Podcasts about Excuse

Eve Harow interviews journalist Tuvia Tenenbom on his book about the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, the Biblical Heartland. In his usual blunt style, he reflects on his awe at the Land's beauty, disappointment in the dearth of ideology among many “settlers” and their leadership and surprise at the adulation of his own ancestor, the Radziner Rebbe. Already a Spiegel best seller in Germany and a source of much discussion in Israel, this book isn't what anyone expected. Read it and decide for yourself; then invite him for what will definitely not be a boring event. To purchase the book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/00TF41kr

Hr 2 - Best/worst case scenario for Vols football + Titans won’t use youth as excuseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hr 2 - Best/worst case scenario for Vols football + Titans won’t use youth as excuseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Day 2939 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2939– “Grave Warnings for the IN Crowd” – Luke 11:29-36 Putnam Church Message – 08/23/2026 The Good News According to Luke: “Grave Warnings for the “IN” Crowd”   Last week, our message was “The Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness,” and we learned that Jesus Christ was sent to reclaim the nations and finalize God's kingdom. Today, we continue with our thirty-fifth message from Luke's narrative of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Today's message is: “Grave Warnings for the “IN” Crowd.” Our core passage today is Luke 11:29-36, starting on page 1615 of your pew Bibles. The Sign of Jonah 29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here. The Lamp of the Body 33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy,[a] your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy,[b] your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.” Opening Prayer   Father, we come before You today asking for more than information. We ask for illumination. Shine the light of Your Word into every corner of our hearts. Lord Jesus, protect us from becoming people who stand close to You outwardly / while resisting You inwardly. / Keep us from demanding more evidence when You have already given us more than enough. Expose our pride, our hidden motives, our fears, and our excuses. Holy Spirit, give us clear eyes, humble hearts, and willing spirits. Help us not merely to admire the Light, but to walk in it. In Jesus' name, amen.       Introduction: Being “In” Does Not Mean Being Right By this point in Luke's Gospel, Jesus was no longer an unknown teacher from Galilee. His name was everywhere. John the Baptizer had drawn huge crowds and pointed people toward Him. Jesus had healed the sick, cleansed lepers, cast out demons, fed thousands, commanded storms, raised the dead, forgiven sinners, confronted hypocrisy, and commissioned His followers to carry His message throughout the land. People were talking about Him. / Some loved Him. / Some hated Him. / Some were afraid of Him. / And many were simply watching to see which way things would go. That is human nature, isn't it? / When something becomes popular, people begin asking, “Is this going to succeed?” / When an election approaches, some people wait to see who appears most likely to win. / When a business reorganizes, employees may quietly watch to see which executive is gaining influence. / When a controversy divides a community, some people hesitate to take a position until they know which side will cost them the least. And apparently, many people surrounding Jesus were doing something similar. / They were interested. / They were impressed. / They were curious. / But they were not committed. / They wanted Jesus to prove that following Him would be a safe investment. / Give us another sign. / Give us one more miracle. / Give us enough assurance that we can join Your side without risking too much.  / But Jesus refused to play that game. Last week, in “The Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness,” we saw Jesus draw a sharp line. There is no neutral ground. The Stronger Man has entered the strong man's territory. The Kingdom of God has come near, and everyone must decide where their allegiance lies. Now Jesus takes that truth one step further. / He turns from the obvious darkness around them to the hidden darkness within them. / And that is where this message becomes uncomfortable. Because Jesus' strongest warning is not directed toward people who know nothing about God. / It is directed toward the people standing closest to the revelation. / The “IN” crowd. / The religiously informed. / The culturally familiar. / The people who have seen much, heard much, and know much. And Jesus says, in effect: The greater the light you receive, / the more responsible you are for what you do with it. Let's look at four truths that will help us to understand this passage, which are on your bulletin insert. Main Point 1: Demanding More Proof Can Become an Excuse for Not Believing Luke tells us that as the crowd pressed in around Jesus, He said: “This evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign. But the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah.” That sounds almost shocking. / Hadn't Jesus already given signs? / How many signs did they need? He had healed the blind. / He had cleansed lepers. / He had restored crippled bodies. / He had raised the dead. / He had fed thousands. / He had cast out demons. Immediately before this passage, He had delivered a man who could not speak because of demonic oppression. / And some still said, “Show us a sign.” At some point, the problem is no longer a lack of evidence. / The problem is unwillingness to respond to the evidence already given. The Sign of Jonah Jesus says Jonah will be the sign. / Jonah carried two powerful meanings. First, Jonah was a prophet sent by God with a message. / He went to Nineveh and said, essentially, “Judgment is coming. Repent.” / There were no fireworks. / No extended miracle campaign. /No entertainment. Just the Word of God. / And Nineveh responded. Second, as Matthew 12 makes clearer, Jonah's experience in the great fish also points forward to Jesus' death and resurrection. Jonah disappeared into the depths and emerged alive. / Jesus would descend into death and emerge victorious on the third day. The ultimate sign would not be another temporary miracle. / It would be the empty tomb.   Ancient Context: Nineveh Nineveh was not a pleasant little Gentile village. / It was associated with Assyria, one of the most brutal imperial powers of the ancient world. / Assyrian warfare was infamous for cruelty. They terrorized conquered...

김영철의 파워FM - 진짜 영국식 영어 652회 - 지나갈게요! = Excuse me, could I squeeze past

Economy unstable. Gives people fear that the banks will collapse, or the economy will crash, or banks will go insolvent. I don't think so. Not necessarily.

Send us Fan Mail          Quiero agradecer a los pastores Allen & Alejandra por extenderme la invitación en participar en un hermoso evento juvenil. Cuales son tus pretextos y excusas para no querer servirle a Dios y hacer lo correcto antes los ojos del Señor? Que sea de bendición ésta predicación! Si deseas conocer la iglesia de Ministerios Llamada Final Vista, CA. La dirección es 1980 East Vista Way 92084.  Support the show

Introduction: What Happens to Me When I Die? 2 Corinthians 5:8 - ...we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. When Do these Resurrections Take Place? Acts 24:15 - ...there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. What is the Resurrection Body Like (1 Corinthians 15:35-49)? Your body now is like a "SEED" , your resurrected body is like a "PLANT". (1 Cor 15:36b-38) Your resurrected body will be SIMILAR but DIFFERENT but BETTER . (1 Cor 15:39-42a) Your resurrected body will never have EARTHLY WEAKNESSES . (1 Cor 15:42b-44) 4 Contrasts Between Your Earthly Body and Your Resurrected Body: PERISHABLE vs. IMPERISHABLE DISHONOR vs. GLORY WEAKNESS vs. POWER NATURAL vs. SPIRITUAL Your resurrected body is just like JESUS' glorified body. (1 Cor 15:45-49) Philippians 3:21 - who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body... Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Unified and Purified: We Will Be Raised in a New Body Jeff Miller Download Audio Transcript 00:05Open up those Bibles with me please to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.00:11If you don't have a Bible, you're welcome to take the one in the seat back in front of you.00:17I know that's got like microscopic font. I think there's bigger print ones in the shelf in the very back.00:23Oh, Jane Hour got it. Alright. So if you want a bigger print Bible, you've got to wrestle Jane Hour for it.00:30Oh, okay, there's more back there. Okay, you don't have to, you don't want to do that anyways.00:34So, but please consider it our gift to you if you don't have one. So, speaking of, I'd like you to just stop for a moment and pray for me to communicate God's Word as I should accurately and clearly. And I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord tells us in His Word.01:04in this portion we're looking at today. So let's pray. Father in heaven, as we turn to this portion of your word, there's such great encouragement for what you have promised. There's also challenging conviction. Your word says that when we have this hope, we purify ourselves as you are pure. So I pray, Father, that this Yes, would be informational in the sense of correcting wrong thinking that we have carried. But at the same time, Father, use this to motivate us to use the short time we have here on the earth to make an impact for your kingdom. We thank you ahead of time for whatever it is you're going to do here, Father. We pray in Jesus' name. When all of God's people said, Excuse me. Amen. 1 Corinthians 15, are you there? Back in 2009, Heidi Montag, who is one of the stars of the TV show The Hills, she was 23 at the time, 2009. She had 10 plastic surgeries.02:35in one day.02:39Ten plastic surgeries in one day.02:45You got questions?02:47I got questions.02:49Like, ten?02:52What all did she have done?02:53Well, she had her brow lifted.02:57She had Botox.02:59She had her nose done.03:01She had fat injected into her cheeks.03:04and lips. She had her chin done. She had her neck done. Liposuction. Isn't that when they take the fat out? But then it was put into her cheeks. So just like one hose. All right. I don't know. Look, I've never had plastic surgery, but you probably knew that.03:34You're like, I sure hope you didn't pay for that look. Anyways, she had her ears pinned back like a Doberman. She had her waist, her hips, and her thighs done and some other things. Ten surgeries in one day. You got questions? I got questions. How much does something like that cost? Well, I had to Google that. I have no idea. I don't know what the going rate is now, let alone what it was in 2009.04:04It cost her, they say, about $30,000.04:12How long does that take?04:16How long does all that stuff, it was 10 hours of surgery.04:22You know what my question was?04:26Did anybody recognize her when she got home?04:29Could you imagine?04:30and she leaves in the morning and she's like, I'm going to have some surgery. Then she comes back, a completely different person. Like, hey, I'm home. And they're like, ah, who are you? Like, it's me. It's me, Heidi. You know, groundhog, we didn't recognize you. I mean, we do all kinds of things to try to keep this young and from wearing out. And look, maybe plastic surgery is not.05:00your thing. Maybe it's exercise. I was going to ask for a show of hands, but I think to save all of us from embarrassment, myself included, we won't do any hand raising here. Okay, at least for this part. But do you have an exercise equipment graveyard in your basement? Do you remember things like the ab circle? Do you remember the ab circle? The bow flex, the toe flex, The Total Gym. How about the Thighmaster? You old enough to remember the Thighmaster? Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze your way to firmer thighs. Well, maybe it was just the exercise method, right? Because we've got Pilates, we've got yoga and Zumba, P90X, Insanity.06:00T25. You ever done this program? I've done Insanity and T25. And let me tell you, that is for the birds. For the birds. And I was like really into it for a while. And my wife was like, are you doing that exercise thing where you dance around the living room like a ninny? I'm like, well, I guess not anymore.06:31Okay, like, you can get the body you've always wanted. Get the body you've always wanted. The problem is you're not going to keep it forever. 1 Corinthians 15 is all about the resurrection. Jesus and ours. The Bible says because Jesus rose from the dead, Listen, I think so many people sitting in churches miss this truth. You, too, are going to rise from the dead in a new body. Now, if I told you, hey, next week, you're going to get a new car. But here's the deal. This car, this is the only car you're allowed to drive for the next 40 years.07:30car it is? Wouldn't you want to know what it's like? You mean I'm stuck with this car for four decades? Yeah. What kind of car is it? Tell me about it. I want to know all about it, right? Right? Well, the Bible says you're going to get a new body that you are going to have for all of eternity. Would you like to know what this body is like?08:00of eternity. So, we've got a lot of information here. Again, in this chapter, Paul packs so much information. And we're going to be going through it very quickly. So, you might want to listen to this again when it's on our website or podcast or whatever. You might want to pass this on to someone else. So, I encourage you to jot some notes down. First question, we're just going to take a step back here and kind of this whole thing. The first question is, what happens to me when I die? What happens to me when I die? And the reason we're starting here is like, look, okay, we got resurrection. Okay, but like, it's obviously not immediate. So, what happens to me when I die? Well, the Bible never talks about limbo or purgatory or soul sleep. The Bible never talks about that stuff. The Bible is very clear. If you're a believer in Christ, when you die, you are immediately in the presence of the Lord, right?09:002 Corinthians 5 verse 8 says we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Paul says something very similar to this in Philippians 123.09:14He said to depart is to be with Christ.09:20Right? So if you're a believer when you die you are in the presence of the Lord.09:23Your spirit is. And if you have not received Christ you go to a place of torment called Hades, where you are awaiting the final judgment. All right? But the Bible promises that eventually, eventually, everybody, everybody will get a resurrected body. Everybody gets one. Like, well, when do these resurrections take place?09:57Here's the next question on your outline. Understand again, the Bible is crystal clear and consistent. It teaches many times there are two resurrections. Okay, there are two. Acts 24, 15. There will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. Right? We talked about that before. Daniel 12, 2. Jesus said it in John 5, 28 and 29. There are two resurrections. Okay.10:27First, I want to talk to those who have trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, those who are born again. The Bible says you will get your resurrected body at the rapture. Now, we're not going to get too deep into this now because next week the whole passage is about the rapture. But at the rapture, when Jesus returns to remove His people from the earth, believers up to that point, dead or alive, will get a new resurrected body.10:57about that next week. Those are for believers. For those who have rejected God's gift in Jesus Christ. For those who are like, I'm living life on my terms. I don't want Jesus. I don't want anything to do with God. It's truth. Worship, I don't want anything to do with that. There's a resurrection for unbelievers too. Again, timeline in your Bible. There's a seven-year tribulation coming, talked about in the book of Revelation. At the end of that, Jesus comes back, strikes down all who rejected Him, and He sets a thousand year kingdom on the earth. Jesus will reign on the earth for a thousand years. Revelation chapter 20 says, at the end of the thousand years is the second resurrection. Again, you can read that later. Revelation chapter 20. After the thousand year reign, all unbelievers, all unbelievers of all time are called out of Hades. They're called before the great white throne.11:57of Jesus Christ where they will be sentenced to the lake of fire. So, believers will get an eternal body to enjoy in heaven and unbelievers will get an eternal body that will suffer in hell, the lake of fire. Alright? So, the real question of the day that's addressed in this text, and we kind of did an on-ramp here to get to this point, But the question that is addressed today is, what is the resurrection body like? I'm going to be driving it for eternity? What's it like? What's it like? Well, we talked about this before. In the Corinthian church, there were a lot of resurrection deniers. A lot of the Greeks denied that there was such a thing. So, Paul anticipates the mocking questions that come. That's where he picks up in verse He says, but someone will ask, how are the dead raised?13:05With what kind of body do they come?13:08Again, those are mocking questions.13:13Paul's not anticipating as much the sincere can you please give us information as much as the people that are sort of making fun.13:21Like, how in the world are dead people raised?13:25Like, oh, you believe in resurrection?13:27What kind of body do they have? They're kind of making fun. Our day, like Paul's day, I found that some of the greatest theologians and Bible experts are people that have never opened the Bible. Have you noticed that? That was sarcasm. Because Paul gives them a hard rebuke, verse 36. He says, you foolish person.13:56Oh, you think you're so smart with your little questions. Oh, you're really stumped me. He goes, you're foolish. You're not even thinking. Look, I don't think there's anybody here today that's like that, that's like mocking. I don't think so. I'm sure there's somebody that's going to be listening to this online. I don't imagine there's anybody in the room right now that is scornfully asking questions like this.14:26But at the same time, when it comes to the topic, I do think there's a lot of confusion in the church about this whole resurrected body. Because I get asked these questions all the time. Pastor Taylor, you probably do too, right? People ask these questions. Will my new body look like my old body? Because that's important. Because what if I get to heaven and nobody recognizes me? But am I going to be able to recognize other people?14:57How old am I going to look? I mean, what if I live to be like 107? Am I going to look 107 for all of eternity? What about like, unfortunately, an infant who passes away? Is that person going to be an infant for all of eternity? Like, what does it look like? And then what about people that like aren't buried? You know, we're going to be talking about coming up out of the grave. What about people that aren't in the grave? Like, what about people that, I don't know, they fell overboard on a cruise and were eaten by a shark and they weren't buried.15:30What about those people?15:33Or what about people that maybe were incinerated in a fire and...15:41Well, Paul does such an amazing job in such a few words describing the difference between this vehicle we're driving today and the vehicle that we'll be driving someday.15:56So number one, what's the resurrection body like? What is the resurrection body like? Number one, he says your body now is like a seed and your resurrected body is like a plant. All right, look at verse 36. He says, What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. What you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel perhaps of wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He has chosen.16:51its own body.16:57Your body now is like a seed.16:58Your resurrected body is like a plant.17:00Now if you have a seed in your hand, like, you know, it is the season, right?17:04I think of a watermelon seed.17:05Just imagine a watermelon seed.17:09You know, we've all seen those.17:10We've all spit those out.17:11Those little hard, brown, flat seeds, right?17:20When you put that in the ground, when you bury a watermelon seed, it rises up as something completely different, doesn't it? That's what Paul's talking about here. I mean, I'm not a farmer. You might want to fact check with Jesse on this. I'm not a farmer. I'm barely a gardener, as they say in Minnesota. I'm not. So, correct me if I'm wrong, but when you are going to plant something, you don't take a whole plant and bury it in the ground to get another whole plant.17:54The seed goes in the ground and dies and comes up as something different.18:01The seed that you bury is different than the plant that comes.18:08And we all get that, right?18:09You don't plant a watermelon seed, a little brown, flat, hard seed, and outgrows a big, a flat brown seed. That's just like it, only bigger. That's not how it works. It's completely different. But not completely because there's, in a sense, there's continuity between the seed and the plant, right? There's continuity. You know what I mean by that? I mean, if you plant a watermelon seed, you're not going to grow an apple tree.18:45Like, why not? Because God determined. Watermelon seeds only make watermelons. If you want an apple tree, you need to plant an apple seed, right? God determines. God has chosen the kind of body that everything gets. And you know what He has chosen for you? A glorified body. So that's Paul's first analogy here. He says, just look at your body.19:15And really all this is, is it's a seed that's going to be planted. And something that comes out is going to be different. You're like, how different? Well, number two, your resurrected body will be similar but different but better. Similar but different but better.19:44Let's pick up in verse 39. He says, For not all flesh is the same. There is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, the stars. For star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. Another illustration. Paul's like, look at the animal kingdom. Look at the animal kingdom. We have humans and animals and birds and fish, right? You've been to the zoo.20:44Notice how all animals have flesh, right? All animals have flesh. So that's like the same, right? But it's really not the same because the flesh of a fish is different from like the flesh of a groundhog or an eagle or a human. Why is that?21:16It's all perfectly suited for their respective environments. That's why. Why does a fish have the flesh that it has? For the water. That flesh wouldn't do any good on a bird. A bird has the flesh that it has so it can do the things that the birds do. It's all similar but it's different.21:45suited for the environment, right? Then he talks, he's like, let's get off the earth for a second. Let's talk about the sun, moon, and stars. All heavenly bodies, right? Now from earth, when we look up at the sky, what do we see? All these round, bright things. Some are bigger, some are brighter, but the sky is full of them. But did you know, like, even with the stars, each one is completely unique.22:14There aren't even two stars in the universe that are exactly the same. He says they're all different, but every one of these things in the sky does the thing that it's supposed to do, right? The sun to give us light and warmth, the moon for the tides, and the stars for whatever purpose God has for the stars. Same but different.22:45Perfectly suited for their purpose. And then Paul hits us in verse 42. He says, so it is with your glorified, resurrected body. How does it compare to this one that we have here? It's going to be the same, but it's going to be different. And it's going to be way better. Because this body, was made for the earth. But the new body is going to be made for heaven. Similar, but different, but better. Number three, your resurrected body will never have earthly weaknesses. Earthly weaknesses. Pick up in verse 42. He says, what is sown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory.23:44It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Stop there. Your resurrected body will never have earthly weaknesses. Do you notice over and over and over again? Sown, sown, sown, sown. He's keeping this seed metaphor going because it's so appropriate.24:15You go in the ground. Your body is a seed. You go in the ground as one thing. And you come up out of the ground as something different. Something better. Something glorious. And here he talks about the earthly weaknesses that we will not have. So he gives four contrasts here. Again, it's all straight from the text. Your Bible says the same thing.24:44These are four contrasts between this body, this vehicle we're driving now, and the resurrected body that we're going to get someday. Letter A, perishable versus imperishable. Perishable versus imperishable. On your outline beside that, write the word decay. That's what he's talking about. Perishable. This body decays. This body is wearing out.25:16Dying you will die. Look, all of us, we're wearing out, we're decaying. I mean, you should have seen me when I was 20. I was well-built, good-looking, and you're like, what happened? Dying you will die. I'm decaying, and so are you. Versus imperishable.25:44The resurrected body, imperishable. You know what that means? It means all physical and mental health issues that we experience living in a fallen body are gone forever. That's what that means. No sickness. Your resurrected body will have no sickness, no cancer, no cerebral palsy, no multiple sclerosis, no muscular dystrophy, no diabetes, no asthma, no Alzheimer's.26:15No osteoporosis.26:18No arthritis.26:21No organ failure.26:22Nothing.26:24Your body will be imperishable.26:26It will not.26:27Wasn't it about this time in the first service?26:29People were just like coughing like crazy.26:32So we took a coughing break in the first service.26:36So go ahead.26:36If you get a cough, let her out.26:38Go ahead.26:43Go ahead.26:45I mean, get it out of your system. Because here's the thing, coughing is something you only enjoy on earth. Because at the resurrection, you're not going to cough. So live it up. There's no sickness. Your body is imperishable. No sickness. No pain. No pain. Imagine that. No pain. Can you think, like, what's the worst pain?27:14that you've ever been in in your life. I just want you to think about that for a second. What is the worst pain that you've ever experienced in your life? Men, have you ever had a cold? Because if you have, you know The peak of human suffering.27:51But pain's going to be a memory someday.27:54Think about that.27:54In eternity future, in our resurrected bodies, we'll be like, Taylor, bro, do you remember back when we had pain?28:02He's like, I barely remember pain.28:04What was that?28:07It's going to be history.28:09You'll never wear out.28:10You'll never grow old.28:11You'll never be sick.28:12Death itself is going to be history. Perishable versus imperishable. Letter B, dishonor versus glory. Dishonor versus glory. On your outline beside this, write sin. This is in regards to sin. The fall of man has saturated this earth with the corruption of sin. And our current bodies are are thoroughly affected by sin. Thoroughly. What did Paul say in Romans 7? I know that no good thing dwells in me, that is my flesh. That's what he's talking about. He says this, here, my spirit is renewed. I'm born again. God's Holy Spirit lives in here. But God's Holy Spirit lives in a body that still hungers for sin.29:13Hungers for rebellion against God. Everything we, listen, everything we do is tainted with some degree of corruption. You know, if we're being honest, even when I set out to do something good, There's always a little something in there that's just kind of selfish, like this is the right thing to do, this is a righteous thing, but there's something in me some shade of a is there a selfish motive here more spotlight for me little glory for me here selfish motive here you're that way too we all are There's nothing that we can do that is 100% free from the taint of sin. And that's what he's talking about here. The day's going to come when we're in this body, we have this new body, and there won't be any bent towards sin in this glorified body.30:43Weakness versus power. Beside that, just write the word strength. This speaks to strength. We are so weak. We are so weak. You're like, speak for yourself. I'm a strapping young lad. I'm not weak. Yes, you are. We're all weak.31:11We are all so weak. Not convinced? Strapping young lad? How is it that a virus that's so small that we can't even see it, it can knock you down for days? You think about that next time you're feeling strong. We're weak. And you know, you don't even need to be, you don't even need to be sick.31:41to feel worn out.31:46I can keep strange hours and I've had people ask me, like, do you ever, they're like, don't you ever get tired?31:53I'm like, do I get tired?31:56No, I do not get tired.32:01I stay tired.32:03You see, for me to say I get tired would imply that I'm starting from a platform of being well-rested and strong. I've never started from that platform. I just stay in this place of tired. I'm not proud of it, but there's many days that when I wake up, one of my first thoughts is, am I going to have an opportunity for a nap today? Anybody else? Okay, thank you. Just the people on this tired side.32:40of the room. These people don't get tired over here. Did you notice that? It's all over here.32:51Listen, your new body, he says, right, is powerful. No weakness, no weariness.33:00And letter D, natural versus spiritual. Natural versus spiritual.33:06We talked about this before. This is speaking to environmental suitability.33:11Your new body is going to be perfect for the environment that it is going to be in. Your new body will be visible. Yes. It'll be tangible. Yes. But it's not going to be subject to the laws of nature as we know it now. Like, what do I mean? Well, I mean, this body we have now, God designed, perfectly for the earth environment.33:47But, you could say we're a little restricted.33:50We're sort of hemmed in as a part of creation.33:56We're restricted in these bodies by pesky little things like gravity and time and air.34:07Those things kind of limit us in a sense. But our new bodies, our resurrected bodies are going to rise above the current laws of nature and time and space. And you're thinking right now, like what? And that's not the right question to ask. The right question isn't like what? The right question is like who? And that leads us to the last one, number four.34:38This to me is one of the most mind-blowing things in Scripture, by the way. He says, your resurrected body is just like Jesus' glorified body. Your resurrected body is just like Jesus' glorified body. See, Paul had this, he was using these metaphors with the seeds and the plants and the planets and the animals.35:06He's moving from metaphorical to literal now. He's going to be talking about our actual body. Look at verse 45. He says, thus, it is written, the first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the natural, and then the spiritual.35:35The first man was from the earth, a man of dust. The second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust. And as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, We shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. Right now, Paul says, right now, we bear the image of the man of dust. That's Adam. That's us. We are people of dust. That's... I don't mean this as an insult. I just mean this as literal truth. Your body right now consists of a handful, of dust and a lot of water. That's all any of us are consisting of. I'm sure you're beautiful on the inside, but I just mean your physical body, your dust and water. That's what he's talking about. We bear the image of the man of dust. He says someday you will bear the image of the man of heaven. That's Jesus Christ. Here's what he's saying very clearly.37:05is just like Adam's. Our glorified body will be just like the resurrected body of Jesus Christ. The Bible is so clear about this over and over. Like here's another reference to that, Philippians chapter 3, verse 21. He says, Jesus, look at this, will transform our lowly body to be like His, Glorious Body.37:38And I just want to encourage you to go back in your Bibles this week.37:43Read Luke 24. Read John chapter 20. Read Acts chapter 1.37:47If you want to know like kind of what is our glorified body going to be able to do, look at the things that Jesus did in His glorified body.38:01Like for example, in Jesus' glorified body, He was recognized by sight and by voice and by His wounds.38:11And Jesus in His glorified body ate.38:16Will we eat in heaven?38:17Yeah, we will actually.38:19Not because we have to, but because we'll enjoy it.38:26That is according to Revelation 22 too.38:30But you notice, Jesus in His resurrected body wasn't bound by the laws of nature. He did things like disappear. He did things like move from place to place suddenly. The Bible says Jesus could walk right through the wall. Did you ever go through a wall? I have, but not like Jesus. But someday, we'll be able to just, transcend these kinds of rules that we know now, right? Oh, you know the big one. Acts chapter 1. What did Jesus do in His glorified body? He ascended. He ascended. And you're like, well, are you saying, Pastor Jeff, that you really believe that we're going to be able to fly? Yeah. That wasn't my idea. The Bible is very clear.39:29that our body is going to be just like the glorified body of Jesus himself. So your resurrected body will be just like his. Our worship team would make their way back to the platform here. You know, the Bible is clear, my friends, that you are You are. Everyone is. There is no question as to whether or not you will get an eternal, indestructible body. Excuse me, you will get one. The Bible is clear about that. There's only one real question. With your eternal, indestructible body, will you be living forever?40:28in heaven? Or will you be dying forever in hell? Because you see, for those who have received Christ, yes, we will have this body to be in the presence of the Lord, to fellowship with each other, and most importantly, to worship God eternally in a body that doesn't get tired? That's going to be so awesome. But on the other hand, If you have not received the gift of grace that God has given us in Jesus Christ, you're going to get an eternal body. But it's going to be to suffer forever. You know, hell is described as fire. And I can't imagine anything more horrific than being on fire in a body that can't be consumed. Eternally suffering. And if you haven't received God's gift of eternal life in Christ, I don't know what you're waiting for. Today can be the day. And I want you to hear me. God wants you.41:58saved. God wants you with Him for eternity.42:08How do I know that?42:10Because the Bible says things like, it is God's will that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance.42:15That's what God wants.42:17The Bible says things like, God does not delight in the death of the wicked.42:22God wants you in eternity with Him.42:25God wants you as His adopted child.42:28Do you know how I know? Because of what God did to make that possible. That He sent His Son to die on the cross on your behalf. To take the penalty for all of the sins that you committed and that I committed. God spared not His Son but delivered Him up for us all. How do I know God wants you in heaven with Him for eternity? Because of what He spent to make that happen.42:59I'd like you to bow your heads please. And if you haven't made that decision, if you haven't received the gift, let today be the day. Let today be the day that you come to grips with the fact of who you are and who God is, what you've done and what God has done.43:28And pray something like this. Pray, God, I know that I have lived my life apart from you and I have only ever wanted my way.43:41God, you have sent your son to buy me back.43:45To save me from the destructive path of my own self-centered will.43:53To save me from eternally being separated from you.43:57You did that through the death and the resurrection of Your Son. If you pray something like that today, or if you want to stick around and pray with one of our pastors or elders, let today be the day that we're done playing games, we're done pretending, we're done being church attenders, warming a seat, going through the motions. We want to be sincere. We sincerely believe.44:28We sincerely belong to Jesus Christ. Father, I pray, I pray, Father, that you would not give a minute's rest to anyone here who doesn't know you. That today would be the day that through the power of your Spirit, through the wisdom and encouragement and conviction that comes from your Word, today would be the day, Father.44:59They go to bed tonight unable to sleep. Until they do business with you. But for those of us, Father, who do know you, we thank you for these glorious promises. And I suppose that if I was going to try to make up what I thought could be the best promise ever, it would be nothing compared to how awesome your actual promises really are. Anything that I can imagine being great about eternity or heaven or a new body, it would pale in comparison to the reality of what you have actually promised. Father, we thank you. Let this be an encouragement for us to plod along for the next 15 minutes of life on earth in anticipation of our own resurrection. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 15:35-49What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Describe the 4 contrasts between your earthly body and your resurrected body from 1 Cor 15:42-44.What was Jesus' glorified body like that you are excited to think about your glorified body being like?Read 1 John 3:2-3. How does the knowledge of our future resurrected bodies motivate us to purify ourselves today?BreakoutPray for one another.

In this episode of The WarriorBabe Show, Nikkiey Stott challenges the biggest excuse keeping women from prioritizing their health - "I don't have time." She breaks down why that phrase is really a priority problem in disguise, how your screen time and calendar expose what actually matters to you, and why waiting for life to calm down is a trap that keeps you stuck for years.Nikkiey also shares practical ways to stay consistent without being perfect, including the difference between your ideal week and your minimum standard. If you've been pushing your health to the back of the line, this episode is your wake-up call. Join Our Free WarriorBabe CommunityTake the Free Quiz - Get Your Personalized WB4 Plan Get Toned With The Macro Method + 7 Bonus Gifts  If you've got a story about how The Macro Hour Podcast has positively impacted your life, we'd love to hear from you! Fill out this short form for a chance to be featured!Wanna collaborate with WarriorBabe? Click HERE! Follow Nikkiey and WarriorBabe's Socials:WarriorBabe - Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | WebsiteNikkiey - Instagram | Facebook | TikTok Welcome to The Macro Hour Podcast, where we talk about mindset, methodology, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. We've got a no-bullshit, no-nonsense approach with a lot of love ...

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Join Host Miko Lee as she introduces Dr. Robynn Rodriquez's show “Spitting Fire.” Dr. Robynn speaks about Filipinx and colorism with Dr. Joanne Rondilla.   LINKS Dr. Robynn, The People's Professor   SHOW TRANSCRIPT [00:00:00] Opening: Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   [00:00:35] Miko Lee: Welcome to Apex Express. I'm your host, Miko Lee, and tonight we get to hear the podcast from Dr. Robin Rodriguez called Spitting Fire, and I'm so excited for you to listen to it. Check it out, and if you wanna hear more, we're gonna link in the show notes an earlier interview I did with Dr. Robin Rodriguez. So please listen to Spitting Fire with Dr. Robin   [00:01:01] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: I can't actually remember a specific episode when my parents or my Lola, who helped raise me, explicitly said, “Don't stay out in the sun.” But I always knew growing up that staying out in the sun was something I shouldn't do because being dark was something to be avoided. I remember being embarrassed by my mom who would bust out an umbrella on a bright and shiny day. “Mom, it's not even raining outside,” I remember complaining. I hated the big hats she would wear or insist I wear, or the comments of, “You're getting darker,” also in a disapproving tone. I remember, too, the high praises anyone with lighter skin was heaped, even when I didn't think they were that particularly attractive. Or how if my relatives knew someone was going to be marrying an American, basically a white person, they would exclaim, “Oh, they're going to have beautiful children.” When I brought home a hapa, a dude who was Filipino and white, I was told that if we got married, I would be improving the race. I've always known, whether I can remember being told, “Don't stay out in the sun,” that if there was a skin hue to aspire to, it was to be light.   [00:02:49] To be called mestiza was to receive one of the best compliments. To be a mestiza is always already to be beautiful. Of course, if anyone said I was mestiza, it was always qualified as mestizang morena. That is, someone who exhibits certain types of physical traits that are associated with a mestiza, like having a more pointed nose or being slightly taller than the average Pinay, but not the lighter skin of a genuine mestiza. So that's why I was sometimes called mestizang morena. Still meant as a compliment. After all, I could still enjoy the privilege of being associated with mestizaje, but only partially So many Filipinas in the diaspora, especially those of us who live in white settler colonial societies like what we now know as the United States as well as Canada, so many of us share experiences similar to the ones I've experienced.   [00:03:58] My dear friend and colleague, a fellow sociologist, Dr. Connolly De Leon, who currently teaches at Ryerson University in Canada, made this shared experience a topic of study in her book chapter, “Mas Maputi Ako Sa'yo,” I'm Lighter Than You: The Spatial Politics of Intraracial Colorism Among Filipina-Filipino Youth in the Greater Toronto Area. It was a chapter that was part of the very historic anthology, Filipinos in Canada: Disturbing Invisibility, edited by Roland Coloma, Bonnie McElvaney, Ellen Ethel Dongohan, John Paul Katungol, and Lisa M. Davidson, and it was published in 2012. Now, I've taught, uh, Dr. De Leon's chapter, Connolly's chapter, in my Filipino American experience courses in the past, and it's always, always deeply resonated with my Filipina students. In Dr. De Leon's chapter, she starts off with a quote that so many of us are familiar with in some way. She writes, quote, “You're so dark. Yuck.' My cousin would say to me in disgust as she would place her forearm beside mine to compare her light skin to my dark skin.” End quote. Dr. De Leon continues, quote, “As early as the age of four, as early as the age of four, I was taught to feel ashamed of my complexion. I did not understand what was so shameful about being the particular shade of brown that I was.” End quote. The shaming that Dr. De Leon and so many of us experience comes from colorism, which scholars define as the discriminatory treatment of individuals falling within the same racial group on the basis of skin color.   [00:06:01] On this episode of Spitting Fire, Dr.- Doctora Robyn Speaks, you'll actually hear less from me and more from yet another friend and colleague, Dr. Joanne Rondilia, who I recently hosted as part of a lecture series jointly sponsored by the Bolosan Center for Filipinx Studies, of which I serve as the founding faculty director, and the School for Liberating Education, my platform for offering Filipinx or Filipinos and ethnic studies courses that are often only available to those who happen to be able to get accepted into the four-year, often elite institutions where they are taught. It's where I get to teach all of these amazing courses that I think all of us should have to the broader community. Dr. Rondilia has researched on colorism in the Philippines and the diaspora for over a decade. It was a topic of her 2012 dissertation, which was entitled Colonial Faces: Beauty and Skin Color Hierarchy in the Philippines and the United States. In her 2007 book, co-edited with Paul Spickard, entitled Is Lighter Better? Skin Tone Discrimination Among Asian Americans, she explores colorism as a phenomenon that no- not only plagues Filipinos, but Asian Americans actually more broadly. So now I'm gonna turn to Dr. Rondilia and her lecture entitled Don't Stay Out in the Sun: Understanding Filipinx and Colorism. Go ahead, Joanne. Take it away. So happy you're here.    [00:07:44] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: All right. Thank you so much, Robyn. It's, uh… Do you mind if I call you Robyn? Shall I call you Dr. Robyn?    [00:07:50] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: Oh my God. You only know me as Robyn. Okay.    [00:07:56] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: I will call you Robyn, but everybody else, you, you are required to call her Dr. Robyn- … Queen Robyn. You know, that's, that's how. But it's, it's such a, a joy to be here. Um, you know, before we opened the doors, uh, Robyn and I were talking about, um, you know, what it is to be an academic and the type of language and, and spaces in which we share our research. And I think one of the things that's really hard, especially for the soul of a lot of, uh, academics, is that we… it's so rare for us to really share our research, uh, with the community, right? ‘Cause I don't think of myself as a researcher. I think of myself more as a, a storyteller Right? And I think that that's really, uh, when students- when I have students who refuse to, like, engage in research, I try to remind them, like, research is not… I don't think of research as, uh, sort of like the white person's, uh, uh, game. I think of research as something that is connected to us, um, and it's our birthright. It's our ancestral birthright, right? Because storytelling is our ancestral birthright, and that's the lens in which I come into, uh, to exploring this issue of colorism.   [00:09:15] So show of hands, for those of you in the room, I'm curious to know how many of you were told, uh, were, were told this: “Don't stay out in the sun or you're- or, or else you'll get too dark.” How many of you were raised with that sort of mantra? Yes. Right. I, I almost feel like these words, uh, are so quintessential to the Filipino experience or the Filipinx experience. Like, “Don't stay out in the sun or else you'll get too dark.” And I'm someone who, I was born and raised on Guam, um, and so everybody on Guam is dark because we are always out in the sun, right? And my mother is very light-skinned. Uh, she came from a middle-class family from San Pablo City in the Philippines. My father's from Lucena, and he ca- he grew up poor, uh, and rai- was raised by a single mother. And so m- there was this definite class difference between my parents, uh, but there's also a, a skin tone difference between my parents. Like, my dad was someone who was very, very kuripot. He was very cheap, but he had this great love for my mother. Um, you know, and I think part of that was he saw her as like, you know, this, this wonderful, like, prize almost, you know. Because she came from a well-to-do family, and, you know, when they got married, her family did not want them to get married because, uh, he was not wealthy. But he was someone who, because he works on Guam as an engineer for the government of Guam, uh, and, and the US military, like that sort of… and, and he had, uh, I think in total like 13 deeds to his name. That's sort of what eased my, my mother's family into, you know, being supportive of their marriage. But there was… And, and on my mother's side of the family, this is a family, and mind you, I love them very much, but this is a family that, um, values beauty a lot, right? My mom and my aunties were all some form of provincial, uh, beauty queen And so this is why me and my brother and my sister were always told, “Don't stay out in the sun or you'll get too dark.” Because the idea was you had to preserve whatever, whatever it was our mother gave us, right? Even though, um, you know, like, uh, you know, even though, like, members of her family say didn't, didn't necessarily find us attractive , you know, the idea was, like, you know, as children of this, this woman or as chil- as, as, you know, members of this particular family, you had to, um, you had to sort of preserve yourself.   [00:12:18] So as a young kid growing up on Guam, I always wanted to go swimming, uh, 'cause my, my neighbors across the street, actually one of them, uh, represented the island of Guam, uh, during the 1988 Olympics in, in Seoul, right? So I always wanted to go swimming. I wanted to learn swimming, but my mother wouldn't let me because I would get too dark And so that, you know, like, there, there was so much of our lives that were limited because of this need to preserve beauty. And this is how I entered the research, uh, the exploration of colorism. So very quickly, for those of you who do not know what colorism is, simply put, colorism is a looks-based or, you know, um, you know, physical look, a looks-based system of discrimination where light skin and Eurocentric features are favored over darker skin and non-Eurocentric features.   [00:13:13] These discriminations typically occur within the same racial or ethnic community. Uh, the term colorism was coined by, um, the writer Alice Walker. And when she first started writing about colorism, she was talking about, she was talking about colorism in a very intimate way. She was talking about the way in which lighter-skinned Black women evoked pain, right, uh, onto darker-skinned Black women. And so this is where she comes up with this term called colorism. Colorism is intimate. It happens within the same racial or ethnic group, typically. And the reason why I say typically is because, um, in our society, we live in a very colorist society. So I'm sure some of you, and you can throw up reactions, some of you know people, may be related to people who say, “I'm not a racist. I don't have a racist bone in my body, in my body. I love Black people. I listen to Beyoncé. Halle Berry's my favorite actress.” Like, you know, they'll go on and on and on about how they're not racist. But when you look at the patterns of what they deem is attractive or, um, sort of civilized among, uh, the Black or African American community, they always resort to people who tend to be, like, lighter skinned, right? And that's also a way that, um, colorism manifests itself. It starts in the intimate space, but it manifests itself in a much larger, um, you know, in a much larger sphere. So for, um, the Filipinx community, when we look at popular culture, right? And, um, I don't know if any of you have heard of the show or are watching a show called, uh, The Cleaning Lady It's a new show that was, uh, it just premiered last week through Fox. And The Cleaning Lady, the reason why this is really big for, uh, the Filipinx community is because the… It, it's supposed… It originally was supposed to be a Filipino storyline, right? And it was a way to sort of introduce, uh, you know, Filipinx characters in the public sphere. But what happened was S- Shannon Sossamon, the actress Shannon Sossamon, uh, was originally slated to play the main character, who is an undocumented, uh, Filipina maid, right? But something happened during the initial table read, so they end up casting Elodie Yung, who's, uh, French Cambodian. So they changed the character a little bit, but when you look at the setting, it's set in Los Angeles. It's really a Filipino family. And my argument when I look at popular media and colorism is that oftentimes in popular media when they're trying to introduce Filipino, Filipinx characters, it's done through the mixed race body. It's done through a mixed race person, right? So for those of you who may be familiar with Shannon Sossamon, she's mixed race. She's a mixed race Filipina, but she's very white-passing, and it's usually mixed race white-passing or mixed race white-pleasing, what I call white-pleasing, uh, Filipinos that popular culture suddenly becomes interested in us, right?   [00:16:45] And that's what we see in a show like The Cleaning Lady. In the next few months, I think Jo Koy, uh, is going to have a movie called, um, I think it's called Easter Sunday. And again, Jo Koy, very Filipino, right? It, it's ingrained in his comedy. But what makes, what allows his fame to happen in the United States is that he's very white-passing and white-pleasing, very different from someone like a Rex Navarette, whose career is much longer, right, than someone like a Jo Koy, right? So there's definitely colorism at play, right? But when we're looking at the intimate spaces, the way colorism plays out in the Filipinx community, it's the lighter skinned Filipino discriminating against the darker skinned Filipino. In the Asian American community, it's the Chinese person discriminating against the, the Cambodian person, right? So there, there's these different levels of, of colorism at play. Colorism, um… It's important to know that colorism is the discriminatory system that makes anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism exist. It actually maintains anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism. And the reason why this is important is, one, when we look at anti-Black racism, and you, you're hearing this a lot, you know, um, either in academic circles or even in, uh, sort of, um, more popular conversations. I feel that it's important to talk about anti-Black racism in conjunction with anti-Indigenous racism because they happen hand in hand. And when we look at the founding of the United States, for example, the founding of this country happens through the genocide of Indigenous peoples as well as the enslavement of African peoples. So they're not separate. They come together. And so when we're looking at colorism, the system of colorism, right? Colorism is what, is what allows anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism to exist Um, what makes, um… And, and, and we see this through the different, uh, colonial periods of the Philippines. There's something very distinct about colorism in the Filipinx community, and it really has to do with our, um, our, our colonial history.   [00:19:25] And so on the worksheet, there's just a very sort of like quick and dirty kind of list of like these three major periods of colonization in the Philippines. What I really wanna ta- uh, point to is the role of the Chinese throughout these historical periods in the Philippines. Because, um, typically when you talk about colorism, uh, colorism is most prevalent in, um, the African American community and the Black diaspora. But there's something very distinct about Filipinx colorism, and it's that our notion of lightness is defined by Eurocentric standards of beauty, right? And this is because of Spanish colonization. But it's also defined by Chinese standards of beauty or East Asian standards of beauty, and this is because of the positioning of the Chinese throughout these colonial periods. Because the Chinese, um, historically were the, um, were the merchant class, they were often elevated above indigenous Filipinos, right? And so that's why today in the Philippines when you see people who are in power and you look at the mixed race or mestizo, you know, uh, the mixed race people who are in power in the Philippines, they're often, uh, mixed race Chinese, right? And that's because of the, the legacy and the presence of Chinese in the Philippines. And so it's, um, it's, it's the history of the Chinese in the Philippines, th- these notions of Chinese lightness that really make colorism in the Philippines and among Filipinx very distinct. Uh, it's a very distinct conversation.   [00:21:14] Um, uh, I wanted to pause and say if you have any questions or if I'm going too quickly, feel free to, you know, put this in the chat, and I will try to address it, um, as I go along. Um, in– At the beginning of the talk, I asked how many of you were told, “Don't stay out in the sun.” And for those of you who said that you were told this, by show of hands, how many of you heard this in the context of family? How many of you were told this in the context of friends or any other intimate, uh, setting? ‘Cause oftentimes these messages are circulated among the family. And so When w- uh, and again, like colorism, you know, relative to racism, colorism has a very… There is this intimate aspect because oftentimes how we understand our own value and our own self-worth has to do with the messages that are articulated in the family, right? So, uh, one of the interviews that I had conducted, uh, was this, with this woman who when I conducted the interview, this was in the Philippines, and she worked in the entertainment industry in the Philippines. And she, um She, uh, had talked about how her lola would address her and her cousins. So the woman I interviewed, very light skin, light eyes, light hair, and that's why she's an entertainer in the Philippines.   [00:22:47] She's a model, and at the time she was hosting a television show. And she said that growing up, her lola always called her Miss Universe, right? And it was because of the way that she looked. Her lola would call her cousin, who was, um, like Spanish mestiza, sh- so, uh, this person who I called Tyler, Tyler was Miss Universe. Her cousin was Miss Philippines 'cause she was mestiza, and then Tyler's sister was Miss Cebu. So here, you know, like… And this is very blatant, and I'm not saying that all families are like this, but here you have this very explicit example of, a lola articulating the differences between these three young girls. Queen of the universe, queen of the Philippines, queen of the province. And in her interview, Tyler had said, “Yeah, it was very clear that Lola had her favorites, and it was in the way that she designated you in this spectrum of, like, these sort of beauty queen titles,” right? In another interview that I had, uh, conducted there, and this was an interview here in, um, the United States, uh, I- in the research I called her Milen. Milen talked about how whenever there was a dance or prom or something like that, there was this whole process of, you know, her and her brothers having to go to Lola's house so that Lola could see, you know, what everyone was wearing and that there could be pictures. But what was very clear was, um, Milen's youngest brother was clear…   [00:24:29] You know, her words were, “He was clearly not a favorite,” and this was largely because he was darker. He was often omitted from the photos. Um, Lola didn't really care about what he was wearing and things like that. She always put attention to Milen, who was very light-skinned, uh, and her two brothers who are also very light-skinned. So there's a very central role in which the family plays in how we understand, um, colorism and how we understand personal value And so as I was, uh, exploring this, uh, in sociology there's a term called the beauty cue, and the beauty cue is a system of classification. It's a societal system of classification that classifies women from lightest to dark to, you know, from most valuable to least valuable. And so what I did using this theory that Margaret Hunter had wr- uh, she wrote about, I added to this conversation by talking about the intimate beauty cue, because the beauty cue itself is about a societal, uh, a societal structure, but the intimate beauty cue is how we understand our value, how our notions of beauty are created in the most intimate spaces.   [00:25:47] And the reason why this is important to look at is because I think each and every one of us can, um, we can look at the TV and we can look at societal messages and say, “Yes, that's how society understands beauty, but that's not me because I'm my own person.” But in the intimate space among family and friends, when you're getting the messages that you're not beautiful or you're not valuable and it's coming from an unconditional love space such as the family, therein lies the problem and why colorism is such an intimate issue, because these are messages that are articulated by people, usually by people that you love or by people that you're closest to.   [00:26:35] There is a gendered aspect to colorism. Women in families are often seen as being more responsible for, um, you know, for beauty or engaging in beauty practices over men. However, men do… You know, like, there is some pressure for men Uh, when we look at colorism in popular media, again, in the US sphere, the few chances we get to see Filipinos or Filipinx in popular media, they are oftentimes light-skinned, mixed-race people, such as, and again, the example of, um, The Cleaning Lady. We have the example of Jo Koy and his future projects. It's not until we get into the independent sphere that we can see more variation. But when major institutions such as, uh, a Fox network or Netflix is trying to introduce a public to the Filipinx community, they're gonna go with what they feel is safe, and it's usually someone who's light-skinned, someone who is white passing, someone who's white pleasing, right? You know, there is something about, uh, the way in which popular media uses the mixed-race person or the mixed-race body. When you look at skin-lightening advertisements, oftentimes it's a mixed-race person that is being used to model such products. Uh, this is over t- I think it's over 10 years ago now. Um, there is a company in the Philippines called Glutamax, and when they launched their line, they used a mixed-race, um, Black Filipina model named Jinkee Oda.   [00:28:27] And what they did was they showed the sort of before and after, and one of the taglines in the advertisement in Tagalog, it said, “You could be white like me,” because it showed this progression of her being dark-skinned and then being light-skinned. And again, like, here for this particular, um, product, you're seeing the usage of, um, you know, that, that progression. It harks to very old, uh, beauty advertisements that, um, sold products specifically to Black women, um, you know, especially skin-lightening products to Black women. So there's, there's a way in which the mixed-race person is often used to sell beauty, to sell product, to sell, to sell us our notions of, um, lightness Having said that, I'm not trying to demonize the mixed race person. I, you know, I, I don't think it's fair to, um, I do not think it's fair to, for example, um, boycott Jo- Jo Koy because he's so fair, right?   [00:29:35] Or, um, yes, I love that comment, how we lift up Olivia Rodrigo, but our love for her or Saweetie is very, is, it's fairly limited. Exactly. You know, um, you know, like, I, I don't want to attack the person, but if you're light, you cannot… You, you have to recognize the amount of privilege that you have, right? Um, and then when we're looking at skin lightening products, again, like this is a global, um, this is a, you know, a multi-billion dollar global industry. Um, in 2018 it was valued at 8.3 billion. 2022, those numbers have gone, have gone up. Um, and as of late there has been a lot of talk about, uh, skin lightening products for various reasons. Globally it's because that market is so high, but here in the United States this has become an issue because skin lightening products and the usage and sale of skin lightening products has actually reached our policies.   [00:30:41] So for example, uh, the CARES Act. Um, because of the work of… Excuse me Because of the work of Ilhan Omar in the CARES Act, what, um, what was able to happen was the enforcement of the usage of a particular ingredient called hydroquinone. So this ingredient, uh, it's a derivative of mercury, which is very harmful to the skin. Um, this is a very popular ingredient that is used by a lot of, uh, skincare professionals. Now there's an enforcement about how you can buy or have access to this particular, uh, ingredient. So skin-lightening products and the, the conversation about skin-lightening products has been a huge issue as of late. Um, I wanna end with two thoughts, and it's this. I want you to, to reflect, and I know this was a lot of me talking. I want you to reflect on the way in which we articulate ideas of colorism on a daily basis. I want you to think about, you know, just, uh, a few weeks ago, for those of you who may have gathered with family, what are the ways in which you've heard these, you know, certain ideas about colorism articulated? It's often, “Oh, this, uh, this person is so beautiful.” Sometimes there's a comparison of children. Sometimes when you're greeted by the people you love, there's comments about, oh, how dark or light you've gotten. Um, included in the conversations about colorism is body size, how much weight you have or have not lost. You know, um, the, this is all part of the c- colorism conversation. There's a daily… There's a way in which we articulate ideas of colorism on a daily basis. I want you to reflect on, um, the beauty practices that we engage in, you know? If we… You know, like, if I dye my hair blonde or if I wear, you know, green contacts, what is my reason behind it?   [00:32:50] Is it because I want to engage in a sense of play? Or is it because I'm trying to escape a part of my identity, right? These are, these are important questions for us to ask because these are the daily, everyday ways that we, um, sort of, we contribute to these ideas of colorism. Um, and that, um, I believe is connected to the everyday practice of anti-racism, right? Um, you know, it's important to understand that, like, there's no end because, you know, with respect to colorism, this is a systemic issue. And so what we have to do is tackle it piece by piece. Sometimes it's about the practices that we engage in, uh, individually, but it's also about the way in which we engage with the people around us. With respect to colorism, because it's so intimate, right, it's about having the hard conversations, um, with the people that we love the most, right? Our friends and family    [00:33:55] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Dr. Randilia. You know, I actually have a, a question. I'm wondering, Jo-Ann, do you feel, especially with increasingly more, um, kind of mixed race, uh, especially kind of Black and Filipinx, um, figures, um, you know, uh, in popular culture, is your sense that there is a shifting around colorism, um, or not?   [00:34:28] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: I think that there's small shifts, right? So I think of, uh, for… And I'm looking at the com- the comment, the Magandang Morenx, and then also, you know, we, we do have like, um, you know, the, the Black and Filipinx sort of mixed race entertainers like her and Saweetie. Um, also, uh, there's some no- notable athletes that are Black and, um, Filipinx. Like, I think of, I think of their popularity as moments as opposed to actual, like, movements, right? And the reason being is because white supremacy is so prevalent, it's going to take so much to dismantle that system, right? The magnitude of, of white supremacy is, is beyond anything that we can, you know, like, we can quantify, right? And so, um, I, you know, like, so I, I think of, uh, I, I think of something like the Magandang Morenx movement, I think that they're important. I, I think of them more as moments because… And it's not because, uh, they're not powerful. It's because white supremacy is just so prevalent, right? Um, and so, and I, I don't mean to be the pessimist in, in that, you know.   [00:35:50] Um, I think the way that we, the way we move forward is to do the heart and soul work, right? To do the anti-racist work, to recognize the ways in which, um, we contribute to anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, but to make the conscious decision that this is gonna, like, I, I'm going to work towards eradicating it e- while knowing that eradication may not happen in your lifetime. And I'd hate to be the pessimist. It's not gonna happen in our lifetimes. But our jobs right now is to plant the seeds towards that vision, right? It's to plant the seeds to make these moments the actual movement, to make it so overwhelming to white supremist systems that white supremist systems have no choice but to go away. But it takes so much, um, so much seed planting. Um-    [00:36:49] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: So Joanna, it looks like there's two questions that are sort of interrelated, and both, I think you probably saw them, um, kind of connect with concretely, you know, some ideas around or strategies around addressing, um, both colorism and anti-Blackness in the intimate space of the family or among friends, et cetera.   [00:37:10] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Okay. Think that is an excellent, uh, question and something that I have grappled with and, you know, is very close to my heart. The first thing I'll say is there's no easy way to bring this up with family and friends, right? Especially, you know, um, in our families, especially in our respective families. Um, how… I mean, you know your moms and dads, you know your lolas. You, you know them, and you know they're hella stubborn, right? Like… And so the advice that I have is this: It's impossible to change someone's mind. What you can do is model certain behavior, right? What you can do is model certain language, right? And that alone will speak volumes- Yeah because you are not gonna change, you know, maybe you're not gonna change, like, your lolo or lola's mind. But the people around you are listening. And so here, here's an example, right? Um- W- uh, for me, e- especially in, like, having these conversations with my mom, because she's very much the driving force, uh, for a lot of the research that I do, you know, um, I know my mom, and I know that if I make her feel like crap, like if I make her feel stupid or if I make her feel like, um, what she's saying is old and antiquated, I, I know that I'm not gonna get through to her.   [00:38:36] So what I had to do with my mom was event- was create a love language of understanding, right? Because by creating a love language of understanding the ways in which, like, some of her comments have hurt me, when I started to actually honestly articulate my pain, it's not that my mom let go of some of these ideas, but she started to create an understanding of the impact of her words. And what that did was it changed the way she would… Like, she wouldn't say the things she would say. She wouldn't tell me how dark I was. She wouldn't make comments about, like, me being fat or whatever, right? Because she understood, she understood the impact of that. And as I started to, to realize, like, okay, we may not come to an agreement, but there's a love language that we can speak to, that's how I started seeing changes in, in the way that we interact, right?   [00:39:33] Um, and so you can't change someone's ideas, but what you can do is plant seeds and sort of, and really stand your ground in terms of how you feel about certain ideas, right? But you have to do that in a love language 'cause Filipinos, the language we speak is love, right? So that, I, I think that's, that's what's important. It- You have to understand that you may not change someone's mind, but you're also making it so that the people around are listening. ‘Cause I see the way that, like, my niece, you know, my nieces and nephews, they had just… They have such a better way of dealing with my mom when she would say terrible racist things, right? They had a better way of communicating with her and articulating their, their frustration and their anger, and it would change. It may not have always changed my mother's ideas, but it definitely changed her behavior, and it changed her consciousness, and I think that that's all we can really do, um, is develop that love language.   [00:40:39] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: And if I may, if, uh, if I can just also add, you know, I, I, I think what you said is absolutely spot on and really resonates, um, Joanne. And, and I would add also, I think that there's something, um, really important about how these broader social movements can also-    [00:40:55] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Mm-hmm …    [00:40:56] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: become so important. I mean, so just in my own family, you know, my eldest was, uh, biracial, Black Filipino. And, um, of course, having a biracial, uh, grandson didn't necessarily mean that my mother could also grapple with her own deep anti-Blackness. Um, and it was always a struggle. And, and I agree with Joanne. Sometimes, you know, it is really understanding the particularities of the, of your own dynamic with, with specific intimates in your circle and understanding that certain kinds of lo-lov-love languages open up possibilities for conversation whi- whereas other approaches close off. But I do have to say, you know My mother, you know, is going to be 79. It really took, it took all the movements that happened- Mm-hmm … in response to the George Floyd murder, it took all of the movements around anti-Asian hate for my mother for the very first time, and this is some- You know, I'm her daughter. I've been teaching around race and talking about race. I, you know, I, I produced a biracial grandson for her, right? Um, and it– we could never have real frank conversations about white supremacy, could not really touch it, you know? There was a way that my mother didn't want to, to name white supremacy as something that actually shaped her life. And, you know, those are really com- there may be complicated reasons for that, but being able to name that was always really, really hard. Talking about anti-Blackness was hard. But all of those movements did something for her, and it shifted things in ways that I thought w-were going to be impossible at, by the time- Yeah you know, in her period of life. And not only did she– was she able to have some real kind of honest conversations, but she actually became a kind of advocate, and then used her own platforms to start conversations about white supremacy, um, and kind of race in our community. So I guess that's to say that it's not entirely hopeless, you know?   [00:42:57] I think- Yeah … it is true change can be slow. It can be incremental. It comes in these gentle kinds of ways, um, over time that require a lot of love and patience. And couple that with, I think, also kind of these movements that are also equally invi- uh, important to grow, um, that together that you can see change is, is really absolutely possible. Um, so, you know, just to kind of share that. But it, it is. You know, it's so hard 'cause even within a family where there are biracial, uh, family members, right? It– that isn't itself even going to necessarily change even when they have, right, a loved one, um, that ought to be- Yeah … challenging that for them.   [00:43:44] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Yeah, absolutely. And I think, too, um, you know, another thing that helped me, especially, you know, like with my mom… So when I did the research, I did spend some time in the Philippines, and my mom came with me, right? So seeing my mom's very light-skinned, um, you know, uh, Filipina navigate the Philippines. And so I just wanna say for the record, I know I look really light, and it's because we're in COVID, and your girl has not had some sun, okay? Like just, just so that… ‘Cause I'm looking at them like, “God, yeah,” like I know I look light. I swear, you know, I'll show you pictures. But, you know, um, I, I didn't– At the time when my mom came with me to the Philippines, I did not realize how important it was for me to observe her in the Philippines because I was able to get these glimpses of my mom before she was a mom, right? And I was able to understand, like, okay, like… So one of the sort of things that I learned was, like, all these hurtful things that, like, my mom would say to me about the way that I look and what have you, I learned that part of the reason why she leaned in so hard to, with me is because when we would travel, you know, like go around to, like, malls or whatever in the Philippines, people would always tell her, “Oh my gosh,” like, “your daughter looks just like you.”   [00:45:09] And, like, if my mom were sitting next to me, and you can see this in, like, uh, photos with the two of us, like she's very vanilla, and next to her I look like burnt caramel. And I think that there was something about the embodiment of my body size, 'cause I'm big, you know, and, and my, my darker skin tone. It's almost like I was the physical embodiment of everything that she had feared and everything that she was told you should not. And for her, it was confronting, like, I gave birth to this, to this person who's everything that I, you know, that I was told was wrong, right? And so I think I, I… You know, like just watching her navigate, I began to understand, like, the context in which she was raised. I, I started to understand the messaging that she, uh, was, was given. Because when I finished the dissertation, I, I felt like I finished the dissertation at a place where I could actually forgive my mother for all the things that she would say about me. I c- I could forgive her for, like, the comments that she would make because all those things that she imposed onto me was a product of her own pain, and I was able to have something that she did not have, which is a sense of healing. ‘Cause until her very last breath, she was so trapped by these notions of beauty. She was so trapped by needing to be beautiful because this was the constant messaging that she was given, right? And so What we can offer, you know, and the way that we, um, the way that we engage in our sense of healing, especially with the people that we love, really comes down to I know that when my mom left the world, I planted all the seeds that I needed to plant in her, right? I know… Sorry. I know that I have this healing, something that she could not have. I know that her grandchildren don't have to suffer the pain that she did. So I think understanding our family, right? Understanding, like, um, you know, uh, the people, our family and friends, understanding them in that respect, putting into context the reason why they do the painful things we do, choosing how w- choosing the way in which we heal from the things that they did to us, that's all we can really do, right? And all of this, I think, and I'd hate to sound so cheesy but all of this is encased in, like, this deep, profound sense of the love that we have for ourselves, the love that we have for each other. In the midst of confronting immense colonial legacies that time and time again tell us that we are not worth it, right? If we can find that light, and if we can find that value, and if we can share that value with the people around us, that's all we can really do.    [00:48:20] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: Joanne.   [00:48:25] Thank you.    [00:48:26] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Sorry about that.    [00:48:27] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: You don't have to apologize. I think that's one thing about this space, Bulosan's space, the School for Liberating Education, is we all do this out of deep, deep, deep love, right? That that's the whole purpose- Yeah … of being able to host, um, share s- to create space like this, to share space like this. Um, we all know, um, people like you, me, uh, those of us who chose this path into academia, we didn't do this because we wanted to produce knowledge for an institution that wasn't built for and by us.    [00:49:00] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Mm-hmm.    [00:49:00] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: But it was precisely to produce knowledge that could heal and liberate our people. Yeah. And so, you know, so appropriate for you to feel all of those feelings, and that's why it was so important to have you here, because this is such, uh, for so many of us, a deeply, deeply hurtful kind of… We s- we struggle with this, and I think what I-    [00:49:25] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Mm-hmm …    [00:49:26] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: What's so valuable, what you bring to the table is it's so much more complicated than the colorism. There are all of the ways in which colorism intersects with class, intersects with body. I, I mean, you know, even the whole notion of, like, the magandang morenx. I mean, you know, that there are even these fine distinctions that exist in the Philippines about the morena mestiza. You know? Like, that was, like, the, the way that I would get, like, weirdly, like, sideways complimented. Like, “Oh, she's a morena mestiza, though,” you know? Mm-hmm. What does that mean? But, you know, our bodies, um, are subject to such scrutiny within at least that context, and even in this context, right? We're constantly dealing with… We're actually dealing with multiple contexts, right? Contexts, Filipinx folks in the diaspora, where our bodies are subject to examination and evaluation- Mm-hmm … every single day, and we subjected ourselves also, our bodies to- Yeah … these valuations all the time. And, you know, um, and we do this work because we're trying to find, you know, a way out, right?   [00:50:29] A way, um, to heal all those, um, bits of hurt and brokenness and, you know- I mean, thank you so much, uh, Joanne, for not just sharing your amazing research, but also your heart with us. And I think I can m- I can feel that, um, people came away with, uh, from today with just that much more, um, just healing. And, you know, that's the point. That is why we do what we do here. Yeah. Um, uh, that's why we created, uh, the Balosan Center and, um, why I launched the School for Liberating Education. Um, this is the whole, this is the reason why we do this. And so I, with that, I do wanna thank everybody for joining us, um, and, you know, really invite everyone to continue to follow, uh, the work, um, that we're doing at the Balosan Center, what we're doing at the School for Liberating Education.   [00:51:27] The next major thing actually is next week. So my next book is coming out, um, on Asian American activism. Uh, it's actually really cool to talk about coming full circle, Jo-Ann, because basically this is a collab between our professor, our old professor, um, when we were undergrads at UC Santa Barbara, Diane Fujino and I, um, ended up collaborating on a couple things, and this is the latest collab, which is a anthology on Asian American activism. And one of the things I'm doing is launching a mini course, um, on Asian American activism, uh, that's based on the book, but also stuff I've done, um, on activism. So next week, I guess on Thursday, we're officially launching, um, the, the new, uh, the registration for the new course. And so we're launching it with this conversation I have with, um, Art Nagin Concordia, who is the godfather of ethnic studies in the K through 12 system, basically the ninong of ethnic studies in K through 12. Uh, was one of the key authors for the ethnic studies model curriculum and does m- uh, ethnic studies work at Santa Barbara, actually, also with Diane. So anyway, um, that's coming up next week. But do keep following, um, you know, the, the work that we're doing. This is, uh, you know, such important work, um, supporting our scholars and our artists, our community historians. And again, thank you so much, Jo-Ann. Yeah, no. I really think we have our real, real conversation. ‘Cause one of the projects I always wanted to do is, uh –    [00:53:09] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Yes.    [00:53:09] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: No, thank you … a podcast that gets real, real, like real, real. Yes. Like, let's really talk about-    [00:53:13] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Just so you know, you're- … those    [00:53:14] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: real stories …    [00:53:15] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: you're looking at, like, 25 years- of friendship, so I know lots of, uh, Robyn's secrets. I have lots of pictures 'cause I- Yeah. Oh, my God … was very good at documenting these things.    [00:53:24] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: You, you did that photo shoot of my… I think you did a before and after of my ja- my, my, my eyebrows.    [00:53:30] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: I have a photo of you, like, in a, in a, like, a face mask.    [00:53:34] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: Yes. Yes, yes. You can- So- If, if, if I look this good coming on 50- … it's because Joanne taught me about makeup and skincare regimens.    [00:53:46] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna launch a course on my skincare regimen.    [00:53:51] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: Oh my God.    [00:53:54] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Skincare after your 30s, right?    [00:53:57] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: No, seriously, I'm about to launch, I'm not, I'm not even joking. I'm totally launching a whole, uh, journey to 50, so y'all can come because I, I'm, I'm, I'm going. I'm getting there. As of next, or the week after next, it's T minus 365 days to 50. So join in the fun. Anyway, Joanne, it's so great to see you. I wish I could give you a big hug. Uh,   [00:54:21] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: well, we'll see each other soon hopefully.   [00:54:23] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: I can't wait to, like, really break bread with you because- Yes … you know, I always know I eat well when I'm with you. Like, I r- I will still- I still dream about the ice cream, that homemade ice cream you make. Like, nothing compares ever again to the ice cream that I consumed that you make. So thanks again. Thanks everyone.    [00:54:43] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Thank you so much everybody. Hope to see you. Thank you.    [00:54:58] Miko Lee: Please check out our website, kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about our show and our guests tonight. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Miata Tan, Preti Mangala-Shekar and Swati Rayasam. Tonight's show was produced by me Miko Lee, and edited by Ayame Keane-Lee. Have a great night.   The post APEX Express – 8.27.26. Dr. Robynn's Spitting Fire on Colorism appeared first on KPFA.

Is a mental health issue ever a reason to excuse murder? Lindsay Clancy is on trial for killing her 3 kids. Her defense says she had postpartum psychosis. This case is bringing to light the question about whether postpartum depression is real. Did you suffer from this after you gave birth? NFL players returning to play college football? There's a growing number of NFL players that may get cut looking to return to college for a fifth year of eligibility. Should players who were on NFL rosters be allowed to return to college football? The case people are watching involves LSU.

How to Improve EVERY Aspect of Your Life: An Interview with J.R. Briggs (Episode 297)   Proverbs 11:24 (MSG) The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.   *Transcription Below*   J.R. Briggs (DMin) possesses four passions: following Jesus, equipping and investing in hungry kingdom leaders, growing fruit on other people's trees, and creating good kingdom mischief. In short, his calling is to partner with people who are called to follow Jesus while they lead others.   In 2011 he started Kairos Partnerships, an organization committed to help leaders overcome their unique leadership challenges through leadership coaching, consulting, speaking, and writing.   For more than 15 years, J.R. served in pastoral roles in mega-churches, church plants and house church networks. Since starting Kairos Partnerships, he has served and invested in ministry leaders in over 40 denominations throughout North America. In addition to ministry leaders, he has invested in a wide variety of leaders, including business owners, college presidents, military leaders, Division 1 basketball coaches, and non-profit directors.   He serves as a guest instructor in the Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation program at Friends University and the Master of Arts in Leadership program at Taylor University. He has lectured, taught and spoken at over a dozen colleges, universities, and seminaries around the U.S.   He also serves as the Director of Leadership & Congregational Formation for The Ecclesia Network and as a National Trainer & Strategist for Fresh Expressions U.S.   In addition to writing several books on a wide variety of topics, he has also published articles in Christianity Today, Huffington Post, Preaching Today, American Bible Society, N.T. Wright Online, Missio Alliance, and Relevant Magazine.   He hosts the Resilient Leaders podcast.   J.R. and his wife Megan have two sons and live in the greater Philadelphia area. J.R.'s Website J.R.'s Book   Thank You to Our Sponsor: Leman Property Management   Questions and Topics We Cover: Can you contrast Jesus' teaching with field trips to the way we structure a typical Sunday morning in America?  Will you also share how you arrived at asking yourself two questions that have opened numerous doors for you? Once we put this into practice for ourselves, how can we begin to cultivate it in our children as well?   Other Savvy Sauce Episode Mentioned: 219. Training Our Children in Biblical Financial Stewardship with Matt Bell   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger: (0:12 - 1:44) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.   Leman Property Management Company has the apartment you will be able to call home, with over 1,700 apartment units available in Central Illinois. Visit them today at lemanproperties.com or connect with them on Facebook.   J.R. Briggs is one of the most intriguing humans I've encountered, and it's hard to sum up his bio, as he's had so many experiences in his past through various pastoral roles, and then he became the founder of Kairos Partnerships, where he invests in leaders. He's also a podcast host, in addition to his work as an author. His most recent book is The Art of Asking Better Questions, and it's summed up in the intro, where he writes, "I have a bone-deep conviction that all of us need to ask more questions and better questions. Doing so can change your life and the lives of those around you." So now we get to actually learn how to make this happen with my guest, Reverend Dr. J.R. Briggs.   Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, J.R.   J.R. Briggs: (1:44 - 1:45) Thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to this, Laura.   Laura Dugger: (1:46 - 2:00) Well, I'd love to go back and first hear a little bit more of your origin story. So, do you attribute your love of questions and your skill for asking great questions more to nature or nurture?   J.R. Briggs: (2:01 - 5:04) That's a fantastic question. No one has ever asked me that, Laura. So, right off the bat, well done. I love good questions like this. I think it's a little bit of both, and I'm not just wimping out on that answer. Here's what I mean.   I grew up in a wonderful home, still great friends with both my parents, and my parents, especially my dad, they were great question askers, and I saw them model this really well in the home. And I think in previous generations, it was, you know, kids are to be seen but not heard. That was not how my parents operated. They very much said, "You know what, we want to know what you think." And so, dinner times were great. Even hearing the way, especially my father would ask questions of people in the lobby at church or our neighbors, or we'd be at some party, and the way he would ask questions, I would just listen and say, "Wow, this is fascinating, the kind of conversations that are happening because of this."   So, modeled really well, but also observed a lot, and more is caught than taught. And I observed my parents doing this really well. And I thought, these are really fun conversations to just eavesdrop in on as a kid. And then also, I began to notice that there were people that were really fun and lived inspiring lives, and they asked great questions. And I noticed the people that had, that lived really small, uninspiring lives, I realized they weren't asking very many questions. And I began to say, "Well, which kind of person do I want to be? I kind of want to be in the first group. Well, what's the difference? These people are asking questions, regular questions, quality questions." And I thought, "Ooh, I need to pay attention to this and actually lean in to do this more."   So, I often learned how to do it too. So, there was the nature piece, the nurture piece, or the nurture, the nature piece there, the nurture piece, I did study. I'm kind of a nerd. And so, I would watch people who ask great questions and say, "Why was that a good question? What did they do? Why did they ask it that way? How did they know to ask that question as opposed to something else?" And so that was really helpful.   But then I began to notice as I read my Bible, I got a red-letter edition of my Bible and began to notice how many red question marks there were. And I began to take a pen and circle all of the red questions, question marks that Jesus asked. And I thought, "Wow, the way the truth and the life, who had all the answers, yet he asked a ton of questions." So that sent me on a deep dive that eventually I studied. And my doctorate, my dissertation for my doctorate was on learning to equip leaders to ask better questions in the way of Jesus. And so, using him as that model. So, there's a very long answer, Laura, to a very short question, is it nature or nurture? I really believe it's both. And I hope I can continue to learn in my own life until my last breath to how to be a better question asker, because it's that powerful.   Laura Dugger: (5:04 - 5:57) Mm-hmm. I agree with that. And I love the humility in that response. Also, as you share it, it reminds me of a scripture from Proverbs 11:24, the Message version, which I believe previous guest Matt Bell had shared this as it relates to finances. But J.R., I hear it through your lifestyle of generosity with questions. And the verse says, "The world of the generous gets larger and larger. The world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller." So, I love how you illustrated that. But you're also the first person that I heard articulate this beauty of asking questions for connection rather than just for information. So, can you explain more of why questions are such a generous gift and an offering of hospitality?   J.R. Briggs: (5:58 - 8:36) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, one of the things that really hit me, I touched on this earlier, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, the second member of the Trinity, who knows everything. Why would he ask so many questions? Well, he also said, "I only do what I see my Father doing." What did he see his Father doing? If you look in the Old Testament, God asks a ton of questions too. So, I said, "Wait a second. Okay. The all-knowing, all-powerful God of the universe, why does God ask so many questions when he already knows the answer?" And that drove me to say, maybe it wasn't just for information.   And I began to think about Adam and Eve in the garden and say, when he says, "Where are you?" It wasn't because God didn't know. And it wasn't a geographical question as much as I think it's a relational and theological question that he wants Adam and Eve to answer. And so, as a result of that, I said, "Why then would God do that?" Well, God already knows, but he desires connection with us. And then I thought, "Ooh, yeah, that isn't just God to us. There are times where I ask questions of my kids when they were younger, or of other little kids at church, where I know the answer already, but I'm asking it as a way of building trust and shared story and connection with them."   And I thought, yeah, there's real connection when it comes to questions. And when we do that, when we offer our full selves, the French philosopher, Simone Weil, she said, "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." And as a result of that, that's the hospitality piece. And I think, let's not forget that the word hospital is in the word hospitality, that our questions and our attention can actually be a form of healing that we offer to other people. When we think of hospitality, we often think of, I don't know, making a fresh pie or laying out doilies and sweeping the house before someone comes over. That can be part of it. But the real definition of hospitality is making new people feel comfortable in new situations. And so, what do good questions do? They help people who might feel new or an outsider feel like they're an insider. And I believe that's one of the beautiful benefits of questions where people say, "Man, thank you. No one has ever asked me that." Or "I feel seen. Wow, you really want to care. You care enough to know what I'm thinking." That is an unbelievable gift that we can give to others as a form of hospitality.   Laura Dugger: (8:36 - 8:55) And I think that illuminates what you even say up front in your book, that you do believe that these questions can change our life and the lives of those around us, and especially through this powerful book that you've written. So, can you elaborate on that claim?   J.R. Briggs: (8:56 - 10:33) Yeah, the dimensions of your life expand or contract depending upon the questions that you ask. So, when we refrain from asking good questions, our world gets smaller. And when we start to ask better questions, and more frequently, our worlds begin to expand. And so, what I tell people is we don't have a shortage of information. We have a shortage of wisdom and curiosity and wonder. And so, what we need to kindle in that is that desire for and that ability to ask the right questions at the right time for the right reason to the right people.   And if we want more information, we should just Google it. But if what we're after is wisdom and connection and engagement, we need questions. And questions are, I think we all would admit, Laura, questions are important. I don't think that we would realize just how powerful they actually are. And so, the goal of the book was to unleash and wake up the sleeping giants that exist and say, this can be used for good. There's so many, again, we don't have a shortage of information. But asking good questions is a lost art. And the goal is to try to help people realize its power, that it's more accessible. They're free. They can be used at any time. They don't have a shelf life. But we just need to cultivate the desire for it and then have some skills to lean in, because it really can be such an unbelievable gift. The questions that we ask often reveal the values that we hold. And so that's another way that we can press into that as well.   Laura Dugger: (10:34 - 10:49) Okay, so let's say that the desire is there. Maybe for all of us, probably the skill is a little lacking. How can we begin to get a little bit better at this or just get started with asking better questions today?   J.R. Briggs: (10:49 - 14:18) Yeah, well, we got to start, Laura, by admitting that there are a lot of obstacles that exist that our culture puts in front of us to make it hard to do that. One is we're in an attention-seeking age, right? I mean, the joke says enough about me, what do you think about me? And so, because we live in the social media, look at me, look at me reality that we're in, it's really hard because questions are the opposite. I'm putting the spotlight on you rather than on my own life. But we also are in a culture of great efficiency, and so questions feel inefficient. They feel really inefficient, like it slows things down. How many of us have been in a meeting and we're about to get up and someone says, "Any questions?" And someone, "Oh," and we just say, "No, no, no, we were just about to leave, you're slowing us down." And so that in the business world and in sales, that's the number one thing is questions. We got stuff to do and things to sell. But if we can just slow down, it's better.   But those are some of the obstacles that exist. So, if we're assuming we have curiosity, we have wisdom, we have humility, and we have courage, which are the four components. If those are there, then there are some things that we can engage in that can help us and several practices, like the simplest practice we can do when we hear a good question, write it down. A lot of people feel like two things. They have to come up with all the questions themselves. You don't. I love questions. I'm pretty good at questions, but I don't generate all my questions. I've read them on billboards or heard them on a podcast or overheard somebody in line at Starbucks behind me. And you go, "Man, that's a really good question. Write it down." We think we're going to remember later, Laura, and that's the second thing. We won't. We have to write it down. And I just encourage people, open up the notes section of your phone and just have something on there that says great questions. When you hear of one, think of one, read of one in a good novel, write it on the list. You can always return to it later. So, just awareness, number one, that my radar is up, listening for good questions, can be a great start.   And then also just to reflect later to say, "What was the best question I asked today or in that conversation or in that meeting or over dinner with my family? What was the best question I asked?" So, that's a little bit of reflection, but also preparation. Anytime we go into a meeting, anytime we go into any sort of connection, even if it's coffee with a friend, to always see if I can come with two questions ahead of time. Now, sometimes I write them down, sometimes I don't. I may not even get a chance to ask them, but just coming prepared where I say, "Oh, I'm meeting with my friend, Sam. Oh, Sam's dad just had significant surgery. So, here's an important question. Sam, how's your dad doing? And how are you doing as you care for your dad?" It's a little bit of preparation. It's not an hour. I'm just spending five minutes on my drive to the coffee shop to say, "My first question is going to be, Sam, how's your dad? And how are you doing caring for your dad?" So, just a little bit more thought. It doesn't require three times the amount of effort. Sometimes it's just five or 10% more effort and intentionality that can improve our question asking.   Laura Dugger: (14:19 - 16:29) So much thoughtfulness there. Appreciate that.   And now a brief message from our sponsor.   With over 1,700 apartment units available throughout Pekin, Peoria, Peoria Heights, Morton, and Washington, and with every price range covered, you will have plenty of options when you rent through Leman Property Management Company. They have townhomes, duplexes, studios, and garden style options located in many areas throughout Pekin. And make sure you check out their newest offering; the McKinley located in Pekin is a new construction addition to their platinum collection. Featuring nine-foot ceilings, large spacious layouts, beautiful finishes such as quartz countertops and garages, you won't want to miss this outstanding new property.   In Peoria, a historic downtown location and apartments adjacent to OSF Medical Center provide excellent choices. Check out their brand-new luxury property in Peoria Heights, overlooking the boutique shops and fine dining on Prospect. And in Morton, they offer a variety of apartment homes with garages, a hot downtown location, and now a brand-new high-end complex near Idlewood Park. If you want to become part of their team, contact them about open office positions. They're also hiring in their maintenance department. So, we invite you to find out why so many people have chosen to make a career with them. Check them out on Facebook today or email their friendly staff at leasing@lemanprops.com. You can also stop by their website at lemanproperties.com. Check them out and find your place to call home today.   Clearly J.R., Jesus has been a role model for asking questions. So, can you contrast what you describe as Jesus's field trips that he takes his disciples on versus the way that you view Sunday mornings in a lot of churches in America? Can you kind of contrast those two?   J.R. Briggs: (16:29 - 18:42) Yeah, oftentimes when I'm talking to pastors or leaders, faith leaders, I remind them of this. But yeah, Jesus loved to take his listeners on three field trips, three kinds. First one, he took them on physical field trips. We see that where Jesus says, "You know, look at the birds of the air, look at the lilies of the field," or "Look at the woman putting in two mites in the temple treasury." Life is a classroom. And so, he loved taking people on literal field trips.   Number two, he took them on emotional field trips by telling them stories, not in abstract ways of thinking, but the kingdom of God is like a woman kneading dough. It's like a fisherman who caught fish. It's like a father with two sons. And I think we're wrapped up in that when we watch a good movie, and we cry and laugh and we're scared. Those are all because a beautiful story did something to us. It took us on some sort of emotional field trip.   And then third is a mental field trip, which we're talking about here by asking questions. Jesus asked a ton of questions. And as a result of that, got people thinking in new ways. Now, if the way, the truth and the life, if anyone had the right to just give answers, it would be Jesus. But instead, he chose to ask a lot of questions. And so those three field trips, literal by going on walks, getting outside of a classroom, the mental field trip of asking questions and the emotional field trips of telling stories. Jesus did that all the time. Once you know that and you read the gospels, you'll see it everywhere.   The problem is, as you were referring to, Laura, on Sunday mornings, what do we do? We sit people in a church in pews. Almost all of the teaching or formation happens in the same room. Instead of telling stories, we give abstract information. And instead of asking questions, we just give answers. And then we sit around and wonder, "Why is no one changing?" And my gentle encouragement is, what would it look like if we actually learned to teach others the way Jesus actually taught? Imagine that. So, it's a bit of a stretch because culturally we're kind of drawn in to the way we've always done it in church. And yet oftentimes Jesus did almost the opposite of the way in which we teach today.   Laura Dugger: (18:44 - 18:55) And so, if you see that as an opposite, do you have any practical ideas of just a small tweak that we could make on Sunday mornings to be more like Jesus?   J.R. Briggs: (18:56 - 20:32) Sure. I always try to say, is there any way I can get people's bodies or their hearts up out of the seat? So, "Hey, I want you to stand up and turn to the person next to you." Or, "Hey, we're going to move around the room." Some of you say, "What? We would never do that at our church." And I would say, take a risk. Jesus did all sorts of things that surprise people. So, how can I get their hearts and their bodies up out of their seat? Number one.   Number two, can I tell a few more stories than I have in the past in my teaching or preaching or Sunday morning? And then also, can I engage with questions by asking them questions at the beginning? Can I leave them with some reflection questions in the bulletin or on the website the next week? Or can I actually have them asking questions of each other or of the text itself? And so oftentimes, why do I feel like I'm the one that has to speak the whole time when I'm preaching? What if instead I allow them to ask questions of each other, of God, and even of myself? And sometimes when I preach, I allow the last five or 10 minutes for people to ask questions about the text to myself and everyone else. Now, is that a change? Yeah. Would that freak out some churches? Maybe. But it can be a way that people walk away and say, "Wow, I learned, I was engaged, I was formed, and I encountered God in a new way that I haven't in the past." Which is the whole goal, that we don't just learn more about the Bible, is that we know the God of the Bible. That's the whole point of why we gather together as a church.   Laura Dugger: (20:33 - 20:46) And that would be so memorable. But also, as you're speaking about stories, are you willing to share the story of one of the times that you asked a question, and it turned out better than you could have ever asked or hoped for?   J.R. Briggs: (20:47 - 22:27) Yeah. I could think of several, but sometimes just asking people, "Why is that?" Just as a follow-up. It's amazing what can spill out. And I go, "Oh, that confronted my biases. That confronted my assumptions and what I thought about them." And so sometimes just asking some of that has been incredibly helpful to just ask that follow-up question.   I won't tell the whole story that I recounted in the book, but oftentimes when there are tears, it was Charles Spurgeon that said that tears are like liquid prayers. And so, when people are showing some emotion, I sometimes will say to them, even if they're not a follower of Jesus, even if they're not religious, "I'm curious. It's been said that tears are liquid prayers. Can you put words to the prayers that your face is praying right now?" And I've had some of the most unbelievable conversations where people can identify the prayers that their face is praying. And even in my own life, where I just step back and go, "Why am I, why was I so moved by that novel? Why was I so moved by that movie? Or what just happened in front of me? Or why, where are these tears coming from?" As Frederick Buechner said, we'd be best to pay attention to our tears. And so that question of what are the liquid prayers, can I put words to the prayer that my face is praying has been an unbelievably meaningful and eye-opening thing for me and also with people that I've been with.   Laura Dugger: (22:29 - 22:37) Will you also share about how you arrived at asking two questions that have opened numerous doors for you?   J.R. Briggs: (22:38 - 25:21) Yeah. Yeah. When I was in college, I had the privilege of studying in Israel for the semester. This is fall of my junior year. Absolutely loved it. And our class was on a four-day field trip up around the Sea of Galilee. One night I was down by the lake and happened to notice as the sun was about to set that there was a big fishing vessel that had just come in. And I had always wanted to go fishing on the Sea of Galilee, not just take a boat, not just see fishermen, but like be on the boat and fish with fishermen. I don't even love fishing myself, but I just wanted to experience what Jesus and his disciples experienced on the lake.   And there was a big industrial ship that came in. They brought in their day's catch. And I thought, "Oh, I should ask them if I can go fishing with them." And Laura, and then, you know, the realistic brain in me said, "Why would they ever allow a college, American college student and a study abroad program to go fishing with them tomorrow?" And I had these two questions that hit me, Laura. "Well, what's the worst they could say? No, or heck no, or get out of here. You're crazy." And number two, "Can I handle that? If they were to say that." Those two questions, I thought, "You know, I can handle it now. Let me ask what's the worst he could say. Let me ask."   So, I went up and I said, "Excuse me, can I talk to your captain?" And they said, "Menachem is over here." So, I introduced myself to him and I said, "Menachem, I've always wanted to go fishing on the Sea of Galilee. I'll pay you $50. If I can go fishing for the day, use me as, as I mean, any work me to death. If you want, like I'm here, I just want to." And he looked at me, he said, "I don't want your money." He said, "Join me tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. And you can come fishing with us." And I walked away and went, "Unbelievable. My dream is coming true." And I had an unbelievable day, but I realized I can't say no for someone else. What's the worst they could say? No. Can I just ask and handle it if they said no? Yep, I can handle it. Those two questions, Laura, have shaped me immensely throughout my lifetime. I've really, I've done that in a lot of different ways. And a lot of times people say no, and I can handle that. But a lot of times people said yes. And some doors have opened simply because I asked. And I actually think of that verse often, Laura, where it says you do not have because you do not ask. It's not name it and claim it prosperity gospel. But we just have to realize that sometimes we just need to ask to put ourselves out there and see what people say.   Laura Dugger: (25:23 - 25:55) That is so good. And I have applied those questions since reading that in your book, even as I reach out to ask you if you would do two recordings. So, I'm so grateful that that you said yes, I'm delighted that today's not our only conversation. But I'm curious also, J.R., when you had that experience, a lot of us may not ever get to go fish on the Sea of Galilee. So, did you learn anything that brought the Bible to life or anything about Jesus or anything that you can share with us from that incredible experience?   J.R. Briggs: (25:55 - 27:37) Oh, there's so many, but I'll limit it to one. When we started out that morning, the sea was so calm. I mean, it was like glass. It was beautiful. The sun was rising, not a cloud in the sky. And it was great. But I've always wondered these like storms. You know, the Sea of Galilee is not a sea. It's a lake. It's 10 miles by six miles. It looks like a harp. And that's why it's called Lake Kinneret. In Hebrew, that means harp. So, it's harp lake is the way that we could call it. But I thought it's still a lake. How can there be storms that would have professional fishermen that would be screaming, thinking they were going to die? How is that possible?   Well, wouldn't you know it, Laura? As beautiful as it was, the clouds rolled in. And then later that afternoon, there was a squall of a storm. I have never been in more intense in my life. And it happened right there. Now we're in a maybe two-ton, three-ton fishing vessel. But even that, we had to go below deck because it was so brutal. The waves, the wind, we couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of us. And I thought, "Ah, now I get it. If I'm just in a wooden boat with my fellow, you know, disciples here, I can see why this could get a little panicky." And that was, I think, a little God wink for me to be able to experience both the peace and calm, but also this treacherous storm and go, "Ah, now I won't read my Bible the same again when I hear about the, you know, the disciples freaking out with the storm or seeing Jesus walk on the water approaching them." So, that's one of many, but that sticks out to me a great deal that I got to experience a very intense storm.   Laura Dugger: (27:38 - 28:27) That is so incredible. Even just going back, so those two questions that you were willing to ask led to this incredible experience. And now people from around the world get to benefit from the lessons that you learned at that time. So, I think you're giving us so much encouragement for asking questions.   Guess what? We are no longer an audio only podcast. We now have video included as well. If you want to view the conversation each week, make sure you watch our videos. We're on YouTube and you can access videos or find answers to any of your other questions about the podcast when you visit thesavvysauce.com.   What happens to our brain or within our brain when we're asking or being asked a question?   J.R. Briggs: (28:28 - 30:19) Yeah, this was an incredibly fun part of the research for me was what does this do neurobiologically to us? And so, what neurologists have found is when they put nodes all over your brain to kind of see how the brain activity happens, when you're given information, your brain lights up. But what they found is when someone is asked a question, your brain explodes like fireworks, the synapses that are firing, and it just lights up like crazy, like fireworks in the night. And one of the things they said, as much as we think we can multitask, we can't. We do a lot of switching, task switching, but not multitasking. But they said what happens is they use the word hijack. You can hijack someone's brain when you actually are asking a question of someone, even if it's for two seconds.   And so, if I were to ask your listeners, Laura, "What are the color of the shoes you're wearing right now?" Whether your listeners liked it or not, I just hijacked their brain for a split second there, and they went, "What are the color of my shoes?" And so that's immense amount of power to, quote unquote, hijack someone's brain. So, we need to use that power wisely. But it's an immense amount of power that we can have when we ask someone a question, not just give them an answer, which I love when current neurobiological research matches up with scripture and with the way Jesus taught. How did Jesus teach? A ton of questions. What happened? He engaged with people. They participated with him. They were forced to learn and be participants, not just talking theoretically about faith. And I thought, isn't that just like Jesus? He knew how our brains are wired. And so, he uses questions as a way of maximum connection, challenge, engagement, and formation.   Laura Dugger: (30:20 - 30:43) Wow. And you've cultivated, like you say, this holy curiosity. So, I am curious for you, J.R., when you're in a conversation and you find yourself asking question after question, have you been in a situation like this where they don't reciprocate, they don't ask any questions back? And how do you handle that internally and externally?   J.R. Briggs: (30:44 - 32:41) Yeah, it's hard because we live in a culture that hasn't modeled that well to ask good questions. And sometimes it's been hard. And I admit that sometimes there's a sense of loneliness. When I have a lunch meeting and my wife will say, "How was your lunch meeting today?" We have a code word where I say either waiter or waitress. And it means the waiter or waitress came and took my plate away because I was done with my meal before they had taken one or two bites of their food. And oftentimes that happens where we leave a meal and we realize, "I don't think I was asked a single question this whole lunch." Or we go to a dinner party, no one asked me a single question. And that can be really hard.   And I love asking people questions. And it's not like I'm just ramming it down their throats to ask question after question like Elf with his brother walking through Central Park where he's just rattling off question after question. I was giving pause, I was taking a bite of my food, allowing them to ask a question or two, and they never did. And sometimes people say, "Well, I don't really know, I'm not good at questions." And I say, one of the simplest things you can do is what I call the way question, W-A-Y. It's just to say, "What about you?" I've been talking. What about you? To just hit the ball back over the net and to allow us to engage in some conversational pickleball. It's been on my side, let me hit it. Now it's on your side and you hit it back. That's how all healthy relationships exist. And so, it's been a little disappointing at times to realize you can go, and I'm sure you and others have experienced that. That's really hard. And to have people that can just say, "What about you? What do you think? Have you ever experienced that?" Or "I have another question for you." That's how healthy relationships are cultivated when there's that back and forth in conversation.   Laura Dugger: (32:42 - 32:51) Okay. And so, if we want to cultivate that back-and-forth conversation, can you just share a few more tips for ways that we can level up our questions?   J.R. Briggs: (32:52 - 34:24) Sure. Yeah. There's a unique, almost universal principle when it comes to question asking. If you ask a generic unthoughtful question, you will almost always get a generic unthoughtful answer. "How are you?" "Fine." "How's your weekend?" "Good." But if you ask a thoughtful, specific, engaging question, you almost always get a thoughtful, specific, engaging answer. It's as predictable as a communist election. It's amazing how that works, where we can just, if we can just level up.   So, if a lazy question would be, "How was your weekend?" I encourage people to say, what would 10 or 15 percent of a more thoughtful, specific, or focused question be? So, you could say, "Of your whole weekend, how would you describe your weekend in two or three adjectives?" That's a little bit different than just, "How was your weekend?" Or, "Hey, how are you doing?" That's good. You might say, "What has been the most interesting thing about your day so far?" It just takes a little bit more intentionality. When you ask it that way, you won't get the fine, good. You'll get the, you know, "I had a really interesting sales meeting today at 10 a.m. You know, I bumped into my neighbor, and we had the best conversation at the mailbox." Those are the kinds of answers you get because we ask the more specific, thoughtful question. We'll get more specific and thoughtful answers. So, that's what I encourage people to do. Just level up to be just a little bit more pointed by 10 or 15 percent and see what happens.   Laura Dugger: (34:26 - 34:40) Okay. So, hopefully we're all going to put this into practice. But then also, if we have children in our home, what can we do to be teaching them this same goal of reciprocity and asking great questions?   J.R. Briggs: (34:40 - 37:02) Yes. I'm so glad you brought this up, Laura. There's so much that we can do. I try to do this. We try to do this with our kids when they were younger. Our kids are 19 and 16 now and we still engage in good questions with them. But when they were little, we would do things. I would crawl into bed with each of them at bedtime and we would do question of the night. And so, I would say, "You get to ask dad any question you want and then I get to ask you any question that you want." And so, age appropriate, you know, what's your favorite ice cream color or ice cream flavor or your favorite color? But sometimes they would pull out some really fascinating ones. Like one time, my youngest son said, "Dad, what does God smell like?" And it just made me laugh. I just thought, what a great question from a five- or six-year-old about that. And so just being intentional there at bedtime has been really good.   Car time is really important. And I really try to see if I can ask some questions that I can't ask in other places because now I've got their full attention. We're in the car together. And even as my sons are now older, when they're in the car together, something about staring out the windshield together to be able to talk through some things has been really good. It could be about school, could be about life, could be something trivial, but to know that this is a place where we can talk. And so, car time, bedtime, and the last one I'll give is dinner time. We have a big chalk wall next to our dining room table. And we'll just randomly put up questions, thoughtful questions. And then we'll sometimes say after prayer, "Okay, boys, when they were little, you know, you each get to pick one question off the wall that we talk about tonight." And it just became a real easy way. And you can make up one if you want, or there are questions here. We also found a deck of cards that actually had questions on each one. It was like a questions deck. And so, we'll say, "Great, like you can pick off the wall, you can make up your own, or just pick a question that's in the deck." And just doing that where everybody got a chance to share around the table became such a way, such a rich conversation but a way to remind them questions are okay, encouraged, and a wonderful part of being a part of a family.   Laura Dugger: (37:03 - 37:32) Those are such great ideas. I love that and that we can implement some of that right away. But as we're starting to wind our time down together, I would love to hear one more story about a time that a question dramatically changed the outcome of a friendly gathering that you write about on the back patio of a Capitol Hill home in Washington, D.C. Yeah, I remember reading this story, Laura, and I was so moved.   J.R. Briggs: (37:32 - 39:52) I was moved to tears that I ran over to my wife and I said, "Listen to this story." And we both just sat there crying. Yeah, these families were on the back porch on a wonderful summer evening enjoying some stuff on the grill. And all of a sudden a gunman came up behind one of the teenage girls and held a gun to her head and said, "Nobody move, give me your money or I'm going to shoot." Everyone froze, rightfully so, the terror that they experienced. And one woman just blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. She said, "Why don't you sit down and have some wine with us?" Which is not something that has ever come to my mind if someone were to walk in and rob me. And sure enough, he put his gun in his belt and sat down and had some wine. And he said, "Boy, this is really good wine." And I said, "Why don't you enjoy some more to eat?" And then afterwards, she said, "Can I give you a hug?" And the guy was totally startled. Yeah. And then afterwards, everyone else decided to give him a hug. And as they enjoyed food, you know, they're all tense and not sure what to do or what's going on. At the end, he said, "Can I have a group hug together?" And then he slipped out the back and even the glass, the wine glass that he had, it wasn't even broken. He just set it up right behind the back gate.   And I just was so moved by that. Like, "Do you want a glass of wine? Do you want a hug?" Not things that would come to my mind, but it was so jolting and surprising. I think it humanized him. And before he left, the robber said, "I think I've come to rob the wrong house tonight." It's amazing what a question can do. That was a question of immense hospitality. You're welcome here. That's the last thing that this robber ever expected. So, I just love that story. I love that story because it reminds us once again how powerful questions actually are.   Laura Dugger: (39:53 - 40:09) And I think it illustrates at the heart of questions is love. And that motivates so much of the work that you get to do, J.R. So, can you just share a little bit more about the work you do get to do and share how we can be connected after this conversation?   J.R. Briggs: (40:10 - 41:07) Sure. Yeah. I've been a pastor for 15 years, but in 2011, I started what's called Kairos Partnerships. And it was passionate about leaders because leadership can be lonely, overwhelming, and sometimes leaders feel ill-equipped. And so actually our organization was started based on three questions. Who pastors the pastor? Who leads the leader? Who shepherds the shepherd? So, we work with some pastors, but we work with all sorts of entrepreneurs and businesspeople and Chick-fil-A operators and college presidents and division one men's basketball coaches, anyone who's following Jesus, but leading others. And so, we do that through coaching, through consulting, through writing, speaking, spiritual direction. And so, our team, I have a wonderful team, and the team really walks alongside of leaders who are wanting to be equipped so they can lead with clarity and confidence moving forward.   Laura Dugger: (41:08 - 41:27) I love that. Well, we will put a link to your website and the show notes for today's episode, but J.R., you may be familiar. We are called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge. And so, as my final question for you today, what is your savvy sauce?   J.R. Briggs: (41:28 - 42:03) One of the prayers that I pray regularly is, "Lord, would you grant me wisdom, courage, and compassion?" And all three of those are important because if I have wisdom and courage, but no compassion, I'm careless. If I have wisdom and compassion, but no courage, I'm riskless. And if I have compassion and courage, but no wisdom, that can be reckless. But if I have wisdom, courage, and compassion together, that's priceless. And so, I just try to pray that regularly because I say, "Lord, I want to be a wise, compassionate, courageous person for you." And I would encourage your listeners to pray that prayer for wisdom, courage, and compassion as well.   Laura Dugger: (42:05 - 42:20) Those are great words that I would use to describe you, J.R. And you are humble and warm and engaging. And I have greatly appreciated your book. I've already told people it's my favorite book that I've read in recent history.   J.R. Briggs: (42:20 - 42:22) So, thank you.   Laura Dugger: (42:22 - 42:31) Well, thank you. That's very kind of you. Yes, very easy to compliment it. But thank you for being my guest, and I look forward to hosting you again next time.   J.R. Briggs: (42:31 - 42:33) Sounds great. Looking forward to that as well.   Laura Dugger: (42:35 - 45:49) One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a savior, but God loved us so much. He made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life. We could never live and died in our place for our sin.   This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished. If we choose to receive what he has done for us, Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”   So, you pray with me now. Heavenly father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you.   Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life? We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus name we pray.   Amen. If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me. So, me for him, you get the opportunity to live your life for him.   And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you're ready to get started.   First, tell someone, say it out loud, get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes and Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it.   You can start by reading the book of John. Also get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.   We want to celebrate with you too. So, feel free to leave a comment for us here. If you did make a decision to follow Christ, we also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process.   And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.   And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

Send us Fan MailThree children were murdered. So why is so much of the conversation focused on protecting the person who killed them?In this solo edition of Outside The Wire, Trent examines a mother's admitted killing of her three children and the defense's claim that postpartum psychosis diminished her responsibility. Trent argues that mental illness may help explain an action, but it does not erase the victims or eliminate the need for justice.Drawing on Immanuel Kant's philosophy of punishment, Trent makes the case for capital punishment—not as revenge, deterrence, or spectacle, but as the consequence deserved for deliberately taking innocent lives.The question is brutally simple: when guilt is not disputed, should psychological illness change what justice requires?Links:  OnesReady.comChapters: 00:00 - Justice for Three Children 01:18 - The System Makes Mistakes 02:28 - What Immanuel Kant Said About Punishment 03:07 - Justice Is Not Revenge 04:52 - Does Psychosis Excuse Murder? 05:39 - Stop Forgetting the Victims 07:21 - Trent's Case for the Death Penalty 08:20 - A World Without Responsibility 09:45 - Justice or Excuse?Support the showJoin this channel to get access to perks: HEREBuzzsprout Subscription page:  HERERegister for our Operator Training Summit:  OperatorTrainingSummit.comFind an Air Force Recruiter: AirForce.comCollabs:Ones Ready - OnesReady.com 18A Fitness - Promo Code:  ONESREADY ATACLete - Follow the URL (no promo code):  ATACLeteDanger Close Apparel - Promo Code:  ONESREADYDFND Apparel...

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Turn it up and make some room. This episode brings a fresh mix of house, tech house, funky grooves, and dance-floor favorites featuring John Summit, JENNIE, David Guetta, HUGEL, LISA, Shermanology, Jai Wolf and more. Press play, get into the groove, and keep dancing.  Tracklist ⭐ Shadows – Lavinia, John Summit ID – DJ Toshi Tyler Dracula – Tame Impala, JENNIE Shine – David Guetta, French Montana, HUGEL Insane – Shermanology Bad Angel – Anyma, LISA All Your Love – Jai Wolf Who Cares? – Dazz, Zoom.Like, BL Official YUM-ME – Princess Superstar, Two Planets, Eloise Keeble Lift Me Up – HILLS Play Right – Crazibiza, DJ Effendi No Scrubs – Richard Grey, Kamafro  

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A mysterious woman is appearing all over Aldervale—but nobody ever gets a proper look at her.The doctor's surgery door opens and closes. The district nurse hears her gate click. A quiet “Excuse me…” is heard in the library.Then the little notes begin.Sorry. Wrong time.Sorry to bother you.Perhaps another day.Who is Aldervale's Vanishing Visitor—and why does she keep running away just when she's found the courage to ask for help?A warm, humorous Rowan Files mystery about Grace, the woman who spent years caring for everyone except herself, and the tangled ways ADHD, anxiety, shyness, introversion and masking can sometimes overlap.A story about What-Ifs, Whys, British apologies—and discovering that understanding yourself doesn't mean changing who you are.

Send us Fan MailWhy do we keep rooting for people who do terrible things?From Tony Soprano and Walter White to Dexter Morgan, Billy Butcher and Daemon Targaryen, television has become extraordinarily good at making us understand morally compromised characters. We know their trauma. We understand their motivations. We see their vulnerabilities. And somehow, the better we understand them, the easier it becomes to forgive them.But when does understanding become justification?In this nearly hour-long solo episode of The Fixate & Binge Podcast, Joe Curdy explores our fascination with television's antiheroes—and the uncomfortable possibility that the moral reasoning we use to defend fictional characters may not be so different from the reasoning we use to defend real people.Joe begins with a look at Paramount+'s THE AGENCY, starring Michael Fassbender, before diving into the evolution of television's morally complicated protagonists and asking why charisma, competence, power, trauma and even humor can make us surprisingly forgiving of terrible behavior.Then Hulu's new FURIOUS, starring Emmy Rossum and Lola Petticrew, takes the conversation somewhere darker: What happens when legitimate trauma and righteous anger become the justification for violence?And then fiction collides with reality.Joe examines the extraordinary public reaction surrounding Luigi Mangione following his recent guilty plea in the federal case stemming from the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson—and the larger debate over whether anger toward America's healthcare system can ever justify murder.But this isn't a Left-versus-Right argument.Because that's the uncomfortable part.We all do it.We forgive the people we believe are fighting for our side. We minimize behavior when we agree with the cause. We find reasons to excuse people we admire, people who entertain us, people who look the part, and people who are fighting someone we dislike even more.We've all heard—or perhaps said—the dangerous sentence:"I don't approve of everything they do, BUT..."So what comes after the but?Maybe television didn't destroy our moral compass.Maybe it simply taught us how easy it is to understand the villain.And maybe the most dangerous thing about the antihero isn't that we become like them—it's that we become convinced they're right.Thank you for listening! You can find and follow us with the links below!Read our Letterboxd reviews at:https://letterboxd.com/fixateandbinge/Follow us on Instagram at:https://www.instagram.com/fixateandbingepodcast/?hl=msFollow us on TikTok at:https://www.tiktok.com/@fixateandbingepodcast

Ken Carman and Anthony Lima analyze the quarterback dynamics between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders within the Cleveland Browns offense. They dissect Chase Daniel's viral "butt sweat" theory regarding Sanders' interception and celebrate recent successes for the Guardians and Cavaliers during the "Lima Likes" segment. 02:08 - Monken Browns QB Decisions 06:20 - Sanders Backup Role Debate 14:40 - Sanders Interception Analysis 20:00 - Evaluating QB Excuse Culture 25:25 - Browns Running Game Concerns 34:28 - Lima Likes Sports Highlights

Vote on the draft here: https://chaoticallyintolerant.com/tulsa-little-league-baltimore-orioles-snake-draft-and-excuse-our-opinion-or-episode-236For more Chaotically Intolerant, check us out at https://chaoticallyintolerant.com/Tulsa Little League, Baltimore Orioles Snake Draft & Excuse Our Opinion | Episode 23600:00 Intro, Tulsa Little League & Keep Netflix From Sports23:16 MLB51:04 NFL Preseason & International Games57:15 Maryland Spotlight01:51:46 Excuse My Opinion01:21:29 Baltimore Orioles Snake DraftSUPPORT THE SHOW BY SUBSCRIBINGAudio Podcast: https://chaoticallyintolerant.com/podcast-episodesFOLLOW US: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaoticallyintolerant/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chaoticallyintolerantThreads: https://www.threads.net/@chaoticallyintolerantFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChaoticallyIntollerantCHAOTICALLY INTOLERANT TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE: https://chaoticallyintolerant.com/chaotically-intolerant-table-tennis-league"SUMMER SMASH" DOCUMENTARY: https://chaoticallyintolerant.com/summer-smashCHAOTICALLY INTOLERANT MERCH: https://chaoticallyintolerant.com/store#mlb #nfl #chaoticallyintolerant

Here's a Thought… #2713 with Brooks Jensen An Excuse to Explore the World I'm pretty convinced that I don't need to add any more images to my Lightroom assets. I have enough RAW files in my catalogue to keep myself artistically busy and productive for the rest of my life. I just need to mine deeper into what I already have. That will not, however, prevent me from heading out and capturing more. That's because the core of artmaking is exploring life, exploring the world, exploring our responses to experience. Making the art is secondary; curiosity and inquiry are the primary values in the Art Life. Become a member of LensWork Online and have access to all 2700+ Here's a Thought… commentaries.

Busyness is often a cover for avoidance, misplaced priorities, or even disobedience. Why is it the excuse most people resort to?

Support the show on Patreon! - https://patreon.com/gogOther ways to support the show! - https://gog.show/donateJoin our Discord! - https://discord.gg/r4ZmSHBBuy some merch! - https://shop.gog.show/Welcome back from the vacation from hell, where apparently even California has its head in the sand(y beach). Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled his vision for an AI-powered utopia that mostly boils down to "trust humanity to do the right thing," which is a bold statement from the guy whose $300 million yacht apparently couldn't hear a Coast Guard distress call from a stranded family. Elsewhere, an AI agent booked a gym class by exploiting a security hole and kicking someone else off the waitlist, because nothing says "personal assistant" like accidental cybercrime. The EU is now requiring labels on realistic AI generated content, China is breaking up people and their chatbot companions, and OpenAI reportedly has achieved the ultimate AI ethics breakthrough: having no dedicated ethicist.The surveillance dystopia is also picking up speed. Flock tried to turn hundreds of thousands of rideshare and delivery drivers into a roving army of license-plate snitches, while every Flock camera in one Minnesota city was promptly sawed down and stolen. Meta's smart glasses continue their transformation into the preferred accessory of creeps and pickup-artist assholes, prompting pubs and other venues to ban them outright. Researchers found those glasses being used to secretly record and harass women, proving once again that every shiny new piece of wearable technology eventually gets repurposed as a tool for human depravity. And because apparently your car dashboard wasn't already commercial enough, BMW is now putting Spider-Man ads on the screens you paid tens of thousands of dollars to own.Finally, Apple is facing a class-action lawsuit over an iCloud Private Relay flaw that can expose your supposedly private IP address, Anthropic is watermarking Claude-generated text, SpaceXAI is taking another year to remove a pile of unpermitted gas turbines, and somebody is apparently stealing millions of dollars in AI hardware straight off California highways. We also hit Media Candy with Strange New Worlds, Silo, Broadchurch, Ted Lasso, and The X-Files, sweat through yet another Apple Fitness disaster, celebrate the sweet relief of escaping Spark, and ask the eternal Gen-X question: how did all this technology supposedly make life easier when we're still just sitting here surrounded by 47 goddamn tabs?Sponsors:CleanMyMac - Get Tidy Today! Try 7 days free and use code OLDGEEKS for 20% off at clnmy.com/OLDGEEKSDeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout.HIMS - Visit Hims.com/gog to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/758Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/NzS9Wo7D0yASHOW NOTESMark Zuckerberg's Answer to Growing AI Safety Concerns Is to Just Trust People to Do the Right ThingMark Zuckerberg's mega-yacht didn't respond to call for help from small boat in AlaskaAn OpenClaw agent reportedly hacked a gym's booking system and kicked someone off a waiting listEU will mandate labels on authentic-looking AI content starting August 2Beijing is forcing a mass breakup with AI loversOpenAI's Only Ethicist Reportedly Left Last Month. She Wasn't ReplacedGoogle's classic Search button is gone in a new AI-first homepageSpaceX's Earnings Show Elon Wiped Out Two-Thirds Of Twitter's Ad BusinessSpaceXAI says it will take a year to fully remove unpermitted gas turbines from its Mississippi data centerFlock Reportedly Tried to Turn Uber Drivers Into Mobile SnitchesAll of Winona Police Department's Flock cameras cut down and stolen‘The Worst I've Ever Seen': Cargo Thefts Have Turned Violent in Pursuit of AI HardwareBMW is forcing a weird Spider-Man ad onto its dashboard displaysTesla Driver Tries the Old ‘I Wasn't Driving' Excuse to Get Out of Speeding TicketApple faces class action lawsuit for fraud over iCloud Private Relay flawIs AI Disclosure Day here?Trackalot 1.3 Released!Popular Bars and Restaurants Are Banning Smart GlassesResearchers Show How Meta's 'Pervert Glasses' Are Used to Harass WomenPervert At Large (2013 Remaster)Renting a car and the clerk was wearing meta glasses.Star Trek: Strange New WorldsSiloBroadchurch S3Ted Lasso S4Ride or DieSugarInstadocs: The Prediction GamesBeetlejuice Beetlejuice‘The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn' Has a Perfectly Creepy TrailerNirvanna the Band the Show the MovieSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to Schauer Thoughts, this episode we're taking a long and winding journey through the land of loss and grief. I do appreciate everyone's patience as this episode is going out Thursday - I sincerely hope you enjoy it. I would also like to take the time to thank everyone who's been so kind to me, we are strangers and the internet can be so cruel, but you guys haven't been. I know sad comments get me down sometimes but I also see the kind messages and those have profoundly impacted me. I am grateful for y'alls kindness, support, and even just your time. I hope nothing but good things for each and every one of you - if you are grieving, please do not rush yourself, but know that there are options to “unstick,” even just for a moment. I am sending all the positive vibes I can muster and I can't wait to chat next week. Also, no pressure, but if you'd like to see me do stand up, this is the link for the show! I'm nervous but excited and can't wait to get back into in-person comedy. Toxic Thoughts Stand Up Event Link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/toxic-thots-a-queer-comedy-show-tickets-1997497195884?aff=oddtdtcreator Sources: The Tragedy of North Birmingham https://www.propublica.org/article/bluestone-jim-justice-north-birmingham Birmingham, AL Superfund https://semspub.epa.gov/work/04/11121096.pdf Opinion Article: The body does not keep the score: trauma, predictive coding, and the restoration of metastability https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2026.1812957/full Hydraulic brain: Body motion linked to fluid movement in the brain https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-hydraulic-brain-body-motion-linked.html Vagus Nerve Gut Signals Drive Spatial Memory https://neurosciencenews.com/vagus-nerve-gut-signals-memory-31135/ My TikTok on “Reason vs Excuse” https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTDRHrue6/ Lol quoting myself as a source but I did say I would link the Tiktok because the gestures and point are easier to communicate visually.  Attentional failures after sleep deprivation are locked to joint neuromuscular, pupil and cerebrospinal fluid flow dynamics https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-02098-8 I do apologize for misspeaking on the ADHD and CSF flow dynamics, this was about sleep deprivation but honestly *concerning ADHD and attention switching* this should be something our (as I do have ADHD) community should look into further. I think sleep is important for everyone, absolutely, but this point really drives home the importance of sleep for everyone with attention difficulties.  Books: Geometry of Grief: Reflections, Mathematics, Loss, and Life - Michael Frame Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Queer Expressions: Expressive Art and Somatic Therapy Practices for Healing Body Trauma - Wednesdae Reim Ifrach, REAT, ATR-BC, CLAT This Is What It Sounds Like: A Legendary Producer Turned Neuroscientist on Finding Yourself Through Music - Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas To learn more about your default mode network and music preferences, I highly recommend this book. It's incredible and I chose it last year for book club and everyone seemed to like it. The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know - Shawn Coyne I really recommend this book for anyone writing a novel, I haven't written one myself but I was at a script reading one time and the author (who was speaking) was asked about what book helped them write their story and they said “The Story Grid” and *with just how they were hyping it up* and the murmurs of agreeance from the room, I think it may be an industry favorite. But of course, this is just a recommendation, no pressure. Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People - G. Richard Shell This book has nothing to do with grief, it is written more for business negotiations, but at the time of picking it up I was in a “mental economy” (and very literal thinking) autism headspace. It's an unconventional read for grief but it did help me and is currently helping me with the “bargaining” stage.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The internet has an excuse for EVERYTHING when it comes to fitness

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! In 2017, two-time Emmy and three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald launched his podcast, Money Making Conversations Master Class. Rushion McDonald’s “Keep Winning” #3 – Key Takeaways In this episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Rushion McDonald expands on the concept of value proposition, focusing on how entrepreneurs and professionals can differentiate themselves through customer service, marketing, mentorship, and continuous growth. Top Lessons 1. Understand Your Value Proposition Your value proposition is what makes your talent, product, or company unique. It's the reason people choose you over the competition and the foundation for negotiating better opportunities, raises, and contracts. Rushion uses the example of athletes who fail to recognize their true market value and end up accepting deals that don't reflect their worth. 2. Never Let Age Become an Excuse One of Rushion's recurring themes is that success has no age limit. He encourages listeners to: Keep setting goals. Continue learning. Pursue new opportunities. Avoid believing that life slows down after 40, 50, or 60. Success belongs to those who continue moving forward regardless of age. 3. Market More Than Your Product Two companies may offer similar products, but customer perception can create dramatically different outcomes. Rushion emphasizes that businesses should promote: Customer service Customer experience Reliability Trust Products may attract customers once, but outstanding service keeps them coming back. 4. Choose to Be the Eagle, Not the Chicken One of the episode's most memorable analogies compares an eagle and a chicken. Although both are birds, society views them very differently. The lesson: Eagles soar. Eagles command respect. Eagles fight to maintain their position. Rushion challenges listeners to adopt an eagle mindset by thinking bigger, acting boldly, and pursuing excellence. 5. Seek Mentorship and Guidance Many entrepreneurs fail simply because they try to figure everything out alone. Rushion highlights resources such as: The Small Business Administration (SBA) SCORE mentors Experienced business professionals Mentorship can help entrepreneurs avoid costly mistakes and accelerate growth. 6. Expand the Possibilities of Your Product Rushion shares the story of a pancake mix company whose product evolved from a simple pancake and waffle mix into a unique 3-in-1 product capable of making: Pancakes Waffles Biscuits The lesson is to continually explore new uses and opportunities that can differentiate your product in the marketplace. 7. Packaging Matters A great product alone isn't enough. Using the example of a gourmet popcorn company, Rushion explains that: Product quality matters. Customer service matters. Packaging matters. A product may be excellent, but weak presentation can prevent it from reaching larger retail opportunities. 8. Customer Service Is a Competitive Advantage Across every business example discussed in the episode, one factor remained constant: Excellent customer service. Customers remember: How they were treated. Whether expectations were met. Whether businesses delivered consistently. Strong customer service often becomes a company's most powerful marketing tool. 9. Reliability Builds Trust Rushion emphasizes that success often comes down to honoring commitments. If you say: You open at 8:00 AM, open at 8:00 AM. You will deliver a product, deliver it. You promise service, provide it. Consistency creates credibility. Keep Winning Quote “Market your brand to stand out above the crowd through excellent service, strong presentation, and a commitment to outperforming the competition.” Bottom Line Know your value. Keep learning. Seek mentorship. Expand your thinking. Deliver exceptional customer service. Package your product professionally. And most importantly, choose to soar like the eagle instead of settling like the chicken. That's how you keep winning. #SHMS #STRAW #BEST Money Making Conversations Master Class with Rushion McDonald is America's premier entrepreneurship, business leadership, financial literacy, and wealth-building podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs, executives, founders, celebrities, and industry experts sharing actionable insights for professional and financial success. Business Podcast Entrepreneurship Small Business Business Growth Financial Literacy Wealth Building Black Entrepreneurs Minority Business Leadership Executive Leadership Business Funding Marketing Strategies Personal Development Startup Advice Sales Training CEO Interviews Founder Stories Professional Development Economic Empowerment Business Success Networking Brand Building Innovation How to start a business Small business funding Entrepreneur success stories Business leadership podcast Wealth building strategies Black entrepreneur podcast Minority business development Marketing for small businesses Business growth strategies Startup funding opportunities Executive leadership training Financial literacy education Success mindset podcast Steve Harvey Morning Show Online: http://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us Fan MailA cancer diagnosis used to be enough to qualify as medically frail and exempt from Medicaid work requirements. A new federal rule says it no longer is, and nobody has defined what will be enough instead.In this clip from our episode “The Hidden Cost of Medicaid Work Requirements”, hosts David E. Williams and John Driscoll break down the last-minute rule change narrowing the definition of medical frailty and why 25 states say the federal government has gone beyond what Congress ever authorized.Listen to the full episode here

Stéphane Ricoul s'intéresse à une tendance de plus en plus visible dans les entreprises : invoquer l'intelligence artificielle pour justifier des suppressions de postes qui relèvent parfois davantage de restructurations classiques ou de corrections après des années de surembauche. Il souligne que l'IA reste encore un motif minoritaire dans les licenciements annoncés, tout en devenant un récit très commode pour les dirigeants. Le véritable enjeu, selon lui, apparaît lorsque les organisations déploient l'IA en silos, sans revoir leurs processus dans leur ensemble, ce qui déplace les problèmes au lieu de les résoudre. Une réflexion sur la différence entre automatiser des tâches, réduire des coûts et transformer réellement le fonctionnement d'une entreprise.

Siyabonga Motha, standing in for Aubrey Masango, speaks to Mpogeng Jack Raphela, a neuro-linguistic programming practitioner, about overcoming real obstacles, breaking free from excuses, and building the confidence to start your own business without fear. You’re listening to The Aubrey Masango Show with Aubrey Masango, where real conversations meet expert insights – from politics to life, personal finance, and more. Thanks for listening. Listen live on 702 weekdays from 8 pm to midnight, or on CapeTalk from 8 pm to 9 pm (South African time) https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj For more from the show and catch-up podcasts, visit Primedia+ here https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj Subscribe to the 702 Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetc Keep the conversation going online: 702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702 CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capetalkza/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MLB dot com is making excuses for the Pirates as their season dies on the vine. They have played 17 games in 17 days before today's day off. Folks are saying they are tired and it's too much baseball. It's baseball… the guys aren't going for that excuse. 93.7 The Fan MLB analyst Matt Clement joined the show. Can the Pirates go on a run like the Red Sox to get back into the playoff race? Matt said they have to start by just getting back to .500 first. What has happened since the All Star break? Matt stood up for Bill Murphy to a degree, but acknowledged the issues that have popped up with him in charge this season. How much of this season falls on Paul Skenes? PM Team Guess Who?

Send us Fan MailThis week on Excuse the Intermission, we're catching up on everything we missed over the past few months. We break down the latest box office trends, discuss the growing dominance of franchise filmmaking, and dive into Marvel's newest casting shakeups and industry partnership news. We also revisit some of our favorite discoveries from earlier in 2026, sharing the films that surprised us, stuck with us, and are worth adding to your watchlist. It's a packed episode full of movie news, honest recommendations, and plenty of film nerd conversation.Support the showMax's LetterboxdAlex's LetterboxdETI Instagram

Joe doesn't like some of the YouTube comments. Are there any Pirates fans still feeling optimistic? Is Luke Weaver ever going to pitch? When is Cruz coming back? Joe blames Cherington (Nutting), and Skenes. Callers aren't happy about Bill Murphy. A caller questions the analytics factor in Skenes performance.  The Pirates have a built-in excuse now with their injuries. Somehow the bullpen has become the strength. We revisit ghosts and Josh Harrison. 

The Pirates have a built-in excuse now with their injuries. Somehow the bullpen has become the strength. We revisit ghosts and Josh Harrison. 

FULL SHOW: Thursday, August 6th 2026 Curious if we look as bad as we sound? Follow us @BrookeandJeffrey: Youtube Instagram TikTok BrookeandJeffrey.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Money Making Conversations Master Class with Rushion McDonald is America's premier entrepreneurship, business leadership, financial literacy, and wealth-building podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs, executives, founders, celebrities, and industry experts sharing actionable insights for professional and financial success. Business Podcast Entrepreneurship Small Business Business Growth Financial Literacy Wealth Building Black Entrepreneurs Minority Business Leadership Executive Leadership Business Funding Marketing Strategies Personal Development Startup Advice Sales Training CEO Interviews Founder Stories Professional Development Economic Empowerment Business Success Networking Brand Building Innovation How to start a business Small business funding Entrepreneur success stories Business leadership podcast Wealth building strategies Black entrepreneur podcast Minority business development Marketing for small businesses Business growth strategies Startup funding opportunities Executive leadership training Financial literacy education Success mindset podcast In 2017, two-time Emmy and three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald launched his podcast, Money Making Conversations Master Class. Rushion McDonald’s “Keep Winning” #3 – Key Takeaways In this episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Rushion McDonald expands on the concept of value proposition, focusing on how entrepreneurs and professionals can differentiate themselves through customer service, marketing, mentorship, and continuous growth. Top Lessons 1. Understand Your Value Proposition Your value proposition is what makes your talent, product, or company unique. It's the reason people choose you over the competition and the foundation for negotiating better opportunities, raises, and contracts. Rushion uses the example of athletes who fail to recognize their true market value and end up accepting deals that don't reflect their worth. 2. Never Let Age Become an Excuse One of Rushion's recurring themes is that success has no age limit. He encourages listeners to: Keep setting goals. Continue learning. Pursue new opportunities. Avoid believing that life slows down after 40, 50, or 60. Success belongs to those who continue moving forward regardless of age. 3. Market More Than Your Product Two companies may offer similar products, but customer perception can create dramatically different outcomes. Rushion emphasizes that businesses should promote: Customer service Customer experience Reliability Trust Products may attract customers once, but outstanding service keeps them coming back. 4. Choose to Be the Eagle, Not the Chicken One of the episode's most memorable analogies compares an eagle and a chicken. Although both are birds, society views them very differently. The lesson: Eagles soar. Eagles command respect. Eagles fight to maintain their position. Rushion challenges listeners to adopt an eagle mindset by thinking bigger, acting boldly, and pursuing excellence. 5. Seek Mentorship and Guidance Many entrepreneurs fail simply because they try to figure everything out alone. Rushion highlights resources such as: The Small Business Administration (SBA) SCORE mentors Experienced business professionals Mentorship can help entrepreneurs avoid costly mistakes and accelerate growth. 6. Expand the Possibilities of Your Product Rushion shares the story of a pancake mix company whose product evolved from a simple pancake and waffle mix into a unique 3-in-1 product capable of making: Pancakes Waffles Biscuits The lesson is to continually explore new uses and opportunities that can differentiate your product in the marketplace. 7. Packaging Matters A great product alone isn't enough. Using the example of a gourmet popcorn company, Rushion explains that: Product quality matters. Customer service matters. Packaging matters. A product may be excellent, but weak presentation can prevent it from reaching larger retail opportunities. 8. Customer Service Is a Competitive Advantage Across every business example discussed in the episode, one factor remained constant: Excellent customer service. Customers remember: How they were treated. Whether expectations were met. Whether businesses delivered consistently. Strong customer service often becomes a company's most powerful marketing tool. 9. Reliability Builds Trust Rushion emphasizes that success often comes down to honoring commitments. If you say: You open at 8:00 AM, open at 8:00 AM. You will deliver a product, deliver it. You promise service, provide it. Consistency creates credibility. Keep Winning Quote “Market your brand to stand out above the crowd through excellent service, strong presentation, and a commitment to outperforming the competition.” Bottom Line Know your value. Keep learning. Seek mentorship. Expand your thinking. Deliver exceptional customer service. Package your product professionally. And most importantly, choose to soar like the eagle instead of settling like the chicken. That's how you keep winning. #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSupport the show: https://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Money Making Conversations Master Class with Rushion McDonald is America's premier entrepreneurship, business leadership, financial literacy, and wealth-building podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs, executives, founders, celebrities, and industry experts sharing actionable insights for professional and financial success. Business Podcast Entrepreneurship Small Business Business Growth Financial Literacy Wealth Building Black Entrepreneurs Minority Business Leadership Executive Leadership Business Funding Marketing Strategies Personal Development Startup Advice Sales Training CEO Interviews Founder Stories Professional Development Economic Empowerment Business Success Networking Brand Building Innovation How to start a business Small business funding Entrepreneur success stories Business leadership podcast Wealth building strategies Black entrepreneur podcast Minority business development Marketing for small businesses Business growth strategies Startup funding opportunities Executive leadership training Financial literacy education Success mindset podcast In 2017, two-time Emmy and three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald launched his podcast, Money Making Conversations Master Class. Rushion McDonald’s “Keep Winning” #3 – Key Takeaways In this episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Rushion McDonald expands on the concept of value proposition, focusing on how entrepreneurs and professionals can differentiate themselves through customer service, marketing, mentorship, and continuous growth. Top Lessons 1. Understand Your Value Proposition Your value proposition is what makes your talent, product, or company unique. It's the reason people choose you over the competition and the foundation for negotiating better opportunities, raises, and contracts. Rushion uses the example of athletes who fail to recognize their true market value and end up accepting deals that don't reflect their worth. 2. Never Let Age Become an Excuse One of Rushion's recurring themes is that success has no age limit. He encourages listeners to: Keep setting goals. Continue learning. Pursue new opportunities. Avoid believing that life slows down after 40, 50, or 60. Success belongs to those who continue moving forward regardless of age. 3. Market More Than Your Product Two companies may offer similar products, but customer perception can create dramatically different outcomes. Rushion emphasizes that businesses should promote: Customer service Customer experience Reliability Trust Products may attract customers once, but outstanding service keeps them coming back. 4. Choose to Be the Eagle, Not the Chicken One of the episode's most memorable analogies compares an eagle and a chicken. Although both are birds, society views them very differently. The lesson: Eagles soar. Eagles command respect. Eagles fight to maintain their position. Rushion challenges listeners to adopt an eagle mindset by thinking bigger, acting boldly, and pursuing excellence. 5. Seek Mentorship and Guidance Many entrepreneurs fail simply because they try to figure everything out alone. Rushion highlights resources such as: The Small Business Administration (SBA) SCORE mentors Experienced business professionals Mentorship can help entrepreneurs avoid costly mistakes and accelerate growth. 6. Expand the Possibilities of Your Product Rushion shares the story of a pancake mix company whose product evolved from a simple pancake and waffle mix into a unique 3-in-1 product capable of making: Pancakes Waffles Biscuits The lesson is to continually explore new uses and opportunities that can differentiate your product in the marketplace. 7. Packaging Matters A great product alone isn't enough. Using the example of a gourmet popcorn company, Rushion explains that: Product quality matters. Customer service matters. Packaging matters. A product may be excellent, but weak presentation can prevent it from reaching larger retail opportunities. 8. Customer Service Is a Competitive Advantage Across every business example discussed in the episode, one factor remained constant: Excellent customer service. Customers remember: How they were treated. Whether expectations were met. Whether businesses delivered consistently. Strong customer service often becomes a company's most powerful marketing tool. 9. Reliability Builds Trust Rushion emphasizes that success often comes down to honoring commitments. If you say: You open at 8:00 AM, open at 8:00 AM. You will deliver a product, deliver it. You promise service, provide it. Consistency creates credibility. Keep Winning Quote “Market your brand to stand out above the crowd through excellent service, strong presentation, and a commitment to outperforming the competition.” Bottom Line Know your value. Keep learning. Seek mentorship. Expand your thinking. Deliver exceptional customer service. Package your product professionally. And most importantly, choose to soar like the eagle instead of settling like the chicken. That's how you keep winning. #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Money Making Conversations Master Class with Rushion McDonald is America's premier entrepreneurship, business leadership, financial literacy, and wealth-building podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs, executives, founders, celebrities, and industry experts sharing actionable insights for professional and financial success. Business Podcast Entrepreneurship Small Business Business Growth Financial Literacy Wealth Building Black Entrepreneurs Minority Business Leadership Executive Leadership Business Funding Marketing Strategies Personal Development Startup Advice Sales Training CEO Interviews Founder Stories Professional Development Economic Empowerment Business Success Networking Brand Building Innovation How to start a business Small business funding Entrepreneur success stories Business leadership podcast Wealth building strategies Black entrepreneur podcast Minority business development Marketing for small businesses Business growth strategies Startup funding opportunities Executive leadership training Financial literacy education Success mindset podcast In 2017, two-time Emmy and three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald launched his podcast, Money Making Conversations Master Class. Rushion McDonald’s “Keep Winning” #3 – Key Takeaways In this episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Rushion McDonald expands on the concept of value proposition, focusing on how entrepreneurs and professionals can differentiate themselves through customer service, marketing, mentorship, and continuous growth. Top Lessons 1. Understand Your Value Proposition Your value proposition is what makes your talent, product, or company unique. It's the reason people choose you over the competition and the foundation for negotiating better opportunities, raises, and contracts. Rushion uses the example of athletes who fail to recognize their true market value and end up accepting deals that don't reflect their worth. 2. Never Let Age Become an Excuse One of Rushion's recurring themes is that success has no age limit. He encourages listeners to: Keep setting goals. Continue learning. Pursue new opportunities. Avoid believing that life slows down after 40, 50, or 60. Success belongs to those who continue moving forward regardless of age. 3. Market More Than Your Product Two companies may offer similar products, but customer perception can create dramatically different outcomes. Rushion emphasizes that businesses should promote: Customer service Customer experience Reliability Trust Products may attract customers once, but outstanding service keeps them coming back. 4. Choose to Be the Eagle, Not the Chicken One of the episode's most memorable analogies compares an eagle and a chicken. Although both are birds, society views them very differently. The lesson: Eagles soar. Eagles command respect. Eagles fight to maintain their position. Rushion challenges listeners to adopt an eagle mindset by thinking bigger, acting boldly, and pursuing excellence. 5. Seek Mentorship and Guidance Many entrepreneurs fail simply because they try to figure everything out alone. Rushion highlights resources such as: The Small Business Administration (SBA) SCORE mentors Experienced business professionals Mentorship can help entrepreneurs avoid costly mistakes and accelerate growth. 6. Expand the Possibilities of Your Product Rushion shares the story of a pancake mix company whose product evolved from a simple pancake and waffle mix into a unique 3-in-1 product capable of making: Pancakes Waffles Biscuits The lesson is to continually explore new uses and opportunities that can differentiate your product in the marketplace. 7. Packaging Matters A great product alone isn't enough. Using the example of a gourmet popcorn company, Rushion explains that: Product quality matters. Customer service matters. Packaging matters. A product may be excellent, but weak presentation can prevent it from reaching larger retail opportunities. 8. Customer Service Is a Competitive Advantage Across every business example discussed in the episode, one factor remained constant: Excellent customer service. Customers remember: How they were treated. Whether expectations were met. Whether businesses delivered consistently. Strong customer service often becomes a company's most powerful marketing tool. 9. Reliability Builds Trust Rushion emphasizes that success often comes down to honoring commitments. If you say: You open at 8:00 AM, open at 8:00 AM. You will deliver a product, deliver it. You promise service, provide it. Consistency creates credibility. Keep Winning Quote “Market your brand to stand out above the crowd through excellent service, strong presentation, and a commitment to outperforming the competition.” Bottom Line Know your value. Keep learning. Seek mentorship. Expand your thinking. Deliver exceptional customer service. Package your product professionally. And most importantly, choose to soar like the eagle instead of settling like the chicken. That's how you keep winning. #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSteve Harvey Morning Show Online: http://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a stretch of the Outer Banks of North Carolina that's known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" because hundreds of ships have been lost there over the centuries. So it was there that something called the United States Life-Saving Service was born. They established these white frame buildings called life-saving stations like seven miles apart along the very treacherous parts of the coast. The Life-Saving Service was actually a spawning ground for heroes. In one case, for example, this ship was in distress with four men staying alive by just hanging onto this mast for dear life. Six of the seven men from the closest station went out into a storm that could very well consume them. Before they went out they left a verbal will with the man who was left running the station. Twenty-two hours without food or sleep. Well, they finally brought back those four stranded men, and then they collapsed on the beach in exhaustion. It was incredible heroism. I mean, that was the norm for the men of the life-saving stations. One interesting observation: never in the history of the Life-Saving Service did the drowning person ever come to the door of their station and ask to be rescued, "Excuse me, I'm drowning. Can you help me?" No, in every single rescue, the rescuers had to leave the safety of the life-saving station, go out into the surf and into the storm to keep someone from dying. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Leaving the Life-Saving Station." It's the nature of rescue isn't it? You have to leave the comfort of the life-saving station to save the people who are dying outside. The life-saving station is a great place to get rescuers strong enough to go out into the storm to bring people in. And it's a great place to bring people after they've been rescued. But if we wait for dying people to come into the life-saving station to get rescued, most of them are going to die without a chance. That's the nature of spiritual rescue. Over the years it's been known by many names - evangelism, soul-winning, witnessing. But maybe we've lost the urgency of what really is at stake here. Every lost person you know who has never begun a personal relationship with Christ, every lost person within the reach of your church is, in the words of the Bible, "perishing... staggering toward slaughter" (Proverbs 24:11), "without hope and without God" (Ephesians 2:12), and ultimately, someone who will be forever, in the Bible's words, "shut out from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 1:9). They are spiritually dying people, and their only hope is rescue by someone who is close enough to save them. Sadly, we've been waiting for them to come to one of our meetings, our programs, our religious place, our life-saving station. But Jesus said in Luke 19:10, our word for today from the Word of God, that "the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." He said that in the house of a reviled tax collector, where Jesus had been criticized for going. But Jesus shows us that you have to go where the lost people are to rescue them. You have to seek them if you want to save them. We keep having programs to rescue the dying - often few of them are ever there. The plan of God is for someone like you or me - an everyday follower of Jesus - to be the one to rescue the dying people around you. If we have to go where the lost people are to rescue them, well guess what? You already are where some of them are; you are every day. Don't just let them go on dying. Leave the safe spot, the comfortable spot where you've wanted to stay and take some risks to rescue them. You follow the Man who left the comfort zone of heaven to risk it all, to give it all to rescue you. Now He's asking you to join Him in rescuing some others who will die forever without Him. There is nothing greater you could do with your influence, nothing greater you could do with your life than to rescue someone who would have otherwise died; to help someone else be rescued from hell and be in heaven with you forever.

This morning Ashley reveals to everyone that she used Joe as an excuse...

This morning Ashley reveals to everyone that she used Joe as an excuse... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome once again to UnMind, the podcast of Great Cloud, my Zen name, also published on Substack, and as my DharmaByte in the newsletter of the Silent Thunder Order (STO) - visit www.STOrder.org. Please let me know if there is a subject you would like to hear about in a future segment. We are pioneering a creative, collaborative approach to establishing true Zen community (Skt. sangha) in the USA. We invite you to come aboard the raft. If you are in the Southeast, visit www.aszc.org for our schedule. "Excuse Me My Dear Aunt Sally," in case you are unfamiliar with the expression, is a mnemonic I learned in high school for remembering the proper sequence of arithmetical operations to be performed in solving quadratic equations: solve the exponents first; then do the multiplication; then the division; the addition; and finally, any subtraction called for. If you do not follow this sequence exactly, you will not get the right answer. Setting aside for now the question of what may be the larger point of getting the right answer, as well as the question of the potential arbitrariness of the "givens" of any equation — i.e. the initial values attributed to "x" and "y" — XMDAS provides an analogy for the process of solving any problem, from a design-thinking perspective. Let's look at each of the five steps, one at a time. From writing a book to simplifying our life, it works. Determining what value lies under the radical in an exponent (X) is roughly analogous to defining the reason for pursuing any problem, whether in a professional setting or in everyday life. "What's it all about, Alfie?" or "What's the meaning of this?" as my grandfather would sternly demand, when we were caught roughhousing, in my younger days. He didn't realize what a profoundly central question he was asking. I find myself at the intersection of Zen and design-thinking, when confronting the various aspects of daily life. Zen practice and the discipline of design-science, as one of my many mentors, R. Buckminster Fuller, termed it, are both generalist worldviews oriented to a problem-solving mentality as an approach to navigating the challenges of life in our times and developing the specialist skills necessary to that endeavor. Key to finding the best solution to any problem is developing the best definition of the problem. In the professional context, working for the benefit of a client company, the first step may involve redefining the client's own definition of the problem they are asking you to solve. One of the values of using outside consultants is that they ostensibly are not subject to the same tunnel vision of insiders, though of course they may be hindered by another sort of tunnel vision. The process outlined is meant to mitigate against this. Returning to and redefining the focus of the initiative is a crucial part of the process. It should be noted that someone writes down the ideas on a whiteboard for all to see. The second step, doing the multiplication (M), is likewise analogous to brainstorming, engaging in the uninhibited free association of any and all factors that may have a role in developing the final solution to the given problem. This is where thoroughness and lack of prejudging come into play. Best done as a form of playful "What-if" scenarios. The third, division (D), correlates roughly with sorting the various free-ranging comments into groupings or categories of related items, like the familiar "One of these things is not like the others" theme from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. The fourth, addition (A), suggests fleshing out the various distinct categorical groupings with other items that may not have occurred to anyone on first consideration. Finally the fifth step, subtraction (S), involves setting aside all the various components and considerations that are not immediately necessary at this point in the project, for later development, scaling down the scope of the first phase of solution iterations to include only the most important and germane elements. Prioritizing, in other words. Needless to say, and so I will say it emphatically: this is not a one-and-done process. It will be necessary, in virtually every case, to revisit the exponent several times to see if we have wandered too far afield from the original problem definition, and to reexamine the other four steps again as we proceed. Everything is a work-in-progress. There are some provocative prompts to the process that can be brought to bear when the creativity seems to lag, such as positing the "Worst Possible Solution" — imagining that if we wanted to subvert the objectives of the project altogether, how would we do it? Oftentimes, conjecturing the most negative outcome in opposition suggests a different positive approach that we otherwise would not come up with. We can apply this design-thinking approach to our Zen practice, emphasizing problem definition over leaping to a solution, based on the underlying premise that within a thoroughgoing and complete definition of any given problem, the solution will be implied. It becomes clear that, while as Master Dogen reminds us, "Zazen is not step-by-step meditation," the process of our Zen life moves through several distinct, if overlapping, phases, if not exactly stages. The difficulty with conceiving the arc of our experience as progressing through stages is that we will inevitably be looking to the next stage, assuming that it will be more advanced. And consequently, missing the reality of the present moment. As the old Ch'an poem reminds, "Not understanding the Way before your eyes, how will you know the path you walk?" Nonetheless, it is incumbent upon us who find ourselves in the unenviable position of being regarded as teachers or exemplars of Zen to address this issue, when students or followers express a sincere aspiration to insight, and confusion as to its meaning, or the common experience of "plateauing" — the sense that no progress is occurring. Let us attempt a correlation of the fivefold sequence of the process outlined above with the general arc of the narrative of a typical Zen pilgrim's progress. As always, your results may vary, and the map is never the same as the territory. X — Let's begin with the exponent of Zen - what is the root of the problem? What lies under the radical, waiting to be solved? What is the source of our suffering? We can derive some guidance from the written record, of course, where we find such definitions as the reification of a non-existent self, unsatisfactoriness with the causes and conditions of our existence, et cetera, which are, of course, not very satisfactory. The problem of existence, and our place in it, begs the question: Is it really a problem? It is more important to personalize this problem definition than to generalize it. What is troubling you immediately, in space and time? As Master Dogen says in "Genjokoan": If you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point. If you find your way at this moment, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point. So the problem, if it is a problem, must be hiding in plain sight. M — Brainstorming intentionally, rather than allowing the monkey mind to hijack the process, we embrace our world of complexity and distractions from all four spheres of activity and influence — the personal, social, natural, and the universal realms — in which we find ourselves. All apparent barriers to solving the problem. The root of the problem we might logically assume to manifest on the personal level; but we cannot ignore social demands of family, friends, colleagues and strangers; nor the many ways in which we connect with the world of Nature; and even the universal, especially in a time when technological evolution has revealed so much of our macro- and micro-cosmic context. D — Sorting through the matrix of all dimensions impinging upon us and considering how to group them into relatively discrete aggregations, analogous to the "five skandhas" of the traditional Buddhist model of sentient being, may help to overcome the daunting asymmetrical nature of the scope of our interconnectedness and diminishing influence on outcomes, as we move from the personal to the social, natural and universal realms. Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness accompany a growing sense of humility at the vastness of the enterprise. But at least we are beginning to comprehend it. Recognizing the problem is the first step; visualizing or modeling it is the second. A — After articulating the many components of our living situation we come up with, writing them down in a mind-mapping exercise, and sorting into relatively discrete — if overlapping — categories, we can now review each to see if we have inadvertently left out any elements that may prove to be relevant or important. Are they complete? S — At this point, the problem may be well-defined, but any point of taking action is still obscure. Subtracting what is inessential from consideration at the present time, leaving what is necessary to address first and foremost, we come to a point of taking action. No process of problem-solving is effective unless it leads to appropriate action. Resistance to doing so is based on fear of the unknown, unintended consequences, and the desire to maintain the status quo. "Fall down seven times get up eight": we succeed by failing. Once the "problem" is stripped down to a limited set of actionable items, we can begin the prototyping phase of the project. This involves trial and error, experimenting with various promising approaches, assessing progress, and adjusting as necessary. The current trope in the business world is "agility," the ability to recognize when we are off-course, and correct accordingly. It is an apt expression on the personal, as well as the corporate, level. The main difference is that we should be able to get ourselves to risk a change in behavior on a strictly personal level much more easily than it is to sway others into compliance with our definition of a solution. In summary, most of us approach Zen with an initial curiosity or motive — X, the root exponent — derived from the unsatisfactory nature of living in today's world, drawn to Zen by a hunch that it seems focused on this very issue, buttressed by impressions from reading books and hearsay. As Matsuoka-roshi would often say, people go though life with a sense of something missing. They don't know what it is, but they definitely know it's missing. Eventually they come to Zen hoping to find it. This is typically followed by a phase of "doing my own research" — M, multiplication — perusing more books on the subject, pursuing podcasts and documentaries, attending lectures and joining groups. There is a nearly inexhaustible smorgasbord of entrees on offer in today's spiritual materialism market. The multiplier effect often lends more confusion than clarity as to our initial purpose — the exponent of Zen — where we started out. Once we have surveyed most of the approaches on offer, we begin to categorize them — D, division — as to sameness and difference, effectiveness and convenience, the whole gamut of judgment calls that we generally apply to any other activity or pursuit. They break down into such categories as various styles of meditation, our personal bibliography of books that we choose to read and re-read, teachers we choose to follow, and support groups with which we engage and disengage. As well as those we reject. Much of this trial-and-error testing and analysis is aimed at rationalizing our resistance to making the effort sustained required to realize any long-term positive effects. We resist change, if on an unconscious level. In my first book, "The Original Frontier," I devote an entire chapter to the various lame excuses we make up for evading the hard work of meditation, beginning with the most common cop-out, "I don't have the time." These are followed up with suggested workarounds, under the rubric, "Damn your lousy excuses." Over time, we cobble together our own Frankenstein monster of a practice path, adding to the mix — A, addition. Hopefully, we settle upon a combination that seems to work. In Zen, it usually comes together as a balanced combination of buddha-, dharma-, and sangha-practice, a 3-legged stool consisting of: time on the cushion; studying the teachings; and participating in Zen community. And, in a non-monastic setting, finding a reasonable, operable schedule of training. Eventually, we begin to minimize or eliminate — S, subtraction — those activities and preoccupations that have proven to be peripheral rather than central. As Master Dogen asked, if you want to find drinking water, do you drill a lot of shallow wells, or one deep well? He also recommended focusing on the central method, rather than the surrounding protocols: When first you meet a master, without engaging in incense offering, bowing, chanting Buddha's name, repentance and reading scripture, you should just wholeheartedly sit, and thus drop away body and mind. Again, over the span of our lifetime, it is likely that we will cycle through this process many times, disappointed by unmet expectations and buffeted by the whims of fortune. As Matsuoka-roshi would often encourage us, "Just don't give up." The reality that Zen points to does not change with the vicissitudes of fate. More design thinking to come in the next installment of UnMind: "It's Not About That."

Daryl is planning his wedding… but his fiancée is “losing the plot” over one thing: his super-close friendship with a female colleague that everyone calls his “work wife”. They text most days, swap memes, and she even rang him late at night in bits after a row with her boyfriend — a call he answered while in bed with his fiancée.Is his fiancée a jealous “bunny boiler”… or is Daryl crossing lines and emotionally cheating without realising it?Can men and women be 'platonic friends' or is it always doomed to failure?

Are you waiting around for happiness to just appear, or are you actively hitting the "joy gym"? In this episode of Be It Till You See It, host Lesley Logan sits down with Amy, author of 101 Ways to Spread Joy, to unpack why joy is a practice, not a coincidence. Amy shares how she came through severe mental health challenges and social anxiety by learning to choose joy on purpose, take bold risks, and send a positive ripple out into the world. If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:Why spreading your own joy sends an invisible ripple outward.How to purposefully train yourself to learn to be joyful.Why your relationships are the top predictor of happiness.What it looks like to schedule the moments that fill your cup.Simple joys and the miracle walks Amy takes each morning.Episode References/Links:Amy Dickens Website - https://www.livejoyfullyyou.com101 Ways to Spread Joy - https://www.livejoyfullyyou.com/101waystospreadjoyJoy Bootcamp - https://www.livejoyfullyyou.com/joycampJoyfully You Podcast - https://www.livejoyfullyyou.com/podcastAmy Dickens Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theamydickensAmy Dickens TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theamydickensAmy Dickens YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@theamydickens/shortsEp 400 ft Gay Hendricks - https://beitpod.com/ep400Submit your wins or questions - https://beitpod.com/questionsGuest Bio:Amy Dickens is a leading voice in the power of joy and play as tools for transformation and nervous system regulation. As the creator of Joyfully You, author of 101 Ways to Spread Joy, and host of the Joyfully You Podcast, Amy helps people reconnect to their aliveness through laughter, movement, and community. Whether she's leading parades of people dancing through the streets or speaking on stage about the ripple effect of joy, Amy's mission is to remind us that joy isn't a distraction from growth—it's the doorway to it. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Amy Dickens 0:00  Give yourself permission to follow your joy, whatever big or little ways that might be, and to let yourself just kind of be brutally honest. Like, if I had no fear, what would that look like?Lesley Logan 0:10  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast, where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousandss of people around the world, and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity, and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring bold, executable, intrinsic, and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and be it till you see it. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.Lesley Logan 0:52  All right, B e It babe. Get ready to smile. Get ready to... First of all, I'm just gonna tell you right now, I'm a fast talker. She's an excited talker. So if you normally listen on 2.0 speed, it might be a 1.5 episode. I'm just saying, but we're talking about joy today. Amy Dickens is the author of the best-selling book 101 Ways to Spread Joy, and I think we really need this right now. I think we need to one, understand how do we even feel joy in our own selves, and then two, how does that allow us to spread joy with others? And it's a really great story. I mean, I could have talked to Amy for hours. I'll be really, really honest. We kept it short, and I think there's at least three takeaways, maybe different ones for one person, another thing that made more sense to you. But I really do think that there's three awesome things that you can take away from this episode, if not more, and it might be one of those ones that you kind of hit rewind and go, "Wait, what did she do?" and add it to your list of things to try out because you got to feel all of our feelings. But one thing I think we really need to spend a little bit more time feeling as joy in our lives definitely helps you be it till you see it, and you're going to hear all of that in this episode. So here's Amy Dickens.Lesley Logan 2:00  All right, Be It babe, this is going to be... I'm just gonna say it. It's gonna be a joyful conversation. Every part of my being says it's going to be that way because we have Amy Dickens here, the author of 101 Ways to Spread Joy. So, Amy, can you tell everyone who you are and why you rock at joy spreading? Because I think that this is interesting. I've never met anyone who says this is what I do for a living.Amy Dickens 2:23  Yeah, yeah. It's funny you say that because I literally just met somebody else that does it this past weekend at a Joy Maker Bootcamp, and I'm like, whoa, other people do this? I thought I was the only one, but yeah. So I grew up with a ton of mental health problems until my mid to late 20s, probably, and it was joy, really, that helped respark me into this person that I am, to rediscovering the joy of living, kind of thing, in all the big and the little ways, and the true power of who I am as a person and that authenticity. And the more that I lean into it, the more I was like, "Whoa, this is who I really am." So I'm on a mission to really help reconnect people to their joy, so that they can become who they really truly are in this life, and then also it's turned into how can we create the world to be a better place? Because when we show up as the joy that we wish to see in the world, that creates this invisible ripple effect that, in turn, is kind of creating a new world, basically, for us to live in and co-create.Lesley Logan 3:24  Oh, 100% Amy. I mean, like they always say, your vibe attracts your tribe, right? So if you 're not joyful and you're going in like an Eeyore, of course, the only people who are actually going to talk to you are the Eeyores. It was really funny at my wedding, t hese two women who didn't know each other, I saw them talking and hugging the only air conditioning vent, and I was like, of course those two would be talking. Of course, that's just the cynic nature in them finding the cynic nature in each other, and they're just going to be cynics covering up the AC and stealing it from everybody. And no wonder the y're turning everyone into them. So it's just kind of funny how, I do agree. The more joyful we are living our life, it invites other people to be joyful too, but it does make the world a little bit better place, and it's really hard saying that. We're actually recording this during a time that the world does not feel very joyful, Amy, doesn't feel very joyful, and I feel like it's really easy for people to even think that this is a toxic positivity conversation, that it's not even thoughtful and considering what is going on. But I'll just tell you a little background that you don't know about me. In my spaces, there are places where you can complain. It's c a lled an "I need a moment" channel, and you're allowed to need a moment and bitch. But I have a rule that you have to have a win. You h a ve to share a win at the same time. You don't get to come back later and do it. You got to do it at the same time because there's always something good going on too, and there is a balance, and we can't just throw up on people and then come back and do joy later. So tell me, knowing what we know, what's going on right now.Amy Dickens 4:41  Yeah.Lesley Logan 4:43  Is seeking joy like a waste of time, not thoughtful? How can we do that in a way that doesn't feel privileged? Do you know what I mean? I made this a huge question. I'm sorry, I just laid it on you.Amy Dickens 5:00  Lay the huge questions on me. I'm here for it. I am all about it. Yeah, I personally have a really deep belief, deep in my bones, that we need our joy now more than ever. And then also, little caveat is that when I say this, I don't mean that we have to live at this peak state of bliss and joy 100% of the time.Lesley Logan 5:00  Like, don't fuck my joy up. Take your bad news over there. Yeah, it's not like that.Amy Dickens 5:22  Right. It's like, okay, we get to be a human that has the full spectrum of human emotions, and we aren't repressing stuff because that also doesn't work. We've seen that, we've been there, we've done that. We know that that's not the way, just shove it and ignore stuff. We can feel the whole thing, but I feel like where I'm looking at the world, and I've been the past 12 years on this whole self-help journey, it feels like joy often was a missing component in a lot of things that I was seeing. I truly do believe that our joy... I lead these joy parades, so my joy parades, I get people singing and dancing in the street. The whole point is to basically uplift yourself and to be this little uplifting moment, this breath of fresh air, this glitch in the matrix, kind of like whoa, people are looking up from their phones and suddenly they're dancing and singing "Who Let the Dogs Out" with us or something on a random Saturday, and it uplifts them. The response I get is otherworldly, and at the same place where we start this, oftentimes there happens to be a protest for something on the other side of the street or something, and it's a little bit edgy. And sometimes people feel a little angry at us for like, what are you doing? Amy Dickens 6:33  And to me, I feel like we are just taking two different paths of you know like trying to use yes, right? It's like the same coin, like kind of thing. But it's just like, oh, you can either do this way or that way. I'm not saying your way is wrong or right. This is just the way that feels like my part to play. And it feels like if we can show up in a joyful way, because I know myself personally, I make different choices when I'm in an angry state, when I'm in a fearful state, when I'm in a joyful state. And I truly believe that if we can start to be more joyful and connective with each other, that we will start to create different decisions. That we will show up and like create little micro pockets of a new world, rather than create. There's so much fear. There's so much divisiveness right now, and we're just. It feels like we're getting more and more separate, and to me that feels scary. To me, that feels not like not creating the world we wish to be in. When we're like, you're different, we can't talk. You think different things, we can't talk. I really would love to create a world of like, can we even dance together in the street for a second? I don't even need to know. And then from that space, there can be a level of safety almost because we all laugh and like we all want belonging.Lesley Logan 7:47  Yeah, it also makes me think like which party you want to be at, right? Like, like at the Portland protest, talk about joy, like that you were seeing with the frog guy and all the things, and like the you're not that our whole thing is about protesting, but I do think that like it's important that we talk about how joy can exist in a place where you are where you are still wanting to to support causes that you care about or rights that you care about. And like one of our first protests that we went to while living in Vegas, there was drummers and there was music and performers who were singing, and it just made everyone flipping us off look so weird because it's like we're having a great time. Like you look so strange, and so part of me is like, I want to be at the joy protest. You know, that's what I want to be at. Amy Dickens 8:25   Absolutely, yeah. And I mean, like I've heard someone else say she was like, "There's a war on happiness, and like there kind of is sometimes. Well, certain people they get mad at like joyful, happy people. Lesley Logan 8:27  Well, I want to go back to a little bit how you said something about growing up, and I don't remember a time of actual pure celebration. Look, my parents listen to this, and they're gonna be like, "Excuse me, we did celebrate on April 13th at this time." I'm sure there was, but Im' thinking about, the way I interpreted things is like, "Oh, I won, but the team won, but I dropped the ball. We did this, but I could have done..." Every achievement of celebration was also really that the thing that I took away, just the personality type that I have, was all the things I could have done better. And so it's very rare that you're just in the joyful moment. And not that you shouldn't reflect back about what's going on, but I do think that we too often, because we're busy and we are doing too many things, we are not taking the time to celebrate what we did do, and then on a separate time sit down and go, okay, so what is the postmortem on that? Because otherwise we ruin the joy part by talking about the things we could have done better, which we could do the next day, right?Amy Dickens 9:39  Absolutely, yeah. There is such a focus on what didn't work and complaining, and we have a negativity bias already, biologically as humans. So we're just wired for that. So it's challenging to unlearn our old programming and say, how can... Because I think most of us could probably agree, I think most people can say: do you want to be more joyful? I think most people would probably check "yeah" on that box.Amy Dickens 10:05  I don't think many people be like, no,Lesley Logan 10:07  I have enough July.Amy Dickens 10:08  I would like to be miserable. Honestly, I have I have had a lot of people like on the streets be like, I'm already joyful. Like, all right, cool. That's all good. Like, more power to you, man. But I I think that it's a hard pill to swallow to say it's kind of hard to retrain ourselves to learn to be joyful. Like it's I call it the joy gym. You know, you have to go to the gym or you know some workout class to build muscle. And if you don't go, like your muscle fatigues and you lose that. And it's the same thing with joy. Like you don't always want to go to the gym. You don't always want to make a choice to choose to be a different person, to choose to like move your body or think in ways that a joyful person would. There's like a slight discipline, and also I think a a need for that why that pulls you to oh this is why I am making this choice to be a joyful person because I know that if I'm showing up in like this joyful way, I get to create a ripple of impact around me. I can make someone's day. I can be the person with the energy in the room that is impacting everyone to kind of have that whole like, whoa! I feel like so much more myself. I feel so much more empowered after talking to her, inspired, or just like I just feel good, like we all know those people, and we can be that person. And it's not like if you're not that person, because I wasn't that person. I straight up was not even close to that person.Amy Dickens 11:31  And it was over the years choosing again and again things that filled my cup and were joyful to me, and living a joyful life and a life of purpose and all of these things. And it's a big old bumpy road, right? But also saying, okay, how do I practice and also mess up a bazillion different times at trying to be her? What does that version of you look like? And it's trial and error. And sometimes it feels uncomfortable when you're not used to doing it because you've never done it before, and it doesn't really make it wrong. You can just say, hey, not that way, but let me try this way this time.Lesley Logan 12:02  Well, that's just Amy, and you just mentioned "be her" with, obviously, the Be It Till You See It podcast. I think it's this interesting thing. A lot of us are waiting until when we get somewhere, right? Oh, when I get this, and when this happens. And we actually do have to be it till we see it. So to be a joyful person, you actually cannot wait for a joyful moment. You have to be the joy that you want to see. Like that's what they say, right? So, can we talk a little bit about that? You weren't always this joyful person, and you were trying to be a joyful person. What did being a joyful person before you were a joyful person look like? What did going to the joy gym look like? What was the first rep?Amy Dickens 12:43  Yeah. I mean, for me, I wouldn't say I'm the most normal cookie of all time. I'm kind of an all-or-nothing kind of girly sometimes. So for me, it really looked like I had this huge breakup moment with a person I was with for 11 years, and it was this whole restructuring of my life. And I said, "Whoa, I'm gonna follow my joy." What does that even look like? I don't even really know. Like, what is it that only me, as an adult woman, wants to do? And I realized it was these big things that were often really joyful and really scary to another part of me, and that was the reason why I hadn't done any of these things. I've always wanted to do a yoga teacher training for like eight years, and I was like, why have I not done that? Because I was like, "Well, I'm not a yoga teacher," was the story that I had. And I said, oh, well, you're never going to become a yoga teacher unless you do the training. That's literally the only way to do it. No one walks into that door and is like, "Yeah, I'm already a yoga teacher."Lesley Logan 13:41  Right, no one's born with the certification. You have to go do it.Amy Dickens 13:44  Right! But I had to really let myself take risks, not think very much, and let myself fail and learn that fail in quotes, you know, and just do stuff and flop. So I think I was like, what if I do this and it doesn't work, or I can't be her? And I just would take bold leaps and book one-way tickets to places. I was pretty wild and extreme. And it doesn't have to look like that, but I do think that the nugget of wisdom within that was allowing myself to say: what is it that really would spark joy inside of me, make me feel alive? What would that look like on a big scale or a micro scale to follow that, to empower myself to make a move towards becoming that, and knowing that I do it scared, and knowing that at first it was uncomfortable and that didn't make it wrong, but the more you gain the confidence by doing it... You don't get confidence by just thinking about it or prepping for it. You get the confidence by doing the reps, and you're like, oh, suddenly my comfort zone's bigger because I've been doing this. And now there's a new edge for me to walk into.Lesley Logan 14:54  It's the craziest thing. Everyone is like, "I'm just waiting to... When I'm more confident, I'll do this." And it's something that I have struggled with in supporting people and coaching people: wait, do you think that some people were just born confident and others were not? Because that's not what I think. I think that somewhere along the way, some people's confidence bucket was upheld and supported, and some people's confidence buckets were kicked down the street. But we all have one, and the only way to keep confidence or get it back is to do the thing you said you'd do scared, and be willing to fail and flop and try again. And I think some people have a really hard time with either rejection or the failure of it all. There's a perfectionist problem that affects people from experiencing joy. I don't think you can be a perfectionist and a joy-filled person. I don't know, I could be wrong. Have you met a perfectionist who's joyful?Amy Dickens 15:57  You know, I would say there's a lot of recovering perfectionists that I've met, they're like, hey I have joy. I'm definitely raising my hand here.Lesley Logan 16:05  Like all addicts I've ever heard on TV, constantly, they're forever going to AA, saying, "Hi, that's me. Hello, I am Lesley. I'm a recovering perfectionist, yes."Amy Dickens 16:14  Recovering perfectionist, and you know, I have some days that are great and some days that could be better.Lesley Logan 16:21  Yeah.Amy Dickens 16:21  Yeah, and I think that a huge part, in retrospect and just reflecting on how many people that I've talked to... and this wasn't really a conscious choice at the time... was because I used to have horrible social anxiety, like very, very intense, like could not really talk to anybody that I didn't know extremely well without feeling like my whole body was flushed and tense, and like I needed to run (inaudible).Lesley Logan 16:44  That's so hard because how do you get to know people if you don't talk to them? That's really difficult. Oh, this is so hard to get over.Amy Dickens 16:53  Yeah, and it was really just throwing myself into the deep end of: okay, you gotta sit with this and learn that people aren't scary by being with people. And now we know that the number one predictor of joy and happiness is the quality of your relationships in your life, both the deep, intimate relationships and just the number of random strangers. Apparently, that's really good for our joy and our mental health. Just be like, "Ah, hi, bud! Get the mail today?" Apparently, they say that that's great for you.Lesley Logan 17:22  That is hilarious. I didn't know that, and no wonder. In L.A. in an apartment, I lived near people for... how long did I live there? Seven years in the apartment. I didn't know anyone's name. We would just walk past each other. My neighbors , I've lived here almost six years, and we know every neighbor's name. We know them all.Amy Dickens 17:41  It's not even like you need to hang out all the time, but there's... for some reason.Lesley Logan 17:44  I'm definitely more joyful. Yeah.Amy Dickens 17:45  ...communalness to it. And I think that that was also a part of my journey to becoming more joyful was learning, because I think so many of us are like, how do we make friends as adults? How do I...? And there's this loneliness epidemic, you know, it's just all over. I think learning how to heal that and really value... okay, I need to learn how to make community, to make friendships, to be bold and brave and put myself in situations where I feel really scared and I'm doing it anyways. I'd have questions on my phone in case my brain would go blank at first, because I was like, oh my god, what if I don't know what to say? And I'm like, oh yeah, I'll have some juicy questions on my phone so that I can learn how to have this conversation, or give myself training wheels, or I do fun things with people. I'd be like, I love dancing, and dancing's so regulating. So that's a great way to try and meet people. Lesley Logan 18:37  And now you can go to a silent disco, so you can be someone who's introverted and who loves to dance, and you can go be amongst a ton of people, but by yourself, so you can build up the confidence to being in a group of people. There's just so many different ways you can do things now. And I just read that the World Health Organization says that being lonely, loneliness is terribly bad for both your physical and your mental health. We are designed to be amongst people. So I just want to take a step back because you mentioned having mental health issues growing up, terrible anxiety. When did you get a resume together for a joy job? I'm gonna be really honest, Amy. If I was your parent, I'd be like, "Can she make money spreading joy?" I don't understand. So, can we talk a little about the journey to going... that you went on that made you not only an expert, but someone who wrote a best-selling book? It seems a little odd.Amy Dickens 19:32  Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. It certainly was not the trajectory that I ever had in mind of, "Yes, I'm going to graduate college, and this is what I will do with my degree."Lesley Logan 19:44  Is there...? I mean, there are happiness coaching degrees that I know because I've interviewed people who are certified in happiness coaching, but I don't know if that's what you did. So tell me more.Amy Dickens 19:55  No, that certainly was not the plan. Because of all of my mental health and all this kind of stuff, I was obsessed with self-help, reading all of the books, doing all of the courses for the past 12 years, and then got really into teaching yoga. That was where I started all of my joyful experience. And then from teaching yoga, I started learning to make people dance on the mat, and then it turned into: ooh, what if we played games together instead of doing yoga at all? And then suddenly I'm leading workshops in how do we get people to authentically connect and use play to regulate their nervous system? And emceeing events started happening, and it was just all of these happenstance things start, I wasn't planning on doing this. Somebody just kind of asked me if I would do something, and I said, "Sure, I'll try and do that. I've never emceeed an event before. Why not? Let's see." And it was fun. And then through that, you're uplifting people. And before I know it, I'm leading parades of people dancing through the streets, just on a mission of spreading joy around. It's been such a journey. In there, there's a whole coaching certification and business that I had started at the time, and a million other things. I think there was just this part of me that was like, I am on a mission, and I know that because deep in my bones this mission chose me. I didn't say, "I want to be the joy lady." It just felt like: I need a purpose. What is my purpose? And it just kept coming to me. I was like, okay, because it chose me, this is inevitable that it will work. There is no chance that it doesn't. And if it's not working yet, I just gotta keep going. And I gotta have fun with it too. That's the huge part of it.Lesley Logan 21:40  Amy, if you're having the least amount of fun becoming a joy coach, I'm just...Amy Dickens 21:48  I'm gonna be real honest. There was definitely that moment where I had a whole shame spiral because I was so perfectionist in this one moment. I literally burnt myself out, and I was like, oh my god, I am so stressed about being this joy coach and making this business work, I'm an imposter. Oh my god! Lesley Logan 22:07  RightAmy Dickens 22:09  Yeah, absolutely. And I was like, okay, I gotta learn to enjoy the journey because the journey is 98% of it. The destination is this tiny little, "Okay, reached that goal, onto the next part of your journey." And it's fine and great to have goals, but to just be solely focused on the destination... Learning to enjoy life itself is a skill. Learning to just be like, "Wow, I'm freaking joyful for no freaking good reason," that is a skill, and I see it as a gift to this world. If you can feel the blessings of this day that you're like, "Wow! I can walk, I can breathe, I can move my body," all of these incredible things that we take for granted each and every day, rather than focusing on the negative, we can create really incredible things from that space. Each and every one of us, when we're in that connected space to our true gifts, our power, our gratitude, there's infinite abundance that we can create from that.Lesley Logan 23:08  I'm kind of wondering... You just mentioned a few things, like "I can breathe" and "I can walk" and I do these things. I think we do forget that there is joy in those things because it's certainly not joyful when your leg falls asleep or you're sick in bed. You're not feeling joy then, and you're like, "I miss being well," but you weren't enjoying how well you were before you were sick. Do you have any tools for people who are like, "Okay, I'm gonna practice feeling the joy feeling"? How did you practice being her, being the joy?Amy Dickens 23:40  Yeah, I mean, if we're gonna take the joy, there's almost two different camps, and one I would say is simple joys. To me, my number one way that I personally practice this is I get outside when I'm feeling really stressed, and I look up, I look up at the sky, I look up at the trees, I change my perspective, and I take a deep breath. It's a very simple, one-second thing that you can do. You can do it between a Zoom call in one minute if your door is close enough. It's something about changing your perspective. You're looking up at the sky and the trees, and it's like, whoa, I'm a human being. I'm not just this robot that needs to be hyper-productive. There's something about it that just instantly brings me back into: whoa, I am not just here to do, do, do. I am here to be a human being and just enjoying the little simple things. How much can I romanticize and enjoy this moment in my life? Can I put a sweet playlist on in the background and change the way in which I'm working? Can I slow down and eat a meal? That's constantly what I'm still working on to this day.Lesley Logan 24:49  I keep saying I'm going to. I do have an hour-long lunch break, and it's so easy to be like, "Oh, I'm just gonna do one more thing," and now the lunch break is only 20 minutes, and "I'll just do this while I'm doing that." It's definitely a bad habit. That is one I would like to try to find the joy in slowing down. But I couldn't agree more. The simple joys. I love that you brought it in two camps so far because sometimes when I'm stressed out, I just take a walk around my one block. You're stressed out, and then somehow around a corner, all of a sudden you're like, "Oh, okay, I'm ready to go back in." It's a really weird thing how quickly our brain will shift if we give it the opportunity to experience a simple joy.Amy Dickens 25:32  Yeah, it just needs that little simple moment. And I've been taking these miracle walks in the morning where I leave my front door and I say, "All right, I'm not going to come back until I find three miracles." And I'm like, okay, I know I only have time for a walk around the block, so it's about 10 minutes. And it expands your definition of what a miracle is. It's a little piece of dew at the end of a leaf, or some birds singing and flying in front of your face, or whatever it might be that you notice on that same block you've walked a million times. But that, in and of itself, is training yourself to look for the joy, the beauty, the good in the world in a place that you've been a million times.Lesley Logan 26:06  Oh my god, Amy, what a great idea! That is so great.Amy Dickens 26:08  It's so fun. I love it. I've been having so much fun with it. And then the other camp is, I'd say, those bigger joy moments. Like I love to look at my calendar before I fill it with as many calls and all of the things as I can, and say, okay, how can I plan moments of connection of things that fill my cup? Like I love singing and dancing, and if I were to fill my calendar with everything else, there's no time at the end for the things that really fill my cup that I love to do. So I started a few years ago just thinking, okay, a lot of them are just recurring, so they're just in my Google Calendar. It's like I know I go to choir at this time. I know I have dinner with my friends this day of the week right here, and you don't really move things unless it's absolutely necessary, and that keeps my cup consistently filled because I'm making sure, hey, there is time for me to have connection with other people, because I spend a lot of my time not with humans face to face right now. So it's important to build that human connection to the things that we love to do or exploring new things too. That's also something that I try to schedule in at least once a week. It's like, okay, a new networking thing, or can I have coffee with someone that I've never met before? Just kind of those little serendipity moments of let the magic in. Let's plan to be open to life surprising us rather than it just being like...Lesley Logan 27:29  I love... I'm a big fan. I have this whole way of having your ideal dream schedule, and to me, dreams do come true. And ideal, obviously, not perfect. It just is the ideal thing. And I always talk about how your sleep and your workouts have to go in the calendar before anything else. And the things that bring you joy, they have to be in there because you're right. If we put everything else in first, there's no room. You can't squeeze joy in. So I think your big joy camps, the things that truly fill your cup, whether it is going to choir or going... Like some people want to go to the library. They love the smell of books. That you might have to schedule in and make sure it's there, so you're not going, "Oh my god, it's been three months since I went to a library." No, if it brings you joy, it should be happening so regularly so that you can actually get through all the shit, because there's gonna be shit.Amy Dickens 28:15  Yeah, absolutely. Because I think that we don't realize that being joyful, it's like rocket fuel in our tank. I think we all know that, or I can call on an experience when you were feeling so joyful, so lit up, so radiant, and it was effortless to create and be inspired. And not that we have to be at that peak state all the time, you know. We still ebb and we flow. But if we consistently are filling our cup, then it's going to actually help us be more efficient, really, in the rest of our life.Lesley Logan 28:46  I think so. I think so. You know, I think a lot of people, though... I interviewed Gay Hendricks on this pod, and his whole thing is that people have, you know, you're in your genius zone, and when getting in your genius zone, your zone of genius, you end up often upper-limiting because you're uncomfortable. Like you have a joyful moment, and then you kind of self-sabotage. How do we handle that pendulum swinging back and forth? Because we have to feel our feelings and we got to go through there. But how did you kind of allow yourself to just be in the joy, or did you ever self-sabotage out of the joy? I feel that's what a lot of our listeners struggle with, is they'll experience seeing something joyful and then they'll get a call that their friend got fired, or this bill came in, and it just sucks them right back down. And so it's how do you feel the feelings, but not lose the joy?Amy Dickens 29:29  Yeah, absolutely. I definitely have a PhD in penduluming from one side to the other. They didn't even know they made up the degree for me. They were like, "Ah, yes, Amy, you got the Amy Dickens Award for penduluming between the two extremes so much." And I think that that was also a gift to learn how to stop penduluming and continuously pendulum back towards the joy to a balanced state in the middle, and life still gets lifey. That's not the whole thing with joy, is that it's like, yes, nothing ever happens to me. But when it does, I personally have a really deep belief now that I think really helps me, is like: don't take things personally. Life is happening for me, not to me. All of these things that have been so ingrained into who I am at this point that when life starts to get lifey... And I've also seen life fall apart so many times that I know it always works out. If it hasn't worked out yet, I just keep going, and eventually things will come back together. So I've noticed I've become a lot less dramatic. I was a very dramatic human. You know, like, "Oh my god, I lost a friend," and whatever it might be was just always felt like the end of the world to me, and it would suck all of the joy out of me. And I think I'm realizing, wow, those things are real and I do feel them deeply. And I'm a big crier, and I feel the things and I process, and I'm like: what is this here to teach me? How do I move through this? How do I regulate my nervous system through this? And realizing, wow, I have this one wild and precious life, and I'm gonna continue to choose the joy when it feels time. And I think a big part of that is also discernment. It's like gaining that wisdom of discernment that only we can have for ourselves. Only we can say, "I know that I'm done feeling this grief," or whatever it might be, anger, fear, "and it's time to shift myself into a different state." No one else can really tell you when it's time for that. I think that that's also just a trial and error thing, and learning to listen to the wisdom of our body and our intuition and ourself, and to trust ourselves to say, "Actually, I need to be sad right now, and that's okay, because I trust myself in that." And I also say not days like "I'm having a bad day," but "I'm having a bad moment," because then that leaves the next moment to be open to being something different. Because if we have the whole label on this day, then you've kind of already pre-decided, and it's okay to not have a joyful moment. It's a human experience.Lesley Logan 32:04  Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, you're gonna have a loved one pass away, or a breakup's gonna happen, or you are gonna be disappointed on how a project went. But I do like that you get to label the moment, but not the whole day, or giving yourself that permission to feel that moment, but not let it take away from the little miracles you could see or feeling the feelings around it. You said not being so dramatic, and I think as someone with ADHD, and I attract a lot of people with that, what I've discovered is I think that drama that some of us kind of go to, that swinging back and forth... My team is like, "You're swinging back and forth from your microphone, stay there." But that swinging back and forth is a dopamine hit, right? We go dramatic and high because it kind of feels the thing that our brain survives off of. But if we can actually get our dopamine hits from some other places, then we don't have to go such a deep swing. It could be like, "Whoa, this moment really sucks. It's a good thing that's not personal, it's not about me. And somehow this is going to work towards my favor." I'm disappointed in this moment. We go walk around the block and feel that disappointment, and then hopefully... You just gave me some great ideas, and I learned so much about myself. Thanks, Amy.Amy Dickens 33:20  I also had that. I'm seeing that as well. And there's a big part of the titration, you know, like when you're like, "Oh, it's a bad moment," and just having that moment of, oh... even if most of the day was bad, but you had like, oh, they were all just a bunch of bad moments, and then I had this one moment with a friend where I laughed for five minutes, and then I kind of sunk back down into it. But that little uplifting moment does so much for your capacity in your nervous system to continue to hold whatever it is that you're holding, that I don't think we really recognize to the fullness of it sometimes.Lesley Logan 33:54  Yeah, I couldn't agree more. All right, I could talk to you forever about joy because this is just the most contagious thing. Thanks for spreading it here, but we're gonna take a brief break. I want to find out where we can get your book, and I think you've got some good Be It Action Items for us. I just have a feeling.Amy Dickens 34:06  I'm so excited.Lesley Logan 34:08  All right, Amy, where can people buy your book, 101 Ways to Spread Joy, and where do you hang out? Where are your joy parties? Tell us everything. How can we stalk you in a joyful place?Amy Dickens 34:18  Absolutely, you can get the book, 101 Ways to Spread Joy. It's on Amazon. Amy Dickens. You can see all the rainbow color on it.Lesley Logan 34:25  O h my god, it has a disco ball on it. I'm already in.Amy Dickens 34:27  Everything I make has a disco ball. Always. I did it on accident.Lesley Logan 34:31  Amy, are we friends that have never met? Like, we must be friends. I'm so into disco balls, it's unbelievable.Amy Dickens 34:43  They're great. When the light hits a disco ball... I mean, biggest light hack.Lesley Logan 34:46  Okay, Amy, I have a sequined kimono. You'll have to Google one. And just so you know, I bought it... I'm like, this is kind of ridiculous. It is so ridiculous. I did a whole photo shoot with it. But at any rate, I got it in my car, like I bought it at the store, and put it on to drive home because I'm like, I'm gonna wear it right now. I was my own disco ball in the car because the sun was shining so much, I was blinding my own self. I was like, "Oh my god, this is (inaudible). Amy Dickens 35:09  All the cars next to you, they're like, "I can't see."Lesley Logan 35:12  Yeah. So, anyways, I cut you off. Everything you create is a disco ball. So your book is where again, just in case I distracted people with my, Amazon, okay. Amy Dickens 35:19  Amazon, easy peasy. Just go to Amazon, you can find it there.Lesley Logan 35:22  Perfect. And then where do you hang out on socials? Where like where can they get a little joy boost?Amy Dickens 35:26  Yeah, absolutely. You can find me on all the socials @theamydickens. If you want the first 10 pages to my book, you can get it for free on my website, livejoyfullyyou.com, and get a nice little taste of it. And if you're like, "Ooh, I like that, I'll do a little bit more," then you're totally welcome to do that. Yeah.Lesley Logan 35:44  I mean, my goodness, you guys. I'm sure there's at least 101 days left in the year, but maybe more by the time you hear this. You could do one joyful spreading thing a day and see how you end up feeling. I imagine you'll feel more joy after spreading joy.Amy Dickens 35:55  Oh, that's one of the secrets to life, is spreading joy and just being of service to making the world a better place, it's a huge life hack.Lesley Logan 36:04  Yeah, I love that. Okay, you've given us some great tips already, and honestly, your book probably has some great bold, executable intrinsic or targeted steps that people can take. But what else do you have for us?Amy Dickens 36:13  Yeah, I would say to give yourself permission to follow your joy, whatever big or little ways that might be, and to let yourself just kind of be brutally honest. Like, if I had no fear, what would that look like? And just journal it out, take a deep breath, be honest with yourself, write it all down, and then maybe say, "Okay, today, what would I feel like if I was 5% more alive right now? What would I do? What could that be?" And allow yourself to do that. It doesn't have to be like, I rewrite my whole story and I throw away all the things that are not working right now. But allow yourself to just take that little reframe of: Can I put five more percent of my time and energy into my joy? What would that look like? Because it's different for every single one of us. Something that brings joy to one person might not be the same thing for me or you or somebody else, and it's just so important because it's not something that you need to earn. It's something that you practice, and it continues to give back to you. I think some of us are waiting for joy to knock on our door, and it's a choice. We have to cultivate it and learn that. Yes, sometimes it does surprise us and say like, "Hey, I'm here," but it's a practice. It's a skill that we can learn to cultivate. And this is here to be your full permission slip to live this inspired, alive life that you're so worthy and deserving of, and to follow your joy and know that it's a way to creating the world to be a better place.Lesley Logan 37:41  I love that. You are right. A lot of people are waiting for joy to hit them on the head, as opposed to... actually, no, joy is waiting for you to come to where it's at. You gotta come to it. You gotta go seek it out. You gotta go find the joyful moments. Oh, you're so good. This is so great. I'm really excited we had this conversation, Amy. Thank you so much for being you. Thank you for these wonderful Be It Action Items . Thank you for helping not just spread joy, but also you have such an amazing aura with your joy that this is like a fun conversation. I'm sure people are smiling, and they're going to have a more joyful day because they listened to this episode. So y'all have to go share this episode with a friend, probably the Eeyore one, so that they have joy, and this could be your point one to the 100 W ays to Spread Joy. Yeah, this is your pre-homework. All right, Amy, thanks so much for being you. And everyone else, until next time, Be It Till You See It.Lesley Logan 38:33  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review, and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others be it till you see it. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of the Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @beitpod.Brad Crowell 39:16  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your hosts Lesley Logan and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 39:20  It is transcribed, produced, and edited by the Epic team at Decennio Co.Brad Crowell 39:25  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music, and our branding by designer and artist Gianfranco Chofi.Lesley Logan 39:32  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.Brad Crowell 39:35  Also to Angelina Herrico for adding all of our content to our website, and finally to Meredith Route for keeping us all on point and on time.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

You won't become fearless by avoiding the things that frighten you. You will become fearless by doing them—again and again, until your definition of impossible quietly begins to shift. Every impossible thing you attempt rewires what you believe is possible. My latest book “The Wealth Money Can't Buy” is full of fresh ideas and original tools that I'm absolutely certain will cause quantum leaps in your positivity, productivity, wellness, and happiness. You can order it now by clicking here.FOLLOW ROBIN SHARMA:InstagramFacebookYouTube

Nick Wilson and Jonathan Peterlin analyze Andrew Berry's recent defense of the Cleveland Browns' roster construction and the team's youthful depth. They explore internal station debates regarding season expectations and the ongoing evaluation of the quarterback room. 02:14 - Afternoon Drive Intro Headlines 06:15 - Andrew Berry on Browns' Youth 13:54 - Andrew Berry on Roster Strategy

Business training for Contractors: https://thecontractorfight.com/battlegroundContractors hear it every day: “Your price is too high.” But most of the time, price isn't actually the problem. The problem is that you haven't given the customer enough evidence to believe you're worth more. In this episode of Contractor Fight TV, Tom breaks down the 3 things that justify a higher price without defending it, apologizing for it, or trashing the cheaper contractor. You'll learn how to use: • Communication to build trust before the sale • Content to establish authority before you ever meet • Customer experience to prove you're worth the premium You don't get to SAY you're worth more. You have to prove it. And if you're constantly hearing that your prices are too high, it might be time to stop blaming cheap customers and start looking at the experience your company is creating. CHAPTERS 00:00 — “Your Price Is Too High” 00:23 — Stop Defending Your Price 01:04 — What “Justifying Your Price” Actually Means 01:29 — #1: Your Communication Justifies Your Price 02:24 — Your Website Is Part of the Sale 03:02 — Bad Follow-Up Kills Trust 04:18 — Confidence vs. Arrogance 04:43 — Speed Is King 05:32 — Price Isn't the Only Thing Customers Care About 06:12 — #2: Your Content Justifies Your Price 06:30 — Become the Best Educator in Your Market 07:19 — Stop Making Excuses and Create Content 08:17 — “It Takes What It Takes” 08:39 — What Contractors Should Create Content About 09:38 — #3: The Customer Experience Justifies Your Price 10:22 — Your Team Is Part of the Experience 11:18 — Make Your Company Easy to Work With 11:34 — How Pre-Planning Builds Trust 12:39 — Stop Leaving Customers Loose Ends 13:14 — Warranty Problems Are Opportunities 13:45 — Trust Is What Makes the Higher Price Make Sense 14:25 — “People Are Just Cheap” Is an Excuse 14:54 — The Real Reason You're Getting Price Pushback 15:30 — Why Tom Gets So Fired Up About This 16:08 — Take the Next Step Ready to build a stronger, more profitable contracting business?

Excuse me everybody!!! Our homie Joshua from Dads Against Predators is back! The all new DAP website is now live be sure to go check it out!! This ep is hilarious, we appreciate you being here and laughing with us!! • Get Unrestricted : https://www.dopeasusualpodcast.com/unrestricted • Podcast : https://www.instagram.com/dope_as_usual_podcast • Yola : https://www.instagram.com/dope.as.yola/ • Marty : https://www.instagram.com/marty_made_it • Josh : https://www.instagram.com/shua.mundy • New DAP Site: https://www.dadsagainstpredators.com Thank you for watching DOPE AS USUAL Podcast #DopeAsUsual #Podcast #dap Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

07/21 Hour 1: The Junkies Loved Last Night's Dinner - 1:00 Sports Page: Nationals Are Fighting To Stay Above .500 - 14:00 Florida Cops Are Tired Of This Terrible Excuse - 33:00

Most men despise small talk, dismissing it as shallow, fake, or a complete waste of breath. We skip the pleasantries and go straight to the agenda. But in this episode of Friday Field Notes, Ryan Michler breaks down why avoiding small talk is quietly costing you massive life, career, and romantic opportunities. Small talk isn't about the weather or sports; it's a low-risk reconnaissance mission to establish trust, likeability, and respect. Ryan shares 4 actionable moves to stop trying to be "impressive" and instead leverage genuine curiosity to open doors you've been walking right past. Stop treating small talk like a nuisance - it's the gateway to your next big breakthrough.   SHOW HIGHLIGHTS 00:00 - The Real Cost of Skipping Small Talk 02:35 - Low Risk Equates to High Opportunity 04:30 - The Instinctual Mistakes Men Make 06:47 - The True Function of Small Talk 08:34 - Curiosity Over Performance 12:55 - Move 1: Master the Follow-Up Question 16:40 - Move 2: Be Memorable, Not Impressive 18:50 - Move 3: The 48-Hour Follow-Up Rule 20:45 - Move 4: Treat Every Room Like It Matters 28:00 - Why Introversion Is Not an Excuse 29:40 - Your Weekend Assignment   Battle Planners: Pick yours up today! Order Ryan's new book, The Masculinity Manifesto. For more information on the Iron Council brotherhood. Want maximum health, wealth, relationships, and abundance in your life? Sign up for our free course, 30 Days to Battle Ready