really clearly I wanted, and I got things I wanted them and they lined up. 03:35So, um, I found myself on on Broadway, which I totally expected right because I wanted it. So, and I didn't know any better, and 03:46And my brother who's 10 years older than I am. He, he knew better. And he is a he is still actually a scenic artist. And so I was a sound designer. He was a scenic artist and 04:01He was working down the block. So I was working on Angels in America, and he was working on City of Angels, which I love that. But there were all these angel references. That's kind of brandon handley04:14Sure, yeah. Donnalynn Riley04:15And. And he said, Oh, let's, um, he was like down the block. And I hadn't seen him in months. It wasn't like, you know, we were spending Sunday night dinners together or something. 04:24And he said, Let's go for lunch. And I was like, yeah, this is great. Yeah, owning the town, you know, in my, in my own head, right. 04:32Sure. And he said, you, you. He's walking me to the to the place to get something to eat and 04:40He said, You just don't have any idea what it costs to get here. You don't have any idea what these people around you have had to do to get where they want to go and in typical sort of 19 year old fashion. I thought, nope. brandon handley04:59Right. Donnalynn Riley04:59I don't care. 05:00Sure, you know, really, for me, I realized that it is a story that's centered around entitlement. Right, so it's not very popular this moment, but 05:10Being able to see yourself. 05:13In the position that you want to be to be able to know that these are things that can happen for you as well as somebody else because 05:24You put the work in and you are talented and you did you know you met the right people and you were in the right place and you took the all the steps to get there. brandon handley05:32Right. Donnalynn Riley05:33There by choice. You don't get to be on Broadway. If you suck. 05:37You do not need. All right. 05:39All right, but they send you home. brandon handley05:42Well, you know, I think. 05:43I think that um I love how you're hitting on entitlement in this insane and in this way because why should it not 05:53Backup people like people bash millennials for kind of having like that kind of entitlement thing. Right. Well, what I admire about that, you know, I think that they would say you got Moxie kid right like kinda back in, but 06:07You know what you want and you're not settling for something that you don't. So is that entitlement, or is that knowing your worth. Donnalynn Riley06:17Right. It's really tricky. It's really tricky and it is a lot about alignment and I've been fortunate to hear you talk about alignment on the podcast previously and 06:28It's a really crucial step in that process. So, 06:34Of course, if we want to get kind of 06:37Cultural about it, then we can we can sort of back it up a little and say, Well, some people have a lot of things that support the belief already in their lives when they're born, and when they're, you know, one and two and three and so it, it becomes 06:55There becomes a divide, but it's a divide in belief. brandon handley07:00100% Donnalynn Riley07:00You know, so it's a it is a really tricky thing. And the important thing for me in the work that I do with people. 07:09Is to whether you've ever experienced that belief or not before is to help you to find that belief because without it is very, very, very difficult to get where you want to go. I, I know people who have done it. It's like they kind of stumbled into their success and that's okay. brandon handley07:25That's true, but it's not very reliable. Donnalynn Riley07:29And so, you know, doing the inner work to create a system of belief for yourself so that 07:36It doesn't sound crazy that you're going to have a successful business or that you're going to get a client that you want to or that you're going to get employees that work out well for you and things like that. I'm doing that inner work makes 07:51All the outer stuff kind of 07:52Line up real quick, like the story I just told where I went from two years or three years I spent in sound design, we're learning from the best in the business. I was already learning from the people who were there, right. 08:06And and and and so I was able to do that very quickly, where a lot of my classmates in college got there 1015 years later, and they worked a lot harder for something because they didn't believe 08:23They didn't know 08:23They thought, oh, I have to go out and do something else first brandon handley08:27Right. We listen, even me today, right now with this podcast. I love it so much. I want to put this, I want to put this 08:36Nice polish on, I want to make it feel so good. I want it to be inviting you know 08:40That, you know, and this isn't wrong to hire somebody in marketing, but I like I really want these pieces I wanted to look so I want it to be so accepted because it's so 08:48meaningful to me right so I'm putting these blocks in 08:53For myself, right. I'm just putting these. Oh, I gotta do this like nothing can happen until this happens and all these other things and and literally that is in my own mind, nobody else's. I mean, nobody nobody else cares. That's just me. Right. 09:07Right. So when you're out there. 09:11And your clientele and and you're working I do they seek you out for one or the other, do you introduce like you know 09:20To the business pressure, like, well, if you just loop in some spirituality, then this might be better for you, like, tell me a little bit how this process of working with you, looks Donnalynn Riley09:30Yeah, so I kind of stand between that space right I stand between entrepreneurs and small business people who are 09:40That's what they do. That's what they've learned. They have a strong background or they have a strong desire but they don't necessarily have any spiritual practice at all. 09:49And I sort of stand between that and the people who are very spiritually open but can't figure out how to turn the computer on right 09:59And rent like can't figure out the details of, like, how do I charge people. And why would they pay me and 10:06These kinds of like nuanced things that, of course, they have a lot of talent and they have a lot of 10:13Value in the world, but so I do kind of stand in between those two spaces, I would say that for the most part, most of the people that I work with are 10:26Are on the business side but are open. brandon handley10:30Okay. 10:31Because okay you can Donnalynn Riley10:32Sort of insert and this is not you know there are a lot of really involved spiritual practices. 10:39And they have value that is beyond what I'm about to express right so this is not to disparage any spiritual practices. I think they all have a lot of value and 10:51But you can in a very short period of time with with not a ton of work right. You don't have to go and study with the monks for 18 years right with with putting a practice into your life. You can attain a lot of result and a lot of ease in your life. 11:12A lot less frustration, a lot of movement forward right so you can start to assess your situation better and access yourself in moments that are stressful better and all of these things lead to better businesses. 11:30But aren't always they're not really taught too often. brandon handley11:35I mean, if you have the capability to kind of calm yourself down in the moment, or just realize what you're about to say or 11:43If you're feeling tense right so what I'm hearing you say is like you're giving them some of these tools to to really kind of ease into themselves and what they're about. Donnalynn Riley11:51Yeah, there's bigger work that we do in order to make lasting change. And that really happens inside one on one trainings that I do or or inside group work that I do with people, but 12:08There are so many little what we would call hacks right there, little, like, oh, if I do this, I feel a little better. 12:16Right. And those are emergency hacks, you know, and they're really useful. They're a great way to get started. I think because 12:26Getting a little relief reminds you that you're probably going to get more relief. If you keep going in that direction. And I think that's a great place to start, particularly for people who are 12:41Who don't have a strong spiritual background but know that like there's something going on in my mind set or those kinds of words are being used a lot recently. Right. brandon handley12:51Right I yeah for sure. For sure. Right. Well, I mean, it's funny because, you know, I think I started off in the mindset space right but now in this 13:01Next level space right where you do this practice, like you said, For doesn't have to be 18 years but you do it repeatedly and you start with like the mindset. You start with the small pieces and 13:13You keep just kind of growing into these other spaces and these other practices that are available to and sooner or later you like I guess they were all right. Donnalynn Riley13:26I love that. Right. brandon handley13:30Right. 13:31Right. So, I mean, I guess you know there's something in those things and what they're saying and what they're doing. 13:37But, you know, so what what led you into this pace yourself. Donnalynn Riley13:43Well, 13:45You know, that's a good question. I, when I look back at my life. I see all these moments like the one that I just described when I'm like very young. 13:54That fit into this kind of way of thinking and this way of being. But I was really pretty unaware of myself and my spirituality until actually my husband got a life threatening disease. 14:15And or problem he got a tumor in his brain cavity. 14:20And he when he was very young. He spent a lot of time in hospitals. And so we went to the first doctor and it was a big emergency and he said, I'm getting a second opinion. And then we went to the next doctor who you know we we finagle their way into the good doctors and all of that and 14:43We went and he described it. And he said, Oh yeah, you have a little time because I'm very good at this. But, you know, you got to get in here in the next month or something. So it was no longer like a huge emergency we have little time. 14:56Sure, and 14:59We were driving home. It was in New York City. We live in Massachusetts. It was a long drive home. We were driving home and my husband said to me. 15:06Yeah, no, I'm not. I'm not doing that I'm not doing that. I don't know what we're going to do, but I think you should find me another solution because I don't, I'm not going to do that. 15:17And that being that you just that just have him for you have been for me. I was like, oh, 15:23Wow, okay. That should be my job. 15:25Okay. Donnalynn Riley15:29No question. 15:31In fairness, I'm sure he was very overwhelmed in that moment. brandon handley15:35Right out Donnalynn Riley15:36Here and and so that was the beginning. That was the kickoff for me to really 15:45Take a look at what is possible. So, and be completely outside the box. Yeah. So once I sort of had to be completely outside the box. Then the possibilities became very, very different. 16:00So it kicked off a series of involvements with people who could help his health and who could do it in very untraditional ways 16:11And also, who required of both of us that we change drastically that we, the concept that we had gotten ourselves into this mess, and that we were going to get ourselves out of this mess was not one that I heard in the doctor's office. 16:31Was and it was really clear and so 16:34And within 16:37A few months, we were both licensed spiritual health coaches, we probably took, I don't know, six months, nine months, something like that for that process and we said, Okay, this is this, we're leaning in because we are not going where that other train was going 16:59Okay, so. So that's really the beginning of when I became a much, much more aware of myself of my thoughts of my 17:09Relationship to the world of my discomfort that I had become just completely accepting of right I had just said, Oh, well that's the way life is, you know and and really be in that awareness, I found new answers. brandon handley17:28So, um, you know what, I guess the one thing is right when you're we're 19 and your earlier years before you 17:37had developed an awareness, you would be, what would we call you know 17:43Was it 17:45Unconscious competence, right, like you and I were you, you were already aligning yourself and you weren't aware that you were doing it. And then once you kind of develop this newfound awareness. 17:56You were able to do this with intention and purpose. Donnalynn Riley18:00That's exactly right. brandon handley18:02Now, so, and also throw out like when you know so I was raised by a hippie mom grew up you know out San Francisco and she was always kicking the word awareness around right when I was growing up, I was like, I'm aware. You see me run into 18:15I've ever run into a thing. 18:18Right, I use it everything outside of me right everything outside of me. I was I was completely aware of. I didn't miss a beat. Yeah didn't miss a beat. But the awareness that I think that you're talking about today is the awareness inside. Is that fair Donnalynn Riley18:32That's exactly right. 18:33That is exactly right and very hard to articulate. You did that quite well that 18:39People, most of the time, feel like they are aware when they start working with me, they're like, Yeah, yeah, I got that part, I need the accurate assessment. Come on, let's get to the good stuff here. 18:49And and that awareness that inner awareness and that ability to kind of be with yourself for periods of time in order to deepen that awareness is very important to the next steps. And so you're absolutely right that people are like, I'm aware. Let's fix my landing page. brandon handley19:16It's all 19:17It's all marketing has nothing to do with what's happening. 19:19Right, right. 19:21Nothing internal happening fixed that. Donnalynn Riley19:23I just had that targeting right we would 19:25All set. So, what what is what is like when when somebody first brandon handley19:29Starts off what's uh what's like one tool that you like to start them off with to 19:35Begin to develop that inner awareness. Donnalynn Riley19:39One of my favorite 19:42Sort of 19:47Let me go back a second here in my thinking. One of my tools that is the easiest for me to sort of give in this kind of a space. 19:59Is actually 20:00A little bit of mirror work. Now some people will know mirror work from different varieties of, you know, mindset work and spiritual work. 20:10The mirror work that that I find is the fastest path to to becoming present 20:22Which is really that first goal is just start being in your body. 20:29Is a piece where you literally just sit with the mirror and look in the mirror in your eyes and say I am here. 20:42Over and over and over. You're sort of calling to yourself. Right. So there's a lot of work that we do after that that involves breath and 20:53Other types of awareness that we can 20:55We can bring in 20:57But 20:59But that's really the the space that I find people kind of are able to bring themselves into the room a little bit and say, oh, OK. I am actually here. Let me give this a shot. I'll be president now. brandon handley21:12Well, I mean, cuz it's, there's still the physical aspect of it right, they're still doing a physical activity, but then they're also acknowledging that it's them right right there in front of them and pulling themselves kind of gather right there. 21:27Right, so I love that. Yeah. Donnalynn Riley21:29And it's deliberate. It's deliberate. So even though a lot of times when people start that process, they don't know. It's deliberate 21:37They, they go like, well, I said the words and then I felt different. I don't know what happened. Right. But in fact it there. There is a deliberateness to it. That is really important that you are impacting you 21:53In that moment. brandon handley21:57Well, that, you know, being deliberate again, you know, intentional, knowing that you're making this choice. I know that I kind of 22:04laughed a little bit about it earlier, but you know, you get to wherever you are today. And I think this is what the spiritual coaches were probably telling you before you guys set the course that 22:13You guys made the decisions to be in that situation right as as a collective even and you you guys when you first heard that you were just like what that's done, nobody's ever said that, you know, kind of that way right to us before 22:29So, I mean, I'm assuming your husband still alive. Donnalynn Riley22:32Oh, yeah. brandon handley22:35Like I hope the story has a good idea. 22:37Because, you know, so 22:39What happens right i mean you go in and he jumped into all this stuff, how, you know, how does it clear up on it never gets checked out again and somehow he still is what happened. Donnalynn Riley22:48No, no. So what happens on that story is that we do the work we do the inner work and we do the emergency inner work and it is kind of emergency at that 23:02Maybe for a year or so as you still feel like what's happening. 23:07And we he gets checked out again. And it's shrinking. 23:12Okay, and we have do have, I will say a spectacular doctor who's actually a doctor. brandon handley23:20Sure, sure. And 23:22It's always handy to have one on standby. Donnalynn Riley23:25WELL KNOW WHO DOES THIS WORK. Oh. brandon handley23:27Okay, that sounds even better yet, Donnalynn Riley23:29He's a trained Western doctor but functions in an Eastern paradigm brandon handley23:35Love it. Donnalynn Riley23:36And so he his toolkit is very, very large. And he honestly I've seen. I've never seen a problem he hasn't been able to impact positively and I have seen him deal with a lot of stuff now. 23:53So, so we had the guidance we had long distance guidance, because he's not right here in our backyard and 24:01We had long distance guidance and we did the work. And that I think is the, the key to that is to sort of have somebody who's ahead of you who can say, yeah, no, no, no. You're going in a direction. You'll be all right. 24:14Sure, sure. And so eventually that tumor went away. brandon handley24:17That's amazing. I love it. And so 24:20You would attribute that almost all to the air work was there like a dietary change. Donnalynn Riley24:26There were other changes. Yeah, absolutely. There were dietary changes, and we think there was 24:35Well, in his particular case, it had a great deal to do with a inability to deal properly with pesticides and with wheat. brandon handley24:46In the Donnalynn Riley24:46On the dietary front. So there was that and 24:54I think there was juicing and there was a lot of things. brandon handley24:57Which are look at 24:59Things. Right. 25:00Body. Sure, absolutely. Absolutely. So, and I think that's, that's interesting. The two right you know so change a die with this practice. I'm the things that are inside of you are the things that are outside of you know that this 25:15Miracle doesn't kind of happen on its own. You gotta, you gotta put it together and you got to maintain it and you know the things that do happen to it. Your body's a miracle. Right. It's amazing. 25:28And it's something like that's happening in this story right you have the ability to change that without getting i don't know i'm guessing he was getting a laser to the back of the head or something right was Donnalynn Riley25:39Wasn't. No, no, they wanted to do full 25:41On surgery. 25:43can address and take goop out 25:47And put goop in from other part. brandon handley25:52Was Donnalynn Riley25:53Unbelievably scary. brandon handley25:55Sure, sure. So, but, I mean, the what's amazing too and your story is that a lot of people would have just gone ahead and gone that route. Right. Donnalynn Riley26:03And they would have tried to talk to your spouse into it. It's their spouse said no. And that I think is something that is I, I have been very fortunate to be able to have that reciprocal relationship with my husband, where if one of us says, No, no, this is how I really feel about the thing 26:20Yeah, even if the other one thinks like, ah, you're just scarred, we should get you over that. 26:26But there is enough space. And this is an important concept in in business in the way we live our lives in general. Right. 26:35Is that there is enough space for us to be scarred and still have full and wonderful lives. It's kind of I think of it a lot about 26:45How you know how certain trees grow and they get these scars in them. And then we cut them up and we make them into coffee tables and we call them beautiful world would 26:54Say. Isn't that spectacular right 26:57Well, that's what we're making yeah in ourselves, we have experienced life and things haven't gone right and we have changed the way that we deal with things F, day after day after day and tried new approaches and had new experiences. 27:14And all of those things are brought into this present moment. And if you allow them then finding a new answer that. That doesn't mean you have to like check out your whole personality becomes somebody else right brandon handley27:32Right, right. Donnalynn Riley27:32No, no, it's okay. You can go spend time in the hospital. 27:36Right show. You don't have to be someone else. You can be you and you can be successful. brandon handley27:41Right. Well, yeah. And in regards to write the 27:46Merging all this together. Right. 27:48But I'll say it. I love Maplewood like the birds. I'm April, right, that's kind of one of the one of the times, you're talking about right and it does become so beautiful. Right. I'm like, I'm over you're sitting right now we're turning ourselves into beautiful maple tables but 28:02I love, I love the story that you're telling about that. I think that that's great. 28:09So let's just I want is, what if some of that wasn't working at any point would didn't feel like, you know, because I don't want to get the impression that 28:19You shouldn't keep a doctor nearby. Right. I mean, because you guys kept the doctor nearby that right live as he was a Western medicine doctor that yes also specialize in this space. Donnalynn Riley28:29I think that the the message that should not be taken from my experience is, go do something extreme like I did right and that the message that should be taken, I hope people take from my experience is be true to yourself and find your own answers. 28:54Because they are there, but they're only there if you calm down long enough to allow them to sort of become revealed. They weren't there in the doctor's office right only the first step, which was no I know what I don't want brandon handley29:10To Donnalynn Riley29:11But there wasn't the step of, like, I know what I do want. Right. Yeah. 29:16Yeah. And in fact, I think that something very important happened there because it was life threatening. Right, it's not 29:23It's not the same as in business where things can go right or wrong and we can find our own alignment. Right. But in this scenario. I think one of the most 29:35impactful things that happened was that my husband had someone to turn to and say, You figure it out because he then could go about the business of lining up with becoming well 29:51He didn't know how, but he had faith. 29:53Yeah, leaf. He said, This person loves me and they're relatively smart. They'll figure it out. brandon handley30:02Well, I think you bring the other one up to which I always love you don't have to know how you don't have to know how you just have to know that that's what you want. That's right. Right. And us where they can just 30:16Move forward in that direction. You know, as if it's not Nestle like I i get i get a little caught up in between, like Law of Attraction with like, you know, 30:28Spirituality space, right. I don't think that they're one the same. I think they're very close, but I don't I don't I don't like to make a sandwich out of, I guess. 30:37Um, Donnalynn Riley30:38But so many ways to look at life you know 30:41It would be a shame to sort of collapse it into only one way 30:46Hundred percent I think that's one of the reasons that the concept of spirituality so appealing to me is that it's big. brandon handley30:53Right, it's yours. Donnalynn Riley30:54I can be a part of this energy and I can be a part of that energy and I don't have to really understand it intellectually. I just have to decide that I'm willing to be a part of that. brandon handley31:05Right. No, I see ideas. Do you even know how you're here. Right. I mean, we don't even understand how we're here to begin with, I mean. So where does that leave us so 31:19Let's talk a little bit more about the outside of the story. Thanks for sharing that. That was Donnalynn Riley31:22My pleasure. Thanks for bringing it up. I, I had 31:26Was I was gonna tell it. brandon handley31:27Yes. I mean you know that, but that's that's kind of how you got into this space. And then, you know, I'm guessing that you kind of incorporated. Now some of this spiritual practice modality. And you were seeing the benefits that it was having in the business space. 31:41So at Donnalynn Riley31:42That time 31:43I was actually the CEO of a corporation. 31:46Okay, so 31:49This was what my life was like, like my every day was going to work as the CEO of a corporation. 31:56Right, so, you know, to, to become to to shift perspective in this massive way and then go back to work the next day and be like, 32:08Oh yeah, I'm gonna do it, just the way I used to do it. 32:11Let them work out. 32:13Right, so there had to be for me a re assessing a real understanding of the business world so that and the end the specifics of my business involvement with people so that I could find peace with the 32:36The 32:38Pathway that we were on brandon handley32:40Okay. Donnalynn Riley32:40So I had many years to do that. I didn't leave that world until 32:452014 and I that the story I told. And when I got my licensure was well 32:55The story I told started in 2007 32:58Okay, so it was putting a time in their 33:02Right to Try concepts out to go to work and to feel differently about things and then see what happens. And now have to take action right away. 33:12To decide that your solution to this relationship problem with an employee with the board of directors with it. Whoever whoever you're dealing with with with the clients themselves. 33:27That you are going to shift that but not by going in and saying something different or doing something different and being like, I am different. Now, now you behave differently, right, which is how people love to approach it. 33:38Sure does not work doesn't work, just 33:42But to really be able to take the time to say okay I am willing to to try everything that I have learned out on myself and to teach it to my staff and to pass it along to people who come and ask for it. 34:02There was a lot of opportunity right now. I'm seeing a lot of people in a day. And there's a lot of opportunity and people will ask you the wildest things 34:10Sure. And so 34:14Yeah, so I had that I had that. And so that was a way for me to really shift the way that I saw business. And what I knew for a fact would work in business. 34:27I had a lot of knowing what didn't work. And some of what did work. I had attained a position and, you know, was filling that position. Well, and all of that. But I really was able to sort of AMP that all up by 34:40By being able to try these things and not know 34:45If they were going to work. 34:47And do them anyway. brandon handley34:49What would be an example of that. Donnalynn Riley34:55Well, there was at one point there was a time when the board of directors was not happy with me. 35:04Man I know, it doesn't mean it doesn't even make sense. 35:06No, it doesn't. It kind of in this world. 35:09And and was not happy with anyone in my 35:15In my purview at all like not like there was no one. And so there was one particular board member who would come in and 35:24Kind of create difficulty. Right. It was a time of change. And I was directing the, the company in a direction that was scary and different and new 35:36And that was not really okay for that board and so that member would come in and and sort of undermine what was happening or stand in the way of what was happening. 35:49And I don't think that was the intention, but I think that it was really to look out for the company and to like really well founded. But really bad idea. And so this went on for 36:05Several weeks several weeks and different members of my staff kept coming to me and saying, what are we going to do this can't go on and I would have a chat and, you know, it still went on and that was the way it was. And I had tried a lot of business solutions for this. 36:23But one day I decided that I was going to just focus on the inner work and I spent all of my off time 36:34Doing that inner work and it was a process it. A lot of times people like me to sort of distill it down into one thing that I did. And certainly, I could name some things that you can do in that scenario but 36:48Really, the important thing was that I was no longer tied to the outcome based on yesterday. 36:56So that we had been through it right. This has been going on for weeks, we had tried everything we know what didn't work. We know. No, no. Right. But we didn't really we didn't because today is a new day. 37:09And this is a new moment. 37:11Right. And so once that happened once there was a disassociation with the past, then 37:19The process of becoming holy present and allowing the other people to become wholly present other this person in particular. 37:29Then the, the issues that are around, it can be dealt with and the attitude can shift. And there can no longer be. It doesn't have to be an aggressive situation, which is what had developed 37:41Right. But once that all dissipates. Then you can have the real conversations about the work that really should be being done in those in that scenario. 37:52Right, I should be held accountable for that in my position and that person should be able to say what they have to say. But there was no space for 38:00Any of that. 38:02And to east and east and east and about two weeks later, one of the gentlemen that work for me came to me and said, What did you do 38:13What did you do 38:14Well you fixed it for you, but you didn't fix it for me. 38:19And I said, Well, I could teach you what it was like, why can't you just fix it. brandon handley38:26That's funny. That's funny. So one of the things that you kind of, you start out there to with the is not having to take action right away, right, because we feel that 38:36We need to take this action immediately to for some type of corrective measure like 38:42Where the like where the savior of whatever is happening, they're like, well, there's no we got to fix this. Right. But you're saying though, you just kind of step back. Yeah. But some of the things just play out on their own and right Donnalynn Riley38:55Yeah, that's exactly right. That's exactly right. There's actually a three step process that I teach that 39:02Is a called the triple a method of transformation and that three step process is really important. Some people get one step. 39:12Some people get two steps, but rarely do we hear people talk about the third, the middle step right 39:18Right. So the first step in that is awareness and we've talked a lot about that today, which is 39:23Wonderful. And the third step in that is the action stage right the adaptation. What are you going to do, usually people kind of jump from one to the other and they go, they go like, yes, I'm aware there's a problem. Now I have a solution. 39:38And it's the middle step that is the most important and that really isn't an accurate assessment, you can't make an accurate assessment, unless you're in a receiving mode you're in a 39:58Listening period. A watching period a learning period right it's you can't assess something. If you think you know everything about it already. 40:09So you have to do the exploration that is that middle stage that's between Awareness. Awareness of yourself awareness of your situation and then 40:21Learning so that you can be accurate in your assessment. And that's, I think, really where most of the time it all falls apart is that the assessment is not accurate. 40:33Hmm. And so that's how you jump from the one step to the other step is that you go like now I got this move on. 40:43But you don't know yet. But there's like a guy behind the curtain run and my thing. You know what I mean. 40:48Sure. 40:49So that's brandon handley40:51That's more than you know awareness of your thought process awareness of the, you know, conscious choices awareness of doing these things. 41:00With purpose and intention, but also, you know, I like how you bring up this you know accurate assessment piece because it was just yesterday as matter of fact I sat down with a transformational coach and 41:14It was what you're saying here is you can assess, but kind of like a and I feel like this is what I had done right I assess the situation quickly. 41:24And felt that was good enough. Right. And then he goes, Well, I think, actually, you need to go one more layer deeper. Yeah. And he took me one more layer deeper. And I was like, Oh my gosh, you know, Donnalynn Riley41:35Totally different answer to. Right. brandon handley41:37Well, totally different answer. Totally different feeling totally different space in place and you know 41:44Therefore, ergo my assessment initially was not accurate. Yeah, that's right. Right. 41:53And you know we're here. We keep learning and this, this is even has to do with just, you know, if you're working with a client, they feel like they know who they are. All right. And you've got it you what you're doing is you're helping them to slow down and 42:07Truly learn who they really are. Yeah. Donnalynn Riley42:09That's exactly right. That's exactly right. And I think that was true for me. So I think that one of the things that makes it easier for me to 42:18To talk to people is that I've stood someplace. Very, very similar to where they're standing and so that feeling like I know especially having some early success. 42:30Right, sure. No, I do. No. 42:33No, I did it. I know how to do it. No, no, actually you don't 42:39Because you did it, but you didn't know how you did it. 42:41Yeah, you did it, but you can't repeat it, and 42:46Source, all of that. brandon handley42:48Sure, yeah. 42:50But it's looking those steps and and and i think that we've been fortunate, right, like a laughed at the beginning how there's, you know, 43:00There's pathways for us to take you know that the plenty of people have done this before us. We're not the first people to show up like I got this. 43:08Follow me like there's no whole whole society is built on this and 43:13We're lucky that we've got that available to us right that framework, the possibility to kind of 43:18Go to even you right or you know your spiritual coaches to run them in the first time, like there's a whole nother way. 43:25And it fits into this and, oh, I can get the same results by but but by doing it this way instead of this other brash like I'm going to take the bull by the horns and crush everybody mentality. Right. Yeah. Donnalynn Riley43:40Yeah, I, I, actually, when I first kind of got that there was another way and that it was actually more effective I so I had been into herbs, my whole life where I felt like I i liked spices in my food, and I 43:54I knew some of the properties of things. And I would you know give myself cold medicine by eating the garlic or whatever it was. Right, sure, and and 44:03I got that there was, I knew about herbs and spices that there were in different parts of the world, they would do the same things, but be totally different plans. 44:13And I was like, 44:14Oh, I don't really get why that's true, that you can take turmeric from India and you can take, you know, yarrow from North America and you're going to get a similar thing and happening for you. 44:29And I, I knew that it was possible, but I couldn't make any sense of it until we got to this concept, this concept of being present and being aware 44:44And showing up in a new way and then taking action. Then I got, oh, there are just so many ways, right. I could have said 10 different things in that moment. 44:57And gotten a really similar response to that, or maybe my relationship problem, like I've, I've worked with people a lot with 45:07business relationships where they're particularly with employees, where they're not getting the results they want with the employees and they feel like it's the employees problem. 45:18And that works. The first or second or third employee, but it does not work after that. 45:23To face a few things. 45:26And you can try all the techniques you want, right, there's a lot of management techniques and those i'm sure can be effective in under certain circumstances. 45:37But really when you're willing to do that work inside you and the technique, doesn't matter anymore because 45:45The result can happen regardless of the technique that you're using, sort of like that plant it's planted in a, you know, different sides of the earth, but it's helping your body because the world is meant to support us for sure that's what that's what is here for brandon handley46:01At least from our perspective. Hundred percent hundred percent Donnalynn Riley46:05Plant feels like it's there for them. brandon handley46:08But what I just I just saw like you know I think somebody talk. I think I was listening to Wayne Dyer right and he's talking about like if you lift the seeds or whatever and you plant them that they take in that your DNA, and they grow to to you. 46:21Yeah, so 46:22So I'll always always something interesting. 46:26Always something interesting. Geez, you said something there that I wanted to hit on but uh what you know. 46:34So what are some. What are some that's what's gonna say, so you're, you know, the techniques become 46:42More like a again a vehicle for what's inside of you, right, and that's your focal point, you're like, All right, you know, 46:49It's the techniques, not working. It's because I look I take to jujitsu right and oftentimes the, the deal is, I'm using a technique, but I'm also trying to put all this force power behind like 47:04Running grown in 47:06But it's when I relax and just simply apply the technique. 47:11That it works. I'm like, why, what this doesn't make any sense. Right. So again, it sounds like you know if you do the inner work and you figure out kind of what's in you just you just kind of let that out, Masha, but you focus it gently on the technique, it works. Donnalynn Riley47:23Yeah, we're back where we were when we started right life can be a lot easier than we make it brandon handley47:30And and so you know what what are 47:34What are some of the other things that you're finding with your clients right. How are they, what's their reception been to their new selves. Donnalynn Riley47:44Reception to their new cells. Fantastic question. 47:48Wow. I like I'm pretty good. brandon handley47:54Sure. Donnalynn Riley47:55You know, it feels a lot better to be not frustrated and not irritated and have a new way to accept your imperfections and to say I can be whole and I can show up and I can shift my life in these ways where I get the result that I want and still be may brandon handley48:18Not have to Donnalynn Riley48:19Turn into somebody else. I mean, I think these are the kinds of things that a lot of times people really feel like, all right, I want to go there. So I'll just be someone else for a while. 48:33They 48:34Got themselves off from themselves, right. brandon handley48:36So, Donnalynn Riley48:37And this is how people end up to be older and more bitter. 48:43And then eventually at some point they say I'm not doing that anymore. And sometimes that's at retirement age sometimes that's a lot earlier. 48:52You're really lucky if you don't have a lot of patience for that kind of thing in your life. brandon handley48:57Well, you know, you know, recently, my wife, she she hit that point right she just said this is enough. This is too much and and she's now you know we come from two different types of backgrounds. Right. 49:08Where she came from, you know, the you work hard, you get a job you keep that job for as long as you can, it's safe. It's good. They watch out for you. 49:16But at what cost, right, I think you'd mentioned that to like what costs like you're the costs. 49:22Is you your life, your, your whole, you know, they call it grind it out for a reason. You're losing each day to the grind. So I don't want to keep you too long, but this has been, I've had a lot of fun with this conversation. 49:35A lot of fun with this conversation. 49:37Where, where should and we did talk about you do have something coming up. I want to make sure people know that you've got this, you've got this challenge come out to us talk on that. Donnalynn Riley49:45You. I do. I have a five day 49:49Workshop, or I'm 49:53Just loving the words just scramble away from you. brandon handley49:56Absolutely, it says all day every day. 49:59To Donnalynn Riley49:59Day challenge coming up and it, it is called get out of your head. Embrace your imperfections and get on track with your business. 50:10And so that's what we're going to do for five days, we're going to go through the process and we're going to really delve into that process. We talked a little bit more 50:19Earlier about the AAA method of transformation and get to apply some of that and really see what kind of 50:29changes we can make in such a short period of time for lots and lots of people to to quiet the noise to to find that space that we've been talking about and to still be wholly yourself to really embrace that you're okay, as Your imperfections and then apply that process. 50:51It's a very interesting process, I think. 50:53It will be really great to see how everybody does. brandon handley50:56That's awesome. So what type of people should be attending this event. Donnalynn Riley51:00Anyone who's interested in business. 51:05Who is open. Yeah. 51:07Yeah, so this is this work is not easy. It's not like, you know, kind of, you were talking about this with talking about your wife's background and a lot of people come from a background where it's kind of supposed to be hard. And when life is not fun. They say, what is it they say they say brandon handley51:27Oh my lemonade. 51:31Life's not supposed to be fair, I don't know. Donnalynn Riley51:33Yeah, all that brandon handley51:34All that stuff. Donnalynn Riley51:35So what, like, I get that. And there are people who need that kind of structure in their life, and they're not ready to let go of that that's okay with me. brandon handley51:43Yeah. Donnalynn Riley51:43Don't come to mind. 51:47But anyone everyone. I hope Pro has a business involvement writing particularly I work for the most part with entrepreneurs. 51:57So you're the driver of your business boat, it makes it much easier. And who wants to work on something and knows that the answer is somewhere in them might they're willing to do some work for it. That is personal. That is development personal development work. 52:20And and really you show up with willingness and I'd be happy to guide you all the way through the process that would be great. brandon handley52:30Awesome and listen. 52:32You know, you've had you been a successful CEO, you started off successful businesses you sold businesses. 52:41And, you know, for anybody, which website. Again, Donald in Donnalynn Riley52:46Donnellan Riley calm. brandon handley52:48Down. So head over to the site shine house or for videos yourself, you will be able to see 52:53That she knows what she's talking about. So I think that that's really exciting. And, you know, we didn't dig too deep into the business aspects of today. We just had a really great. I felt like conversation. 53:03But you clearly know you know what it is that you're doing. You've done the work you contains to do the work. And you know what you're putting out. I think there's no top notch really really quality stuff. Donnalynn Riley53:13Thank you so much. It was really a pleasure to be here and to get to talk about this topic in such depth. So that's really nice. It's great that you're talking about this in a in a really deep way this sort of spirituality and business and in that space. brandon handley53:28You know what, you got to be able to like you keep saying, and that's what it means to bring all of who you are right, they're not two separate things. If you keep your spiritual self over here and your material or reality over here, you're missing out on the one, two punch you know 53:44You really you've really got the opportunity to kind of blend you're you're working at 50% of capacity. Yeah, right. So he can 53:51You know blend those two which which I know you can teach how to do what you get to bring to your workplace or wherever you decide to show up after you learn about who you are. It's just, it's that much more powerful. Yeah. Donnalynn Riley54:04It really is. brandon handley54:05Yeah. Hundred percent. Thanks again. Donnalynn Riley00:59:18Thank you.

Hope For Life with Bob Lenz - an inspiring message for your busy day. This week's devotional theme is Freedom. Today's episode will be from Galatians 5:13.Galatians 5:13You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.To discover more, visit lifepromotions.org.

Day 9 of @BadGamerElite's 10 week Overwatch Devotional series. It's not officially endorsed by Blizzard Entertainment but it's a fun ride. This week, BadGamer zeroes in on the forgotten soldier Omnic, Bastion and his decision to break from his original protocol to become free.Psalms 107:14He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,    and broke away their chains.Galations 5:13You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.John 8:36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.Sponsored by lifepromotions.org

Welcome all to Episode 33 of Journey with a Cinephile: A Horror Movie Podcast. Your tour guide, David Garrett Jr., would like to thank you for coming on this journey with him. This episode will mark Episode 8 of Journey Through the Aughts with the films You'll Find Out (1940) and We Are the Missing (2020). Also on this episode I have Mini-Reviews of Hollow Man (2000), The Others (2001), Pulse (2001) and Jaws (1975). Again, thank you for coming on this journey with me and I hope you enjoy!We Are the Missing YouTube Link: We Are the MissingTime Codes:Intro: 0:00 - 1:57Kay Kyser - The Bad Humor Man: 1:57 - 5:32Mini-Reviews: 5:32 - 25:13You'll Find Out Trailer: 25:13 - 27:35You'll Find Out Review: 27:35 - 38:01We Are the Missing Trailer: 38:01 - 41:48We Are the Missing Review: 41:48 - 53:53Red - Hymn of the Missing: 53:53 - 59:31Outro: 59:31 - 1:01:47Social Media:Email: journeywithacinephile@gmail.comReviews of the Dead Link: https://horrorreview.webnode.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dgarrettjrTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/buckeyefrommichLetterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/davidosu/Instagram: davidosu87Flick Chat: journeywithacinephile

Are you sure you're going to heaven when you die? Or are you willing to chance your eternal soul and possibly end up in hell fire?? Why not make sure of the matter today, while there is still time?The good news is: You can KNOW that you're going to heaven. The Bible clearly states:"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." 1 John 5:13You see, God wants us to KNOW, and have the matter settled. There can be no misery greater than living life wondering if some day you will lift up your eyes in hell!The Bible so wonderfully makes salvation clear. It is a gift given of God, that cannot be earned in any way of our own doing."For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Titus 3:5Jesus Christ made this wonderful, free salvation possible."For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16Do you see what the verse says? It is simply BELIEF, or rather FAITH, TRUST, in Jesus Christ that saves. I am so thankful for these following verses that tell of man who sincerely wanted to be saved, and was told how: "Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:29-30Christ came to this earth, God in the flesh, a perfect man who never committed sin. He sacrificed His life of the cross of Calvary, shed His blood, as PAYMENT for our sin. You see, our sin separates us from a perfect and Holy God. We have no way to approach God in and of ourselves, for He is HOLY, righteous, perfect, and pure. He cannot tolerate sin. So Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the world, that we might be reconciled *(bought back) to God. We can come to the Father through Jesus Christ His Son!"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6So what must I believe, more specifically, about Jesus Christ to be eternally saved, you may ask...? You are saved by BELIEVING the good news of the Gospel, Christ's death, burial, and resurrection! When you accept this beautiful truth, that Christ loves you and died for YOUR sins, and arose from the grave FOR YOU, TO SAVE YOU FROM HELL, and you simply say yes to Him (call upon the Lord), in child-like simplicity, offering nothing of yourself or self-righteousness to God, but clinging only to CHRIST'S MERIT and HIS righteousness, YOU WILL BE SAVED. 1 Corinthians 15 says:"1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;2 BY WHICH ALSO YE ARE SAVED, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:""That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."Would you be willing to put your whole-hearted faith on Jesus to make it to heaven... instead of trusting yourself and your own way? If you say yes, and will trust what the Bible promises to every sinner who would believe on Jesus Christ, would you humbly go to God in prayer and ask Him to save you in the name of Jesus?

Are you sure you're going to heaven when you die? Or are you willing to chance your eternal soul and possibly end up in hell fire?? Why not make sure of the matter today, while there is still time?The good news is: You can KNOW that you're going to heaven. The Bible clearly states:"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." 1 John 5:13You see, God wants us to KNOW, and have the matter settled. There can be no misery greater than living life wondering if some day you will lift up your eyes in hell!The Bible so wonderfully makes salvation clear. It is a gift given of God, that cannot be earned in any way of our own doing."For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Titus 3:5Jesus Christ made this wonderful, free salvation possible."For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16Do you see what the verse says? It is simply BELIEF, or rather FAITH, TRUST, in Jesus Christ that saves. I am so thankful for these following verses that tell of man who sincerely wanted to be saved, and was told how: "Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:29-30Christ came to this earth, God in the flesh, a perfect man who never committed sin. He sacrificed His life of the cross of Calvary, shed His blood, as PAYMENT for our sin. You see, our sin separates us from a perfect and Holy God. We have no way to approach God in and of ourselves, for He is HOLY, righteous, perfect, and pure. He cannot tolerate sin. So Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the world, that we might be reconciled *(bought back) to God. We can come to the Father through Jesus Christ His Son!"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6So what must I believe, more specifically, about Jesus Christ to be eternally saved, you may ask...? You are saved by BELIEVING the good news of the Gospel, Christ's death, burial, and resurrection! When you accept this beautiful truth, that Christ loves you and died for YOUR sins, and arose from the grave FOR YOU, TO SAVE YOU FROM HELL, and you simply say yes to Him (call upon the Lord), in child-like simplicity, offering nothing of yourself or self-righteousness to God, but clinging only to CHRIST'S MERIT and HIS righteousness, YOU WILL BE SAVED. 1 Corinthians 15 says:"1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;2 BY WHICH ALSO YE ARE SAVED, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:""That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."Would you be willing to put your whole-hearted faith on Jesus to make it to heaven... instead of trusting yourself and your own way? If you say yes, and will trust what the Bible promises to every sinner who would believe on Jesus Christ, would you humbly go to God in prayer and ask Him to save you in the name of Jesus?

Are you sure you're going to heaven when you die? Or are you willing to chance your eternal soul and possibly end up in hell fire?? Why not make sure of the matter today, while there is still time?The good news is: You can KNOW that you're going to heaven. The Bible clearly states:"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." 1 John 5:13You see, God wants us to KNOW, and have the matter settled. There can be no misery greater than living life wondering if some day you will lift up your eyes in hell!The Bible so wonderfully makes salvation clear. It is a gift given of God, that cannot be earned in any way of our own doing."For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Titus 3:5Jesus Christ made this wonderful, free salvation possible."For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16Do you see what the verse says? It is simply BELIEF, or rather FAITH, TRUST, in Jesus Christ that saves. I am so thankful for these following verses that tell of man who sincerely wanted to be saved, and was told how: "Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:29-30Christ came to this earth, God in the flesh, a perfect man who never committed sin. He sacrificed His life of the cross of Calvary, shed His blood, as PAYMENT for our sin. You see, our sin separates us from a perfect and Holy God. We have no way to approach God in and of ourselves, for He is HOLY, righteous, perfect, and pure. He cannot tolerate sin. So Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the world, that we might be reconciled *(bought back) to God. We can come to the Father through Jesus Christ His Son!"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6So what must I believe, more specifically, about Jesus Christ to be eternally saved, you may ask...? You are saved by BELIEVING the good news of the Gospel, Christ's death, burial, and resurrection! When you accept this beautiful truth, that Christ loves you and died for YOUR sins, and arose from the grave FOR YOU, TO SAVE YOU FROM HELL, and you simply say yes to Him (call upon the Lord), in child-like simplicity, offering nothing of yourself or self-righteousness to God, but clinging only to CHRIST'S MERIT and HIS righteousness, YOU WILL BE SAVED. 1 Corinthians 15 says:"1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;2 BY WHICH ALSO YE ARE SAVED, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:""That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."Would you be willing to put your whole-hearted faith on Jesus to make it to heaven... instead of trusting yourself and your own way? If you say yes, and will trust what the Bible promises to every sinner who would believe on Jesus Christ, would you humbly go to God in prayer and ask Him to save you in the name of Jesus?

I absolutely love the picture that Acts 10:38 NLT gives us of Jesus. “And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”   Does that verse excite you?  Does it inspire you…does it make you want to see the sick healed? Does it make you hungry for miracles? How it affects you will depend on how you read it.   In preparation to talk to you about Pentecost I looked at Robert P. Menzies’ book Pentecost This Story is Our Story. At the very get go a quote absolutely seized my heart “The hermeneutic of the typical Pentecostal believer is straight-forward and simple: the stories in Acts are my stories—stories that were written to serve as models for shaping my life and experience.” Did you see that? “stories that were written to serve as models for shaping my life and experience.” How do I read the gospels and Acts? Do I believe His story should be my story? Of course, I do. I should love people, do good things, but do I limit that to only the ones that I can do in my strength and ability? Am I content to leave His miracles locked inside the pages of a book on my shelf?   I want to ask you the same question, how do YOU read the Gospels and Acts? More specifically how do you read Acts 10:38? “And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”   Do you read it only as an accurate recording of a historical event?   If you do then you walk away informed, but powerless.   My granddaughter Ashlyn and I decided to take a walk. She encouraged me to take my camera. I explained that we were going to stay in the neighborhood and there was nothing to take a picture of in the neighborhood. When she insisted I agreed, but only if she agreed to show me what was beautiful enough to capture as a picture.    I was amazed by what I saw. How had I missed the beauty? A mailbox with ornate iron work. The fountain in the pond at the entrance of the subdivision. The stately oaks adorned with moss. The radiant red roses. I saw things in my neighborhood that I had stopped seeing years ago. Some of the things she showed me I had NEVER noticed.     Sometimes we read Scripture the same way I rode through my neighborhood. When we do that we miss some really important stuff. If we read the gospels only as historical events, then we can miss truths that will build our faith and equip us to do what God has called us to do.   Dear friend, I want to caution you. If you read the gospels and Acts only as historical events it will impress you, but never impregnate you.  It will excite you, but it has no strength to empower you.  It can inform you, but it has no compass to steer you. It’s only when you read HIS story as your story, as the model for what God wants every believer to do, does it activate your faith.   Like my friend Cindy. She was on a mission’s trip. The team were going to the city dump, where lots of children lived, to hand out sandwiches. She helped make the sandwiches and even used the ends of the loaf so there would be enough sandwiches for every child. She counted the sandwiches, but more children showed up than they expected. She knew there wasn’t enough sandwiches for everyone. They prayed over the sandwiches and when they passed them out, every child got a sandwich. No one will ever convince Cindy that God didn’t multiply those sandwiches. Cindy and that team understood the reality of partnering with Jesus to do beyond what they could do. Without fanfare they simply saw the story of Jesus with a few fish and bread as their story. I believe my friend Cindy was doing Acts 10:38   When we believe His story is our story, we will do the works of Jesus.   Do His stories serve as models for shaping your life and experience?   I think they should for many reasons, John 14:12 is one of those reasons. John 14:12 NLT “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!     But Jesus didn’t stop there, He continued the conversation by reminding them that He was going to send Precious Holy Spirit.   John 14:15 NLT“If you love me, obey commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.   And He came. Just like Jesus promised. All the excitement caused quite an uproar! A crowd gathered and just like some people today, there were people there that tried to explain it away. Acts 2:14 says 14Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. 16No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: 17‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 18In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy.   21But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.’ 22“People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23But  God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. 24But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip    33Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today 36“So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”37Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”38Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God” 41Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. St. Augustine explains this event: “He was now to come no longer as a transient Visitor, but as an eternal inhabitant.” Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke “the gifts of the Spirit are not badges of honor; they are tools for the job.” What job? To do what Jesus did… Matthew 28:19,20 explains that job is for us to “make disciples”   Acts 10:38 “And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”                    Jack Hayford Jesus is the prototype of the Spirit-filled, Spirit-empowered life. The Book of Acts is the story of the disciples receiving what Jesus received in order to do what Jesus did.   We simply need what Jesus had to do what Jesus did and that my dear friend was and is Precious Holy Spirit. Jesus came to redeem us from our sins. Precious Holy Spirit came to empower us to make disciples. Like he did a dear African American sister that I watched in the mall. An elderly woman had passed out and slumped from her daughter’s arm and onto the floor. This stranger, I call her my sister because I saw Jesus in her actions, that means we are sisters. (We are all made in God's image, but we must be born into His family.)This lady knelt beside the two women and  gently and graciously  soothed the daughter then began to pray for the mother. I don’t know this sister, but I could tell by her actions that she believed His story was her story. That’s just what we do when His story is our story. We care for people. We pray for the sick. We expect signs and wonders. We expect God to answer prayers. We believe for miracles! My dear sister was walking out Acts 10:38.  Is His story your story?  It can be…receive Precious Holy Spirit…His power and release it through acts of obedience.

A prayer of an afflicted man. When he is faint and pours out his lament before the LORD. 1Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you. 2Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. 3For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers. 4My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food. 5Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones. 6I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. 7I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof. 8All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail against me use my name as a curse. 9For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears 10because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and thrown me aside. 11My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass. 12But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations. 13You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come. 14For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity. 15The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory. 16For the LORD will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory. 17He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea. 18Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD: 19“The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, 20to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.” 21So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem 22when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the LORD. 23In the course of my life he broke my strength; he cut short my days. 24So I said: “Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations. 25In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. 27But you remain the same, and your years will never end. 28The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.”

Jim and I discuss parenting your adult children, how your role changes, avoiding unsolicited advice, and moving them from dependence to independence.  4:16 Will you share a little of your faith journey with us?   "We've been married a long time [45 years]. We write books together. Some people call us marriage mentors, but we have high maintenance marriage. High maintenance is not bad, it just means we got to really keep working at it." "The Bible says that you inherit the sins of a previous generation to the third and fourth generation. Well, we want to stop that. You can either recover or repeat." "Really good parents have kids who make some poor choices, at times.... I always like to say, a sinner married another sinner, and then you have sinnerlings." "Be ruthlessly honest about your own brokenness. You don't have to always focus on it, but but the truth is when you're ruthlessly honest about your own brokenness I think you parent better." "We who are studying where kids are going when they become adult children. Unfortunately, a lot of them are walking away from faith, yet there's some studies out right now....that are pretty exciting that say if there are faith conversations in the home, there's about a 300% better chance that they'll stay in the faith." 11:27We are going to chat about doing life with adult children.  When our children live under our roof we rarely consider what parenting will look like when they become adults. What were some surprises or challenges you and your wife faced when transitioning into parenting adults? "Experience is a better teacher than advice." 19:13You discuss 9 principles in your book, "Doing Life with Your Adult Children." A few being: Your role as the parent must change. You can't want it more than they want it.  Let's talk about Principle # 5: Your job is to move them from dependence to independence.  What are some common mistakes parents make in this area and what advice do you have for them? "Age 0-2 and say your job with them is caring and you're not going to discipline them. You're not giving them a whole lot of advice. You're just showing care. If they cry, you pick them up.  Hungry, you feed them, etc. From two to 10, you do pretty much control them. That's micromanaging in the best way. You aren't going to say to your kids, 'You know what I'm doing this podcast right now, so you guys can go outside and if you want to go over to the mall.' ...By about age 10, you've got to turn into a coach, which means you still lead, you still sometimes take them out of the game....you're still in charge....But at the same time, they've got to make some decisions because they've got to learn you're moving them from dependence to independence. By the time they get to older teenagers, you're almost a consultant. Their day to day decisions should be done by them. There are parents who say, 'Yeah, but you don't understand my kid.' No, I don't and you may have to squeeze in especially if there's addiction issues or sexual promiscuity or things like that, but the truth is they should be making most of their decisions. By the time they're adults, they're going to have to learn to do it on their own....I think a lot of parents miss that. They keep wanting to control. If you try to control your kids as young adults, meaning 18, 19 and 20, when they're not always acting like adults, if you keep controlling them, then you don't give them that chance to experience some of the highs and lows of life and become responsible. No young adult wants you to always give them advice, because they view that as you don't trust them, or you don't think they're grown up enough." SHOW NOTES continued    --------------------------------------------------- Follow Jim Burns on IG and Homeword Follow Grace Enough Podcast on IG and FB ---------------------------------------------------------

Jamie has returned, and she's learned a bit about what's going on. She leads one of the small groups to a house to get answers. Meanwhile, the three who are trapped at DIY try to hang on, while the group at BWP tries to recover their supplies.This is a narrative of a campaign from Outbreak Undead, the role playing game about the zombie apocalypse.If you'd like to see a visualization of this episode, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF2OrR650F4&list=PLE27g8yycE_GB_AAXAoH3Rr0od6S-IPjC&index=13You can learn more about Outbreak Undead here: https://www.huntersentertainment.com/outbreakundeadYou can visit our website here: https://bandwagongames.com/

Radical Faith Series Part 4 Radical (Crazy) FaithPastor Bruce DavisGenesis 22: 1 – 18 NIV   Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”“Here I am,” he replied.2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”“Here I am,” he replied.12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c] because you have obeyed me.” Radical Faith happens with a personal encounter with the Lord (The Holy Spirit touches you)  Radical Faith is the standard of faith that the King and the Kingdom requires!  All other levels of faith lead to this Level! Baby – Little – Great – Radical Faith: you have obtained many blessings through your process of building faith but on the level of Radical Faith, what you have accumulated must be put to death. Men and Women who have a personal encounter with the presence of God are never the same; we need to own our “God Experience”! We seek what we desire; Jerimiah 29: 13 NIV  13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.   This Level of faith requires giving up All your will/desires!  Hebrews 11: 19 NIV Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.This is what stops most believers from building faith (Giving Up what God Blessed you with)  Radical Faith: Radical Obedience - Delayed obedience can cause you to miss your moment to become Radical.The world can only see the stature of God that We His children allow them to see (When you see us you see the Father) The Believers' faith reveals the Father to the World!  Hebrews 11: 8 – 12NIV   8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith, even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.Conclusion:  Hebrews 11: 7 – 12NIV  7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.Obedience is a prerequisite to entering into Radical Faith (your reputation cannot be your interest on this Level of faith)  Even when you look foolish in the eyes of others, The Kingdom of God rejoices over your obedience.  Note: Abraham took 120 years to build the ark and preached every day and NO one listened beside his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law!   Action Plan: Go over each teaching in this series 7 Days of Fasting & Prayer 

View the Bulletin for Sunday October 13, 2019Service Times: 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.Bible Study and Sunday School: 9:15 a.m.Old Testament Reading - Ruth 1:1–19aIn the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem.Epistle - 2 Timothy 2:1–13You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for:If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the seventeenth chapter.On the way to Jerusalem [Jesus] was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

“God stands up to hatred and bigotry. God stands up to homophobia, racism, islamophobia, sexism, abolish, and all of the -isms we are yet to name. God is incapable of bowing to the false gods of this world."What injustices is God inviting you to stand up against?//Psalm 21:9-13You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear.The Lord will swallow them up in her wrath, and fire will consume them.You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their children from among humankind.If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.//This episode was written and recorded by Jarell Wilson. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms, Cottonwoods, and B Roll by Podington Bear.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all three seasons of Be Still and Go.

“God stands up to hatred and bigotry. God stands up to homophobia, racism, islamophobia, sexism, abolish, and all of the -isms we are yet to name. God is incapable of bowing to the false gods of this world."What injustices is God inviting you to stand up against?//Psalm 21:9-13You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear.The Lord will swallow them up in her wrath, and fire will consume them.You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their children from among humankind.If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.//This episode was written and recorded by Jarell Wilson. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms, Cottonwoods, and B Roll by Podington Bear.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all three seasons of Be Still and Go.

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.Mark 3:13You do not have to know everything to preach the truth (John 16:13)

After three weeks of no new episodes of Whose Line, we are back with a brand new episode featuring Gary Anthony Williams! Highlights for this week's episode include sound effects without the sounds, and Greatest Hits...with a little extra booze?! Join me as I cover off this awesome episode, and remember to follow me on Twitter @postmasterradio and feel free to tweet to me your favourite moments from the episode!Catch up on the most recent Whose Line episode here: https://www.spreaker.com/user/10204202/whose-line-is-it-anyway-season-14-episod_13You can also follow me on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/user/10204202Twitter poll links mentioned in this week's podcastFavorite performer: https://twitter.com/PostmasterRadio/status/1044399254859472897Favorite game: https://twitter.com/PostmasterRadio/status/1044399634762805248

Worship audio from March 4, Lent 3B. Bulletin here or below:Welcome to Shepherd of the Lakes! We’re here to shepherd Christ’s flock and seek the lost sheep by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with all. Come, let us worship!For your convenience, in the back corner of the sanctuary there is a room for any parents with children in need of a quiet place. The restrooms are located on the lower level. Please ask if you have any further questions or concerns. Lord Jesus, zeal for your Father’s house consumed you. May that same fervor consume us also, who are your spiritual dwelling through faith, that we may offer the AMEN.Faith & Forgiveness:People are also warned that the term faith does not mean simply a knowledge of a history, such as the ungodly and devil have [James 2:19]. Rather, it means a faith that believes, not merely the history, but also the effect of the history. In other words, it believes this article: the forgiveness of sins. We have grace, righteousness, and forgiveness of sins through Christ.The person who knows that he has a Father who is gracious to him through Christ truly knows God [John 14:7]. He also knows that God cares for him [1 Peter 5:7], and he calls upon God [Romans 10:13]. In a word, he is not without God, as are the heathen. For devils and the ungodly are not able to believe this article: the forgiveness of sins. Hence, they hate God as an enemy [Romans 8:7] and do not call Him [Romans 3:11–12] and expect no good from Him. 26 Augustine also warns his readers about the word faith and teaches that the term is used in the Scriptures, not for the knowledge that is in the ungodly, but for the confidence that consoles and encourages the terrified mind.Apology to the Augsburg Confession, Article 1 (Concordia p. 43) Because He Knew: He Put His House in OrderJesus knew all along he was going to die. That was the eternal plan of the Father, that the holy Son of God would suffer and die for a world of sinners. ...In preparation for that day, Jesus cleansed the Temple during Holy Week, just as he did at the beginning of his ministry.How does the cleansing of the Temple guide our Christian lives & work today? OPENING HYMN: 401 – Your Works, Not Mine, O ChristLITURGY: Common Service with Holy Communion, p. 15Please rise.PRAYER OF THE DAY:M: Almighty God, look with favor on your humble servants and stretch out the right hand of your power to defend us against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen.The WordFIRST READING: Exodus 20:1-17The Law, given by the LORD our God, demands perfect obedience:Then God spoke all these words: 2I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, where you were slaves. 3You shall have no other gods beside me. 4You shall not make any carved image for yourself or a likeness of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. 5Do not bow down to them or be subservient to them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God. I follow up on the guilt of the fathers with their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren, if they also hate me. 6But I show mercy to thousands who love me and keep my commandments. 7You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not permit anyone who misuses his name to escape unpunished. 8Remember the Sabbath day by setting it apart as holy. 9Six days you are to serve and do all your regular work, 10but the seventh day shall be a sabbath rest to the LORD your God. Do not do any regular work, neither you, nor your sons or daughters, nor your male or female servants, nor your cattle, nor the alien who is residing inside your gates, 11for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. In this way the LORD blessed the seventh day and made it holy. 12Honor your father and your mother so that you may spend many days on the land that the LORD your God is giving to you. 13You shall not commit murder. 14You shall not commit adultery. 15You shall not steal. 16You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!SECOND READING: Romans 8:1-10The flesh has no strength to free itself from the condemnations of God’s law; but through Christ, God proclaims freedom:So then, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3Indeed, what the law was unable to do, because it was weakened by the flesh, God did, when he sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to deal with sin. God condemned sin in his flesh, 4so that the righteous decree of the law would be fully satisfied in us who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. 5To be sure, those who are in harmony with the sinful flesh think about things the way the sinful flesh does, and those in harmony with the spirit think about things the way the spirit does. 6Now, the way the sinful flesh thinks results in death, but the way the spirit thinks results in life and peace. 7For the mindset of the sinful flesh is hostile to God, since it does not submit to God’s law, and in fact, it cannot. 8Those who are in the sinful flesh cannot please God. 9But you are not in the sinful flesh but in the spirit, if indeed God’s Spirit lives in you. And if someone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but your spirit is alive because of righteousness. THEME VERSE: John 3:14-15Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. Thanks be to God.GOSPEL READING: John 2:13-22Jesus is serious about his Word, his dwelling-place, and what goes on there:Glory be to you, O Lord!13The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers sitting at tables. 15He made a whip of cords and drove everyone out of the temple courts, along with the sheep and oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16To those selling doves he said, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a place of business!” 17His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18So the Jews responded, “What sign are you going to show us to prove you can do these things?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” 20The Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple! And you are going to raise it in three days?” 21But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. 22When Jesus was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and what Jesus had said. This is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.Praise be to you, O Christ!HYMN OF THE DAY: 456 – Forth in Your Name, O Lord, I GoSERMON based on John 2: Jesus Promises to Keep Setting His House in OrderCONFESSION OF FAITH: Nicene Creed, p. 31OFFERINGPRAYER & LORD’S PRAYERThe sacramentFor our Holy Communion practice, please see the purple sheet in the pew racks.COMMUNION LITURGY: p. 33DISTRIBUTION HYMN: 532 – God is Here! As We His PeopleSONG OF SIMEON: CW p. 24CLOSING HYMN: 530 – Hark! The Church Proclaims Her Honor THIS WEEKToday 2 Samuel 2 9:30 - Lent 3 Worship with Holy Communion 10:45 - Sunday School, Bible classMonday 2 Samuel 3Tuesday 2 Samuel 4 7 PM - CAP Class (Faith, Conversion)Wednesday 2 Samuel 5 5-6 PM - Small Catechism Class 6-6:45 PM - Lenten Supper 7 PM - Midweek Lenten WorshipThursday 2 Samuel 6 6 PM - ChoirFriday 2 Samuel 7Saturday 2 Samuel 8 9:30 AM - Bible Basics (Egg Bake...?)Sunday 2 Samuel 9 “Thank God for Coffee!” Sunday 9:30 - Lent 4 Worship 10:45 - Sunday School & Bible Class (Medical Directives & POA for Health Care)NOTESMidweek Lenten services continue - 6 PM meal, 7 PM worship.Catechism class 5-6 PM Wednesday.Rev. Curt Seefeldt will preach next Sunday & speak during Bible class on the topic of advance medical directives & Power of Attorney for Health Care.DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME NEXT WEEKEND. Spring ahead!Looking Ahead to Next Sunday:Theme Lent 4: Because He Knew, He Promised Salvation through FaithColor PurpleLiturgy Service of the Word, p.38Hymns 381, 427, 384, 748; CW Psalm 90Readings from John 3, Numbers 21, Ephesians 2Verse of the Day John 3:16Green Pastures with Jesus is the podcast from Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church of Fairmont, MN. Here you’ll find a variety of segments to lead you to the green pastures of the Word of God, where our Good Shepherd feeds our faith.  Find us online: www.shepherdofthelakes.net or http://facebook.com/shepherdofthelakes Worship is Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM.Bible class & Sunday School follow at 10:40 AM.323 E. 1st St – Fairmont, MNpastorhagen@icloud.com or (507) 236-9572 iTunes & iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/green-pastures-jesus-shepherd/id1183522558?mt=2 Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=127180&refid=stprOr simply search for “Green Pastures with Jesus” in your podcast app. Intro & Outro courtesy of Koine - The Church Band. Check them out at www.koinemusic.com, or find them on iTunes & Amazon: Search for Koine.     

Pastor Zenzile Legend March 2, 2014 I Corinthians 6:12 12“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.