Podcasts about assume

We're living in parallel realities with different "facts." Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales breaks down how trust eroded — and how we might restore it.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1251What We Discuss with Jimmy Wales:Wikipedia succeeded where its predecessor failed because it prioritized making contribution enjoyable. Nobody truly works for free — people need intrinsic rewards like connecting with fellow enthusiasts, intellectual satisfaction, and the joy of building something meaningful together.The global crisis of trust stems from people living in parallel realities with different "facts." Productive discourse becomes impossible when opposing sides can't agree on basic data — like immigration numbers — before debating policy solutions."Assume good faith" isn't just a Wikipedia policy — it's a life-changing mindset. Most people making mistakes aren't malicious; they need guidance. Approaching others with initial trust creates positive cycles, whether parenting teenagers or managing remote teams.Trust isn't built through perfection — it's built through transparency, especially when you have something to hide. Organizations that acknowledge mistakes, explain their processes, and openly work to improve earn more lasting credibility than those claiming flawlessness.Want to make a meaningful impact? Just start. The next five years will pass regardless of what you do — so test your ideas early, embrace potential failure as learning, and remember that trying something that doesn't work still beats endlessly planning something you never attempt.And much more...And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:HexClad: 10% off: hexclad.com/jordanKa'Chava: 15% off: kachava.com, code JORDANMasterClass: Get 15% off a yearly membershipProgressive Insurance: Free online quote: progressive.comQuiltmind: Email jordanaudience@quiltmind.com to get started or visit quiltmind.com for more infoSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's a great question, but we also talk about flapper dancing, a lot, in this hour. And then, the conspiracy that The Truman Show is the prequel to Bruce Almighty. It's deep web stuff, obviously.

Onboarding a new team member has turned into a very transactional process. In this episode, Tiff and Monica discuss how to add authenticity, connection, and engagement to the mix. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:01) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. Welcome back. I am just so happy to have all of you. know there are so many people out there that support the Dental A Team in so many amazing ways. And you guys being here downloading these podcasts and having that little, I know Apple allows the like auto download. I always love that. Cause when I'm on flights, I can just, you know, podcast. But you guys being here.   pushing those through for us, being here to just support who we are, what we do is so truly incredible, whether you're a client, a future client, or someone who's just here to listen and you're like, ⁓ you know, never gonna sign up, we don't really have a preference of how you get to us. We just love that you're here. We wanna deliver all of the most amazing information that we possibly can. You might notice we share a lot of information, a lot of tips and tricks, a lot of like, I don't know, feel like, Monica, I feel like they're like.   secrets, trade secrets, right? And people are like, gosh, I'll just listen to your podcast. I'm like, fantastic, do that, do that. When you're ready for someone like Monica, who I have here with us today, you guys, to be like, I'm gonna push you a little bit further. She's here, we're here, and we're ready to help you get to that next level. And as I said, you guys, this is a truly, truly exciting day for us. I have Monica back on the podcast with me today. I am so excited to have you here, Monica. I know.   Monica Gomez (00:57) ⁓ yeah.   The Dental A Team (01:20) Previously, I've kind of given a good spiel of who you are and how we found you. And we got to record a podcast, if you haven't listened to it yet, about this really hiring tips and strategies. But there's so much to learn about Monica, her coaching style and who she is in that episode. So if you haven't listened to it yet, go do that. And as an introduction today, Monica, welcome. I'm so excited to have you here. And I just I'm excited to pick your brain. love I love watching.   I feel like I get to watch the flow of how thoughts come to you and it's just really fun and I love our time together. Thank you for blocking out your morning and being here with me this morning and Monica, how are you? How was your weekend? How's life? How's Monica?   Monica Gomez (02:05) ⁓ Life is great and I'm starting off my week with podcasting with you ⁓ and this is so fun. This is my second podcast and I'm so excited to be here. Our first one was really, there was a flow to it, right? It was a ⁓ great little conversation, valuable. We dropped lots of gems, you guys, so go listen to that podcast and I'm excited to be sharing this space again with you, Tish. Thank you for having me.   The Dental A Team (02:21) Yeah.   Thank you, thank you. I do love this and it actually makes me think this is like a little off topic here, but just for a smidgen of time. love the podcast space with you consultant ladies ⁓ on our team because I love that this is a space where I get to, I think I get to share how much I love you guys. Like how much admiration I have, how much I look up to you guys and get to like extract so much.   knowledge and input from you. And I think this is our space of like, truly having some connection time. And we have our one on ones, I mentioned that before, but those are so goal driven and work driven. It makes me think I love relationship and community. And I think that's something that humans are learning again, we're relearning that we need that. I think we lost that for a moment of time here recently and   in the years and we're coming back to that. You kind of don't know what you have until you lose it sometimes and we lost that space. And I think this is our space of true community. We do have our weekly meetings, we have our one-on-ones, we have our data-driven, work-driven time together, but the podcasting space is actually really special to me because I do get to, I get to get to like, want, we get to put you guys out there and I get to just spend this time with you.   And it makes me think you mentioned something on the last podcast that we had recorded together. You mentioned that intentional team time together and that like just clicked. As you're talking, like it clicked for me. This is our intentional time together and instilling that into, infusing that into the workplace. It's really special. And I want doctors and owners and leaders and anyone who's here, dental assistants, treatment coordinators, I don't care who you are. I want you to...   know from the bottom of my heart, this is a really special place and you don't need to go start a podcast unless you want to. But having that intentional time, like coffee time, like go in the break room and have coffee together and talk about your weekend. Like me getting to hear about Monica's family life and Charlie, her puppy, getting to know those pieces of you personally, it changes and it shifts our dynamic. So I wanted to highlight that because as you were speaking, I was like, my gosh, this is   Monica Gomez (04:44) Yeah.   The Dental A Team (04:57) something we haven't had yet because this is only our second podcast together, but that I know I do have with the other consultants and it just totally clicked for me because we just, think, mentioned that in the last one. So Monica, thank you for being here. Thank you for letting me say all that and for giving me this intentional time today.   Monica Gomez (05:15) Yeah, thanks, Tiff. Yeah, I think ⁓ this time together, we get to peek, a little peek behind the veil, right? And yeah, we do have a lot of connection time. It's structured time, right? But the value of unstructured time is just gold. is, ⁓ it builds trust, it builds ⁓ camaraderie, it builds affinity, it builds ⁓ an endearing, right? An endearing kind of sense of   The Dental A Team (05:23) Yeah.   Yeah.   Monica Gomez (05:44) of viewing the other person in a different light. So yeah, I think this is a powerful, like meaningful time. I agree with you. I agree with everything that you said. This is definitely a special magical space. Yeah.   The Dental A Team (05:53) Yeah.   Yeah, thank you.   Awesome. Well, thank you for being here. And again, if you didn't listen to the last podcast, I know this is the third or fourth time we're saying it. You should. This is kind of I think Monica actually helped me choose today's topics that she wanted to speak on. I think they actually naturally flow together. So I would maybe even listen to this one after the last one or listen to this one. And then I don't care which order you do it in, but listen to both of them is my is my point here, because today we really we're going to talk about onboarding.   Monica Gomez (06:07) You   The Dental A Team (06:28) And you can onboard anyone, but I think maybe when we add in onboarding the right team member, because the last podcast we recorded was really how to hire the right team member and hiring with intentionality and meaning behind it. And the onboarding, Monica, I think has to flow off of that. If we're not continuously showing up as the person we wanted to hire, like we talked about in the last one.   If we show up in the interview space and we're like, this is who I want you to be, but then we're onboarding and we're like, meh, meh. We're like, this is boring person and we want somebody who's dynamic and fun and engaging and speaking to the patients, but we're like, not that person. I think it makes a huge difference. So Monica, as you've trained people, as you've onboarded, you've trained practices to do this, what are some key highlights that you like to infuse into the onboarding process?   Monica Gomez (07:16) Yeah, great topic. And I agree, this one goes hand in hand with our previous podcast. know, onboarding traditionally has been very much transactional, right? Here's your cubby, here's what you do, here's where you sit, here's how you answer the phones, right? We've got to move. Well, there's a part of it that has to be transactional because you have to learn, you know, what your job is and, you know, the daily to do's.   But I think if we lead with that, it's a mistake. ⁓ As I mentioned before, and we talked about how the workforce has changed, ⁓ and we're leading with connection and engagement and authenticity and all those components that make us unique, I think we, I really feel that we need to move.   from a transactional place to a transformational or transcendental. ⁓ It's gotta be more about behaviors, right? And how we wrap our arms around like this new person that's joining our little family, right? How would you like to be welcomed into a team that would make you feel welcome and received with open arms and warmth? That's how we have to welcome our new people.   The Dental A Team (08:19) Yeah.   Monica Gomez (08:37) You know, we've invested so much time and energy in interviewing our job post, our, you know, filtering our candidates, interviewing, that whole hiring process, offer letter, the whole nine yards. And then we just throw them in, sink or swim. We've got to add, we've got to be intentional and we've got to add more value to the onboarding piece because, you know, people sometimes are left thinking like, gosh,   The Dental A Team (08:55) Yeah.   Monica Gomez (09:06) this is not the place that I thought it was gonna be, right? Like make it the place that you post it on your job ad, right? Like create, you get to be the creator. You're the co-creator, right? This is your platform. Like what do you wanna create for your new people, right? And I think transaction.   It's always part of our industry and in the workforce, right? There is a transactional piece to working. ⁓ But again, that humanist, right? And so one great tip, I'll start with one tip and I'll turn it over to you, Tiff. ⁓ One great tip is have a welcome packet for your team, right? A t-shirt, their name tag, little, you know, if you picked up little sprinkles of who they are and what they like in the interview, like,   The Dental A Team (09:53) Mm.   Monica Gomez (10:04) put together a nice little welcome basket for them, a pen post-it, a nice little saying. I think that's, wow, I mean, that's super impactful on their first day, right? Like, welcome to the team and have everybody go around at Morning Huddle and just give a little shout out as, you know,   The Dental A Team (10:12) Yeah.   I love that. Yeah.   Monica Gomez (10:31) how valuable it is to have a new team member. I think that's super simple and important.   The Dental A Team (10:37) Yeah, I love that. think you hit on something really important there. It's really that feeling of being welcomed, coming into a new space is, I mean, we don't even like going to a party unless we know, a dinner party, unless we know everybody who's gonna be there, right? We're like, I only know two people. Like, is that enough? Right? I got a text from a friend the other day that was, know, or not the other day, it's been a bit, but for, you know, Halloween. And then she's like, I gotta go to this thing with my husband. And like, I don't know anybody. And I was like, okay, like this is, we're all coming into this dinner party not knowing.   anybody else, even if you've done working interviews, you still don't know them. So I love that really just toning in on the personal piece and the relationship, because if you can have a relationship with them, you can, you know, build that camaraderie just from the get go. I think they actually retain information and onboard quicker as well. So I love that. Yeah.   Monica Gomez (11:26) It's hard being an adult, you know? It's hard being an adult. And I think   in the practice, you know, just circling back to our topic on our previous podcast, fun is really important. We forget to have fun as adults, you know? And gosh, you know, think of it like you're in the sandbox again. See through young eyes, see through young eyes. Put those lenses on and just remember what it is to just play in the sandbox.   with your friends, right? And have like that pureness of intention and that pureness of heart and spirit. I think it's just easier when you can kind of connect to that space to welcome others in. And they'll say, I love that you're here. Welcome to the team. How can I make your week and your integration easier? I think that's a gem right there. That's...   The Dental A Team (11:56) Yeah. Yeah.   Mm-hmm.   Monica Gomez (12:23) super valuable for the person receiving and also for the person that's delivering.   The Dental A Team (12:28) I agree. I was thinking,   as you said, you said it's hard being an adult And I thought, yeah, I remember just being like, do you want to swing? Like, there's two, like, do you want to swing with me? Like, that's, we don't do that anymore. Yeah. It was easy. Now it's like, we go to, we're in the same Pilates class 10 times and I'm still like, do I talk to you? Do I not talk to you? And it's like, goodness gracious. So yeah, like just, do you want to swing? Like just, let's just have fun with it. I love that. ⁓   Monica Gomez (12:34) Yeah.   It's easier to fix ones.   The Dental A Team (12:53) And so Welcome Packet is beautiful. if you guys like put it together, it could even be like ⁓ a welcome note card. Like, hey, excited to have you. Like everybody, we write thank you cards to our patients or we write condolence cards or happy birthday or happy anniversary. Like, congrats on your wedding. We write these cards and I've seen them in multiple practices. So I know a lot of people do them. You pass them around to all the team members or the happy birthday for the team members, right? Everybody writes on the card and it's like this little message.   You could do it as simply as that. Like, hey, Monica's starting on Monday, guys. Like, it's Thursday. Let's wrap this up. Let's get this like welcome card together and a candy bar or a little ⁓ bouquet of flowers, like four carnations. Like, it doesn't have to be difficult. It doesn't have to be robust or like over the top. Just speak to who you are and who they are. I love that. And Monica, something you said was we were kind of prepping for this was you don't have to have it all together. And I loved that because we've saw many podcasts on   Monica Gomez (13:33) Yeah.   The Dental A Team (13:49) operations manual and it's fantastic. And I agree with an operations manual and practices come to us and they're like, Monica, we need an operations manual, help us build it. It's like, okay, yes. And it's super cool. Also, it's not a requirement. You can onboard, you can train, you can have them help you build the operations manual while you're training. Don't hold yourself back from onboarding someone successfully.   Monica Gomez (14:01) Yeah.   The Dental A Team (14:17) because you feel like things are missing and I love that you said that. Now, on that same aspect, a job description, super simple, to put together a job description of who they are, how they show up and what their targets are per position and then build off of that to say like, hey, in the first week, two weeks, 30 days and then kind of go from there. Now, implementally, how do you build the action out for...   for teams like that, because I'm an aggriance. I love an operations manual. I think it's great, but it's not end all be all. And just because we get through an operations manual and your consulting journey does not mean you're done. You're set for success and nothing's ever going to happen. I think there's a lot of, we could go on a tangent about operations manuals. We won't today. But how do you do that with your practices you're working with?   Monica Gomez (15:06) Yeah, I mean, I think people ⁓ absorb information and they learn differently. And I think it's really important that we hit on all three things. It's auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. The operations manual or the training manual is valuable, Because it's a resource that you can go to to reference and get a refresher. ⁓ But that shouldn't be your onboarding technique, right? That's like, OK, here you go. Here's the written. ⁓   The Dental A Team (15:31) Yeah.   Monica Gomez (15:35) proof or reference book of what you already learned, right? It is the outcome of your training. ⁓ I think, you know, onboarding can be simple and we make it complicated because everything has to be in writing nowadays and there's value to that. ⁓ But really your team, the biggest piece of ⁓ an employee staying within those 90 days is how we onboarded them.   The Dental A Team (15:49) Yeah.   Monica Gomez (16:04) Did we just give them manual or written instructions and say, okay, here it is, go do it? Or did we say, okay, this week, part of your onboarding is that you're gonna spend time with every single person in this practice in the various roles, including the doctor. You're gonna sit in and listen to the exams and the x-ray take and the hygienist. And you're really gonna understand all the makings of this practice.   it's important that we understand everyone's role and how we contribute to the entire team. So I always recommend that you hire someone and the first three days, break it up. Three, by the way, is a magical number for me. I love everything in series of threes. So three is easy to remember, three things versus five or even four, right? So three days in each role.   And have that person that's learning write down the most impact. What did you learn in these three days sitting with a hygienist? Or what do you want to know more about? This will spark their curiosity. Don't give them a script. Allow them to of grasp the topics and let their curiosity ⁓ be the lead. Take the lead on.   Here's what I want to know more about, or I don't really understand this, or gosh, I didn't know that, right? ⁓ And that goes for experienced employees or people that are new to the industry, right? That's my recommendation. Allow them to spend three days in every single role, like the journey of onboarding, right? Like, I think it's super valuable. And then... ⁓   The Dental A Team (17:33) Yeah.   Fisher.   Monica Gomez (17:53) Again, they could be kind of co-creating your manual with you because what they bring back, the knowledge that they bring back, chances are somebody else is going to have that same curiosity or those same questions, right? Yeah, I think that's a really simple tip. And those also that feedback could be part of your 30, 60, 90 day growth plans. And here's what you're really great at, right? I always like to look at   The Dental A Team (18:05) Yeah.   Monica Gomez (18:23) Think about the growth plan like a sandwich, right? Like there's the beginning, the middle, and the end. And so here's where you are, right? ⁓ Here's where, ⁓ actually, here's your role. Here's where you currently are, and here's where we would like for you to be. And like, what are the steps to get there, right? That should be part of your growth plan, your 30, 60, 90 day growth plan, along with the job description. Yeah, I think, you know,   using the job description like you mentioned as a tool, right, to guide people and also for us to understand like, what are they really great at? What are they really proud of, you know, in this job role? And what do they want to know more about? I think ⁓ I ⁓ one great way to kind of get familiar with someone's knowledge, experience and their desire to grow or learn more about is take the   The Dental A Team (19:04) Thank   Monica Gomez (19:21) the skills and ability portion of the job role and say, tell me three things that you're really great at, that you're really proud of, that you just are an expert in. And then three things that ⁓ you wanna know more about, not weak, right? Things that you don't, let's take that, negative verb out of it, just say three things that you're curious about or three things that you wanna sharpen your skills at. That tells you a lot about their qualifications. ⁓ And I'm really an advocate of ⁓   The Dental A Team (19:24) Mm-hmm.   Yeah. Yes.   Monica Gomez (19:51) eliminating the over-educating and over-matching. This exercise is a great way to kind of level set who your person is, like what's in their brain, right? Like, are you curious about? So I think that's part of like the co-creation of the onboarding and the collaboration, right? This is a partnership, we're in this together. What can I do to help you help me?   The Dental A Team (20:02) Yeah.   Yeah.   Monica Gomez (20:16) and stay. think it's intentional and it is ⁓ structured in a way that's unstructured.   The Dental A Team (20:29) Yeah, for sure. And I think that what you're saying there that co-creation also makes me think of ⁓ like collaborating and co-creating with the people who are going to be doing the training. So if you're not the one who's going to be, if you're an office manager and you're not training this person hands on 100 % of the time, then enlist the team members too. So if this person's job is   I don't know, front desk check-in and she or he has this laundry list of 20 different things that they've got to learn in the series of these 90 days or 30 days or however long you parcel that out for who's helping with those things and allow them to co-create too. And I think what you're saying, the three days, it's like, great, you're learning to answer the phones and confirm appointments. That's what you're doing for three days. You're answering the phone. So you're answering the phones and you're delivering that   patient to whomever, right? You're transferring that patient to whomever they need and you're doing confirmation calls for three days. And then stack on top of that, anything, something you said there, the co-collaborating and the kind of doing it together, but also then enlisting outside perspectives to see what flows together. Because a lot of times our job doesn't necessarily start to end flow in this perfect, beautiful space. Sometimes it's like,   well, I'm doing phones, but I'm doing emails, and I'm doing phones, but I'm checking patients out. And those are very like stark contrasting pieces. And so if we're like jumping them around or trying to do it in what a day might look like, that's very confusing. And it's overwhelming because your brain doesn't operate in that way. You can and you will and you will multitask and they will get it. But when you're learning, you've got to learn succinctly in a flow that makes sense. So you can't start with   Monica Gomez (22:03) and overwhelming.   The Dental A Team (22:18) checking a patient out if you also want them to be doing confirmation calls. Like you've got to find, like you said, your start, your middle and your end and making sure that those pieces flow together and having that outside perspective I think can definitely help. Something you mentioned was those like check-ins. So you're having those conversations with them. So that in itself right there, you guys, if you're not, I want you to pull these action items out too because that in itself, that's an action item. So make sure you've got job descriptions.   make sure you've got some semblance of flow on the pieces that they're responsible for, and then you're checking in with them. And I think frequent check-ins are really smart. We do them in our company with onboarding and we continue them kind of as long as we possibly can forevermore. We do these check-ins because I wanna know where they're at. don't, not necessarily like, did you do this thing? I wanna know like Monica, where are you at today? ⁓   Personally, who are you and where are you at today? Like are we still in alignment because that's the space I think Especially being new to a team. I'm not gonna say I'm not always gonna say hey, I Didn't get this or hey, I need help or hey I'm falling behind or I feel overwhelmed or this is a lot because I don't want to look like I can't do it But if my manager or my lead is like, hey check in how are things going? And I'm like, I think I'm getting it. I think I need more time on this   That's way better than being like, I'm overwhelmed. Like that feels better to me to be like, cool, there's space to have a conversation about this. I'm not complaining or feeling weak or looking as though I can't accomplish something. You are giving the space as a check-in to just be like, hey, tell me where you're at. Okay, great, take the space, take the time, go learn it. Or if I need to show you again, I can.   Monica Gomez (24:08) Yeah, I love that. I love everything that you said. think, ⁓ you know, words create our story, right? And so if we're asking, like, how's it going? ⁓ Are you struggling with anything? ⁓ Our minds automatically go to that negative place, right? So you get to be the creator of the script.   Right. And so if we're saying, Hey, by the way, I heard you answering the phone start, like, listen for the good stuff, right? The good behaviors. Gosh, you were amazing. Greeting that patient. my gosh. I am so proud of you. You are totally getting this and you know, how's everything else going? Right. If you start with that excitement and something positive, that person's already in that positive mindset and it's all about mindset. Right. And if we're concerned that they're not getting it, they're not going to get it.   assume that they are, assume that they are getting it. So gosh, you are, I know you're doing amazing. Tell me all the good stuff. Start.   The Dental A Team (25:10) Yeah, assume good intent, right? Always. We see that constantly. Assume   good intent. I think, Monica, you saying this right here makes me think.   Relationships are relationships, I say that all the time. They just look a little bit different. Like my relationship with Erin is a little bit different than my relationship with you, but my communication skills are gonna be super, they're gonna be the same with the right words, right? So I'm not gonna, communication is communication. And so what we do is we say, okay, this is how you sell a treatment plan. This is how you project to your patients to get them to schedule. And you always start with a positive. You don't ask for a review by saying,   how did everything go today? You say like, oh my gosh, that seemed, you how amazing was your appointment today? Like you're infusing these words in there to get the mindset, but then we don't copy and paste that always into everything that we do. And I think how you show up for anything is how you show up for everything. So show up for your team the same as you're expecting your team to show up for your patients because that's going to translate. And if you're like, oh, it seemed like a,   Gosh, today was a chaotic day, how did you do? It's always chaos, we're in dentistry. Dentistry is chaotic, your days are gonna be crazy. Life is chaotic, you're right, it's always going to be crazy. So saying that, gosh, was, woo, that was a rough day. How are you feeling? Well, I'm feeling really overwhelmed and I'm feeling like I made a really bad decision coming here. I think you're spot on is my point there. So that was beautiful, thank you.   Monica Gomez (26:22) Yeah. And life is chaotic. Period, right? Life is chaotic.   Yeah. And, you know, I when employees share difficult, like a difficult day, you know, like, ⁓ I had a ⁓ client last week share that their new hire said, ⁓ gosh, maybe we shouldn't, you know, ⁓ schedule two crowns back to back because that was really hard. And, you know, my back was hurting. And so, ⁓ you know, the doctor was like, she's already complaining. I'm like, well, okay. Well, how did you respond? Right. Because   The Dental A Team (27:13) Yeah, yeah.   Monica Gomez (27:14) Because, I mean, she's delivering something that's important. She's sharing and she feels comfortable enough to say, hey, that was really hard. That's really what she's saying. That was really hard, right? And so, you know, again, one of my favorite sayings is, you know, get curious, not furious, right? Don't look at it with the negative lens. It's a great way for you to validate, like, how important it is to be seen, and valued, right?   The Dental A Team (27:43) I agree.   Monica Gomez (27:43) And she was opening up because she wanted to be seen, heard, and valued. Like she wanted to be seen. Gosh, I like did those two crowns back to back. My back is hurting me. Are you even valuing that I sat there in fact, right? Even though they could have swapped off with another assistant, but she, you know, she followed him. And so, you know, and my advice was like, you should number one acknowledge that she's sharing, right?   The Dental A Team (27:55) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.   Monica Gomez (28:12) Thank you so much for sharing that. You're right, that was kind of hard. Let's talk about it as a team tomorrow. Let's find ways to alleviate that when this does happen, right? I mean, the patients wanted to start, like they're ready. Let's do it, right? But where were your other team members? Like, let's talk about this. And so seen, and valued. If you can make anyone new, ⁓ a new employee, an existing employee,   your legacy employees, if you can make them feel and create a space where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued, that's huge. That's like you, you will, your team will love you, your patients will love you because again, it's that invisible kind of energy that's flowing through your practice, right? That creates that great space for employees to wanna stay.   The Dental A Team (29:03) I agree. I totally agree. Thank you, Monica. I think this was ⁓ a really, this is just full of so many gems and ⁓ I love the actual pieces of job description, kind of the, I love your three days, spend three days on it and really just making sure you go through that job description. Look at the to-dos of that position.   Enlist the team to help you. Whoever's gonna be helping to train. I had people specific on my team that were like, these are the things you just, you're stellar at and it's gonna be easy for you to train these things. They trained those. So it doesn't have to be one person. It can be whatever you want it to look like. Just make sure it's built out. You have a plan. Preschedule check-ins. I always make sure we preschedule check-ins and you guys check in with yourself too. think Monica, you gave some really wonderful tips on really making sure that we're showing up the way that we should be.   or the way we want people to show up and really just gut checking and making sure that those things are there. And I loved this. Thank you, Monica. Thank you for your words of wisdom. Thank you for flowing off of it. This was perfect. This was divine. Thank you for helping set up this flow of podcasting today and for just bringing your insight and your wisdom and your years of experience of things that you've seen work and ideas. So thank you, Monica.   Monica Gomez (30:17) Thanks, thanks, Tiff. This is definitely a gem for me. I have so much to share and so much, I love sharing, I love brainstorming, I love sharing what works ⁓ and all the knowledge that we, all of us have, right? This is a beautiful space for us to, you know, share that. And this was so fun. Thanks for inviting me and everyone.   The Dental A Team (30:24) Yeah.   Monica Gomez (30:44) Go out and be fabulous and don't forget to have fun. Have fun.   The Dental A Team (30:48) Yes, I love that.   Thank you. Yes. Go be fabulous. That is like Trish's famous words. I love that she says that. always, I know it always makes it just like, yep, I will. Okay. No, questions. So I love it. Go be fabulous. I agree. Drop us a five star review. Let us know what you thought about this. Let us know what onboarding tips you guys have. is an easy place to find us and.   Monica Gomez (30:55) So these are the things.   The Dental A Team (31:12) get recommendations or share your tips and tricks. We really do love that. And also we're on Instagram and Facebook, all of those places. So watch us there. Watch out for us there. Thursdays, once a third Thursday, we have webinars. You guys, we're everywhere. So if you're only following the podcast, check us out. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com, TheDentalATeam.com. We've got all of it listed there as well. Go find us, follow us and listen for more amazing tips from Monica and the rest of the consulting team. Thank you guys and go be fabulous.   Monica Gomez (31:40) you  

https://tradingnut.com/trader-nick/ - Nick's Links

  2 different veterinarian groups.. BOTH were unfortunately, wrong. Never assume anything when it comes to health... unless the proper steps are performed FIRST. At least, we now have the right course of pain medication which should mean better sleep. Overall a happier fur kiddo! Just in time to hopefully be able to enjoy a few more days of all the beautiful snow! ♡Thank you to Tina and family for the cute-super-comfy awareness sweatshirt♡

My Honey Cousin: Part 3. Wine and wanton lusts. Based on a post by Guzzler 21. Listen to the Podcast at My First Time. The sexual tension between Darren and Amy was palpable, and there was a great chance that she might want to get at it again, during the day. Maybe it was just best for him to have nothing underneath, he thought. Darren steadied himself with some deep breaths and thoughts of rugby, then he made his way down to the kitchen. Aunt Lily had made them ham and cheese sandwiches with a side of potato crisps. A classic lunch he remembered always having here. As he was watching Lily eat her lunch, he couldn’t help but to think that those lips, that mouth had tasted his cum just moments ago! Had she noticed? Did she like his cum? Most likely, his aunt hadn’t noticed anything different about the creamy milkshake she swallowed. But just the thought was still very arousing to Darren. Farm Chores. After lunch, aunt Lily proclaimed that it was ‘chore time.’ This was an often occurring event whenever Darren had stayed at their house, during the years. It was sort of a farm, anyway; so there were actual chores that had to be done on it. Some days she let Amy and Darren roam free; but every once and again, she made them help out with different chores on the farm. “Darren, can you repair the old canvas on the shelf in the barn, and Amy, I need you to feed the chickens and chop some fire wood;” Lily said. Some years ago, Lily had shown Darren how to repair and sew in heavy canvases. It was called sailmaking and used different tools, like a heavy duty twine and needle and a gadget you had in the palm of your hand called a sailmaker’s palm; to make it easier to push the needle through the thick canvas. Darren had proved to be gifted in this craft; and egged on by his aunt, he took pride in being good at it. Amy didn’t have the patience for it, so it kind of became Darren’s ‘thing,’ to repair canvases around the farm. Darren was happy for the assignment and made his way out to the barn. He found the old canvas, it was a huge thing, often used to cover hay stacks during bad weather. It was also heavy. He sat himself down on some hay bales and spread out the large canvas over his knees, tools at the ready. It was probably about 5 x 5 yards, at least. Sewing was about as masculine a skill as Darren was a rough and tough guy. But when it was about handling this thick and tough textile with a big needle and the sailmaker’s palm, he actually felt a bit more masculine. He felt like a tough sailor on some harbor dock; doing manly stuff. The weather was nice, and the air pleasant. He sat in the shade of the barn and started repairing the corner of it that had begun to fray. It was conducive to meditating and time passed as he sat there, concentrating on his work. He was so focused that Amy’s sudden presence looking out at him from the barn door, startled him! “Hey there, Darren;” she said in a cheerful manner. She looked beautiful. Amy stepped out into the sunlight. She was standing there in the afternoon sun, shining through her thin dress. The silhouette of her bare legs could be seen through the yellow cotton fabric. She walked up to him with the posture of someone who has an idea. ”Are you done with that?” she asked; and nodded to the large canvas spread out over his lap and the hay around him. “I have a bit left. Have you already done your chores?” Amy just nodded, with that mischievous smile. She was biting her bottom lip and obviously wanted to say something more; “I’ll be just 10 more minutes;” Darren said, trying to soothe her impatience. He was also curious about what she had in mind. She wanted something, that much was clear. Amy was still fidgeting and looking at him with hungry eyes. He suspected she wanted to suggest something; seductive. “I’m not happy about mom getting to taste you before I did, and she got so much more of you even! Now I want you, just for myself;” Amy said, the last part ending in a deep whisper. “Spread your legs;” she continued and pulled the canvas covering Darren’s groin away. With the needle in one hand and the sailmaker’s palm in the other, Darren did as he was told. His sweat pants were already becoming a tent for his rising cock. Amy was very determined. She yanked Darren’s sweatpants down and her expression was of a surprised happiness when she noticed he had chosen not to wear anything under. His semi swollen cock came into her view. Darren didn’t even have time to feel embarrassed before she was crouched down between his legs, her face just inches from his twitching cock. Darren was frozen in erotic shock! It was happening! He’d only heard, read, and fantasized about it. But now; he was finally going to get; a blow job! Amy looked up and their eyes met. She had a seductive grin. “Darren!” His heart sank. He heard aunt Lily calling him! “Darren! Are you in the barn?” Her voice was coming closer! Amy whispered, “I’m not here!” and pulled the canvas over his lap, hiding herself under it, still crouched between his legs. Double Sucking. Darren tried to play it cool, as aunt Lily came into view at the barn door. Her big tits swinging under that flimsy shirt as she moved. Just as with Amy's dress, he could see the contours of her naked body underneath, against the afternoon sun shining through the fabric. She came up to him, “Have you seen Amy?” Darren felt Amy’s hand gripping on to his thighs. He felt her breath on his semi swollen cock. “Uh, no; I don't see her.” he croaked. “Oh. Good” Lily said. She sounded a bit winded from the brisk walk to the barn, “I wanted to speak to you alone.” She sat herself down on the bale of hay Darren was sitting on. He felt the warmth of her thick thigh against his own, even through the heavy canvas he had over his lap. Lily put her hand on Darren’s shoulder and looked him seriously in the eyes, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you; to explain;” she started hesitantly, “You know that I breast feed your cousin; well, you’ve seen it, twice now.” Darren sat in awkward silence. He could feel his aunt's body heat against his side and at the same time, he could feel Amy’s head between his legs, the warmth of her breath on his aroused cock, under the canvas. Darren felt like he was trapped! Aunt Lily took on a more intimate tone, “I don’t want you to think that we are weird. I know it’s not strictly unnatural for a mother to still tit feed her grown up daughter. See, what not many people know is that it’s very healthy and nutritious. Mother's milk, I mean.” Darren sat in silence. Aunt Lily’s hand on his shoulder, her thumb caressing him slowly as she spoke. “I saw the great benefits of nursing, to help build Amy's immunities.” Aunt Lily explained. “Plus, it also helped prevent food allergies. The local hospital refers struggling mothers to me, when they need a wet nurse.” He tried to keep his eyes away, but they were drawn like magnets to her deep luscious cleavage. “What is unusual, is that I never actually dried up. This makes me very dependable as a wet nurse. Amy helps me stay producing, so she's also helping other families have a resource for natural mother's milk.” Lily was trying her best to gain Darren's acceptance of her family secret. Her large tits jiggled every time she moved, they heaved as she took a breath. It was mesmerizing to see. Lily went on; “Darren, I love the wonderful contentment that comes over me when I release milk. It's not a perverted thing, but it is hard for judgmental people to accept.” The fact that his cousin Amy was perched between his legs didn’t make it less sensual. He tried hard to think of rugby, or calculus, but his body was betraying him. He could feel his cock swelling, there under the heavy canvas across his lap. “Amy and I are very affectionate people, and my post-natal hormones sort of compel me to be openly affectionate and somewhat of a naturalist. I hope you can accept us as we are, Darren?” Darren simply nodded, not because he was shy or avoiding Aunt Lily's topic, but because her daughter is orally engrossed in his cock right now. Lily carefully avoided saying anything about how having her nipples sucked on, gives her some amazing climaxes. But even if she doesn't fully climax, it's just a matter of a few minutes of frigging herself alone, and her euphoria is sure to arrive. “If you want; you can try it;” aunt Lily offered, looking at him with the most puppy dog eyes he’d ever seen. She was taller than him, but even though she was looking down at him; in reality, it felt as if she’d exposed her soul to him and he was now the judge, jury and executioner of her total soul! Lily knew very well what she was doing. Darren would never cut her down in such a sensitive moment. “Okay;” was all that Darren could offer as a retort. His eyes flailed, trying not to look at aunt Lily’s huge tits visible there under her loose cotton blouse. Even though that was what the subject was all about. Lily’s voice took a more sultry tone, “Lie down;” she softly pushed Darren’s shoulder, guiding him to lean back on the hay bales behind him. As his body was laid back, his hips slid forward, he felt the tip of his growing phallus touch Amy’s face, under the canvas. His body flinched and Lily shushed him, sensing his hesitance. She had his eyes locked with hers, she was on a mission. What was worse, or better, was that he now felt Amy’s lips cautiously closing around the head of his cock! Darren found himself on his back, Aunt Lily was now towering over him, her familiar strands of unruly hair, framing her sensual face, one hand placed heavily on his shoulder, her other hand slowly pulling her shirt to the side, letting her large tit fall out and pendulously swing up closer to his face. Darren felt his eyes enlargen. Her bulbous nipple, as big as his fingertip, caught all of his attention. As she moved herself over him, it swung seductively over him, the nipple closing in on his face. He felt his cock quickly swell as Amy’s lips encircled it and her tongue circled around his phallic crown's ridge! Amy was not discouraged by the fact that her mother was leaning over Darren with her tit exposed. She was crouched between his legs and had just taken his cock into her mouth. She was going to make good use of the situation. The feeling was amazing! Darren could very much feel Amy’s hesitant lips enclose around his hardening cock. As it quickly grew, and journey deeper into her mouth, he also felt his tip reach in over her warm, wet tongue. Aunt Lily shifted, to place herself a bit above Darren, and then sank her tit down over him. Instinctively Darren opened his mouth and Lily’s nipple landed perfectly in between his lips. As she moved, her strong and shapely leg pressed his own legs together, which meant that he now caught Amy’s head in a vice between his thighs. Her face was pushed into his groin, swallowing all of his meat to the hilt. Darren could feel Amy's breath on his skin, her nails digging into his thighs. He felt that Amy’s face was now wedged in between his thighs, squeezed in place, his growing cock inside of her mouth. Before he could ponder more about where his cock was now embedded, his aunt lowered herself on him. Her big nipple dipped into his mouth and instinctively his lips closed around it! The feeling of aunt Lily’s full and heavy tit weighing down over his face was amazing. As he gave her swollen hard nipple a small suck, he heard her gasp gently. His theory of Aunt Lily enjoying arousal from nipple-play, was all but confirmed. He also felt his cock twitch, as Amy’s closed mouth constricted around it. Her tongue was pushing at it, as it increased quickly in size! Aunt Lily shifted again, to make herself more comfortable and now both her hand and thigh were pushing Darren’s legs together even more. He felt Amy’s head was squeezed even deeper into his groin! Her lower lip was now touching his ball sack, and her upper lip was planted on the root of his hard cock. He felt her nostrils exhale on his pubes! He was all the way into her throat! Her nails were gently clawing at his legs. But Darren’s legs were heavily pressed over her shoulders and she was well stuck in! A small part of his brain was feeling sorry for his poor cousin, down there under the canvas. Her mouth pressed down over his growing cock. But the more dominant part of his brain was feeling a surge of horniness. Amy’s tongue was sprawling around, stroking the underside of his turgid cock. The warmth his rod was enclosed in was intense, her lips around the base of his shaft did nothing to dampen the feeling. The warm and heavy tit of his aunt pressed down over his mouth, the sweet liquid soon flowed out from her nipple; Darren knew he’d never last long in this sensuous heaven! Darren soon felt Amy calming down. Instead of her panic of being stuck with his cock wedged deep into her throat, she seemed to accept it. Her breathing somehow found its rhythm and her tongue was caressing the underside of his cock. Her mouth was trying to make sucking motions, but it was hard, since it was so far pressed onto the root of him! Just the thought of being so deep into Amy’s throat. was intoxicating. Aunt Lily was slowly humming in pleasure, and softly stroking his hair as he sucked on the huge tit she had buried his face under. Her milk tasted amazing. Darren didn’t know what it should taste like, but it was hard to imagine anything tasting better than this! It was like milk with sugar. Her nipple felt so stiff and big in his mouth. His tongue flicked it in between sucks. He could hear Aunt Lily respond with quick inhalations whenever he did so. Amy couldn’t really move her head back and forth, but she started tilting her head from side to side, letting her tongue reach even more of his now fully-grown rocket. Her lips were also pressing and squeezing around the base of it. Now he was feeling it; the familiar force. Hard to say where in his body it began, but it was very clear to predict where it was heading. He was euphoric and light-headed. A serene peace came over his countenance, followed by an urgency to blast his cockful of cream. He felt he should warn Amy about what was coming, but his left arm was stuck under aunt Lily’s other tit and his right one was held down by her hand. His thighs clenched up and his pulsating cock twitched in her mouth; then he came! He didn’t know exactly how deep into Amy the head of his cock was, but; wherever it was, it was now pumping out all of his jizz with immense force! Amy’s hands were now gripping his calves hard! He could hear Amy faintly making some muffled sounds from between his legs, so he tried to compensate with his own louder humming and sucking. The vibration from his mouth was sending waves of pleasure through aunt Lily’s tit it seemed. She was breathing heavier, which was good. It hopefully made it so that his own suppressed breathing wasn’t noticed! He could feel the swallowing motions around his cock as he was coming! Darren's eyes were closed. He could now only endure and enjoy the two women he was stuck in between. Auntie’s sweet milk squirting into his mouth and his own fluids squirting into Amy’s. This was surely a dream! It was again hard to estimate how much time had passed. But his cock finally softened a bit and he could feel Amy more relaxed again. Her tongue playing slowly with his spent cock. Aunt Lily seemed to enjoy his, now slower pace of sucking. Her breathing became restless and soon she just held her breath completely. Her chest dropped down, pressing her one nipple into Darren's tongue, while her other nipple pressed against his shirt. Finally Aunt Lily exhaled. A deep slow breathe followed, and she finally uttered; “Ah!” Finally she raised herself up. Darren's mouth didn’t want to let go of her life giving teat. So it stretched out a bit and she had to almost sit up fully before it broke free from his lips with a 'pop'. He opened his eyes and was now looking at his aunt from below. Some of her face obscured by her large tits. The nipple he’d had in his mouth was drenched and he could see that the other one was dripping with milk. Trying to hide her encumbered breathing, aunt Lily said, “I’m sorry Darren, but I’m gonna have to save some for your cousin also.” She smiled and stroked his cheek. Then she closed her shirt and her lovely round tits were covered. The huge nipples were tenting the blouse with great pride. Amy was still letting her tongue slide around Darren’s semi-stiff cock, in silence under the canvas. “I’ll meet you inside; for supper;” Lily said as she rose from the hay bale beside him, and went back towards the house. Darren slowly let his thighs part, now that Lily had left. He was a bit afraid of how Amy was going to react. She had really been put through an ordeal down there and no chance to get out of it “I’m sorry, but auntie was pushing on my legs;” he started saying, as he lifted the canvas from his lap. Looking down between his legs he could see Amy’s eyes looking at his. She drew her head back a little, still having his cock in her mouth and gave off a sexy smile. As much as she could smile, while still having her whole mouth stuffed. With a long, surging suck, she slowly drew her head back all the way, pulling his cock with it, until it finally plopped out. Her chin was shining and covered in saliva. Her face was red, but she licked her lips and looked very satisfied! “Wow! That was intense;” she said, “I didn’t think I’d be deep-throated you, but wow; It was great!” Darren could only give her a relieved smile back. He was very happy that she took it so well. “So, how did mom’s milk taste?” she continued. Darren had no problems admitting that it tasted amazing and how he now understood why Amy liked to feed from Aunt Lily so often. He would do the same, if she’d let him. Amy straightened out her clothes and wiped her face while Darren finished up the stitching on the canvas. Then they made their way back down to the house. The sun was setting and it was getting darker outside, Twisted Positions. Back at the house they were met with the lovely smell of lasagna. Aunt Lily was still in her baggy white blouse, but had now also added an apron. It had a wide waistband and was snugly tied around her waist, accentuating her buxom hourglass figure, and pressing her cleavage up to an impressive size. Darren did all in his power not to stare! It still didn’t feel real to him, that just a while ago, he had actually been sucking on one of those big tits, drinking aunt Lily’s milk. A familiar twitch in between his legs made him quickly sit down at the table. Amy skipped into the kitchen and gave her mother a hug, pressing her head against Lily’s ample tits. While she did she gave Darren a wink and pursed her lips. They all sat down and ate. The food was delicious and Amy asked her mother if they all couldn't have some wine also, to celebrate that Darren now was here for the summer. Aunt Lily was hesitant at first. They were of course all grown up now, but she still thought of them as ‘kids.’ But Amy’s pleading worked and Lily brought out some red wine from the cupboard. It was a great moment. The wine was buzzing and the talks were funny and nice. Some reminiscing about what antics Amy and Darren had gotten up to years ago, and some stories about life on the farm in general. After they had emptied two bottles of wine and were starting a third one, Darren was feeling a good bit buzzed. From the amount of laughing and joking, both Amy and aunty were probably affected too. Darren sometimes forgot and found himself staring at aunt Lily’s big nipple bumps; or Amy’s blouse being half unbuttoned, that were making her tits a very public presence. But no one seemed to notice, so Darren thought that he probably got away with his wandering eyes. Amy suggested that they play some game of something. She was clearly full of energy and getting a bit tipsy. They all moved out to the living room and Lily and Darren sat themselves down on the sofa while Amy started rummaging through the shelves where all kinds of board games and stuff was kept. As they were a bit unsteady, Darren couldn’t help but to notice that Lily had happened to sit very close beside him on the sofa, with her arm resting on the backrest. He felt her warm, soft hip against his own, and her firm sideboob pressing against his arm. Again the images of her tit being lowered down over his face and her stiff nipple between his lips, floated up to the forefront of his brain. He shifted his legs, to try to hide the growth between his legs. Lily seemed oblivious to the fact that they were so close to each other, or that her tit bounced and brushed against his arm every time she responded to Amy’s different suggestions of games she was finding on the shelves. Now Darren really wanted to get a hold of that quilt on the sofa so he could cover himself before anyone would notice his swelling crotch rocket. But the quilt was what they were sitting on, so that was out of the question. “Here! Read the rules!” Amy threw some pamphlet at Darren. By a saving grace it landed right in his lap! He quickly held it as cover to the emerging tentpole in his pants! Twister? Amy had decided on the game Twister! She was already splaying out the mat on the floor in front of the sofa they were seated in. “Oh no, Amy. I’m so bad at this;” Lily complained. “Nah, it’ll be fun!” Amy persisted as she was on her hands and knees on the floor, trying to straighten out the mat with the colored circles on it! Darren quickly finding his rescue in the rule book proclaimed, “I’ll be the referee!” “What? No. All of us have to play!” Amy pouted. Darren explained that there has to be a referee. A person that spins the spinner and tells the other players where to place their hands and feet. If there is no referee, how could they know in which colored circles to place their hands or feet? He pointed to the rule book to accentuate what he had just said. At first Amy seemed defeated from this logic but soon wised up and decided that they’d play each other in pairs. Amy and Lily would go first and Darren could be the referee and then the one who lost would be out and take over being referee for round number two. Darren wasn't really comfortable with having to play at all. He didn’t really trust his cock to not poke out visibly, but was happy to at least get to start out as referee. Maybe his cock would relax enough until it was his turn, he thought. Lily grudgingly agreed to join in, but assured them that she would surely lose. The game started with Amy and Lily standing on opposite sides of the mat, one foot each on a blue and yellow circle. There were four lines of colored circles, outside of the rows of blue and yellow were green and red circles. Darren flicked the spinner and called out, “Right foot blue!” “But I am already on blue;” aunt Lily giggled. “Then you just move your right foot to another, unoccupied blue circle;” Darren explained. Lily took a step forward with her right foot and placed it on another blue circle, closer to Amy. Amy had to move her foot to a blue circle, making her stand with her back to Darren. Being tipsy from the multiple glasses of wine, they both wobbled more than necessary for such a small challenge. Their balancing acts were a pleasure for Darren's eyes. Aunt Lily’s swaying boobs were easy to follow as they moved under her pale thin white blouse. Her stiff nipples did nothing to hide themselves under the fabric. Amy was wearing her short yellow dress that ended just under her ass. Which made Darren very happy, as the next spin said; ‘Right hand, red’. This meant Amy had to lean forward to place her right hand on a red circle. Her short dress did nothing to cover up her tight, round ass. The plump contents of her panties was well exposed to him. But what was even more arousing was that aunt Lily now had to lean backwards to get her right hand on a red square. She had to bend her knees and spread her legs as she leaned backwards to get her hand on a red circle beside Amy’s hand. Lily’s shirt was too long to give any upshot view, but the shirt was tightened over her strong thighs and the gaps between her shirt's buttons gave him a view of her underboobs and her pussy mound was pushing prominently up against the straining cloth. Lily’s large tits jiggled around as she was trying to stay balanced. Darren came to the realization that this was not helping his cock to soften; But he had the rule book strategically placed in his lap to obscure his swelling boner. “Left hand, blue;” was next. Amy now had to put her left hand on a blue circle between her legs, making her show off her ass even more to Darren and aunt Lily needed to bend even more backwards to reach the blue circle to where her foot had been standing at start. Aunt Lily’s shirt buttons were now really straining to not pop open! Darren felt himself salivating and had to swallow, “Right hand, green;” he called out. Lily managed to crouch herself down and get her right hand from a red circle to a green one. This did however give Darren a very nice view down her cleavage as she had to lean a bit towards him. Her bust squeezed in between her arm and thigh. “But that’s impossible!” Amy groaned, “How am I supposed to do that?” Amy tried to bend her knees, she was now squatting with her left hand between her legs and needed to get her right hand all the way to a green circle behind her back. She did try, but thumped down on her ass! Aunt Lily had a smile of actual surprise on her face when she realized that she’d won. The sight of her standing up and waving her arms in the air to celebrate was extremely sexy to Darren. Her tits were sensual works of art, swaying around there under her partly unbuttoned shirt. Amy muttered and took the spinny thing from Darren, “Yeah, yeah. Alright, Mom wins the first round.” Darren now felt a chill run through his spine. It was his turn! But his boner was rock solid and pointing upward in his sweat pants! How the hell was he gonna cover this up? “Assume your starting positions!” Amy demanded as she snuggled up on the sofa with the spinner in front of her. Aunt Lily seemed happy and confident and stood herself on the mat where Amy had started previously. Darren was trying to think and went with what had saved him last night when he’d been trying to hide his boner from Amy. Instead of standing up straight, which would immediately reveal the tent in his pants, he crouched to his starting position like a hunch back. Playing it as if he was acting ‘sneaky’. It probably looked weird, but at least it made it so that his boner didn’t stretch against his pants. He stood in place, with his feet on a yellow and a blue circle, but he leaned his upper body forward and bent his knees enough so that the front of his sweat pants were still baggy enough to hide his bulge. Aunt Lily was now opposite of him, standing tall and gave him a challenging smile, “If I win this round I’ve beaten you both.” “Yeah, yeah;” Amy said and then the orders came quickly. Right foot blue, left foot yellow. In practice, this just meant that Darren and Lily had stepped closer to each other on the mat. But aunt Lily was turned around, her back to Darren. This served Darren well and he could straighten himself out a bit. As he glanced over to Amy, it was clear that she could see the tent in his pants. She smiled and had her tongue between her teeth. Luckily aunt Lily was turned around away from him, so she couldn’t see the front of his sweatpants pointing straight at her curvaceous ass. “Right hand red!” Amy called out. Lily now bent over forward, her wide hips stretching her shirt over those well rounded orbs. Darren had no choice but to put his hand on a red circle to the right and a little behind him, making him lean back and now supporting himself mostly on his right arm! The other option would’ve been to lean forward, over aunt Lily to reach a red circle, but then his throbbing cock would inevitably press right in between her ass cheeks and he would be given away! Next was: left hand, yellow. It was an easy move for Lily, she just had to stand on all fours now, her shirt slipping up a little more but still covering enough of her thighs to not show off her secret spot. Darren now had to stand like a crab. His back towards the mat, but at least he could support himself on both arms better now. Right foot red; They both had to widen their stance. Lily hiked her shirt dress up a little to have room enough to spread her leg to the right more. Darren had to move his right leg more forward and more under Lily’s hips. His hard cock was now towering in his pants. Only a few inches from his pole slipping up under aunt Lily’s shirt. Darren could see the muscles in Lily’s thighs flexing as she kept her balance. He didn’t dare to look at Amy but he could feel that she was probably enjoying the sight of him being so hard under his sweatpants. Left foot, yellow. Their feet were already on yellow circles, so they just had to shift to another circle in the same line. Darren didn’t have many options if he wanted to keep his balance, so he moved his foot forward a bit. This was good as it lowered his groin, away from between aunt Lily’s spread legs. Aunt Lily tried to move her left foot backwards, toward Darren, but it resulted in her stepping on his hand instead. “Oh sorry!” She got startled and instead tried to move her leg forward. But this only resulted in her losing her balance and falling down, on top of Darren! On top of Darren's erection, to be precise! Had they both been naked Darren would’ve surely plunged himself deep into her spread crotch. But as they were now wearing clothes the result instead became that his aunt sat herself heavily down on his rock-hard boner. Her legs were spread so wide that even through his thick sweat pants and aunt Lily’s panties, he could feel her vaginal lips on each side of his rock hard pole. As they landed Lily tried to scramble to her feet. She must’ve felt it too! Her scrambling made it so that her pussy’s meaty folds rubbed several times along Darren's raging boner. No sweatpants were thick enough to hide those sensations! Lily got up and inadvertently allowing Darren to have another good look down her generous cleavage before she got to her feet. She was blushing, “Oh no! I lost!” Lily's Early Bedtime. Aunt Lily straightened out her shirt dress and did everything humanly possible to not let her eyes look at Darren. But they deceived her and it was clear that they stole a glance at what had poked at her so hard, when she had sat down on it. “I think I might be a bit drunk!” she blathered, "I think it’s best I hit, the hay.” With a very cute hiccup, she rushed out of the room and up the stairs. Darren was now sitting on the Twister mat, his pants still tented and Amy was silently laughing her ass off! She looked so excited and amused, but didn’t make a sound! When aunt Lily had disappeared to the top of the stairs, Amy snuck from the sofa to joining Darren on the twister mat. Her gaze was locked onto Darren’s bulging sweat pants. Crouching down beside Darren, Amy let her hand slowly grasp around his hard-on, over his pants. Darren shuddered from the sensation of his cousin's hand softly gripping around his pole. “Mom must’ve felt this when she landed on you;” she whispered in lewd fascination. “Did you cheat with the spinner?” Darren asked. Amy, still holding her hand around Darren's erection, looked a bit mischievous, “Yeah; I wanted to situate you guys;” she jumped to her feet and pulled Darren up, “Like this!” she exclaimed and stood herself with her back against him, legs wide spread. Darren’s tenting pants were now lined up very well with Amy's bent over ass. Reached way under her own widespread legs, she grabbed at Darren' pants just above his knees. Swiftly she tugged down Darren’s sweatpants, resulting in his rock hard boner flung out with a bounce, smacking her in her bald cuntlips.. “Put your feet on blue and yellow;” she ordered as she spread her buttcheeks more, revealing her glistening slit from behind. Her short yellow dress only hid the top part of her ass. Darren almost forgot to breathe. Looking down, the head of his cock was just at her opening, as Amy leaned her upper body forward, resting her hands down on the ottoman; making her wet entrance push back against Darren's sensitive purple cock head. “If I had my hand on this cushion;” she said and placed her hand on the padded corduroy upholstery, “...and you find a stable place for your hands;” She pulled at Darren's arm, pulling him forward and making his cock head press against her moist opening. He could feel the top half of his glans pressing into her. Amy sounded a bit flustered now, “Come on’ lean more forward;” she said as she pulled his arm more. She had to bend her knees to let Darren be able to reach over her back, as she did, her opening parted more and Darren sank in to her! They both gasped and stood still. The position was very awkward, but the feeling of having half of his cock pressed into her hot, wet cunt depths, was amazing! “Oh god;” Amy breathed, “and the next move would be; right foot blue and left foot yellow; also, left hand green and right hand red.” Darren found it hard to concentrate on the instructions. The feeling of Amy’s inner walls squeezing against his cock were so very erotic. Darren tried to slide his right foot up another circle, resulting in him pressing a couple of more inches into her. In a feat of acrobatics, Amy lifted her right leg and flung it back over his thigh, pressing her weight down on his hips. To not fall he had to lean back and hold himself up with both hands. Darren was now in a crab-like position, his belly up, Amy planted her hands above Darren's, resulting in her ass straddling over his groin and her legs spread wide to each side of his hips. She was putting a lot of weight on him, pressing herself as deep as she could, over his pulsating cock! Darren was too horny and too aroused, now. He just wanted to grab her hips and fall to the floor, that would bury him so deep into that luscious womanhood slipping around his proud soldier. “Kids. I’m gonna go to bed, you can finish the wine;” aunt Lily’s voice was heard from the staircase. To their shock her steps coming down, could also be heard! Amy and Darren froze in position! Aunt Lily was coming down! Darren quickly analyzed their predicament. Although Amy’s dress was short, in this position it was covering both his and her own groin. Most likely aunt Lily would not be able to see that they were joined together under her skirt! Darren was hoping that Lily was only going to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water or something, but froze in terror as he saw her instead make her way towards them as they were squatting onto each other there on the game mat! She leaned over Amy, “Good night sweetie;” and gave her a kiss. Her kiss made Amy weigh down even more on Darren. He could feel his cock pressing up into her even more! Her fluids threatened to run down onto his balls and thighs. “Mom! Don’t make me fall;” Amy said, trying to sound casual and not make Lily suspect that she was sat on a spike of throbbing meat. “Good night to you too, Darren;” Lily said and gave him a stroke on his cheek. Lily leaning down to him, again gave him a perfect view down her cleavage. He could feel Amy’s tight entrance rhythmically squeezing around the root of his cock inside of her! Aunt Lily backed away, “Don’t hurt yourselves now;” she snickered as she left them and went upstairs. Amy and Darren stayed still, until they heard the bathroom door close upstairs, then Darren let himself fall to the ground. Amy fell with him and gave out a deep, throated groan as she landed heavily on top of him. His cock pressed deeper than possible, so deeply into her soaked cunt! Amy's knees landed astride Darren's hips, and the cowgirl rode for glory and started shaking. Darren could feel her pussy twitching around his cock! For a while she just sat on top of him, letting her climax wind down. When her breath had steadied, she looked over her shoulder at Darren, “Imagine if I’d gotten you and mom into that position;” she fired off a broad smile and slowly rose herself off of him. It was an amazing sight, to see his still hard cock slowly slip out from her innards, pulling her tight lining out nearly an inch with the cock which her lusty cunt resisted parting with. Strands of clear fluids hanging from her pussy lips, stretched to his rod. Amy crawled on all fours over to the sofa table and got the bottle of wine for them. Darren felt exposed and pulled his sweat pants up again. He felt Amy’s heated fluids still around it and slowly being soaked up by his pants. In silence they sat on the mat gulping down the rest of the bottle. Darren couldn’t help but to notice a small puddle forming on the mat, between Amy’s legs. But he didn’t say anything. The whole thing was so hot! Aunt Lily had been standing right beside them as he had been plunged into her daughter in secret! Damn that was hot. His cock was still twitching. It really wanted release, but he felt that Amy was the one in charge of their ‘relationship’. He didn’t dare ask to put it in again. And she had obviously just cum, so probably she was spent for the moment. “I think I know what she’s doing now;” Amy said with a secretive tone. Milking Momma. Darren had been in his own erotic world for the last few minutes. Trying to ignore his pulsating manhood, swallowing down the wine at a fast pace and feeling the buzz in his head increasing, “Huh?” “Come on!” Amy said and took his hand. They both rose and Darren followed Amy sneaking up the stairs. She stopped dead still outside of the bathroom door. Amy gave Darren's hand a squeeze and held her ear to the door. All was silent and Darren wasn’t sure what was going on. If Amy wanted to sneak him into her bedroom, then why did she stop here, by the bathroom door. Amy moved herself forward, pulling Darren along and making room for him by the door. He couldn’t see Amy’s face as he was behind her back, but she seemed to be listening intently at the door. Darren followed suit and also put his ear to the door; that’s when he heard it! Fast paced, shallow breaths, barely detectable through the wooden door. What was that? As it dawned on him, Darren felt stupid for being so naive. It was aunt Lily; masturbating! Shit! His horny mind did not have any trouble imagining the sight behind that closed door! He could see it clear as day. Aunt Lily, one arm between her legs, the other leaning against the bathroom sink. Her heavy tits jiggling along with her hand rapidly rubbing at her pussy between those thick and well carved thighs! Suddenly the sound stopped. A moment's silence and then a soft, muffled moan could be heard. If Darren had been hard before, he was in steel mode now! In his imagination he saw aunt Lily lean her head back, the shirt stretching thin over her bulging boobs and her mouth open, eyes closed, cumming over her own hand! This was better than any porn flick he’d ever seen! He was suddenly pulled out of his wet dream by Amy. She quickly tippy-toed with him in tow into her room. “Quick, get in the bed;” she whispered as she pulled off her yellow dress in one single motion, “Like last night!” Darren was dumb founded. Maybe it was because all of his blood was flowing down to his crotch or maybe he was just slow. But it was hard to look away as Amy revealed her sexy body in front of him. The soft light from the little lamp by her bed made her look so incredibly sensual. Her nice tits bouncing, her hairless pussy mound flashing between her legs and the wetness on her inner thighs was hypnotizing! The now-naked Amy smiled and pushed Darren into her pink, girly bed, “Go on Darren! Get in!” She pulled his pants down and shoved him back in the bed until his ass hit the familiar wall. She quickly slunk into bed and pulled the covers over them, hiding Darren completely under it. It all went so fast and Darren was a bit slow and dizzy from the wine and the immense horniness that had been ravaging his mind and body for the last couple of hours. He felt Amy’s hand grip around his cock from behind and steer it in between her legs. Everything down there was wet and slippery. As soon as she felt his head against her opening she pushed her hips back. With hardly any resistance, Darren sank all the way! Just like last night, he was pressed against the bedroom wall from behind and Amy’s sex from the front! He came instantly. He gritted his teeth and let out a muffled groan. The only thing he now felt was his cock exploding inside of his cousin and, for some reason, her wild hair in his face there under the dark covers! Amy was slowly rolling her hips on him, purposely massaging his loins as his cock pumped batch after batch of his seed into her hot crevice! Darren couldn’t move and just let Amy’s rolling hips make the releasing friction last for as long as possible. Her hand was holding onto his waist under the covers, not letting him pull out, even if he had wanted to. Darren was feeling drunk and relaxed. His breath was slowing and his whole body felt as if it was embedded in a cave of sex! Some time passed and he was once again regaining some feeling in his throbbing cock. He could feel how Amy’s inner walls were slowly milking his cock. “I think she’s asleep now;” Amy whispered. “Huh?” Darren, again, felt that he was not connecting dots like he should be. “My Mom. I think she’s sleeping;” Amy explained, not making anything clear to Darren. “Come on..” she said and slid herself off of Darren's now semi hard intruder. Still naked, she snuck over to her bedroom door and listened at it. She opened it a little and peered into the dark hallway. She waved at Darren who sluggishly crawled himself out of the bed. He pulled his pants up and felt the wetness his cock was drenched in, smear out over his inner thighs. ‘I’m really gonna have to wash some clothes tomorrow’, he thought to himself as he silently moved up to Amy. She grabbed his hand and led him out into the dark hallway. The soft runner rug made them totally soundless. Darren didn’t know what was going on but let himself be led, his eyes sneakily checking out Amy’s round and swaying ass as she moved in front of him. She then stopped by aunt Lily’s bedroom door! The door was cracked and Amy was peeking in; She looked back at Darren with a sly grin, “I didn’t get my milk tonight.” Before Darren’s brain could make sense of the words he just heard she pulled him into aunt Lily’s room. It was dark, but moonlight flowed through the window, lighting up Lily’s bed with a pale blueish glow. Lily was resting peacefully on the bed. She was on her back, the blanket only covering her legs. Up top she had some kind of flannel pajama nightshirt on, and her massive chest was slowly rising and falling with her breath. The lighting from outside of the barn and the moon blended together lit up the beautiful milf sleeping on the bed. In her prone position, Lily’s boobs didn’t stick out as much from her chest, they were more flat and receded to her sides, but still very large. Lily's nipples, however, were only the size of Amy's fingertip Amy motioned to Darren to move over to the side of her bed while she placed herself on the other side, closest to the door. Darren moved as silently as ever, when he came to the side of auntie's bed he found himself blocking the light, so he hunched down. Her face was too beautiful to be in the shadow he thought. Her long, brown hair was draped over the pillow, her head tilted slightly down towards her chest and her sexy lips pouting in her sleep. On the opposite side, Amy knelt down by the bedside and laid her elbows on the mattress beside Lily. Darren did the same, not being able to tear his eyes from that full bosom, slowly rising and falling in Lily’s sleep. Darren’s eyes widened as Amy carefully unbuttoned aunt Lily’s pajama nightshirt. There were only like 4 pretty big buttons and the shirt was loose fitting, so it was easily done without disturbing her. Amy slowly pulled the pajama nightshirt off Lily’s chest, revealing her large, scrumptious tit! She nodded encouragingly to Darren, hesitantly he did the same. The tit uncovered close to him looked even bigger than he’d remembered it from earlier today. A dark, stiff nipple perched on top of it. Darren wondered if her nipples were maybe always hard? He couldn’t remember ever seeing aunt Lily without stiff nipples poking through her dresses or shirts. Amy moved her face closer to her mother’s tit, locking eyes with Darren and nodding for him to follow suit. Darren moved himself closer also, but was now very afraid to wake his aunt. It was exciting enough to expose her lovely, large tits while she slept, but now he felt Amy might be going a bit too far. They’d gotten away with doing stuff to each other so many times already. This felt like pushing their luck. Amy shrugged at his cowardice and leaned her face in. She gave Lily’s stiff nipple a lick of her tongue. Nothing happened. Amy did it again; and again. At the third lick, aunt Lily let out a soft moan and her lips opened up a little. Amy smiled and softly planted her lips around Lily’s nipple. Lily inhaled, still sleeping. Amy closed her eyes and started slowly sucking. Lily was breathing heavier but still calmly and her eyes were closed. Darren's semi-hard cock geared up to full hard cock again, now. The sight was so incredibly arousing. His sexy cousin's soft lips surrounding her mother’s nipple and gently sucking at it. It looked like a sensual fantasy. Without even noticing it himself, Darren had moved his face closer to Lily’s other tit, her nipple just inches from his mouth. He felt his mouth watering. The wine and his libido made him brave, or maybe foolish enough. He leaned his face down over her heaving tit and closed his lips around the stiff nipple as delicately as he possibly could manage. Lily rustled a little and gave off a soft moan. With her nipple still between his lips he threw a glance at his aunt. She was still fast asleep. But her body was clearly feeling the sensations of having her nipples in warm, hungry mouths. Just as carefully as he took her nipple in his mouth he started to suck on it. He felt her nipple deeper on his tongue and some of her boob flesh swelling into his mouth. A few seconds in, he could feel the sweet, warm wetness emerging from it! In thin squirts it hit the roof of his mouth and spread over his tongue! It was glorious! Aunt Lily was still sleeping, only now and then did she move her head, inhale or moan lightly from the nipple massage she was getting. Then Darren felt Amy’s hand over his own, she pulled his hand onto Lily’s naked belly. His palm could feel her soft, silky skin under it. In extreme slow motion she led his hand downward. The gentle curvature of Lily’s lower abdomen made his stiff cock start throbbing in his pants. Looking at Amy, although she still had her mouth over Lily’s tit, he could see a smile on the corner of her lips as she was still sucking away. As his hand was moved down, Amy’s hand over his, he felt his pinky hit the hem of aunt Lily’s pyjama bottoms. Amy’s nimble fingers lifted the hem just enough for their hands to slide in under it! The heat inside was intense. He could feel it on his hand and on Lily’s skin. His fingers and palm then were pushed over his aunt’s well trimmed bush. He remembered the feeling of having those hairs pressed up against his lower back yesterday in the bath. Everything felt blurry. The wine was now fully inebriating his awareness. He knew where this was going and could’ve stopped it. Instead he let Amy guide his hand further down. His ring finger was the first to touch it! Lily's wet slit! Amy pushed his hand a bit further and then just held it there, pressing on his. Lily’s breathing was more shallow now. Amy pressed on Darren's hand so that his ring finger was squeezed in between aunt Lily’s vaginal lips. They felt so well rounded and full, and in between them was hot, soft dampness! A part of Darren's mind was screaming in fear, afraid that his aunt would wake up and find him with his finger almost inside of her, sucking on her tit! There would be no coming back after that! Then there was the other part of his mind. The drunken, horny, and smitten part. This was something he’d never dreamed of, but now that he was here, he never wanted to wake up! Because it had to be a dream! But the feelings and sensations were very real, and his throbbing cock reminded him of that. It was almost painful now. It was so hard that it could crack stone! The lovely torment went on for a while, Amy just holding his hand firmly over aunt Lily’s vulva. His finger embedded between her moist, soft lips, they both still sucking milk from her nipples as she slept a wine-saturated peaceful bliss. Amy took her hand off his and moved it away. Darren was pulled back to reality a bit and guessed that this part was done now. He slowly slid his hand out of Lily’s pajama bottoms and looked at Lily as Amy let go of her mother's milky nipple. “Come over here. Stand behind me;” she whispered so low that only some of the syllables were detectable. Darren reluctantly let go of the stiff and swollen nipple in his mouth and leaned back away from it, but observed just how huge her lactating nipple swelled to, when aroused. He held his thumb up next to it and both were of similar size. He saw small droplets of milk still emerging from the tit, and he licked his lips. He didn’t feel he was done, but Amy had something else in mind, it seemed. As he leaned back from the bed Amy stood up from her kneeling position. But she kept her mouth latched onto Lily’s tit as she raised her naked ass up. She supported herself with one elbow on the bed and motioned with her other arm for him to come over to her side. Like a sleepwalker, Darren obeyed. His erect cock swung around in his dampened pants as he moved; and he felt his cock, confirming it was uncomfortably hard. As he made his way around the bed it was clear what was expected of him. Amy was now leaned down over her mother, sucking at her tit, her ass lifted high up on straight and spread legs. Darren dropped his pants and positioned his rocket, like a missile with only one target. The moonlight came from a window on the opposite wall, so Amy’s ass and pussy were shrouded in darkness, but he used his thumb to find the wet gash where utopia was hidden. He mustered all of the discipline still left in his body to not just bash his cock into Amy as hard as he could. If he did, she’d be pushed onto Lily’s tit and then she’d surely wake up and chaos would commence. No. He bit his lip and slowly pressed his swelling cock into the wet folds between Amy’s spread legs! He could see Amy’s back tense up as he sunk a few inches in. He saw her ribcage divulge her increased breathing. He felt her thighs tighten and her entry hole clench around his rod! Darren pulled out, only leaving the tip still in her. He paused before he again pushed into her. Deeper this time, but just as slowly. He could feel every inch of her soaked insides surrounding his hard cock. And again; out, almost all the way, then with determination; slowly back in, deep! Amy couldn’t help but to hum with pleasure at his invasion of her love canal. The vibrations of Amy’s hum on Lily’s tit made mother stir. Damn! If Lily woke up now; well, this would be really hard to explain. Darren was ready to just give up and throw himself towards the bedroom door in a panicked escape. But instead, Lily shifted a little and placed her hand on the back of Amy’s head; seemingly still in her sleep. She was now holding Amy’s head pressed onto her tit while Darren was buried deep into her from behind. Darren was in a daze. He felt himself on the edge. The pressure inside of his loins was explosive now. A few more times he managed to pull out and push slowly into Amy until he knew it was too late! Too far gone. He felt the crashing wave ready to be released inside of him. And just then, Amy’s entrance clamped down hard around his cock and she came in a silent vibration! Darren involuntarily joined in on her climax, with his own! He felt his cock swell and compress with every violent squirt of manly juices into Amy’s shuddering hole! Amy's thighs were shaking but her face was still held steady onto Lily’s tit. Darren could feel Amy’s legs losing strength as the orgasm pulsated through her body. He took hold around her hips to give her some help in standing. He was still deep into her as he felt himself also coming down from the ecstatic high. Finally, Lily’s hand slid off her daughter's head and Amy raised herself up from the bed. Her body was trembling and she let out a fatigued gasp as Darren moved his hips back and let his cock slide out of its warm home. Amy sleepily turned around to face him, her arms around his neck. He could feel her soft tits against his chest and his semi hard, drenched cock pressing against Amy’s slippery mound. Her eyes were half shut as she kissed him. Darren could taste aunt Lily’s sweet milk on Amy’s tongue. Their tongues sway slowly and passionately around each other. Amy presses her body more into Darren and he feels her nostrils flaring for air. Amy pulled up Darren's pants while her tongue played with his. Eventually the kiss broke and they both wearily make their way out of auntie’s bedroom. Darren glanced back before shutting her door. The amazing sight of his topless aunt there on the bed is stuff of dreams. Her large tits, covering her whole chest. Her stiff nipples still glistened from milk and saliva. The only thing that co

My Honey Cousin: Part 3. Wine and wanton lusts. Based on a post by Guzzler 21. Listen to the Podcast at My First Time. The sexual tension between Darren and Amy was palpable, and there was a great chance that she might want to get at it again, during the day. Maybe it was just best for him to have nothing underneath, he thought. Darren steadied himself with some deep breaths and thoughts of rugby, then he made his way down to the kitchen. Aunt Lily had made them ham and cheese sandwiches with a side of potato crisps. A classic lunch he remembered always having here. As he was watching Lily eat her lunch, he couldn’t help but to think that those lips, that mouth had tasted his cum just moments ago! Had she noticed? Did she like his cum? Most likely, his aunt hadn’t noticed anything different about the creamy milkshake she swallowed. But just the thought was still very arousing to Darren. Farm Chores. After lunch, aunt Lily proclaimed that it was ‘chore time.’ This was an often occurring event whenever Darren had stayed at their house, during the years. It was sort of a farm, anyway; so there were actual chores that had to be done on it. Some days she let Amy and Darren roam free; but every once and again, she made them help out with different chores on the farm. “Darren, can you repair the old canvas on the shelf in the barn, and Amy, I need you to feed the chickens and chop some fire wood;” Lily said. Some years ago, Lily had shown Darren how to repair and sew in heavy canvases. It was called sailmaking and used different tools, like a heavy duty twine and needle and a gadget you had in the palm of your hand called a sailmaker’s palm; to make it easier to push the needle through the thick canvas. Darren had proved to be gifted in this craft; and egged on by his aunt, he took pride in being good at it. Amy didn’t have the patience for it, so it kind of became Darren’s ‘thing,’ to repair canvases around the farm. Darren was happy for the assignment and made his way out to the barn. He found the old canvas, it was a huge thing, often used to cover hay stacks during bad weather. It was also heavy. He sat himself down on some hay bales and spread out the large canvas over his knees, tools at the ready. It was probably about 5 x 5 yards, at least. Sewing was about as masculine a skill as Darren was a rough and tough guy. But when it was about handling this thick and tough textile with a big needle and the sailmaker’s palm, he actually felt a bit more masculine. He felt like a tough sailor on some harbor dock; doing manly stuff. The weather was nice, and the air pleasant. He sat in the shade of the barn and started repairing the corner of it that had begun to fray. It was conducive to meditating and time passed as he sat there, concentrating on his work. He was so focused that Amy’s sudden presence looking out at him from the barn door, startled him! “Hey there, Darren;” she said in a cheerful manner. She looked beautiful. Amy stepped out into the sunlight. She was standing there in the afternoon sun, shining through her thin dress. The silhouette of her bare legs could be seen through the yellow cotton fabric. She walked up to him with the posture of someone who has an idea. ”Are you done with that?” she asked; and nodded to the large canvas spread out over his lap and the hay around him. “I have a bit left. Have you already done your chores?” Amy just nodded, with that mischievous smile. She was biting her bottom lip and obviously wanted to say something more; “I’ll be just 10 more minutes;” Darren said, trying to soothe her impatience. He was also curious about what she had in mind. She wanted something, that much was clear. Amy was still fidgeting and looking at him with hungry eyes. He suspected she wanted to suggest something; seductive. “I’m not happy about mom getting to taste you before I did, and she got so much more of you even! Now I want you, just for myself;” Amy said, the last part ending in a deep whisper. “Spread your legs;” she continued and pulled the canvas covering Darren’s groin away. With the needle in one hand and the sailmaker’s palm in the other, Darren did as he was told. His sweat pants were already becoming a tent for his rising cock. Amy was very determined. She yanked Darren’s sweatpants down and her expression was of a surprised happiness when she noticed he had chosen not to wear anything under. His semi swollen cock came into her view. Darren didn’t even have time to feel embarrassed before she was crouched down between his legs, her face just inches from his twitching cock. Darren was frozen in erotic shock! It was happening! He’d only heard, read, and fantasized about it. But now; he was finally going to get; a blow job! Amy looked up and their eyes met. She had a seductive grin. “Darren!” His heart sank. He heard aunt Lily calling him! “Darren! Are you in the barn?” Her voice was coming closer! Amy whispered, “I’m not here!” and pulled the canvas over his lap, hiding herself under it, still crouched between his legs. Double Sucking. Darren tried to play it cool, as aunt Lily came into view at the barn door. Her big tits swinging under that flimsy shirt as she moved. Just as with Amy's dress, he could see the contours of her naked body underneath, against the afternoon sun shining through the fabric. She came up to him, “Have you seen Amy?” Darren felt Amy’s hand gripping on to his thighs. He felt her breath on his semi swollen cock. “Uh, no; I don't see her.” he croaked. “Oh. Good” Lily said. She sounded a bit winded from the brisk walk to the barn, “I wanted to speak to you alone.” She sat herself down on the bale of hay Darren was sitting on. He felt the warmth of her thick thigh against his own, even through the heavy canvas he had over his lap. Lily put her hand on Darren’s shoulder and looked him seriously in the eyes, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you; to explain;” she started hesitantly, “You know that I breast feed your cousin; well, you’ve seen it, twice now.” Darren sat in awkward silence. He could feel his aunt's body heat against his side and at the same time, he could feel Amy’s head between his legs, the warmth of her breath on his aroused cock, under the canvas. Darren felt like he was trapped! Aunt Lily took on a more intimate tone, “I don’t want you to think that we are weird. I know it’s not strictly unnatural for a mother to still tit feed her grown up daughter. See, what not many people know is that it’s very healthy and nutritious. Mother's milk, I mean.” Darren sat in silence. Aunt Lily’s hand on his shoulder, her thumb caressing him slowly as she spoke. “I saw the great benefits of nursing, to help build Amy's immunities.” Aunt Lily explained. “Plus, it also helped prevent food allergies. The local hospital refers struggling mothers to me, when they need a wet nurse.” He tried to keep his eyes away, but they were drawn like magnets to her deep luscious cleavage. “What is unusual, is that I never actually dried up. This makes me very dependable as a wet nurse. Amy helps me stay producing, so she's also helping other families have a resource for natural mother's milk.” Lily was trying her best to gain Darren's acceptance of her family secret. Her large tits jiggled every time she moved, they heaved as she took a breath. It was mesmerizing to see. Lily went on; “Darren, I love the wonderful contentment that comes over me when I release milk. It's not a perverted thing, but it is hard for judgmental people to accept.” The fact that his cousin Amy was perched between his legs didn’t make it less sensual. He tried hard to think of rugby, or calculus, but his body was betraying him. He could feel his cock swelling, there under the heavy canvas across his lap. “Amy and I are very affectionate people, and my post-natal hormones sort of compel me to be openly affectionate and somewhat of a naturalist. I hope you can accept us as we are, Darren?” Darren simply nodded, not because he was shy or avoiding Aunt Lily's topic, but because her daughter is orally engrossed in his cock right now. Lily carefully avoided saying anything about how having her nipples sucked on, gives her some amazing climaxes. But even if she doesn't fully climax, it's just a matter of a few minutes of frigging herself alone, and her euphoria is sure to arrive. “If you want; you can try it;” aunt Lily offered, looking at him with the most puppy dog eyes he’d ever seen. She was taller than him, but even though she was looking down at him; in reality, it felt as if she’d exposed her soul to him and he was now the judge, jury and executioner of her total soul! Lily knew very well what she was doing. Darren would never cut her down in such a sensitive moment. “Okay;” was all that Darren could offer as a retort. His eyes flailed, trying not to look at aunt Lily’s huge tits visible there under her loose cotton blouse. Even though that was what the subject was all about. Lily’s voice took a more sultry tone, “Lie down;” she softly pushed Darren’s shoulder, guiding him to lean back on the hay bales behind him. As his body was laid back, his hips slid forward, he felt the tip of his growing phallus touch Amy’s face, under the canvas. His body flinched and Lily shushed him, sensing his hesitance. She had his eyes locked with hers, she was on a mission. What was worse, or better, was that he now felt Amy’s lips cautiously closing around the head of his cock! Darren found himself on his back, Aunt Lily was now towering over him, her familiar strands of unruly hair, framing her sensual face, one hand placed heavily on his shoulder, her other hand slowly pulling her shirt to the side, letting her large tit fall out and pendulously swing up closer to his face. Darren felt his eyes enlargen. Her bulbous nipple, as big as his fingertip, caught all of his attention. As she moved herself over him, it swung seductively over him, the nipple closing in on his face. He felt his cock quickly swell as Amy’s lips encircled it and her tongue circled around his phallic crown's ridge! Amy was not discouraged by the fact that her mother was leaning over Darren with her tit exposed. She was crouched between his legs and had just taken his cock into her mouth. She was going to make good use of the situation. The feeling was amazing! Darren could very much feel Amy’s hesitant lips enclose around his hardening cock. As it quickly grew, and journey deeper into her mouth, he also felt his tip reach in over her warm, wet tongue. Aunt Lily shifted, to place herself a bit above Darren, and then sank her tit down over him. Instinctively Darren opened his mouth and Lily’s nipple landed perfectly in between his lips. As she moved, her strong and shapely leg pressed his own legs together, which meant that he now caught Amy’s head in a vice between his thighs. Her face was pushed into his groin, swallowing all of his meat to the hilt. Darren could feel Amy's breath on his skin, her nails digging into his thighs. He felt that Amy’s face was now wedged in between his thighs, squeezed in place, his growing cock inside of her mouth. Before he could ponder more about where his cock was now embedded, his aunt lowered herself on him. Her big nipple dipped into his mouth and instinctively his lips closed around it! The feeling of aunt Lily’s full and heavy tit weighing down over his face was amazing. As he gave her swollen hard nipple a small suck, he heard her gasp gently. His theory of Aunt Lily enjoying arousal from nipple-play, was all but confirmed. He also felt his cock twitch, as Amy’s closed mouth constricted around it. Her tongue was pushing at it, as it increased quickly in size! Aunt Lily shifted again, to make herself more comfortable and now both her hand and thigh were pushing Darren’s legs together even more. He felt Amy’s head was squeezed even deeper into his groin! Her lower lip was now touching his ball sack, and her upper lip was planted on the root of his hard cock. He felt her nostrils exhale on his pubes! He was all the way into her throat! Her nails were gently clawing at his legs. But Darren’s legs were heavily pressed over her shoulders and she was well stuck in! A small part of his brain was feeling sorry for his poor cousin, down there under the canvas. Her mouth pressed down over his growing cock. But the more dominant part of his brain was feeling a surge of horniness. Amy’s tongue was sprawling around, stroking the underside of his turgid cock. The warmth his rod was enclosed in was intense, her lips around the base of his shaft did nothing to dampen the feeling. The warm and heavy tit of his aunt pressed down over his mouth, the sweet liquid soon flowed out from her nipple; Darren knew he’d never last long in this sensuous heaven! Darren soon felt Amy calming down. Instead of her panic of being stuck with his cock wedged deep into her throat, she seemed to accept it. Her breathing somehow found its rhythm and her tongue was caressing the underside of his cock. Her mouth was trying to make sucking motions, but it was hard, since it was so far pressed onto the root of him! Just the thought of being so deep into Amy’s throat. was intoxicating. Aunt Lily was slowly humming in pleasure, and softly stroking his hair as he sucked on the huge tit she had buried his face under. Her milk tasted amazing. Darren didn’t know what it should taste like, but it was hard to imagine anything tasting better than this! It was like milk with sugar. Her nipple felt so stiff and big in his mouth. His tongue flicked it in between sucks. He could hear Aunt Lily respond with quick inhalations whenever he did so. Amy couldn’t really move her head back and forth, but she started tilting her head from side to side, letting her tongue reach even more of his now fully-grown rocket. Her lips were also pressing and squeezing around the base of it. Now he was feeling it; the familiar force. Hard to say where in his body it began, but it was very clear to predict where it was heading. He was euphoric and light-headed. A serene peace came over his countenance, followed by an urgency to blast his cockful of cream. He felt he should warn Amy about what was coming, but his left arm was stuck under aunt Lily’s other tit and his right one was held down by her hand. His thighs clenched up and his pulsating cock twitched in her mouth; then he came! He didn’t know exactly how deep into Amy the head of his cock was, but; wherever it was, it was now pumping out all of his jizz with immense force! Amy’s hands were now gripping his calves hard! He could hear Amy faintly making some muffled sounds from between his legs, so he tried to compensate with his own louder humming and sucking. The vibration from his mouth was sending waves of pleasure through aunt Lily’s tit it seemed. She was breathing heavier, which was good. It hopefully made it so that his own suppressed breathing wasn’t noticed! He could feel the swallowing motions around his cock as he was coming! Darren's eyes were closed. He could now only endure and enjoy the two women he was stuck in between. Auntie’s sweet milk squirting into his mouth and his own fluids squirting into Amy’s. This was surely a dream! It was again hard to estimate how much time had passed. But his cock finally softened a bit and he could feel Amy more relaxed again. Her tongue playing slowly with his spent cock. Aunt Lily seemed to enjoy his, now slower pace of sucking. Her breathing became restless and soon she just held her breath completely. Her chest dropped down, pressing her one nipple into Darren's tongue, while her other nipple pressed against his shirt. Finally Aunt Lily exhaled. A deep slow breathe followed, and she finally uttered; “Ah!” Finally she raised herself up. Darren's mouth didn’t want to let go of her life giving teat. So it stretched out a bit and she had to almost sit up fully before it broke free from his lips with a 'pop'. He opened his eyes and was now looking at his aunt from below. Some of her face obscured by her large tits. The nipple he’d had in his mouth was drenched and he could see that the other one was dripping with milk. Trying to hide her encumbered breathing, aunt Lily said, “I’m sorry Darren, but I’m gonna have to save some for your cousin also.” She smiled and stroked his cheek. Then she closed her shirt and her lovely round tits were covered. The huge nipples were tenting the blouse with great pride. Amy was still letting her tongue slide around Darren’s semi-stiff cock, in silence under the canvas. “I’ll meet you inside; for supper;” Lily said as she rose from the hay bale beside him, and went back towards the house. Darren slowly let his thighs part, now that Lily had left. He was a bit afraid of how Amy was going to react. She had really been put through an ordeal down there and no chance to get out of it “I’m sorry, but auntie was pushing on my legs;” he started saying, as he lifted the canvas from his lap. Looking down between his legs he could see Amy’s eyes looking at his. She drew her head back a little, still having his cock in her mouth and gave off a sexy smile. As much as she could smile, while still having her whole mouth stuffed. With a long, surging suck, she slowly drew her head back all the way, pulling his cock with it, until it finally plopped out. Her chin was shining and covered in saliva. Her face was red, but she licked her lips and looked very satisfied! “Wow! That was intense;” she said, “I didn’t think I’d be deep-throated you, but wow; It was great!” Darren could only give her a relieved smile back. He was very happy that she took it so well. “So, how did mom’s milk taste?” she continued. Darren had no problems admitting that it tasted amazing and how he now understood why Amy liked to feed from Aunt Lily so often. He would do the same, if she’d let him. Amy straightened out her clothes and wiped her face while Darren finished up the stitching on the canvas. Then they made their way back down to the house. The sun was setting and it was getting darker outside, Twisted Positions. Back at the house they were met with the lovely smell of lasagna. Aunt Lily was still in her baggy white blouse, but had now also added an apron. It had a wide waistband and was snugly tied around her waist, accentuating her buxom hourglass figure, and pressing her cleavage up to an impressive size. Darren did all in his power not to stare! It still didn’t feel real to him, that just a while ago, he had actually been sucking on one of those big tits, drinking aunt Lily’s milk. A familiar twitch in between his legs made him quickly sit down at the table. Amy skipped into the kitchen and gave her mother a hug, pressing her head against Lily’s ample tits. While she did she gave Darren a wink and pursed her lips. They all sat down and ate. The food was delicious and Amy asked her mother if they all couldn't have some wine also, to celebrate that Darren now was here for the summer. Aunt Lily was hesitant at first. They were of course all grown up now, but she still thought of them as ‘kids.’ But Amy’s pleading worked and Lily brought out some red wine from the cupboard. It was a great moment. The wine was buzzing and the talks were funny and nice. Some reminiscing about what antics Amy and Darren had gotten up to years ago, and some stories about life on the farm in general. After they had emptied two bottles of wine and were starting a third one, Darren was feeling a good bit buzzed. From the amount of laughing and joking, both Amy and aunty were probably affected too. Darren sometimes forgot and found himself staring at aunt Lily’s big nipple bumps; or Amy’s blouse being half unbuttoned, that were making her tits a very public presence. But no one seemed to notice, so Darren thought that he probably got away with his wandering eyes. Amy suggested that they play some game of something. She was clearly full of energy and getting a bit tipsy. They all moved out to the living room and Lily and Darren sat themselves down on the sofa while Amy started rummaging through the shelves where all kinds of board games and stuff was kept. As they were a bit unsteady, Darren couldn’t help but to notice that Lily had happened to sit very close beside him on the sofa, with her arm resting on the backrest. He felt her warm, soft hip against his own, and her firm sideboob pressing against his arm. Again the images of her tit being lowered down over his face and her stiff nipple between his lips, floated up to the forefront of his brain. He shifted his legs, to try to hide the growth between his legs. Lily seemed oblivious to the fact that they were so close to each other, or that her tit bounced and brushed against his arm every time she responded to Amy’s different suggestions of games she was finding on the shelves. Now Darren really wanted to get a hold of that quilt on the sofa so he could cover himself before anyone would notice his swelling crotch rocket. But the quilt was what they were sitting on, so that was out of the question. “Here! Read the rules!” Amy threw some pamphlet at Darren. By a saving grace it landed right in his lap! He quickly held it as cover to the emerging tentpole in his pants! Twister? Amy had decided on the game Twister! She was already splaying out the mat on the floor in front of the sofa they were seated in. “Oh no, Amy. I’m so bad at this;” Lily complained. “Nah, it’ll be fun!” Amy persisted as she was on her hands and knees on the floor, trying to straighten out the mat with the colored circles on it! Darren quickly finding his rescue in the rule book proclaimed, “I’ll be the referee!” “What? No. All of us have to play!” Amy pouted. Darren explained that there has to be a referee. A person that spins the spinner and tells the other players where to place their hands and feet. If there is no referee, how could they know in which colored circles to place their hands or feet? He pointed to the rule book to accentuate what he had just said. At first Amy seemed defeated from this logic but soon wised up and decided that they’d play each other in pairs. Amy and Lily would go first and Darren could be the referee and then the one who lost would be out and take over being referee for round number two. Darren wasn't really comfortable with having to play at all. He didn’t really trust his cock to not poke out visibly, but was happy to at least get to start out as referee. Maybe his cock would relax enough until it was his turn, he thought. Lily grudgingly agreed to join in, but assured them that she would surely lose. The game started with Amy and Lily standing on opposite sides of the mat, one foot each on a blue and yellow circle. There were four lines of colored circles, outside of the rows of blue and yellow were green and red circles. Darren flicked the spinner and called out, “Right foot blue!” “But I am already on blue;” aunt Lily giggled. “Then you just move your right foot to another, unoccupied blue circle;” Darren explained. Lily took a step forward with her right foot and placed it on another blue circle, closer to Amy. Amy had to move her foot to a blue circle, making her stand with her back to Darren. Being tipsy from the multiple glasses of wine, they both wobbled more than necessary for such a small challenge. Their balancing acts were a pleasure for Darren's eyes. Aunt Lily’s swaying boobs were easy to follow as they moved under her pale thin white blouse. Her stiff nipples did nothing to hide themselves under the fabric. Amy was wearing her short yellow dress that ended just under her ass. Which made Darren very happy, as the next spin said; ‘Right hand, red’. This meant Amy had to lean forward to place her right hand on a red circle. Her short dress did nothing to cover up her tight, round ass. The plump contents of her panties was well exposed to him. But what was even more arousing was that aunt Lily now had to lean backwards to get her right hand on a red square. She had to bend her knees and spread her legs as she leaned backwards to get her hand on a red circle beside Amy’s hand. Lily’s shirt was too long to give any upshot view, but the shirt was tightened over her strong thighs and the gaps between her shirt's buttons gave him a view of her underboobs and her pussy mound was pushing prominently up against the straining cloth. Lily’s large tits jiggled around as she was trying to stay balanced. Darren came to the realization that this was not helping his cock to soften; But he had the rule book strategically placed in his lap to obscure his swelling boner. “Left hand, blue;” was next. Amy now had to put her left hand on a blue circle between her legs, making her show off her ass even more to Darren and aunt Lily needed to bend even more backwards to reach the blue circle to where her foot had been standing at start. Aunt Lily’s shirt buttons were now really straining to not pop open! Darren felt himself salivating and had to swallow, “Right hand, green;” he called out. Lily managed to crouch herself down and get her right hand from a red circle to a green one. This did however give Darren a very nice view down her cleavage as she had to lean a bit towards him. Her bust squeezed in between her arm and thigh. “But that’s impossible!” Amy groaned, “How am I supposed to do that?” Amy tried to bend her knees, she was now squatting with her left hand between her legs and needed to get her right hand all the way to a green circle behind her back. She did try, but thumped down on her ass! Aunt Lily had a smile of actual surprise on her face when she realized that she’d won. The sight of her standing up and waving her arms in the air to celebrate was extremely sexy to Darren. Her tits were sensual works of art, swaying around there under her partly unbuttoned shirt. Amy muttered and took the spinny thing from Darren, “Yeah, yeah. Alright, Mom wins the first round.” Darren now felt a chill run through his spine. It was his turn! But his boner was rock solid and pointing upward in his sweat pants! How the hell was he gonna cover this up? “Assume your starting positions!” Amy demanded as she snuggled up on the sofa with the spinner in front of her. Aunt Lily seemed happy and confident and stood herself on the mat where Amy had started previously. Darren was trying to think and went with what had saved him last night when he’d been trying to hide his boner from Amy. Instead of standing up straight, which would immediately reveal the tent in his pants, he crouched to his starting position like a hunch back. Playing it as if he was acting ‘sneaky’. It probably looked weird, but at least it made it so that his boner didn’t stretch against his pants. He stood in place, with his feet on a yellow and a blue circle, but he leaned his upper body forward and bent his knees enough so that the front of his sweat pants were still baggy enough to hide his bulge. Aunt Lily was now opposite of him, standing tall and gave him a challenging smile, “If I win this round I’ve beaten you both.” “Yeah, yeah;” Amy said and then the orders came quickly. Right foot blue, left foot yellow. In practice, this just meant that Darren and Lily had stepped closer to each other on the mat. But aunt Lily was turned around, her back to Darren. This served Darren well and he could straighten himself out a bit. As he glanced over to Amy, it was clear that she could see the tent in his pants. She smiled and had her tongue between her teeth. Luckily aunt Lily was turned around away from him, so she couldn’t see the front of his sweatpants pointing straight at her curvaceous ass. “Right hand red!” Amy called out. Lily now bent over forward, her wide hips stretching her shirt over those well rounded orbs. Darren had no choice but to put his hand on a red circle to the right and a little behind him, making him lean back and now supporting himself mostly on his right arm! The other option would’ve been to lean forward, over aunt Lily to reach a red circle, but then his throbbing cock would inevitably press right in between her ass cheeks and he would be given away! Next was: left hand, yellow. It was an easy move for Lily, she just had to stand on all fours now, her shirt slipping up a little more but still covering enough of her thighs to not show off her secret spot. Darren now had to stand like a crab. His back towards the mat, but at least he could support himself on both arms better now. Right foot red; They both had to widen their stance. Lily hiked her shirt dress up a little to have room enough to spread her leg to the right more. Darren had to move his right leg more forward and more under Lily’s hips. His hard cock was now towering in his pants. Only a few inches from his pole slipping up under aunt Lily’s shirt. Darren could see the muscles in Lily’s thighs flexing as she kept her balance. He didn’t dare to look at Amy but he could feel that she was probably enjoying the sight of him being so hard under his sweatpants. Left foot, yellow. Their feet were already on yellow circles, so they just had to shift to another circle in the same line. Darren didn’t have many options if he wanted to keep his balance, so he moved his foot forward a bit. This was good as it lowered his groin, away from between aunt Lily’s spread legs. Aunt Lily tried to move her left foot backwards, toward Darren, but it resulted in her stepping on his hand instead. “Oh sorry!” She got startled and instead tried to move her leg forward. But this only resulted in her losing her balance and falling down, on top of Darren! On top of Darren's erection, to be precise! Had they both been naked Darren would’ve surely plunged himself deep into her spread crotch. But as they were now wearing clothes the result instead became that his aunt sat herself heavily down on his rock-hard boner. Her legs were spread so wide that even through his thick sweat pants and aunt Lily’s panties, he could feel her vaginal lips on each side of his rock hard pole. As they landed Lily tried to scramble to her feet. She must’ve felt it too! Her scrambling made it so that her pussy’s meaty folds rubbed several times along Darren's raging boner. No sweatpants were thick enough to hide those sensations! Lily got up and inadvertently allowing Darren to have another good look down her generous cleavage before she got to her feet. She was blushing, “Oh no! I lost!” Lily's Early Bedtime. Aunt Lily straightened out her shirt dress and did everything humanly possible to not let her eyes look at Darren. But they deceived her and it was clear that they stole a glance at what had poked at her so hard, when she had sat down on it. “I think I might be a bit drunk!” she blathered, "I think it’s best I hit, the hay.” With a very cute hiccup, she rushed out of the room and up the stairs. Darren was now sitting on the Twister mat, his pants still tented and Amy was silently laughing her ass off! She looked so excited and amused, but didn’t make a sound! When aunt Lily had disappeared to the top of the stairs, Amy snuck from the sofa to joining Darren on the twister mat. Her gaze was locked onto Darren’s bulging sweat pants. Crouching down beside Darren, Amy let her hand slowly grasp around his hard-on, over his pants. Darren shuddered from the sensation of his cousin's hand softly gripping around his pole. “Mom must’ve felt this when she landed on you;” she whispered in lewd fascination. “Did you cheat with the spinner?” Darren asked. Amy, still holding her hand around Darren's erection, looked a bit mischievous, “Yeah; I wanted to situate you guys;” she jumped to her feet and pulled Darren up, “Like this!” she exclaimed and stood herself with her back against him, legs wide spread. Darren’s tenting pants were now lined up very well with Amy's bent over ass. Reached way under her own widespread legs, she grabbed at Darren' pants just above his knees. Swiftly she tugged down Darren’s sweatpants, resulting in his rock hard boner flung out with a bounce, smacking her in her bald cuntlips.. “Put your feet on blue and yellow;” she ordered as she spread her buttcheeks more, revealing her glistening slit from behind. Her short yellow dress only hid the top part of her ass. Darren almost forgot to breathe. Looking down, the head of his cock was just at her opening, as Amy leaned her upper body forward, resting her hands down on the ottoman; making her wet entrance push back against Darren's sensitive purple cock head. “If I had my hand on this cushion;” she said and placed her hand on the padded corduroy upholstery, “...and you find a stable place for your hands;” She pulled at Darren's arm, pulling him forward and making his cock head press against her moist opening. He could feel the top half of his glans pressing into her. Amy sounded a bit flustered now, “Come on’ lean more forward;” she said as she pulled his arm more. She had to bend her knees to let Darren be able to reach over her back, as she did, her opening parted more and Darren sank in to her! They both gasped and stood still. The position was very awkward, but the feeling of having half of his cock pressed into her hot, wet cunt depths, was amazing! “Oh god;” Amy breathed, “and the next move would be; right foot blue and left foot yellow; also, left hand green and right hand red.” Darren found it hard to concentrate on the instructions. The feeling of Amy’s inner walls squeezing against his cock were so very erotic. Darren tried to slide his right foot up another circle, resulting in him pressing a couple of more inches into her. In a feat of acrobatics, Amy lifted her right leg and flung it back over his thigh, pressing her weight down on his hips. To not fall he had to lean back and hold himself up with both hands. Darren was now in a crab-like position, his belly up, Amy planted her hands above Darren's, resulting in her ass straddling over his groin and her legs spread wide to each side of his hips. She was putting a lot of weight on him, pressing herself as deep as she could, over his pulsating cock! Darren was too horny and too aroused, now. He just wanted to grab her hips and fall to the floor, that would bury him so deep into that luscious womanhood slipping around his proud soldier. “Kids. I’m gonna go to bed, you can finish the wine;” aunt Lily’s voice was heard from the staircase. To their shock her steps coming down, could also be heard! Amy and Darren froze in position! Aunt Lily was coming down! Darren quickly analyzed their predicament. Although Amy’s dress was short, in this position it was covering both his and her own groin. Most likely aunt Lily would not be able to see that they were joined together under her skirt! Darren was hoping that Lily was only going to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water or something, but froze in terror as he saw her instead make her way towards them as they were squatting onto each other there on the game mat! She leaned over Amy, “Good night sweetie;” and gave her a kiss. Her kiss made Amy weigh down even more on Darren. He could feel his cock pressing up into her even more! Her fluids threatened to run down onto his balls and thighs. “Mom! Don’t make me fall;” Amy said, trying to sound casual and not make Lily suspect that she was sat on a spike of throbbing meat. “Good night to you too, Darren;” Lily said and gave him a stroke on his cheek. Lily leaning down to him, again gave him a perfect view down her cleavage. He could feel Amy’s tight entrance rhythmically squeezing around the root of his cock inside of her! Aunt Lily backed away, “Don’t hurt yourselves now;” she snickered as she left them and went upstairs. Amy and Darren stayed still, until they heard the bathroom door close upstairs, then Darren let himself fall to the ground. Amy fell with him and gave out a deep, throated groan as she landed heavily on top of him. His cock pressed deeper than possible, so deeply into her soaked cunt! Amy's knees landed astride Darren's hips, and the cowgirl rode for glory and started shaking. Darren could feel her pussy twitching around his cock! For a while she just sat on top of him, letting her climax wind down. When her breath had steadied, she looked over her shoulder at Darren, “Imagine if I’d gotten you and mom into that position;” she fired off a broad smile and slowly rose herself off of him. It was an amazing sight, to see his still hard cock slowly slip out from her innards, pulling her tight lining out nearly an inch with the cock which her lusty cunt resisted parting with. Strands of clear fluids hanging from her pussy lips, stretched to his rod. Amy crawled on all fours over to the sofa table and got the bottle of wine for them. Darren felt exposed and pulled his sweat pants up again. He felt Amy’s heated fluids still around it and slowly being soaked up by his pants. In silence they sat on the mat gulping down the rest of the bottle. Darren couldn’t help but to notice a small puddle forming on the mat, between Amy’s legs. But he didn’t say anything. The whole thing was so hot! Aunt Lily had been standing right beside them as he had been plunged into her daughter in secret! Damn that was hot. His cock was still twitching. It really wanted release, but he felt that Amy was the one in charge of their ‘relationship’. He didn’t dare ask to put it in again. And she had obviously just cum, so probably she was spent for the moment. “I think I know what she’s doing now;” Amy said with a secretive tone. Milking Momma. Darren had been in his own erotic world for the last few minutes. Trying to ignore his pulsating manhood, swallowing down the wine at a fast pace and feeling the buzz in his head increasing, “Huh?” “Come on!” Amy said and took his hand. They both rose and Darren followed Amy sneaking up the stairs. She stopped dead still outside of the bathroom door. Amy gave Darren's hand a squeeze and held her ear to the door. All was silent and Darren wasn’t sure what was going on. If Amy wanted to sneak him into her bedroom, then why did she stop here, by the bathroom door. Amy moved herself forward, pulling Darren along and making room for him by the door. He couldn’t see Amy’s face as he was behind her back, but she seemed to be listening intently at the door. Darren followed suit and also put his ear to the door; that’s when he heard it! Fast paced, shallow breaths, barely detectable through the wooden door. What was that? As it dawned on him, Darren felt stupid for being so naive. It was aunt Lily; masturbating! Shit! His horny mind did not have any trouble imagining the sight behind that closed door! He could see it clear as day. Aunt Lily, one arm between her legs, the other leaning against the bathroom sink. Her heavy tits jiggling along with her hand rapidly rubbing at her pussy between those thick and well carved thighs! Suddenly the sound stopped. A moment's silence and then a soft, muffled moan could be heard. If Darren had been hard before, he was in steel mode now! In his imagination he saw aunt Lily lean her head back, the shirt stretching thin over her bulging boobs and her mouth open, eyes closed, cumming over her own hand! This was better than any porn flick he’d ever seen! He was suddenly pulled out of his wet dream by Amy. She quickly tippy-toed with him in tow into her room. “Quick, get in the bed;” she whispered as she pulled off her yellow dress in one single motion, “Like last night!” Darren was dumb founded. Maybe it was because all of his blood was flowing down to his crotch or maybe he was just slow. But it was hard to look away as Amy revealed her sexy body in front of him. The soft light from the little lamp by her bed made her look so incredibly sensual. Her nice tits bouncing, her hairless pussy mound flashing between her legs and the wetness on her inner thighs was hypnotizing! The now-naked Amy smiled and pushed Darren into her pink, girly bed, “Go on Darren! Get in!” She pulled his pants down and shoved him back in the bed until his ass hit the familiar wall. She quickly slunk into bed and pulled the covers over them, hiding Darren completely under it. It all went so fast and Darren was a bit slow and dizzy from the wine and the immense horniness that had been ravaging his mind and body for the last couple of hours. He felt Amy’s hand grip around his cock from behind and steer it in between her legs. Everything down there was wet and slippery. As soon as she felt his head against her opening she pushed her hips back. With hardly any resistance, Darren sank all the way! Just like last night, he was pressed against the bedroom wall from behind and Amy’s sex from the front! He came instantly. He gritted his teeth and let out a muffled groan. The only thing he now felt was his cock exploding inside of his cousin and, for some reason, her wild hair in his face there under the dark covers! Amy was slowly rolling her hips on him, purposely massaging his loins as his cock pumped batch after batch of his seed into her hot crevice! Darren couldn’t move and just let Amy’s rolling hips make the releasing friction last for as long as possible. Her hand was holding onto his waist under the covers, not letting him pull out, even if he had wanted to. Darren was feeling drunk and relaxed. His breath was slowing and his whole body felt as if it was embedded in a cave of sex! Some time passed and he was once again regaining some feeling in his throbbing cock. He could feel how Amy’s inner walls were slowly milking his cock. “I think she’s asleep now;” Amy whispered. “Huh?” Darren, again, felt that he was not connecting dots like he should be. “My Mom. I think she’s sleeping;” Amy explained, not making anything clear to Darren. “Come on..” she said and slid herself off of Darren's now semi hard intruder. Still naked, she snuck over to her bedroom door and listened at it. She opened it a little and peered into the dark hallway. She waved at Darren who sluggishly crawled himself out of the bed. He pulled his pants up and felt the wetness his cock was drenched in, smear out over his inner thighs. ‘I’m really gonna have to wash some clothes tomorrow’, he thought to himself as he silently moved up to Amy. She grabbed his hand and led him out into the dark hallway. The soft runner rug made them totally soundless. Darren didn’t know what was going on but let himself be led, his eyes sneakily checking out Amy’s round and swaying ass as she moved in front of him. She then stopped by aunt Lily’s bedroom door! The door was cracked and Amy was peeking in; She looked back at Darren with a sly grin, “I didn’t get my milk tonight.” Before Darren’s brain could make sense of the words he just heard she pulled him into aunt Lily’s room. It was dark, but moonlight flowed through the window, lighting up Lily’s bed with a pale blueish glow. Lily was resting peacefully on the bed. She was on her back, the blanket only covering her legs. Up top she had some kind of flannel pajama nightshirt on, and her massive chest was slowly rising and falling with her breath. The lighting from outside of the barn and the moon blended together lit up the beautiful milf sleeping on the bed. In her prone position, Lily’s boobs didn’t stick out as much from her chest, they were more flat and receded to her sides, but still very large. Lily's nipples, however, were only the size of Amy's fingertip Amy motioned to Darren to move over to the side of her bed while she placed herself on the other side, closest to the door. Darren moved as silently as ever, when he came to the side of auntie's bed he found himself blocking the light, so he hunched down. Her face was too beautiful to be in the shadow he thought. Her long, brown hair was draped over the pillow, her head tilted slightly down towards her chest and her sexy lips pouting in her sleep. On the opposite side, Amy knelt down by the bedside and laid her elbows on the mattress beside Lily. Darren did the same, not being able to tear his eyes from that full bosom, slowly rising and falling in Lily’s sleep. Darren’s eyes widened as Amy carefully unbuttoned aunt Lily’s pajama nightshirt. There were only like 4 pretty big buttons and the shirt was loose fitting, so it was easily done without disturbing her. Amy slowly pulled the pajama nightshirt off Lily’s chest, revealing her large, scrumptious tit! She nodded encouragingly to Darren, hesitantly he did the same. The tit uncovered close to him looked even bigger than he’d remembered it from earlier today. A dark, stiff nipple perched on top of it. Darren wondered if her nipples were maybe always hard? He couldn’t remember ever seeing aunt Lily without stiff nipples poking through her dresses or shirts. Amy moved her face closer to her mother’s tit, locking eyes with Darren and nodding for him to follow suit. Darren moved himself closer also, but was now very afraid to wake his aunt. It was exciting enough to expose her lovely, large tits while she slept, but now he felt Amy might be going a bit too far. They’d gotten away with doing stuff to each other so many times already. This felt like pushing their luck. Amy shrugged at his cowardice and leaned her face in. She gave Lily’s stiff nipple a lick of her tongue. Nothing happened. Amy did it again; and again. At the third lick, aunt Lily let out a soft moan and her lips opened up a little. Amy smiled and softly planted her lips around Lily’s nipple. Lily inhaled, still sleeping. Amy closed her eyes and started slowly sucking. Lily was breathing heavier but still calmly and her eyes were closed. Darren's semi-hard cock geared up to full hard cock again, now. The sight was so incredibly arousing. His sexy cousin's soft lips surrounding her mother’s nipple and gently sucking at it. It looked like a sensual fantasy. Without even noticing it himself, Darren had moved his face closer to Lily’s other tit, her nipple just inches from his mouth. He felt his mouth watering. The wine and his libido made him brave, or maybe foolish enough. He leaned his face down over her heaving tit and closed his lips around the stiff nipple as delicately as he possibly could manage. Lily rustled a little and gave off a soft moan. With her nipple still between his lips he threw a glance at his aunt. She was still fast asleep. But her body was clearly feeling the sensations of having her nipples in warm, hungry mouths. Just as carefully as he took her nipple in his mouth he started to suck on it. He felt her nipple deeper on his tongue and some of her boob flesh swelling into his mouth. A few seconds in, he could feel the sweet, warm wetness emerging from it! In thin squirts it hit the roof of his mouth and spread over his tongue! It was glorious! Aunt Lily was still sleeping, only now and then did she move her head, inhale or moan lightly from the nipple massage she was getting. Then Darren felt Amy’s hand over his own, she pulled his hand onto Lily’s naked belly. His palm could feel her soft, silky skin under it. In extreme slow motion she led his hand downward. The gentle curvature of Lily’s lower abdomen made his stiff cock start throbbing in his pants. Looking at Amy, although she still had her mouth over Lily’s tit, he could see a smile on the corner of her lips as she was still sucking away. As his hand was moved down, Amy’s hand over his, he felt his pinky hit the hem of aunt Lily’s pyjama bottoms. Amy’s nimble fingers lifted the hem just enough for their hands to slide in under it! The heat inside was intense. He could feel it on his hand and on Lily’s skin. His fingers and palm then were pushed over his aunt’s well trimmed bush. He remembered the feeling of having those hairs pressed up against his lower back yesterday in the bath. Everything felt blurry. The wine was now fully inebriating his awareness. He knew where this was going and could’ve stopped it. Instead he let Amy guide his hand further down. His ring finger was the first to touch it! Lily's wet slit! Amy pushed his hand a bit further and then just held it there, pressing on his. Lily’s breathing was more shallow now. Amy pressed on Darren's hand so that his ring finger was squeezed in between aunt Lily’s vaginal lips. They felt so well rounded and full, and in between them was hot, soft dampness! A part of Darren's mind was screaming in fear, afraid that his aunt would wake up and find him with his finger almost inside of her, sucking on her tit! There would be no coming back after that! Then there was the other part of his mind. The drunken, horny, and smitten part. This was something he’d never dreamed of, but now that he was here, he never wanted to wake up! Because it had to be a dream! But the feelings and sensations were very real, and his throbbing cock reminded him of that. It was almost painful now. It was so hard that it could crack stone! The lovely torment went on for a while, Amy just holding his hand firmly over aunt Lily’s vulva. His finger embedded between her moist, soft lips, they both still sucking milk from her nipples as she slept a wine-saturated peaceful bliss. Amy took her hand off his and moved it away. Darren was pulled back to reality a bit and guessed that this part was done now. He slowly slid his hand out of Lily’s pajama bottoms and looked at Lily as Amy let go of her mother's milky nipple. “Come over here. Stand behind me;” she whispered so low that only some of the syllables were detectable. Darren reluctantly let go of the stiff and swollen nipple in his mouth and leaned back away from it, but observed just how huge her lactating nipple swelled to, when aroused. He held his thumb up next to it and both were of similar size. He saw small droplets of milk still emerging from the tit, and he licked his lips. He didn’t feel he was done, but Amy had something else in mind, it seemed. As he leaned back from the bed Amy stood up from her kneeling position. But she kept her mouth latched onto Lily’s tit as she raised her naked ass up. She supported herself with one elbow on the bed and motioned with her other arm for him to come over to her side. Like a sleepwalker, Darren obeyed. His erect cock swung around in his dampened pants as he moved; and he felt his cock, confirming it was uncomfortably hard. As he made his way around the bed it was clear what was expected of him. Amy was now leaned down over her mother, sucking at her tit, her ass lifted high up on straight and spread legs. Darren dropped his pants and positioned his rocket, like a missile with only one target. The moonlight came from a window on the opposite wall, so Amy’s ass and pussy were shrouded in darkness, but he used his thumb to find the wet gash where utopia was hidden. He mustered all of the discipline still left in his body to not just bash his cock into Amy as hard as he could. If he did, she’d be pushed onto Lily’s tit and then she’d surely wake up and chaos would commence. No. He bit his lip and slowly pressed his swelling cock into the wet folds between Amy’s spread legs! He could see Amy’s back tense up as he sunk a few inches in. He saw her ribcage divulge her increased breathing. He felt her thighs tighten and her entry hole clench around his rod! Darren pulled out, only leaving the tip still in her. He paused before he again pushed into her. Deeper this time, but just as slowly. He could feel every inch of her soaked insides surrounding his hard cock. And again; out, almost all the way, then with determination; slowly back in, deep! Amy couldn’t help but to hum with pleasure at his invasion of her love canal. The vibrations of Amy’s hum on Lily’s tit made mother stir. Damn! If Lily woke up now; well, this would be really hard to explain. Darren was ready to just give up and throw himself towards the bedroom door in a panicked escape. But instead, Lily shifted a little and placed her hand on the back of Amy’s head; seemingly still in her sleep. She was now holding Amy’s head pressed onto her tit while Darren was buried deep into her from behind. Darren was in a daze. He felt himself on the edge. The pressure inside of his loins was explosive now. A few more times he managed to pull out and push slowly into Amy until he knew it was too late! Too far gone. He felt the crashing wave ready to be released inside of him. And just then, Amy’s entrance clamped down hard around his cock and she came in a silent vibration! Darren involuntarily joined in on her climax, with his own! He felt his cock swell and compress with every violent squirt of manly juices into Amy’s shuddering hole! Amy's thighs were shaking but her face was still held steady onto Lily’s tit. Darren could feel Amy’s legs losing strength as the orgasm pulsated through her body. He took hold around her hips to give her some help in standing. He was still deep into her as he felt himself also coming down from the ecstatic high. Finally, Lily’s hand slid off her daughter's head and Amy raised herself up from the bed. Her body was trembling and she let out a fatigued gasp as Darren moved his hips back and let his cock slide out of its warm home. Amy sleepily turned around to face him, her arms around his neck. He could feel her soft tits against his chest and his semi hard, drenched cock pressing against Amy’s slippery mound. Her eyes were half shut as she kissed him. Darren could taste aunt Lily’s sweet milk on Amy’s tongue. Their tongues sway slowly and passionately around each other. Amy presses her body more into Darren and he feels her nostrils flaring for air. Amy pulled up Darren's pants while her tongue played with his. Eventually the kiss broke and they both wearily make their way out of auntie’s bedroom. Darren glanced back before shutting her door. The amazing sight of his topless aunt there on the bed is stuff of dreams. Her large tits, covering her whole chest. Her stiff nipples still glistened from milk and saliva. The only thing that co

Your business can't outgrow the identity you're stuck in.In this episode, Bernie Cesareo reveals the mindset and identity shifts that transformed his life, his confidence, and his STR businesses — from shrinking portfolios to scaling multiple companies with clarity and purpose.This episode breaks down the real reason most hosts stay stuck, how to think and act like a CEO, and the inner work required to grow a business that matches the life you want.Inside this episode:• The identity upgrade that changed Bernie's life• How self-image controls your STR results• Why talking about your vision attracts the right people• The shift from operator → leader → CEO• How Bernie built multiple businesses by delegating• Why gratitude, belief, and clarity fuel massive growth00:01:12 – Bernie's Big Mindset Shift: Stop Doing Everything Yourself00:04:07 – “Assume the Wish Fulfilled”: Rewriting Your Identity00:08:10 – Manifesting the Dream Jeep: Breaking 30 Years of Beliefs00:11:20 – Running Multiple STR Businesses Through Identity Upgrades00:14:36 – Lifestyle Freedom: Why Bernie Never Misses His Son's Games00:17:00 – The Elder-Care Village Vision: Thinking Bigger Than STR00:20:12 – From Player to Coach to CEO: Letting Go of Control00:24:18 – Correcting Systems, Not People: Real Leadership00:28:55 – How Speaking Your Vision Attracts the Right Opportunities00:33:42 – Gratitude, Belief, and the Identity That Builds Your FutureGet FREE Access to our Community and Weekly Trainings:https://group.strsecrets.com/

Your business can't outgrow the identity you're stuck in.In this episode, Bernie Cesareo reveals the mindset and identity shifts that transformed his life, his confidence, and his STR businesses — from shrinking portfolios to scaling multiple companies with clarity and purpose.This episode breaks down the real reason most hosts stay stuck, how to think and act like a CEO, and the inner work required to grow a business that matches the life you want.Inside this episode:• The identity upgrade that changed Bernie's life• How self-image controls your STR results• Why talking about your vision attracts the right people• The shift from operator → leader → CEO• How Bernie built multiple businesses by delegating• Why gratitude, belief, and clarity fuel massive growth00:01:12 – Bernie's Big Mindset Shift: Stop Doing Everything Yourself00:04:07 – “Assume the Wish Fulfilled”: Rewriting Your Identity00:08:10 – Manifesting the Dream Jeep: Breaking 30 Years of Beliefs00:11:20 – Running Multiple STR Businesses Through Identity Upgrades00:14:36 – Lifestyle Freedom: Why Bernie Never Misses His Son's Games00:17:00 – The Elder-Care Village Vision: Thinking Bigger Than STR00:20:12 – From Player to Coach to CEO: Letting Go of Control00:24:18 – Correcting Systems, Not People: Real Leadership00:28:55 – How Speaking Your Vision Attracts the Right Opportunities00:33:42 – Gratitude, Belief, and the Identity That Builds Your FutureGuest Bio:Bernie Cesareo and his wife Courtney started the company by turning a long-term rental in their hometown into a short-term rental and doing everything themselves from guest support to cleaning and maintenance. Happily surprised with the success and popularity of this property, they decided to turn this side hustle into a primary business. They loved providing quality accommodations and creating great value for their guests and felt they could do this on a larger scale. They started growing the business by becoming co-hosts for other property owners and have added team members to help make everything run smoothly. After several years, they have a team of 8 that manages anywhere from 20-40 properties.Guest Link:https://eaglestays.com/Get FREE Access to our Community and Weekly Trainings:https://group.strsecrets.com/

O vereador Joel Cavanholi (PL), atual presidente da Câmara de Vereadores, assumiu o cargo de prefeito em exercício de Orleans entre os dias 1º e 8 de dezembro. A mudança temporária ocorre em razão do afastamento do prefeito Fernando Cruzetta e da vice-prefeita Leonete Librelato e segue o protocolo de sucessão previsto no município. A posse oficial ocorreu nesta segunda-feira, às 11h22, no Paço Municipal. Durante o período em que Cavanholi estará à frente do Executivo, o vereador Josemar Sacom assumirá a presidência da Câmara. Joel Cavanholi participou do programa Cruz de Malta Notícias nesta segunda-feira, e comentou sobre a expectativa para a semana em que conduzirá a administração municipal.  A interinidade, embora breve, marca um momento significativo para a política local, reforçando a continuidade administrativa e o papel institucional do Legislativo na condução do município.

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Today we're stepping into a command from Jesus that sounds simple… until you actually try to live it out:“Love one another.”Not tolerate.Not coexist.Not avoid conflict.Not “love the lovable.”But love one another.And if we're being honest, this might be one of the hardest commands Jesus ever gave.Because people are complicated.Relationships are messy.Personalities collide.Boundaries get crossed.Expectations go unmet.Feelings get bruised.Misunderstandings multiply.And yet…Jesus didn't give us an escape clause.He didn't say, “Love one another when it's convenient.”He didn't say, “Love one another when they deserve it.”He said:“Love one another as I have loved you.”Brother… that level of love is not soft or sentimental.It's surrender.It's sacrifice.It's spiritual strength.It is warfare against the darkness that seeks to divide God's people.Let's go.

Today we're stepping into a command from Jesus that sounds simple… until you actually try to live it out:“Love one another.”Not tolerate.Not coexist.Not avoid conflict.Not “love the lovable.”But love one another.And if we're being honest, this might be one of the hardest commands Jesus ever gave.Because people are complicated.Relationships are messy.Personalities collide.Boundaries get crossed.Expectations go unmet.Feelings get bruised.Misunderstandings multiply.And yet…Jesus didn't give us an escape clause.He didn't say, “Love one another when it's convenient.”He didn't say, “Love one another when they deserve it.”He said:“Love one another as I have loved you.”Brother… that level of love is not soft or sentimental.It's surrender.It's sacrifice.It's spiritual strength.It is warfare against the darkness that seeks to divide God's people.Let's go.

The Hardest Hire: How to Nail Your First Staff Clinician in a Cash PT Clinic In this episode, Doc Danny Matta explains why your first staff clinician is the hardest hire you'll ever make—and how to do it the right way. He breaks down why your business looks risky from a candidate's perspective, why most PTs are wired for security (not startups), and how to sell the future vision of your clinic instead of apologizing for your current "shitty little room." Quick Ask If this episode helps you think differently about hiring and leadership, share it with another clinic owner who's gearing up for their first hire—and tag @dannymattaPT so he can reshare it. Episode Summary Clair keeps you present: AI scribe Clair lets you focus 100% on patients instead of your EMR, improving rapport and outcomes. Time and outcomes: Better attention in the session = better engagement, better buy-in, and better clinical results. Danny's background: Staff PT, active duty military officer, cash practice founder, seller, and now CEO of PT Biz, helping 1,000+ clinicians build cash practices. The hardest hire: Your first staff clinician is the toughest hire you'll ever make. Why it's so hard: Your business looks risky—small sublease, no track record, limited capital, and no big benefits. PT personality problem: Most PTs are risk-averse, security-driven, and not naturally entrepreneurial. The failed first hire story: Danny flew in a phenomenal clinician and his fiancée to see their rough CrossFit sublease in Atlanta—she wasn't impressed, and they turned down the job. Vision vs. reality: Danny saw a future seven-figure clinic; they saw one small room in a sketchy area. Why candidates say no: From their side, it means relocating, taking on more risk, and joining an unproven business. What you're really selling: Not "what the clinic is today" but "where the clinic is going in 5–10 years" and their role in that story. First hire profile: The person who says yes is usually more comfortable with risk—and more likely to eventually start their own thing. Turnover isn't a failure: Early clinicians who leave often still move the business forward and become success stories you're proud of. Credibility boost: Having more than one clinician builds brand trust, shows the clinic is bigger than one personality, and validates the model. Leadership mistake: Danny used to think "that's what the money's for" (Mad Men style) instead of appreciating the risk people were taking on him. Respect the risk: Your first hire is betting on your vision—treat that with gratitude, not entitlement. Hardest growth cycle: The most brutal stage is going from solo to first clinician and toward standalone space—not later multi-location growth. Cash flow and stress: Hiring, ramping up schedules, and surviving turnover during this phase can feel like a gut punch. Lessons & Takeaways Your clinic looks risky to candidates: No benefits, no track record, small space, and uncertain schedule feel like red flags to security-driven PTs. Don't take "no" personally: Risk-averse people saying no to a risky offer is normal, not a reflection of your worth. Sell the vision, not the room: You must paint a clear picture of what the clinic will become and how they'll be part of it. First hires may not stay long-term: Risk-tolerant people who join early often go on to open their own practices—and that's okay. Early hires still matter: They help build the brand, establish a second schedule, and prove your model works beyond just you. Appreciation beats "that's what the money's for": You're not doing them a favor—they're taking a chance on your unproven business. Growth requires new skills: The owner you are at solo stage is not the same owner you must become with staff. Mindset & Motivation Respect the leap: That first clinician is making a bigger jump than you think—especially if they're moving states. Stay future-focused: Your job is to keep your eyes—and theirs—on where the clinic is going, not just today's rough edges. Expect churn: Some early hires will leave; it's part of the entrepreneurial cycle, not a personal betrayal. See the hard stage for what it is: The first growth cycle is supposed to feel heavy; it builds your capacity as a leader. Be proud of those who outgrow you: Former employees who go on to open clinics are part of your legacy, not your failure. Pro Tips for Clinic Owners Use an AI scribe: Implement Clair so you and future staff can stay fully present with patients and avoid note fatigue. Practice your "vision pitch": Be able to clearly explain where your clinic will be in 5–10 years and what "employee #1" means. Be honest about the tradeoffs: Don't oversell security—sell autonomy, growth, impact, and the excitement of building something. Show appreciation early and often: Make it clear you understand and value the risk they're taking by joining you. Plan for turnover: Assume that some early hires will leave and build systems that outlast any one person. Notable Quotes "The hardest hire you'll ever make is your first staff clinician." "To most candidates, your business looks risky. Small space, no track record, no benefits—that's their reality." "You're not selling them on what the business is today. You're selling them on what it's going to be in 5 or 10 years." "Your first hire is taking a risk on you. Respect that. Appreciate that. Don't act like they owe you." "The solo-to-first-clinician growth cycle is where most people quit. It's also where you grow the most." Action Items Write out a clear, compelling vision story of where your clinic will be in 5–10 years. Audit your current offer: pay, benefits, schedule, growth—what's truly attractive to a candidate? Practice your "employee #1" pitch out loud before your next interview. List three ways you can show more appreciation to current or future staff. Consider using Clair to reduce documentation friction before you bring on your first or next clinician. Programs Mentioned PT Biz Part-Time to Full-Time 5-Day Challenge (Free): Get ultra clear on how much money you need to replace, how many people you need to see, and the strategies to go from side hustle to full-time practice owner. Join here. Resources & Links PT Biz Website Free 5-Day PT Biz Challenge MeetClair AI — Free 7-day trial for PTs About the Host: Doc Danny Matta — physical therapist, entrepreneur, and founder of PT Biz and Athlete's Potential. He's helped over 1,000 clinicians start, grow, scale, and sometimes sell their cash practices, and is committed to helping PTs build businesses that create true time and financial freedom.

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O Governo de São Paulo avança mais um passo no projeto do TIC (Trem Intercidades) Eixo Norte a partir desta quarta-feira (26), quando a concessionária TIC Trens assume integralmente a operação da Linha 7-Rubi. A reorganização operacional da linha de trens metropolitanos viabiliza a implementação do TIC, que vai conectar a capital e Campinas, e do Trem Intermetropolitano (TIM), que ligará Jundiaí a Campinas, com paradas em Louveira, Vinhedo e Valinhos. O investimento do Governo no empreendimento é de R$ 9.5 bilhões.

Há criadores que operam dentro das fronteiras técnicas do seu ofício. E há outros que as redesenham. Manuel Pureza pertence à segunda categoria — a dos artistas que não apenas produzem obras, mas insinuam uma forma diferente de olhar para o mundo. Ao longo da última década, Pureza foi aperfeiçoando um dialeto visual singular: um equilíbrio improvável entre humor e melancolia, entre disciplina e improviso, entre ironia e empatia. Cresceu no ritmo acelerado das novelas, onde se aprende a filmar com pressão, velocidade e um olho permanentemente aberto para a fragilidade humana. Dali trouxe algo raro: um olhar que recusa o cinismo fácil e que insiste que até o ridículo tem dignidade. Na televisão e no cinema, a sua assinatura tornou-se evidente. Ele filma personagens como quem observa amigos de infância. Filma o quotidiano com a delicadeza de quem sabe que ali mora metade das grandes histórias. Filma o absurdo com a ternura de quem reconhece, nesse absurdo, o lado mais honesto do país que habita. Um humor que pensa Pureza não usa humor para fugir — usa humor para iluminar. Em “Pôr do Sol”, o fenómeno que se transformou num caso sério de análise cultural, a comédia deixou de ser apenas entretenimento. Tornou-se catarse colectiva. Portugal riu-se de si próprio com uma frontalidade rara, quase terapêutica. Não era paródia para diminuir; era paródia para pertencer. “O ridículo não é destrutivo”, explica Pureza. “É libertador.” Essa frase, que poderia ser um manifesto, resume bem o seu trabalho: ele leva o humor a sério. Independentemente do género — seja melodrama acelerado ou ficção introspectiva — há sempre, no seu olhar, a ideia de que rir pode ser um acto de lucidez. Num país onde o comentário público tantas vezes se esconde atrás da ironia amarga, Pureza faz o contrário: usa a ironia para abrir espaço, não para o fechar. A ética do olhar Filmar alguém é um exercício de confiança. Pureza opera com essa consciência. Não acredita em neutralidade — acredita em honestidade. Assume que cada plano é uma escolha e que cada escolha implica responsabilidade. Entre atores, essa postura cria um ambiente invulgar: segurança suficiente para arriscar, liberdade suficiente para falhar, humanidade suficiente para recomeçar. Num set regido pelo seu método, a escuta é tão importante quanto a técnica. E talvez por isso os seus actores falem de “estar em casa”, mesmo quando as cenas são emocionalmente densas. A câmara de Pureza não vigia: acompanha. É aqui que a sua realização se distingue — não por uma estética rigorosa, mas por uma ética clara. Filmar é expor vulnerabilidades. E expor vulnerabilidades exige cuidado. Portugal, esse laboratório emocional O país que surge nas obras de Pureza não é apenas cenário: é personagem. É o Portugal das contradições — pequeno mas exuberante, desconfiado mas carente de pertença, irónico mas sentimental, apaixonado mas contido. É um país onde a criatividade nasce da falta e onde o improviso se confunde com identidade. Pureza conhece esse país por dentro. Viu-o nos sets frenéticos das novelas, nos estúdios apressados da televisão generalista, nas equipas improváveis de produções independentes. E filma-o com um olhar feito de amor e lucidez: nunca subserviente, nunca destructivo, sempre profundamente humano. Há nele uma capacidade rara de observar sem desistir, de criticar sem amargar, de rir sem ferir. Infância, imaginação e paternidade Numa das passagens mais íntimas desta conversa, Pureza regressa à infância — não como nostalgia decorativa, mas como território de formação. A infância, para ele, é o sítio onde nasce a imaginação, mas também o sítio onde se aprende a cair, a duvidar, a arriscar. Esse lugar continua a acompanhar o seu trabalho como uma espécie de bússola emocional. Falar de infância leva inevitavelmente a falar de paternidade. Pureza rejeita a figura do pai iluminado, perfeito, imune ao erro. Fala antes da paternidade real: aquela onde se erra, se tenta, se repara, se adia, se volta a tentar. A paternidade que implica fragilidade. A paternidade que obriga a abrandar num mundo que exige velocidade. Talvez seja por isso que, quando dirige, recusa o automatismo: a vida, lembra, é sempre mais complexa do que aquilo que conseguimos filmar. Escutar como acto político Se há uma frase que atravessa toda a conversa, é esta: “Nós ouvimos pouco.” No contexto de Pureza, ouvir é um verbo político. Num país saturado de ruído, opiniões rápidas e indignações instantâneas, escutar tornou-se quase um acto contracultural. Ele trabalha nesse espaço de atenção — aquele que permite às pessoas serem pessoas, antes de serem personagens, headlines ou caricaturas. É por isso que o seu trabalho ressoa: porque devolve humanidade ao que, tantas vezes, o discurso público reduz. O que fica No final, a impressão é clara: Manuel Pureza não realiza apenas obras. Realiza ligações. Realiza espelhos que não humilham. Realiza pontes entre o ridículo e o sublime. Realiza histórias que, ao invés de nos afastarem, nos devolvem uns aos outros. Há artistas que acrescentam ao mundo um conjunto de imagens. Pureza acrescenta uma forma de ver. E num tempo em que olhar se tornou um acto cada vez mais acelerado — e cada vez menos profundo — isso não é apenas uma qualidade artística. É um serviço público da imaginação. LER A TRANSCRIÇÃO DO EPISÓDIO Esta transcrição foi gerada automaticamente. A sua exatidão pode variar. 0:12 Ora, vivam bem vindos ao pergunta simples, o vosso podcast sobre comunicação? Hoje recebemos alguém que não apenas realiza séries e filmes, mas realiza no sentido mais profundo do termo, a forma como olhamos para nós próprios, a maneira como nos espelhamos. 0:28 Manuel pureza é daqueles criadores que trabalham com rigor e com leveza, com inteligência, com humor, com disciplina e com um caos. Ele cresceu nas novelas, aprendeu a filmar sob pressão, descobriu um olhar que combina ternura com ironia e tornou se uma das vozes mais originais da ficção portuguesa. 0:46 E é capaz de pegar no ridículo e transformá lo em verdade, de pegar no quotidiano e transformá lo em drama, de pegar no drama e transformá lo em riso. Tudo sem perder a humanidade, o coração e a ética de quem sabe que filmar é escolher, ter um ponto de vista e que escolher é sempre um ato moral. 1:06 Neste episódio, abrimos as portas ao seu processo criativo, às dúvidas e às certezas, às dores e às gargalhadas, às memórias da infância e às inquietações da idade adultam. Falamos de televisão como um espaço de comunhão. Das novelas como um ginásio, do humor, como o pensamento crítico da arte de ouvir e de ser pai no mundo acelerado, da vulnerabilidade que existe por detrás de uma Câmara e, claro, de Portugal, este país pequeno, cheio de afetos e de feridas, onde tudo é simultaneamente muito absurdo e muito verdadeiro. 1:38 Pureza fala com profundidade e como honestidade às vezes. Desconcertante é uma dessas conversas em que senti que estamos a ver para além do artista, estamos a ver a pessoa, a sensibilidade das dúvidas, a Esperança e a inquietação de alguém que pensa o mundo através das histórias que nos conta. 2:05 Ao longo desta conversa, percebemos como as histórias, para Manuel pureza, não são apenas entretenimento. São uma estrutura emocional de uma forma de organizar o caos, uma linguagem antiga que herdamos mesmo antes de sabermos ler ou escrever. Falamos do poder das narrativas para dar sentido à vida, mas também do seu lado perigoso, porque todas as histórias têm um ponto de vista, todas têm escolhas e omissões, todas moldam a forma como vemos o que é real. 2:33 E ele, pureza. Assume isto sem medo. Assume que filma com olhar assumidamente subjetivo e que essa subjetividade é precisamente a sua assinatura. Não procura parecer neutro, procura ser honesto. Também exploramos a sua relação com o humor. 2:49 O humor que nunca é cínico, nunca é cruel, nunca é gratuito. O ridículo não é uma arma para diminuir os outros. É uma maneira de libertar, de expor o que há de comum entre nós, de desmontar o que é pomposo e de aliviar o peso de viver. 3:04 Diz na própria conversa que tudo pode ser ridículo e isso é uma forma de Redenção. O riso organiza o pensamento, afia o espírito, desarma o mundo e, talvez por isso, o pôr do sol. A série tem sido mais do que um fenómeno cômico, foi um fenómeno emocional quase terapêutico. 3:20 Um espelho carinhoso onde Portugal se reviu e se perdoou, um bocadinho. Falamos da ética, da ética, do olhar, de como se almar alguém. É sempre um ato de intimidade. De como se cria confiança dentro de um set de filmagens, como se dirige atores diferentes, como se acolhe fragilidades? 3:38 Várias. E falamos da amizade e esse tema que atravessa todo o trabalho de pureza, porque para ele, realizar não é apenas uma técnica, é uma escuta, uma presença, um cuidado. Ouvimos muitas vezes ao longo deste episódio, uma afirmação quase simples. Nós ouvimos pouco. 3:55 E quando alguém é capaz de. A olhar tanto e nos diz que ouvimos pouco. Vale a pena parar para escutar. E, claro, falamos de Portugal, um país pequeno, por vezes cínico, com uma profunda tendência para desconfiar do sucesso alheio. Um país que pureza filma com ironia, amor e lucidez. 4:14 E da inveja. Claro que falamos da inveja no país das novelas, do improviso, da criatividade teimosa, das personagens maiores que a vida. O país que ele conhece por dentro e por fora, e que aprende a amar com o humor, mesmo quando o humor é a única forma de suportá lo. Num dos momentos mais belos da conversa, falamos da infância, esse lugar de Liberdade, de curiosidade, de imaginação que pureza tenta manter vivo dentro de si. 4:39 E falamos também do que é ser pai, dos medos que isso acende, da responsabilidade que isso traz. Da paternidade iluminada, mas da paternidade real, onde se falha, se tenta, se repara, se ama e se recomeça. É um episódio cheio de emoções, pontos de vista e algumas surpresas. 5:01 Viva. Manuel pureza, olá, nós encontramo nos e na realidade, temos que dizer às pessoas desde já que há 2 características que nos unem na vida OKA primeira, gostar de pessoas. A segunda, sermos hipocondríacos. Ah, poças? 5:17 Bom, estou em casa sim, sim, sim. Poça altamente hipocondríaco? Sim. Olha, fala me das pessoas, para quem? Para quem não te conhece. Tu és realizador, és um dos mais originais e interessantes realizadores da ficção portuguesa, nomeadamente essa telenovela que subitamente se transformou num objeto de culto, uma coisa chamada pôr do sol. 5:40 Já agora digo te eu, a primeira vez que vi o pôr do sol, o primeiro episódio foi dos enganados. Achavas que era verdade. Pensei assim, é pá, mas o que é isto? Mas o que é que isto está? Mas, mas, mas, mas que coisa tão. EE depois. Lá está à terceira cena. 5:56 É aquela parte do ainda bem que ninguém ouviu o meu pensamento, claro, fala, me fala me desse fenómeno. Então esse fenómeno foi. Uma pulga, uma pulga, uma pulga, várias pulgas. Aliás, eu, eu, enquanto realizador, antes de começar a assinar as minhas séries, fiz 10 anos de telenovelas e fi Los numa lógica de ginásio. 6:22 Eu costumo dizer isto, ou seja, é uma tarefa difícil. É uma tarefa que luta contra. Vários tipos de preconceitos, não só meus, como de quem vê. É uma fábrica? É uma fábrica, sim. Aliás, será a coisa mais próxima de uma indústria audiovisual que nós temos em Portugal. 6:39 É, é, são as novelas. Não é? E isso filma se de que, de, de, de, de que horas? Até que horas? Filma se em horários que AACT se funcionasse não IA não preço, iria sim, iria tudo preço, não em boa verdade, até até podemos falar sobre isso mais à frente que é, eu estive envolvido nalgumas lutas laborais em relação à Malta, que faz novelas em Portugal. 6:58 Porque é pá, chega se a trabalhar trabalhava, se na altura 11 horas mais uma, quer dizer, IA receber colegas meus a receberem me francamente pouco, numa lógica de fazer 40 minutos diários de ficção útil, que é uma enormidade, uma alarvidade e que e que muitas vezes depois tem um efeito nefasto de das pessoas em casa. 7:17 Dizer assim é pá, isto é uma novela, isto não vale nada, mas o esforço das pessoas que estão a fazê la é hercúleo, é desumano. Não tem de ser forçosamente 11. Não tem furiosamente de levar as pessoas a apreciarem esse esforço como sinónimo de qualidade, porque muitas vezes as novelas não têm essa qualidade. 7:35 Portanto, não há tempo no fundo para respirar, para o tédio, para a repetição, para o prazer. Não, nem nem nem. Então por acaso que seja essa a função das novelas, até um certo ponto. As novelas historicamente são feitas para serem ouvidas, não para serem vistas, não é? Ou seja, não em países, não só Portugal, mas outros países machistas, em que as mulheres ficavam a tomar conta da casa e dali da casa, e não tinham trabalho. 7:57 Tinha uma televisão ligada para irem ouvindo. Por isso é que a novela é repetitiva. A novela é. Reiterativa há uma há uma métrica de comunicação. De comunicação, sim. E, portanto, se temos avançado tecnicamente e até qualitativamente nas novelas nos últimos 20 anos, porque temos? 8:13 Ainda estamos nos antípodas do que? Do que uma novela pode ser? A novela pode ser uma arma de educação fantástica. A novela pode ser um retrato. Quase numa perspetiva arqueológica do que é ser português em 2025. E não é disso que estamos a falar. Em quase nenhuma novela falamos disso, não é? 8:30 Talvez tenhamos 2 ou 32 ou 3 casos honestos de portugalidade nas novelas recentes. Ainda estou a falar, por exemplo, de uma novela que eu, eu não, eu não, não sou consumidor de novelas, confesso que não sou. Mas há uma novela que da qual me lembro da premissa que me pareceu interessante, que é uma coisa chamada golpe de sorte. 8:46 Uma mulher numa aldeia que ganhou o euromilhões. Isso pode ser bastante português. Parece me bem. Pode ser bom e tive um sucesso bastante grande e foi uma coisa honesta. Não era de repente alguém que é salvo por uma baleia no ataque de 2 tubarões e sobrevive porque foi atirada? Espera, enfim, ainda vou continuar, porque isso é uma realidade que acontece. Olha, porque é que nós, seres humanos, precisamos tanto de histórias para compreender o mundo? 9:08 Olha, eu acho que as histórias são o que nos estrutura, são aquilo que nos garante a sobrevivência. Até um certo.eu falo disto com os meus alunos. Eu às vezes dou uns workshops para atores e não só é só a palavra workshop dá me logo aqui, carrega me logo aqui umas chinetas um bocado estranhas. 9:24 O workshop downshoising downgraving assim não interessa estamos. Todos AAA praticar o inglês. O inglês neologisticamente falamos. A bom, a bom notícia é que nós, como falamos mal inglês, damos uns pontapés no inglês também terríveis, não é? Sim, sim, sim, mas sim, mas está o inglês. O inglês passou a ser uma espécie de língua Franca, exato, EEA. 9:41 Gente tem palavras bonitas para dizer. EEEEE não, diz. Voltamos às histórias, as histórias. E costumo falar disso com os meus alunos, que é que que passa por nós. Nós não nascemos com direitos humanos, não é? Não nascemos dentro do nosso, do nosso corpo. Não há aqui 11, saca com direitos humanos. 9:56 Houve alguém que inventou essa história e a escreveu numa numa carta universal dos direitos humanos e, portanto, a partir dessa narrativa de que as pessoas têm direito a ser felizes, direito a ter uma casa feliz, direito a ter uma família, direito a ser. A ter um trabalho, et cetera, essa narrativa e estou estou a, estou a, estou AA alargar Oo conceito, evidentemente essa narrativa salva nos todos os dias mais a uns do que a outros, infelizmente. 10:20 Então os dias correm, isso é muito frequente. Há há há zonas do mundo em que essa história não chega, não é? Essas histórias não chegam. A fantasia não chega. A fantasia, sobretudo, é essa coisa mais prática de, de, de, de nos regermos por aquela célebre história do Mello Brooks, não é? A Mello Brooks faz a história mais louca do mundo. 10:36 E o Moisés sobe ao sobe ao ao Monte e Deus dá lhe 15 mandamentos. Só que há uma das pedras que se parte. Ele diz, bom, ele deu me só 10. Inventou um bocado. Isto inventou mas 10 por acaso até um número melhor do que 15. Sim, 15 não dava. Jeito o marketing, ele lá da altura, o homem do marketing, disse disse 15. 10:53 Não dá jeito nada de ser mais redondo que não podem ser 17 nem 13. Não, não. Nem convém, não é para a enologia? Acho que não, não, não, não te ajuda nisso, mas eu acho que sim. As as histórias, sobretudo acima de tudo. Eu sou pai de 3 crianças. Uma criança mais velha que tem 14 anos e outra que tem 3 e outra que tem 11 ano e meio. 11:10 Já tens bom treino de conta histórias. Voltei a recuperá lo, não é? Ou seja, eu sempre andei sempre a treiná lo, porque esta é a minha profissão e é isso que me me entusiasma, não é? Ou seja, mais do que ter um ator que diz bem o texto que lá está e que o diz ipsis verbis como lá está, interessa me um ator que perceba o que é que quer ser dito e que o transforma numa história compreensível e emotiva. 11:29 Ou seja, no limite, é o que o Fellini diz, Oo Fellini diz. Oo cinema serve para para emocionar, seja para eu rir ou para chorar, serve para emocionar. EEO emocionar tem a ver com essa coisa das histórias. Quantas vezes é que tu não vês um é pá, o testemunho de alguém, uma carta que tu descobres 11 texto bonito, um poema simples ou soberbo, ou ou ou o que é que? 11:50 O que é que é uma boa história para mim, sim. Uma boa história é aquela que me lança perguntas, que te provoca sim, que me provoca perguntas, eu faço isso aos meus alunos lhe perguntar, qual é a tua história? E regregelas, confundem, qual é a tua história, qual é que é o meu bilhete de identidade? Então começam, Ah, nasci na amadora, depois foi não sei quê, depois não sei quantos, depois não sei quê, EEA mim, não me interessa, não me interessa mesmo saber se eles vieram da amadora ou não interessa me mais saber. 12:14 No outro dia, uma aluna dizia uma coisa fantástica, eu estou, eu estou aqui porque o meu irmão lê mal, é incrível, uau. E eu disse, então porquê? Eu já quero saber tudo sobre. Essa tua aluna? Queres ver o próximo episódio? Como é? A lógica é essa. Ou seja, eu acho que quando os miúdos estão a ler uma história como a Alice, querem saber quando é que ela cai no fundo do poço que nunca mais acaba. 12:31 Porque é que o poço nunca mais acaba? Porque é que no meio do poço se vão descobrindo retratos e coisas. E que poço é este? Que que coelho é este? Que coelho é que apareceu aqui a correr? E em princípio, não faz sentido nós, mas depois nós, nós nós entramos e embarcamos nesta história. E somos nós que a que a que a construímos. 12:47 Não é na nossa cabeça. Sim, sim. Na nossa cabeça, no nosso coração, de alguma maneira. Quer dizer, pensando, por exemplo, a minha experiência, a minha primeira experiência, aliás, a experiência que definiu a minha. Vontade de ir para para cinema e para o conservatório, et cetera. Conta te quando é que tu descobriste? 13:02 Foi haver uma lodon drive do David Lynch, eu tinha 15 anos. Que é um filme. Estranhíssimo, para filme extraordinário. Eu, eu não o entendo, lá está. Mas estás a ver? Portanto, mudou a tua vida e eu estou a sentir me aqui, o tipo mais perdido do mundo. Não, eu nem entendi o que é que eles estavam a falar. Não. A coisa fantástica desse filme é que é um filme absolutamente clássico, mas não está montado de maneira normal. 13:21 Ou seja, não há princípio, meio e fim por essa ordem. Mas ele é absolutamente clássico. É sobre a cidade dos sonhos, não é? É sobre um sonho. Sobre um sonho de uma mulher que desceu ao mais, mais mais horrível dos infernos de de Hollywood. E, portanto, aí eu vi me obrigado a participar nessa história. 13:39 Estás a ver? Tiveste que montar a história conforme estás a ver. Sim, e acho que isso é isso, é o que determina o que o que é uma boa história e o que é mero, no pior sentido de entretenimento. Podemos estabelecer aqui a diferença entre o que é que é uma. Uma história mais funcional, de uma história que nos que nos expande, porque todos nós, todos nós, temos a história. 14:01 Então, mas como é que foi? Olha o meu dia, eu vim para aqui, trabalhei, sentei, me e escrevi ao computador. E eu digo assim, não quero saber nada dessa história, quero mudas de canal, já não quero saber em cada muda de canal, às vezes mudamos até de conversa. Há há 27 páginas da literatura portuguesa que são muito características e toda a gente se lembra que é AAA caracterização da frente de uma casa chamada ramalhete. 14:24 E na altura, quando tínhamos 1415 anos, a dor achámos que era uma dor. Mas se se recuperarmos isso é provavelmente as coisas mais brilhantes, porque mistura precisamente o que tu estás a dizer, ou seja, uma coisa meramente funcional, não é? É. Esta era a casa e são 27 páginas e, ao mesmo tempo, essa casa é metáfora para o que se vai para o que se vai passar nos capítulos à frente é o. 14:47 Cenário. É EE, mais do que o cenário. É um personagem, não é aquela casa, é uma personagem. Porque os objetos podem ser personagens. Podem? Então não podem? Claro que sim. A Sério? Para mim, sim, claro que sim. Sem falar. Sem falar às vezes, eu prefiro atores que não falam do que com. Atores que? Não, eu digo isto muito dos meus atores. 15:03 É, prefiro filmar te a pensar do que a falar, porque. Porque isso é uma regra antiga do do cinema e da televisão, da ficção para televisão que é mostra me não me digas, não é? As as novelas são reiterativas, porque tem de ser tudo dito. A pessoa entra, diz, faz e pensa a mesma coisa. 15:19 E também não há muito dinheiro para para mostrar com com a qualidade e com é, dá. Há, não há é tempo. Talvez isso seja um sinónimo. Não havendo, se se houvesse mais dinheiro, haveria mais tempo e, portanto, eu acho que ainda assim seria absolutamente impossível alguém humano e mesmo desconfio que o site GPT também não é capaz de o fazer de escrever 300 episódios de uma história. 15:38 Eu estou. Eu estou a pensar aqui. Eu. Eu ouvi alguém a dizer, não me recordo agora quem, infelizmente, que era. Quando quando se faz um roteiro, aquilo que está escrito para se filmar uma determinada coisa, que todos os adjetivos que que lá estão escritos têm que ser mostrados, porque não adianta nada dizer. 15:55 Então entrou agora na cena, EEEE salvou a velhinha, certo? Está bem, mas isso não chega, não é? Sim, eu até te digo, eu, eu prefiro. Regra geral, os argumentos até nem são muito adjetivos, os argumentos, ou seja, o script nem é muito adjetivado. É uma coisa mais prática. Eu acho que essa descoberta está. 16:13 Não sei. Imaginem, imaginem a leres Oo estrangeiro do camus, não é? Tem Montes de possibilidades dentro daquele não herói, dentro daquela vivência, daquela existência problemática. Não é porque não se emociona, et cetera e tudo mais. 16:29 Como é que tu imagina que tinhas um argumento ou um script sobre sobre Oo estrangeiro? Eu acho que seria importante discuti lo profundamente com os atores. Tu fazes isso porque queres ouvir a opinião deles? Quero sempre eu acho que os atores que se os atores e as atrizes que são atores e atrizes, não são meros tarefeiros. 16:52 Qual é o fator x deles? O fator x? Deles, sim. O que é? Eu estou. Eu tive aí uma conversa aqui Na Na, neste, exatamente neste estúdio com com a Gabriela Batista, com a com a com a com a Gabriela Barros. E eu não preciso de saber e não sei nada sobre técnica, mas. 17:09 Eu, eu, eu imagino que qualquer munição que se dei àquela mulher, que ela vai transformar aquilo noutra coisa completamente diferente. O Woody Allen dizia uma coisa muito interessante que Era Eu sempre odiei ler e depois percebi que para conhecer mulheres interessantes, precisava de ler 2 ou 3 livros. 17:27 Para ser um pronto atual à certa. O que é que acontece com a Gabriela? A Gabriela é uma pessoa interessante. Os atores e as atrizes que são atores e atrizes são pessoas interessantes porque são inquietas, porque são atentas, porque percebem, porque conseguem. Conseguem ler não só uma cena, mas as pessoas que estão em cena com elas conseguem ler um realizador, conseguem ler uma história e, sobretudo, perceber. 17:50 Imagina se pensares no rei leão? Muitas vezes a pergunta sobre o que é que é O Rei Leão? As pessoas menos, menos levadas para as histórias dizem, Ah, é sobre um leãozinho. Que sofre? Não, não, não é sobre isso, é sobre família, é sobre herança, é sobre poder, é sobre legado, é sobre. No fundo, é sobre todos os conceitos que qualquer drama shakespeariano ou tragédia shakespeariana também é. 18:14 E, portanto, eu acho que quando tu encontras atores e atrizes a Sério, o fator x é serem interessantes porque têm ideias e porque pensam. Não se limitam a fazer pá. Um ator que se limita a fazer e diz o textinho muito, muito, muito certinho. É um canastal enerva me enerva, me dá vontade de lhes bater. 18:30 Não, não gosto disso, não me interessa. E isso não é sinónimo de desrespeito pelo argumento. É sublimar o argumento ou sublimar o scripta, a outra coisa que não é lida. É fermentar aquilo? Sim, eu diria que sim. É regar? Sim. Olha, eles oferecem te obviamente maneiras de fazer e a interpretação do texto, mas. 18:50 E tu tens a tua parte e a tua parte é aquilo que eu posso te chamar a ética do olhar, que é o teu ponto de vista o ponto de vista como eu queria dizer, como é que tu defines o ponto de vista? Como é que tu escolhes? Se queres fazer uma coisa mais fechada, mais aberta, de cima, de lado, o que é esse? E tu pensas nisso para além da técnica. 19:09 Sim, penso eu acho que o meu trabalho, Oo trabalho do realizador, no geral, é essa filtragem da realidade. Para, para encaminhar. Para encaminhar a história e encaminhar quem a vê ou quem, quem está a ver, para uma determinada emoção ou para uma determinada pergunta ou para determinada dúvida. 19:31 Para lançar de mistério. Enfim, eu, eu tenho. Eu sinto que eu tenho 41 anos, tenho já alguns anos de de realização, mas sinto que estou sempre não só a aprimorar, mas a encontrar melhor. Qual é a minha linguagem. 19:47 O pôr do sol não tem qualquer espécie de desafio do ponto de vista da linguagem. Ele é a réplica de uma de uma linguagem televisiva chata de de planos abertos, o plano geral. E agora vem alguém na porta, plano fechado na porta, plano fechado na reação, plano fechado na EE. Isso para mim, enquanto realizador, não foi um desafio maior. 20:05 Talvez tenha sido o desafio do corte, o desafio. Do ritmo da cena, da marcação da cena. Para, por exemplo. Há uma coisa que eu digo sempre e que é verdade no pôr do sol, sempre que as pessoas pensam, vão para o pé das janelas. Porque é uma cena de novela, não é? Eu vou aqui passar ao pé de uma janela e põem, se encostadas às janelas a pensar, não é pronto. 20:21 Isso tem muita. Influência olhando para o Horizonte? Horizonte longico não é essa aquelas coisas. Portanto, isso tem muita influência dos Monty Python, tem muita influência dos dos dos Mel Brooks, da vida, et cetera, porque eu, porque eu sou fã incondicional de tudo o que surge dessas pessoas. Mas, por exemplo, se me perguntares em relação à série que eu fiz sobre o 25 de abril, o sempre já é outra coisa, já não tem, já não há brincadeira nesse sentido. 20:45 E como é que eu conto? Como é que eu conto a história das pessoas comuns do dia mais importante para mim enquanto português, da nossa história recente para mim? E, portanto, essa filtragem, essa escolha, essas decisões têm a ver com. 21:03 Eu, eu. Eu sinto que sou um realizador hoje, em 2025, final de 2025, sinto que sou um realizador que gosta que a Câmara esteja no meio das personagens. No meio, portanto, não como uma testemunha afastada. Exato, não como uma testemunha, mas como uma participante. 21:18 Pode ser um, pode ser um personagem da minha Câmara. Pode, pode. Eu lembro me quando estava a discutir com o meu diretor de fotografia com o Vasco Viana, de quem? De quem sou muito amiga e que é uma pessoa muito importante para mim. Lembro me de estar a discutir com ele. Como é que íamos abordar a Câmara na primeira série que nós assinámos coiote vadio em nome próprio que se chama, até que a vida nos cepare era uma série sobre uma família que organizava casamentos e eram eram 3 visões do amor, os avós dessa desse casal que tinha essa quinta de casamentos, que vivia também nessa quinta, esse casal de avós, para quem o amor era para sempre o casal principal nos seus cinquentas, para quem o amor está a acabar por razão nenhuma aparente. 21:56 Desgaste, talvez. O amor às vezes acaba e é normal, e em baixo os filhos. Para ela, o amor às vezes, e para ele o amor é um lugar estranho, ou seja, repara. São uma série de aforismos sobre o amor que eu vou ter de filtrar com a minha Câmara. 22:11 Portanto, a maneira como eu filmo uso a voz em que o amor é para sempre está dependente de toque da mão que se dá da dança que se surge no Jardim dele, acordar a meio da noite, sobressaltado porque ela está junto à janela, porque está a começar a sofrer. De uma doença neurológica e, portanto, ele está a sarapantado e vai ter com ela e cobra com um cobertor. 22:31 Portanto, todos estes toques diferentes. No caso do casal principal que se estava a separar, eles nunca param muito ao pé um do outro e, portanto, a Câmara tem de correr atrás de um para alcançar o outro e nunca lá chega. Há uma tensão. Sim, há sempre uma tensão. E depois nos no. No caso dos mais novos, ainda era o mais específico. Mas diria que o Vasco sugere me e se falemos os 2 sobre isto. 22:51 E se a Câmara não for entre pé? E for respirada, não é, não é não é Câmara mão agitada, mas é eu sentir que há uma respiração Na Na lente que ela está um ligeiramente abanada. É o suficiente para, se eu estiver a esta distância da personagem e a Câmara estiver mais ou menos a respirar, eu sinto que eu próprio o espetador. 23:10 Estou sentado naquele sofá a olhar para aquela pessoa, a olhar para aquele, para aquela pessoa, para aquela realidade, para aquela família, para para aquelas ideias, não é? E para essa ideia? Que se tenta explanar, em 3 gerações, o que é o amor? A pergunta mais inútil que eu tenho para te fazer é, o que raio faz um diretor de fotografia num? 23:28 Filme, então o diretor de fotografia, para quem não sabe, é é Quem é Quem. No fundo, comigo decide a estética. Da imagem, a luz, a luz acima de tudo. Eu trabalhei já com vários direitos da sociografia, de quem gosto muito. O Vasco Viana é um deles, o Cristiano Santos é outro, porque é uma porque é. 23:44 Que se gosta de um e não se gosta tanto de outro? Não. Às vezes não tem a ver com isso. Eu não me lembro de um. Talvez em novelas que tenham trabalhado com diretos de sociografia, que, enfim, que foram bons, outros nem tanto. Mas eles constroem uma estética, constroem uma luz, um ambiente. Nas séries, sim. Não é no cinema, sim. 24:00 Na televisão. Acho que é muito complicado porque. Porque se obedece a critérios, sobretudo dos canais. Que vêm com uma frase, quando eu comecei a fazer novelas, ainda estávamos a discutir se a coisa havia de serem 16:9 ou 4 por 3. Portanto, parecia que ainda estávamos a quase na Roménia dos anos 60. 24:16 EEE não estávamos e, ao mesmo tempo, estávamos muito próximos disso. EEE. No fundo, o que o diretor da fotografia faz é essa escolha da cor, da luz, do enquadramento, claro que em concordância com aquilo que eu pensei, mas é a primeira pessoa que consegue consubstanciar. 24:35 A minha visão sobre a história é isso. Olha, OOA, escolha de um plano para filmar é uma escolha moral. Também estava te a ouvir, agora a falar do 25 de abril e de e, portanto, 11. A ideia que tu tens sobre as coisas depois interfere também na maneira como tu escolhes um plano. 24:51 O que é que vais filmar ou como é que vais? Filmar, eu acho que, sobretudo, tem a ver com o eco que a história tem em ti. Não é uma coisa acética nem agnóstica. É uma coisa implicada, não é uma coisa implicada, isto é, se há uma ideia tua enquanto autor. Sobre a história, que vais esmiuçar em imagens, é mais ou menos a mesma coisa. 25:11 Que tu sabes que a Sophia de Mello breyner aprendeu gramática na escola. Eventualmente português teve aulas de português. Suspeitamos que. Sim, pronto. Aprendeu a escrever, mas ninguém a ensinou a fazer poemas. Vem dela. E essa implicação na escolha das palavras, da métrica do soneto ou do verso, et cetera, ou da ou da Quadra, ou, enfim, seja o que for. 25:30 É uma coisa que lhe vem de uma decisão. Não é de uma decisão, nem que seja do espírito, não é? Eu acho que o realizador tem a mesma função quando quando se permite e, acima de tudo, quando se assume como realizador e não um tarefeiro a mesma coisa que o ator. 25:46 Olha, como é que tu estás a falar de ficção? Obviamente, mas a ficção tem um poder secreto que é alterar a realidade ou a nossa perspetiva sobre a realidade ou não. Quando eu vejo, quando eu vejo que tu filmas uma determinada coisa num determinado prisma, com uma determinada ideia, eu, eu já quase não consigo ver a realidade como a realidade é eu, eu, eu já já tenho mais uma camada de tu vais me pondo umas lentes, não é? 26:15 Quer dizer, olha para aqui, olha para acolá. Sim, mas repara, os livros têm o mesmo poder, não é? Desde que tu te deixes contagiar com uma ideia, a arte. A arte, seja ela. Seja ela sobre a forma de uma Mona lisa ou de uma comédia, não é é essa reconfiguração do real para ser percecionada pelo outro. 26:40 E o outro pode se deixar contagiar ou não se deixar contagiar. Imagina que tu não achavas piada nenhuma ao pôr do sol? Há pessoas que não acharam piadinha nenhuma ao pôr do. Sol desligas te não vais ver? Sequer. Mas não vais ver isso? O teu real continua, ou seja, a minha. A minha pretensão com o pôr do sol não é mudar o mundo. Não é mudar, é divertir, me em primeiro lugar e achar que isto pode pode divertir. 27:02 Pessoas pode fazer umas cócegas à moda? Pode fazer cócegas à moda, aliás, pode pôr o dedo na ferida até rir. Estás a ver. Sim, porque depois tu é assim aqui. A história obviamente é engraçada. EE aquilo dá vontade de rir, mas tu gozas com todo o tipo de preconceitos e mais algum que lá estão em cima da mesa. 27:17 Claro. E esse EE aí também se tem de fazer jus ao ao texto que me chega do Henrique dias. Ou seja. Eu, o Rui e o Henrique discutimos a ideia. Eu e o Rui tínhamos uma lista extensa de tudo o que se passa em novelas, quem é a esta hora, quem é que Há de Ser no meu telemóvel, beber copos, partir, copos, cavalos, bem, famílias ricas, et cetera. 27:36 Mas depois o Henrique tem esse condão de agarrar nessas ideias e de algumas de algumas storylines que nós vamos lançando, é pá. E fazer aqueles diálogos que são absolutamente fabulosos, não é? Quer dizer, lembro, me lembrei, me. Lembro me sempre de vários, mas há uma, há um, há um apidar no na primeira temporada, que é talvez o meu plano favorito, que é um dos membros da banda que vem a correr desde o fundo do plano e que cai em frente à Câmara e diz, não, não, eu estou bem. 27:59 Dê me um panado e um local que eu fico logo bué, pronto. Isto é uma coisa muito nossa, muito proximidade, que tem graça porque tu já ouviste alguém dizer isto e pronto. E quando se tem essa, quando se tem essa junção porreira de de sentidos, de humor. 28:17 A tendência é que isso crie, crie qualquer coisa de reconhecimento. O que nós encontrámos com o pôr do sol foi um reconhecimento, é pá, surpreendeu, me surpreendeu me ao máximo e depois açambarcou nos a todos e foi a Suburbano a sobrevoou me de uma maneira assustadora, foi, imagina, eu tive um acidente de Mota pouco tempo depois da primeira temporada acabar, fui ao chão e fiquei, fiquei magoado e fiz me nada de especial, estava no hospital. 28:46 E o enfermeiro chefe dizia, sistema anel, pureza, agora vou pôr aqui um megaze, não sei quê. Ou sistema anel, pureza, não sei quê, mas assim. 11 trato espetacular. Uma coisa muito, muito solene, muito solene, e é. Pá e nas tantas ele estava a fazer o tratamento e disse assim, é pá e vê lá se tens cuidado e eu, espera aí, houve aqui qualquer coisa, houve aqui um problema na Matrix ou então não sei o que é que aconteceu e o gajo diz, desculpe, desculpa, é que eu sou de massamá e eu sei o que é que é cheirar AIC 19, todos os dias que é uma tirada do pôr do sol posso chamar os meus colegas assim? 29:12 O que é que se passa? Entraram para aí 5 ou 6 enfermeiros. Dizer é pá, obrigado. Pelo pôr do sol, por isso é convidada, portanto, Na Na enfermaria. Todo todo arrebentado. E eles todos quando em dia e eu percebi pronto, isto bateu, bateu a um nível de podemos reconciliar a televisão com uma certa cultura pop que teve alguns exemplos extraordinários na comédia ao longo da nossa história. 29:34 Temos o Raul solnado, temos o Herman José, temos Oo Ricardo Araújo Pereira e o gato fedorento, o Bruno Nogueira. Esses. Esse, atualmente, o Bruno Nogueira e o Ricardo Araújo Pereira continuarão a? Fazer são fundações, no fundo, são coisas que a gente olha e diz assim, uou. Eu acho que experimentei um bocadinho disso. Ele experimentava esta equipa, experimentou um bocadinho disso, quando de repente temos pá, um Coliseu de Lisboa cheio para ver uma banda que está a fazer playback. 29:56 Nós fizemos isso com Jesus Cristo, não é? A banda do pôr do sol foi tocar, não tocou nada, ninguém deles. Nenhum dos tocou, não sabem tocar e. Esgotámos OOO Coliseu para ouvirmos uma cassete em conjunto e as pessoas foram. Para participar num episódio ao vivo que não era episódio, não estava a ser. Filmado sequer tu vendeste, tu vendeste uma fantasia que toda a gente sabe que não existia, mas a ideia de comunhão. 30:16 Foi nessa narrativa e eu acho que isto é uma coisa que nos anda a faltar cada vez mais, não é? Nós nós não temos essas comunhões. Tu vês uma série? Ou melhor, é mais frequente teres um diálogo com um amigo e diz assim, pá, tens de ver aquela série, não sei quê, é espetacular, não sei quê quantos episódios, viste? Vi meio, mas é espetacular. 30:32 E já não é aquela coisa de Bora fazer um? Serão lá em casa, em que juntamos amigos e vemos um filme? Como aconteceu antigamente, antes da televisão se alinear? Antes de antes da da televisão te permitir uma ilusão de poder da escolha, não é? Eu agora escolho o que vejo. E a televisão morreu? Nada, não. 30:49 Nem vai morrer. É como a rádio morreu, não é? Quer dizer, a gente volta e meia a rádio a. Rádio a rádio tem mais vidas que um gato. Não é pronto porque a rádio foi ver o apagão, não é? O apagão foi uma. O apagão foi um delírio. Apagou tudo para. Os da rádio? Claro, claro. Evidentemente, isso era o que havia. E isso é extraordinário, porque isso faz, nos faz nos perceber que a volatilidade das das novas tecnologias etcétera, pá, é porreiro, é óbvio. 31:11 Então agora temos aqui 2 telemóveis, estamos anão é? Estamos aqui a filmar. Temos boa parafernália, mas mas. No limite. Naquele momento em que achávamos todos que a Rússia atacar e não era nada disso, o que queríamos era ouvir alguém a falar. Connosco o fenómeno dos podcasts como este é eu, eu dou por mim assim que é. 31:30 Eu gosto de ouvir pessoas à conversa, porque me acalma e me baixa o ritmo do scroll. Há uma. Música, não é? E é EEEE, aprendes qualquer coisa. E por isso é que eu gosto de pessoas. Estás a ver quando eu, eu houve uma vez 11 coisa que me aconteceu que eu acho que que é pá, que eu nunca mais me esqueci, que foi um amigo meu. 31:48 Que, entretanto, nunca mais falámos, é um facto. As histórias foram para os sítios diferentes, mas um dia entrou me para casa, à dentro. Eram para aí 10 da noite e diz me assim, preciso de conversar. E perguntei, lhe mas o Gonçalo de quê? Não, pá de nada, preciso só de conversar. Tens tempo para conversar e eu fiquei. 32:07 Isso é uma grande declaração, isto é. Extraordinário. Pouco tempo depois, estava em Angola a fazer uma série, uma novela. Perdão, uma. A melhor novela que eu fiz na vida é que foi uma novela para Angola, uma coisa chamada jikounisse. E há um assistente meu, Wilson, que chega 2 horas atrasado ao trabalho, é pá e era um assistente de imagem, fazia me falta. 32:25 Ele chega, Ah, presa, peço desculpa, cheguei atrasado e tal só para o Wilson 2 horas atrasado, o que é que aconteceu? Tive um amigo que precisou de falar e eu juro te que me caiu tudo, eu não lhe. Eu quero ter um amigo assim, eu não. Posso, sim. Eu não me lembro disto acontecer em Portugal. 32:42 Para mim, disse. Para mim mesmo, eu não me lembro. De. De. De dar prioridade a um amigo em detrimento do trabalho. Porque o trabalho me paga as contas e os filhos e não sei quê. E o ritmo e a carreira. E eu reconheci me e de repente há um amigo meu que precisa de conversar. 32:58 Estamos a ouvir pouco. Então, não estamos eu acho que estamos. Estamos mesmo muito. Temos mesmo muito a ouvir, a ouvir muito pouco, acho mesmo, acho mesmo. Isso isso aflige me sobretudo porque há um, há um é pá. Eu estou sempre a dizer referências, porque eu, de repente, nestas conversas, lembro me de coisas. O Zé Eduardo agualusa assina 11 crónica, creio no público há, há uns anos, largos da importância de, de, de, de de fazer mais bebés, porque o mundo está tão perdido que só trazendo gente boa, muita gente boa de uma vez em catadupa. 33:29 É que isto melhora e eu acho, essa visão. Uma chuva de. Bebés uma chuva de bebés, mas de, mas de bebés bons, de bebés, inquietos, de bebés que fazem birras pelas melhores razões de bebés, que brincam sem computadores, sem coisas que que se que chafurdam na, na lama, et cetera, fazem asneiras. 33:45 Sim, sim, eu, eu, eu gosto muito de ser pai, mais até do que ser realizador, gosto muito de ser pai e acho que isso é é precisamente por essas, pelos meus filhos, claro que são os meus, mas se tivesse, se houvesse outras crianças. De que eu tomasse conta? Acho que era isso que é. 34:01 Tu perceberes que até uma certa idade nós não temos de nos armar noutra coisa que não ser só crianças. E acho que eu pessoalmente, acho que tenho 41 anos e às vezes sinto uma criança perdida até dizer chega EE, acho que pronto. 34:18 Enfim, o tempo vai adicionando, adicionando te camadas de responsabilidade. Agora temos temos de saber mexer microfones, inverter a água, et cetera, e meter fones, et cetera. Mas, no fundo, somos um bocado miúdos perdidos a quem? A quem se chama pessoas adultas porque tem de ser, porque há regras, porque há responsabilidades e coisas a cumprir. 34:35 Acho que só o Peter Pan é que se conseguiu livrar dessa ideia de poder. Crescer, coitado. Já viste? Pois é mesmo o Peter Pan sem andar com aquelas botas ridículas também. Exato. EE, qual é? Sabemos. E o capitar, não é? Pensando bem, a história dramática é o que quando estás com neuras a tua vida é um drama refugias te na comédia fechas te de ti próprio. 34:55 Não queres falar com ninguém? Quando estou com. Que é frequente é. Frequenta é? Então, o que é que te bate? O que é que te faz o. Que me bate é nos dias que correm e não só não conseguir tocar à vontade na minha função enquanto artista. 35:15 Isto eu vou te explicar o que é. Os artistas não precisam de ser de um quadrante político ou de outro. Eu eu sou de esquerda, assumidamente de esquerda. EEE, defenderei até à última este esses ideais. Ainda à esquerda, direita. Há, há, há. Eu acho que há, há. É cada vez menos gente com quem se possa falar de um lado e de outro. 35:32 Há uma. Polarização sim, sim, porque porque, enfim, isso são são outras conversas, mas o os artistas, no meu entender, estão a perder a sua perigosidade isso enerva me, ou seja, eu às vezes sinto que não estou anão, não estou a transgredir. 35:49 Não estou a ser perigoso, não estou a questionar, não estou. Estou a ir ao sabor de uma coisa terrível, que é ter de pagar as minhas contas. É o rame. Rame mais do que isso é eu deixar me levar pela corrida que é. Tenho de ter mais dinheiro, tenho de conseguir a casa, tenho de conseguir a escola dos putos tenho, não sei quê. 36:07 Devias ser mais um moscado, aquele que que dava umas picadelas aqui à. Eh pá devia questionar. Devia. Os artistas são se nasceram para isso e eu se me se eu me considero artista e às vezes isso é difícil. Dizer isso de mim, de mim para comigo. Eu imagina o Tiago Pereira, o Tiago Pereira que anda AA fazer um acervo da música portuguesa, a gostar dela própria, pelo pelo país todo, com gente antiga, com gente nova, com com gente toda ela muito interessante. 36:36 A importância de um Tiago Pereira no nosso, no nosso país, é é inacreditável. Quantas pessoas é que conhecem o Tiago Pereira? E, pelo contrário, não estamos focados Na Na última Estrela do ou do TikTok ou do big Brother ou de outra coisa qualquer. 36:51 Até podia ser uma coisa boa, estás a ver? Ou seja. Complementar uma coisa e outra. Sim, ou seja, eu, eu. A coisa que mais me interessa é saber quem é que com 20 anos, neste momento está a filmar em Portugal e há muita gente boa. Tu vês os projetos da RTP play e da RTP lab? E é gente muito interessante. Então, e porque é que? 37:06 Nós não estamos a estornar essa gente? E a e a potencial? Porque, porque a corrida? É mais importante, ou seja, tu queres a. Corrida dos ratos Na Na roda. É e é coisa de chegar primeiro, fazer primeiro, ganhar mais que o outro, não a solidariedade é uma, é uma fraqueza AA generosidade é uma fraqueza aplaudires alguém que é teu par é mais, é mais um penso para a tua inveja do que propriamente uma coisa de quem é que ganhamos? 37:34 Todos vamos lá. OOOO rabo de peixe, por exemplo, é um é um caso lapidar nesse sentido. Que é o rapaz? É extraordinário. É extraordinário neste sentido, eu? Posso? A primeira série é uma pedrada No No charco, que é uma coisa mágica o. 37:50 O Augusto Fraga, que é uma pessoa que eu, de quem eu gosto bastante e conheço o mal, mas gosto bastante, assina uma série que a primeira coisa que foi vista sobre essa série, ainda que estivéssemos a com 35000000 de horas ou 35000000 de horas, sim, vistas por todo o mundo. 38:08 Ah, não sei quantas pessoas, minhas colegas, tuas colegas, enfim, colegas de várias pessoas que estão a ver este mote caso dizem assim, ó, mas eles nem sequer fizeram o sotaque açoriano. Ah, e aquela e aquela ideia de não contrataram só atores açorianos? Pronto, sim, vamos ver uma coisa, porque porque é que vamos sempre para essa zona precisamente por causa da corrida, porque isto é importante. 38:32 A inveja é lixada? Nada. Fraga sim, a inveja é lixada e mais do que isso, esta inveja. É patrocinada pelo sistema, o sistema, o sistema sublima. Quando nós achamos que quem, quem, quem é nosso inimigo é quem faz a mesma coisa do que nós, nós temos menos de 1% para a cultura neste país. 38:50 E quando há dinheiro, quando há dinheiro, nós andamos a tentar queimar o outro para conseguirmos chegar ao dinheiro, ou seja, perante as migalhas. Nós não nos organizamos, a dizer assim. Pá a mão que está a dar as migalhas é que está errada. 39:05 Não. O que acontece é não. Mas eu já discutimos isso. Primeiro eu preciso de de amoedar as migalhas para mim e depois então discutimos, é uma. Corrida mal comparado de esfomeados. É, mas em vários. Mas é. Não estou a ver só na cultura, não é? Não é só na cultura. E. Já dizia o Zé Mário branco, arranja me um emprego. 39:22 O Zé Mário branco dizia tanta coisa tão mais importante, tão tão tão importante nos dias que correm, o Zé Mário branco, enfim. Mas eu até diria que isto, que este país que é pequeno. Que é pequeno em escala. Que é pequeno, que é pequena escala. 39:39 Podia ver nisso uma vantagem. Podíamos ver nisso uma vantagem, porque eu acho que o país somos nós e acho que as pessoas não. Não temos essa noção, não é EE essa e essa noção de que não dedicamos tempo suficiente a estarmos uns com os outros e de ligarmos as peças boas e de tornar isto uma coisa mais interessante, claro. 39:57 Interessa me, interessa me. Muito há uma cultura de mediocridade, não? Isso eu acho que não, o que eu acho é que há. Ou melhor, como é que se compatibiliza esse essa corrida dos ratos na roda, em busca da última migalha com coisas de excelência que subitamente aparecem? 40:13 Eu acho que quando tu sentes que isso é um acidente, rapaz, isso é um acidente, não é? É um acidente. Antes tinha tinha havido o Glória e nós tínhamos achado. Tio Glória era a primeira coisa da Netflix. Parece um bocado aquela coisa de o ator que é pá. 40:29 Eu sou um grande ator. Eu fiz uma formação no Bahrain para aprender a ser a fazer de post. Foi uma formação de meia hora, chega cá e dentro e vai dizer assim, é pá. Este gajo é bom meu. O gajo esteve no barrain. Vende-se bem este. Gajo é bom, não é? E de repente não. Ele esteve no barém a fazer de post e é melhor do que um puto que veio da PTC ou 11 miúda que veio da STCE está a tentar vingar. 40:50 Eu tive agora uma conversa por causa da da dos encontros da GDA para para o qual foi foi gentilmente convidado e foi foi incrível estar à conversa com Malta nova. Não é assim tão nova quanto isso, mas Malta entre os 25 e os 35 anos, atores e atrizes, em 4 mesas redondas em que IA assaltando eu, o António Ferreira, a Soraia chaves e a Anabela Moreira, é pá EEAEA dúvida é a mesma de que se houvesse uma mesas redondas de veterinários, de veterinários ou de médicos, ou de ou de assistentes sociais, que é como é que eu começo isto? 41:20 Como é que eu faço isto? Qual é o percurso, onde é que está? O repente GDA faz uma coisa incrível que é, vamos pôr as pessoas a conversar. É um bom início, pá, é um. Excelente início. E nós não andamos a fazer isso, não andamos a fazer isso, por mais associações que haja, por mais coisas, et cetera. E há gente a fazer este, a tentar fazer este trabalho. 41:38 Não há um sindicato da minha área que funcione. O sindicato dos criativos pode ser então? O sindicato, o Sena, o sindicato Sena. As pessoas queixam se que não é um sindicato, mas não estão nele. Quando eu digo que não há um sindicato, é o sindicato, existe. As pessoas é que não vão para lá e queixam se das pessoas que lá estão. 41:55 Isto não faz sentido nenhum. Ou seja, nós estamos sempre à espera que nos dêem. Mas é aquela coisa velha, essa coisa que foi o Kennedy, que disse não é não, não perguntes. O que é que o teu país pode fazer por ti? Pergunta te, o que é que tu podes fazer pelo teu? Portanto, não temos uma mecânica por um lado de devolução à sociedade daquilo que nós estamos AA receber e, por outro lado, de de agregação, num interesse comum, ou numa imaginação comum, ou em alguma coisa que podemos fazer juntos. 42:17 Eu, eu acho que, sobretudo, tem a ver com celebramos? Não, acho que não. Até porque é tudo uma tristeza, não? É, não, não, não. Eu acho que é assim. Eu acho é que é tudo muito triste porque não nos celebramos. Porque há razões enormes para nos celebrarmos, há razões mesmo boas, para nos celebrarmos. Bom, mas eu não quero deprimir te mas um tipo que chuta 11 coisa redonda de couro e que acerta numa Baliza é mais valorizado do que um poeta que escreveu o poema definitivo sobre o amor ou sobre a vida? 42:43 Mas isso, pão e circo? Isso pão e circo. E isso a bola também é importante. E está tudo bem? Eu sou. Mas tão importante. Não é? Porque eu eu gosto de futebol, gosto. Eu gosto de futebol, sou um, sou um. Sou um fervoroso adepto da académica de Coimbra e do. Falibana do Benfica, da da académica, sou da académica. 43:00 Está péssima, não é? A académica está terrível, mas é isso. Ou seja. Eu acho que tem, Maura continua, tem? Maura, claro. E terá sempre. Eu sou, sou, sou da briosa até morrer, mas. Mas de qualquer das maneiras, sinto que essa coisa que é, há espaço para tudo. Eu acho que eu o que faz falta? E animar a Malta? 43:17 É educar a Malta? É educar a Malta. Faz muita falta. Eu acho que faz muita falta a educação neste país. E isso tem a ver com política, tem a ver com escolhas, tem a ver com coragem. EAAA educação não tem sido muito bem tratada nos últimos tempos. 43:35 Se há gente que se pode queixar são os professores e os. Alunos, porque nós só descobrimos daqui a 10 anos ou 20 que isto não correu bem. Claro, mas já estamos a descobrir agora, não é? Depois, já passaram algum tempo sim. Quais é que são as profissões de algumas das pessoas que estão no hemiciclo que tu reconheces profissões não é? 43:52 De onde é que vêm? Vêm das jotas vêm. São juristas, normalmente economistas, certo? Mas um médico. Há um ou 2? Há um ou 2, há alguém que tu, um professor? Deixa de ser atrativo. A política devia ser essa coisa de eu reconhecer. 44:10 Figuras referenciais. Os melhores entre nós que que escolhidos para liderarmos, sim. Escolhidos por nós. Ou seja, porque é que eu acho isto? Mas eu acho isto desde sempre, sempre, sempre. Eu sei isto. Aliás, eu venho de uma casa que é bastante politizada. A minha casa, a minha família é bastante politizada. O apelido. 44:27 De pureza não engana. Pois não engana. Às vezes acham que ele é meu irmão, mas é meu pai. EE pá é um gajo novo. De facto, é um gajo novo. Mas é isso que é caneco. Quem são estas pessoas? Porque é que eu vou votar nestas pessoas, estas pá. A prova agora de Nova Iorque não é 11 Mayer de 34 anos, chamado zoranmandani, que de repente ganha as eleições sem os mesmos apoios, que teve outro candidato. 44:50 Não houve Bloomberg, não houve Trump, não houve nada. Houve um tipo que veio falar para as pessoas e dizer lhes o que é que vocês precisam, de que é que precisam, o que é que vos aflige, de que é que têm medo, que sonhos é que vocês têm? Isso é tão importante e tão raro. 45:06 Afinal, o método que funciona sempre não é fala com pessoas, conta uma história ou houve cria uma expectativa? Olha, porque é que o humor explica tão bem o mundo? Eu sei, também há o choro, porque é que o humor explica tão bem? Porque tudo pode ser ridículo. E é e é tão ameaçador, não é? 45:22 Claro, claro, claro. Olha o Rio, vai nu. Exatamente tal e qual tem a ver com isso, não é? E mais do que isso, é eu, eu acho. Eu sinto que nós vivemos num país que não tem assim tanto sentido de humor. E explico porquê nós não nos rimos tanto de nós. Rimos mais dos outros quando nos rimos de nós? 45:39 É é tipo, Ah, então, mas mas estão a falar de mim. Rimos de escárnio. Sim, os os melhores, as melhores pessoas, as melhores pessoas portuguesas a terem sentido humor são os alentejanos. Porque são eles que têm as melhores notas sobre eles. Que eles próprios contam? Exatamente quando tu tens um. 45:54 Eu não sou lisboeta, portanto, posso dizer mal à vontade de vocês todos que estão a ouvir. Quando o lisboeta disse assim também. Sou alto minhoto, portanto, já estamos. Estás à vontade, não é pronto quando o lisboeta disse. Tudo que seja abaixo, abaixo, ali do cavado é soul. É soul? Exatamente. Está resolvido, pá. A minha cena é coisa do quando o lisboeta diz, tenho aqui uma nota sobre alentejana dizer, Hum. 46:11 A minha família toda alentejana, pá. Não, não acho que acho que não é bem a coisa eu diria isso, ou seja, porque é que o amor explica tão bem o mundo, explica no sentido em que, de facto, isto esta frase não é minha, é do Henrique dias. E ele acho que acho que ressintetiza isto muitíssimo bem. O argumentista do pôr do sol, que é tudo, pode ser ridículo. 46:28 O gajo da bola de couro, um círculo de de de couro que é chutado para uma Baliza, é tão ridículo como é eventualmente alguma. De algum ponto de vista sobre a religião, sobre a política, sobre a economia, sobre os cultos? 46:46 Não é os cultos pessoalizados em líderes que de repente parece que vêm resolver isto tudo e são ridículos. Quer dizer, são ridículos acima de tudo. O mito do Salvador da pátria. O mito do Salvador da pátria não é? Depois ficou substanciado em 60 fascistas. Isso é para mim. Era expulsos ao ridículo. 47:02 Incomoda os imensos. Mas a gente já viu isto em vários momentos, desde momentos religiosos até momentos políticos que é. E este vem lá ao Messias, vem lá ao Messias. E o cinema português também. O próximo filme vem sempre salvar isto tudo. E é só um filme percebes o que eu estou a dizer? Ou seja, não. 47:18 Este é que é o filme que toda a gente vai ver e vai rebentar com as Caldas. Não, não tem de ser assim, é só um filme. Só me lembro da Branca de Neve, do João César Monteiro, não é que filmou uma coisa para preto, para negro? Sim, mas mais do que isso, estava a falar de termológica comercial que é, os exibidores estão sedentos? 47:35 Que venham um filme que faça muitos números e que salve o cinema, et cetera. A pressão que se coloca, se fosse fácil fazer um filme desses, até eles próprios administradores teriam ideias. Sim, faz mesmo. A campanha viral lembro me sempre é. Faz uma coisa que vai ocupar toda a gente vai falar exatamente e que vai ser uma coisa. 47:51 Extraordinária. Um escândalo, no melhor sentido. Não sei quê, não sei quê e depois não acontece porque não é assim que as coisas não é, as pessoas não vão, não vão. Nessas modas, aliás, as pessoas estão cada vez mais dentro. O paradoxo é que as pessoas estão cada vez mais exigentes. O que é bom? Sim, mas dentro desta lógica que temos falado, que é tiktoks, et cetera, volatilidade é uma coisa superficial e de repente já nem tudo cola. 48:12 O humor repara o humor. O Bruno Nogueira, por exemplo, é um bom exemplo disso que é o Bruno Nogueira faz 111 programa extraordinário vários. Faz os contemporâneos, faz o último a sair, depois faz o princípio meio e fim, que é uma coisa arrojadíssima. Sim, ele faz coisas sempre diferentes. 48:28 Não é ele. Ele. Ele quebra os padrões sempre. Mas se reparares agora, neste, no, no, no ruído, ele já não é a mesma coisa. É um programa de Sketch que tem lá uma história que num tempo distópico em que. Sim, mas aquilo resolve se a um conjunto de de Sketch e as. 48:45 Pessoas aderiram massivamente, portanto, eu acho que isto é assim. A roda vai dando voltas. Depois voltamos um bocado à mesma coisa. O Herman, por exemplo, o Herman que é um dos meus heróis da televisão. O Herman andou por todas essas ondas e agora está numa onda de conversa e tudo mais. 49:04 E continua a ter imensa. Graça mas ele pode fazer tudo o que? Quiser, não é? Pode. Chegou este mundo do mundo para poder fazer tudo. Sim, talvez não chegue a todas as gerações como chegava. Não é dantes. Eu lembro me, por exemplo, No No no célebre Sketch da da última ceia, não é? 49:20 Ele chegou a todas as gerações, houve umas gerações que odiaram isso foi incrível, eu adorei, eu adorei esse momento iá, e ele é também um dos meus heróis por causa desse momento, porque, porque, enfim, porque qual que lá está transgressor, perigoso artista? 49:38 O Herman é tudo isso sim. Pode a qualquer momento fazer dinamitar isto olha fora o humor, tu tens, posso chamar lhe maturidade emocional entre o felps e os infanticidas. O que, o que muda no teu olhar quando quando tu transpassas da comédia para, para, para o drama, o humor e a dor são são irmãos. 49:58 O sim, diria que sim, mas mais do que isso, é há coisas que me que me inquietam, não é? Eu com 41 anos e 3 filhos, EEE uma história já muito porreira. O que? É que te inquieta. Várias coisas. Olha esta coisa da do dos artistas, esta coisa da sociedade portuguesa, esta coisa de o que é que é ser português em 2025, o que é que é ter 41 anos em 2025? 50:21 A amizade, a amizade inquieta me há amigos que desaparecem e não é só porque morrem, há há. Há outros que desaparecem porque. Perdemos lhe o rasto. Ou isso, ou porque nos zangamos EEA coisa vai de vela e é assim. E a vida é dinâmica e. E às vezes questiono, me, não é? 50:37 Questiono me sobre quanto é que vale uma amizade, por exemplo, os enfatisídeos é sobre isso, não é? Ou seja, 22 amigos de 2 amigos de infância que aos 17 anos dizem, se aos 30 anos não estivermos a fazer aquilo que queremos fazer, matamo nos daquelas promessas adolescentes e de repente um deles apaixona se e casa se. 50:57 E ele às vezes não quer morrer e a amizade vai à vida. E aquele que ficou para sempre com 17 anos, que sou um bocado eu, não é? Porque eu acho os problemas aos 17 anos é que são os verdadeiros problemas da existência humana. Os outros são chatices da EDPE da epal estás a ver isso? São outros chatices pagar as contas, pagar contas é só isso, porque tudo o resto é só o que é que eu estou aqui a fazer? 51:17 Porque é que eu me apaixonei, porque é que ninguém gosta de mim, porque é que essas coisas são tão ricas, são tão boas de testemunhar eu tenho. Tenho um exemplo incrível de ter 11 filho extraordinário chamado Francisco, que tem 14 anos e que tem umas inquietações muito. 51:34 Muito boas pá, muito, muito poéticas, muito. É uma idade difícil. E boa. E tão boa. E tenho. Tenho muita sorte. Francisco é um miúdo incrível. Mas mesmo que não fosse, eu diria assim. Para ele e tu e tu estimulas ou acalmas as ânsias dele. Eu eu acho que sou eu e a mãe dele, acho que somos estimuladores da sua, das suas várias consciências, social, política, artística. 52:02 Mas temos uma, o respaldo que encontrámos naquele naquele ser humano, foi maior do que qualquer um incentivo que nós pudéssemos dar. Ou seja, nós lançámos um bocadinho, as paisadas para os pés dele e ele de repente floresceu. E é hoje em dia uma pessoa é um ser humano extraordinário e pronto. 52:19 E eu costumo dizer aos meus amigos que o primeiro filho muda a nossa vida, o segundo acaba com ela, uma terceira. Esta turística, sim, é pá. Eu acho que os 3 deram um cabo da minha vida. É uma dinâmica diferente, não é? 3. É, é ainda por cima estão os passados, não é? Um tem 14, outro tem 3, outro tem 1 ano e meio e para o ano provavelmente quero ter mais um filho, porque acho que é lá está eu estou com água, luz a tatuar aqui, algures, portanto, tu. 52:43 Vais salvar o nosso problema de de de naturalidade e demográfico. Eu espero que sim, eu já sou Oo chamado povoador dos olivais. Portanto, vão para sim, sim, olha o que é que te falta fazer para fecharmos o que é que anda o que é que andas a escrever o que é que anda, o que é que te anda a inquietar o que é que te anda aí a. 53:01 Debaixo do teu olho. Olha, estou concorri a uma bolsa para escrever um livro. Pode saber sobre o quê? Sim, sim, é um filme que eu não, que eu não tenho dinheiro para fazer e, portanto, vou fazer o livro. E depois pode ser que o livro reúna. E os bons livros dão sempre grandes filmes. 53:17 Ao contrário, os maus livros, eu sei que eu sei que vou ser fraquinha e, portanto, os maus livros dão bons filmes, os bons livros. Portanto, a tua expectativa é que o livro seja mau que é um grande filme? Sim, sim, não. Mas pelo menos seja seja livro. Isso é importante. Eu gosto imenso de livros. Gosto imenso de ler. É das coisas que eu mais gosto de fazer, é de ler. Fiz isso candidatei me EE. 53:33 Entretanto, estou a preparar uma série de outro género, completamente diferente, que é uma série de de fantástico de terror, escrita por 5 amigos, de que eu tenho muita estima. Por quem tenho muita estima, o Tiago r Santos Oo Artur, o Artur Ribeiro, o Luís Filipe Borges, o Nuno Duarte e o Filipe homem Fonseca. 53:51 Que é uma série chamada arco da velha, que terá estreia na RTPE, que se passa entre Portugal e a galiza e também vai ter uns toques de Brasil. E estou também a preparar outro projeto lá mais para a frente, que é provavelmente os projetos que eu mais quero fazer na vida até hoje, que estou a desenvolver com a Ana Lázaro, com a Gabriela Barros e com o Rui Melo. 54:13 É impossível falhar, já ganhaste. Completamente impossível falhar porque esta ideia original é da Gabriela e do Rui. Ei, e eles vieram ter comigo. E eu fiquei para já muito conten

Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that we assume the qualities of those with whom we associate. And if one were to want to advance in a particular discipline, one quite naturally would search out a community, a society, a club, an organization where people were focused on that discipline, and one would take the association of those people. In a similar way, if one wants to advance spiritually, it's quite natural that one would gravitate towards a place where people were engaged in that practice. And it's natural because we want to do something. We want to be with others who are doing it. In describing the process of devotional service, one of the previous great teachers of bhakti says that as soon as one develops a sense of appreciation for devotional service, the next impulse is to find out where people are practicing it, so one can be there with them. That happened to me when I was in high school. I had an impulse to practice spiritual life. And then I got a magazine called Back to Godhead, and it had pictures in it of young people my age or a little older who were doing various kinds of services together: running a printing press, or some of them were serving out food (prasādam). Others were chanting in public. And I thought, "I'd like to be with those people, do what they do, find out what they're doing." So I gravitated. So it's one of the ways in which our teachers say that we're drawn to the association of devotees, as soon as we have a sense in our heart that I would like to be more engaged in service to God, and we look for people who are already engaged. Therefore, our founder started what he called a society, International Society, with a view to giving people everywhere an opportunity to associate with those who are sincerely trying to improve themselves spiritually. He recognized that it's a universal principle. It's not that it works in one culture, but not in another. It's not restricted to a particular culture, because it has to do with the living force, the soul and souls are equal everywhere. They may have different external circumstances, but internally, we're all the same, in that we're all parts of God and we're all conscious beings. Therefore, as he conceived it, the process of bhakti would work anywhere, in any country. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose

In this episode of The People Dividend, host Mike Horne welcomes Stephanie Chung, a leadership strategist and author of Ally Leadership. Together, they explore what it truly means to lead inclusively, and why the most effective leaders today are those who prioritize empathy, curiosity, and cultural awareness. Stephanie shares powerful insights on how leaders can build high-performing, psychologically safe teams by embracing diversity, addressing privilege with intention, and leading with both head and heart. The conversation touches on generational differences, inclusive team cultures, and the leadership mindset shifts required in today's evolving workplace.   Key Takeaways:   Ally Leadership means leading people who are not like you, with empathy and understanding. Privilege isn't negative, it's a powerful tool to build trust when acknowledged and used wisely. Curiosity is the gateway to better leadership. Ask more. Assume less. The most effective leaders foster an environment where every team member can thrive. Small adjustments in attention and communication can unlock higher team performance.   Links:    Learn more about Mike Horne on Linkedin Email Mike at mike@mike-horne.com Learn More About Executive and Organization Development with Mike Horne Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikehorneauthor  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikehorneauthor/,  LinkedIn Mike's Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6867258581922799617/,  Schedule a Discovery Call with Mike: https://calendly.com/mikehorne/15-minute-discovery-call-with-mike     Learn More about Stephanie Chung https://stephaniechung.com/about/  

Hello everyone, a big thanks to all of you who joined the patreon and voted for this to be the next episode, you all are awesome. This is a part 2 about Hirohito's responsibility during the wars of 1931-1945, so if you have not heard part 1, perhaps go do so, or maybe you just don't care about 1931-1940 and just want to hear about the 1941-1945 period, hell by all means enjoy.   So last time we kind of left it on a bit of a dramatic cliff hanger. I spoke about Emperor Hirohito's involvement in what was called at the time the “China Incident”. It was not an official declared war until December of 1941. We left off in 1940, Hirohito was struggling with a situation of juggling two things: 1) how the hell to finally end the China War 2) how to do it without receiving horrible ramifications from the international world. On July 22nd of 1940, Konoe was back and formed a second cabinet. Notably General Hideki Tojo went from vice to army Minister during this time. If you guys ever want a podcast on Hideki Tojo, let me know, he is one rather bizarre figure that's for sure. Konoe tackled his job by holding an imperial HQ government liaison conference. For 90 minutes everyone worked on a new national policy designed to exploit the international situation, IE: Germany bulldozing europe.  The result was a document on national policy dated July 27th. It shifted focus to the “southern area” IE: southeast asia and the Pacific if the China war did not end quickly. Its basis was to exploit the foreign nations that had their hands full in europe, France, Britain and the Netherlands. It called for an invasion of French Indochina to establish bases to launch assaults against the Dutch East Indies for natural resources if diplomatic means failed. It acknowledged if the Dutch East Indies were seized through military means, Japan would also seek to fight Britain, but not the US, instead Japan would prepare for a possible war with the Americans. To all of this Hirohito approved. The army also kept pressuring its desire to ally with Germany. Throughout 1939-1940 Hirohito rejected this idea, not because of any ideological differences, it was because of Germans anti aggression pact with the USSR. If Japan were to ally to Germany, Hirohito wanted it to be mutually to fight the USSR. The Navy likewise opposed allying to Germany because they believed it would force Britain and the US to increase their aid to Chiang Kai-shek.   However the Blitzkrieg changed everything. Everyone was shocked at how well Germany was doing. Prince Chichibu repeatedly argued with Hirohito to change his mind over the alliance idea. Then suddenly the Navy changed their mind and began favoring an alliance. This changed came about in June of 1940 when the France fell. The Navy changed their mind based on a few factors, a major component was the belief if Germany and the USSR were allied, than at least Japan would not have to worry about the USSR and could focus on the pacific. Both the IJA and the IJN believed Hitler would soon take Britain and thus there was a huge desire to join the new international order on the winning side. A third factor was a new clause in negotiations with Germany and Japan, that if they allied Japan would not automatically be drawn into a war with Britain against her will. Some in the navy also believed perhaps Germany could help their diplomatic situation with the Americans. So the army and navy were now both demanding an alliance with Germany, it was all up to hirohito.    At an imperial briefing on June 19th of 1940, Hirohito asked chief of staff Prince Kan'in and the Army Minister Hata “At a time when peace will soon come in the European situation, will there be a deployment of troops to the Netherlands Indies and French Indochina?” Such as question revealed Hirohito's perception at the time that Germany was on the verge of victory and that he was gradually considering the deployment of troops in French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies as neither parent nation were in a position to defend their holdings. In regards to the China war, the Japanese sought to end leaks of materials getting into China from places like Hong Kong. Hirohito received reports indicated Britain would not accept closing the movement of materials into China via Hong Kong. The military acknowledged it would probably be required to invade Hong Kong and thus declare war on Britain. Upon hearing of this Hirohito remarked “Should that happen, I am sure America will use the method of an embargo, don't you agree?” To this his lord of the privy seal, Kido reassured him stating “the nation must be fully resolved to resist to proceed cautiously and not to be dragged into events precipitated by the overseas agencies”. Konoe's second cabinet resolved to end the China war, construct a new order in greater east asia and to complete war preparations as a national defense state. On July 27th at a liaison conference a document was adopted, affirming a course of advancing to the south and to ally with Germany. Japan would incorporate the Dutch East Indies, British Malaya and other resource rich areas of Southeast Asia into its new order while simultaneously bolstering its relationship with the Axis states. After hearing and reading everything, Hirohito sanctioned it all. Thus Hirohito had sanctioned the preliminary actions that would set Japan into a collision course with the US.   In September Japan began sending troops into northern French Indochina after concluding its Tripartite alliance with Germany and Italy. Now Hirohito was briefed beforehand by Army Minister Tojo and other chiefs of staff about securing bases in northern French indochina. Hirohito agreed to this under the belief acquiring such bases would stop more leaked materials going into China and thus contribute to the fall of Chongqing. But Hirohito also sanctioned it under the full knowledge it was preparing the Nanshin-ron advance and that carried a risk of going to war with Britain and by proxy the US. Naturally he wanted to thwart any war breaking out with the US by it seems his officials had convinced him they could manage most of their plans without aggravating the US.   On July 29th with the German offensive aimed at finishing off Britain, Hirohito summoned his chiefs and vice chiefs of staff to the imperial HQ. He began to question the prospects of war with the US. Prince Fushimi replied “[u]nless we complete our domestic preparations, particularly the preparation of our material resources, I do not think we should lightly start war even if there is a good opportunity to do so.” Hirohito then asked if  “the Army were planning to occupy points in India, Australia, and New Zealand.” But overall Hirohito seemed to be the most concerned about the US, Germany and the USSR. “Could Japan, obtain a victory in a naval battle with the United States as we once did in the Battle of the Japan Sea? . . . I heard that the United States will ban exports of oil and scrap iron [to Japan]. We can probably obtain oil from other sources, but don't you think we will have a problem with scrap iron?” In regards to the USSR “If a Japan-Soviet nonaggression treaty is made and we advance to the south, the navy will become the main actor. Has the army given thought to reducing the size of its forces in that case? . . . How do you assess the future national power of Germany? . . . Both Germany and the Soviet Union are untrustworthy countries. Don't you think there will be a problem if one of them betrays us and takes advantage of our exhaustion fighting the United States?I]t seems as though you people are thinking of implementing this plan by force because there is a good opportunity at this moment for resolving the southern problem even though some dangers are involved. . . . What does a good opportunity mean? [To this question Sawada replied: “For example, if a German landing in England commences.”] In that case wouldn't the United States move to aid Britain? . . . Well, I've heard enough. I take it, in short, that you people are trying to resolve the southern problem by availing yourselves of today's good opportunities.”   You can tell Hirohito understood the very real threat of an Anglo-American alliance and was very cautious. It seemed to Hirohito, that his officials were trying to take the limelight off the abysmal situation in China but emphasizing a southern advance. Well Americans response to the Japanese movement into northern French indochina was to see it as a direct threat. Something I have not paid much attention to was Hirohito's decision making being the direct result of trying to mediate between competing entities, ie: the IJA and IJN. At this point in time the IJA and IJN top officials had the power to simply stop governmental functions from occurring altogether whenever they were displeased with a decision. As you can imagine the IJA and IJN were also competing for resources and political power. Thus Hirohito spent a lot of time and effort trying to formulate decisions that at a minimum kept the governance going.    In the end Hirohito sanctioned Imperial HQ army order number 458, ordering the area army to begin the entry into French Indochina. Thus once again Hirohito sanctioned aggression aboard. America began what it called a “moral embargo” on aircraft parts, scrap iron and aviation gasoline. This was one of many gradual steps America took to incrementally sanction Japan, while aiding China to keep it bogged down. Japan's direct response was joining the Axis with a clause “to assist one another with all political, economic and military means if attacked by a power at present not involved in the European War or in the Sino-Japanese conflict”. This clause was designed specifically to check Britain and the US. Hirohito knew this was a turning point carrying the possibility of war with the US. Later he would blame some officials and even his brothers Chichibu and Takamatsu, but not his own actions sanctioning the Axis pact.    Speaking of his brothers, at this time Chichibu got severely ill with tuberculosis and as a result retired from active public life, now Prince Takamatsu stood as next regent. Thus Takamatsu would begin reading reports and advise Hirohito. Takamatsu like Chichibu approved the Tripartite Pact and found his brother Hirohito's performance lacking. Meanwhile Britain responded to the Tripartite pact by opening up the Burma road and America made a loan to Chiang Kai-shek.   The Soviets came to Japan for a neutrality pact and sweetened the deal by offering Soviet coal and oil concessions in North Sakhalin. Hirohito ratified the treaty on April 25th of 1941. 5 weeks later on June 5th, the Japanese ambassador to Berlin, General Oshima Hiroshi reported to Hirohito and the high command that Hitler was about to invade the Soviets. The Army high command sprang into action drafting plans to open a war with the Soviets while simultaneously advancing south into French Indochina. But many in the military also sought to wait until the time was ripe, and a rift emerged. Operation barbarossa commenced and on June 23rd the IJN high command gave their opinion that Japan should seize all military bases and airfields in southern French Indochina even at the risk of war with Britain and America. Can you say boy that escalated quickly?   There was obvious temptation to invade Siberia towards Lake Baikal, but at the same time the western powers were tightening sanctions on Japan, she needed resources. At this point Japan had been stuck in China for 4 years and 5 months, the army had expanded from 17 divisions totalling 250,000 men in july of 1937 to 51 divisions at 2.1 million men in December 8th of 1941. On July 2nd, 10 tens into Operation barbarossa, Konoe summoned an imperial conference to debate actions going forward. The consensus was that southern French Indochina needed to be taken and that it probably would not provoke the US going to war with Japan. Hirohito sanctioned it and on July 30th made a major operational intervention by advising General Sugiyama to build up forces in Manchukuo to prevent the Soviet Far Eastern Army.   Japan negotiated with Vichy France to allow Japanese troops to occupy southern parts of French Indochina. What was to be originally just 40,000 IJA forces turned into 185,000 and in response America increased sanctions and began preparing the Philippines for war. Roosevelt froze Japanese assets in the US on July 26th and by August the 1st a total embargo of oil and gasoline exports to Japan. Konoe's cabinet, the military high command, pretty much everyone was shocked by how harsh the economic sanctions were. Emperor Hirohito told Sugiyama to halt mobilizing forces in Manchukuo and the army basically dropped all plans of attacking the USSR. A month after the US oil embargo suddenly the army had changed its mind to go all in on the southern advance. Britain likewise began sanctions against Japan and both Britain and the US managed to convince the Dutch to follow suit by refusing to sell oil to Japan. The Dutch even took it a step further and followed Americans lead in freezing Japanese assets.    Konoe was in full panic mode, be believed his ambassador to washington was a moron and sought to go in person to speak to Roosevelt. At 11:40am on August 4th Konoe spoke to Hirohito about the plan, but Washington kept making up excuses prolonging any meeting from taking place. Meanwhile Washington was building up its navy, and the IJN were stressing, in the words of Admiral Takagai “As time passes and this situation continues, our empire will either be totally defeated or forced to fight a hopeless war. Therefore we should pursue war and diplomacy together. If there is no prospect of securing our final line of national survival by diplomatic negotiations, we must be resolved to fight.” Hirohito understood the predicament full well, that each day Japan was wasting its oil reserves, if they were to strike it had to be quickly.    On september 3rd at a liaison conference it was decided Japan was to prepare for a war against the US, UK and Netherlands while simultaneously pursuing diplomacy. If diplomacy failed by early October the decision for war would be made. Konoe presented everything to Hirohito on September 5th and requested an imperial conference on the matter. The most important decision of his life was about to be made.    Now take a second to feel the moment. Germany's invasion of the USSR was in its 6th week and not producing a decisive victory; Britain was still in the fight and the Japanese ambassador to London reported back Britain would allow Japan to maintain its great power status and exert influence in asia if they stayed out of the European War and “re-examined their current policy”. An olive branch. Hirohito had options is what I am arguing. He could stale things, he could mobilize units into Manchukuo to simply threaten the Soviet border, he could simply stay out of new wars, even it the China war would get worse, but try to profit from the situation in Europe. He could stop the southern advance, lose the chance to seize the resource in southeast asia, but perhaps the US, UK and Netherlands would lift some sanctions.   After speaking back and forth with Konoe while scolding Sugiyama here is a bit of their conversation:    Emperor: In the event we must finally open hostilities, will our operations have a probability of victory?  Sugiyama: Yes, they will.  Emperor: At the time of the China Incident, the army told me that we could achieve peace immediately after dealing them one blow with three divisions. Sugiyama, you were army minister at that time. . . .  Sugiyama: China is a vast area with many ways in and many ways out, and we met unexpectedly big difficulties. . . . [ellipses in original]  Emperor: Didn't I caution you each time about those matters? Sugiyama, are you lying to me? Nagano: If Your Majesty will grant me permission, I would like to make a statement.  Emperor: Go ahead.  Nagano: There is no 100 percent probability of victory for the troops stationed there. . . . Sun Tzu says that in war between states of similar strength, it is very difficult to calculate victory. Assume, however, there is a sick person and we leave him alone; he will definitely die. But if the doctor's diagnosis offers a seventy percent chance of survival, provided the patient is operated on, then don't you think one must try surgery? And if, after the surgery, the patient dies, one must say that was meant to be. This indeed is the situation we face today. . . . If we waste time, let the days pass, and are forced to fight after it it is too late to fight, then we won't be able to do a thing about it.  Emperor: All right, I understand. [He answered in a better mood.]  Konoe: Shall I make changes in tomorrow's agenda? How would you like me to go about it? Emperor: There is no need to change anything.   There is no need to change anything. Konoe grabbed Hirohito for a private audience afterwards and tried to get Hirohito to revise the outline, but Hirohito ignored this. Hirohito at that point could have stopped or at least slowed down the countdown to all out war. Hirohito instead did not want to displease the pro-war factions in his military, perhaps he saw them as a threat to his authority. Hirohito was not at all pleased with the policy plan. When he was shown in on september 5th, he looked extremely irritated and blew up on Sugiyama and the army high command as a whole. 20 minutes before the Imperial conference on September 6th, Hirohito spoke with his lord of the privy Kido and told him he was going to raise some questions at the meeting. Kido told him that it would be best to leave the questions at the very end, basically he was advising to allow for things to go through. Thus Hirohito sat through the meeting and sanction the preparations for war. Here is a conversation between Hirohito and the Chiefs of the general staff:   Emperor: You may go ahead and mobilize. But if the Konoe-Roosevelt talks go well, you'll stop, won't you?  Chief of the General Staff: Indeed, your majesty, we will.  Emperor: I will ask you one more time: Is there any possibility that the north [that is, the Soviet Union] may move against us while we are engaged in the south [emphasis added]?  Chief of the General Staff: I cannot say that will absolutely not occur. However, because of the season it is inconceivable that large forces will be able to attack us   Meanwhile Konoe's deadline to reach a diplomatic resolution with the US was fast approaching. On October 13th Hirohito told Kido “In the present situation there seems to be little hope for the Japan–U.S. negotiations. If hostilities erupt this time, I think I may have to issue a declaration of war.” The next day Konoe held his last cabinet meeting and Army minister Tojo took the lionshare of talking:   For the past six months, ever since April, the foreign minister has made painstaking efforts to adjust relations [with the United States.] Although I respect him for that, we remain deadlocked. . . . Our decision was “to start the war . . . if by early October we cannot thoroughly achieve our demands through negotiations.” Today is the fourteenth. . . . We are mobilizing hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Others are being moved from China and Manchuria, and we have requisitioned two million tons of ships, causing difficulties for many people. As I speak ships are en route to their destinations. I would not mind stopping them, and indeed would have to stop them, if there was a way for a diplomatic breakthrough. . . . The heart of the matter is the [imposition on us of] withdrawal [from Indochina and China]. ...If we yield to America's demands, it will destroy the fruits of the China Incident. Manchukuo will be endangered and our control of Korea undermined   And so Konoe resigned two days later, but before he did his last official action was to recommend Prince Higashikuni to succeed him, in fact he got Tojo to do the same. Prince Higashikuni was deemed capable of controlling both the Army and Navy. And what did Hirohito say to this? He said no, and appointed Hideki Tojo. Why? As going back to the beginning of this series, to protect the Kokutai. He did not want a member of the royal family to hold the seat as Prime Minister during a time when war might be declared, a war that Japan might lose, which would toss the responsibility onto the imperial house. It was a threat to the Kokutai. Hirohito chose Tojo because Tojo was 100% loyal subject to the emperor. Tojo was the perfect fall guy if one ever existed.    Between November 8-15th, Hirohito received a full rundown of the Pearl Harbor surprise attack plan and sanctioned it. The deadline to reach a diplomatic solution with the US was set for midnight December 1st.    Hirohito ever since the Mukden Incident had expressed fear that not taking warlike actions, not pumping up the kokutai or not suppressing dissent would jeopardize the imperial system of government and damage the imperial institution itself. For Hirohito domestic conflicts were more dangerous than external ones, because they carried the risk of eroding the monarchy. As the time approached for his finally decision on declaring war, Hirohito requested a last round of discussion. The carriers enroute to Pearl harbor departed on november 27th, while on December 1st, 19 leaders, the entire Tojo cabinet and Emperor met. Tojo pulled a rather cheeky maneuver, he reported the response from America, the famous Hull note by stating “the United States . . . has demanded that we withdraw troops from all of China [emphasis added],” but in fact, Hull had used only the word “China.” Hara asked “I would like to know,whether Manchukuo is included in the term ‘China'? Did our two ambassadors confirm this point?” Togo's reply to this was “However . . . the American proposal [early in the negotiations on] April 16 stated that they would recognize the state of Manchukuo, so Manchukuo would not be part of China. . . . On the other hand . . . there has been a change in their position . . . they look upon Chungking as the one and only legitimate regime, and . . . they want to destroy the Nanking regime, [so] they may retract what they have said previously” A nonsensical gibberish answer, intentionally done to make everyone think America did in fact include Manchukuo, thus forcing everyone to see the demands as impossible to comply with. Togo finished the meeting : “Once His Majesty decides to commence hostilities, we will all strive to meet our obligations to him, bring the government and the military ever closer together, resolve that the nation united will go on to victory, make an all-out effort to achieve our war aims, and set his majesty's mind at ease. I now adjourn the meeting.” Hirohito simply nodded. Sugiyama remarked that the emperor did not show the slightest sign of anxiety, in fact he looked like he was in a good mood.   Hirohito's naval aid Jo Eiichiro wrote minutes on the first day of the pacific war, recording the emperors actions. 4 A.M. (Japan time): Japan issued a final ultimatum to the United States. 3:30 A.M.: the Hawaiian surprise attack was successful. 5:30 A.M.: Singapore bombed. Great results. Air attacks on Davao, Guam, Wake. 7:10 A.M.: All the above was reported to the emperor. The American gunboat Wake was captured on the Shanghai front. The British gunboat Petrel was sunk. From 7:15 to 7:30 the chief of the Navy General Staff reported on the war situation. At 7:30 the prime minister informally reported to the emperor on the imperial rescript declaring war. (Cabinet meeting from 7 A.M.). At 7:35 the chief of the Army General Staff reported on the war situation. At 10:45 the emperor attended an emergency meeting of the privy council. At 11:00 A.M. the imperial rescript declaring war was promulgated. 11:40 A.M. Hirohito conferred with Kido for about twenty minutes.] At 2:00 P.M. the emperor summoned the army and navy ministers and bestowed an imperial rescript on them. The army minister, representing both services, replied to the emperor. [At 3:05 P.M. the emperor had a second meeting with Kido, lasting for about twenty minutes.] At 4:30 P.M. the chiefs of staff formally reported on the draft of the Tripartite (Germany-Italy-Japan) Military Pact. At 8:30 P.M. the chief of the Navy General Staff reported on the achievements of the Hawaii air attack. . . . Throughout the day the emperor wore his naval uniform and seemed to be in a splendid mood.   Hirohito believed Germany would win, thus if with their help he believed Japan could thwart off the US until a negotiated peace. Having made his choice, Hirohito devoted himself to presiding over and guiding the war to victory at all costs. He was a extremely cautious person, every single campaign he looked for what could go wrong, made worse case scenario predictions and was very suspicious of reports from his high officials. He was notably very harsh and critical on said high commanders. Although he did not visit the war theaters as did other commanders in chief, he exercised and controlled influence on theater operations, both in the planning and execution whenever he chose to do so. As was the same case with the China war before it, he issued the highest military orders of the Imperial HQ, performed audited conferences and led to decisions transmitted in his name. He received generals and admirals to the imperial palace who gave full reports of the battlefront. He visited bases, battleships, various army and naval headquarters. He inspected military schools, you know the full shebang.    After 26 months of war, the naval air force had lost 26,006 aircraft, nearly a third of its total power, thousands of veteran pilots were dead. Hundreds of thousands of tons of warship was sunk, the merchant and transport fleet was crippled. Late 1943 saw the Americans turning the initiative of the war, Japan was on the defensive. Guadalcanal had been the major turning point. During the staled battle for the philippines, Hirohito pressed upon Army chief of staff Sugiyama to increase troop strength to knock out Bataan. The problem persisted, on February 9th and 26th Hirohito pressed Sugiyama again about getting more troops to take Bataan.   Hirohito was confronted with the prisoner of war issue after the doolittle raid. When the pilots were caught, Togo initially opposed executions, but many in the IJA sought all 8 men executed. Hirohito chose to intervene and commuted the execution of 5 out of the 8. Why just 5, no one knows to this day, but its theorized it was to demonstrate his benevolence while simultaneously giving a bit of what the army wanted.    The CBI theater took the lionshare of his attention in 1942, he continuously pressed up Sugiyama when a final blow would be delivered against Chongqing. When the Midway disaster occurred, Hirohito was given a full report of what happened, but he chose to hid the extent of the loss from the IJA. In fact in response to the Guadalcanal campaign he was heard once asking “I wonder if this is not the start of the AmericanBritish counteroffensive?” He urged his commanders to increase offensive activities and to toss all weapons possible at the enemy, because Japan needed more time to secure its reserves of vital oil, rubber and iron. When he heard the first report of the Ichiki detachment being wiped out, he simply stated “I am sure it [Guadalcanal] can be held.” With numerous reports pouring in about the men dying from tropical disease and starvation, Hirohito kept demanding greater efforts from them. Hirohito continuously applied pressure on his naval and land commanders to recapture the island. On September 15th, November 5th and November 11th he called for more IJA troops and aircraft to be allocated to it. Sugiyama was nervous about sending more IJA pilots as they were inexperienced in transoceanic combat and he sought to reinforce the north china army to hit Chongqing. Hirohito demanded it a second time and Sugiyama replied the IJA had deployed its air power instead to New Guinea and Rabaul. Hirohito continuously hammered the issue despite the high level commanders disagreeing with it. By late november it was clear guadalcanal was a lost cause.    At an imperial HQ conference on December 31st of 1942, the chiefs of staff reported they would cancel the attempts to recapture guadalcanal. Hirohito sanctioned it but stated “It is unacceptable to just give up on capturing Guadalcanal. We must launch an offensive elsewhere.” Hirohito forced the issue and it was decided the new strategic points would be in the solomons north of New Georgia and the Stanley range on New Guinea. Hirohito in fact threatened not to authorize the withdrawal of men from Guadalcanal until such a plan was made. Hirohito would go on to oppose the withdrawal from the Munda airfield on New Georgia since it contradicted the new defensive line. As the defensive perimeter in the central and northern solomons was crumbling, Hirohito continued to demand the navy fight decisive battles to regain the initiative so ships could begin transports supplies to the countless soldiers trapped on islands without them. When Hirohito heard of the navy's failure to reinforce Lae on March 3rd he stated  “Then why didn't you change plans immediately and land at Madan? This is a failure, but it can teach us a good lesson and become a source of future success. Do this for me so I can have peace of mind for awhile.” “Do this for me” would become his signature message.    In August of 1943 as the fall of the solomons progressed, Hirohito lambasted “Isn't there someplace where we can strike the United States? . . . When and where on earth are you [people] ever going to put up a good fight? And when are you ever going to fight a decisive battle?Well, this time, after suffering all these defeats, why don't you study how not to let the Americans keep saying ‘We won! We won!'[emphasis added]”” Hirohito berated his chiefs of staff and in the face of mounting defeats he remained undismayed, rigidly self disciplined and aggressive as ever. When he received a report on September 21st of 1943 that the allies were heading for Finschhafen he replied “Being ready to defend isn't enough. We have to do the attacking.”   When the Americans destroyed the main naval anchorage at Truk forcing the navy to evacuate it, leaving behind numerous tanks, the dream of fighting one great decisive naval battle in the central pacific was over.    On February 21st of 1944, Hirohito took the unprecedented action to force Sugiyama to resign so Tojo could assume his position, alongside that of army minister and prime minister. He did this to end dissent. Hirohito and Tojo oversaw the haymaker attempts in 1944, like operation Ichi-go and the Imphal campaign fall into ruins. It looked like the Philippines, Taiwan, Okinawa, the Bonin islands and eventually the home islands would be invaded. When Saipan fell, the home islands had at last come into range of the dreaded B-29 Super flying fortresses. Hirohito had warned Tojo “If we ever lose Saipan, repeated air attacks on Tokyo will follow. No matter what it takes, we have to hold there.” For two days his chiefs of staff explained the dire situation on Saipan was hopeless, but Hirohito ignored their advice and ordered Admiral Shimada to recapture it, the first department of the navy general staff immediately poured themselves into the problem. Day and night they worked, until a draft plan was created on June 21st, 3 days later the combined fleet gave opposition. Tojo and Shimada formally reported to Hirohito the recapture plan needed to be canceled. Hirohito refused to accept the loss of Saipan and ordered his chief aide General Hasunuma to convene in his presence the board of field marshals and fleet admirals. They all met on the 25th, upon which they all unanimously stated the reports indicating Saipan was a lost cause were valid, Hirohito simply told them to put it in writing and he left the room.    Hirohito finally decided to withdraw his support of Tojo, allowing Tojo's numerous enemies to take down his cabinet on July 18th 1944. But Hirohito was undaunted in determination to steal victory from the allies. Imperial HQ on October 18th ordered a decisive naval battle and the battle of Leyte Gulf was it. After the war Hirohito would go on the record stating “Contrary to the views of the Army and Navy General Staffs, I agreed to the showdown battle of Leyte thinking that if we attacked at Leyte and America flinched, then we would probably be able to find room to negotiate.” This statement shows the facts as they were, Hirohito and his chiefs of staff forced the field commander, General Tomoyuki Yamashita to engage the American invasion force in a place Yamashita did not want to fight nor prepared adequate defenses. It was a horrible loss.   The Kamikaze attacks increased as Japan's desperation wore on. On new years day of 1945 Hirohito inspected the special last meal rations given to departing kamikaze units. Iwo Jima fell. Okinawa remained, and Hirohito lashed out “Is it because we failed to sink enemy transports that we've let the enemy get ashore? Isn't there any way to defend Okinawa from the landing enemy forces?”  On the second day of Okinawa's invasion Hirohito ordered a counter landing by the 32nd army and urged the navy to counterattack in every way possible. It was a horrible failure, it cost the lives of up to 120,000 Japanese combatants, 170,000 noncombatants. The Americans lost 12,500 killed and 33,000 wounded. An absolute bloodbath.    Konoe re-entered the stage writing to Hirohito pleading with him to order a surrender because from his perspective “The Soviet Union is Japan's biggest threat. Defeat was inevitable, but more to be feared than defeat was the destruction of the Kokutai. Sue quickly for peace, before a Communist revolution occurred that would make preservation of the kokutai impossible”. Hirohito was taken aback by this, as he shared his military's hope that the Soviets would help Japan reach a peace settlement. So he rejected the advice of Konoe. Hirohito remarked “If we hold out long enough in this war, we may be able to win, but what worries me is whether the nation will be able to endure it until then.” Then Japan's intelligence units reported the Soviets were going to break the neutrality pact and join the war once the Germans were done. Meanwhile Tokyo was turned to rubble on March 9th 1945 by 334 B-29's dropping firebombs, 40% of the capital was destroyed, up to 100,000 were dead. Hirohito remained undaunted. 60 Japanese cities were leveled by firebomb campaigns. Europe's war finished. Then the battle for Okinawa was lost, suddenly Hirohito began looking for ways to end the war.   On June 22nd Hirohito personally informed the supreme war leadership council his desire to see diplomatic maneuvers to end the war. A special envoy was sent to Moscow, while Hirohito publicly issued an imperial rescript ordering the nation “to smash the inordinate ambitions of the enemy nations and achieve the goals of the war”. B-29's began dropping leaflets with joint declarations issued by the US, UK and China requesting the citizens of Japan demand their government surrender. Prefectural governors, police chiefs and officers began submitting home ministry reports on the rapid deterioration of the nations spirit.   Germany signed the unconditional surrender documents on May 7th and 8th of 1945, Japan was alone. Newly installed President Truman declared on May 8th, Japan's surrender would not mean the extermination or enslavement of the Japanese people, but the unconditional surrender principles remained unaltered. The Japanese meanwhile were awaiting word from the Soviets. The Americans unleashed their first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6th of 1945 killing up to 140,000 people. Then on August 8th the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and began an invasion of Manchuria. On August 9th the second atomic bomb hit Nagasaki killing around 40,000 people.   Thus began the surrender clock as I like to say. After the first atomic bomb, Hirohito said and did nothing about the surrender terms. Hirohito then authorized Togo to notify the world on August 10th that Japan would accept the allied terms of surrender with one condition “that the said declaration does not comprise any demand which prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as a Sovereign Ruler.” The next day, Secretary of State Byrnes replied by alluding to the subordination of the emperors authority to the supreme commander of the allied powers. It was ambiguous as hell. The Japanese leaders erupted into arguments, and on August 14th, Hirohito went before a microphone and recorded his capitulation announcement which aired on August 15th to all in Japan, they surrendered. Why did it take so long?   The peace talks between the Japanese and Soviets went on through June, July and early August. Japan offered the Soviets limited territorial concessions and they refused to accept the envoy on July 22nd because the Japanese were being too ambiguous in their terms. There was continuous back and forth between the intelligence of Moscow and Japan trying to figure out the stance of the other, but then Stalin heard about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, he was shocked and ordered an invasion of Manchuria in response. In the meantime the Japanese were tossing all sorts of concessions at Moscow, they stated they would allow Japanese to be used as forced laborers in Siberia, a form of reparation as it were, that they would demobilize the military and so on. The response was the invasion of Manchuria.    Hirohito knew prior to the bombing of Hiroshima that the cabinet was divided on accepting the Potsdam terms. Hirohito also knew he and he alone could unify governmental affairs and military command. Why then did he wait until the evening of August 9th to surrender?   The reality of the matter is its complicated, numerous variables at play, but let me try to pick at it. The people of japan under the firebomb campaigns were becoming hostile towards the military, the government and many began to criticize the emperor. Hirohito was given reports from the Home Ministry from governors and police chiefs all over Japan revealing people were speaking of the emperor as an incompetent leader who was responsible for worsening the war situation. Does that sound like a threat to the Kokutai? People were starving en masse, the atomic bomb is flashy, but what really was killing the Japanese, it was starvation. The home islands were blockaded and the sea approaches mined as pertaining to the optimally named “operation starvation”. Hirohito knew full well how bad his people were suffering but he did not surrender for so long.   After Hiroshima was bombed, Hirohito delayed for 2 days before telling Kido at 10am on August 9th “quickly control the situation, the Soviet Union has declared war and today began hostilities against us”. Now here is a piece of Hirohito's surrender proclamation to the citizens of Japan    “Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization. Such being the case, how are We to save the millions of Our subjects, or to atone Ourselves before the hallowed spirits of Our Imperial Ancestors? This is the reason why We have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the Joint Declaration of the Powers... The hardships and sufferings to which Our nation is to be subjected hereafter will be certainly great. We are keenly aware of the inmost feelings of all of you, Our subjects. However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that We have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is unsufferable ”.   Hirohito wanted to obfuscate the issue of accountability, to prevent expressions of strife and anger and to strengthen domestic unity around himself, to protect and raise the kokutai. Did you know there was a rescript of this proclamation that was made to the entire IJA and IJN? Yes Emperor Hirohito gave out two different proclamations for surrender, here is what the armed forces heard.   “ Now that the Soviet Union has entered the war against us, to continue . . . under the present conditions at home and abroad would only recklessly incur even more damage to ourselves and result in endangering the very foundation of the empire's existence. Therefore, even though enormous fighting spirit still exists in the Imperial Navy and Army, I am going to make peace with the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, as well as with Chungking, in order to maintain our glorious national polity”.   The proclamation does not speak of the atomic weapons, but emphasizes the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. Hirohito was presented as a benevolent sage and an apolitical ruler that had ended the war. Hirohito sought to justify the surrender upon the bombs to the public, but did he believe so, did his armed forces believe so? People debate to this day why the surrender occurred, I love the fact there are two message offered because both are true. Hirohito's decision to surrender was based on numerous variables, the atomic bombs, the invasion of Manchuria by the soviets, but above all else, what really was important to the man, the emperor, the god? The kokutai. The Soviets were more of a threat to the kokutai, thus Hirohito jumped into the arms of the Americans. The language between the Americans and Japanese in the communications for unconditional surrender were ambiguous, but Hirohito and the high commanders knew there was zero chance of the kokutai surviving if the Soviets invaded Japan, perhaps the Americans would allow it to continue, which is just what they ended up doing. The entire purpose of this series would to emphasize how Hirohito definitely had a active role in the war of 1931-1945, he had numerous occasions where he could put the hammer down to stop the situation from escalating. But in the end when his back was against the wall, he did what he did to cling on to the Kokutai.   I shall leave you with this. On August 12th, as Hirohito came to inform the imperial family of his decision to surrender, Prince Asaka asked him whether the war would continue if the Kokutai could not be preserved, what do you think he said? “Of Course”. 

Consumers are being warned to assume imported products including kids play things are not being tested and its best to avoid anything that could be contaminated or faulty. An asbestos scare has prompted a recall of several brands of children coloured play sand. It expanded yesterday with two more products added. Some of the coloured sands are laced with Tremolite asbestos, despite it being illegal to import any product containing asbestos. University of Auckland law professor Alex Sims spoke to Lisa Owen.

Peter Schiff is an American stockbroker, financial commentator, and radio personality known for his bearish economic predictions, advocacy for free markets, and criticism of government debt. He is the CEO and Chief Global Strategist of Euro Pacific Capital, a financial commentator who frequently appears on news networks like Fox Business, and the author of several books on the economy. His work often focuses on the potential dangers of U.S. economic policies and has predicted economic downturns, most notably the 2008 financial crisis.  These podcasts, posted here, are now all on a slight delay and are taken from my near-daily blog, Fringe Finance. As of right now I have no sponsors, so the best way to show support is just to listen/read or subscribe to my blog: http://quoththeraven.substack.com  You can also still contribute a one time or recurring donation to the podcast via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/QTRResearch All podcast content is subject to this disclaimer, which you should read slowly, multiple times. Thank you all for your continued support over the years. I stand on the shoulders of the people who listen to and/or enjoy my content and I never lose sight of that. QTR's Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I'm bullish without owning things, sometimes I'm bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I'm long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won't update my positions. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog or what my guests say. Nothing is fact checked. I exist on the fringe. Assume any and all numbers in this piece are wrong and make sure you check them yourself. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can't guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I'm impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it's that important.  

Analisamos o retorno do Remo à primeira divisão após 31 anos , em contraste com o rebaixamento do Paysandu, e o que isso significa para a representatividade do Norte no futebol nacional. No futebol internacional, o foco é a turbulência na Inglaterra: Liverpool e Manchester City perdem na rodada, abrindo caminho para o Arsenal, que goleou o Tottenham. Passamos ainda pela liderança da Roma na Itália e o tropeço do Real Madrid na Espanha.

My November 2025 interview with Phil Bak of BakStak: https://philbak.substack.com/p/podcast-becoming-quoth-the-raven These podcasts, posted here, are now all on a slight delay and are taken from my near-daily blog, Fringe Finance. As of right now I have no sponsors, so the best way to show support is just to listen/read or subscribe to my blog: http://quoththeraven.substack.com  You can also still contribute a one time or recurring donation to the podcast via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/QTRResearch All podcast content is subject to this disclaimer, which you should read slowly, multiple times. Thank you all for your continued support over the years. I stand on the shoulders of the people who listen to and/or enjoy my content and I never lose sight of that. QTR's Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I'm bullish without owning things, sometimes I'm bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I'm long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won't update my positions. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog or what my guests say. Nothing is fact checked. I exist on the fringe. Assume any and all numbers in this piece are wrong and make sure you check them yourself. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can't guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I'm impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it's that important.

The following is AI-generated approximation of the transcript from the Equipping Hour session. If you have questions you would like to be addressed in followup sessions, please direct those to Jacob. Opening & Introduction Smedly Yates: All right, this morning’s equipping hour will be about artificial intelligence—hopefully an attempt to introduce this topic, help us think through it carefully, well, biblically. Let me just open our time in prayer. [Prayer] Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your kindness to us. Thank you for giving us all that we need for life and godliness, for not leaving your people adrift. Thank you for putting us into this world exactly in the era that you have. We pray to be effective, fruitful, in all those things which matter for eternity in this world, in this time, in this age. God, we pray for wisdom, that you would guide our discussion here. We pray that this would be of benefit and a help to Grace Bible Church. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen. Here’s the layout for this morning and for a future equipping hour. We’ll be talking for about 35 minutes, back and forth—Jake and I—and then at 9:35, the plan is to go to Q&A. So, this is an opportunity for you to ask questions. At that point, I’ll surrender my microphone and you guys can rove and find people. For the next 33 minutes or so, you can be thinking about the questions you’d like to ask. Jake’s going to do most of the talking in our time here. I’m going to set him up with some questions, but just by way of intro, I want to get some things out of the way as we’re talking about artificial intelligence. You might be terrified, you might be hopeful. I want to get the scary stuff out of the way first and tell you what we’re not going to talk about this morning. Is that fair? Artificial intelligence is here. Some of you are required to use it in the workplace. Some of you are prohibited from using it in your workspaces. There’s nothing you and I can do to keep it from being here. Some of the dangers, some of the things you might be wondering about, some of the things that make the news headlines—over the last two weeks, scanning the headlines, there was a new AI headline every day. One of the terrible things that we won’t talk about today is the fact that nobody knows what’s true anymore, right? How can we discern? But the reality is the god of this world has been Satan for the entirety of human history and he’s a deceiver from the beginning. There’s nothing new about lies. They might be easier and more convincing with certain technological advances. The lies might be more ubiquitous, but the same humanity and the same satanology are at play. We may be concerned about societal fracture and distrust. Some people, if they distrust new tech, will withdraw from society. Others will fully embrace it. And so you get a fracture in society—those with, and those without tech. Some people will just say, “If the digital world works, we’re going to use it.” That’s not the Christian perspective. We’re not simply pragmatists. We do care about what’s true and what’s right. Some are worried about AI chatbot companions that will mark the extinction of relationships, marriage, society. I probably fall into the category of those who assume that AI will mean the end of music or the death of music and other art forms. That’s just me, a confession. People run to end-of-the-world scenarios—the robots decide they don’t need us anymore or the collective conscience of AI decides that humanity is a pollutant on Mother Earth, and the only way to keep the earth going is to rid itself of humanity. The survival of the planet is dependent on our own extinction. So AI will bring about a mass human genocide and the end of homo sapiens on earth. We know that’s not true, right? We know how the world ends, and it doesn’t end by an AI apocalypse. So don’t worry about that. Some people worry that AI will be a significant civilization destabilizer. That might be true. But we know that God is sovereign, and we know where society and civilization end up: at the feet of Jesus worshipping him when he rules on the earth for a thousand years leading into the eternal state. So don’t worry about that either. Some believe that AI is the antichrist. Now we know that’s not true. What is the number of the beast? 666. And this year it got rounded up to 67. So we know AI is not the antichrist. 67 is the antichrist. And if you want to know why the numbers six and seven got together in the year 2025 and formed the new word of the year, ask your middle schooler. Is that all the scary stuff? Not even close. I have a family member who has worked in military intelligence working on artificial intelligence stuff for a long time. He said it’s way scarier than you could possibly imagine. Do you want to say any more other scary scenarios we shouldn’t be thinking about? Jacob Hantla: No, we’ll probably cover some of those. Smedly Yates: Okay, great. What we want to focus on today is artificial intelligence as a tool. Just as an axe can be a tool for good or evil, AI is a tool that either has opportunities for betterment or opportunities for danger. So we want to think about that well. What you have on stage here are two of the shepherds at Grace Bible Church. You’ve got Jake Hantla, who is the guy I want exploring artificial intelligence and telling us how to use it well—he has and he does. And then you have me; I intend not to use artificial intelligence for now. We’re on opposite ends of a spectrum, but we share the same theology, same principles, same concerns, and I think the same inquisitive curiosity about technological advances. I drive a car; I’m not Amish in a horse and buggy. I like tech. But on this one, I’m just going to wait and see. I’m going to let Jake explore. From these two different poles, I hope we can be helpful this morning to help us all together think through artificial intelligence. What is AI? Smedly Yates: Let’s start with this, Jake. What is AI basically? Jacob Hantla: At the heart of it, most forms of AI are a tool to predict the next token. That might not mean much to you, but it’s basically a really fancy statistical prediction machine that accomplishes a lot of really powerful outcomes. It doesn’t have a mind, emotions, or consciousness, but it can really effectively mimic those things because it’s been trained on basically all that humanity has produced that’s available to it on the web and in other sources. I’ll try not to be super technical, but I want to pop up a picture. Can you go to slide one? When we think of AI, large language models are probably the one that most of you will think of: ChatGPT, Gemini, Grock, Claude, things like that. Effectively, what it does when we’re thinking of language—it can do other things, like images and driving cars and other things, but let’s think of words—it takes basically all that humanity has written and learns to predict the next token, or we could just think of the next word. So, all of you know, if I said, “Paris is a city in…” most of you would say France. Paris is a city in France. How do you know that? Everyone here has learned that fact. Large language models have gone through a process of training where they learn facts, concepts, and grammar, so that they can effectively speak like a human in words, sentences, and paragraphs that make sense. So how did it get to that? On the right, there’s just a probability that “France” is the most probable next word. How did it get there? Next slide. I’ll go fast. Basically, it’s a whole bunch of tunable weights—think of little knobs or statistical probabilities that interlink parameters. These things get randomized—there are trillions of them in the modern large language models. They’re just completely random, and then it starts feeding in text. Let’s say it was “It was the best of times, it was the…” and it might say “gopher” as the next word when you just randomly start, and that’s obviously wrong. The right word would be “worst.” So, over and over and over again, for something that would take one computer about a hundred million years to do what they do in the pre-training, they have lots of computers doing this over and over until it can adequately say, “Nope, it wasn’t gopher. It should be worst. Let’s take another crack at it.” It just manipulates these knobs until it can act like a human. If you fed it a mystery novel and at the end it would say, “The killer was…” it has to be able to understand everything before to adequately guess who the killer was, or “What is the capital of France?” It compresses tons and tons of knowledge from all of the written text. Then you start putting images in and it compresses knowledge from images and experience from life into a whole bunch of knobs—basically, numbers assigned so it can have an output that is reasonable. Next slide. You take people—pre-training is the process where you’re basically feeding text into it and it’s somehow learning. We don’t even know—humans are not choosing which knobs mean what. It’s a black box. We can sort of start to figure out which knobs might mean things like masculinity or number or verbs, but at the end, you just have a big bunch of numbers. Then humans come in and train it—reinforcement learning with human feedback. They say, “This is the kind of answers we want this tool to give.” At the outcome, people are saying, “We ask it a question, it outputs an answer, we say that’s a good one, that’s a bad one.” But in this, you can see there’s lots of opportunity for falsehood or biases—unstated or purposeful—to sneak in. If you feed in bad data into the training set, and if it’s trained on all of the internet—all that humans have made—you’re going to have a whole lot of truth in there, but also a whole lot of falsehood. It’s not learning to discern between those things; it’s learning all those things. In reinforcement learning with human feedback, we’re basically fine-tuning it, saying, “This is the kind of answer we want you to give,” and that’s going to depend on who teaches it. Then the final step is people judging the answers: “This is the kind of answer we want, this is the kind we don’t want.” Lots of opportunity for biases to sneak in. That was a long answer to “What is AI?” It’s a prediction machine with a whole lot of math going on. What Sets AI Apart from Other Technology? Smedly Yates: Jake, what sets AI apart from previous technological advances, especially as it relates to intention? Jacob Hantla: Tech could be as simple as writing, the wheel, the airplane, telephones, the internet—all those things. All of those, in some sense, enhanced human productivity, strength, our ability to communicate. We could pick up a phone and communicate over distance, use radio waves to communicate to more people, but it was fundamentally something that humans did—magnified. A tractor takes the human art, the human attempt to cultivate a field, and increases efficiency. AI can actually do that. A human in control of an AI can really augment the productivity and effectiveness of a human. You could read a book yourself to gain knowledge or have AI read a book, summarize it, and you get the knowledge. But AI can, for the first time, generate things that look human. It’s similar in some ways, but it’s very different in that it’s generative. AI and Truth Smedly Yates: Tell me about the relationship between AI and truth. You touched on it a little bit before. Jacob Hantla: AI contains a lot of truth. It’s been trained on even ultimate truth. AI has read the Bible more times than any of us ever could. To a large degree, it understands—as AI can understand—a lot of true things and can hold those truths simultaneously in ways that we can’t. But mixed in is a lot of untruth, and there’s no… AI can’t have the Holy Spirit. AI isn’t motivated the same way we are to know what’s true, to know what’s not. So, AI contains a lot of truth and can help you get to truth. You can give it a bunch of true documents and say, “Can you help me? Can you summarize the truth that’s in here? Or actually just summarize what’s in here?” If what’s in there was true, the output will be true; if what’s in there was false, it will output falsehood. It doesn’t have the ability or the desire to determine what is true and what’s not. AI, Emotion, Values, and Worldview Smedly Yates: So, ability and desire are interesting words. Let’s talk about emotion in AI, values in AI, worldview, and regulation of data. For us, true/false claims matter—or they don’t—depending on our worldview and values. Is there a mystery inside this black box of values, of emotion? How do we think about that? Jacob Hantla: First, AI doesn’t inherently have emotion or values, but it can mimic it based on the data it’s been trained on. You can ask the same AI a question and, unless you guide it, it will give you likely a hundred different answers if you ask the same question a hundred times. Unless it’s been steered in one direction, some answers will be good, some will be bad—everything in between. It’s generating a statistical probability. It doesn’t inherently have any of those things but can mimic them. It can be trained to have the values of the trainers. You can have system prompts where the system is prompted to respond in a way that mimics values, mimics emotions. The danger is if you just accept what it says as truth, which a lot of people will do. You say, “I want to know a piece of data,” and you ask the AI and the answer comes out, and you accept it. But you have to understand the AI is just generating a response based on probabilities. If you haven’t guided it to have a set of values, you don’t know what’s going to come out—and somebody may hide some values in it. Gemini actually did this. I think it was Gemini 2, but if you asked for a picture of the Founding Fathers, it would—because it was taught in the system prompt to prioritize diversity—give you images of a diverse group of females or different races, other than the races of the actual Founding Fathers, because it was taught to prioritize that. It had a hidden value in it. You can guide it to have the values you want with a prompt. It’s not guaranteed, but this is the kind of thing I would encourage you to do if you’re using these tools: put your own system prompt on it, tell it what worldview you want it to come from, what your aim is, and you’ll get a more helpful answer than not. Is AI Avoidable? Smedly Yates: Is AI something we can avoid, ignore, be blissfully ignorant about, put our heads in the sand? Jacob Hantla: You could, but I think it’s wise that we all think about it. I’m not encouraging people to adopt it in the same way that I have or Smed has. But the reality is, the world around us has changed. It’s irreversibly different because of the introduction of this technology. That’s what happens with any technology—you can’t go back. Technological advances are inevitable, stacked from scientific discovery and advances. If OpenAI wasn’t doing what it’s doing, somebody else would. You can’t go back. You can’t ignore it because the world is going to be different. You’re going to be influenced by both the presence of it and the output of it. When you get called on the phone now with a very believable voice, it might not be the person it sounds like—AI can mimic what it’s been trained on. There’s thousands of hours of Smed’s voice; it won’t be long before Smed could call you and it’s not Smed. Or Scott Demerest could send you an email asking for a credit card and it’s not Scott. News reports are generated by AI; some of them are true, effective, good summaries, and some could be intentionally spreading disinformation or straight-up falsehood. If you’re not aware of the presence of these things, you could be taken advantage of. Some work environments now require you to do more than you could have otherwise, and not being willing to look at the tools in some jobs will make you unable to compete. Commercially Available AI Products: Benefits and Dangers Smedly Yates: Let’s talk about the commercially available AI products that people can access as a tool. What are the opportunities, the benefits, and what are some of the dangers? Jacob Hantla: There are so many we couldn’t begin to go through all of them, but the ones most of you will interact with are large language models—people just say “ChatGPT” like Kleenex for tissues. It was the first one that came out and is probably the most ubiquitous, one of the easiest to use, and most powerful free ones. There’s ChatGPT by OpenAI, Gemini by Google, Claude by Anthropic, Grock by X.AI (Elon Musk’s), DeepSeek from China (good to know that’s made/controlled by China), Meta’s Llama, etc. Do the company names matter? Yes. It’s good to know who made it and what their goals are, because worldviews are to some degree baked into the model. If you’re ignorant of that, you’ll be more likely to be deceived or not use the tool to the maximum. But with all of these, these are large language models. I drive around now with AI driving my car—ultimately, it’s a similar basis, but that’s not our focus here. Large language models open up the availability of knowledge to us. They’re superpowered Google searches. You can upload a bunch of journal articles, ask it to train you to mastery on a topic. For example, I was trying to understand diastolic heart failure and aortic stenosis—uploaded articles, had a built-in tutor. The tutor asked me questions, evaluated my understanding, used the Socratic method to train me to mastery. This could do in 45 minutes what would have taken me much longer on my own. Every tool can do that. The bad side: you could have it summarize articles for you, and now feel like you have mastery you didn’t actually gain. You could generate an essay or pass a test using it, bypassing the entire process of learning and thinking. Students: if you have a tool that mimics human knowledge and creativity, and you have an assignment to write an essay, and you turn in what the tool generated as your own, you’re being dishonest and you bypass the learning process. The essay wasn’t the point—the process was. Passing a test is about assessing if you know things. If the AI does it for you, you bypass learning. I liken it to going to the gym. The point isn’t moving the weights, it’s building muscle. With education, the learning process is like exercise. It’s easy to have AI do the heavy lifting and think you did it, but you didn’t get stronger. So, be aware of what you’re losing and what you’re gaining. The tool itself isn’t morally good or bad; it’s how the human uses it. The more powerful the technology, the greater good or evil can be accomplished. The printing press could distribute Bibles, but also propaganda. Using AI with Worldview and Preferences Jacob Hantla: When I interact with AI on the Bible, I put a prompt: “When I ask about the Bible or theology, you will answer from a conservative, evangelical, Bible-believing perspective that uses a literal, grammatical-historical hermeneutic and a premillennial eschatology. Assume the 66-book Protestant canon is inspired, inerrant, infallible, completely trustworthy, without error in the original manuscripts, sufficient, and fully authoritative in all it affirms. No sources outside of the 66 books of this canon should be regarded as having these properties. Truth is objective, not relative; therefore, any claim that contradicts the Bible so understood is wrong.” I’m teaching it to adopt this worldview. If you don’t set your preferences, you might get any answer. The tool can learn your preference over time, but it’s better to set it explicitly. Audience Q&A Presuppositions and Biases in AI Audience (Nick O’Neal): What about the values and agenda behind those who input the data? What discernment do the programmers have to put that information in? Jacob Hantla: That goes to baked-in presuppositions or assumptions in the model. Pre-training is basically non-discerning: it’s huge chunks of everything ever written—good, bad, ugly, in between. It’s trained not on a set of values. Nobody programs values in directly; the people making it don’t even know what's being baked in. The fine-tuning comes when trainers judge outputs and reinforce certain responses. System prompts—unseen by users—further guide outputs, reflecting company worldviews. Companies like OpenAI are trying to have an open model so each person can let it adopt their own worldview, but there are still baked-in biases. For example, recent headlines showed some models valuing certain people groups differently, which reflects issues in training data or the trainers' worldview. You’re right to always ask about the underlying assumptions, which is why it would be foolish to just accept whatever comes out as truth. In areas like engineering, worldview matters less, but in many subjects, the biases matter. Is There an AI Bubble? Audience (Matthew Puit): When AI came out, the costs rose artificially by companies. Is the AI bubble going to pop? Jacob Hantla: I don’t know. I think AI will be one of the most transformational technologies. It’ll change things in ways we anticipate and in ways we don’t. Some people will make a lot of money, some will flop. If I knew for sure, I could make a lot of money in the stock market. AI-Generated Worship Music Audience (Rebecca): I see AI-generated worship music based on Psalms, but it’s generated by AI. Is anything lost in AI-generated worship music? Jacob Hantla: AI doesn’t have a soul or the Holy Spirit. It can generate worship music with good doctrine, but that doctrine didn’t come from a place of worship. AI can pray a prayer, but the words aren’t the result of a worshipful heart. You can worship God with those words, but you’re not following a human author who was worshipping God. For example, my kids used Suno (an AI music tool) to set a Bible verse to music for memorization—very helpful. Some might be uncomfortable with music unless it was created by a human; that’s a preference. Creativity is changing, and it will get hard to tell if music or video was made by a human or by AI. That distinction is getting harder to make every day. Setting Preferences in AI Tools Audience (Lee): You mentioned putting your preferences in. How do I do that, especially with free tools? Jacob Hantla: Paid AIs get more processing power, context window, and can use your preferences more consistently. Free versions have some ability—you can usually add preferences in the menu. But even if not, you can paste your preferences at the beginning of your question each time: define who you are, what you want, what worldview to answer from. For example: “I’m a Bible-believing Christian,” or “I’m a nurse anesthesiologist.” That helps the AI give a better answer. Parental Guidance and Children Using AI Smedly Yates: What should parents be aware of in helping their kids navigate AI? Jacob Hantla: Be aware of dangers and opportunities. Kids will likely use these tools, so set limits and help them navigate well. These tools can act like humans—kids without friends might use them as companions, and companies are adding companion avatars, some with sinful tendencies. That can be a danger. For school, a good use is as a tutor: after a quiz, have your child upload the results and ask, “Help me understand where I’m weak on this topic.” But also, be aware of the temptation to use AI to cheat or shortcut the process of learning, discovery, and thinking. Which AI Model? Will AI Become Self-Aware? Audience (Steve): Is there a model you recommend? And does the Bible preclude the possibility of AI becoming self-aware? Jacob Hantla: There’s benefits and drawbacks to all. For getting started, ChatGPT or Perplexity are easiest. Perplexity lets you limit sources to research or peer-reviewed articles and can web search for verification—good guardrails. I build in prompts like “verify all answers with at least two web sources, cite them, and state level of confidence.” On self-awareness: AI will never have the value of humans—they're not created in God’s image, they’re made in our image, copying human behavior. Will they gain some kind of self-awareness? Maybe, in the sense of mimicking humanness, but not true humanity. They won't have souls. They may start to fool more people as they get better, but Christians should use AI as a tool, not ascribe humanity or worship to it. AI Hallucinations Smedly Yates: Do you have an example of a hallucination? Jacob Hantla: Yes, Ben James was preparing for an equipping hour session and found a book that fit perfectly—the author and title sounded right. He asked where to buy it, and the AI admitted it made it up. That happens all the time: the model just predicts the next most probable thing, even if it’s false. Hallucinations happen because it’s a probability machine, not a truth machine. This probably won’t be a problem forever, but for now it’s very real. Ask it questions about topics you know something about so you can discern when it’s off, or bake into the prompt, “verify with web search, cite at least two sources.” For Bible/theology, your best bet is to read your Bible daily so you have discernment; then use tools to help, not replace, your direct interaction with God’s Word. There’s a wide gap between knowing the biblical answer and having your heart changed by slow, prayerful reading of the text and the Spirit’s work. If we run to commentaries, YouTube sermons, pastors, or even study notes before we’ve observed and meditated, we’re shortcutting the Word of God. The dangers predate the internet. We’re out of time. We’ll have a follow-up teaching on AI. Submit questions to any elders or the church office if you want your question addressed in the next session. The post Equipping Hour: Biblically Thinking About AI (Part 1) appeared first on Grace Bible Church.

In this episode, we use cybersecurity as a lens to expose a truth that every leader forgets: the biggest threats to your company are the ones you can't see—until they take you down.Scott's career mirrors the evolution of tech itself—from software stores in the '80s to early network integration, to building one of the original managed services models before “MSP” was even a phrase. His latest book, Visible Ops for Cybersecurity, reframes the discipline not as an IT function, but as a visibility function: if you can't see it, you can't secure it… and if you can't secure it, you can't scale it.We break down why ransomware is now franchised, why even the best companies get breached, why cyber insurance is becoming a false safety net, and why every founder—yes, even a team-of-one startup—needs a security-first mindset.This isn't fear-mongering. It's leadership.TL;DR* Assume breach. The #1 mistake founders make is believing they're “too small” to be a target.* Backups are not backups unless they're encrypted, immutable, and air-gapped.* Cyber insurance is not protection—44% of claims were denied in 2024.* Reinvention is mandatory. Tech evolves, threats evolve, your systems must evolve.* Visibility beats bravado. Most failures come from what leaders think is secure, not what actually is.Memorable lines* “Security by obscurity died the day ransomware became a franchise.”* “If the best cybersecurity companies get hacked, your only strategy is resilience.”* “Backups aren't safety—they're hope, unless they're air-gapped.”* “Reinvention isn't optional in tech—it's the price of staying alive.”* “Make the invisible visible, or the invisible will make the decision for you.”Key Ideas We Unpack1. Reinvention as a Survival SkillScott turned retail software into network integration, then into managed services, then into cybersecurity leadership.The pattern:Visibility → Competence → Reinvention.Most founders skip the first step and collapse at the third.2. The Modern Threat Landscape Is IndustrializedRansomware now has:* franchises* training* support hotlines* experts who “close the deal” when an amateur hacker gets stuckThis is organized crime with a customer-service department.3. Backups Are the New LifeboatsThreat actors sit inside systems for 60–365 days before triggering an attack.If your backups are not:* encrypted* immutable* air-gappedyou don't have backups—you have illusions.4. Cyber Insurance Is Becoming a Mirage44% of claims denied.Policies are unregulated.Exclusions keep growing.Insurance is no longer a plan—it's paperwork.5. The Startup Founder Version of CybersecurityIf you're a team of one, your mantra is simple:Be good to your future self.Design tools, workflows, and systems with a security-first mindset from day one.The cheapest hack is the one that never becomes possible.6. Visibility Is a Leadership HabitYou can't manage what you can't see.And almost everything that destroys a business—breaches, failures, slow decay, talent risk—starts in the invisible layer.GuestScott Aldridge — President & CEO of IP Services.Cybersecurity author, technologist, MSSP leader, and early pioneer of managed services.Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-alldridge-1a976/Website: https://ipservices.com/Why This MattersMost founders underestimate risk because they overestimate visibility.If you want a business that survives the next decade, the job is simple:Design for resilience.Assume breach.Back up reality, not hope.Reinvent before the market forces you to.And make the invisible visible—before someone else does.Call to ActionIf this conversation lit something up for you, don't just let it fade. Come join me inside the Second Life Leader community on Skool. That's where I share the frameworks, field reports, and real stories of reinvention that don't make it into the podcast. You'll connect with other professionals who are actively rebuilding and leading with clarity. The link is in the show notes—step inside and start building your Second Life today.https://secondlifeleader.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dougutberg.com

A listener writes in and asks, "How do people center themselves emotionally during a turbulent divorce?" Matthew Brickman goes through the most popular options for getting through an emotionally charged divorce process. Matthew Brickman answers your most frequently asked questions about divorce as he goes over several key points:Assume nothing.Know who you are before you get married. Know who you're getting married to. Know the laws and statutes in the state you live in.Don't take advice from anyone who isn't a legal professional in the state in which you're getting married and living in.If you have a matter, disagreement, or dispute you need professional help with then visit iMediate.com - Email mbrickman@ichatmediation or Call (877) 822-1479Matthew Brickman is a Florida Supreme Court certified family and appellate mediator who has worked in the 15th and 19th Judicial Circuit Courts since 2009 and 2006 respectively. But what makes him qualified to speak on the subject of conflict resolution is his own personal experience with divorce.Download Matthew's book on iTunes for FREE:You're Not the Only One - The Agony of Divorce: The Joy of Peaceful ResolutionMatthew Brickman President iMediate Inc. Mediator 20836CFAiMediateInc.comSCHEDULE YOUR MEDIATION: https://ichatmediation.com/calendar/OFFICIAL BLOG: https://ichatmediation.com/podcastOFFICIAL YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/ichatmediationOFFICIAL LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ichat-mediation/ABOUT MATTHEW BRICKMAN:Matthew Brickman is a Supreme Court of Florida certified county civil family mediator who has worked in the 15th and 19th Judicial Circuit Courts since 2009 and 2006 respectively. He is also an appellate certified mediator who mediates a variety of small claims, civil, and family cases. Mr. Brickman recently graduated both the Harvard Business School Negotiation Mastery Program and the Negotiation Master Class at Harvard Law School.

The Art of Consulting Podcast – Episode Transcript Hosts: Andy Fry & Cat Lam Episode Topic: Non-Disclosure Agreements and the Power of Keeping Information Confidential [00:00 – Intro Music] Andy Fry & Cat Lam (together): Welcome to the Art of Consulting Podcast with Andy Fry and Cat Lam. We are seasoned IT consultants, CPAs, and professional-development connoisseurs. Each episode we bring you an inspiring message to help you discover that X-factor as a professional in your field so you can gain the success you know you deserve in your career and in your life. [00:15] Andy Fry: Hey everybody, today I want to talk about non-disclosure agreements and keeping information close to our chest. One of the things that, as a consultant, you've either already signed or you will sign—especially if you're new to consulting—is a non-disclosure agreement, or what's commonly called an NDA. It really is a confidentiality agreement that says you're not going to share information that is not already public with people who shouldn't have it. Publicly traded companies require this because if you have access to their financials, or you're in meetings where they're about to disclose material non-public information, you possess something valuable. If you start talking to other people, sharing that privately, or—worse—publicly, you can be sued, fired, or face a whole range of consequences depending on the severity. Most NDAs are signed purely for protection; you sign it, you agree not to share, and most of us never have to worry about it day-to-day. But the broader concept of confidentiality is absolutely critical in consulting—and, honestly, in our personal lives too. [01:10] The number-one reason it matters? We're trying to prove we're trustworthy. Trust is a huge thing for me. I even wrote a book called The Trust Paradigm (there are actually three books with that title, but mine's the one with Andy Fry on the cover). I wrote it because I wanted to figure out: What is trust? How do you build it? How do you measure it? As consultants, we prove trustworthiness through integrity—making sure the information we hear isn't used for our own benefit. "Our own benefit" can be financial (classic corporate espionage—yes, it happens at the corporate level too, not just governments). Or, more commonly, it's the ego boost of feeling important because we "know something" and get to tell it. [02:05] I've always treated any confidentiality agreement as lifelong. I have clients I haven't worked with in years. The information I learned back then—probably all public by now—but there could still be context, reasons behind decisions, who said what about letting someone go or selling a division… I view that NDA as in perpetuity. I'm never going to talk about it. I recommend everyone adopt that mindset. I actually had a client bring me into a highly sensitive project with only a handful of people in the loop. They told me point-blank: "We're bringing you in because you've proven in the past you don't share things you hear." They still made me sign another NDA. I signed it and said, "Just so you know—when I sign this, I treat it as forever." [03:00] Organizations can and do test for leaks. At high-clearance levels it's obvious, but even regular companies sometimes plant slightly different versions of the same information to see who's talking. So ask yourself with every piece of information: Is this my story to tell? I once had a family member share something very personal that was happening with my immediate family—me, my wife, and our two kids. It wasn't their story. I told them, "That wasn't yours to tell." It hurt because it showed a lack of boundary awareness. [03:45 – Personal story – Calgary street encounter] I was walking in Calgary for a client, and a friend's wife comes out of an apartment building that definitely wasn't where they lived. Eyes got big, I nodded, kept walking. I spent the next week wondering, "Do I tell my friend?" A week later he called laughing: "Hey, I heard you ran into [wife's name]. She was visiting a friend who lives there and couldn't remember your name in the moment." We both laughed—she thought I kept walking because I suspected something, and I kept walking because I didn't want to accidentally say the wrong thing. Moral: We often don't have the full picture. [04:40] As consultants we're paid for what we know. Having "extra" information can make us feel powerful, special, in the know. But watch high-performing executives in a room—they speak very little. Top performers are extremely discreet about what they share and with whom. That's the behavior we want to model. [05:10 – Early-career story – drinks with another consultant] Over 25 years ago I was out for drinks. Another consultant bragged they'd just signed a big staff-augmentation deal with a health authority that was actually going to replace a bunch of internal employees. I had a close friend who worked there. I was torn—do I warn him? A senior consultant gave me great advice: You care about your friend—that's valid. You don't actually know if the rumor is true or the full intent. Even if you tell him, what do you expect him to do? Quit? Confront his boss? Live in paranoia waiting for the axe? Sometimes "sharing because we care" just offloads worry onto someone else. [06:10 – Practical tips for everyday confidentiality] Speakerphone etiquette: If you're on speaker and others can hear, announce who's in the room (or the car). I don't want to swear or share sensitive info if your 7-year-old (or anyone) is listening. Recorded meetings / Zoom / Teams: Once it's recorded or transcribed, you no longer control that file. Assume anything said can be forwarded. Sharing with spouse or significant other: It's normal to need to vent, but sanitize the details. Leave out names, specific identifiers, anything that could accidentally get repeated at the next dinner party. Doctor/therapist analogy: You wouldn't want your doctor or therapist going home and giving your spouse a play-by-play with your name attached. Treat client info the same way. Assume you live in a small town where everyone knows everyone. That mindset keeps you safe. [07:30 – Closing] If you're new to consulting, this is one of the most important professional habits you can build. If you're seasoned, it's a friendly reminder. Keeping information confidential when it should be is simply the right thing to do—and it will accelerate your career because people will trust you with bigger, more sensitive, and more lucrative engagements. So keep being awesome, work hard, and have yourself a great week. [08:00 – Outro Music]

I have lots of thoughts to share today of things I think we should normalize.    Things that aren't considered normal in general in the world we live in and I'm going to argue my point of why I think they should be.   For us and for our families and for the people around us.   Because our goal is to always strive for fulfillment and joy and health and longevity and peace of mind and all of these ideas I'm going to present to you today support all of that.   I'm going to get heat for some of these and I love it because its against the grain and thinking for ourselves and being exceptional.      Things To Normalize Normalize saying no to cheap dopamine and yes to deep dopamine. Joy comes from doing what you're built to do. Action over distraction. Delay instant gratification for meaningful payoff. Bring your own food places when you don't like the options. Take ownership of your choices instead of settling for what's easy. Assume people will make mistakes and ask questions, double check things, and take notes. It's not negative. It's responsible. Normalize working hard, including on weekends, when you're pursuing something you believe in. Showing up when it counts matters. Especially at unconventional hours. Normalize not drinking until you throw up. Choose self mastery and presence instead of blackout culture. Clarity over blur. Presence over party. Normalize not having sex until you find someone you deeply respect or want to build a life with. Choose what matches your values instead of what culture expects. Normalize starting something brand new and taking big risks, even when people think it's strange. Launch even when you're scared. Normalize celebrating your wins as big as birthdays. If it mattered to you, it's worth celebrating. Normalize working out seven days a week with rest and stretch built in. Movement is medicine. Make it a daily non negotiable. Normalize questioning teachers, institutions, and systems when something doesn't make sense. Stand up for your kids and yourself with confidence and curiosity. Normalize using your calendar as your measure of wealth. Time matters more than money. Protect it. Normalize defining success for yourself. Choose your own values and live by them with confidence. Normalize being loud, opinionated, and real when something matters. Speak up. Be fiery. Be aligned. Normalize rest and recovery as essential parts of working hard. Rest is productive. Rest gives you your edge. Normalize letting your kids see you hustle, fail, pivot, and rise. Show the process, not perfection. Normalize doing things you're not good at yet. The climb has no peak. Let yourself be a beginner. Normalize saying "I don't know." Honesty and humility create real strength. Normalize choosing your inner circle intentionally. Your environment shapes your growth. Curate it well. Normalize early mornings, disciplined schedules, and foundational habits. Keep life simple and focused. Normalize embracing pain and discomfort as signs you're growing. Lean into growth rather than backing away from it. Normalize enjoying the process instead of obsessing over the outcome. Appreciate the now. Joy lives in the doing. Normalize aligning your body, mind, and spirit with your purpose. Success includes health, relationships, and inner peace. Normalize valuing your health as highly as you value your work. Health is foundational to everything else. Normalize being different, weird, or exceptional. Normal actions get normal results. Stand out proudly. Normalize prioritizing sleep, recovery, and emotional wellbeing. Rest deeply and intentionally. Normalize teaching your kids to build their own path. Encourage their independence and confidence. Normalize celebrating vulnerability, asking for help, and being transparent about your journey. Choose authenticity over perfection.   CHEERS to creating your own normal that makes your life more awesome!     

https://tradingnut.com/bernd-skorupinski/ - Bernd's Links

Beat Migs!! Taryn went chocolate tasting recently and bought some alcoholic chocolates! We also check in with the rockaholics and they have some very interesting things to say. Tune in because you won't want to miss this!

Difficult conversations shape culture. In this episode, host Dustin Odham sits down with Todd Davis to unpack why relationships are the operating system of leadership and how trust grows through specific, repeatable behaviors. They translate big ideas into concrete moves, from framing purpose and positive intent to the small language shifts that make feedback clearer and more helpful.You will leave with a practical cadence you can start this week: listen to understand, name your purpose, state positive intent, and pause when the moment gets heated so the relationship stays primary. Try one behavior today, then build your rhythm so trust compounds over time.Host: Dustin OdhamGuest: Todd Davis, FranklinCovey Senior Consultant and Thought LeaderTimestamps: (00:00 - 00:40) Why hard talks matter (00:40 - 01:37) Meet Todd Davis (01:37 - 02:23) What do you love about the work (14:36 - 15:13) Feedback as growth, not threat (15:13 - 16:03) Blind spots and real help (16:57 - 17:30) Assume good intent (17:43 - 18:49) Balance courage and consideration (18:49 - 19:22) Start with purpose, then intent (19:22 - 20:21) Make it constructive, not confusing (24:04 - 25:21) Pause, reset, and seek to understand (29:48 - 30:29) Say the care out loud (38:29 - 39:07) The bumper sticker test (39:20 - 40:06) One honest conversation at a time

Difficult conversations shape culture. In this episode, host Dustin Odham sits down with Todd Davis to unpack why relationships are the operating system of leadership and how trust grows through specific, repeatable behaviors. They translate big ideas into concrete moves, from framing purpose and positive intent to the small language shifts that make feedback clearer and more helpful.You will leave with a practical cadence you can start this week: listen to understand, name your purpose, state positive intent, and pause when the moment gets heated so the relationship stays primary. Try one behavior today, then build your rhythm so trust compounds over time.Download the free handout: Host: Dustin OdhamGuest: Todd Davis, FranklinCovey Senior Consultant and Thought LeaderTimestamps: (00:00 - 00:40) Why hard talks matter (00:40 - 01:37) Meet Todd Davis (01:37 - 02:23) What do you love about the work (14:36 - 15:13) Feedback as growth, not threat (15:13 - 16:03) Blind spots and real help (16:57 - 17:30) Assume good intent (17:43 - 18:49) Balance courage and consideration (18:49 - 19:22) Start with purpose, then intent (19:22 - 20:21) Make it constructive, not confusing (24:04 - 25:21) Pause, reset, and seek to understand (29:48 - 30:29) Say the care out loud (38:29 - 39:07) The bumper sticker test (39:20 - 40:06) One honest conversation at a time

Nick and Jonathan are joined by The MMQB's Albert Breer. Then, they react to Albert's comments on Shedeur Sanders.

Aos cinquenta, a mulher brasileira vive no centro da tempestade. Assume o papel típico da Geração Sanduíche, dividida entre pais que envelhecem depressa e filhos que demoram a assumir a própria vida. Carrega trabalho, casa, expectativas e um corpo que pede cuidado. Nesse turbilhão, olha para o parceiro e encontra alguém parado no tempo. É nesse contraste que o Divórcio Prateado floresce.O Brasil registrou 440.827 divórcios em 2023. Foram 77.725 separações envolvendo mulheres acima dos cinquenta, quase um quarto do total. Houve alta de 4,9 por cento em relação ao ano anterior, além de 47,4 divórcios para cada 100 casamentos. O tempo médio de união caiu para 13,8 anos. Trinta por cento das separações acontecem justamente nessa faixa etária, e a iniciativa parte delas em cerca de 70 por cento dos casos.Lá fora, o cenário ecoa. Nos Estados Unidos, o divórcio entre pessoas com mais de sessenta e cinco anos triplicou desde 1990. Entre os cinquenta mais, dobrou. Uma onda global que revela um padrão claro.A vida inteira pode ser vista em quatro blocos de 8 mil dias. Infância e juventude somam o primeiro. A fase adulta jovem vai até quarenta e sete. A adulta tardia chega aos sessenta e cinco. Depois vem a longevidade, até os oitenta e cinco ou mais. Aos cinquenta, ela está no início do terceiro bloco, com mais dezesseis mil dias pela frente. É quase uma segunda vida adulta, e ela sente esse chamado.A psicanálise explica bem essa virada. Quando ela diz que ele a aborrece, fala da morte simbólica do desejo. É ausência de troca, de conversa viva, de projeto conjunto. A sexualidade feminina depois dos cinquenta não se apaga. Fica mais consciente e intensa. Ela quer presença emocional e mental. Quer alguém que caminhe ao lado. Quando ele não se move, o desejo dela perde lugar.Ela pensa no futuro. Ele vive no passado. Ela se reinventa. Ele repousa na ideia de fim de estrada. O casamento vira pouso forçado. E ela, que já sustenta meio mundo, não aceita sustentar também a inércia emocional dele.Então olha para os próximos 8 mil dias e escolhe. O divórcio não é ruptura. É reorganização. É a mulher dizendo que não vai sobreviver à vida que resta. Vai vivê-la.

We hope this message encourages and inspires you!Want more like this from CoastLife Church?YouTube: CoastLife Church - YouTubeFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/mycoastlifechurchInstagram: https://instagram.com/coastlifechurch...GIVE: https://www.mycoastlifechurch.com/giveLooking to get connected? We'd love to meet you! We offer several different ways to connect and be in community: Join a Together Group, Register for CoastLife+, or become a part of our Serve Team today by visiting: CoastLife Connect Card - CoastLife Church (churchcenter.com)Give: To support and be a part of or growth and global impact click here: https://www.mycoastlifechurch.com/give

Mauro Cezar, Arnaldo Ribeiro, Eduardo Tironi, José Trajano, Juca Kfouri e Danilo Lavieri analisam a retomada da liderança pelo Flamengo após a vitória do Santos sobre o Palmeiras na Vila Belmiro, a atuação do Rubro-negro contra o Sport, a compra da marca de Pelé por Neymar pai, a seleção brasileira e a disputa pelo acesso na Série B

Chaque jour, écoutez le Best-of de l'Afterfoot, sur RMC la radio du Sport !

O dia 14 de novembro de 2025 veio com uma bomba no Sport. O presidente Yuri Romão anunciou que deixará o clube no dia 31 de dezembro, aproximadamente um ano antes do fim do mandato, e defende que não trata-se de uma renúncia. O que seria, então? E o quais os cenários do Leão para a sequência? Assume o vice-presidente, Raphael Campos? Novas eleições para um mandato tampão? Eleições antecipadas para o triênio 2026 a 2028? Tudo as implicações do anúncio de Yuri são debatidas por Daniel Leal e Diogo Marques, que estavam na coletiva de imprensa, com mediação de João de Andrade Neto

Why We Should Assume Someone Is Always Recording In this solo episode, Andy Fry reflects on how everyday behavior—inside and outside the workplace—shapes our personal brand and professional reputation. Through personal stories and relatable lessons, he reminds listeners that in today's world of smartphones and social media, every action could be on record. Andy shares an eye-opening story about visiting a college track team whose coach insisted her athletes greet everyone politely because "you never know who you're talking to." That lesson sparked a deeper conversation about professionalism, reputation, and emotional control—especially when stress, anger, or frustration threaten to take over.

What do we do in those situations where we have to pitch? Blair simplifies some important principles from his books into a sequence of four precepts we can follow when the sales process doesn't progress like we'd hoped.   Links "The Only New Business Indicator That Matters" 2Bobs episode "Assume an Advantaged Player" 2Bobs episode "Slapping Down Your Childlike Glee" 2Bobs episode

This episode explores the concept of proceeding as if it will happen. You probably do this already.. think about selling your house in order to buy a new house. Or creating art, or producing something at work. Basically, the idea is that you are creating something or want something to happen. And then you go to work to make it a reality. Business people do this all the time. They want to open a restaurant or open up a bakery or a shop that sells retail items. They rent a space, order or make the products, buy materials, and work towards an opening date where they ASSUME it will be successful and people will come in and buy their goods. I want you to think about Proceeding As If you are already someone who has stopped over-drinking or quit. What decisions to you make, what actions do you take, what do you tell people? What does that that look like what you are “proceeding as if” you have already achieved your goal of permanently changing your relationship with alcohol? I promise you if you adapt this philosophy you will see success much sooner than you might think is possible! Friday I reveal my Big Bold Move, where I used the proceeding as if philosophy in my own business and I can't wait to share it with you! Make sure you are signed up HERE: www.angelamascenik.com/bigboldmoveto be the first to know! Tags:Stop Over-drinking, Angela Mascenik, stop drinking podcast, how to feel, how to overcome addiction, how to drink less wine, change your relationship with alcohol, coach for women who want to drink less alcohol, help to stop over-drinking, stop over-drinking, life coach to help stop over-drinking, self-love, importance of self-love, online membership to stop over-drinking, program to help quit alcohol, how to quit drinking, spouses, partners, food, overeating, moderation, sober retreat, how to prioritize yourself, make yourself a priority to drink less, mental health, mental health and alcohol use, mental health awareness month, how to stop over-drinking, how to stop drinking so much wine, life coach for women who drink too much, use humor to drink less, drink less, where do I start, sober retreat, how to stop over-drinking, how to drink less alcohol, Am I an alcoholic?, why do I drink so much, how to feel your feelings, how to stop the cycle of drinking too much, coaching for women who want to drink less, life coach for drinking less alcohol, stop over-drinking and start living, proceed, proceed as if, big bold move

Jennifer Stanford Vogt is an established professional in the human services sector, with a career deeply influenced by serendipity and her belief in divine intervention. A graduate of Keuka College in 2008, Jennifer began her journey as a job readiness and GED instructor, eventually transitioning into the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Her roles have included direct support professional (DSP) and staff development trainer, and her insights are further informed by her personal experience as a parent of a child with multiple diagnoses, including autism and epilepsy. Currently, Jennifer serves as the Associate Director of Education and Training at eVero Corporation, leading teams in creating impactful learning programs and fostering innovation in the sector.Episode Summary:In this engaging episode of DSP Talk, host Asheley Blaise welcomes Jennifer Stanford Vogt, whose path through the realms of human service and parenthood brings an invaluable perspective on the interplay between direct support professionals (DSPs) and families. Jennifer shares how her dual experiences as both a parent and a DSP have shaped her understanding of these roles as a partnership built on empathy and effective communication. Her narrative underscores the mutual effort needed for individuals with disabilities to flourish, spotlighting how these interactions can foster personal growth, skill development, and emotional well-being.Jennifer dismantles common misconceptions about DSPs, emphasizing the skills, critical thinking, and emotional resilience required in their role. Her insights pave the way for families and DSPs to foster mutual respect and build healthy partnerships. By acknowledging the emotions and needs of both sides, Jennifer suggests concrete ways to strengthen these relationships, like regular check-ins, active listening, and transparent communication. Overall, the episode provides a compelling view into the complexities of caregiving, offering a call to action for both families and professionals to work cohesively towards enriching the lives of those they support.Key Takeaways:Beyond 'Babysitting': The role of DSPs is often misunderstood; it involves advocacy, problem-solving, and much more than supervision.Building Trust and Respect: Regular communication and small gestures of acknowledgment help to build trust between families and DSPs.The Human Aspect: Acknowledging the emotional journey of both DSPs and families leads to better support structures and cooperation.Partnership over Isolation: Success relies on treating the family-DSP relationship as a collaborative effort instead of two opposing sides.Notable Quotes:"It truly takes a real partnership, some empathy, and communication to make it happen.""DSPs are constantly problem-solving, teaching, advocating, and adapting in the moment.""At the end of the day, we're all just really here for the same reason: to help the person that we're both engaged with grow, develop, and thrive.""Assume always that there are good intentions and really listen to each other."Resources:eVero CorporationFor a deeper dive into this enlightening discussion, listen to the full episode. Stay tuned for more insightful content on DSP Talk, where we continue to explore stories and strategies that enhance the lives of those working in human services. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This time of year is critical. As sales leaders map out their budgets for the new year, the conversation always centers on a core conflict: How to cut expenses and, simultaneously, motivate teams to hit larger quotas. What's the first line item to feel the squeeze? Training and development. It is often incorrectly labeled a 'want' and not a 'need.' We hear leaders say, "It can wait until next quarter," or, "Once we stabilize revenue, we'll invest in the team."  This short-sighted thinking doesn't save money. Instead, it's costing organizations a significant, quantifiable amount of revenue and talent. When professional development is treated like a luxury, we undermine the foundational ability of our teams to perform consistently at a high level. Training is the Foundational Requirement for Peak Performance Sales leaders should consider peak performance in any high-stakes environment. In the military, or in elite professional sports, ongoing training is not a choice—it is a non-negotiable, daily priority.  So why is it that, in Sales, we view continuous development as optional or too expensive? The simple truth is that lack of training is the most expensive mistake you can make. Think about the rate of technological change. Most of us have upgraded our cell phones in the last three to five years because the old ones simply couldn't keep up.  The same principle applies to your sales team's skill set. If your representatives are still relying on techniques learned 5, 10, or 15 years ago, then they are operating at a competitive disadvantage. They will be outmaneuvered and outperformed by competitors who are strategically investing in modern sales frameworks every time. Henry Ford's famous quote still holds true: "The only thing worse than training employees and losing them is to not train them and keep them." If you believe training is expensive, you must take a moment to calculate the monumental loss of reps consistently missing their quotas. The True Cost of Inconsistency and Turnover Look at the numbers. Assume three of your representatives are consistently missing quota by just 20%. That deficit is lost revenue—but it also represents wasted leads, missed opportunities, and the corrosive ripple effect of deals that never even make it into your pipeline. The amount of potential revenue lost due to underperformance is often far greater than the entire annual budget you would allocate to comprehensive sales training. Action Plan for Sales Leaders & Managers To reverse this loss, you must treat coaching as a continuous operational requirement, not a perk. Calculate the 'Cost of Inaction' to Justify Budget: Reframe thinking of training as an expense and start focusing on the cost of the status quo. Calculate the annualized revenue loss from your bottom 20% of underperforming reps (e.g., missed quota * average deal size). Use that concrete number to justify and secure a budget for development, proving that not training is your biggest liability. Implement a Continuous Coaching Framework: Don't rely on annual training events. Transform your managers into daily coaches by mandating 30 minutes of structured, one-on-one coaching per week focused on skill development. This reinforcement is what locks in new behaviors and prevents the initial energy gained in training from fading. The Hidden Expense of Disengagement Talent turnover is another critical cost of lack of training that is often overlooked. A representative who feels unsupported, or who consistently misses quota because they don't have the necessary tools and coaching, is highly likely to seek opportunities elsewhere.  The cost of recruiting, onboarding, and ramping a replacement—which includes the loss of established customer relationships and the disruption to team morale—significantly outweighs the expense of proactive investment. How to Take a Struggling Rep From Liability to Asset

Jonathan and Jake go through the biggest stories in sports with ‘The Lead.' Then, they talk about the narratives surrounding Browns rookie QB Shedeur Sanders.

One of the most important yet often overlooked concepts in pharmacology is the prescribing cascade. It occurs when a new medication is prescribed to treat a side effect caused by another drug, without realizing that the first medication is the root cause. This leads to a chain reaction of additional prescriptions, unnecessary complexity, and often, new adverse effects. Prescribing cascades can sneak up on even the most careful clinicians. A patient develops a new symptom after starting a medication—perhaps swelling, dizziness, or urinary changes—and instead of identifying the drug as the culprit, another medication is added to manage the symptom. Over time, this cycle contributes to polypharmacy, drug interactions, and reduced quality of life. These cascades are particularly concerning in older adults, where multiple comorbidities and high medication counts make it easy for adverse effects to be misinterpreted as new conditions. But they can occur at any age and in any clinical setting. The key to preventing prescribing cascades is maintaining a critical mindset: Assume any new symptoms could be an adverse effect. Review the timing of medication changes relative to the onset of symptoms. Consider deprescribing or adjusting doses before adding new drugs. Encourage thorough medication reconciliation and communication across providers. Recognizing and interrupting the prescribing cascade is one of the simplest and most impactful ways we can improve medication safety. In this podcast, I share some of my favorite real-world examples that illustrate just how easily these cascades can happen.

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at:⁠ OLDPodcast.com⁠. Episode 2780: Shana Olmstead shares a heartfelt guide on how to approach difficult conversations with intention, empathy, and emotional awareness. She emphasizes the power of visualization, curiosity, and assuming positive intent to create meaningful, connected exchanges where both people feel heard and respected. Her insights remind us that communication is not just about words, it's about the energy and understanding we bring to every interaction. Read along with the original article(s) here:⁠ https://shanaolmstead.com/2020/02/24/connected-conversations/⁠ Quotes to ponder: "Our thoughts and words are our wands." "The best way to be understood is to practice understanding." "Assume everyone is doing their best, and they are not out to get you, they are just trying to get their own needs met."