Podcast appearances and mentions of john one

This sermon is preached by Pastor Bogdan Kipko, Senior and Founding Pastor of Forward Church. We hope you are encouraged by the message from God's Word, and we are thrilled to help you find hope in Jesus.For more information about Forward Church, please visit: www.forward.fmTo listen to all audio messages from Forward Church, please visit: www.forwardchurchpodcast.comTo support Forward Church financially, please visit: https://bit.ly/fwdchurchFollow Pastor Kipko on Instagram: www.instagram.com/kipko Watch all sermons from Forward Church on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kipko To get in touch with Forward Church or to request Pastor Bogdan Kipko to speak at your church or event, please send an email to: admin@forward.fm If you are visiting Southern California, we would love to have you come and enjoy the Sunday Service at Forward Church!

Pastor Miranda Riser goes over John One and reminds us how a simple invitation may be a life-changing moment for another individual!

Pastor Miranda Riser goes over John One and reminds us how a simple invitation may be a life-changing moment for another individual!

"Elton John: One Night Only" es un especial de televisión que se transmitió en 2001, donde el icónico músico Elton John ofreció un concierto en vivo en el Madison Square Garden de Nueva York. Este evento destacó no solo sus grandes éxitos a lo largo de su carrera, sino también su carisma y habilidades interpretativas. La presentación incluyó colaboraciones con artistas invitados y se celebró en honor a su legado musical. Además de las actuaciones, el programa presentaba entrevistas y momentos reflexivos sobre su vida y carrera, convirtiéndolo en un homenaje memorable a uno de los grandes íconos de la música.

Order of Vespers, p. 224  Lutheran Worship Hymn “Creator of the Stars of Night”       (insert) Psalms:  1, 143 Readings: Ezekiel 3:16-21, Romans 10:8-18, Matt 4:18-22 Office Hymn “Jesus Calls Us; o'er the Tumult” (The Augustana Service Book and Hymnal #109, TLH 270) Sermon --Michael D. Henson, Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church (Herrin, IL). Service Bulletin: St-Andrew-Vespers-for-Online-11-30-2024.pdf https://vimeo.com/1034265306?share=copy Picture: Ottheinrich Bible 1430  III:70 John One

In this episode of Building Texas Business, I discuss John Marvin's transformative leadership journey as CEO and President of Texas State Optical (TSO). Founded in 1936 by the Rogers brothers, TSO evolved into a franchise operation spearheaded by John starting in the 1990s. Hear John's compelling account of reviving the brand, establishing the franchise association, and guiding the innovative physician-owned business model that has empowered young optometrists for decades. With the evolving eyewear landscape, our conversation analyzes consumer behavior shifts and their implications for strategic competition amid growing online retailers. We also explore the importance of supporting TSO's physician member network through mentorship and partnerships, especially given industry consolidation challenges. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS John D Marvin shares the history of Texas State Optical (TSO), founded by the Rogers brothers in 1936, and its growth into a franchise operation. We discuss how John Marvin revitalized TSO in the 1990s and his journey to becoming the president of the company in 2001. The episode explores the challenges and strategies involved in competing with online retailers in the eyewear industry, emphasizing the importance of convenience and well-stocked dispensaries. John describes the shift in optometry ownership trends, with fewer young optometrists interested in private practice, paralleling broader healthcare industry trends. We examine the strategic importance of building a physician member network to support optometrists and the criteria for network inclusion. The episode delves into leadership principles inspired by John C. Maxwell, highlighting the role of influence, trust, and accountability in effective leadership. John reflects on the transformative impact of setbacks, such as being fired, and how these experiences shape one's leadership journey. We explore the importance of forming strategic vendor partnerships and the role of mutual accountability in maintaining long-lasting business relationships. John emphasizes the need to adapt to industry shifts, including the rise of artificial intelligence, while fostering an innovative mindset among optometrists. The episode concludes with a discussion on the significance of understanding and meeting customer needs through effective consumer research, as a universal business strategy. LINKSShow Notes Previous Episodes About BoyarMiller About Texas State Optical GUESTS John D MarvinAbout John TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Chris: In this episode you will meet John Marvin, ceo and President of Texas State Optical. John shares his views on how the fundamentals of leadership boil down to influencing and how having mutual accountability in your business relationships create win situations. John, I want to thank you for taking the time to join me today. It's really been a pleasure to get to know you before we got started here. John: Well, Chris, I appreciate the opportunity to sit down. I always love talking about business. Chris: Well, that's good, that's what we're going to do. So you're the CEO and president of Texas State Optical, or most people know it as TSO. That's right. Tell us a little more detail about what is the company, what does it do and what is it really known for in the market. John: Okay Well, texas State Optical was founded in 1936 by four brothers the Rogers brothers, in Beaumont, texas, and anybody who's been to Beaumont or familiar with Beaumont knows of the impact those four brothers had on that community and then in turn throughout Texas. Two of the brothers were optometrists and they opened pretty traditional optometry practice. And if you'll think about what else was going on in 1936 in Beaumont, it was the oil boom that was just blowing up, and so the one that originally came to Texas from Chicago all four of them were from Chicago called back home and said boys, you need to move down here. We got a big opportunity and they did, and consequently, over the next several years they built a large retail optical chain they called Texas State Optical, and one time in the early 60s it had reached over 300 locations. And one time in the early 60s it had reached over 300 locations and those were in New Mexico, oklahoma, arkansas, louisiana and Texas, and so that went on until, due to some legal issues with the state optometric group, who decided that they didn't want someone in the state running 300 locations, they passed some legislation that limited optometrists to only three locations and so they could subsequently, after a long legal battle had to sell off most of their property, but they kept the core of the business of the optical lab. They kept that and kind of a condition of buying. The practice was that you obligated yourself to continue to purchase items from them. But then in the late 60s the Rogers, having gone through this process of dissolving their ownership in it, decided to turn their attention towards real estate development and at one point they owned 25% of Caesars Palace in Vegas. They just got involved in other things and then consequently in the early 70s they sold the company to a large pharmaceutical company, gd Searle, who then subsequently sold the company in the early 80s to Pearl Vision. Most people are familiar with Pearl Vision, most people are familiar with ProVision and ran that until the late 80s when they sold it to a group of kind of investors who wanted to own it. They didn't really know how to run it than investors. So in I got involved in 1993 doing consumer research for the corporate office. My background at the time I had a company marketing management group and based here in Houston and it was a small marketing management and consumer research group and was doing work in other areas. But picked them up as a client and began to do a lot of consumer study for them and learned about the business. At that time it was somewhat distressed because of the leadership that had taken over from the Pearl Vision taken over from Pearl, and so there was a lot of unrest among the franchisees because at that time TSO was a franchise operation and so I helped them form a franchise association and then kind of on a part-time arrangement took on an executive director position within that while maintaining my consumer study and research stuff. And so that happened until the late nineties, when everyone was planning for the great millennium you know, the 2000 and Y2, right, right. And so we gathered everybody in my conference room over here and how, booty building, and down here in the galleria and they started you know, flip chart sheets, what do we want to accomplish? And blah, blah, blah, and and that the result of that was really, guys, you're not going to get any of this done unless you own it. And so we began to have some discussions about them buying the company, the, the franchisor, and that took about a year to negotiate, and during that process I was asked to come on as the new president and since and then we closed in June of 2001, and since that time I've been the acting and operational by president and CEO of the company, and one of the reasons that it appealed to me was it was the ultimate fixer-upper, because the company had really was kind of loosely held together but had an iconic brand, and so we started opening new locations with Young Optometrist and we're a brand license company. So we knew that the only way we could pick up a new customer, if you would be, if a young OD wanted to open their own practice and then we could help them do that. People that were established at the time and successful weren't interested in converting to a retail trade name, so we did. We opened up about 80 new locations and helped a lot of young ODs live a dream and had put together a whole turnkey system commercial realty contractors the whole nine yards. Chris: That's a fascinating history, you know, to kind of just see it grow so big in the beginning, get broken down and then almost come back together. Yeah with, I guess in 2001 you said, with these individual practice owners or franchisees becoming owners. John: That's, you know, kind of unique, especially for doctors yeah, it was a different approach to it, one of the reasons we can set it as a now. We never incorporated it as a cooperative, we incorporated it as for-profit. We simply chose to run it as a cooperative, which, by its nature of co-op, isn't intended to make money, right? So we could keep the services and the value of what we offer members very high because we priced it at a break-even point, and so it was very appealing to a lot of young ODs who needed that help without any experience knowing what to do. And, of course, we then had a retail trade name that had market appeal. So a lot of them benefited greatly by, as opposed, to, opening up under their own name and unknown in a community. Chris: Yeah, it gives it instant credibility with the brand name right. That's right. What are some of the things I guess that you know since that time in 2001, that you do and your team around you, to kind of help preserve that brand value, to make it marketable and enticing to these doctors. John: Well, part of it is the importance. An optometry practice as a small business has a very defined marketplace of about three radium miles Okay, so one. That's part of that is because there are so many options and the profession is a licensed profession and so there's a little bit of perception by consumers that it's a commodity. In other words, anybody who's got a license will be able to give you a good exam. Consumers at one time back in the 60s and 70s, thought mostly of wherever they got their exams. That's where they purchased their eyewear. Chris: Out of convenience, right Out of convenience. John: That's right. And in the 80s you had a much more proliferation of retail optical chains like LensCrafters and EyeMasters at the time and Pearl Vision, which were creating an awareness among consumers that you know what, I can get my exam in one location and I can buy my eyewear in another location, and so that added to that sense of commodity. And so what we've done is focus on a three mile marketplace. So instead of running one advertising campaign in Houston, we run 50 around each of our locations, and those are largely driven through community involvement, pay-per-click, you know, today pay-per-click In the beginning though, a lot of it was just getting to know your school nurse, getting to know the coaches in the league ball game, and so from a marketing strategy it was always hyper-local standpoint. And so if you go into some neighborhoods, everyone knows the TSO. If you go into an neighborhood where we have no location, maybe not so much, and that was done probably more just from a practical standpoint of cost than it was anything else, because you know Houston and Dallas. Where we're at in San Antonio, they're very expensive media markets and so if you've only got, you know, 20 locations in the DFW market to go in and try to buy television, advertising or something more traditional is prohibited, and so it makes a lot more sense because that's where people live and work. People ask me sometimes how do you go about picking your locations, your real estate stuff? And I said we tend to let Kroger and HEB do that for us. So, wherever they're at, we want to be close because that's a neighborhood. Chris: That's right. You figured they thought there were enough households to support a grocery store. So I like that, you know, uh, you know. There's a lesson there, though, for a business owner, an entrepreneur, in that you don't necessarily have to do all your own organic research if you don't know, aware what's going on, you can, you know, let someone else do some of that and just make sure that their end users look like yours, and that's right. John: They do a tremendous job, both of those companies, at understanding the market before they ever buy land or pour concrete. I'd hate to insult them by not taking advantage of all that good work they do. Chris: They're genius right, they're genius, that's right. You just mentioned, you said 30 different or 50 different marketing campaigns in Houston alone. I mean, how do you go about figuring out you know the right message for the right place? That must take a lot of work. John: Well, not so much I mean because the message in Sugar Land is the same as the message in the Woodlands. I mean people. While we, as as in our profession, try to complicate this, it's pretty simple from a consumer standpoint. They're looking for a place where they can get their eyes checked and buy a pair of glasses. But probably two-thirds of all of our revenue today come from a third-party payer. So that changes kind of the basic consumer behavior dynamic. But by putting out a message that really is focused on that group of people in terms of maximizing the value of those coverage benefits, that becomes real consistent and then it's a matter of just being louder than anybody else. Chris: Sure, while we're on the subject of that consumer and consumer behavior, what are some of the things that you have done over the last 10, 15 years to either combat the online competition, as you mentioned, because people get their eyes examined and they either go online or do something. How are you managing that and what are some of the strategies you found to be successful? John: Well, first of all, consumers are driven, and I think this may be generally true, but certainly our consumers are driven with the priority on convenience, and one of the reasons the online marketing purchase of eyewear is so appealing is its convenience, and oftentimes it's not a price issue as much as it is a convenience issue and assortment and selection. So one of the things that we focus on is to make sure that our retail dispensary that's what we call the retail store aspect of a practice is well inventoried with product and assortment price points, and then the ultimate differentiation is customer service and knowledgeable people, and so if you have selection pricing and knowledgeable people, it's a home run and you don't have to worry about it, because if you can make it convenient for them, then they're not tempted to go online. And because there's a lot of I don't know if you've ever bought a pair of shoes online, but all you need to do is have one bad experience with that and have to turn around, send them back and so forth and so on that people would really prefer to get it locally, where I got my, where they received their exam, and it's kind of hours to lose. So we try to make sure we don't give them a reason to leave. Chris: Yeah Well, it's an interesting analogy with the shoes, because I can relate to that and see that people like to try on shoes but also glasses right. John: What are these going to look? Chris: like, and if you're at a store with a good selection, it's all right there as opposed to ordering one or two online and knowing you're going to be returning something. Advert Hello friends, this is Chris Hanslick, your Building Texas business host. Did you know that Boyer Miller, the producer of this podcast, is a business law firm that works with entrepreneurs, corporations and business leaders? Our team of attorneys serve as strategic partners to businesses by providing legal guidance to organizations of all sizes. Get to know the firm at BoyerMillercom, and thanks for listening to the show. That's right, yes, well, that's it. So let's shift now kind of to this physician member network. What do you look for, if anything, as far as qualifying people to come into the brand, and then how do you help, kind of manage and support once they're in the network, if you will, to make sure that you're doing all you can to help them be successful? John: It's an interesting change we're seeing right now, especially in the last five to 10 years, and that is, the number of young optometrists who have an interest in owning their own practice is going away. Chris: It's really an interesting thing. John: One. It's very similar to what's going on in healthcare in general. You know, I was just talking to some people last week and I said you know when was the last time I asked them? I said do you have children? Yes, do you have a pediatrician? Yes, is that pediatrician private practice? Chris: No. John: It's owned by some big organization like Texas Children's, and what you're seeing in healthcare delivery at the provider level is a consolidation of these organizations and the disappearing of private practice, and we're seeing that now in optometry. And another big dynamic is 85% of all optometry graduates today are female, and in the 80s that number was just the opposite. It was very unusual in the 80s and early 90s to see women in optometry school. I mean they certainly didn't represent the majority. And so with that comes different priorities of practice. You know you don't have the hard-charging young guy who wants to go into small-town Texas and really build up a big practice or even a metro area. You have people that are much more interested in part-time, that I want to be able to step aside, raise my family, then maybe come back later, and so there's a whole different culture among the providers now coming in. So our organization as a business model relies on young optometrists wanting to own their own practice, and if that category is declining we've got to come up with some other plan here to maintain Sure. So one the opportunities we have are less. The vetting process is largely a discussion with very successful people. Our board of directors consists of nine doctors and three outside directors, but the nine doctors are all very successful. And so a young person does approach me and we talk, I want them to speak to one of our successful guys, and then their job is to kind of assess and come back to me and say, John, I don't know if she's ready, I don't know if he can do this, or I think this is a home run, let's go. And with their input and my discussion I've been doing it now long enough that I kind of get a feel for it Then we'll say let's go. And really it's a matter of they own everything. It's a matter of us guiding them through the process and then supporting them with just the knowledge they don't have about building a practice afterwards, and then lots of follow-up and hand-holding. Chris: And it's done. I think you said just as, basically a license agreement where they're licensing the name and brand and they get some support as a result of that as well. John: I mean contractually, I'm not obligated to support anything. Contractually I'm not obligated to support anything. All I'm obligated to do is to keep the value of the brand consistent with what they're paying for it. But I realized that if they're not successful, my brand value suffers. So we do all that we can to support them and help them be successful. Chris: So let's talk a little bit about your internal team. I mean, you've got a team I think you said 12, that's kind of help support you, that support these members. What have you found to be successful as you've gone through maybe trials and tribulations of hiring the right people, making sure you've got the right people in the right seat to kind of support the business and the brand? John: You know, that's a great question, because I, up until about 2015, I took a whole different approach to personnel than I did 2015 and on, and it was like I learned something, and that is I put together a group of really knowledgeable people in terms of their expertise in certain areas, but the quality that I had not paid attention to prior to that was they also had to be connectors. They had to be the kind of people that could say hey, chris, I know somebody you ought to talk to. And so because when a non-doctor walks into a doctor's office, even with the responsibility of helping, they carry a different level of credibility with that doctor than if a doctor told them something. If we go in and say, hey, listen, you need to be open Saturdays, because there's a lot of business on Saturdays, I don't want to do it. But if a doctor tells them, oh man, you got to be open Saturday, they'll listen to it. But if a doctor tells them, oh man, you've got to be open Saturday, they'll listen to it. And so our guys who are in the field, they do tactical training and support for staff, but when a doctor is facing an issue that they know the answer to, they in turn, seek out other leadership in the doctor community to say would you mind giving so-and-so a call Because I think you could help them get through whatever issue they're dealing with. And so that quality and frankly it's, you know it requires someone who doesn't have much of an ego. Sure, because you know I say this all the time like my old friend Ronald Reagan used to say, there's no limit to what you can accomplish if you don't care who gets the credit. Chris: Yeah. John: And so we take that approach, and ours isn't about trying to get a bunch of credit. Ours is about trying to lift up this organization and get these guys successful, and if we're simply a facilitator in information to how to do that, we don't have to be the initial provider of that information. Even if we know it, it comes much better from a colleague, and so that's one of the things that we put a lot of emphasis on is helping the network, help each other. Chris: So you know you were very quick to say 2015. Have you seen a dramatic improvement in the performance of the overall business since making that change and kind of focusing on the connector quality as being an additional important quality in the people you bring on? John: Very much so, because what Texas State Optical was in the beginning was a doctor-owned organization and doctors working with other doctors to help them grow a network and large business. We're trying to replicate that from the standpoint of, especially as the business, the structure we use I mentioned earlier as a cooperative. It requires doctor leadership to be active and engaged in running their own company, their owners of the company, and so, while I have certainly an important role in that, the more doctors that engage in the leadership of the organization, the better it is overall. And since we took that intentional effort in 2015, a couple of things too. We had a kind of an evolution of membership. I mean, we had a lot of our older doctors retire and sell practices, and then we had a whole influx of young doctors, and so we ended up in 2015 with an organization that was significantly different demographically, both age and gender. That was significantly different demographically, both age and gender. But we thought they need mentorship among the leadership in the organization, and so we worked at creating that for them, and it impacts not just clinical I mean, there's also that aspect of it they're learning clinically from friends but operationally, and so it made a big difference Very good. Chris: I know that you have supply agreements with certain labs and other things. Let's talk about some of the things that you found to be successful in maintaining, I guess, forming those kind of key strategic relationships for the business, and maybe some of the things you do to make sure that you foster and keep them strong of the things you do to make sure that you foster and keep them strong. John: Well, in the vendor-doctor community there is a kind of an assumption made by both sides, and one is the doctor assumes that the vendor's got more money than they know how to spend or what they've got all this money to spend, and the vendor assumes the doctor's not going to follow through on all the promises they make. So that's kind of where we start at the table, and so I think it's important and what we've worked at bringing to our relationships is mutual accountability, and we have found our vendor partners to be extremely invested in our success, but at the same time they've got a business to run as well, and so our success with them and that dynamic of that exchange or relationship cannot be at the vendor's expense. It's gotta be the classic cliche win type of thing, but you only get win if you have mutual accountability. And so in every agreement we have, here's what the vendor commits to and here's what the doctor community commits to. And then we have business reviews where we sit down and say here's where we're dropping the ball or here's where you're dropping the ball, and we hold that accountability does a long goes a long way to not only making the relationship productive but also building trust and longevity into those partnerships, because if you're making money with a partner, you don't want it to stop, right, you know? And that goes both ways If you're a doctor making money with a partner, you don't want it to stop, and if money with a partner, you don't want it to stop, and if you're a partner, you don't want to stop. So I found that type of mutual accountability and the willingness to be held accountable is critical to those relationships Very good. Chris: So you know. Talk a little bit about leadership. You've been running this organization for a long time now. How would you describe your leadership style and how do you think that's evolved over time? John: well, I would. I don't know if I've ever been asked to describe it, but I would say it's Maxwellian. Okay, and that means John C Maxwell, who is an author, has written a number of books on leadership and, in my opinion, probably is the most the best leadership author. I'm biased, of course, but I think he is. Forbes Magazine said that a few years ago, but basically his definition of leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less. It's just influence. And an example of that is if you walk into a room of people, you're naturally going to notice someone who's exercising influence on others, and it isn't an authoritarian way, it's in a trust and credibility way. And so if you're influencing, you're leading. If you're not, it doesn no matter what title you have. So an example is my when I explained how we use doctors to help influence other doctors. So that's a level of influence that doesn't come because I require somebody to do something. It it occurs because you're able to influence others to to make a difference. So I would. I'm a big believer in that. I'll plug his book. There are 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. It's a classic, and so that's like a Bible. It's my business Bible in terms of leadership style. Chris: I was going to use that word because others and it's fair to plug books, because sometimes I ask people what's a book you would recommend. We hear a lot of good to great from people Sure, jim Collins. But what I love what you said if you're influencing, you're leading, because I say a lot of times a true leader leads without a title. John: Right, you're actually doing things without the title to demonstrate leadership, which is what you're talking about Exactly, and if you do have the title and can influence, it's a home run. It's a home run, yeah. Chris: So you've learned that through lots of trials and tribulations. I think we all learn through mistakes or setbacks Anything you could share with the listeners about a decision made that didn't go the way you thought but you learned from it and that learning kind of catapulted you made you better because of it. Setback, failure whatever word you want to describe Anything you could you care to share in that realm. John: Sure the. So I came to Houston. I was born and raised in Western Kansas and I was in Wichita born and raised in western Kansas, and I was in Wichita, kansas, in 1989, excuse me, in the late 80s, 84, 89 era and I was working for a large ophthalmology practice up there as a marketing administrator and in that role I attended a lot of national meetings in ophthalmology and during that meeting I met an owner of a large Houston ophthalmology and during that meeting I met an owner of a large Houston ophthalmology group who ended up offering me a job and I came to Texas. Due to some marketing challenges we were facing at that practice, I was introduced to Texas State Optical while I was at that practice and then left after about four years, left that practice and went to a consumer research firm here in Stafford and quickly turned around and went to Texas State Optical to see if they would like to buy some insurance I'm not insurance, buy some research and they did so. I ended up doing this large project for them but also ended up doing a ton of work for HLMP. During the time they were prepared to try to go to battle with Enron and this was like early nineties, right, and so everything was going well. And then I get fired from the research thing. Now I moved my family down from Kansas. I've been in the state about five and a half years and I get fired. I've been in the state about five and a half years and I get fired. And that was a big you know. Anytime you've been fired, that kind of devastates you Right, it shakes you up. Chris: Yeah, it does. John: But had that not happened, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing Right, and so I have learned, and what pulled me through that is faith, Faith in God and faith in myself is faith, faith in God and faith in myself, and I felt like I can do, kind of what. There was a part of it, chris, that was liberating, because that was like, instead of thinking now what am I going to do, I was thinking now what am I going to do. I mean, it was a whole different frame of attitude and that subsequently ended up leading to the position I have today, through working with franchisees at Texas State Optical and so forth. Chris: That's a great story. Thank you for sharing. You bet A lot of people don't want to talk about, especially if they've been fired for something. But to your point on that, these other opportunities would have never presented themselves right, because you likely stayed in the comfort of the job and seeing where that takes you. You know there's so much that can come. John: Actually, I'd gone to that research firm. The owner of it had brought me there with the promise implied I mean not implied, but it wasn't in writing but the idea was that I would take over that firm at some point and it turned out that didn't work out Well you know a lot of what you, I think, describe. Chris: The undertone to that is the mindset you had in the wake of that setback. You know you didn't let it take you down. You're like like you said what am I going to go? Do I got all these opportunities and go? Explore and figure it out. John: So I had about 30 days before the next house payment came, so that you were acting quick, got to be decisive man. Chris: You can't be stewing on decisions forever, for sure, well, that and so you know that leadership, you know is forged and helped you get to where you are today. You know, when you, when you think about applying that mindset and that leadership kind of style, how does it help you kind of navigate the ups and downs of the economic cycles that we've experienced over the last 20 plus years? John: Well, you know, first of all is to understand which of these cycles are cyclical. That's a little redundant, but I mean, what is it we're going through that's cyclical. That you can. You know, business loves a stable and predictable environment. Right Now, the reality is it's ups and downs. But if it's ups and downs within a certain range of up and down, it's stable right, and you can prepare for it Certain tolerances right, yeah certain tolerances. What we've seen, not only in the economy and that's a whole different issue but what we've seen in the profession itself and the consolidation of private practice by private equity that's come into the marketplace, is we're seeing disruption like we haven't seen before. And I was talking to one of our board members doctor board members about it and we were just, you know, he was pointing out all of the things that are kind of out without from under excuse me, out of our control, and as we were talking about it, I had this thought and I told him. I said it's a great time to be alive and that because we're the ones that get to go through this, and in many ways I believe that our profession is going through a transformation that will take probably a 20 year period of time. But 40 years from now, optometry, I don't think, will look anything like it does today, and it's always bumpy to be in the middle of that turbulent transformation. The 80s were very steady, the 90s were pretty steady. It was in starting about 2010, 2000, that things started rapidly changing and then the acceleration with just technology and everything else is just gone, and then you've got now the whole world of artificial intelligence coming into play and it's. I consider it exciting, invigorating, challenging, but I mean what's? The alternative is to be bored right. Chris: Well, if you don't adopt and if you're not using it, you die use it you die, that's right. So I mean, you know, kind of it's a great segue to what are some of the things you do to kind of foster that maybe innovative mindset of how you're going to embrace the technological changes and use them in the business model to further the brand and the business. John: So I there's very little I can do without the support of the doctor, owner, community right. And sometimes there's a lot of indecision, because when you're not sure what to do, you're scared of doing the wrong thing. Chris: Sure, Well, it seems like you got a lot of opinions that out there too, right? John: You got a lot of them, and so what I have to do is to influence them through other people and through information, to get them to a point of being open enough to consider ideas that they might consider kind of sacrilege in some case. For instance, what is real common in most optometry practices today is what's called an autorefractor. It's a machine that people go through and it gives you a prescription, and the prescription is used by the doctor to zero in on where your visual acuity is right. Well, when that first came out, optometrists thought that was the end of the profession. Here's a machine that'll do what I'm doing. Optometrists thought that was the end of the profession. Here's a machine that'll do what I'm doing. And so there's a fear oftentimes of innovation. Right, that you have to assure people that there's a way to use this to our benefit, and that's what we're going through with artificial intelligence right now. One group is scared to death. It's going to replace them. The other group is glad they're old enough, they're probably not going to have to go through with it. And then you're looking for those people who say, hey, how can we utilize this to really to our benefit? Yeah, and once people feel that's safe enough to kind of try. Then the people realize that the fear is misplaced. Chris: So true, right, but it takes education, information and influence, as you said, to get people to get there so that they can adopt it One of the things that I teach my team to say. John: I mean to believe, and I say it all the time is we believe in everybody's right to make a bad decision. So if someone listens to us and they choose not to do what we're recommending and we know it's a good decision what we're recommending and they choose not to, it's their right. You know, I mean everybody's right to waste their own money. So that kind of patience is necessary with a group like ours. In many ways it's like working with a volunteer organization. Chris: Yeah, well, lots of challenges there, I'm sure. Well, john, this has been a great conversation. I really appreciate you sharing everything I want to ask you, I guess, going back to your days, you know, I guess growing up in Kansas what was your first job? John: A drugstore Rexall drugstore and I grew up in a town of 2000 people and my dad was the family physician of the community and so of course in a town like that in western Kansas the doctor and the pharmacist are close relationship. And so I got my first job at a drugstore, working a soda fountain, delivering prescriptions, restocking things. Like that had a blast and that really I learned a lot in that, not just like everybody learns a lot from their first job, but understanding. I was intrigued by Rexall. I don't know how familiar you are with Rexall, but Rexall was a national organization that gave private ownership of drugstores the purchasing power of a large corporate chain, and so my employer was the pharmacist. He owned the drug store and he stood up in the stand in the dais every day counting pills and chatting with people. So that was my first job. Chris: Very good. Well, you've been in Texas now since what the late? John: 80s. Chris: So do you prefer Tex-Mex or barbecue Barbecue? Okay. John: Barbecue Very good. My waistline prefers barbecue. Chris: And last thing if you could take a 30-day sabbatical, where would you go and what would you do? I don't know, Probably nuts. John: I just I've got to be engaged and I mean I don't have to be. I'm not select. I love business and I love the challenge it has. So I'm not I don't. You said earlier in our discussion about you were describing about the law firm. When I was doing consumer research, I did some healthcare work 12 Oaks Hospital was a client and so but I would tell people, is I specialize in a process, not an industry, because the process is the same and I would say that's what I really love about business, because when you boil it down to what I do and what you do and others that run businesses, it's the same process. It's understanding your customer and then directing how your services or products benefit that customer and communicating and the whole marketing scheme of promotion, price, product and place applies to every industry. And so I'd probably do something if I had 30 days. Like I said, I'd go nuts. Chris: Well, but I think what you just said there in the end is you have great insight and learning for business owners and entrepreneurs out there. You're trying to find their way. It's it is figure out what the consumer that you're catering to really wants and then deliver that as efficient as best you can that's why you know my, when I first got into consumer research, I thought this is like cheating. John: I mean you're actually going out and saying what do you want? They tell you, and then you give it to them. I mean it's like, it's amazing. Chris: Yeah, right, so well, this has been great, John. Thanks again for taking the time. You bet I really appreciate your invitation. Special Guest: John D Marvin.

Tonight as we reflect on the many stories and chapters we've journeyed through in John, we are reminded of his main purpose in writing. Above all else what we find in these pages is evidence of Jesus and his identity as the Son of God, leading us to experience real, overflowing, abundant life by believing in his name.  The song of reflection referred to in the introduction is Hallelujah Here Below by Elevation WorshipThis message is from our Wednesday night service on June 19th, 2024.We gather on Wednesday nights at 6:00pm at The Establishment in Bradburn (11885 Bradburn Blvd. Westminster 80031). Connect with us:kindredchurch.co@kindredchurch.cofacebook.com/kindredchurch.co

This is part 2 of my interview with John S Pennington Jr.  Make sure to listen to Part 1 first. Allen   It seems like I mean, because all the stuff you're mentioning, you know, Ray Dalio in his books, he talks about it too, you know, like, how does one Empire take over from another one? And it's because of the the currency, it's because of you know, and he's been talking about it for a while that there's a collision course coming. And everybody's afraid of it. You know, I mean, I'm even afraid of it. Because if we go to war in 10 years from now, you know, I have two boys that are 13 and 11, they're probably going to be drafted because everybody in the United States is overweight, and they can't fight it. So there's got to be some, right? There's gonna be some serious problem with the Army not having enough people. So my kids are gonna be fighting in a war. I don't want them fighting in and like, everybody's freaking out about it. And like you said, you know, China, they brokered the deal. They're making friends in the Middle East. They're making friends in Africa. They're giving loans like you said, US gave loans to everybody. They gave loans in trillions of dollars, not even billions, but I think it was trillions of worth of loans to build infrastructure in Africa that is then maintained owned and run by Chinese. It's not run by the Africans, the Chinese are in charge of it, the Silk Road Project that they built those highways all the way from China all the way to the, you know, the Mediterranean. I mean, yeah, they've been doing it crazy. And so it seems like everything that you're saying it lines up. And it's like, now that we see John   last year in the last year and a half, while the last few months, India has stopped on some level, not all the way stopped buying Russian oil. They just read some reports this last month that they have, they have curbed their Russian oil purchases. Really. Okay. Now, I don't know exactly why. But I do know, there's tons of companies that have moved from China, to South Korea, Thailand, and India. And I believe India is now choosing Wait a minute, we want to be in good graces with the United States because that's where we're going to suck up all those jobs on China. They're going to come to India. Right. And I think India's Modi, President Modi over there is making a strategic move to go with you know, the US dollar and to do that he's got to appease the the United States by saying you know what, Russia, we even though your oil is cheaper, doesn't matter. We're gonna go with US dollar purchases for oil. That Allen   could be because China is also having territorial disputes now with India over certain areas. It's funny because we have a an oil Options program where we train, we do coaching on oil options, and we you could see it in the news play out when Russia was putting all their tanks on the border of Ukraine, you know, everybody knew it, they're coming in, they're going to invade and everybody was like, when is it gonna happen? When is it gonna happen? I told her, I'll tell all my traders it's like, you know, just wait. It's not going to happen until the Olympics are open. Olympics are over because the Olympics are in China is like they have the closing ceremonies, like four hours later, boom, there's an invasion. It's like, okay, now we can play it now. It's, you know, it's, yeah, he was insane. So now you said, now I'm trying to figure out like, okay, alright, how can I make money off of this? Right. So it's like you said that Russia and China are still buying gold. So is that? Is that an investment that's going to continue to ramp up because I think gold is at all time highs right now? John   Yeah, it's all time high. Silver is kind of trying to get up there. But Silver's having a tough time. So let's go to Okay, let's go to the summer of 2020. All right, summer 2020. The SEC, which is part of the team, you have the team, you know, US dollar, the SEC sues JP Morgan. What are they suing him for? They're suing him for manipulating the precious metals market for nine years. Silver gold, okay. And they lose, JPMorgan loses and they're fined almost a billion dollars a billion dollar fine for nine years and mutilation the SEC. Okay. The point is, JP Morgan figured out how to manipulate and control a market that's 30 times bigger than Bitcoin. Gold and silver and gold for nine years. And they finally SEC found out about it pseudonym wins, finds you billion dollars, but guess what, no one that I know of went to jail. Allen   I mean, it wasn't that big in the news, they get headlines, John   kind of kept quiet, right. So millions of people that buy and sell silver and gold were fleeced out of how know how many much money but no one goes to jail. But you just find they probably made 20 billion but they're only find a billion it was it was 930 million, but I rounded a billion because we talked about a billion seconds earlier. Right? Okay, so nine 30 million, but close to a billion dollars. All right. So my theory in my book that I explain is you have precious metals market that have been manipulated through using futures and all kinds of different manipulations. And a year from there, now you're in summer of 2021. Bitcoin is trading around $31,000. This is July. Okay. So August, September, October, November, four months later, Bitcoin hits all time high $69,000. My theory is that the Federal Reserve, US government viewed Bitcoin as a competitor possible to the US dollar. And so they took the playbook that they learned from JP Morgan, and I think they had JP Morgan personnel help them do it right. Clandestine to control try to control Bitcoin. And that's why it went from 31,000 to 16,000 in a four, three and a half month period of time. So November it hits $69,000. And so how are the way that you control Bitcoin? Well, one JP Morgan used a futures market. Okay, now what I'm about to tell you all these things that I'm gonna tell you happen in November 2021. Okay, one bitcoin hits all time high. Number two, the SEC approves a Bitcoin ETF not I first bought only four futures right and they denied grayscale the spot one Why would you approve one for futures and not one for spot doesn't make any sense. So that happened November also, also November and Allen   hold that for people who are listening to spot means the current price futures means prices in advance. So the actual the actual Bitcoin John   not a Hypothecation the actual non derivative, the actual Bitcoin, right? So the SEC says no you can't you can't operate, we're not gonna allow you to operate a ETF that actually buys Bitcoin, we're only going to allow this other company, an ETF that actually buys futures on contracts, right just contracts, which is the what the way JP Morgan was one of the ways they were able to manipulate the silver and gold market for nine years. Okay, that's the third thing that happened in November, the SEC extends their lawsuit against a ripple XRP coin. Why XRP from the nanosecond XRP was invented. Its one goal was what to do to circumvent the SWIFT system, which would decrease the demand for US dollars. So the SEC extends the EC the lawsuit for no apparent reason. And they just kind of lost it. They lost the SEC last last summer, and then they appealed. So they're this lawsuit still going on against XRP? Okay, a former thing that happened in this month, in November, Hillary Clinton came out and said, Bitcoin could damage the US dollars, reserve world currency. Now, again, back to probabilities and predictions, you can say she just went to a microphone and just talking. That's you can believe that, or what's the is that a probability high probability? Or is the probability that she had been privy to previous meetings months earlier, that the Federal Reserve was going to try to pinch Bitcoin control, they don't want to kill it, they just want to control it. And so she got in front of microphone, which she loves to do to tell all her memes. Hey, listen to me, I always know the truth. I always give you the truth. Guess what the Bitcoin could take over the US currency, which is our number one product and why so he's she's sending a coded message, maybe? Maybe not. But the probability, I think the probability is high that she had some information that the government was using a clandestine approach to try to control Bitcoin, Allen   because she was a congresswoman and she was sitting on committees and all that, yes, yes. John   One other way you can control a traded commodity or traded stock or whatever or bitcoin is if you can get 45 to 60 days of trading volume, meaning if if bitcoin trades 100 coins a day, you would need 4500 coins. If it trades 1000 coins a day, you would need 45,000 coins are 60,000 coins. This is what how you do it. So let's just say hypothetically, that from July 2021 to November 2021, the Federal Reserve had to obtain 45 days of trading bonds 66 days trading bond that means they have to buy bitcoin. They're buying Bitcoin buying Bitcoin buying Bitcoin buying Bitcoin buying Bitcoin, that means the price is going up, up, up, up up. Once they have 45 or six days of trading volume, they take their 45 Day Trading bond, and they stick it at six $9,000. And they put it there for sale, all this at a limit price 60,000 or so we start buying you buy I buy we're buying. And then we keep hitting 69 69,006 96 Night Out signal, there's a ceiling, there's a price ceiling, the ceiling, and we can see it and we go Wait, there's a big seller at 16,000 or so mean, you start selling. So we start selling everyone starts selling and it goes down to 68,000. Guess who's buying at 60,000 The Federal Reserve, they're replenishing their 60 day supply or 45 day supply of trading volume. So that mean you go Wait, there's a buyer at 68,000 and we start buying again. And it goes to 68,000. They don't let it go to 69 because that would be a bullish chart, right? They can have a they can have a higher high. They can have a lower high and they put their 45 day trading volume boom right there as 68,800 and they start selling and same thing happens. We sell and it goes down. That's one way you can control a market right now. So lately as we know, Bitcoin has hit a new all time high. Yeah. And so maybe maybe what happened was, this is there's another hypothesis. Maybe they realized they alone couldn't do it. Okay. So last summer, the SEC basically told 11 companies Listen, we're going to approve 11 companies all at the same time to try A Bitcoin spot and ETF spot so they approved 11 ETFs to trade Bitcoin spot. Now, what I think happened in October, Bitcoin was trading 31,000 27,000 31,000 31,000 27,000 27,000 If Gessner of the head of the SEC told them Hey, guess what we're going to do? In a few months we're going to let you guys start trading Bitcoin what you guys should do is buy a Bitcoin to control the market. So Bitcoin went from 27,000 to sweat 72,000 Something like that. Right? Yeah, today, but I'm saying I'm saying on January I think was January 11. Okay, all the Bitcoin went up 11 Bitcoin went alive, right? Okay. Now think about what just happened on January 11. There are record number of buying a Bitcoin record number. And in 11, or 12 days, it goes from, from where it's at down to $39,000. Why there's a record number of buyers, it should go up. But wait, if all the ETFs bought at 31,000, knee ETFs, bought at 32,000 35,000 42,000 If they were buying it, so that when the ETFs went live, they could sell it to you. That's why the price went down. There's no other there's no other explanation. Because if they had bought zero, when a record numbers came in to buy bitcoin, they would have to take your US dollars and go buy Bitcoin that would go up, the way it goes down. It went down like 18% in 11 days with record inflows, that means that I believe BlackRock and all the other 1011 ETFs are in on the game of manipulation of Bitcoin, right? And so this is back to my theory that no matter what it is, if it's the yuan, or if it's gold, if it's Bitcoin, and it and it has the potential of damaging the number one product of all time, the Federal Reserve, the US Navy, the president, the SEC, the IRS, even the CIA, that's their number one job. Now, a lot of times Congress forgets their number one job. Allen   I was gonna ask you about that, too. I was like Congress get the memo. Because yeah, John   they don't get it. But but but people criticize. Powell had the federal they criticized him all the time. I don't. I think he's doing a great job. Listen, if we went back in time, okay, we'll go back in time, Alan, we're going back to 30 years, okay. 30 years ago, I said, you're going to be the head of the Federal Reserve. Okay. And I'm going to be Congress, right? Your job is to protect and promote the US dollar. And all I do that Congress, I spend trillion, I spend a trillion, I spend a trillion, I spend a trillion, I spend a trillion. And I say to you, hey, figure out how to pay for it. Right? So you can criticize Powell all you want. But man, he's still we still are 58% of the world reserve currency. And the Congress doesn't stop spending. It's like a couple. You have a couple one spouse spends tons of money on credit cards, and they turn the other spouse pay for it. Right. And Powell must be just for it. If I was I'd be screwed top my lungs, would you guys stop spending? All you got to stop because I'm doing my best to keep this number one product afloat around the world. I'm doing my best. Right. And so I don't criticize Powell. I've actually under the circumstances, I think he's doing a fantastic job, even though people call him stupid. People don't like what he says. But I don't listen to what he says. I just listen when he does. And I and I realize he has a partner called the US Congress. Who is there just out of control spending? Yep. And he's done it. He's doing a great job by keeping our agreements accepted around the world. Yeah, Allen   I agree with you. I mean, you know, after COVID, and all that money that was spent on everything, you know, to maintain it to not even go into recession to have Yeah, inflation was a it could have been a lot worse than who it was. Without all that spending all that money that's just unaccounted for. So John   I think right now, the Congress is spending about $1 trillion every four or five months, six months. That's, that's, that's what's going on right now. That's just amazing. So back to your question. As you can tell, I have long answers. Gold, silver, Bitcoin real estate, okay. If you keep spending a trillion dollars every six months, additionally, items are going to go up in price. Gold, silver, Bitcoin, eventually, it's just going to bubble up you. It's kind of you almost can't stop it. Right. wheat, wheat soybeans, I mean, real estate farmland, if you just give a trillion dollars every six months, and how long can the us do this? I bet they can. You know, look, look the US Dollar might be the greatest Ponzi scheme ever invented a headline, it might it might be, but this is the thing. There is no mathematical way to taper a large Ponzi scheme, it can't be done. So therefore, the only way to play it all out is to play it all the way through. Okay, just to play it out, right? Let's don't get mad at me. I didn't create this. I was born into this system. Right? I am pro US dollar. Why? Because I'm in the Ponzi scheme, because all of our money is in US dollars. I don't want to wake up tomorrow morning and have the US dollar at zero because I will be broke. My parents will be living in my basement. My kids who live in my basement way my my house would be for sale because I'd be broke because everything I have almost is in US dollars. Right? Bait US dollar based, right? I have some bitcoin I have some gold. I have some real estate, right. But it's US dollar base. You too. We're we're in the Ponzi scheme. Okay. So therefore I think with the US think about the US Navy, think about the powers think about everything they could they could for what proliferate this for another 20 3050 years. They are very powerful. The Federal Reserve is the most powerful entity, along with the US Navy, along with the IRS along with the SEC along with the President. They are incredible team. And look, look, you know, China, only having 2.7% 2.7% of the world reserve currency, and we have 58% and the Euros 20%. And they got it they got a big mountain to climb, right, and they can climb it, but it's gonna take a long time. But the problem is this. Again, China is now printing more money than we're printing. Because they're in a they're in a 1929 depression right now. It's bad over there. Unemployment is youth unemployment, ages 18 to 30. is so bad China stopped reporting it. That's how bad it is. They don't report it anymore. Yeah, the estimates they have, if you are a college aged kid in China, college, graduated kid in China, and you're in a big city. This is 18 to 30 years old, okay? You graduate in college, and you have a job. Your average salary is $700 to $950 a month. Wow. That's the average salary right now in a big city. In China. They're in a 1929 depression. So they're not going to fix this in one to six months. It's going to be years to fix this in China. And the US is, I believe, putting pencils on them trying to even control them because they're sending a message to Saudi Arabia. Anyway, so this is people go man, John, you really got a lot of information, like you just said, you have all this information. And you put together like a puzzle, right? And it's conspiracy theory. And I go, it might be I might be totally wrong. But it just keeps fitting together. The more I put more puzzle pieces together, they keep fitting. Yeah. So Allen   I have another question. And this is about a different commodity. Now, we talked a little bit of we talked about how the Fed control the prices of Bitcoin, how the Fed is controlled, trying to try and try to trying to or and how it's handling other issues. What do you think? Do you or do you think that they're doing something similar to oil prices? Because it's not oil? Yeah. It's not directly tied to the dollar, but it is tied to the economy. And yeah, John   yeah. So I remember when President Biden took office is first thing he did was he turned off the Keystone pipeline to Canada. And I was like, why? Allen   environmental reasons, right? Why John   would you do that? And I put the US dollar in, wait a minute, we have to buy some oil from Saudi Arabia. So we, as a gesture to Saudi Arabia, to keep oil prices up, we turn off the Keystone pipeline to reduce oil here in North America, so that Saudi Arabia can have a better something like that. And they you know, there is some type of manipulation a little bit around the world, but oil is huge, right? Everyone's got a little bit oil and some kinds of we have a lot of oil for some reason. Saudi Arabia has a lot. Russia has a lot. And so but I would say to you that oil is a commodity base is every once in a while manipulated, but you know, turning off spigots reduces supply, which increases so but what's happened is for the oil trader, your old traders the next 510 years, maybe five years, everyone has gone green, and they're making solar panels and windmills in Germany, right. And they've been the last, you know, since that big huge problem that we had in that tidal wave in Japan. With that nuclear reactor over there, that nuclear power plant, everyone went away from nuclear. So we went through this last winter I believe there were power outages or power Our reductions in Germany, Canada, there are places that just had was worried about their power being right. And so what happens is, so many people have swung over to the green agenda, which is a good thing. They've left the agenda in buying Chevron and Exxon Mobil, and they've left they've left, and so at Chevron, Exxon Mobil have stopped or reduced their exploration because they don't have as much money. Right? Okay. And therefore, that's going to keep oil prices higher. So what the green initiative has done is encouraged oil prices to be higher, because they've reduced the amount of money that can explore and extract more oil. So they've reduced it, therefore there's less of it, therefore, oil will be higher in the future. And I know, Saudis have turned down their spigot lately, you know, for the oil. And so I know that's happening. But oil is a long term play, mostly for me. It's a long term play, but I just kind of try to find the trend. And it seems like, to me the trend is up in general, because of what I just explained. Makes Allen   sense. Yeah. I mean, I tell people that you know, back in the day, the rich man used to have an engine, like a car with an engine and everybody else was on horses, right? Yeah. And then it became commonplace. And then it became the rich man had the electric vehicle, because he had to be rich to have a and then now it's gonna flip and it's gonna be like, Okay, now the rich guy has the combustible engine, and everybody else is driving the electric vehicles. And the really John   rich man has a horse. He hasn't a stable. You guys once a month. You know what I mean? Exactly. Back to the horse. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Allen   Cool. All right. So I do want to wrap it up with going into the future now, because we you know, you mentioned conspiracy theory. And now this one is, I see it coming. But the US digital dollar. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So let's do I want to hear on stage. John   You've heard me on stage on stage, I show a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was a bodybuilder. And I show when he's an actor, and I show him as a governor. Arnold Schwarzenegger reinvented himself three times. The US dollar has to reinvent itself. It was gold in 1933. It was the Bretton Woods, you know, we will back the the French franc in 1944. In 1971, it turned into the Fiat dollar of the petro dollar. And now it's going to go into the digital age. And it's coming, I just don't know how long it's going to take for them to manufacture a crisis, that we will accept the US digital dollar, they have to have a crisis versus except for right now. No one wants to accept it. Because once you accept it, everyone knows what you spent your money on. Right? Because right Allen   now, I mean, you have credit cards, and you have wire transfers. And so like, what's the point? Why do we need that right? Well, John   but I can pay cash for something, and you don't know what I bought. Right? Right. And so but but once the digital dollar hits, and it's mandatory, everything, you know, there won't be there won't be I can imagine there won't be a tax return anymore. If you buy something at Walmart, the nanosecond, you buy it, a few pennies will go to Washington DC, every single day. And if you're buying Chinese goods, there's 17 pennies that go to Washington DC. If you're buying US goods, there's four pennies go into wash DC every time you buy something. So if you if you transfer money from your phone to your kids, so they can buy lunch at school today, every time you transfer money, there's two pennies going to go. So there's no tax returns. Everyone knows or not everyone, the federal government would know everything you spend your money on, where you spend your money. And they might say Well, that would reduce drug trafficking, that will reduce illegal activities that reduce a lot of things because everything is tracked, there is no gold, there is no silver, there is no Bitcoin, we have to outlaw it. And it might be and I hypothecate In my book, let's go to May 2033. That's the 100th anniversary of the gold confiscation that people said no, that can never happen America Well, in 1933. In May, they confiscated all our gold. And in May 19 In May 2033, it might come to the point where for the good of the country, the country is in so big of debt. If we could just collect all of our taxes from our citizens, we could pay our bills, but we can't because too many people are using gold. Too many people are using Bitcoin too many people are using cash and we can't track that and and that's how people cheat on their taxes. But if we switched to the US digital dollar, no one can cheat on their taxes. When they buy a boat we know it when they pay for lunch, we know it right and we collect our taxes, therefore as to be patriotic. Everyone must have if you own a business you no longer accept cash You know, alongside Bitcoin, you know, because we have to sugar up the US economy, and it's patriotic. And this is this hypothetical, but may 9, may 2033, just 100 year anniversary, it could happen if they can create, and I'm saying create a crisis in the American mind, where we're gonna go bankrupt United States unless we switch the US digital dollar. And that's the savior now. So something like that that's a hypothetical. You might it might be, it might be a cyber attack. You know, I don't know if you remember this, this, I think 2012 Maybe you remember a little country called Cyprus. Allen   I know of a John   little country called Cyprus, right. on a Monday morning, everyone woke up went to their bank. And the rich people who had I don't know the number, but it was over 100,000 are over 500,000 in their bank, half of their money was gone. The country confiscated half of the savings accounts of our all the rich people, because the country tried to go to the EU over the weekend, because they were bankrupt. and the EU turned them down. They said, Look, we'll give us a loan. They said no. So the EU turned them down. So the only thing that country could do was over the weekend, confiscate half of the money in all the bank and this is digital, this digital dollars, your digital, you can do this. They confiscated half of the money. And they said basically to the people, aren't you glad we did that? Because we wouldn't have done that. Your your your country, you'd have been worth zero. All your money would have been the zero we confiscated half of it, to pay for the government to keep us alive and open so that you could have half your money. This happened in Cyprus. Wow. So, you know, we when you say when you use the word, US government cannot. That's the wrong word. No, there's no Federal Reserve cannot that no, you should use shouldn't, wouldn't. But couldn't isn't a right word. Because in a digital age, everything is possible. They can change laws they can it's when people are desperate. And Money makes people desperate. Or lack of money makes people desperate. Things just happen that you thought could never happen. And I'm sure those people in Cyprus thought it could never happen. But on a Monday morning, it happened. Oh, yeah. She's, Allen   I mean, like you mentioned in the book, you talked about the Commerce Clause, right? And yeah, and I remember after 911, the government passed the Patriot Act, you know, it's a great, great name for a bill or a Patriot Act. Yeah. What does it mean? It means basically, if you look at it, they can take anybody off the street, pick you up, throw you in a hole, you have no representation. No, you can't talk to anybody for as long as they want as long as you are under suspicion. And it doesn't matter if you're a citizen or not. And it's like, okay, what happened to our liberties? What happened to the Constitution? Oh, it's not there anymore. Sorry. You know, so yeah, you're right. They can do basically anything. John   The word the word cannot, should not be in your sentence with the US government shouldn't wouldn't Yes, but cannot or couldn't. Don't don't say those words together with the US government. As Allen   you remember, when Modi took over in India, they had supposedly they had problems with, you know, the mafia and illegal gambling and illegal monies and all that. So he made everybody turn in their higher dollar notes. Yes, exactly. It's like everybody to come into cash and other notes and the people that bring it in, we'll baskets and stuff. So it John   he actually it was pretty thought out because he said the poor people need a $1 $5 bill or $10. Bill, the rich people, you don't need hundreds and $500 bills, you can all you do that electronically. You want to transfer large amounts of money, it's electronic. You want to transfer for tips, or you want to pay your guy to shine your shoes or mow your lawn. You still have small bills, because look, it's really hard to transfer $1,000,000,001 bills, because it would take up a whole truckload right? So, so that was Modi's compromise to keep the poor having money in their pocket, and to hinder the rich, or the drug dealers or whoever, for moving large amounts of money. It all has to be electronically because electronically, we can track it. Allen   Yeah, so I mean, that could be something that they do here. You know, let's take away the $100. Bill. We used to have $1,000 bills, right, I think yeah, back in the day. Yeah. A John   long time ago. Yeah. Yeah. Allen   So okay, so you're saying that in nine years is 2023 or 33 2033. And you also say in your book that every 10 years, there is some kind of financial catastrophe or collapse or John   if you think about it since 1971, okay, we won the fiat currency system. Okay. Okay, and this is roughly nine or 10 years, okay? The economy goes, boom, right? And there's opportunity. So 1971 Give me a few years for the fiat currency to get going. Okay, the petro dollar. In 1988, there was a stock market crash. And soon after that, the Berlin Wall came down, the Soviet Union crushed. And I took advantage of that I started selling us Levi's, the Eastern Bloc country, okay. 1999 comes around the.com bubble, right. And I missed it. There was a huge opportunity in internet. I knew it was going on, I just couldn't figure out how to make money at it. And it went, boom, and I missed that opportunity. Okay, 99 2000. Then in 2008, nine ish, there was a great recession. And I took great advantage of I started a huge fund that eventually was managing a family of funds, the lost family funds, 2008, that eventually, in 2021, was managing $28 billion assets under management. And today manages like 47 billion. Okay. And then 2020, there was the pandemic, right. And then we launched other funds called, they were called opportunities on funds that had huge tax advantages that we launched funds in that. So about every 10 years or so, since the fiat currency of 1971, the petro dollar, every 10 years, you know, it goes, the economy just goes boom, and boom means there's opportunity. And so a lot of the funds that started in real estate funds that started 289, and 10 made a ton of money, you can still make a lot of money, real estate, but we made a ton of money, because the economy was just blanketed low and we could buy things so cheap in 2009 and 10. It was it was crazy. So Allen   I don't know. I mean, we might be close to that timeline, you know, but 10 years and 33. It's somewhere in there. Well, John   are 2029, you know, 29? Right in there, right in there. 20 930-228-2930. Right there. That's about 10 more years. That's the tenure since the last one ish, right? Yeah. Allen   Do you have anything on your antenna that you're noticing now that would go boom? John   Well, again, it might be the US digital dollar that goes into it might be an opportunity there. Because, you know, maybe this is this, this is way out there. But maybe Congress is spending and spending and spending and spending and spending for a lot of reasons. But one reason is to cause a crisis. Well, so that we could be forced to go to the digital dollar. Oh, my right. Yeah, that's just a crazy i That's i That's not my blood, because that's just a crazy theory. But because I can't think I cannot figure out why. What's the purpose of this? Like, I can't figure out why President Biden lets all these illegals coming off our southern border. Yeah, I don't I don't get I know there's a reason. But I don't really understand the reason I'm trying to figure it out. And I haven't figured that one out yet. And yet, I can't figure out why the US Congress can't just stop spending some money. It might just be there's no conspiracy, they just spin spin spin. But it might just there might be another underlying reason. They're trying to force it because they look to get us to go the US digital dollar, there has to be a cyber attack, there has to be some big crisis, something like in Cyprus, that would cause us to go, okay. I'm okay with that. Like right now, we have five and a quarter percentage rates, you know why we're okay with that, because we had 9% inflation. But if we had 1%, inflation, we would never accept a five and a quarter percentage rate. So there has to be some type of crisis to get people to do things they don't want to do. And we no one wants to go to the Digital's digital dollar. But you would in a situation, there's scenarios that you would you would switch Yeah. Allen   And at this point, there's no alternative. And the Fed, like you said, is making it that way. And that's their job to make sure there's no alternative. Oh my Well, John, I really appreciate your time we've gone over thank you so much for it. And again really fun, everybody it's dollars gold and Bitcoin available at Amazon, get your copy. And we've touched everything in here. There's more in here that that is also John   on audible.com If you'd like my voice, you can listen to me for six hours and because I recorded the whole thing and all the time so if you don't read books, you listen to books, you can continue to listen to Mike scratchy voice for six more hours. Allen   Thank you so much. I appreciate you and everything that you've shared with us. John   Thank you very much for having me.

April 19, 2024 - Friday 10:00AM MPR 4 Speaker   Speaker: Dan Winkler   Exegesis: To glean out of the scriptures what is actually said Logos: the word The rhyme and reason of things To Greeks held everything together   Matthew - The plan of God Mark - the power of Jesus Luke - Jesus involving himself with other people John - the other gospel, totally different, say this is God's son   John 1 Prologue of book Preparation of Jesus' ministry from John the Baptist Dan's Goal: realize how special Jesus is   We place a lot of attention on the church and particulars on becoming members. But do we place a lot of attention on Christ? Let people hear about the church of Christ and the Christ of the church! We have to buck the world's thoughts of church of Christ as a denomination Young people need to fall deeply in love with Christ properly, not just memorize   John 1 has 2 sections Testimony of John the apostle (verses 1-18) I saw that and I can still see it in my mind Dan - I lost my son 18 years ago but Ilan still hear his voice in my head Eternity - (verses 1-8) "Was" in Greek was imperfect - continues to develop Jesus has always been and always will be Though he was rich for your sake became poor 2 Corinthians 9 Poor - beg to exist Deity Word was with God and was God Imprint or character of God Creativity (verses 3-13) All things made through him 1 Corinthians 8:6 Life, light Physically, spiritually, eternally Humanity (verse 14) Only begotten, only born (John 7:12, 8:42,  9:38) Jesus as flesh fathered by Holy Spirit Charity We have received grace upon grace, Authority Truth through Jesus Is our High Priest Hebrews 8:1 Minister - public official Hebrews 8:2 Testimony of John the Baptist (John 1:19 - Uses possessive prepositions to describe Lamb of God (John 1:29) Took our sins away Son of God (John 1:34) Chosen one Did no sin Son of Joseph (John 1:45) Did Holy Spirit make a mistake? HoIy Spirit wants us to know Joseph was in life of Jesus King of Israel (John 1:49) Son of Man (John 1:51) Daniel 7   Conclusion 3 other descriptors Lord Messiah - anointed of God Rabbi - teacher Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FjC_AoNMM4   Duration 43:30

"One Night Only" es un álbum en vivo del cantante y compositor británico Elton John, lanzado en 2000. El álbum presenta grabaciones en vivo de una serie de conciertos que Elton John ofreció en el Madison Square Garden de Nueva York en octubre de 2000. Incluye éxitos emblemáticos de su carrera, como "Bennie and the Jets", "Rocket Man", "Candle in the Wind" y "Your Song", entre otros. "One Night Only" fue un gran éxito comercial y fue bien recibido por críticos y fans por igual. Es una excelente muestra del talento y la energía en vivo de Elton John.

John 17:14-21

Wednesday Evening Service, Pastor Bob

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we're continuing our series in the Gospel of John. Guest speaker Randle Bishop shares from John 5:25-29.

During this message, we begin to look at a unique perspective John brings to the story of Jesus and how the Gospel of John began. John jumps into…the deity of Jesus and the necessity of Jesus in creation. This past weekend, Pastor Mark Pope guided us through these two important points as we start our series, John: One Disciples Unique Perspective. This week, be challenged to consider the following questions: "Where am I in the lordship journey?" and "Am I ready for a creative encounter with God?" Full Service

This week Johnboy provides four Irish lads that are all a bit off! The thug who used his head to break down doors! The one eyed man who successfully snuck into political and sporting events! The unofficial prison tour guide and "jail groupie!" The man who attacked cops and wrote poetry about it! Featuring Werner Squirts-Hog!!!!

Summary In this conversation, Pastor Bill and Pastor Newms discuss their study of Genesis chapter two, verses four through seven. They started their study from the beginning of Genesis and talked about how it wasn't a Jewish text initially. They also discussed how the Scriptures were the beginning of the story for the Jews before they went into captivity in Babylon. Pastor Bill reads from the Christian Standard Bible, not because he thinks it's perfect, but because no translation could be perfect as it's impossible to know the intentions of someone when they were writing the scriptures. They go through the verses word by word, looking for words that are different and could indicate that something deeper or more is being said. They discuss the creation of the earth and the heavens, the absence of shrubs and plants, and the mist that watered the ground before the creation of man. They then talk about how the Lord God formed the man out of dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, making him a living being. Overall, their discussion focuses on the deeper meanings and insights that can be gained from studying the Scriptures in detail. The speaker discusses the significance of the phrase these are the records of the heavens and the earth concerning their creation at the time that the Lord God made the earth and heavens in Genesis chapter two, verse four. They explain that while the first part of the phrase is not particularly noteworthy, the second half - which refers to Jehovah and Elohim - is significant as it defines Jehovah as a specific, divine being. This, in turn, gives us an idea of when the text may have been written, as Jehovah is not identified by name until Exodus chapter three. The speaker goes on to mention that this chapter describes the story of Moses and the burning bush, which is where God first refers to himself as Jehovah. The conversation revolves around the book of Genesis in the Bible, specifically the story of Moses and God's revelation of his name, Jehovah. The discussion touches on the idea that Moses might not have existed but the point is that God shared his name with humanity at a certain time. This is significant as it is the first time that God identified himself by name to mankind. The conversation also touches on the structure of Genesis, which follows a pattern of recording human interactions with God and tracking the genealogies of specific individuals such as Adam, Noah, and Abraham. It is noted that Genesis is not a history book but a religious text useful for teaching, correcting, and building up faith. The discussion concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding that Genesis is a record of oral histories and human interactions with God, rather than a book of direct descendantship or religious clubs. In a conversation between two pastors, they discuss the significance of the story of Abraham in the book of Genesis. They note that Abraham was found faithful and God chose to favor his bloodline, which is why his lineage is blessed and why the scriptures still exist. The pastors also point out that before God whispered to Abraham in the desert, the whole world had forgotten the name of God. They emphasize that Genesis chapter two has ties that are connected to future scriptures and that people refer back to these scriptures frequently. Both pastors agree on the importance of understanding the context of the Bible and how it informs our understanding of God's plan for humanity. Chapters 0:00:00 "Transcript: Season 4, Episode 13 of The Berean Manifesto - Faith, Hope, and Love for the Modern Christian"  0:02:58 Weekly Update: Quizzing Competition and Gaming Beta Testing  0:05:26 Discussion and State Event Anecdote  0:10:21 Transcript of a Podcast Episode: Messing with Children for Fun with a Professional Writer  0:14:44 A Casual Conversation with a Pastor.  0:16:50 A Conversation on Favorite Movie Scenes and Coping Strategies for Bad Days  0:19:52 A Casual Conversation on Coping with Bad Days and Humorous Jokes about Jesus 0:22:54 A Discussion on Genesis 2:4-7: Word by Word Analysis with Pastors Bill and Newms  Analysis of Genesis and Exodus: The Use of Names for God  0:30:02 Analysis of Genesis: The Naming of God and the Cycle of Genealogies  0:37:51 A Discussion on the Significance of Abraham and Genesis Chapter Two in Biblical History  0:39:13 A Discussion on the Cultural and Linguistic Context of the Word "Jehovah" in the Bible  0:41:01 A Casual Conversation between Pastors on Genesis 25  0:46:28 A Discussion on Genesis 2:6-7: The Creation of Man and the Importance of God's Personal Involvement  0:48:46 Analysis of Genesis 2:7: The Formation of Human Beings from Dust  0:59:18 Discussion on the Concept of God's Breath and the Human Soul  1:00:15 A Discussion on the Spiritual Significance of Breath and the Beginning of Life in Different Faiths  1:09:13 "The Berean Manifesto: A Weekly Podcast on Faith, Hop, and Love for the Modern Christian"  Transcript 0:00:00 Pastor Bill: It's. Hello, and welcome to season four, episode 13 of The Berean Manifesto. Faith, Hope, and Love for the Modern Christian. I'm Pastor Bill, and I am joined, as always, by Pastor Newms. And Pastor Newms was telling us about some stuff about his day, and we've just kind of been hanging out while the intro music played because we record this live, right? Every Sunday night we record this live at 06:30 p.m. Central Standard Time. And if you're enjoying listening to this podcast not live, then you might enjoy coming and hanging out on Twitch or Facebook or YouTube in the chat. You froze me? 0:00:52 Pastor Newms: Yeah, I forgot if I opened up my little thing to take a screenshot that it would freeze you like this, but not like that. 0:01:03 Pastor Bill: Why are you screenshotting me? 0:01:05 Pastor Newms: I'm not screenshotting you. Okay, screenshoting a bathroom layout. That is kind of like what I'm talking about, but not quite. 0:01:15 Pastor Bill: But see, we were talking about that before we went officially live. 0:01:19 Pastor Newms: Well, I didn't say what it was. I didn't say why. 0:01:22 Pastor Bill: I didn't say why I was sending you a screenshot of a bathroom. 0:01:25 Pastor Newms: Yeah. 0:01:25 Pastor Bill: Going to randomly throw that in there and let listeners wonder. 0:01:28 Pastor Newms: Let them wonder. Let them wonder. 0:01:29 Pastor Bill: So if you wanted to join us live and be a part of the conversation, you can type in the chat. Like just now, we got a chat message from Zaydie, who's one of our regulars on Twitch. She just said hi, but if at any point she wanted to be more part of the conversation with questions or concerns like last week, like last week, then she could. And I would like to invite everyone who's listening to avail yourself of these technological capabilities as well and join us on Sunday nights when we record live. All right, Pastor Newms, how was your week? 0:02:11 Pastor Newms: Strong breath is a good waves. No, my week was pretty good. 0:02:16 Pastor Bill: Your week was strong breath? 0:02:18 Pastor Newms: Yeah, strong breath like a good strong exhale. No, my week was good. Monday through Friday was just busy, but not bad busy. It was just work busy. And then yesterday, the state finals for the Junior Bible Quiz thing that Seraphina has recently gotten involved in. 0:02:58 Pastor Bill: Was there. 0:02:59 Pastor Newms: And so there were people from across Tennessee, mainly from Knoxville, the Nashville area and then, of course, the Memphis area and then someone from outside the state. But their state doesn't have one, so they're part of our state for the finals. And the number one place gets an automatic the number one team for Quizzing gets to go to nationals and then so many other teams get to go to regionals which then they can try to place in nationals. And so it's kind of cool. And so I coached that yesterday, and so that was a lot of up and down the stairs and a lot of around and around, which is fun, but it was good because the girls had fun and both of them beat their daily high scores, which was good, so it was fun. And then that's really all the only memorable thing I did this week. Everything else was pretty much just normal work. I did finish, not finish. I did more of the Diablo four open beta this week. This is the last open beta before launch on 66, and so that was fun and got to play with that some more, so it was good. 0:04:46 Pastor Bill: Cool. 0:04:48 Pastor Newms: How was your week, Pastor Bill? 0:04:50 Pastor Bill: Well, in my neck of the woods, so last week we had been talking about Gerg and his old One Act Play stuff, and I didn't have all the correct information. So Wednesday they had their, what they were what we called bi-district competition. 0:05:07 Pastor Newms: Okay. 0:05:08 Pastor Bill: Which they placed in one of the top three positions. So they do move on, but apparently they move on from by district into area, and then if they succeeded area, then they move on to region, and if they succeed at region, then they move on to state. 0:05:26 Pastor Newms: Okay. 0:05:30 Pastor Bill: But they only had to do good at by district in order to letter to get a letterman's jacket. So he's going to get a letterman jacket now because of how they did him by district, so that's cool. 0:05:44 Pastor Newms: That is kind of cool. Yeah, that is pretty cool. 0:05:50 Pastor Bill: And then, you know that new little bug on my Windscreen. 0:06:01 Pastor Newms: The Mic isn't new. 0:06:03 Pastor Bill: Why are you pointing at it? 0:06:05 Pastor Newms: No. 0:06:05 Pastor Bill: Transcribing software that I had discovered and started using, and it was kind of touch and go. Yeah, it turns out they were in alpha when all that was going on, and they launched the official beta this week, and I was able to get into the beta, so I'm in the beta for that and that's going well. Yeah. So I've been using some of that. 0:06:29 Pastor Newms: This week, putting a bunch of our stuff in there, just no, but I've. 0:06:35 Pastor Bill: Been going through there and pointing out the obvious. Well to me, obvious to me. Places that need work, need fixed features, they could add, things like that. I still only get a certain amount of time, so I want to go that out appropriately and make sure that all our episodes are actually getting time in the transcriber. So I'm trying to save all of my transcription, allotments to make sure that this podcast is actually getting those first. 0:07:10 Pastor Newms: And then right, that makes perfect sense because that's what we want, because it's a great tool. 0:07:17 Pastor Bill: Yeah, it's really good with the summaries and the quotes and the chapter markings and a world class transcription algorithm that just blows other services like Google out of the water, really is just crazy. Amazing how accurate the transcription is now. It's still got some issues here and there, but it's just here and there. It's not like with Google where I would spend hours going through it and going, well, that's not right, and oh, now I've got to listen to this, and it's to figure out what was actually being said, because this is just garbage on the page here. I have no idea what this transcription was trying to say here. 0:08:05 Pastor Newms: But with. 0:08:06 Pastor Bill: This new service, there's none of that. It's just like a word here or. 0:08:08 Pastor Newms: A word there, which really worries me, because when I was doing the transcription and looking at it, I never noticed any of that where whole areas were wrong. Or I would read it, and it would read fine, and then I'd keep moving on, which really worries me because what was I reading? 0:08:33 Pastor Bill: Yeah, what were you reading? 0:08:34 Pastor Newms: What was my Dyslexia filling in the blanks that Google just left out? And I was just like, yeah, it looks great. 0:08:41 Pastor Bill: Yeah, Gertrude typecat looks great. Yeah, perfect sense. Perfect sense. Good job, Google. Okay. 0:08:53 Pastor Newms: But at least it's not as bad as being AI anyway. 0:09:00 Pastor Bill: All right, so it's your week. You pull a card for the faster, so if you want to go ahead and pull your card for it, get there. 0:09:08 Pastor Newms: I forgot about this whole segment, I'll be honest. Mentally blocked it out. I probably just more grumbling as I do it. Okay, here we go. You ready? Okay, side note. So we're at this state event, right? So there's these churches, Assemblies of God churches from all over the state and area, and some churches that aren't necessarily Assemblies of God, but at one point were. So they're using this curriculum, blah, blah, blah, blah. 0:09:42 Pastor Newms: I hear this little girl talking to her coach, who I find out is also her father, and I don't know. No, I don't know. You will have to ask him. I'm sitting there, and I'm like, what is this little girl bothering her dad about? And there's only a couple of hymns in this room to begin with, because we're moving from room to room, and it's group to group. And that team had four girls, and I've got two girls on my team, and two people up there are girls, and there's one dude, me and him. 0:10:21 Pastor Newms: So I don't know what she's about to ask, either him or me, but that's fine. And these are all elementary school kids. It's kindergarten through fifth grade, I think. Anyway, no 6th grade, because then the teen stuff is 7th through high school. 12th. That's the end goal. So then this little girl turns around, and for those of you out there in podcast land who don't know me in real life, I'm bald. I have a beard. 0:11:01 Pastor Newms: I wear graphic tees. Yesterday. Said y'all need Jesus. Thought it was appropriate. And I have black dipped fingernails like the professional dip nails. And I walk with a cane because arthritis. So I'm sitting there, and this little girl looks at me. But I love to mess with people. There is no people group more fun to mess with than children, though, because children are just they'll almost believe anything. 0:11:42 Pastor Newms: They're fun to mess with. Talking gibberish to a child and acting like it's complete normal while they look at you in fear that they've lost their mind. There's fun things you can do in situations like these types of situations. Excuse me, sir. And she's turned around so she's not talking to the guy in the front. I'm like, yeah, what's up, hon? Do you have children? Do you have girls? Do you have children that are girls? 0:12:20 Pastor Newms: What? Do you have little girls? Do I have little honey, I'm sorry, I'm a little confused on what you're asking. Are you asking if I have? Are you asking if I'm a father of girls like children? Yes. I'm like, okay. And part of that is that's fun. Second part of that is, is she asking if I own dolls? Is she asking, like, there's lots of things that that could also mean. Like, I'm like, I'm not sure what she's at. Like, you know, and I was like, yeah. 0:12:56 Pastor Newms: Mind you, Seraphina is sitting there and she's like, yeah, me? I'm like, hey, turn back around. Where are you supposed to be? Paying attention? 0:13:05 Pastor Bill: And. 0:13:08 Pastor Newms: She'S like, oh, okay. And that's the answer. And I'm like, Why, hon? No idea. I'm not doing anything that is, I have no idea what's going on. Well, why are your nails black? And I'm like and in your mind starts racing 1000 directions of things you can say, ways you can say it, what you could say, oh, well, they just turned this color. There's so many places you could go to just have fun. And so I look at her and I say, do you know what punk music is? 0:14:09 Pastor Newms: Are you familiar with the term grunge? What the dad goes, that 80s rock and roll you don't like? She goes, oh, yeah. I was like, well, in that culture and cultures that came after it, singers, fans, those of us, we wear a lot of black we do black nails. It's good. Oh, okay. So it has nothing to do with. 0:14:44 Pastor Bill: The fact that you have daughters? No. 0:14:48 Pastor Newms: She's like, okay. Because there are people men let their children paint their nails or toenails. 0:14:57 Pastor Bill: I have pink toenails right now. 0:14:58 Pastor Newms: I know, that's why I was saying. 0:14:59 Pastor Bill: Because I have two daughters. 0:15:02 Pastor Newms: It was a funny aspect of and then later I'm sitting there and I'm like, I tell this to Zaydie. And I thought to myself and I said, there was a small part of me that wanted to be like, have you heard of punk? Have you heard of grunge? Are you familiar with Lgbtqia? And just see what happens. But I was like, It's not the time to throw at other churches. And you never know what these children have been. And so I'm like, yeah, exactly. 0:15:44 Pastor Newms: Says black nails just happen when you hang out with bats all the time, they just over time, your nails turn black. But yeah. So I had to share that because I noticed them flash. And I was like, oh, I got to tell you that because it was such a great and the dad's, this big country dude, was wearing the shirt with the pocket and the flaps on the back for the air, even though you know he's not but you know what shirt I'm talking about. If you're from the country, everyone knows what shirt I'm talking about. It allows airflow through the shirt, blah, blah, blah. 0:16:18 Pastor Newms: But yeah. So I'm like, anyway, okay, get to know the pastors. Here we go. I can't answer this question. Pastor Bill, what is your all time favorite scene from a movie? 0:16:39 Pastor Bill: Favorite theme scene? Scene from my all time favorite scene from a movie. 0:16:50 Pastor Newms: All time favorite scene from a movie. What's a part of a movie that you find yourself quoting accidentally? What is that scene that is forever in your mind that you love so much while Pastor Bill is thinking all I will say about two of the first scenes that come to mind, they're both from this movie, so we will not be talking about them. But if you want to, this is the movie right here. All my favorite. This is the favorite. 0:17:31 Pastor Newms: We just passed St. Patrick's Day. They were all over news outlets and stuff because it's a St. Patrick's Day movie right here. All my favorite scenes. Pastor Bill. Go ahead. 0:17:43 Pastor Bill: I have no idea. You love movies. 0:17:46 Pastor Newms: Homie. 0:17:47 Pastor Bill: Yeah, but a scene, a particular scene? No clue? 0:17:53 Pastor Newms: Nothing came to mind? 0:17:54 Pastor Bill: No. 0:17:55 Pastor Newms: Okay, pull another card since neither of us could technically answer it. All right. When you're having a bad day, what is the best thing you can do to help cheer yourself up? 0:18:18 Pastor Bill: Drink a cup of tea and go back to bed. 0:18:20 Pastor Newms: Cup of tea and go back to bed. So if I think about it, Biggs is you can't handle the truth. It's a good scene. 0:18:29 Pastor Bill: You can't handle the truth. 0:18:33 Pastor Newms: My favorite is probably music. If I actually have to recenter myself and focus on my day, I can't just piece out my number one is definitely just go back to bed. Like I will often. Afternoon. Just I'm done. I'm going take a nap. I'll figure it out when I wake up. I do that. But if I have to continue focusing, it's music. It's putting certain music on, depending on what's causing the bad day, will dictate what style of music will help the day be marginally better till I can get to nap time? 0:19:19 Pastor Newms: Yes. The short answer is just nap time. Just go back to bed. 0:19:28 Pastor Bill: Yeah, just go back to bed. 0:19:30 Pastor Newms: There was that old saying, oh, someone must have woke up on bed on the wrong side of the bed today. Blah, blah. And then there would always be that add on. Some people would add they should go back to bed and get back out on the other side. Stuff like that. And you're like, yeah, I agree I should go back to bed, right? Yeah, I agree with you. 0:19:52 Pastor Bill: There's that audio quote from some guru that was going around for a while that says, if the day is Effed F it, just go back to bed. Don't try to fix it. Give up. Try again tomorrow. 0:20:08 Pastor Newms: There is a certain amount of accuracy in that statement of you can't control it, don't let it ruin you. I mean, see, Biggs, I can't do music on all day because of meetings and everything. I can't actually have it fully audible all day. Plus, Me and Sez have very different styles of music. So Me just turning mine on one. But yes, he does that sometimes just for the reaction. He'll do it when I'm in the middle of work, he'll text me and then turn around and just lean back so he could see around my monitors and just look at me, waiting for me to see whatever he sent wherever he sent it. 0:21:28 Pastor Newms: So that way he gets the reaction. 0:21:33 Pastor Bill: But yes, Sez, I mean, Jesus did take naps. Like, he was sleeping in the bottom of the boat, and everybody's like, we're going to die as a horrible storm. And Jesus is down below like, I love sleeping on water beds. This is great. 0:21:55 Pastor Newms: So for those out there, I will read the joke. For those out there who are now going, what is Pastor Bill and Newms talking about? Sez is that why Jesus decided to sleep in a cave for three days? He was having a very bad day. Which I can't say I hate the joke. I really can't. There was a little more work put in than that, but it was a bad day. 0:22:29 Pastor Bill: It was a bad 40 years. 0:22:32 Pastor Newms: It was a bad several years. 0:22:35 Pastor Bill: He was God, and then he became a human being. 0:22:39 Pastor Newms: That's some bad time. 0:22:41 Pastor Bill: That's a bad 40 years right there. 0:22:42 Pastor Newms: He needed a break. All right, what are we even talking about today? I already. 0:22:54 Pastor Bill: So we started this year, this season at the beginning of Genesis. And we went through Genesis One and we talked about Genesis One. Then we went through some in John One, and we talked about how Genesis One isn't a Jewish text per se. It was borrowed from another culture, who, let's be honest, borrowed it from another culture, who borrowed it from another it's one of these things where it was this is common knowledge, and now we're going to include it with what the descendants of Jacob believed. So now we've gotten up to Genesis, chapter two, verse four, which technically was the beginning of the Scriptures for the sins of Jacob, the Jews, the Jewish people before they went into captivity in Babylon, right? This was the beginning of the story. And we're going to do verses four through seven, I believe. I'm going to open my Bible. 0:24:14 Pastor Newms: And. 0:24:15 Pastor Bill: I am going to read from the Christian Standard Bible. Not because I think it's perfect. I don't think any translation is I don't think any translation could be, honestly, because it's impossible to know what the intentions of someone were when they were writing the scriptures that they were writing. And also that would negate the need for faith, and faith is a pretty important thing. Okay, verses four through seven. These are the records of the heavens and the earth concerning their creation. At the time that Lord God made the earth and the heavens, no shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted. But the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground but mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground. Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. All right, that's Genesis chapter two, verses four through seven. So when we go back through these and we're looking at these word by word, like we've been doing, and we're looking the main thing that we're doing when we're looking word for word is we're looking for words that are different, that are a clue to the fact that there's something more being said there or there's something deeper being said. There's more message there than just the poetic phraseology, the Phrasing that we see at face value, right? And so we get this thing where we read, these are the records of the heavens and the earth concerning their creation at the time that the Lord God made the earth and heavens. These first words, these are the records of the heavens and the earth. There's nothing special there. There's nothing great and hidden there. When the first thing of note that happens in Genesis chapter two, verse four is when we get to that second half of the phrase and we say at the time that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. And here we see the words Jehovah and Elohim. Elohim is still that plural God that we've been using before, but now we've given it a prefixed word that defines the word down into we're not actually talking about the plural gods anymore. Now we're talking about a specific being who is a divine being, right? So we're defining that YEHOVAH is an Elohim. He is this Godly personage. He is this divine personage. And the reason this is actually of note is because it tells us when this was written, or at least it lets us know how early it could have been written. Okay, well, how does that happen? Okay, so God doesn't identify himself with the name Jehovah until Exodus, chapter three. So if you want to turn over to Exodus chapter three, we'll see the first time that God calls himself Jehovah is in verse 14, exodus, chapter three, verse 14. God replies to Moses. This is the burning bush, right? So Moses is walking by looking for a lost sheep in his herd, and he notices that there's a bush on fire, but it's not actually being consumed by the fire. And he goes, that's kind of weird. I'm going to go check that out. So, you know, that phenomena where you're driving by a wreck and everybody's turning to look at the wreck and it's causing traffic. That's what Moses did. I'm going to go check that out. It's none of my business, but I'm going to check it down anyway. And so God is in the bush and he's having a conversation with God. And God says, you need to go tell Pharaoh this is the let my people go speech. And Moses says, well, who do I say is sending me? Yo, wrong script. I'm in exodus 314. 0:30:02 Pastor Newms: Did I. 0:30:04 Pastor Bill: Give her no, it's the right scripture. God replied to Moses, I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites. I am has sent me to you. So in the first place, he says, I am who I am. And this is actually three words that then become the conjunction for the words I am Jehovah. This is the first time that God actually says, my name is call me this. And we know this is the first time because if we turn forward to Exodus six, chapter I'm sorry, exodus, chapter six, verse three, right? And if we start in verse two, it says, then God spoke to Moses, telling him, I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name, the Lord. And therein the Lord. It says Jehovah in the original language there. It's actually the word jehovah. So God appeared to Abraham. God appeared to Isaac. God appeared to Jacob. God had very intimate conversations with these people. God appeared to Methuselah and Enoch. And God appeared to Noah. Well, I didn't appear to Noah, but talked to Noah through an intermediary, an archangel, but never identified himself by name until he got to Moses. Now, a lot of scholars believe that Moses didn't exist and that the character of Moses is actually an amalgamation of stories from different people over different times. And that's not the point. The point is that God shared his name with humanity at a certain time. And at that time is when they wrote down or after that time is when they wrote down the Genesis account. This. Genesis Chapter Two, right? And so when we get to verse four and we see the word Jehovah, a word that isn't given to mankind for another not 4000, 3000 years. 0:32:58 Pastor Newms: Because. 0:32:58 Pastor Bill: It'S 2000 years from here to 2400 years from here to the flood, and then another 2000 years from there to David. But we're not quite to David yet. So, yeah, it's about 3000 years after creation. 0:33:12 Pastor Newms: 2500. 0:33:15 Pastor Bill: Ish ish somewhere in there. 0:33:18 Pastor Newms: Yeah. 0:33:20 Pastor Bill: So, obviously, it's written after that time because that's where we got that word. That's when that word was given to mankind by God. And so, once again, this is not God saying, this is what happened, right? This is mankind writing down thousands of years later what the oral stories are that they've been passing down and what it is that they believe happened. This is not God telling the story. This is mankind telling our understanding of the story right? Now. Do we believe that all scriptures, god breathed and useful for this and that? And I'm not going to quote the actual scripture from the New Testament, but yes, we believe that God inspired, god breathed, but also at the same time, we're not actually creating a history book here. We're creating a religious text that is useful for teaching, correcting, building up faith, all of those things, not a history textbook. All right, so there is this cycle that happens in Genesis where it says, these are the records, or these are the genealogies of blah. And then it'll fall that cycle again, and it'll do it for Adam, and then it does it for Noah and his sons. Then it does it for Abraham, and it's a cycle over and over again. It's this pattern that they're following. That where they're making a point of showing a line where we've tracked through the oral histories all of the encounters that we know of from God. Now, Moses isn't claiming direct descendantship from Adam as some kind of, look at me, I'm in some kind of special religious club. He's not claiming descendantship from Abraham to be in some kind of club. What Genesis is doing is genesis is recording human interactions with God, whether or not those are following the same bloodline. But it just so happens that Abraham was found faithful and that God chose to favor his bloodline. And that is why we still have these scriptures, is because the line of Abraham is blessed, because Abraham was faithful. If it had been someone else that had heard the whispering of God's voice in the desert and had listened, it would be some other people, would have been the favored people of the Lord. But in that story of Abraham, the whole world had forgotten the name of God. They had all forgotten who God said he was. In the beginning, nobody knew what the name of God was anymore. God hadn't actually told people what his name was yet as far as Moses was concerned. And so God comes whispering to Abraham, and Abraham believed that the voice was God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness. Sorry. Excuse me. All right, so that was Genesis 24. And I know I'm building a lot of future look into this. The thing is, we couldn't do that in chapter one because they weren't connected to anything. They literally weren't connected to the rest. But chapter two numes. You're on mute. I can see you agreeing, shaking your head and stuff, but you're on mute so nobody can hear you. 0:37:51 Pastor Newms: I wasn't saying I'm just nodding sorry. 0:37:53 Pastor Bill: Okay. 0:37:54 Pastor Newms: Yeah, I hadn't actually said anything. I actually checked when you said it. I was like, am I? And I look in my bouncing because I'm a nasal breather. 0:38:04 Pastor Bill: Anyway, so Genesis chapter two, though, has all these ties that are connected. And as we progress further, we're going to see in the future people referring back to these scriptures over and over and over. And so we don't want to ignore what other people built onto this. But we couldn't do that with Genesis one because it wasn't actually tied to the rest of the story. It was separate and was adopted. Right. And so there are times in the future we'll say, well, in the beginning, blah, blah, blah, but it's different. It's different because this is actually written within the culture that's then referencing it later. And so it's all this web that we're looking at. And so we're trying to approach it from a learning standpoint. That's why there's more pulling in of future events that is going on now, because they're actually connected. 0:39:13 Pastor Newms: Yeah. And that's exactly how it really is. When you look at stuff like that, it's interesting where the name Jehovah as it is truly comes from and how the etymology of it that at what point in time we added a J, at what point in time, all those types of things to the translations as well. It's interesting to see those aspects. 0:39:44 Pastor Bill: Yeah. The word Jehovah that we then call Jehovah. 0:39:48 Pastor Newms: Yeah. 0:39:49 Pastor Bill: And even that word itself, can we talk about that word for a minute? 0:39:52 Pastor Newms: Which word? 0:39:54 Pastor Bill: Jehovah. 0:39:56 Pastor Newms: Which word? 0:39:57 Pastor Bill: It means oh, I'm sorry, H3068. It means the self existent or eternal. Moses says, who should I tell them is sending me? And God says, the God that exists because I want to. I self exist. I exist because I want to. 0:40:26 Pastor Newms: Yeah. When we jump to Exodus 314, when you're talking about, wait, I just did what Biggs did earlier, where I stayed in Genesis and turned to 314, as opposed to so obviously you were like, oh, what? Obviously it is genetic. And I had the exact same moment he did earlier, where I was like, that verse doesn't have that in it. And I went, oh, yeah. Hey, look. Like father, like son. Look at that. Look how that happens when you look at that. 0:41:01 Pastor Newms: I am that I am even in it. It's to exist. That is to be to come to pass. That is that which what also where. 0:41:21 Pastor Bill: Is. 0:41:24 Pastor Newms: Because I is it's such an interesting aspect that what was the first. 0:41:38 Pastor Bill: Thing in all of creation, god going, I want to I want to exist. 0:41:46 Pastor Newms: Okay, so I'm going to say something and this is definitely also they did numsian aspects. This is not Berean ecclesiaste. This is. Just news. There is no way in any universe ever. And I'm sure I'm wrong, so I'm fully aware that I am wrong in what I am saying that God said I Aunt Two, as you just said. 0:42:20 Pastor Bill: Just like you thought I was mispronouncing doggone if before we get to heaven, Jesus, God's like, welcome home, folks. 0:42:34 Pastor Newms: Actually a redneck to be very upset with myself for saying this, but there. 0:42:43 Pastor Bill: Is no way we're all going to get our Glorified buys. We're all going to be just fat butter balls running around. 0:42:52 Pastor Newms: Where I'm going with my thought process. I'm like, I'm going to be mad at myself if I'm wrong. But no, there's no heavenly language that sounds like that. 0:43:12 Pastor Bill: But he will sing the people who talks like that in their life, and that makes them comfortable. And to the person sitting next to them who was royalty and was very well put together, god will sound majestic. 0:43:24 Pastor Newms: And royalty bib overall, I swear, that's going to mess me up. That's going to mess me up something great. What's really going to be funny is if he shows up, however they show up with just despite me at this point, just once, just once, right when I come over the gate. Hey, I'm joking. 0:43:51 Pastor Bill: Are you always the one saying I had a sense of humor? 0:43:54 Pastor Newms: I'm joking. I really am. I promise. Here it is. And then I will be in overalls, as Big said, be just stuck in it. Okay. 0:44:09 Pastor Bill: All right. Genesis 25. No show up on the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted for the Lord god had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. So we've got this very human centric point of view going on where the author is trying to make it clear, very clear where we are in the story, right? God created the heavens and the earth, and this is an account of everything that happened. But where we are in the account, there's no shrubs, there's nothing growing, there's no plants, there's no mankind even. There's no rain. Mist is just coming up out of the ground. I find it interesting that they thought about the mist, though. They're like, yeah, the mist, the mist came up out of the just like it does now. When we get dew, we get the morning dew. There was morning dew. Yeah, that's all there was, though. 0:45:14 Pastor Newms: There was dew and fog. 0:45:16 Pastor Bill: Yeah, there was just dew and fog. 0:45:22 Pastor Newms: I will say, and I'm sorry for all of Podcast Land, because it's my fault. Since we had the joke, all of your country has come out and you've leaned into it more accidentally because I made you fake it, and now you've made it. Just throwing that out there, that was one of the most Twingy readings of five I have ever heard in my entire existence. That you fight so hard to not come across as that across the podcast. And I just threw a wrench at 50 minutes in tonight of just here is Decatur Bill, as opposed to Bill. 0:46:05 Pastor Bill: Let me hit reset on my there's. 0:46:08 Pastor Newms: Your regular podcast voice. 0:46:12 Pastor Bill: Take out the hit. Okay, so that brings us to Genesis Two Seven, because all of Two Six was all about the mist, right? All of Two Six was about but there was mist. 0:46:28 Pastor Newms: The whole face of the ground. 0:46:31 Pastor Bill: I also find that everywhere it missed. It everywhere. There was nowhere that it didn't miss, basically. 0:46:36 Pastor Newms: And that's part of that whole at this point in the creation story, there is no desert. 0:46:45 Pastor Bill: Maybe I think it's basically all desert, but with misty. Right? 0:46:50 Pastor Newms: That's what I'm saying. It's not like nothing is dried out, but nothing is like vegetative as the mist comes and there's not as much of everything. 0:47:13 Pastor Bill: Okay, then we get to Genesis, chapter two, verse seven. Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. That is the most toned down way to say such an amazing thing ever, right? Okay. So the Lord God jehovah elohim the self existent god personally. Right. So we have this formed, but then it's got the 8th attached to it, h 853, the 8th that we talked about before, where it denotes that it wasn't just a divine command. It was God got down in the dirt and personally did the forming. He didn't outsource this to someone else. 0:48:21 Pastor Newms: I will say my favorite parts. First off, I find it funny Big said wet sand, which really works with the analogy that's given, which is a potter. But I love the words it says to compare to is to mold into form. But before that, it's squeezing it into shape. 0:48:46 Pastor Bill: And I love the squeezing into shape. 0:48:51 Pastor Newms: It's not the drop it on the thing and make a pot. 0:48:55 Pastor Bill: It's the. 0:48:59 Pastor Newms: Squeezing and going, okay. No, okay. You know, I just it's such a good word that is just form, which is a very boring word for what that word, actually, that word means English sucks. Anyway. 0:49:27 Pastor Bill: Okay, so it says the Lord God formed the man. Right. But it doesn't actually say formed the man. It says personally molded human being. It doesn't identify human being as male, yet it says it created the human being. It doesn't say it created the man, Adam. It created human. It it's out of and there's this word that then it uses that it hasn't used yet that if you're looking at in the original language and you're going along and you're like, okay, cool. Okay, we're building up. We're getting momentum. And then you hit this roadblock where you hit this word, AW far. Now, AW dom is human being from ruddy, from blood in the cheeks. And that's fine. That's H 120. That kind of works. We've heard that before. That fits with what we're looking at. Even the word for soil or country, earth, ground is 127. And then we get to off far and it's like, it's kind of this stumble. It's the word dust as powdered or gray, hence clay, earth, mud, ashes, dust, earth, ground, mortar, powder, and my favorite rubbish. So remember now remember these are disconnected, but remember in Genesis one, they said the earth was formless and void. And it uses this word that is a euphemism for cesspool, for just disgusting, just mix of all this primordial ooze. This is basically this chapter's equivalent of saying god didn't use the good stuff. God didn't go to the top of the mountain and get the holy dirt. God went down and he got the bad stuff. He got the worthless stuff. He got the stuff that shouldn't have been elevated into humanity and chose that medium. He chose to elevate what was the lowest of the available building blocks. And it's this weird speed bump when you're going through it. And it still doesn't make any sense to me why? Except there is some kind of beautiful, poetic, I don't know, contrast there that the whole universe, the heavens and the earth and their stars. And he's called up the ground and he's commanded all this stuff to happen. And then he chooses the rubbish, the mortar, the powder, the ash and mud, the clay, the gray powdered dust, the wet sand, the bad wet sand, even. 0:53:21 Pastor Newms: Yeah. And one thing I find interesting is when you look at that word, 860, 83 and in strongs, it says it comes from this word which is only used the other word is only used once in the KgV overall. But it's either meaning either to be gray or perhaps rather to pulverize. And you're like to be dust, to be cast into dust. It's not a nice because I was like, why is it just bad dust? Okay? It's gray dust, like not even like the good dust that blows through it's. 0:54:18 Pastor Bill: Like when you were talking about it, it wasn't that they put it on a potter's wheel and turned it and made it no, this is the stuff that the potter has on his hands. When he's done that, he then goes like this and claps his hands and a cloud of dust comes off of his hands. That is the unusable stuff. That's the stuff that we're made out of the stuff that any reasonable potter would go, there's no value there. I can't use that for anything. That's just the rubbish. That's just the leftovers of creation. I made all this beautiful stuff. And this is the refuse pile. I'm going to use that to make my prized possession. Okay? And then the beautiful part comes where okay, so he's formed and molded this human being, not male human being, not female human being, but human being. And he breathes life into it. But it's not just breathing life into it. It is Nesh AMA. It's H5397 the breath of life. And this word is a puff that is wind, angry or vital breath. Divine inspiration, intellect. Intellect for human or animal, it is a blast of breath. It is the soul, it is the spirit. All of these words. There is this idea that comes from the word life here I think sorry, I've got a poll in the middle of my screen and it's making it hard to read some of the stuff in esore. 0:56:30 Pastor Newms: Turn that sound off. 0:56:33 Pastor Bill: Okay. I can't remember where it comes from but there's this idea that God took a chunk that this breath is a chunk that God took of himself and shoved it into man. Right? That the whole breathing poetic euphemism is just that just a poetic idea trying to describe God taking a chunk of his own divine self and putting it into mankind. And I wish I'd written more notes on that because I've looked at it in the past and tracked down where that idea comes from. But for some reason I didn't actually include it in my notes for bringing that to you guys. It's an idea that's rejected by a lot of theologians because theologians deal more in the gnostic, more in the scientific. Well, we can see it talked about more and more and less in the mystical and less in faith necessarily. But there's a lot of mystical stuff going on here and so it's not a big jump to read this and agree with the idea that this divine inspiration, the intellect, that this soul, the spirit is actually a piece of God. One of my commentaries, though believe it was keel and Delich called that belief as tantamount to what's the word my mind just went blank. Heresy. Heresy. Tantamount to heresy to say that the human soul, the human spirit is a piece of God. I don't know though. I'm kind of inclined to agree that we're born with a piece of God in us and we move forward in life and it's our duty to find faith in order to go back to spend eternity with God. 0:59:18 Pastor Newms: So I think part of it is that breathed into. So I find it interesting sometimes when we look at people's thought processes around it but when it's like the swab test with saliva when you breathe out there's bits of you in what you're breathing out. And so to me it's kind of like that. Like there is that aspect of because I think some people take the. 1:00:15 Pastor Bill: Where. 1:00:16 Pastor Newms: God took a piece of himself and put it they're like, oh, well, that means you think that you're part God. And it's like, no, there's difference between having a piece of something and being something. And I think that's where some people have a real big hiccup with that thought process is just because words are hard. 1:00:45 Pastor Bill: But words are hard. 1:00:47 Pastor Newms: It's that aspect of often the you know, if you breathe on something, you got spit in your breath all the time. I know I'm equating this to the physical, but there is that aspect. And so with that, well, that's basically. 1:01:11 Pastor Bill: All of what Genesis is doing, right? Trying to everything to physical way we can understand. 1:01:17 Pastor Newms: And so when we look at that breathing, when you breathe into someone, stuff moves between it's one of those aspects. And so I think that's where and I don't remember we've talked about it before, so I tried to find it quickly if I could in past notes and things, but I couldn't. But it definitely is a belief that I think some people struggle with. But to me it's that piece of connection also. It's the part that allows us to connect as we are. Three parts that breathed in part is the part that allows us to connect to God as being created by Him. So that's what I wanted to say about that. 1:02:31 Pastor Bill: Yeah. Let me look up something right quick that just dawned on me. I don't want to say it and then it'd be a bunny trail, wild goose chase. Right. So Psalms 42. And if we start at verse five why my soul are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God. I am deeply depressed. Therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Herman, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls all your breakers and your billows have swept over me. The Lord will send his faithful love by day his song will be with me in the night a prayer to the God of my life. So that's the verse that I've heard preached where it's talking about the deep within David, his soul, his spirit. He's comparing that to God as being the same type of being the other Deep. Deep cries out to deep on twitch says the other Abrahamic. Faith still equate the first breath a baby takes as a soul entering the body. My Islamic friend D, when we had talked about this, he talked about the heartbeat after ten weeks was when his faith taught him that was when the baby had a soul. And so I don't know if that was just his particular sect of Islam, but yeah, his group very much believed that the baby had a soul before it took its first breath outside of the body. But yeah, the Jewish faith for a very long time, not so much anymore, because Jewish faith is more secular now than it was before. But the Jewish faith itself believed for a very long time that the first breath a baby takes is when it becomes a living being. Which is why you find scriptures that talk about if you're getting into a fight and you accidentally hit a pregnant woman and the baby dies, then you just owe reparations to the family. It's not considered murder. It's just considered you offer them reparation is because they believed that it wasn't a living spiritual being until it took its first breath. Now, we believe a lot of what modern Christianity believes about when a baby becomes a living being is based off of scriptures that talk about God forming the baby in the womb and God knowing you before you're born. All of these things lead to the belief that, well, that baby is a living being that has a relationship with God and there is a deep crying out as deep already from within the womb. And so it's an issue that everyone has to deal with on their own, between them and God. Not saying that in a judgment way. I'm saying that in a literal, I trust you to work out between you and God what you believe on that issue and how you're going to handle yourself and your life, and you will, no matter what, always find love and acceptance from this guy. I wish there were better resources in this country, in this world to prevent unwanted pregnancies, to prevent rape and incest, to prevent hungry children, to prevent women getting pregnant when they didn't want to, when they weren't ready. And we don't live in that world. We just don't. And I can't, at the one hand, say one thing and then the other hand condemn someone who's a victim of the systemic world that we live in that found themselves in a bad situation either. So, anyway, I totally didn't intend to talk about those type of topics tonight, but we kind of touched on that a little bit there. All right. The Berean Manifesto is a weekly podcast that comes out on Wednesday nights at 07:00 p.m. Central Standard Time. If you found this talk helpful or you've enjoyed it, or you think it might be helpful to someone else, you can, like, share, follow, send this episode to someone else. You can go to our website, ekk house, and on there you can find out which Facebook, which Twitch, and which YouTube that. You can come and join us live on Sunday evenings at 06:30 P.m. Central Standard Time when we're recording the podcast. And as you've heard tonight through the chat there, you can actually be a part of the conversation and bring up things that you know about, like says did about Abrahamic faiths or like Biggs did about wet sand earlier, and just be a part of the conversation. It deepens the conversation. It brings more meaning to what we're doing, and it really. 1:09:13 Pastor Newms: Is. 1:09:15 Pastor Bill: The vision of what we want this to be is more interactive and less preachy and more exchanging. All right, that's all I have for tonight and Pest News. Did you have any final thoughts you wanted to tag on here at the end before we no, not really. Okay. 1:09:37 Pastor Newms: I think the important ones we talked about. Yeah. 1:09:45 Pastor Bill: Okay. All right. We love you guys, and we hope you have a great week. 1:09:49 Pastor Newms: Be safe out there. 1:09:51 Pastor Bill: And until next time. Bye.

We're Live. Content creation is one of the most creative things that anyone can do, but it can be difficult depending on the area or niche that you are working on. There are a lot of key components to bare in mind to get the best content, and analyzing your competition is one of them.   John raises this topic because Josh is working on his youtube channel trying to make it blow up, looking for that specific content that will make the difference.   Thought of the week   John - “One of the best approaches to create good content is to be contrary, go into a different direction that the trend is”.  

Teaching Text: John 14:15-31; 1 John 1:2; John 15:26. Preached by Russell Korets

John shares his journey with grief and how celebrity photoshop nude fakes have given him solace. He'll discuss how he's been able to cope with writer's block since his mother's death, and how he's hoping to take his hobby to the next level. Tune in for an intimate look into his healing process, and come out with a newfound perspective on grief.Host Brianne Davis provides helpful advice, poignant stories, and plenty of laughter. Join John on this emotional, heartfelt journey to find healing and hope on Secret Life._____If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction, depression, trauma, sexual abuse or feeling overwhelmed, we've compiled a list of resources at secretlifepodcast.com.______To share your secret and be a guest on the show email secretlifepodcast@icloud.com_____SECRET LIFE'S TOPICS INCLUDE:addiction recovery, mental health, alcoholism, drug addiction, sex addiction, love addiction, OCD, ADHD, dyslexia, eating disorders, debt & money issues, anorexia, depression, shoplifting,  molestation, sexual assault, trauma, relationships, self-love, friendships, community, secrets, self-care, courage, freedom, and happiness._____Create and Host Your Podcast with the same host we use - RedCircle_____Get your copy of SECRET LIFE OF A HOLLYWOOD SEX & LOVE ADDICT -- Secret Life Novel or on Amazon______HOW CAN I SUPPORT THE SHOW?Tell Your Friends & Share Online!Follow, Rate & Review: Apple Podcasts | SpotifyFollow & Listen iHeart | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Amazon | PandoraSpread the word via social mediaInstagramTwitterFacebook#SecretLifePodcastDonate - You can also support the show with a one-time or monthly donation via PayPal (make payment to secretlifepodcast@icloud.com) or at our WEBSITE.Connect with Brianne Davis-Gantt (@thebriannedavis)Official WebsiteInstagramFacebookTwitterConnect with Mark Gantt (@markgantt)Main WebsiteDirecting WebsiteInstagramFacebookTwitterTranscript[0:00:00] John: My favorite actress, for example, she'll never, like, do like, nude scenes or anything like that, so I kind of look at the fakes. This is kind of fantasy. [0:00:19] Brianne Davis: Welcome to the Secret Life Podcast.[0:00:22] Brianne Davis: Tell me your secret, I'll tell you mine.[0:00:30] Brianne Davis: Sometimes you have to go through the darkness to reach the light. That's what I did. After twelve years of recovery in sex and love addiction, I finally found my soulmate myself. Please join me in my novel, secret Life of a Hollywood sex and love Addict. A four time bestseller on Amazon. It's a brutal, honest, raw, gnarly ride, but hilarious at the same time. Check it out now on Amazon.[0:01:01] Brianne Davis: Welcome to Secret Live Podcast. I'm Brianne. Davis-Gantt. Today, I'm pulling back the curtains of all kinds of human secrets. We'll hear about what people are hiding from themselves or others. You know, those deep, dark secrets you probably want to take to your grave. Or those lighter, funnier secrets that are just plain embarrassing. Really the how, what, one way, or live at all. Today. My guest is John. Now, John, I have a question for you. What is your secret?[0:01:27] John: So my secret is I collect celebrity photoshop, nude, fakes.[0:01:32] Brianne Davis: How long have you been doing that?[0:01:34] John: Since 2000.[0:01:36] Brianne Davis: 2000, okay, so dive in. What made you start doing that? Did you create them yourself? Like, take me back when that all started. Was something going on?[0:01:48] John: No, I didn't create any at that time. Basically what had happened is I was watching a new TV show that had just come out, I think, andromeda andromeda yeah, it's like a side fiction TV show.[0:02:03] John: Yeah.[0:02:04] John: I liked one of the actresses and so I pretty much went to Google, looked for her nude, and stumbled across the fake. And that was the first fake I ever found of her.[0:02:16] Brianne Davis: Okay.[0:02:17] Brianne Davis: Did you buy it or do you.[0:02:18] Brianne Davis: Just take it from is it free? How does that work?[0:02:22] John: Free? I just found it on Google image search.[0:02:26] Brianne Davis: Okay.[0:02:27] John: And pretty much like, just copied the image to my computer at the time was really old.[0:02:36] Brianne Davis: What do you think it is about the fake? Because there are a lot of celebrity nudes that are real, but you only like the fake ones.[0:02:44] John: No, it's more back then, she had never done that. Okay, so it's more of a fantasy thing.[0:02:57] Brianne Davis: Yes. So you've been doing that for almost 23 years.[0:03:02] John: Yeah, it's slowed down quite a bit. I don't collect as much anymore. Basically, if I see one I like, I just download it and stick it with the rest of them.[0:03:15] Brianne Davis: So how many do you think you have that's embarrassing? Well, that's why we are here. This is a show where we get to say all those embarrassing things. I have been there. I have said very many embarrassing things.[0:03:29] John: So I have about last count, over 15,000.[0:03:34] Brianne Davis: 15,000?[0:03:36] John: Yeah. Over.[0:03:37] John: Wow.[0:03:38] Brianne Davis: Over. Oh, my God. What do you do with them? They just sit there. Do you go through them? Do you, like, celebrate that? Like, what do you do with them?[0:03:47] John: Sometimes I just look at them and admire the work that went into them. Because some of them you can really tell because some people who make them just do a crappy don't put an effort into it.[0:04:04] John: Yeah.[0:04:05] Brianne Davis: So you almost see them as artwork.[0:04:07] John: Yeah.[0:04:08] Brianne Davis: And then do you find someone you like or you don't know, and then you go watch all their movies or their TV shows?[0:04:14] John: Sometimes. And there are some that I found and liked and then later just hated them. Because see, I think I have an OCD thing, and I see one minor detail that's off, and it bugs me.[0:04:36] Brianne Davis: That's all you focus on.[0:04:37] John: Yeah.[0:04:38] Brianne Davis: Got it. So if it's a bad art, if it's bad, do you keep that or do you throw that away or you still keep it?[0:04:46] John: I keep it. I guess there's some that are just not great that I keep. I think keeping them is nostalgia's sake.[0:04:54] John: Got it.[0:04:55] Brianne Davis: So it's almost like somebody collecting baseball cards or something. It sounds like there's this compulsion to it a bit.[0:05:04] John: Yeah. In the last couple of years, I've kind of started semi getting out of it.[0:05:11] Brianne Davis: Okay. What does that mean?[0:05:15] John: I used to look for new ones pretty much every day. Nowadays I look maybe every couple of weeks.[0:05:26] Brianne Davis: Oh. So what's been going on where you've decreased the searching for them in your life?[0:05:33] John: Maybe as I get older, I just don't enjoy them as much.[0:05:36] Brianne Davis: Does anybody in your life know about them?[0:05:40] John: Three people.[0:05:41] Brianne Davis: Three people? Who are those three people?[0:05:43] John: Two were by choice, and one was not by choice.[0:05:46] Brianne Davis: Oh, so you got caught?[0:05:48] John: Yeah. So basically the one who caught me was one of my female cousins.[0:05:55] Brianne Davis: Oh, no. So you went on your computer and and saw them?[0:05:58] John: I had collected some early this was back in high school, and I had collected some mended day at school. And I brought them home, loaded them on the computer, and forgot to close the images out. She came up to visit, came up to my room and walked in, and I turned around to something else, and all I heard was, what's this?[0:06:24] Brianne Davis: Oh, my God. Did your stomach drop?[0:06:27] John: That's one way of putting it in.[0:06:30] Brianne Davis: Okay. What happened?[0:06:31] John: We're like sheer panic.[0:06:33] John: Yeah.[0:06:34] John: And it's like, adjoked by folks.[0:06:37] Brianne Davis: How old were you at the time?[0:06:39] John: Between 16 and 18. And she never did she pretty much.[0:06:46] Brianne Davis: Just kept that secret?[0:06:48] John: Yeah. She pretty much said, this is normal. Looking at this kind of stuff is normal, and sat down and just looked through them. And she, like, recognized some of the celebrities. The other two were by choice. This is what I've been doing.[0:07:08] Brianne Davis: Who were they?[0:07:09] John: Just good friends.[0:07:10] Brianne Davis: Okay. And what they say?[0:07:12] John: Pretty much same thing. Like that kind of stuff is normal.[0:07:15] John: Yeah.[0:07:15] Brianne Davis: Looking at porno images and all that is completely normal. But the difference between yours is that they're fake and you know they're fake. So what about it? Do you like that aspect of it that I'm curious about, that you know they're not real, but you still like them.[0:07:31] John: Well, I guess the closest fantasy, because some celebrities will never do, like, nude scenes or pose nude for magazines. Like, my favorite actress, for example. One of my favorite actresses is named Danielle Panabaker. She'll never do, like, nude scenes or anything like that, so I kind of look at the fakes. This is kind of fantasy.[0:08:02] Brianne Davis: Yeah, it's complete fantasy. And do you think with looking at those, that it keeps you distant from having a relationship in real life or no.[0:08:14] John: You mean like a girlfriend or yeah, not really. I kind of don't have much interest in a girlfriend at this point.[0:08:25] Brianne Davis: Oh, really? Have you ever had a girlfriend?[0:08:27] John: No, I've just never had the interest.[0:08:31] Brianne Davis: Okay, here's my question for you. When did you start looking at pornographic images? At what age do you think?[0:08:39] John: REM high school days.[0:08:41] Brianne Davis: High school?[0:08:44] John: I think the first one was Playboy.[0:08:46] Brianne Davis: So when we look at those images a lot and I've done a lot of work around this, it desensitizes our own sexuality, because then the fantasy is more it becomes everything instead of the reality. The reality of a person being with another person or a woman doesn't match the fantasy. Do you think that's true?[0:09:10] John: I guess it depends. Now, with fakes, usually people get aroused by this stuff. I don't.[0:09:21] Brianne Davis: You don't? No, not at all.[0:09:24] John: Well, I mean, back when I first started collecting, maybe. No.[0:09:29] Brianne Davis: So interesting. Not at all. So when you look at it and it's just like, oh, that's a great fake, they did a good job with taking her face and putting it on. That's what you look at mostly than the nude.[0:09:43] John: Yeah, pretty much. Like, a few years ago, I used to use fakes as wallpapers on, like, my tablet.[0:09:50] Brianne Davis: Yeah.[0:09:51] John: But now I don't do that much anymore.[0:09:54] Brianne Davis: Okay.[0:09:55] John: Mostly because I go out in public a lot now.[0:09:58] Brianne Davis: So you're getting out of the house?[0:10:00] John: Yeah.[0:10:01] Brianne Davis: That's probably why you've been doing less, do you believe? Because you said it's been, like, less used to do it every day and now you're doing it weekly.[0:10:10] John: Yeah, it's actually possible. I have a few friends I hang out with, and so that kind of helps.[0:10:18] Brianne Davis: It does help. It does help. I believe when we are stuck with these images, especially when they are fantasy, when we deny ourselves that authentic connection with other human beings, we miss out. And the moment you open yourself up to that and you're getting out of the computer screen with these images and with actual friends, that's what is a real connection.[0:10:41] John: And I think I started heavily collecting quite a few years ago because of grief?[0:10:48] John: Yeah.[0:10:49] Brianne Davis: What were you going through?[0:10:50] John: My mom died from cancer about 1011 years ago, and that's about when I started heavily collecting.[0:10:59] John: Yeah.[0:10:59] Brianne Davis: That's where you found comfort, right?[0:11:01] John: Yeah.[0:11:02] Brianne Davis: Not feeling alone. A huge loss.[0:11:05] John: Yeah. And I read this article online about how one guy got into fakes and it completely destroyed his life.[0:11:15] John: Yeah.[0:11:16] Brianne Davis: What did he say in the article? Why it destroyed his life.[0:11:19] John: He decided to start looking at fakes at his place of employment. I can safely say I've never done.[0:11:31] Brianne Davis: You haven't done that?[0:11:32] John: No. But the article also did the flip side where it actually saved somebody's life because I guess, like me, they lost their mother.[0:11:42] John: Yeah.[0:11:43] John: And they were thinking about ending stuff, so I guess that saved them.[0:11:49] Brianne Davis: Well, it did, because we reach for those outside things that we feel connected to, and it doesn't feel safe with another human being, especially if you lost somebody so important to you so they can give you that outlet of connection.[0:12:02] John: Yeah, I can agree with that.[0:12:04] Brianne Davis: Have you been doing work on the loss and the trauma of it with your mom?[0:12:09] John: Yeah, I had a therapist for a while. I think I'm kind of there now. Not easy. Never really all that easy.[0:12:19] Brianne Davis: No, grief is never easy. We run from grief. But are you finally feeling like you've felt it and moving through it?[0:12:27] John: Yeah, I think so. I've also got friends I talked to about it, too.[0:12:32] Brianne Davis: Oh, good.[0:12:34] John: One of my friends went through the same thing, actually.[0:12:38] Brianne Davis: Well, that always helps when I'm going through a hard time to find a group of people that have been through similar situations and they have them online. All over online as well. Grief and loss groups.[0:12:50] John: Yeah. I found this app, actually, called Seven Cups. Kind of like a sort of therapy app where you can go and talk to people.[0:12:59] John: Yeah.[0:13:00] John: And it's kind of helped me a bit.[0:13:02] Brianne Davis: Good.[0:13:03] John: Now, I have to admit, back when this all happened, I did used to make them.[0:13:09] Brianne Davis: You did used to make them for a short period. And what did that feel like when you were actually making the fake nude photos of celebrities?[0:13:18] John: That's hard to describe. Proud that I made one that looked decent, actually, because I still have one I made that is still my favorite.[0:13:29] Brianne Davis: What is it? Who is it?[0:13:31] John: Her name is Cody Depblo from the TV show NCIS. And it was like a lingerie style fake, not even nude. And that's still my favorite one I've made.[0:13:44] Brianne Davis: I know her. She's very nice. But here's the thing. I did want to ask you this, and I know probably our listeners are wondering, do you ever think of the actual person you're doing the nude of? Like, when you're cutting out their face or you're seeing their face and you know that's not them? Do you ever actually think of that.[0:14:06] John: Person in what way?[0:14:08] Brianne Davis: I don't know. If they choose not to be nude and then someone puts their face on a new body, have you ever thought about how that could make them feel?[0:14:16] John: Yeah, that's kind of why I stopped.[0:14:19] Brianne Davis: Oh, tell me about it. So you had that thought. What was the feelings that came up?[0:14:23] John: Pretty much just yeah, maybe they don't want this. Yeah, let's not do this.[0:14:28] John: Yeah.[0:14:29] Brianne Davis: That they're a human being as well.[0:14:31] John: Yeah, pretty much that.[0:14:32] John: Yeah.[0:14:33] Brianne Davis: And do you think that was one of the reasons about hanging out with friends more, getting out into the world and then that realization that they're humans as well?[0:14:41] John: Yeah, quite a bit, actually. And I haven't made one in seven, nine years.[0:14:49] Brianne Davis: Well, it seems like you're kind of an artist, too. Have you ever thought of trying to do something even different with your art because you enjoy art?[0:14:57] John: It seems like I kind of have. I've started not officially, not like paid stuff, just editing images into wallpapers and just like posting it to a deviant arc page.[0:15:14] Brianne Davis: I think you'd be great at it. There's something in it that inspires you, and I think it takes dedication and you have that. I don't know.[0:15:23] John: Yeah, I used to have something that was like that, but I used to write quite a bit.[0:15:28] Brianne Davis: Maybe it's time to pick it back up.[0:15:30] John: The issue is, ever since my mother died, I've had writer's block.[0:15:35] Brianne Davis: I know. And believe me, I know, writer's block and all that and trauma and all that, but it's like maybe you reaching out to me and wanting to come on and share the secret isn't a way for you to step through it now.[0:15:49] John: Yeah, that could be a good way of looking at it. And I've started dabbling with writing a bit more.[0:15:56] John: Good.[0:16:00] Brianne Davis: Well, I'm so grateful you came on. I'm so grateful to have this conversation. I never expected to have this conversation. It's been beautiful and I understanding so much. And thank you for reaching out to me.[0:16:14] John: Yeah, no problem.[0:16:15] Brianne Davis: And if you want to be on the show, please email me at secretlifepodcast@icloud.com. Until next time.[0:16:27] Brianne Davis: Thanks again for listening to the show. Please subscribe rate share or send me a note at secretlifepodcast.com. And if you like to check out my book, head over to secretlifenovel.com or Amazon to pick up a copy for yourself or someone you love. Thanks again.[0:16:44] Brianne Davis: See you soon.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Thank you for checking out the Connect Church podcast! If you would like to give to support our ministry, check out cchurch.online

Big Idea: One bad choice can chase you for life. John 19: 1-16 One bad choice can chase you for life. 1. Don't forget that choices have consequences. John 19: 1-5 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers also twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and clothed him in a purple robe. And they kept coming up to him and saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” and were slapping his face. Pilate went outside again and said to them, “Look, I'm bringing him out to you to let you know I find no grounds for charging him.” Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” 2. Don't choose the easy, wrong path. John 19: 6-7 When the chief priests and the temple servants saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” Pilate responded, “Take him and crucify him yourselves, since I find no grounds for charging him.” “We have a law,” the Jews replied to him, “and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” 3. Don't let your heart drive your choices. John 19: 8-11 When Pilate heard this statement, he was more afraid than ever. He went back into the headquarters and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus did not give him an answer. So Pilate said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don't you know that I have the authority to release you and the authority to crucify you?” “You would have no authority over me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn't been given you from above. This is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.” 3. Don't let the crowd drive your choices. John 19: 12-16 From that moment Pilate kept trying to release him. But the Jews shouted, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Anyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar!” When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside. He sat down on the judge's seat in a place called the Stone Pavement (but in Aramaic, Gabbatha). It was the preparation day for the Passover, and it was about noon. Then he told the Jews, “Here is your king!” They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?” “We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered. Then he handed him over to be crucified. Then they took Jesus away. Next Steps: I need Jesus to change my heart today. I need Jesus's help to make pure choices this week.

*6:00:   Accidentally Swallowed *7:00:   Songs That Remind You Of The Dentist, Baby John's Promotion *8:00:   Officer Truong Thai, Oh Wow Wheel, Beat Mercedes Rapid Edition *9:00:    2004 Rewind Song 

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings pick up after the moment of Jesus's death on the cross, looking at the preparations for his burial and the work of two unexpected characters who take their own stand in honoring Jesus.Arimathea — Wikipedia

 Discover the one brilliant way of increasing 20% of your revenue by just having two sentences copy to write Find out marketing tactics and strategies that can have a considerable impact on your revenue Learn how you can create more traffic to drive sales and increase your revenue Resources/Links: How much more money could you be making? Get your FREE funnel revenue analysis now https://datadrivenmarketing.co/calculator/ Summary Are you a course creator or influencer who has already created content for years and built an audience but couldn't sell a course? Do you feel like you can be earning more but don't know how? Are you ready to find out tactics and strategies that can double your revenue? John Ainsworth is the founder and CEO at Data Driven Marketing. They help creators and influencers double their revenue in 3 months through marketing funnels. In this episode, John shares how there are course creators and influencers who have already proven their worth by creating content with a market base that they have not converted yet. He suggests specific ways of increasing their revenue in no time. Check out these episode highlights: 01:47 – John's ideal client: We work with online course creators who have already built an audience, people who've been putting content out for years, educating people, and building up that trust but haven't converted that into making a ton of sales yet. 02:11 – The problem he helps solve: A lot of course creators who are in this position, these guys who are creators and influencers make a lot of content, share it, and build up an audience. They don't realize how much money is available to them because of what they've done. 03:04 – Symptoms of the problem: What people are feeling is, they're frustrated that they should be making more money, like, ‘I know that this is worth more money.' ‘I know that I should be getting more out of this, but I just don't know quite how,' and they've heard of funnels, and they've heard of all of this, you know, different marketing tactics, what have you. And they're like, ‘Yeah, but I don't know, I don't know how to do that.' 04:28 – Mistakes people commit before they get John: One of the biggest things there is that people might try some tactics that they've heard about from marketing people, and they don't know which ones specifically work for online courses. They try something, get mediocre results, and go, ‘You know what, I'm going to get back to what I was doing before.' 05:13 – John's Valuable Free Action (VFA): In about a day to two days of work, you can increase revenue by about 20% for most people, and it's something called order bumps. And what you do is, an order bump is on your checkout page, you have a tick box and have another offer available somewhere between a third of the price of the original thing and the same price as the original thing that you're selling. You have about two sentences to write very, very short, and about 40 to 60% of people will buy. We've had people increase their revenue by $130,000 a year from doing this. 06:11 – John's Valuable Free Resource (VFA): How much more money could you be making? Find out here: http://www.datadrivenmarketing.co/calculator 07:00 – Q: How else can people solve that issue [increasing revenue]? A: There are three ways people can solve it; we covered one to increase the revenue you get per sale. And so, order bump is one way of doing that. Other ways are upselling, improving your offer, and how you can raise your prices, but that's like order bumps is an easy one there. The second main thing is increasing the percentage of your email list to buy each month. Tweetable Takeaways from this Episode: “In about a day to two days work, you can increase revenue by about 20% for most people, and it's something called order bumps.” -John AinsworthClick To TweetTranscript (Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast) Tom Poland 00:10 Welcome, everyone, to another edition of Marketing the Invisible. My name is Tom Poland beaming out to you from the sunny sunshine coast here in Australia, joined today by John Ainsworth. John, a very warm day from down under. Whereabouts do you hang out? John Ainsworth 0:24 I'm in Lisbon in Portugal at the moment. It's beautiful out here. Tom Poland 0:28 Probably, earlier you told me that you're about to pop back to the UK in preparation for a trip to Kenya. Sounds very exciting. John Ainsworth 0:38 Yeah. I've never been; looking forward to it; it should be great. Yeah. Tom Poland 0:41 It'll be fantastic. Alright, so for those of you who don't know, John, in addition to being an affiliate world traveler, he's the founder and CEO of Data Driven Marketing. He helps creators and influences double their revenue in three months through marketing funnels. And the reason I really welcome John onto the show is that he's not like one of these agencies that say, shut up, give me a lot of money, we'll see what happens. He actually backs the results, I mean, significantly puts his own skin in the game. So, I'm really delighted to have you on the show, John. You've set yourself apart from newer and other agencies. Can't wait to hear what you've got to say, to hear what you got to say. The title is How to Double Two Times Your Online course revenue. And I think you actually can do that in about 90 days for most of your clients. Does that sound right? John Ainsworth 1:35 That's the average. Yeah, for some people, it's quicker. For some people, it's a little longer, but on average, it's three months, right? Yeah. Tom Poland 1:40 Still pretty fast. Pretty significant. Yeah. So, let's kick off our seven minutes starts now. Question number one, who is your ideal client? John Ainsworth 1:47 We work with online course creators who have already built an audience. So that could be through YouTube, or podcasts or SEO, or social media, but it's the people who've been putting content out for years and educating people and building up that trust but haven't converted that into making a ton of sales yet. Tom Poland 2:03 Fabulous. Thank you; very succinct, too. Question number two, six and a half minutes left. Tell us about the problem you solve for these folks. John Ainsworth 2:10 A lot of course creators who are in this position, these guys who are creators, and influencers make a lot of content, share it and build up an audience. They don't realize how much money is available to them because of what they've done. And the problem is that they don't understand that there are three legs to this; there's traffic. It Has lots of traffic, that's great. Courses, you have great courses that people love; that's fantastic. But if you don't have a mechanism of converting traffic into buying the courses, which is email marketing and funnels, then you're leaving most of the money that's available to you on the table. Tom Poland 2:47 Yes, I'm squirming as I hear these because I think we have those ideal clients of yours. So, make me squirm some more. Questions three; six minutes left; what would you say are the typical symptoms of your ideal clients? What's going on in their business before they find your solution? John Ainsworth 3:04 What normally happens… The standard approach is, I've driven traffic and that has worked, I've created courses. And that's work. So, what I'm going to do is do more of that. I'm going to, every time that I want to make more money, I'm going to make a new course, or I'm going to try and drive more traffic. And both of those work. That's the thing, right? If they didn't work, people might look elsewhere, but they both work. It's just that they don't work nearly as well as they could. So what people are feeling is, they're frustrated that they should be making more money, like, I know that this is worth more money. I know that I should be getting more out of this. But I just don't know quite how and they've heard of funnels, and they've heard of all of this, you know, different marketing tactics, what have you. And they're like, ‘Yeah, but I don't know, I don't know how to do that. I'm uncomfortable with it. I don't know exactly which bits would work the best.' ‘I tried some stuff, but that didn't really work.' ‘So anyway, I'm just going to drive more traffic and create more courses.' And that's like 99% of people I talked to are like that. Tom Poland 4:04 Perfect. Thank you, Sir. Question four, we're talking about people who create online courses, and they've been doing marketing and putting out content; these people are pretty growth-orientated. So, they're going to keep trying stuff you've mentioned, making the mistake of just doing another course and getting more traffic. Are there any other common mistakes folks are making in trying to solve this problem that you could help them with? Four minutes left. John Ainsworth 4:28 One of the biggest things there is that people might try some tactics that they've heard about from marketing people, and they don't know which ones specifically work for online courses. So, they try something, get mediocre results, and go, ‘You know what, I'm going to get back to what I was doing before.' Tom Poland 4:43 Right. So, try a few courses and then go back to… kind of works okay by its sound, but it's not maximizing the potential. It's not really scaling things, and it's a lot of hard work to rinse and repeat the new course, etc. So, let's flip this now, question 5, how about a top tip, like one valuable free action that someone could… they could take it? It's not going to solve the whole problem, but it might stop them off on the journey on the right foot. John Ainsworth 5:13 Yeah, this is good. So, in about a day to two days of work, you can increase revenue by about 20% for most people, and it's something called order bumps. And what you do is, an order bump is on your checkout page, you have a tick box and have another offer available somewhere between a third of the price of the original thing and the same price as the original thing that you're selling. You have about two sentences copy to write very, very short, and about 40 to 60% of people will buy it. We've had people increase their revenue by $130,000 a year from doing this. It takes honestly no more than like generally about an hour to do. Tom Poland 5:50 Incredible. I'm internally crying, thinking about all the money that we've left on the table by not having done that. An order bump. There you go, folks. John, two and a half minutes left; let's get people some more value with an online resource. People go to find out more about what you're doing and get more solutions for their problem. John Ainsworth 6:11 Yeah. So, if people want to know how much more money they could be making, specifically, we will figure it out for them. So, we've got a calculator on our website and go to datadrivenmarketing.co/calculator and fill in some questions, about ten questions. And we will go through it personally and figure out for you exactly how much more revenue you could be making. And we'll send you some useful resources about how to do it as well. Tom Poland 6:34 Not only is that incredibly clever marketing, but it's also very valuable, folks, www.data drivenmarketing.co/calculator. The link under the video if you're watching this; otherwise, if you're on an mp3, then please go to datadrivenmarketing.co/calculator. Question seven. So, the last question, we've got 60 plus 35 95 seconds left. What's the one question I should have asked you but didn't? John Ainsworth 7:00 I think the question is, how else can people solve that issue? And there are three ways that people can solve it; we covered one increase the revenue you get per sale. And so, order bumps are one way of doing that. Other ways are upselling, improving your offer, and how you can raise your prices, but that's like order bumps are easy one there. The second main thing is increasing the percentage of your email list to buy each month. And most people send three email promotions a year with a discount as the average, sometimes two, sometimes four, normally three. And it's possible to send great emails every month that get people to buy people like they don't unsubscribe, and your bank account will go crazy because of it. And the third one is how you get more people onto that email list. And most people have got an opt-in rate of between normally point five and 1%. And then normally, you can get it to about 5%. by well, as no time to go into that one today, how to do it, but most people can manage to do that. Tom Poland 7:59 So those look a wealth of information and lots of valuable ideas there. John Ainsworth, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate all your insights. John Ainsworth 8:08 My pleasure. Thank you very much. Tom Poland 07:56 Thanks for checking out our Marketing The Invisible podcast. If you like what we're doing here please head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate us, and leave us a review. It's very much appreciated. And if you want to generate five fresh leads in just five hours then check out www.fivehourchallenge.com.

 Discover the one brilliant way of increasing 20% of your revenue by just having two sentences copy to write Find out marketing tactics and strategies that can have a considerable impact on your revenue Learn how you can create more traffic to drive sales and increase your revenue Resources/Links: How much more money could you be making? Get your FREE funnel revenue analysis now https://datadrivenmarketing.co/calculator/ Summary Are you a course creator or influencer who has already created content for years and built an audience but couldn't sell a course? Do you feel like you can be earning more but don't know how? Are you ready to find out tactics and strategies that can double your revenue? John Ainsworth is the founder and CEO at Data Driven Marketing. They help creators and influencers double their revenue in 3 months through marketing funnels. In this episode, John shares how there are course creators and influencers who have already proven their worth by creating content with a market base that they have not converted yet. He suggests specific ways of increasing their revenue in no time. Check out these episode highlights: 01:47 - John's ideal client: We work with online course creators who have already built an audience, people who've been putting content out for years, educating people, and building up that trust but haven't converted that into making a ton of sales yet. 02:11 - The problem he helps solve: A lot of course creators who are in this position, these guys who are creators and influencers make a lot of content, share it, and build up an audience. They don't realize how much money is available to them because of what they've done. 03:04 - Symptoms of the problem: What people are feeling is, they're frustrated that they should be making more money, like, 'I know that this is worth more money.' 'I know that I should be getting more out of this, but I just don't know quite how,' and they've heard of funnels, and they've heard of all of this, you know, different marketing tactics, what have you. And they're like, 'Yeah, but I don't know, I don't know how to do that.' 04:28 - Mistakes people commit before they get John: One of the biggest things there is that people might try some tactics that they've heard about from marketing people, and they don't know which ones specifically work for online courses. They try something, get mediocre results, and go, 'You know what, I'm going to get back to what I was doing before.' 05:13 - John's Valuable Free Action (VFA): In about a day to two days of work, you can increase revenue by about 20% for most people, and it's something called order bumps. And what you do is, an order bump is on your checkout page, you have a tick box and have another offer available somewhere between a third of the price of the original thing and the same price as the original thing that you're selling. You have about two sentences to write very, very short, and about 40 to 60% of people will buy. We've had people increase their revenue by $130,000 a year from doing this. 06:11 - John's Valuable Free Resource (VFA): How much more money could you be making? Find out here: http://www.datadrivenmarketing.co/calculator 07:00 - Q: How else can people solve that issue [increasing revenue]? A: There are three ways people can solve it; we covered one to increase the revenue you get per sale. And so, order bump is one way of doing that. Other ways are upselling, improving your offer, and how you can raise your prices, but that's like order bumps is an easy one there. The second main thing is increasing the percentage of your email list to buy each month. Tweetable Takeaways from this Episode: “In about a day to two days work, you can increase revenue by about 20% for most people,

This week's episode of the Fearless Mindset Podcast features John Shuman, Founder of Shuman Security Consulting. John draws from his wealth of experience in the Secret Service and as a chief of security at some of the biggest organizations including Target and U.S. Bank.He shares his success tips on how individuals moving from public service to private sector can make it big, including bringing the appropriate mindset and relevant skills to the table. Once in the industry, John stresses that work ethic and principles are top of mind to build credibility since executive protection relies heavily on the agency's reputation.Today, John observes a growing need for executive protection. It is essential for security agencies and security directors to recognize the gaps in their security programs and address them sooner rather than later. HIGHLIGHTSTips to assimilate when moving from public to private sectorStrategies for entrepreneurship success and credibilityGrowing opportunities today in executive protectionCurrent threats include active shooter workplace incidents QUOTESJohn: "Leave the secret service attitude at the door. Leave the cold 'I am a Fed, do as I say,' please leave all that outside. Walk in with a renewed sort of invigorated attitude about okay, I'm new here, I want and I have to fit in to this corporate culture to be successful." John: "It starts with win number 1. And you need to go in there, no matter how big or small the project is, with the same attitude. The same mindset. And that is we are going to deliver exactly what we said we would deliver. We will deliver it on time and on budget, and you're going to be thrilled with the outcome."John: "One thing I love, generally, the security industry, even in the corporate security industry, is that really it's one of the few areas of the corporation that isn't incentivized to compete."Find more about John by checking out the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-shuman-30688468/Website: https://shumansecurityconsulting.com/To hear more episodes of The Fearless Mindset podcast, you can go to https://the-fearless-mindset.simplecast.com/ or listen to major podcasting platforms such as Apple, Google, Spotify, etc. You can also subscribe to the Fearless Mindset YouTube Channel to watch episodes on video.

01:48 - Kate's Superpower: Empathy * Absorbing Energy * Setting Healthy Energetic Boundaries * Authenticity * Intent vs Impact 10:46 - Words and Narratives Carry Power; Approaching Inclusive Language * Taking Action After Causing Harm * Get Specific, But Don't Overthink * Practice Makes Progress * Normalize Sharing Pronouns * No-CodeConf (https://webflow.com/nocodeconf) * No-CodeSchool (https://nocodeschool.co/) * Gender Expresion Does Not Always Equal Gender Identity 21:27 - Approaching Inclusive Language in the Written Word * Webflow Accessibility Checklist (https://webflow.com/accessibility/checklist) * Asking For Advice * Do Your Own Research/Work 29:18 - Creating Safe Places, Communities, and Environments * Absorbing and Asking * Authenticity (Cont'd) * Adaptation to Spaces * Shifting Energy 42:34 - Building Kula (https://kulayogadenver.com/) While Working in Tech * Community Care, Mutual Aid-Centered Model * Using Privilege to Pave the Way For More People * Alignment Reflections: John: The dichotomy between perfectionism and authenticity. Arty: Words carry power. Kate: Having an open heart is how you can put any of this into action. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode) To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Transcript: PRE-ROLL: Software is broken, but it can be fixed. Test Double's superpower is improving how the world builds software by building both great software and great teams. And you can help! Test Double is hiring empathetic senior software engineers and DevOps engineers. We work in Ruby, JavaScript, Elixir and a lot more. Test Double trusts developers with autonomy and flexibility at a remote, 100% employee-owned software consulting agency. Looking for more challenges? Enjoy lots of variety while working with the best teams in tech as a developer consultant at Test Double. Find out more and check out remote openings at link.testdouble.com/greater. That's link.testdouble.com/greater. JOHN: Welcome to Greater Than Code. I'm John Sawers and I'm here with Arty Starr. ARTY: Thanks, John. And I'm here with our guest today, Kate Marshall. Kate is a copywriter and inclusivity activist living in Denver. Since entering tech 4 years ago, she's toured the marketing org from paid efforts to podcast host, eventually falling in love with the world of copy. With this work, she hopes to make the web a more welcoming place using the power of words. Outside of Webflow, you'll find Kate opening Kula, a donation-based yoga studio, and bopping around the Mile High City with her partner, Leah. Welcome to the show, Kate. KATE: Hi, thank you so much! ARTY: So we always start our shows with our famous first question. What is your superpower and how did you acquire it? KATE: My superpower, I've been thinking about this. My superpower is empathy. It can also be one of my biggest downfalls [laughs], which I actually think happens more often than not with any superpower. I once heard from a child, actually, they always seem to know best that too much of the good, good is bad, bad. [laughter] So it turns out sometimes too much empathy can be too overwhelming for my system, but it has really driven everything that I've done in my career and my personal life. As for how I acquired it, I don't know that you can really acquire empathy. I think it's just something you have, or you don't. I've always been extremely intuitive and if you're going through something, it's likely that I can feel it. So I think I'm just [laughs] I hate to steal Maybelline's line, but I think I was born with it. JOHN: You talked about having a downside there and I've heard – and I'm curious, because most people talk about empathy as a positive thing and wanting more people to develop more empathy, but I'd to love hear you talk a little bit more about what you see the downsides are. KATE: Yeah. As someone who struggles with her own mental health issues, it can be really overwhelming for me to really take on whatever it is you're going through. Especially if it's a loved one, you tend to care more about what they're feeling, or what they're going through and an empath truly does absorb the energy of what's happening around them. So although, it does influence a lot of the work that I do, both in my full-time career and opening my yoga studio and everything in between, it's also hard sometimes to set those boundaries, to set healthy, really energetic boundaries. It's hard enough to voice your boundaries to people, but setting energetic boundaries is a whole other ballgame. So it can tend to feel overwhelming at times and bring you down if the energy around you is lower than what you want it to be. ARTY: So what kind of things do you do to try and set healthy, energetic boundaries? KATE: Ah. I do a lot of what some people would call, including myself, woo-woo practices. [chuckles] Obviously, I practice yoga. I teach yoga. I'm super passionate about holistic, or energetic healing so I go to Reiki regularly. I'm in therapy, talk therapy. All of those things combined help me build this essentially an energetic shield that I can psych myself up to use any time I'm leaving the apartment. If it feels a high energy day, or if I'm meeting up with a friend who I know is going through something, I really have to set those boundaries is. Same thing kind of at work, too. So much of the time that we spend in our lives is spent at work, or interacting with coworkers or colleagues and same thing. Everyone's going through their own journey and battles, and you have to carry that energetic shield around you wherever you go. JOHN: One way I've often thought about having those sort of boundaries is the more I know who I am, the more what the limits of me are and the barrier between me and the universe is. So the work that I do, which includes therapy and other things, to understand myself better and to feel like I know what's me and what's not me, helps me have those boundaries. Because then I know if there's something going on with someone else and I can relate to it, but not get swept up by it. KATE: Yeah. It's so funny you say that because I was actually just having a conversation with a friend a couple weeks ago that has really stuck with me. I was kind of feeling like I was messing up, essentially. Like I was not fully able to honor, or notice all of the triggers of the people around me. I think especially at the end of the year and as a queer person who is surrounded by queer community, it can be really tough around the holidays. So that energy can just be generally more charged and I was finding it difficult to reconcile with my idea of perfection in that I really want to honor every person around me who has triggers, who has boundaries that maybe haven't been communicated, and it almost feels like you're almost always crossing some sort of line, especially when you're putting those perfectionism expectations on yourself. My friend was like, “I don't think it's as much about being perfect at it as much as it is feeling like you're being authentically yourself and really authentically interacting with those people.” I don't know if I can really voice what the connection is between being able to honor triggers and boundaries of the people around you and feeling like your authentic self, but there's something about it that feels really connected to me. As long as you're trying your best and feeling like you're coming from a place of love, or connection, or compassion, or empathy whatever feels most to you, that's really all we can do, right? JOHN: Yeah. I feel like that authenticity is such a tricky concept because the thoughts that you're having about wanting to be perfect and take care of everyone and make sure you're not triggering anybody and not stepping on any of your own things, that's also part of you that is authentically you. You may not want it to be that way, but it still is. [laughs]. ARTY: Yeah. JOHN: So I still don't have a really clear sense in my mind what authenticity really is. I think probably it settles down to being a little bit more in the moment, rather than up in the thinking, the judging, the worrying, and being able to be present rather than – [overtalk] ARTY: Totally. JOHN: Those other things, but it is tricky. KATE: Yeah. It can be tricky. Humans, man. [laughter] It really is like being a human and part of the human experience is going to be triggering other people. It's going to be causing harm. It's going to be causing trauma to other humans. That's just part of it. I think the more you can get comfy with that idea and then also just really feeling like you're doing everything you can to stay connected to your core, which usually is in humans is a place of love. You're rooted in love for the people around you. How could you criticize yourself too much when you know that you're coming from that place? ARTY: I feel like things change, too as you get feedback. In the context of any intimate relationship where you've got emotionally connected relationship with another person where you are more unguarded and you're having conversations about things that are more personal, that have at least the potential to hurt and cause harm. Like sometimes we do things not meaning to and we end up hurting someone else accidentally, but once that happens—and hopefully, you have an open dialogue where you have a conversation about these things and learn about these things and adapt—then I think the thing to do is honor each person as an individual of we're all peoples and then figure out well, what can we do to adapt how we operate in this relationship and look out for both people's best interests and strive for a win-win. If we don't try and do that, like if we do things that we know we're harming someone else and we're just like, “Well, you should just put up with that,” [laughs], or whatever. I think that's where it becomes problematic is at the same time, we all have our own limitations and sometimes, the best thing to do is this relationship doesn't work. The way that we interact causes mutual harm and we can't this a win-win relationship and the best thing to do sometimes is to separate, even though it hurts because it's not working. KATE: Yeah. I feel like sometimes it's a classic case of intent versus impact, too. Like what's your intention going into a conversation and then how does that end up actually impacting that person and how can you honor that and learn from that? That's actually one thing that I love so much about being a writer is that words do carry so much power—written word, spoken word, whatever it is. They hold so much power and they can cause harm whether we want them to, or not. Part of being an empath is caring a lot about people's lived experiences and I really see it as more than putting – being a writer and doing this every day, I see it so much more than just putting words on a page and hoping signs up for the beta, or watches the thing registers, or the conference. It's words can foster connection, words can build worlds for people; they can make people feel like they belong and I believe that I'm on this planet to foster that connection with each other and with ourselves. So it all connects for me. It all comes back around whether we're talking about being in a romantic relationship, or our relationship with our parents, or our caregivers, or the work that I do every day it all comes back to that connection and really wanting to make people feel more connected to themselves, to each other, and like they have a place with words. ARTY: Yeah. It's very powerful. Words and narratives, I would say too, just thinking about the stories that we tell ourselves, the stories that we tell one another that become foundational in our culture. It's all built upon were words. Words shape the ideas in our head. They shape our thoughts. They shape how we reflect on things, how we feel about things, and then when people give us their words, we absorb those and then those become part of our own reflections. KATE: Yeah. ARTY: We affect one another a lot. I think that's one of the things I'm just seeing and talking to you is just thinking about how much we affect one another through our everyday interactions. KATE: Yeah, and I think a lot of this comes down to – there's something you said earlier that resonated in that it's really about the action you take after you cause the harm, or after you say the thing that hurts the other person and it's less about – and that's what made me say intent versus impact because you see the impact, you acknowledge it, and you make a decision to lessen that next time, or to be aware, more aware next time. This is really at the core of all the work I do for inclusive language as well. It's just the core principle of the words we use carry a lot of power. And I was actually just chatting with someone in the No-Code space. We connected through Webflow a couple weeks ago and he said, “I think people are so scared to get it wrong when it comes to inclusive language,” and I experience this all the time. People freeze in their tracks because they don't know how address someone and then they're so scared to get it wrong and they're like, “Oh, so sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry,” and they're so apologetic. And then that makes it worse and it's just a whole thing. In this conversation, we were talking specifically about misgendering people. My partner is non-binary. They're misgendered every single day when we go to restaurants, when we are just out and about. So this is something that is a part of my life every day. I told him that fear is so real and I carry that fear, too because I don't want to hurt people because I want to like get it right. It comes back to that perfectionism, that expectation that I put on myself, especially as a queer person to get it right all the time. But so much of the good stuff lies in how you approach it and then how you fix it when you mess it up. Like, it's not so much about the thing, it's about the way that you approach it. If you approach inclusive language with an open mind, an open heart, and a real willingness, like true willingness to learn, that's what's important going into it and then you're already doing the work. You're already an ally. You're already however you want to put it. And then when you use an ableist word, or you use a racist word, or you misgender someone, your actions for following that speak volumes. I think we can really get caught up in the action itself and it's more about how you go into it and then how you try to fix it. ARTY: So I'm thinking for listeners that might identify with being in a situation of being in the headlights and not knowing how to respond, or what to do. Other than what you were just talking about with coming at it with an open heart, are there any specific recommendations you might have for how to approach inclusive language? KATE: Yeah. Yeah, I have a couple really, really good ones. So often, the way to speak more inclusively, or to write more inclusively is just to get more specific about what you're trying to say. So instead of saying, “Oh, that's so crazy,” which is ableist, you can say, “Oh, that's so unheard of.” That's a good example. Or instead of unnecessarily gendering something you're saying like, “Oh, I'm out of wine, call the waitress over.” It's server instead of waiter, or waitress. You kind of start to essentially practice replacing these words and these concepts that are so ingrained into who we are, into society at large, and really starting to disrupt those systems within us with challenging the way that we've described things in the past. So just essentially getting more specific when we're speaking. When it comes to misgendering people specifically, it's really important to not be overly apologetic when you misgender someone. I can give an example. If a server, for example, comes up to me and my partner and says, “Can I get you ladies anything else?” And I say, “Oh, actually my partner uses they/them pronouns. They are not a lady,” and they say, “Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Oh shit!” And then that makes my partner feel bad [chuckles] for putting them in that position and then it's kind of this like ping pong back and forth of just bad feelings. The ideal scenario, the server would say, “Oh, excuse me, can I get you all anything else?” Or, “Can I get you folks anything else?” Or just, if you're speaking about someone who uses they/them pronouns and you say, “Yeah, and I heard she, I mean, they did this thing.” You just quickly correct it and move on. Don't make it into a production. It's okay. We get it. Moving on. Just try not to overthink it, basically. [laughs] Get more specific, but don't overthink it. Isn't that like, what a dichotomy. [laughter] JOHN: That ties back to what you were saying about perfectionism also, right? Like you said, you freeze up if you try and be perfect about it all the time, because you can't always know what someone's pronouns are and so, you have to make a guess at some point and maybe you're going to guess wrong. But it's how you deal with it by not making everybody uncomfortable with the situation. [laughs] KATE: Yeah. JOHN: And like you said, ping pong of bad feelings just amplifies, the whole thing blows out of proportion. You can just be like, “Oh, my apologies.” Her, they, whatever it is and then very quickly move on and then it's forgotten the next minute. Everything moves on from that, but you're not weeping and gnashing and – [laughter] KATE: Yeah. JOHN: Well, it means you don't have to keep feeling bad about it for the next 3 days either, like everyone can move on from that point. KATE: Right. Yeah, and just doing your best to not do it again. JOHN: Yeah. KATE: Once you learn, it's important to really let that try to stick. If you're having trouble, I have a friend who really has trouble with they/them pronouns and they practice with their dog. They talk to their dog about this person and they use they/them pronouns in that. Practice really does make perfect in this – not perfect, okay. Practice really does make progress in this kind of scenario and also, normalize sharing pronouns. JOHN: Yeah. KATE: It's more than just putting it in your Zoom name. It's more than just putting it in your Instagram bio. A good example of really starting this conversation was during Webflow's No-Code Conf, our yearly conference. It was mostly online and we had a live portion of it and every single time we introduced someone new, or introduced ourselves, we said, “My name is Kate Marshall, my pronouns are she/her, and I'm so happy to be here with you today.” Or just asking if you don't know, or if you're in a space with someone new, you say, “What are your pronouns?” It's really is that easy. Webflow made some year-round pride mech that we launched over the summer and we have a cute beanie that says “Ask me my pronouns.” It's like, it's cool to ask. It's fine to ask and that's so much better than unintentionally misgendering someone. It's going to take some time to get there, but normalize it. JOHN: Yeah, and I think there's one key to that that has always stuck out of my mind, which is don't ask pronouns just for the people you think might have different pronouns than you would expect. KATE: Yes. JOHN: Make it part of all the conversations so it's not just singling somebody out of a group and saying, “I want to know your pronouns because they're probably different.” That's not good. KATE: Right, because gender expression does not always equal gender identity. JOHN: Yeah. KATE: You can't know someone's gender identity from the way that they express their gender and that's also another huge misconception that I think it's time we talk more about. JOHN: So we've been talking a lot about conversations and person-to-person interactions and inclusive language there. But a lot of what you do is it on the writing level and I imagine there's some differences there. So I'm curious as to what you see as far as the things that you do to work on that in the written form. KATE: Yeah. So this is actually a really great resource that I was planning on sharing with whoever's listening, or whoever's following along this podcast. There is a really wonderful inclusive language guidelines that we have published externally at Webflow and I own it, I update it regularly as different things come in and inclusive language is constantly evolving. It will never be at a final resting point and that's also part of why I love it so much because you truly are always growing. I'm always learning something new about inclusive language, or to make someone feel more included with the words that I'm writing. This table has, or this resource has ableist language, racist language, and sexist language tables with words to avoid, why to avoid them, and some alternatives and just some general principles. I reference it constantly. Like I said, it's always evolving. I actually don't know how many words are on there, but it's a good amount and it's a lot of things have been surfaced to me that I had no idea were racist. For instance, the word gypped. Like if you say, “Oh, they gypped me” is actually racist. It's rooted in the belief that gypsy people are thieves. [chuckles] So it's things like that we really kind of go deep in there and I reference this constantly. Also, ALS language is a really big consideration, especially in the tech space. So instead of – and this can be avoided most of the time, not all of the time. We do work with a really wonderful accessibility consultant who I run things by constantly. Shout out to Michele. Oh, she was actually on the podcast at one point. Michele Williams, shout out. Lovely human. So a good example is instead of “watch now,” or “listen now,” it's “explore this thing,” “browse this thing,” “learn more”. Just try not to get so specific about the way that someone might be consuming the information that I'm putting down on the page. Stuff like that. It truly does come down to just getting more specific as just a general principle. JOHN: So it sounds to me some of the first steps you take are obviously being aware that you have to mold your language to be more accessible and inclusive, then it's informing yourself of what the common pitfalls are. As you said, you have consultants, you've got guides, you've got places where you can gather this information and then once you have that, then you build that into your mental process for writing what you're writing. KATE: Yeah, and truly just asking questions and this goes for everyone. No one would ever – if I reached out to our head of DEI, Mariah, and said, “Mariah, is this thing offensive?” Or, “How should I phrase this thing to feel more inclusive to more people?” She would never come back at me and say, “Why are you asking me this? You should already know this,” and that is the attitude across the board. I would never fault someone for coming to me and asking me how to phrase something, or how to write something to make it feel better for more people. So it's really a humbling experience [laughs] to be in this position. Again, words carry so much power and I just never take for granted, the power essentially that I have, even if it is just for a tech company. A lot of people are consuming that and I want to make them feel included. JOHN: Yeah. The written face of a company is going to tell readers a lot about the culture of the company, the culture of the community around the product. KATE: Yeah. JOHN: Whether they're going to be welcome there, like what their experience is going to be like if they invest their time to learn about it. So it's really important to have that language there and woven into everything that's written, not just off the corner on the DEI page. KATE: Yeah. That's what I was just about to say is especially if you're a company that claims to prioritize DEI, you better be paying close attention to the words that you're using in your product, on your homepage, whatever it is, your customer support. I've worked with the customer support team at Webflow to make sure that the phrasing feels good for people. It truly does trickle into every single asset of a business and it's ongoing work that does not just end at, like you said, putting it on a DEI page. Like, “We care about this,” and then not actually caring about it. That sucks. [laughs] JOHN: Oh, the other thing before we move too far on from last topic, you're talking about asking for advice. I think one of the keys there, a, being humble and just saying, “I would like to know,” and you're very unlikely to get criticized for simply asking how something can be better. But I feel like one of the keys to doing that well is also not arguing with the person you've asked after they give you an answer. KATE: Right. Yes. Especially if that person is a part of the community that your words are affecting, or that your question is affecting. It's such a tricky balance because it's really not the queer community's job to educate people who are not queer about inclusive language. But when that person is willing to share their knowledge with the you, or willing to share their experience with you, you've got to listen. Your opinions about their lived experience don't come into that conversation, or shouldn't come into that conversation. It's not questioning the information that you're given, but then it's also taking that and doing your own research and asking more people and having conversations with your friends and family trying to widen this breadth of information and knowledge as a community. Like I said, kind of dismantling the things that we're taught growing up by capitalism, by society, everything that kind of unnecessarily separates and then doing better next time. I've actually had conversations with people who are very curious, who come to me with questions and then the next time I interact with them, they're just back to factory settings. That's so disappointing and just makes me feel like my energy could have been better spent having that conversation with someone who is more receptive. So I think it really is just about being open to hearing someone's experience, not questioning it, and then really taking that in and doing the work on your own. JOHN: Yeah, and part of that doing the work is also for the things that you can Google for the things where you can look at it from the guide, do that first before asking for someone's time. KATE: Yeah. JOHN: So that they're not answering the same 101 questions every time that are just written in 15 different blog posts. KATE: Yes. Especially if you're asking a marginalized person to do the work for you. JOHN: Yeah. KATE: Intersectionality matters and putting more work on the shoulders of people who are already weighed down by so much ain't it. [laughs] ARTY: Well, I was wanting to go back to your original superpower that you talked about with empathy. We talked a lot about some of these factors that make empathy of a difficult thing of over empathizing and what kind of factors make that hard. But as a superpower, what kind of superpowers does that give you? KATE: Ah, just being able to really connect to a lot of different people. I mentioned earlier that I believe it's my purpose, it's my life's work on this planet at this time to connect people to themselves and to each other. The more asking I can do and the more absorbing I can do of other people's experiences, the better I am at being able to connect with them and being able to make them feel like they belong in whatever space I'm in. I can't connect with someone if I don't try and get it. Try and get what they're going through, or what their experiences are. That's why I do so much time just talking to people, and that's why I love yoga and why I want to start this studio and open this space. Because we live in a world where we don't have a lot of spaces, especially marginalized communities don't have a lot of spaces that feel like they're being understood, or they're truly being heard, or seen. Me being an empath, I'm able to access that in people more and therefore, bringing them closer to safer spaces, or safer people, safer communities where they really feel like they can exist and be their full, whole, and complete selves. It's really special. ARTY: We also touched this concept of authenticity and it seems like that also comes up in this context of creating these safe spaces and safe communities where people can be their whole selves. So when you think about authenticity, we talked about this being a difficult and fuzzy word, but at the same time, it does have some meaning as to what that means, and these challenges with regards to boundaries and things. But I'm curious, what does authenticity mean to you? How does that come into play with this idea of safety and creating these safe spaces for others as well? KATE: Yeah. I feel like there's so much in there. I think one of the biggest things to accept about the word authenticity, or the concept of authenticity is that it's always changing and it means something different to everyone. We are all authentic to ourselves in different ways and at different times in our lives and I think it's so important to honor the real evolution of feeling authentic. There are times and days where I'm like who even am. It's like what even, but there's always this sort of core, root part of me that I don't lose, which is what we've been talking about. This ability to connect, this feeling of empathy, of compassion, of wanting to really be a part of the human experience. That, to me, kind of always stays and I feel like that's the authentic, like the real, real, authentic parts of me. There are layers to it that are always changing and as people, we are also always evolving and always changing. So those different parts of authenticity could be what you wear that make you feel like your most authentic self. It can be how you interact with your friends, or how you interact with the person, getting your popcorn at the movies, or whatever it is. Those can all feel like parts of your authentic self. That means something different to everyone. But I think that's such a beautiful part about it and about just being human is just how often these things are changing for us and how important it is to honor someone's authenticity, whatever that means for them at that time. Even if it's completely different from what you knew about them, or how you knew them before. It's this constant curiosity of yourself and of others, really getting deeply curious about what feels like you. ARTY: I was wondering about safety because you were talking about the importance of creating these safe communities and safe environments where people could be their whole, complete selves, which sounds a lot like the authenticity thing, but you trying to create space for that for others. KATE: Yeah. Well, the reality of safety is that there's no one space that will ever be a “safe space for everyone,” and that's why I like to say safer spaces, or a safer space for people because you can never – I feel like it's all coming full circle where you can never meet every single person exactly where they need to be met in any given moment. You can just do your best to create spaces that feel safer to them and you do that with authentic connection, with getting curious about who they are and what they love, and just making sure that your heart's really in it. [chuckles] Same with inclusive language. It's all about the way you approach it to make someone feel safer. But I do think it's an I distinction to remember. You're never going to be safe for everyone. A space you create is never going to be safe for everyone. The best you can do is just make it safer for more people. ARTY: When I think about just the opposite of that, of times that I've gone into a group where I haven't felt safe being myself and then when you talk of about being your complete whole self, it's like bringing a whole another level of yourself to a space that may not really fit that space and that seems like it's okay, too. Like we don't necessarily have to bring our full self to all these different spaces, but whatever space we're a part of, we kind of sync up and adapt to it. So if I'm in one space and I feel the kind of vibe, energy, context of what's going on, how people are interacting, the energy they put forth when they speak with whatever sorts of words that they use. I'm going to feel that and adapt to that context of what feels safe and then as more people start adapting to that, it creates a norm that other people that then come and see what's going on in this group come to an understanding about what the energy in the room is like. KATE: Yeah. ARTY: And all it takes is one person to bring a different energy into that to shift the whole dynamic of things. KATE: Yeah. The reality is you'll never be able to change every space and I think that's such a good point. It makes me feel like saying you have to be protective of your energy. If you go into a space and it just doesn't feel right, or there's someone who is in the room that doesn't feel safe to you, or that doesn't feel like they're on the same page as you, it's okay to not feel like you need to change the world in that space. Like you don't always have to go into a space and say, “I'm going to change it.” That is how change is made when you feel safe enough. That's why it's so important to foster that energy from the jump. That's just a foundational thing at a company in a yoga studio, in a home, at a restaurant. It can be changed, but it really should be part of the foundation of making a safer space, or a more inclusive space. Because otherwise, you're asking the people who don't feel safe, who are usually marginalized people, or intersectionally marginalized in some way. You're asking them essentially to put in the work to change what you should have done as the foundation of your space. So it's a such a delicate balance of being protective of your energy and really being able to feel out the places where you feel okay saying something, or making a change, or just saying, “No, this isn't worth it for me. I'm going to go find a space that actually feels a little bit better, or that I feel more community in.” ARTY: And it seems like the other people that are in the group, how those people respond to you. If you shift your energy, a lot of times the people that are in the group will shift their energy in kind. Other times, in a different space, you might try to shift energy and then there's a lot of resistance to that where people are going a different way and so, you get pushed out of the group energy wise. These sorts of dynamics, you can feel this stuff going on of just, I just got outcast out of this group. Those are the kinds of things, though that you need to protect your own energy of even if I'm not included in this group, I can still have a good relationship with me and I can still like me and I can think I'm still pretty awesome and I can find other groups of folks that like me. It definitely, at least for me, I tend to be someone who's like, I don't know, I get out grouped a lot. [laughs] But at the same time, I've gotten used to that and then I find other places where I've got friends that love me and care about me and stuff. So those are recharge places where I can go and get back to a place where I feel solid and okay with myself, and then I'm much more resilient then going into these other spaces and stuff where I might not be accepted, where I might have to be kind of shielded and guarded and just put up a front, and operate in a way that makes everyone else feel more comfortable. KATE: Yeah, and isn't it so powerful to feel cared for? ARTY: I love that. KATE: Like just to feel cared for by the people around you is everything. It's everything. That's it. Just to feel like you are wanted, or you belong. To feel cared for. It can exist everywhere is the thing. In your Slack group, or whatever, you can make people feel cared for. I have never regretted reaching out to a coworker, or a friend, or whoever an acquaintance and saying, “Hey, I love this thing about you,” or “Congratulations on this rad thing you just launched,” or whatever. It's the care that's so powerful. ARTY: I feel like this is one of those things where we can learn things from our own pain and these social interactions and stuff. One of the things that I've experienced is you're in a group and you say something and nobody responds. [laughs] KATE: Yeah. ARTY: And after doing that for a while, you feel like you're just shouting into the void and nobody hears you and it's just this feeling of like invisibility. In feeling that way myself, one of the things I go out of my way to do is if somebody says something, I at least try and respond, acknowledge them, let them know that they're heard, they're cared about, and that there's somebody there on the other side [chuckles] and they're not shouting into the wind because I hate that feeling. It's an awful feeling to feel invisible like that. KATE: Awful, yeah. ARTY: But we can learn from those experiences and then we can use those as opportunities to understand how we can give in ways that are subtle, that are often little things that are kind of ignored, but they're little things that actually make a really big difference. KATE: Yeah, the little things. It really is the little things, isn't it? [laughs] Like and it's just, you can learn from your experiences, but you can also say, “I'm not doing this right now.” You can also check out. If you are giving and giving. and find that you're in the void essentially, more often than not, you can decide that that's no longer are worth your time, your energy, your care, and you can redirect that care to somewhere else that's going to reciprocate, or that's going to give you back that same care and that's so important, too. JOHN: Yeah, and it sounds like starting a yoga studio is not a trivial undertaking and obviously, you're highly motivated to create this kind of an environment in the world. So is there anything more you'd like to say about that because that ties in very closely with what we're talking about? KATE: Yeah. It's so weird to work full-time and be so passionate about my tech job and then turn around and be like, “I'm opening a yoga studio.” It's such a weird, but again, it's all connected at the root, at the core of what I'm trying to do in this world. The thing about Kula is that it's really built on this foundational mutual aid model. So being donation-based, it's really pay what you can, if you can. And what you pay, if you're able to give an extra $10 for the class that you take, that's going to pay for someone else's experience, who is unable to financially contribute to take that class. That's the basis of community care, of mutual aid and it's really this heart-based business model that is really tricky. I'm trying to get a loan right now and [chuckles] it's really hard to prove business financials when you have a donation-based model and you say, “Well, I'm going to guess what people might donate per class on average.” So it's been a real journey, [laughs] especially with today's famous supply chain issues that you hear about constantly in every single industry. I have an empty space right now. It needs to be completely built out. Construction costs are about triple what they should be. Again, coming from this real mutual aid community care centered model, it's really hard, but I have to keep coming back. I was just telling my partner about this the other day, I have to keep coming back to this core idea, or this real feeling that I don't need to have a beautifully designed space to create what I'm trying to create. When I started this, I envisioned just a literal empty room [chuckles] with some people in it and a bathroom and that's it. So of course, once I saw the designs, I was like, “Oh, I love this can lighting that's shining down in front of the bathroom door.” It's like so whatever, stereotypical. Not stereotypical, but surface level stuff. I really have had to time and time again, return to this longing almost for a space that feels safer for me, for my community, for Black people, for disabled people, for trans people, for Asian people; we don't have a lot of spaces that feel that way and that's just the reality. So it's a real delicate balance of how do I like – this is a business and I need money, [laughs] but then I really want this to be rooted in mutual aid and community care. It comes back to that car and that inclusivity, creating authentic connections. It's tricky out there for a queer woman entrepreneur with no collateral. [laughs] It's a tricky world out there, but I think we'll flip it someday. I really think pioneering this idea, or this business model at least where I'm at in Denver, I think it's going to start the conversation in more communities and with more people who want to do similar things and my hope is that that will foster those conversations and make it more accessible to more people. JOHN: Yeah, and I think every time someone manages to muster up the energy, the capital, and the community effort to put something like this together, it makes it just slightly easier for someone else a, they can learn the lessons and b, they're more examples of this thing operating in the world. So it becomes more possible in people's minds and you can build some of that momentum there. KATE: Yeah. And of course, it's really important to note and to remember that I come from a place of immense privilege. I have a great job in tech. I'm white. I am upper middle class. Technically, I'm “straight passing,” which is a whole other concept, but it is a thing and this is the way that I'm choosing to use my privilege to hopefully pave the way for more people. I do not take for granted the opportunity that I'm given and like I said, intersectionality matters and all of that, but I still have a lot of privilege going into this that I hope turns into something good for more people. ARTY: It also takes a special kind of person to be an entrepreneur because you really have to just keep on going. No matter any obstacle that's in your way, you've just got to keep on going and have that drive, desire, and dream to go and build something and make it happen and your superpowers probably going to help you out with that, too. It sounds like we've got multiple superpowers because I think you got to have superpowers to be an entrepreneur in itself. KATE: Yeah. I don't know, man. It's such a weird feeling to have because it just feels like it's what I'm supposed to be doing. That's it. It doesn't feel like I'm like – yes, it's a calling and all of that, but it just feels like the path and that, it feels more, more natural than anything I guess, is what I'm trying to say. The more people follow that feeling, the more authentic of a world, the more connected of a world we're going to have. I see a lot of people doing this work, similar things, and it makes me so happy to see. The words of one of my therapists, one of my past therapists told me, “Always stick with me,” and it was right around the time I was kind of – so I'd started planning before COVID hit and then COVID hit and I had to pause for about a year, a little bit less than a year. It was right around the time I was filing my LLC and really starting to move forward. It was actually December 17th of last year that I filed my LLC paperwork. So it's been a little over a year now. He told me, “How much longer are you willing to wait to give the community this thing that you want to give them? How much are you willing to make them wait for this space?” And I was like, “Yesterday. Yesterday.” Like, “I want to give people this space immediately,” and that has truly carried me through. This supply chain stuff is no joke. [laughs] and it has really carried me through some of the more doubtful moments in this journey. Yeah, and I feel like, man, what powerful words. Like, I just want to keep saying them because they are such powerful words to me. How much longer are you willing to make them wait? And it's like, I don't want to. [chuckles] So I guess I'm going to go do it. [laughter] Throw caution to the wind. [laughs] JOHN: Well, I think that ties back into what you were talking about is as you were thinking about designing the space and what kind of buildout you're going to need, and that can be a guide star for what actually needs to be there. What's the actual MVP for this space? Does it need a perfect coat of paint, or is what's there good enough? Does it need all the things arranged just so in the perfect lighting, or does it just need to exist and have people in the room and you can really focus in on what's going to get you there? And then of course, you iterate like everything else, you improve over time, but. KATE: Right. JOHN: I love that concept of just cut out everything that's in the way of this happening right now as much as possible. KATE: Yeah, and what a concept, I think that can be applied to so many things. Who am I trying to serve with this thing and what do I need to do to get there? It doesn't have to be this shiny, beautiful well-designed creation. It just needs to serve people. The people that you want to serve in the best way possible, and for me, that's getting this space open and actually having it in action. ARTY: I think once you find something that feels in alignment with you, you seem to have lots of clarity around just your sense of purpose, of what you want to move toward of a deep connection with yourself. One thing I found with that is no matter how much you get rejected by various groups in the world, if you can be congruent and authentic with yourself and follow that arrow, that once you start doing that, you find other people that are in resonance with you. They're out there, but you don't find them until you align with yourself. KATE: Yeah. Community. Community is so powerful and I love that you just said alignment because that really is truly what it is. It's finding the thing that makes you feel like you're doing something good and that feels authentic to your core, to those core principles of you that never really change. The things that are rooted in love, the things that are rooted in compassion, or whatever it is you care about. Community, that alignment is absolutely key. It's also, when I say I was born with my superpower of being an empath, this desire to create this space feels, it feels like I was also born with this desire, or born with this alignment. So I feel like so many times it's just going back to the basics of who you are. ARTY: Like you're actualizing who you are. KATE: Yeah. Like full alignment, enlightenment, that all kind of falls into place when you're really making the effort to be connected to your core. ARTY: It seems like a good place to do reflections. So at the end of the show, we usually go around and do final reflections and takeaways, final thoughts that you have and you get to go last, Kate. JOHN: There are a whole lot of different things that I've been thinking about here, but I think one of the ones that's sticking with me is the dichotomy between perfectionism and authenticity, and how I feel like they really are pulling against one another and that, which isn't to say things can't be perfect and authentic at the same time. But I think perfectionism is usually a negative feeling. Like you should do something, you're putting a lot of pressure, there's a lot of anxiety around perfectionism and that is pretty much an opposition to being authentically yourself. It's hard to be in touch with yourself when you're wrapped up in all those anxieties and so, thinking about the two of them together, I hadn't made that connection before, but I think that's something that's interesting that I'll be thinking about for a while. ARTY: I think the thing that's going to stick with me, Kate is you said, “Our words carry so much power,” and I think about our conversation today out just vibes in the room and how that shifts with the energy that we bring to the room, all of these subtle undercurrent conversations that we're having, and then how a sort of energy vibe becomes established. And how powerful even these really little tiny things we do are. We had this conversation around inclusive language and you gave so many great details and specifics around what that means and how we can make little, small alterations to some of these things that are just baked into us because of our culture and the words that we hear, phrasing and things that we hear, that we're just unaware of the impact of things. Just by paying attention and those little subtle details of things and coming at things with an open heart, regardless of how we might stumble, or mess things up, how much of a difference that can make because our words, though carry so much power. KATE: Yeah. And the thing you just said about having an open heart is truly how you can put any of this into action, how you can remain open to learning about authenticity, or what it feels like to not fall into a trap of perfectionism, or how to speak, or write, or interact more inclusively with other human beings. I feel like being open, being openminded, being open-hearted, whatever it is, is just really a superpower on its own. Remaining open and vulnerable in today's world is hard work. It does not come naturally to so many people, especially when you're dealing with your own traumas and your own individual interactions and maybe being forced into spaces where you don't feel safe. To remain open is such a tool for making other people feel cared for. So if that's the goal, I would say just being open is truly your superpower. JOHN: I think that's the quote I'm going to take with me: being open is the key to making people feel cared for. KATE: Yes. I love that. ARTY: Well, thank you for joining us on the show, Kate. It's been a pleasure to have you here. KATE: Thank you so much. This has been just the energy boost I needed. Special Guest: Kate Marshall.

Getting husbands and wives on the same page with their retirement plan can often be a challenge. Let's talk about some of the things that couples often mess up. Helpful Information: PFG Website: https://www.pfgprivatewealth.com/ Contact: 813-286-7776 Email: info@pfgprivatewealth.com Disclaimer: PFG Private Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investment involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Information expressed does not take into account your specific situation or objectives and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for any individual. Listeners are encouraged to seek advice from a qualified tax, legal, or investment adviser to determine whether any information presented may be suitable for their specific situation. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Transcript of Today's Show: For a full transcript of today's show, visit the blog related to this episode at https://www.pfgprivatewealth.com/podcast/ ----more---- Mark: Everybody welcome to the podcast. Thanks for tuning into the show. As we talk about investing, finance and retirement here on Retirement Planning Redefined with John and Nick. And we're going to talk about couples this go around and some financial mistakes couples often get into. Because John, I don't know about you, buddy, but my wife and I are on the same page about everything all the time. John: Yeah. Sounds like you go by the motto happy wife, happy life. Mark: Yeah. Not so much. No. She would disagree with that. Something fear. She's like, "If I could ever get you to agree with me on anything for happy wife, that'd be good." But no, this is a joke people make all the time. Couples that definitely do not see eye to eye on a lot of things, and finances is certainly one of those. John: Finances and kitchen remodels, definitely. So... Mark: Kitchen remodels, Nick, what's going on with you, buddy. How you doing? We don't want to leave you out. Nick: Pretty good, just staying busy, happy that football seasons here, NFL season is here. I'm looking forward to fall weather in Florida. Mark: Yeah. Well it's on its way, hopefully. So we're into September when we're taping this. So let's get into it and talk about some stuff. I imagine you guys see a lot of different things when couples come in, and you see a lot of different people on, whether they're on the same page or different pages or whatever the case might be. And many times as much as couples might think they've talked about this stuff, I imagine you guys probably see that they didn't talk about it as much as they should have, or maybe as a depth or they just really glossed over the subject. Mark: So let's dive into a few things and see if we can highlight stuff for folks. So when they do come in and sit down, maybe they're a little further along in this conversation, and you guys don't have to wear your marriage counselor hats along with your financial advisor hat. So number one, making the wrong choice on how to handle the spousal benefit option, if you're lucky enough to have a pension, I talked to a bunch of guys advisors and stuff, fellows over the years that have said, "It's amazing how many times somebody will take that without even talking to their spouse about it, just because they see that higher number." Nick: Yeah, it's interesting that a lot of places have put some restrictions from the perspective of the paperwork where they'll have to be a notary sign off or things like that, but we've seen them without, and there's definitely a misconception or misunderstanding on how these pension payouts will work. And so this could be a mistake that it's typically a one-time decision. So for anybody that has substantial income, that will be coming in from a pension, this could ultimately be the most important decision that they make, and it's something not to overlook. And just to be a little bit more direct, oftentimes they will see the single life option, which you would referred to as the highest payout, and not realize that if something happens to them, then nobody gets any remaining benefit. Nick: One of the ways that we'll try to phrase that to people is, no matter what, I've never met anybody that wants to have worked for a company for a long time, and even if there's a divorce situation or something where if something happens to them that nobody gets any of the benefits that they would have been due for the rest of their life. So on making sure that those options are understood and making sure that they're correlated and tied into the rest of the decisions that they've made for their planning it's super important. John: Yeah. And a big thing to that, Nick mentioned single life, is understand the different joint survivor lives. You can have a joint survivor where one passes away, they still get a 100% of the benefit. And then there's a couple of different options where you get 75 and 50%, and it's always good to reference the plan to make sure if one person passes away that the plan basically is still intact and that surviving spouse can still hit all their goals. Mark: Absolutely. On those conversations, if it does happen, I can't imagine that the other person's too happy about, "Hey, wait a minute, why did you take the wrong one and leave me out?" So, you want to make sure that you're doing those for sure. Number two is the coordination on the social security strategy, social security is that horse that we're going to beat constantly, because it's a big component of people's retirement plans, and the money that's out there. But we can't get into this rush to just go turn it on without really thinking about a strategy, especially if you're married, because there's a lot of strategy involved. John: Yeah, there is. You hit it perfectly when you said it's a big decision. I believe social security equate for like 30 to 40% of someone's household income in retirement. So you want to coordinate it right, and the biggest mistake we typically see is once one person retires maybe early at like 62, 63 64, they're just going to go ahead and turn it on, while the other spouse is working, but there's definitely a lot of different strategies that you can implement. Nick and I focus heavily on planning, and it really all does come back to the planning cause everyone's situation is different, but you really want to look at what's best for your situation. Does it make sense to defer the higher amount for survivor plan down the road? We just talked about pensions. Is there a current pension in place? Which will make the social security decision even more important to really coordinate that with any pension or any other guaranteed income stream. Mark: Strategy is key, and so many things for retirement planning, but certainly in social security. And again, that's why the podcast this week is really about mistakes for couples. Because again, we can kind of talk through this stuff in generalities and sometimes we just kind of barely touch on it, but there's a lot of minutia to dive into, and that's where an advisor really comes into play. And here's a simple one guys, and I don't know how often you guys encounter this, but I talked to many advisors who say, "It's pretty surprising. People will come in for the first time. And they really haven't truly talked about what they want to do with their actual time in retirement, what they want to actually do with retirement. And yeah, they say the general things, well, we want to travel, well, he wants to play golf or whatever, but it's like, well, what does that actually look like? How much golf, how much travel? Where to? So on and so forth." So that stuff really is important in what you guys do to help them design a plan for that. Nick: Yeah. This is something that I've been really trying to focus on with people, with clients. And one of the things that I've found is that, for so many people that are retiring recently or very soon, looking back, one of the things that I've found is that many of them, even if we were to rewind five, six years ago, we've had this huge run-up in the market. So now you have people that have a lot more money in retirement than many of them thought that they would. And so some of the options that they have in some of the thought processes that they can have is less of a scarcity mindset and more of a thriving mindset and really trying to focus on things that they really want to do. Nick: An example recently is a plan with clients that had retired within the last year. And so they're plugging along and the plan looks really, really solid. And so, I really tried to start drilling down. It's like "Now that you've been retired for a little while, now that you have a feeling of what it feels like, what are the things that you really want to do?" And then using planning to help them figure out if we can do it from a financial standpoint. So, one client wanted a larger property for their primary residence to be able to work on cars, that was the kind of hobby. And so it goes. We've kind of talked about the fact that the sharper they stay, the more engaged they stay, whether it's hobbies, whether it's volunteering, no matter what it is, as long as you're staying engaged and sharp, their life is going to be probably longer realistically. And the brain's not going to really rot away. Nick: And so helping people dial into those things that they want to do, I think is probably one of the most enjoyable things on our side of the business, but it takes a while and quite a bit of repetition to really get them to visualize it and see it. Mark: Yeah, indeed, because again, you might talk about some basic things you want to do, but you really start to have to dive in and dissect more because you got all this free time now. And of course you hear all of the funny stories, maybe the Mrs. Will say, "Find something else for him to do get him out of my house." John: One thing we've noticed is that when we do the planning, we'll ask that question and one spouse will say something and the other one just gives a look like "What? I didn't know that." Mark: First I've heard about it. And that's the point of really even though they think maybe they've communicated this. And again, I think that's really where great value comes into play from what you guys do, because you get to be this... Maybe that's not always the most fun thing to be in the middle, but you get to be this mediator a little bit, or this sounding board where to that point, John, when somebody is like, "Wait a minute, this is the first time we're talking about it." Now they're going to hash it out and you guys can help them walk through it. So hopefully it's good in the end because they're getting through to the details they really got to get to. So these are, again, are mistakes that couples can get themselves into when planning for retirement. Number four, not coordinating other accounts. So how important is it guys to include or incorporate coordination amongst his 401k and her IRA and so on and so forth? John: So this is a really important one. And again, we sound like broken records, but this is important to the plan itself, as far as once both people are retired, and you're looking at how much income is needed from the nest eggs, where is that money coming from? Whose accounts? And once that's determined, that will dictate how that money should be invested. So this is really important and often overlooked if someone has not gone through a comprehensive plan, whether they've done it themselves or working with an advisor, but this could be a really big mistake if you haven't coordinated this correctly. Mark: And coordination is the key, getting on the same page is the key. I started off this podcast by joking about my wife and I are always in agreement because that's how spouses are. Yeah. Right. So, at the end of the day, we tend to see differently in a couple of ways, opposites attract kind of thing. Right. So how often, and how much do you guys deal with managing the opposites in their personalities with risk? For example, that's a big one, obviously. Because many, many times I think we're going to see people where one person is like, "Hey, let's take some risks, let's take some chances." And the other, one's not so comfortable with that. And maybe they haven't even been as honest as they might be in front of you guys saying, "You know what, now that we're sitting here, I don't want to take that much risk." So you guys have to figure out a way to get them in a neutral, workable ground. Nick: I think one of the ways to do that, that we found to be the most effective, is to try to double down on embracing the differences and letting them know that. And even if we go back through the plan and say, "Hey, look at these two decisions that you made, really help the plan in this way." And then, these two decisions that the other spouse made really helped the plan in this way. So they compliment each other. Nick: So, let's focus on moving forward. What are the things that we do to earn the next step? And what I mean by that is, so there's a couple of things, we try to continuously emphasize the fact that we don't really care what their brother, sister, neighbor, dog walker/former coworker does. And then we'll rattle off four or five things that are immediately different about their life then all of those people. And so they start to get that. And then as we further drill down and we'll say, "Okay," we'll look it, "Hey, I know that you're feeling a little bit concerned about the market, but remember that we've got two years of cash in the bank. So that's your pass to be able to do X, Y, and Z." And so almost just walking them through and helping them understand, like, "Hey, we've done this, and so we graduate to this level. We've done this, we graduate to this level." And so we keep moving up the ladder and that all of these decisions are tied together and correlated. Nick: And we try to emphasize the fact that, when we make these recommendations, it's not like we make these recommendations for every single person that we work with, these recommendations are specific to them. And so I think that helping them understand that, to embrace those differences and to make sure that we've done things, we've put things in place. So maybe the spouse sets a little bit more aggressive, we point out, "Well, Hey, look it, we've got 15 to 20% of your assets in this Roth IRA. And this is where we're taking the majority of the risk in your portfolio, because the upside is tax-free." And then maybe the other spouse is more conservative and we say, "Hey, remember that you have your social security, you got a small pension. And we put this annuity in place with guaranteed income to satisfy that risk that we perceived." And so all of these things are working together to try to balance it out. And usually it's just kind of rehashing that over time. And then people start to get it. Mark: Yes. The multiple pieces of the pie. So you're going to have these different things in there that are going to hopefully help address multiple concerns. That's why there's a lot of financial products and vehicles out there to be used. And it's not any one thing is the right fit, any one thing is the wrong fit. It's a matter of finding the right vehicles for the right situation and then plugging and playing those in for the different person and their scenario. So that's some places financial mistakes couples can get into. Of course you want to make sure you don't get into those by working with a good advisor or a qualified team, like John and Nick and their team at PFG Private Wealth. So if you'd like to drop by the website and send us an email as well, pfgprivatewealth.com. Mark: If you've got a question, we take those from time to time pfgprivatewealth.com is where you can go. All questions get answered, not all get asked on the podcast, but we do have one this week. So let's see what we got for you guys, Christopher, he sent this one and he says, "Hey, John," but I'm sure he means either one of you, but he says, "Hey, John, I'll be turning 70 at the beginning of next year. And I'm getting annoyed about having to think about taking money out of my IRA, because I'm not going to need it. I'm sure you have some tips for circumventing this rule. What are they?" John: Christopher, good question. So just to update you, the new RMD Required Minimum Distribution age is now 72 versus 70. So that was just seven and a half, that was just changed a couple of years back. But now that this comes up often, one of the things that we currently do for our clients is we'll actually set up a individual taxable account where we'll basically just, if there's a 15, $20,000 RMD, that's unneeded, we'll just transfer that right into it. And go ahead and invest in exactly what they're invested in before, because it really just needs to come out of the IRA, it can go right back into the market. Another strategy we've done is if a client is doing some charitable contributions, you can actually make charitable contributions from your IRA to your selected charity. And that will avoid taxation of that. And again, we always have our disclaimer, talk to your tax advisor if you look for tax advice, we're not tax professionals, but that's a really good strategy to use when you're trying to avoid the RMD taxation. Mark: Got you. Well. So the good news, Christopher, is you got a little bit more time. It's 72 now. I love when people say, "There's got to be ways around this," there really isn't, either don't have an IRA or there's not really a way around it. You're going to have to give the government their share, which is why people have been doing things like conversions. There've been converting money out and doing so on and so forth so they can reduce the amount in there to avoid having to pay that by not having the account. But that's really about the only way, correct? Nick: Yeah. The conversions can be helpful to reduce the amount that's going to have to be required to come out. But at the same time when the window is short and they realize that, "Hey, I'm just going to have to pay. I'm going to have to pay taxes on that money now when I convert versus, a portion of the amount that I would take out down the road." Or that, it's like, "Hey, well, you are going to pay tax on it, but still our plan's recognizing the taxation and you could see here in the planning software, this is what your total tax obligation is going to be. And we can reinvest some of that money. So it may have less of an impact on, on you that you think." Nick: I think one of the things that we've seen is that obviously taxes are a hot button and nobody likes paying them. But I would say that probably 90% of the people that we interact with overestimate, or assume that they pay a lot more in taxes than they actually do. So that's always a good exercise for us to remind people that in the scheme of things, many of them are paying a lot less than they realize anyway. So it's one of those things where in theory sometimes the move can be good, but oftentimes in their mind it's better than in actuality. And of course, just like anything else, we try to test that out through the planning. Mark: Well, Christopher, so there's some good news in there, like I said, there's some more information for you. Obviously they showed a couple of ideas, but hang onto your hat. Because as of right now, stuff's going through that we're tying at the time we're taping this. There's more things to possibly be passed. So there could be some changes again, coming as well. So we'll do an updated podcast on that once they go through or as we have more information, but for now, that's going to wrap it up this week here on the podcast, Retirement Planning Redefined with John and Nick. Guys, thanks for hanging out as always. Appreciate your time. And folks, if you need some help, reach out to them at pfgprivatewealth.com, that's pfgprivatewealth.com. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart, Stitcher, any of those platforms. You can certainly find it that way. You can find all that information at the website and subscribe from there, again, pfgprivatewealth.com, for John and Nick. I'm Mark. We'll see you next time here on the podcast.

Dejoe aka John One aus Berlin ist seit den frühen 90er Jahren nicht mehr aus der Graffitikultur Berlins wegzudenken. Als Vertreter einer Oldschool Generation von Stylepionieren hat er maßgeblich dazu beigetragen den Berlin Flavor weltweit bekannt zu machen. Dabei scherte er bereits früh vom klassischen New York Approach aus und wurde bekannt für seine expressiven und dynamischen Letterkompositionen. Zusammen mit Weggefährten wie Esher, Phobia, Yasno und Lyte (Deadly Colors) prägte er eine alternative Visualität im Stadtbild Berlins.Allerdings ist Dejoe nicht nur 100% Stylewriter, sondern auch erfolgreicher Hip Hop Dj , Kulturist und Connector innerhalb der Community. Wenig verwunderlich repräsentiert er mit voller Passion legendäre Crews wie SOS, RTZ, DC, AISM, TDS oder auch SBB. Trotz seiner langen History verschließt er sich nicht vor neuem Input und fördert junge Künstlerinnen und Künstler. Unter anderem ist er auch Gründungsvater vom Sketch Circle Berlin, bei dem sich bis vor ein paar Jahren regelmäßig die Old- und Newschool beim gemeinsamen Sketching austauschen konnten.Im Interview mit Dejoe zeichnen wir seinen Weg nach und erfahren viele spannende Stories.Wir hätten uns keinen besseren Talkgast für unsere letzte Interviewfolge der zweiten Staffel wünschen können.Mehr Infos, Dejoes Galery und Playlist findet ihr auf www.wdl.rocksSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wdlpodcast)

There's only one Saracen.  www.dailynotes.co.uk  

Mark Cronin '80 and his son John Cronin join Maura Sweeney '07 to speak about how they came to found John's Crazy Socks. A serial entrepreneur, Mark passed along this passion to John.  In the spirit of Holy Cross, theirs is a company created to do good.  Through John's Crazy Socks they are living their mission to “spread happiness,” while also serving as advocates for workplace equality and voices for people with differing abilities. Interview originally recorded on March 17, 2021. Due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic, all interviews in season 2 are recorded remotely. --- Mark : It's the nature of the social enterprise, you've got to have a mission. You can't be, we just want to make money. It's got to be something larger than yourself, an impact you want to have on the world. And when you're driven by that, it's so motivating. All the petty stuff falls away. And that's how you can go and connect with people. We get asked, what's the key ingredient? What skill? A lot if it is just belief. If we have a mission to spread happiness, just believe. Maura : Welcome to Mission-Driven where we speak with alumni who are leveraging their Holy Cross education to make a meaningful difference in the world around them. I'm your host, Maura Sweeney from the class of 2007, director of Alumni Career Development at Holy Cross. I'm delighted to welcome you to today's show. Maura : In this episode, I speak with Mark Cronin from the class of 1980 and his son, John Cronin. Mark and John are co-founders of John's Crazy Socks. A company whose mission is to spread happiness, where over half of the employees have a differing ability. An entrepreneur at heart, Mark has been creating opportunities and organizations ever since his days at Holy Cross. From creating The Lunchbox Theater as a student, to running political campaigns, to founding a software company, his career path shows what can be done when you pursue an idea. Maura : Every step of the way he's been driven by mission. And every step of the way has prepared him for his role at John's Crazy Socks. Our conversation focuses a lot on the incredible work that Mark and John are doing through John's Crazy Socks, to raise awareness about people with differing abilities. They live the motto, to whom much has been given, much is expected, and they do it well. We are lucky to have people like Mark and John working hard to improve the lives of millions of others, because it's not just the right thing to do, it's also good for business. Maura : Mark and John, it is really wonderful to be here with you today. How are you today? Mark : Pretty good, right? John : Pretty good dad. Mark : Life remains interesting. Maura, thank you very much for having us on. Maura : It is my pleasure. It is my pleasure. I have been really looking forward to talking to you about Mark, about your career journey and John, about how you came to help co-found John's Crazy Socks, and the incredible work that you're doing together to really make a difference for people with differing abilities out in the world. Before we get to that, and before we get to John's Crazy Socks, because I could go down a rabbit hole there. First, I'd love to know more about you and your family. I know that you're both New Yorkers. Have you always lived in New York? Mark : So, we live in a town called Huntington on Long Island. I tell the story about that with John. He sometimes laughs at me about this. So, I grew up here on Long Island in part of Huntington, Huntington Station, and when I was 19, I set out for the world. I was leaving and I'm never coming back to Long Island. So in 1997, by that point we had three kids. Our eldest was in first grade and we had moved several times. And if you move two blocks with a little kid, their world turns upside. So we said, we'll buy a house and we'll stay in one place until you get out of college. And we wound up buying a house in Huntington Bay in Huntington, not out of college, out of high school. We said, we'll stay here. And there were a few times where boy, all I wanted to do was travel and move. Mark : There was one point I had this interesting opportunity in Hong Kong, and I sat the family down and I gave them a pitch and they all listened and they nodded and they said, "Dad, that sounds great. And why don't you send us a postcard when you get there, because we're not going." But then, so our two elders, they get up and leave and John, he got an extra three years of high school, but now he's in his final year of high school and I'm thinking, and my wife, Carol is also a Holy Cross grad. We're thinking we can move. We can relocate. Mark : Even after starting this business, we thought you could run an online business from the moon. We could go anywhere. Well, the good news is the business took off faster than we expected. So, we started with a three-year lease and now we have a bunch of employees, and I am going to die on Long Island. I'm not getting away. Maura : No. Well, and I can tell too, just from what I've seen in just the different media footage and the stories about the way you run John's Crazy Socks, is it's also a community organization. Mark : We think about community a lot, we think about the community here. I'm always wary of businesses that say, we're like a family. I don't know about that. But we're building a community there. We think about the community that we're building around here, our customers and supporters. But we also think about the local community and you've got to be good citizens. You got to be engaged in their community and giving back and involved. So, there is a lot of things we do, and that's important to us. Maura : Well, thinking about community and thinking about Holy Cross, because you're an alum from the class of 1980, I know community is a huge part of someone's time at Holy Cross. I'd love to hear about your days on the Hill and what brought you to Holy Cross from Long Island. Mark : So, a different day and age. Okay. I'm getting out of high school in 1976 and I really knew nothing. I didn't really know anything about looking at schools. At a college fair, I got a booklet that seemed interesting. I applied to three schools. I really applied to two. I applied to Holy Cross and Boston College. A third school came in and started recruiting me for football but by that point, I wasn't thinking of playing football. I got in both Holy Cross and Boston College, and was going back and forth. I didn't really know how to choose. So, Boston College had me up for a weekend with a group of students and they greeted us saying, we think you want the leaders of the class of 1980. Mark : And as soon as I heard that, I was like, well, I don't want to come here. If you think I'm one of your leaders, you're in trouble. So, I wound up at Holy Cross and there were a few points. Freshman year, where I was like, I don't know if this is really the right place. I thought of leaving, but once I made the commitment to stay, well, then you're all in. And like most things, the more you put in, the more you get out. And I was thinking, I just sent a package of socks to a guy named Father Carlson, who was my freshmen advisor. And I took him for a survey of Greek lit, but I was particularly thinking of one moment, just a small moment that altered the course of my life. Mark : It was sophomore year, second semester, sophomore year. And he called me in his office. I was trying to think, how did he get me? There was no email, there was no text. But he had me come into his office and he sat me down, and he was the head of the honors program. And he gave me a picture he said, "You should really apply for this." I was like, "Me. Nah." That's not how I thought of myself. I could talk. I was a pretty serious student, but I did a lot of other things too. I didn't do a lot of sleeping. Mark : I walked out of there and thought, oh. I still, I'm not very... I'm kind of... Not counting on it... To inviting you to an honors program. I was really not very smart because I'm thinking, well, I still don't have a chance. Not even thinking well, the head of the program asked me to do this. So I apply and got in the program. And now I spent my junior year at Trinity College in Ireland. Mark : But among the other little things, you got to take the seminars and it was so wonderful. So I took a seminar in non-Euclidean geometry with a guy named, I think his first name was Ted. Ted Cecil, math professor. It was just wonderful. Blew my mind of opening up the world and different ways of thinking. And I could tell the story a little bit, but on graduation, I wind up teaching math and religion. And first question was, did you study any math in college? Yes, I studied non-Euclidean geometry. Mark : And I got to spend a year working with Bob Cording, writing a thesis on a book-length poem by Galway Kinnell, called The Book of Nightmares. And I had met Galway because he was a visiting writing instructor, actually for the Worcester Consortium. So, I was able to take a poetry workshop with him when I was a sophomore. But to spend a year engaged in writing, I learned how to read, I learned how to write. It was so wonderful. Mark : So, just that experience and the confidence it gave me and helped me, it challenged me to think, you're really not that much of an idiot. But then jump ahead a couple of years, I'm bouncing around doing different things. I'm working for a Congressman in New York and I want to get into public policy, public affairs. He's advised me to go to law school. So I apply to some law schools, and I get something in the mail from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. And I read it and say, "This is what I should do." Mark : So, I apply there and I get in. Later, I served on the Admissions Committee at the Kennedy School and realize how the heck did I get in? And I know the crucial factor was, I was in the honors program and Holy Cross. So for some reason, Father Carlson took that time to call in this knucklehead and say, "You may want to do this." And in that way, it was just a conversation, but it had this impact on my life. And I'm 62 now and it's still blooming, and those are special moments. Maura : Well, and that's one of the things that I really enjoy is I get to have conversations with alums like you in this podcast, is to hear how many times individual people reaching out and knowing you as a person has a tremendous effect. And the fact that Holy Cross is small and allows people to get to know you and to see something in you that you didn't recognize in yourself at that moment. Mark : There were things you got to do. Some of this was day and age. So late seventies, there was so much freedom. My sophomore year, I realized that we were at this giant buffet table and it was all you could eat. You could get whatever you wanted. And so at the time, you would take four courses each semester, but you weren't limited to that. So I saw it as, well, naturally I'll take a fifth. I don't have to pay more. And then I would find out and sit in on other classes, then I would find out if you didn't see a class that you wanted, you could just make one up. Now I know Independent Studies, but that wasn't structured then, so sophomore year went to John Mayer, who was the chair of the English Department, and he taught myself and my two housemates a course on Bob Dylan, which was awesome. Maura : That's great. Mark : I remember mentioning it to my parents saying, "I'm taking a course on Dylan," and they were like, "What are you doing?" But it was awesome. Or senior year, my girlfriend, now my wife, we were college sweethearts. So she started on a course, which is not unusual at Holy Cross, of a bio pre-med and quickly wound up as an English major. But now, in senior year and she's got to make up some of her English credits. She's not seeing a lot, she can fill it up, but she needs one more course. We'll just find one. Mark : And I'm like, "Who are some of your favorite authors?" And she hits on Joseph Conrad. I said, "Great. We'll get a class on Conrad. You and I, we'll go do this." And she goes, "How are we going to do that?" "Don't worry." And so, Pat Bizzell in the English Department approached her and she said, "Sure, this would be great." So the two of us would read a book a week, and then we would meet with her, and how awesome is that to be able to have and go and do those things. There were a lot of things like that, but it's also, there were other things that were more extracurricular. Mark : So, sophomore year around Christmas, I read Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. And they would have what you would call today, a rave. And I'm reading this with the house band, The Warlocks, which changed their name to be the Grateful Dead. I'm reading this and I'm like, I would love to go to something like that. But what do I know? So then decided we'll have our own, and went off and did things, which now I look back like, wow, that was pretty good. I got a group of people together, today we could call a board. Everybody put money in, we sold tickets. We bought some things that we resold. I won't go into that even if the, what do they call it? The standards, the laws say that they can't arrest me anymore. And we had this three-day party with bands. It was just wonderful because you could go do that. Like again, different day and age. Mark : That year, I'm sleeping in Beaven, and every Wednesday night we had a cake party where we would charge money, and $1 would go to buy the cake for the next week, and 1$ would go towards this three-day party. So, I was learning to be an entrepreneur and then repeated it at a different level senior year. I came back from Ireland, wanted to do something and we created something called The Lunchbox Theater. During the lunch hour, we would put on plays and poetry readings, and concerts, and just had a blast doing this. And I'd run around and line people up and get people to agree to stage a play. What great fun. And we could go and do it. No one was going to stop you, and that it was encouraged and that was great. Maura : Well, and I can see now why you didn't sleep at all? Mark : No. Between that and work. I had a professor, Brendan Kenelly at Trinity College who would say, you go to university to find out what you don't know. And I didn't know. Eventually Father Carlson before, so I'm taking this Greek lit class freshman year, and now we come on to our first blue books, and I was in Carlin, which then was primarily a freshmen dorm. You could feel the stress level rising. And I'm like, well, I should be worried. I should do something. And that's when I realized I had no idea how to study. I had no idea how to take notes, no idea how to study. I didn't know really what to do. So I stayed up all night, re-read The Odyssey and The Iliad and I showed up with no sleep, but it's all fresh in my mind now. A lot of it, because I was so unsure of myself and insecurity that gets flipped sometimes as bravado. Mark : I remember it was a Bob Cording class sophomore year, and okay, different time and age, and I am ludicrous. It's a 10:30 or an 11 o'clock class and small class. I think everybody was a senior, I'm the only sophomore in the class. And I'm showing up in my bathrobe, sitting in the back of the class. And he turns, he hands out the first paper, and Bob was so diligent and detailed notes, but very demanding. Hands this out and he announces to the class, "I'm really disappointed and they're poor. And I'm telling you now, you're going to have to rewrite these." Because the highest grade, there were like two Cs and everybody else got a D. And I'm thinking, what the hell? People are slumping. He says, "But was one paper that just hit the mark and I'm going to read it to you." And he starts reading it. And all the people, I'm like several rows back from everybody, they're all looking at each other because they all know each other. Is that yours? Is that yours? Slowly they realize it's the freak in the back of the class. Mark : Again, it was somebody, Bob coming to me and saying... It's a lesson I had to keep learning. Don't be a fool. You can do things and now that becomes an obligation. You got to make something of that. Plus, there's friendships. I was texting last night with a buddy of mine from Holy Cross. We're still close. For a long time at that house that I mentioned, we would have like 25 people come down for president's weekend, bringing their families. We had this at a mini reunion. My wife, Carol, during the pandemic at six o'clock every Tuesday night, there's a Zoom call where they call themselves the Carlin Girls. They're in their sixties. They're not girls, but they do a Zoom call and they'll get 20 people in it. And every five years, they take a trip together and they go to Miami, or I guess, The Bahamas they've been to, all because there's this rich connection that was made at Holy Cross. Maura : It is. It's a special, my best friends in the world are from Holy Cross. It is, it's a special time, and it's nice when you can make those connections. It's amazing to see them last. Mark : And there's something about the Jesuit Mission and the liberal arts that always has you asking, inquiring and asking for more. It directly feeds into the business we have, which is a social enterprise. We have a social mission, and where do you get that from? Well, you get it from some of the activism and some of the yearning that was instilled in me in college. Maura : Well, and it seems like, looking at your career, from Holy Cross, you mentioned the Kennedy School, and then fast forward to today with John's Crazy Socks. It seems like, and I'd love to hear from you, but it seems like there's this thread of entrepreneurial-ism and mission and 'striving for the more' that seemed to be woven throughout your path. Mark : I look back and I guess I've always been an entrepreneur. I didn't always have the language to use it, but early on, everything and again, I didn't always necessarily have the language, but everything was mission-driven. So, I got out, I taught school for two years. Pure happenstance that I did that, I went to graduate school for literature. I was in a doctoral program and I'm sitting in there, sitting in a class the day the US invaded Grenada. And I don't know if people remember. It was this tiny island and we had to go rescue medical students. It was crazy. And I'm like, I should be doing something. So that's how I got the job at the Congressman. I showed up at his office and said, "I want to work with you." They said, "Well, we don't have any jobs." "That's all right. I'll volunteer. I just want experience." Mark : We move into a community and you'd connect. I can remember when we moved into Greenpoint, Brooklyn, we were early hipsters. It was before it boomed, and through the church and we set up a food bank, we set up a clothing depository. We work with the local recycling program to set something up, because you go and do that. I spent much of my career in the healthcare field. I wound up running the Medicaid health service program in New York City, and then ran a series of companies that were trying to figure out, how do you better deliver healthcare to the poor? How do we better organize care? Mark : But some of that Holy Cross thing was always there of the liberal arts and how do you pursue that mission and those values and still be carrying things out? But that wide interest, it fueled a lot. I started a software company. I ran political campaigns. I did a fair amount of writing. I published some of my less than really terrible fiction. And even this enterprise, we've now been doing this for four years, but people would say, well, when did you get into it? How long have you worked in retail? How long have you been in the sock game? Got no background in it. But I'm 62 today, everything I have done has prepared me for this moment. Everything I have done in my life has prepared me for this interview. Maura : Well, and that is the perfect segue to pull you into this John too, and to talk about John's Crazy Socks, and talk about the incredible work that you are doing. Because you're making a lot of change and you're doing a lot of good in the world through this company. Mark : We're very fortunate, but what are the two things you always talk about? John : Try to do for others. Mark : Try to do for others. It sounds trite, but the more we can do for others, the better off we are. We're living a dream. We get to do what we want to do. We have no excuses. We can't blame it on the board. We can't blame it on headquarters. And it also speaks to the way we run the business and our appearance. One of the internal ambitions, and I've always wanted this to be a way, I want this to be a great place to work. I want people to love working here. We work at that and you make that happen, and that runs through... What's our overall mission pal? John : Spread happiness. Mark : Spreading happiness. Well, you got to start at home and people got to be happy, and you have to understand it can't be lip service, it's got to drive through everything you do. So, here's an easy way. When it comes to customer service, you heard the old saw, the customer is always right. Nonsense. The customer can be damn wrong. But we're not in the business of being right. We're in the business of making customers happy. So, we don't limit any time that people spend with customers. People that work with our customers know they can spend 200 hours on any customer, at any time, doing anything they want, just go and wow that customer. Mark : We had something last week. Somebody had ordered something they said they were going to pay by check. That's pretty rare, somebody say they pay by check. And what our folks did was they said, "Okay," but they didn't fill the order until the check arrived. And when they did, it was an item we had sold out. So we sat and I said, let's think about this. First, in four years, maybe we've received 15 checks. It doesn't happen. Every time somebody says, they're going to send us a check, they send us a check. So, why not just live in a world where we trust people. And as soon as we get the order, we ship it out and trust that we're going to get the check. And my colleagues are looking and saying, "Can we do that?" "Why not? We can do whatever the hell we want to do." Mark : And they were like, "Well, what if people do this or that?" I said, "Nobody does that. Would you do that? So why don't we just treat people that way?" And it's so easy. And wouldn't you rather live in that world? Maura : Yes. Mark : Now, if we get burned, if all of a sudden people are fake, but it doesn't happen. We doing the same thing with our returns. You don't have to send us anything. Just let us know. If there's any problem we're going to replace it. We're going to give you your money back. We want to make you happy. What results of that? Well, if we treat you that way, you tell other people. Aren't people happy, because we're not going through stuff. We're just trying to make you happy, and our return rate last month, our refund rate was 0.6%. Businesses would kill to do that. We give away anything we can. Maura : Well, and I know that the origin story, if you will, of John's Crazy Socks is out there for people to read and to watch. But I'd love to hear from you about that moment, because I talk to so many people who dream of starting their own business. Who say, someday, I'd love to do this, but there's a very small percentage who actually do it. So what sparked that courage to really go and make this happen? Mark : Well, first of all, it is, again, it's much simpler than you think. Worst thing that happens is, you fail. And you go on. But ours grew out of a specific situation, this particular business, and origin stories matter. Because you take your DNA and they run through everything. So ours, it's the fall of 2016, and where were you buddy? John : I'm in school dad. Mark : Which school? John : Huntington High School. Mark : So, he's in Huntington High School in the states, and this is across the country. You can remain in high school until you either graduate or turn 21. If you have a disability, you can stay until you're 21. So this was going to be John's last year at school. Like everybody else, he's trying to figure out what do I do next? What are you looking at? John : I looked at shop programs in school. Mark : See anything you like? John : No, I never saw anything I liked. Mark : Well, the answer is, there's not a lot of great choices. John grew up in a household where he saw me starting different businesses and running things. And I'd like to say he's a natural entrepreneur, because he did things like that himself in school. I remember showing up at his summer school, we've got a summer program, and came into some and the principal came out and said, "I want to talk to you about John." And that was always good. Particularly my middle guy, Jamie, the principal comes, wants to talk to me, that's not good. That's the same way with me. But with John, okay. Well, it turned out John wanted to run a talent show, and he organized a talent show at the school. Never mentioned to me. He didn't think why I have to ask permission, I just go and do this. Mark : So, he doesn't see anything he like, the natural entrepreneur doesn't see that as a problem, but as an opportunity. So what do you tell me? John : I want to go into business with my dad. This is my idea. Mark : I was starting some online businesses. He comes and tells me that, it's like, okay, let's go do this. And traditionally, what you do in a business, once you get the idea, is you stop everything to prepare a business plan. Work out your competitive analysis, your market research, your operational projections, financial projections. We did none of that. We went what's known as the lean startup route. We were bootstrapping. Let's just get something up and running. I've worked with venture capitalists before and done that. We didn't want to do that. Just get something up and running. And he's the perfect partner because he just believes, of course this is going to work. Maura : Why wouldn't it? Mark : Why wouldn't it? And so much of what we've been able to do is why not? So, I'll let you know on something that's coming up on March 30th. This is top secret information. On March 30th, we're going to introduce our unity socks, which are blue socks with American flags on them. We want them to symbolize inclusivity and unity, and we get this idea. We want to give them to every member of Congress. So on March 30th, we have two local congressmen coming, a Republican and a Democrat, to help us introduce these socks, and we're going to give them to every member of Congress. We've already been invited to come up to Albany and do it in the New York State Legislature. And we see ourselves that we can go across the country, just symbolizing look what's possible. Have John be handing out these unity socks. What a wild, ridiculous idea and yet, okay, who's going to stop us? Maura : And yet it's so perfect. What a perfect idea. Mark : And it just grows. Not every idea is a good idea. We have bad ones. We do a lot of presentations. Right before this, we were speaking virtually to a school in New York City. Last week, we got a question from a high school student, need to ask permission from to do these things. It's like, no, that's part of the power. You don't have to ask anybody for permission. Just go and do and come back to... It's the nature of the social enterprise. You've got to have a mission. Mark : You can't be, we just want to make money. It's got to be something larger than yourself, an impact you want to have on the world. And when you're driven by that, it's so motivating. All the petty stuff falls away, and that's how you can go and connect with people. We get asked, what's the key ingredient? Which skill? A lot of it is just belief. If we have a mission to spread happiness, just believe. So when you ask on the origin story, okay, we'll find a way forward and we'll go test it. And it turned out it went well, right buddy. Maura : Well, I think even more than just believe, you talked about wanting to make a great place for people to work. And I think that the fact that you care about your employees, and you care about the people, both who work with you and who you serve, that is another really big piece. Mark : It's all the whole. So yes, our mission is to spread happiness. You do that by hiring people with differing abilities and showing what they can do, by giving back and by making personal connection with our customers. When it comes to this workplace, one of the things we're trying to share with other employers, hiring people with differing abilities is not altruism. It's good business. And what do we see? Morale is way up. Productivity is high, retention is through the roof and it helps us recruit. And it makes for a better workplace. You think the benefits would mainly accrue to the people with differing abilities, but everybody is better off and everybody is happier. Mark : But I've worked over the years into, in essence, a formula on employee engagement. One, you have to start with a mission in which people can believe. It's got to be something greater than ourselves. It's got to be something that can matter. Two, everybody has to know how they fit into the mission, how their job matters. There's no leg work. There's no, I'm just a cog in a machinery. Yes, our webmaster knows, but our sock wranglers, that's what we call the pickers on our pick and pack warehouse, they know their job matters. Mark : Three, put people in a position to succeed. Don't ask them to do what they can't do. Give them the tools. If they need a special chair, get them a chair. If they need a software tool, a webmaster needs some analytical tool, get that for them. As a manager, you have to be a leader. And in doing that, what you have to make clear to people is, I work for you. My job is to put you in a position to succeed and if you have problem, if you have a limitation, my job is to try to help remove that limitation. Mark : Four, recognize what people do. People care. It's as simple as saying, thank you. I saw you doing this. What you do matters. We value. And then the last, stay the hell out of the way. Let people do their jobs and they will thrive. But some of this comes down to, it's like a Christian thing. Do unto others, treat people the way you would like to be treated. If you treat people poorly, they will respond that way. If you treat people that I don't trust you, so I have to manage and inspect and micromanage, they will respond in kind. Maura : Well, and I know that you've had a lot of opportunities to spread this message. I recently saw that you joined this CEO Commission on Disability Employment. And I know when we've spoken before, you mentioned going before Congress in the past. Mark : We've been very fortunate. We've had a fair amount of media coverage. We've had some viral experiences, and we go out and basically proselytize. John, you love the speaking engagements, right. John : Yeah. I love speaking engagements. Mark : So yes, we've done things. We've testified twice before Congress, we've spoken to United Nations. We're part of the State Department Speakers Bureau. So they had us take a little speaking tour in Canada. We didn't get tour T-shirts made up, next time we will. And yes, we're on the CEO Commission for Disability Employment. And I laugh. This was founded by Voya Financial and the Society of Human Resource Managers. How are we on this? Like, we're on this National Autism @ Work Roundtable with IBM and Microsoft and Ernst & Young and Warner Brothers, and John's Crazy Socks? Mark : We appreciate the opportunities and you could go back to Rome and find this motto, and you can see it with the Kennedy's and with Spider-Man. To those who are given opportunities, come great responsibilities. So I'll give you an anecdote on that. We're down on Capitol Hill, and we get a phone call here in New York in the office, from a customer in Houston who says, "I see that John and Mark are on Capitol Hill. My mother works there. She's a big fan of John's, would it be possible for them to meet my mom?" Person says, "Sure. Here's Mark's cell phone. Just text him your mom's name and contact information and he'll do it." Who's mom? Nancy Pelosi. Mark : So now, we get an audience with Nancy Pelosi and forget about right wing, left wing. We vilify our politicians too often, or deify them. They're just people. She's a grandmother. She comes in, her eyes light up seeing John, and she brings out pictures of socks that she gave former President Bush, because John had become a sock buddy with former President Bush, George H W Bush, where they exchanged letters and socks, and all this is great. We take photos, but now we have this opportunity that creates an obligation. Mark : So it's yes, but Ms. Pelosi, we have to talk about some other matters. One, we have to talk about repealing section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standard Act of 1938, great piece of American legislation. It created the 40 hour workweek, it eliminated child labor, it created overtime. But it allows employers to pay people with a disability less than minimum wage. So, there are 400,000 people being paid as little as five cents an hour. And we are grateful that we have this opportunity, but we are now going to take advantage of this. Mark : I'll give you a recent one where, despite our best efforts, we contracted the COVID virus, John, my wife and myself. And for Christmas, we gave John a hospital stay. He was admitted on Christmas Day, it was dicey for a few days. People say it's nothing, it's just the flu. Now very healthy, got out eight days later. So, we held an event at the hospital because we know we can attract media attention. So we went back to the hospital and you got to thank everybody, right? John : I did. Mark : But we also used it to do two other things. One, to raise awareness about the risk that people with down syndrome face, they're not more likely to get the virus, but if they do, five times more likely to be hospitalized, 10 times more likely to die. So, we want to get that word out. The other thing, the hospital let me stay with John the entire time, even when he was, because things went bad for a day or two. When they moved him to the critical care unit, they let me stay. Now, Federal Regulations require that people with a disability, that they get access to their caregivers. That's not the way it's practiced, particularly during COVID. So, we wanted to highlight look, this is better for everybody. That there's always a little medicine with the sugar. Mark : So, we keep driving that mission and you can't separate the two. We'd like to make money, we'd like to live indoors, like to pay the rent. And if the business doesn't succeed, then we'll go home and all this stops. So you got to make that happen, but like the giving back. So, we baked into it from day one. We donate 5% of our earnings where? John : Special Olympics. Mark : Special Olympics. Why the special Olympics? John : I'm a Special Olympics athlete. Mark : And then we've created a whole series of products that celebrate causes and raise money for charity partners. So the first one was a down syndrome awareness sock, raises money for the National Down Syndrome Society. But more recent ones, an EMT tribute sock raises money for a local EMT squad. Last April, we wanted to thank people. We introduced healthcare, superhero socks, and they've raised over $50,000 for frontline workers. Mark : And there have been different points when very smart people have said to me, you're not making money. What are you doing making these donations. But we wouldn't have the business we have if we weren't doing that. Willingness for the long haul. So, among things that are really cool, our little business we've raised over $400,000 for our charity partners. Maura : That's amazing. Mark : John here is a special Olympic athlete, who's raised over $100,000 for the special Olympics. We make sure everybody who works here knows they're all philanthropists. It's very cool. We're so fortunate. So in the end, we are these knuckleheads running a sock business and this is a small business, and all we want to do is change the world. How much fun? Maura : And you're doing it too. That's the incredible thing. Is even if it's in small ways, as you showed all of these donations, one pair of sock here, the one conversation there, it's changing hearts and minds. Mark : That has been the thing that has surprised us the most, and it's still hard to wrap our minds around and we have to be really careful about. But people take inspiration and there is a deep, emotional connection. I could tell you all sorts of stories of things we get to see, but I'll tell you one that my wife likes me to tell because I tear up sometimes. Mark : The National Down Syndrome Society sponsors Buddy Walks around the country, but the biggest one is in New York City. Before it starts, they rent a billboard in the city in Times Square, and they want like a video with faces on it of people with down syndrome. So, we go there and John's like a rock star in that community. People are swarming him. But a woman comes up to me and just hugs me and says, "Thank you." Mark : Okay, what's going on? And she explains that she is from Curacao, an island just off of Venezuela. And she tells us that her daughter had gotten pregnant and tested that she was going to have a child with down syndrome. She explained that on Curacao, people were ashamed of people with disabilities, that they hide them. It's something they don't want deal with, talk about it. And in fact, everybody knew that her doctor said, "This is what you're going to do. You're going to get an abortion." And to me, this is not really an abortion story. This was just, this was grant. This is what's going to happen. And the family came home and they saw a news story about John and John's Crazy Socks. Mark : And she said, it changed their entire outlook. And she introduced us to her one year old son. How awesome. We get people coming up to us all the time, thanking us and telling us how they want to do this with their child, or it gave them hope. And we have to be careful. We have nothing special. We're just out doing these things and sharing. So when John stands up in front of a crowd, be it 10 people at a SEPTA, be at 22,000 people at Madison Square Garden, and they see what he can do, it changes people's minds. And we are very fortunate to be able to do that. Maura : I think you really are living that mission of spreading happiness and of doing great things with the opportunities that you've been afforded. Mark : We've been given a lot. We had our family and I could go on about my other boys and the love of my life. We'll be married 40 years. John : It's 39 years still. Mark : It's still 39, I know. Mark : There's a reasonable chance that we'll make it to June. Reasonable chance. Maura : Fingers crossed. Mark : Well, you know. I'm still a Dylan fan. There's that line, when I see you, I don't know if I want to kiss you or kill you. A lot a marriage in that. Here's just some of what we get to do, and how fortunate. We get to see minor miracles all the time. So one of our colleagues, Thomas, his mother calls us in October of 2017 and says, "I understand you hire people like my son. I need you to give him a job." We're not hiring, we'll post when we are. She calls every day and the moms are persistent. She's not the only one who's done this. So I got on the phone with her and I said, "Well, tell me about Thomas." Mark : She says, "Well, he's early twenties. He's on the autism spectrum. And he's in a very bad way. He's very depressed. We have trouble getting him to come out of his room. He won't shower or shave. He doesn't want to deal with anybody. We can't get him to join any programs or activities. It's so bad he hasn't spoken to his father in over six months." Sounds like a great employee. Mark : So, we have an opening and bring him out. And the opening is for our sock wrangler position, that's kind of our entry level position. We pay $15 an hour to start because everybody, you got to pay a fair wage. The way you get the job, you meet with John and me. We want to make sure you understand the mission and our values. Then one of our current sock wranglers will train you and they love doing it. You've trained people. John : Yes. Mark : They love doing it. And then when you're ready, you have to pass the sock wrangler test. You got to pick six orders, 30 minutes or less, show us you can do the job. Well, Thomas comes out and after an hour of training, says, "I'm ready." And he passes that test as if he was put on this earth to be a sock wrangler. Today, on the days he works, Thomas is ready, showered and shaved at 6:30 in the morning for his father to drive one hour to work. When he gets in here, the young man who wouldn't look at anybody or talk to anybody, goes around and wishes everybody in the building a good morning. Mark : I want to be really clear here. We did nothing. We did no special training, no government funding, no special programs. All we did was give Thomas the opportunity to earn a job, and how fortunate are we? And so Holy Cross, the imprint that studying and understanding the liberal arts in the way it gets you to think and prepare, the way you imbue. Some of this comes from studying literature. You imbue different levels, different things all in the same action. That runs through what we do. I've spoken to students. Mark : So, I was an English major, I got out in 1980. There was no internet. Fax machines had not come, they've come and gone. There were no cell phones. We run an E-commerce business, I couldn't have studied that if I wanted to. But the liberal arts let you understand how to learn, how to figure things out, and so this runs through what we do today. And a lot of my classmates would be shocked to think that someone would be interviewing me for a Holy Cross alumni network. You've met those friends. John : I do. Mark : Paul, you should be talking to him. Paul Miles running a charter school and John Flynn, who's got this bicycle recycling program in Hartford. Charlie Brown or Chris Potter and Sue Mack and all these good people. Maureen, lots of good stuff. Maura : John, what's the best part for you about working with your dad? John : One thing I love working with my dad, I'm so lucky to be where he is. I'm never without my dad. He always, I've changed I can, if possible. I love my dad. Third and lastly, about my dad going to Holy Cross. I am a proud son because I am so, so happy of him being my father. Mark : What about your mom? You got to speak up for her, right? John : Yeah. I'll never forget mom. I am proud son. I am so proud of my dad, my mom accomplished. They are amazing accomplished. Mark : And you like hearing the stories of how we met, right? John : Oh yeah. Dad is so romantic. Mark : Romantic? Ricky, Kevin and I were looking for beer. And I can tease something for you. I'm not going any further than this. I've read in the alumni magazine and seen references to the fingers on the Jesus statue in the quad. I can tell you I was there and I know what happened. But that's it. No names, no details. Maura : Living mystery. That's what that is. Well, and my last question, this has just been really wonderful. What is your favorite pair of socks? Mark : What's your favorite pair? John : My favorite pair, my down syndrome superhero socks. Mark : Down syndrome superhero socks. Maura : Yes, that sounds like a good pair. Mark : Whose face is on those socks? John : Me. Mark : You. Maura : Good choice. Mark : You're a funny boy. Maura : I think we'll all have to check out that pair of socks. This has been an absolute pleasure. Is there anything else you want to share with listeners before we go? John : I want to say something. It's something that I said before... Mark : Go ahead. John : I am so proud of my dad's career. I am so proud of my dad's career and college. I am a proud son. I love my dad and what he did. It's wonderful. Mark : Well, there's a late poem from Yates where he recounts his achievements and those were notable, part of the revolution, part of the day of the Senate, winning a Nobel prize. But the refrain is what then sang Plato's ghost, what then are you going to do for me next? And we get to keep doing things, right? John : I love you dad. Mark : My boy. Maura : Thank you both so much. This has been just such a pleasure. John : I'm so proud of you Dad. Mark : Well, you let us know if there's ever something we can do. You got to put the pitch in. Where do people get stuff? John : At JohnsCrazySocks.com. Mark : There you go. Maura : Perfect. Yes. And I can say, I treated the alumni relations team to a pair of donut socks last year for Christmas, and they have been a big hit. So, I am a fan of John's Crazy Socks. Thank you for everything that you do. Mark : Well, thank you. John : I'm a big fan of my dad. Mark : You're a fan of your dad. Boy, you are being nice to me today. Maura : That's our show. I hope you enjoyed hearing about just one of the many ways that Holy Cross alumni have been inspired by the Mission to be people for and with others. A special thanks to today's guests and everyone at Holy Cross, who has contributed to making this podcast a reality. If you or someone you know, would like to be featured on this podcast, then please send us an email at alumnicareers@holycross.edu. If you like what you hear, then please leave us a review. This podcast is brought to you by the Office of Alumni Relations at the College of the Holy Cross. You can subscribe for future episodes wherever you find your podcasts. I'm your host, Maura Sweeney, and this is Mission-Driven. In the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, now go forth and set the world on fire. Theme music composed by Scott Holmes, courtesy of freemusicarchive.org.

Do you feel like you're nowhere near your goals? Do you want something so badly but think that it's impossible to achieve? Having goals in life gives us a sense of purpose. Whether they're for our career or relationships, goals push us to give our best. However, we sometimes set too many goals and find ourselves stuck. We can also feel discouraged from pursuing our dreams because we subject ourselves to other people’s standards. But while our plans may sometimes seem impossible, we have everything we need. If you can stay determined and learn how to prioritise, we can have our breakthrough. In this episode, Dr John Demartini joins us to talk about living your best life by structuring it. Learn how to prioritise and you can achieve anything. He shares the philosophy of the Breakthrough Experience, which has miraculously helped thousands of people reach their goals. John also discusses how to make decisions based on priorities, not emotions and instincts. If you want to learn how to prioritise and stick to your top priorities, then this episode is for you.   Get Customised Guidance for Your Genetic Make-Up For our epigenetics health program all about optimising your fitness, lifestyle, nutrition and mind performance to your particular genes, go to  https://www.lisatamati.com/page/epigenetics-and-health-coaching/.   Customised Online Coaching for Runners CUSTOMISED RUN COACHING PLANS — How to Run Faster, Be Stronger, Run Longer  Without Burnout & Injuries Have you struggled to fit in training in your busy life? Maybe you don't know where to start, or perhaps you have done a few races but keep having motivation or injury troubles? Do you want to beat last year’s time or finish at the front of the pack? Want to run your first 5-km or run a 100-miler? ​​Do you want a holistic programme that is personalised & customised to your ability, your goals and your lifestyle?  Go to www.runninghotcoaching.com for our online run training coaching.   Health Optimisation and Life Coaching If you are struggling with a health issue and need people who look outside the square and are connected to some of the greatest science and health minds in the world, then reach out to us at support@lisatamati.com, we can jump on a call to see if we are a good fit for you. If you have a big challenge ahead, are dealing with adversity or are wanting to take your performance to the next level and want to learn how to increase your mental toughness, emotional resilience, foundational health and more, then contact us at support@lisatamati.com.   Order My Books My latest book Relentless chronicles the inspiring journey about how my mother and I defied the odds after an aneurysm left my mum Isobel with massive brain damage at age 74. The medical professionals told me there was absolutely no hope of any quality of life again, but I used every mindset tool, years of research and incredible tenacity to prove them wrong and bring my mother back to full health within 3 years. Get your copy here: https://shop.lisatamati.com/collections/books/products/relentless. For my other two best-selling books Running Hot and Running to Extremes chronicling my ultrarunning adventures and expeditions all around the world, go to https://shop.lisatamati.com/collections/books.   Lisa’s Anti-Ageing and Longevity Supplements  NMN: Nicotinamide Mononucleotide, a NAD+ precursor Feel Healthier and Younger* Researchers have found that Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide or NAD+, a master regulator of metabolism and a molecule essential for the functionality of all human cells, is being dramatically decreased over time. What is NMN? NMN Bio offers a cutting edge Vitamin B3 derivative named NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) that is capable of boosting the levels of NAD+ in muscle tissue and liver. Take charge of your energy levels, focus, metabolism and overall health so you can live a happy, fulfilling life. Founded by scientists, NMN Bio offers supplements that are of highest purity and rigorously tested by an independent, third party lab. Start your cellular rejuvenation journey today. Support Your Healthy Ageing We offer powerful, third party tested, NAD+ boosting supplements so you can start your healthy ageing journey today. Shop now: https://nmnbio.nz/collections/all NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) 250mg | 30 capsules NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) 500mg | 30 capsules 6 Bottles | NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) 250mg | 30 Capsules 6 Bottles | NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) 500mg | 30 Capsules Quality You Can Trust — NMN Our premium range of anti-ageing nutraceuticals (supplements that combine Mother Nature with cutting edge science) combat the effects of aging, while designed to boost NAD+ levels. Manufactured in an ISO9001 certified facility Boost Your NAD+ Levels — Healthy Ageing: Redefined Cellular Health Energy & Focus Bone Density Skin Elasticity DNA Repair Cardiovascular Health Brain Health  Metabolic Health   My  ‘Fierce’ Sports Jewellery Collection For my gorgeous and inspiring sports jewellery collection ‘Fierce’, go to https://shop.lisatamati.com/collections/lisa-tamati-bespoke-jewellery-collection.   Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode: Learn about the Breakthrough Experience and how it has changed thousands of lives. Discover how to prioritise and determine your top priorities. John shares his secret to retaining Information in the quickest way possible.   Episode Highlights [05:00] About John Dr John is an educator, researcher and writer. He has spent over 48 years helping people maximise their potential. John wanted to know what allows people to do extraordinary things. That's why he distilled information from great minds throughout history. He made them into practical things that people today can use.  John had speech and learning challenges as a kid. At a doctor’s recommendation, his parents took him out of school and put him into sports. After having a near-death experience at 17, Paul Bragg inspired John to overcome his learning problems. With the help of his mom, he eventually learned how to read.  Listen to the full episode to learn more about John's inspiring story! [15:42] How Surfing Changed John’s Mindset Surfing has taught John that people are not going to excel without perseverance and commitment.  John converted his determination for surfing into persistence in reading.  [17:57] The Breakthrough Experience The Breakthrough Experience is a philosophy and program changing lives globally.  This system teaches you how to prioritise and structures life by priority. It breaks through limitations and helps achieve life goals.  John teaches people to use any experience, even challenges. These are catalysts for transformation and progress.  John has helped people learn how to prioritise to get their breakthrough experience in different areas of life. These include businesses, careers, health, relationships, among others. Lisa relates the Breakthrough Experience philosophy to when her mom had a severe aneurysm. [24:14] John Shares a Miraculous Experience At 27 years old, John handled a family with a son in a three-year coma. The family went to different hospitals in Mexico and the United States. However, they found none to help their son. They then went to John, and he thought of a maneuver to help the child. However, the treatment also came with significant risk. Listen to the full episode to find out how John helped a child get out of a three-year coma. [33:34] Jesse Billauer’s Breakthrough Experience Jesse Billauer, a surfer, decided to go to the Breakthrough Experience after a surfing accident.  At the time, he was depressed because he was physically unable to surf.  After the Breakthrough Experience, he learned how to prioritise and what his top priority was. Jesse became determined not to let anything stop him from surfing. Jesse developed a way to surf as a quadriplegic person. He taught others how to do the same.  [38:58] Herd Mentality in the Sciences New ideas are violently opposed and ridiculed. That's why people fear going against the norm. People who aim to survive follow the multitude. People who want to thrive create a new paradigm.  Each person can excel at anything if they focus on that, not on others' opinions.  [41:37] How to Prioritise John made a list of every single thing he does in a day over three months. He then placed multiple columns next to that list. The first column contains how much money each task produces per hour. The second column contains how much a job inspires him on a scale of 1-10. He also considered the cost and the time spent on each activity.  After doing that, he prioritised the activities that made thousands of dollars. He also focused on ones that scored ten on the inspiration scale.   John hired people for the low-priority tasks. This choice allowed him to be more productive in his top priorities. Within 18 months, his business increased tenfold. Listen to the full episode to learn how to prioritise and about investing in your top priority.  [56:19] How John Stays Looking Young John is almost 67 years old. However, Lisa describes him as someone who looks like a teenager. John doesn't eat junk. He drinks a lot of water, has never had coffee in his life and hasn't had alcohol in over 48 years. Doing what you love every day also slows down the aging process.  [58:03] Some Lessons from the Breakthrough Experience Nothing is missing in you. When you compare yourself to others, you'll try to live by their values or get them to live by yours. Both of these are futile.  Sticking to your values and priorities is key to resilience and success. People are different from each other, but no one is better than the other.  If you don't empower your own life, others will overpower you.   Your mission is something that you're willing to get through any means necessary. [1:06:38] How to Get Your Amygdala Under Control The amygdala is associated with emotions and the "fight-or-flight" response. Because we have neuroplasticity, we can remodel our internal system.  Perceiving challenges and feeling shame and guilt trigger an autoimmune reaction that attacks your body. Every time we choose to live by the highest priority, the amygdala calms down. The prefrontal cortex is reinforced. [1:12:03] The Mind-Body Connection Our psychological processes also affect our physiological processes.  People are used to blaming external factors. They don't take accountability for the things they experience.  John uses the example of when people get symptoms after eating unhealthy food. They don't face the fact that they brought it upon themselves.  Our bodies do an excellent job of guiding us. That's why we should learn how to listen to them. [1:18:13] The Journey to Financial Independence There is nothing evil about having money.  John believes that you can be a slave to money, or you can be a master of it.  Nothing is stopping you from doing what you love to do. [1:21:28] How to Retain Information Teaching what you've learned is the key to retention. Teaching compels your mind to organise ideas and reinforce them.  Teach the concepts as soon as you've discovered them. Don't wait until you're an expert on the subject. Resources Gain exclusive access and bonuses to Pushing the Limits Podcast by becoming a patron! You can choose between being an official or VIP patron for $7 and $15 NZD per month, respectively. Harness the power of NAD and NMN for anti-ageing and longevity with NMN Bio. Related Pushing the Limits Episodes 135: How To Make Better Decisions Consistently 183: Sirtuins and NAD Supplements for Longevity with Elena Seranova 189: Increasing Your Longevity with Elena Seranova Connect with John: Website | Facebook | Linkedin | YouTube | Instagram ‎The Demartini Show Demartini Value Determination Process The Breakthrough Experience program Join John's The Mind-Body Connection course Learn more about Jesse Billauer and his story. High Surf: The World's Most Inspiring Surfers by Tim Baker The Time Trap: The Classic Book on Time Management by Alec Mackenzie and Pat Nickerson  Brain Wash: Detox Your Mind for Clearer Thinking, Deeper Relationships, and Lasting Happiness by David and Austin Perlmutter The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing by Bronnie Ware   7 Powerful Quotes ‘I'm an educator, a researcher, a writer. I do a lot of interviews and filming for documentaries. I've been spending 48 years now on doing anything I can to help human beings maximise their potential.’ ‘I love studying and learning anything I can from those people that have done extraordinary things and then passing that on.” “I love anybody who's done something extraordinary on the planet in any field. I love devouring their journey.’ ‘No matter what the teacher was trying to do, I just couldn't read. And my teacher and my parents come to the school and said, ‘You know, your son's not able to read. He's not going to be able to write effectively’ because I wrote kind of backwards.’ ‘Well, I'm surfing the cosmic waves now. And in surfing big cosmic waves, radio waves that are big waves. Yes, that's the move from water waves into electromagnetic waves.’ ‘And so the Breakthrough Experience is about accessing that state. And breaking through the limitations that we make up in our mind and transforming whatever experiences you have into “on the way” not “in the way”.’ ‘She said that there was something that took over me, I can't describe it. It was like a very powerful feeling — like I had a power of a Mack truck. And me? I don't know how to describe it.’   About Dr John Dr John Demartini is an author, researcher, global educator and world-renowned human behaviour specialist. Making self-development programs and relationship solutions is part of his job. Among his most popular programs is the Breakthrough Experience. It is a personal development course that aims to help individuals achieve whatever goal they have. As a child, Dr John had learning challenges and could not read and write well until 18 years old. He has now distilled information from over 30,000 books across all academic disciplines and shares them online and on stage in over 100 countries.  Interested in knowing more about Dr John and his work? You may visit his website or follow him on Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube and Instagram.   Enjoyed This Podcast? If you did, be sure to subscribe and share it with your friends! Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning in, then leave us a review. You can also share this with your family and friends so they can achieve their life goals by learning how to prioritise. Have any questions? You can contact me through email (support@lisatamati.com) or find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. For more episode updates, visit my website. You may also tune in on Apple Podcasts. To pushing the limits, Lisa   Full Transcript Of The Podcast Welcome to Pushing The Limits, the show that helps you reach your full potential with your host, Lisa Tamati, brought to you by lisatamati.com.  Lisa Tamati: Welcome back to Welcome back to Pushing the Limits. This week, I have Dr John Demartini. He is a world renowned speaker, teacher, educator, researcher, medical doctor. He's written I don't know how many books, countless, countless books. He's an incredible, incredible man who teaches literally thousands and thousands of people every year in his breakthrough experience. The information that you're going to get in this podcast could change your life. So I've given you a fair warning. He's an amazing, incredible man that, and I've talked to a lot of incredible people but this one is really next level, he started out as a big wave surfer in Hawaii, way back in the day. Even knew Laird Hamilton and people like that. Had learning disabilities and could hardly read or write, and yet managed to overcome all these things to become one of the greatest scholars that there is. He's read over 30,000 books. He has distilled the knowledge from people right through the ages, through leaders and philosophers and stoics and scientists. He's an expert in so many different areas. He teaches people in business, he teaches people how to overcome massive challenges in their life. So I really hope that you enjoy this episode. It is going to get uncomfortable in places because we’ll talk about really being accountable, really understanding our own physiology, and just so much more. An absolutely amazing interview. So I hope you enjoy it.  Before we head over to the show, just reminder, we have our patron membership for the podcast Pushing the Limits. If you want to join our VIP tribe, we would love you to come and do that. It's about the price of a cup of coffee a month or two. If you want to join on the premium level, we would love you to come and join us. Support the show. Help us get this work out there. We are passionate about what we do. We want to change lives, we want to improve your life, we want to improve the lives of others. And we need your help to do that to keep the show going. So please, head over to patron.lisatamati.com. Check out all the premium VIP member benefits here, and support the show. Be a part of this community, be a part of this tribe. Help support us and reach out to me or the team. If you have any questions around any of the topics or any of the guests that have come up. We would love to hear from you. Any feedback is always welcome. Please always give a rating and review to the show as well on iTunes or whatever platform that you listen to. That is really, really helpful as well. We do appreciate you doing that. And as a reminder, please also check out our epigenetics program. We have a system now that can personalise and optimise your entire life to your genetics. So check out our program, what it's all about. This is based on the work of hundreds of scientists, not our work. It has been developed over the last 20 years, from 15 different science disciplines all working in collaborating together on this one technology platform that will help you understand your genes and apply the information to your life. So check that out. Go to lisatamati.com and hit the Work With Us button and you'll see their Peak Epigenetics, check out that program. And while you're there, if you're a runner, check out our Running Hot Coaching program as well. Customised, personalised training plans made specifically for you, for your goals. You get a video analysis, you get a consultation with me and it's all in a very well-priced package. So check that out at runninghotcoaching.com.  Now over to the show with Dr John Demartini. Well, Hi everyone and welcome to Pushing The Limits. Today, I am super excited for my guest. My guest is an absolute superstar. Welcome to the show. Firstly and foremostly, thank you very much for taking the time out today. Dr John, I'm just really excited to have you. Whereabouts are you sitting in the world? Dr John: I am in Houston, Texas. I'm in a hotel room in Houston, Texas, even though it shows that I've got a library.  Lisa: Yeah,I love that background. That is a fantastic background. Really great. Well, greetings to Texas and I hope that everything is going well over there for you. Today, I wanted to talk about you, your work, the breakthrough experience. Some of the learnings and the exciting mission that you've been on for now. For 47 years, I believe. Something crazy like that. So Dr John, can you just give us a little bit of a background on you and your life and what you do on a day to day basis? Big question. Dr John: I'm an educator, a researcher, a writer. I do a lot of interviews and filming for documentaries. I've been spending 48 years now, over 48 years, on doing anything I can to help human beings maximise their potential, their awareness potential, and achieve whatever it is that they're inspired to achieve. So that could be raising a beautiful family to building a massive business to becoming fortunate or celebrity, doesn't matter. It's whatever it is that inspires them. I've been studying human behaviour and anything and everything I can get my hands on for the last 48 years to assist people in mastering a lot. That's what I love doing. I do it every day. I can't think of any else I'd rather be doing. So I just do it. Lisa: It's a bit of a role model for me, Dr John, because I think what you have achieved in this time, the way you've distilled information, I mean, you've studied, last time I looked on one of your podcasts, that was over 30,000 books, probably more now. And you've distilled the information from great masters throughout history into practical things that humans today can actually benefit from. Is that a good assessment of what you basically have done? Dr John: I'm writing right now a 1200 page textbook on philosophers and great minds through the ages. I summarise it. I love studying and learning anything I can from those people that have done extraordinary things, and then passing that on. So yes. Right now, I'm actually, I just finished, I’m just finishing up Albert Einstein, which is one of my heroes. I had a dream when I was young. When I saw that E = mc² drawn on that board, I wanted to find out where that board was. I went to Princeton, and met with Freeman Dyson, who took over his position at Princeton in 1955. Spent part of the day with him and we're talking on cosmology. I wrote my formula on that same board, exactly the same place, because that was a dream that I had since I was probably 18, 19. Lisa: Wow, and you got to fulfill it and actually love it. Dr John: Yeah. Took me a bit of time. So what? But yeah, I love anybody who's done something extraordinary on the planet in any field. I love devouring their journey and their thinking. That's every Nobel Prize winner I've gone through and every great philosopher and thinker and business leader and financially or spiritually, to try to find out and distill out what is the very essence that drives human beings? And what is it that allows them to do extraordinary things? So I wanted to do that with my life. Most of the people I get in front of want to feel like they want to make a massive difference. They want to make a difference in the world. They want to do something that’s deeply meaningful, inspiring. And so yeah, we're not 'put your head in the product glue and let the glue stick' and then pass it on.  Lisa: Instead of having to reinvent the world, why not? So Dr John, can you give us a little bit of history though, because you're obviously an incredible scholar,have an incredible mind. But as a child, you struggled with learning and with reading and writing.Can you give us a little, how the heck did you go from being this kid that struggled with all of that to where you are today? One of the greatest minds out there.  Dr John:  Yeah, I definitely had some learning challenges. I had a speech challenge when I was a year and a half old to four, I had to wear buttons in my mouth and put strings in my mouth and practice using all kinds of muscles. Went to a speech pathologist. When I was in first grade. No matter what the teacher was trying to do, I just couldn't read. My teacher, and my parents would come to the school and said, 'You know, your son's not able to read. He's not going to be able to write effectively,' because I wrote kind of backwards. 'I don't think he's going to mountain and go very far in life, put him into sport.' Because I like to run. And I did sports there for a while. But then I went from baseball to surfing. I hitchhiked out to California and down Mexico and then made it over to Hawaii so I could ride big waves and I was doing big wave and stuff when I was a teenager. So I didn't have academics. I dropped out of school. I was a street kid from 13 to 18. But then right before 18 I nearly died. That's when I met Paul Bragg, who inspired me one night in a presentation. That night I got so inspired that I thought, 'Maybe I could overcome my learning problems by applying what this man just taught me. And maybe someday I could learn to read and write and speak properly.' That was such an inspiration, such a moment of inspiration that it changed the course of my life. I had to go back. And with the help of my mum, I went and got a dictionary out, started to read a dictionary and memorise 30 words a day until my vocabulary. I had to spell the word, pronounce the word, use it with a meaningful sentence, and develop a vocabulary. Eventually doing that 30 we would, we wouldn't go to bed. I didn't go to bed until I had 30 new words, really inculcated. My vocabulary grew. And I started to learn how to do the reading. It was not an easy project. But, man, once I got a hold of it, I never stopped. Lisa: And once you started to read, you didn’t stop. Dr John: I've never stopped. I've been a voluminous reader now. You know, 48 years. Lisa: That’s just incredible. Dr John: I can’t complain. Lisa: So was it a dyslexia or learning disability? I just asked because my mum was a teacher of children with dyslexia and things like that. Was there specific ways that you were able to overcome the disability so to speak? Dr John: Yeah, I just, sheer persistence and determination to want to read and learn. I remember, I took my first, I took a GED test, a general education high school equivalency test. And I guessed, literally guessed, I close my eyes. I said this little affirmation that Paul Bragg gave me that, 'I'm a genius, and I apply my wisdom.' And some miraculous thing made me pass that test. I didn't know how to read half the stuff that was on it. I just went with my intuition and guessed. And I tried to go to college, after taking that test and had the test. I failed. And I remember driving home crying because I had this idea that I was going to learn how to teach and become intelligent. Then when I got a 27, everybody else got 75 and above. I got a 27 and I thought, 'Well, there's no way it's going to work.' But then I sat there and I cried and my mum came home from shopping, and she saw me crying on the living room floor. She said, ‘Son, what happened? What's wrong?’ I said, ‘Mum, I failed the test. I guess I don't have what it takes.’ And I repeated what the first grade teacher said, 'I guess I'll never read or write or communicate effectively, or amount too much. I guess I'll go back to Hawaii and make surfboards and surf. Because I was pretty good at that.' And she said to me something that was a real mind bender. She put her hand on me and she said, ‘Son, whether you become a great teacher, philosopher and travel the world like your dream, whether return to Hawaii and ride giant waves like you've done, return to the streets and panhandle like you've done. I just want to let you know that your father and I are going to love you no matter what you do.’ Lisa: Wow, what a mum. Dr John: That was an amazing moment. When she said that, my hand went into a fist of determination. And I said to myself, ‘I'm gonna match this thing called reading and studying and learning. I'm gonna match this thing called teaching and philosophy. And I'm going to do whatever it takes, I'm going to travel whatever distance, I'm gonna pay whatever price, to give my source of love across this planet.’ I got up and I hugged her. And I said to myself, ‘I'm not gonna let any human being on the face of the earth stop me, not even myself.’ I got out of my room. And that's when I decided with her help to do the dictionary. That was an amazing turning point. Lisa: And I can feel it, the emotion and what a wonderful mum you had. I mean, what a perfect thing to say when someone's down. Dr John: It was the most. If she hadn't said that, I might’ve come back to surfing. I might  be a surfer today. Lisa: Which would have been a good thing as well, probably because surfing is great. Dr John: It didn’t make money in those days. I'm in the mid 60s and 70s, early 70s. But,, now, the guys I served with, Laird Hamilton and- Lisa: Wow. He's a hero is amazing.  Dr John: Both Ben Aipa, Gerry Lopez, and these guys, those are the guys I served with. And so those guys went on to be incredible. Lisa: I wasn't aware of that. Dr John: I lived at the same beach park in Haleiwa, where Ehukai Beach Park is, near Pipeline, between Rocky Point and Pipeline. Laird Hamilton was dropped off by his mother there and lived there on the beach. I lived up on where the park bench was. We lived right there and I saw him on the beach each morning. He was seven, I was 16. He was going on seven, I was almost 17. We live there at the same place and Bill Hamilton saw him out there and grabbed him and took him in and trained them on surfing and found his mum and then married the mum. That's how I became. I hung out with those characters. Lisa: Legends. You became a legend in this direction and they have become a legend in a different direction. Dr John: Well, there's a book out called The High Surf by Tim Baker. That’s from Australia. He wrote a book on people that rode big waves. And he said, 'I'd like to put you in there.' I said, 'Well, I didn't go on to be the superstar in that area like these other guys.' He said, 'But I want you in there because you became a legend. Lisa: Became a superstar. Dr John: Yeah Lisa: Do you think that there's, you know, I come from a surfing family. My brother's a big wave surfer in New Zealand. I've tried and failed miserably, stuck to running. I was better at it. But do you think there's a correlation between the mindset that you developed as a surfer? Because going in those big waves is scary. It's daunting. It's frightening. It's challenging. It's teaching you a lot. Is there a lot that you took from that for this journey that you've been on? Dr John: Yeah, I didn't surf anything more than 40-foot waves. So I think that was about as good as about as big as you get back in the 70s. At 70s is when I was- Lisa: Oh, just a mere 40, it’s okay. Dr John: Well, 40-foot waves was the biggest thing out in outer reef pipeline was the big thing. They hadn't had tow-in surfing yet. That was just, that wasn't begun yet. So there was that idea, we had to catch those waves. That was not easy because they're too big to catch. you got to have big long boards, and you got to really paddle to get into those waves, and it's usually too late. But I think some of those, I used to surf 11 hours a day sometimes. When you're really, really committed to doing something, that's... Einstein said perseverance is the key to making things happen and if you just stay with something. So, if you're not inspired to do something, enough to put in the hours and put in the effort, and you don't have somebody that you can bounce ideas off of, kind of mentoring you, you probably are not going to excel as much. But I did that. And then I just converted that over into breeding 18 to 20 hours a day, feeding once I learned to read, so I just and I still voluminously read I mean, I read every single day. Lisa: That is incredible. And so you've taken that big wave mindset a little bit over into something else. So obviously, everything you, do you do to the nth degree, we can probably agree on that one. Dr John: I'm surfing the cosmic waves now. And in surfing big cosmic waves, radio waves that are big waves. I move from water waves into electromagnetic waves. Lisa: Wow. Now, you run something called The Breakthrough Experience, which you've been doing now for 40 something years. This is a philosophy and a system and a program that really changes lives and has changed lives all over the planet. Can you tell us a little bit about what you've distilled from all this information that you have in your incredible mind? And what you teach in this course, and how this can actually help people? Today, right now listening to this? Dr John: Well, the breakthrough experiences, sort of my attempt to do with what that gentleman did to me when I was 17. I've done it 1121 times into that course. I keep records, and I'm a metric freak. Every human being lives by a set of priorities, a set of values, things that are most important. Lisa: Podcast life. Dr John: Welcome to it. I thought that was off, but I didn't quite get it off. But whatever is highest on the person's values, priorities, whatever is truly deeply meaningful to them, the thing that is spontaneously inspiring for them to that they can't wait to get up the morning and do.If they identify that and structure their life by priority, delegating the lower priority things and getting on with doing that, they will build momentum, incremental momentum and start to excel and build what we could say is a legacy in the world. And so, the breakthrough experience is about accessing that state, and breaking through the limitations that we make up in our mind,  transforming whatever experiences you have into 'on the way' not 'in the way.' So no matter what goes on in your life, you can use it to catalyse a transformation and movement towards what it is that you're committed to. And if you're not clear about it, we'll show you how to do it because many people subordinate to people around them. Cloud the clarity of what's really really inspiring from within them, and they let the herd instinct stop them from being heard.  I think that The Breakthrough Experiences is my attempt to do whatever I can, with all the tools that I've been blessed to gather to assist people in creating a life that is extraordinary, inspiring and amazing for them. And if I don't do whatever it takes in the program, I don't know when it's going to be. I've seen six year olds in there write books afterwards. I've seen nine year olds go on to get a deal with Disney for $2.2 million dollars. I've seen people in business break through plateaus. I’ve people have major issues with relationships break, too. I don't know what's gonna be. I've seen celebrities go to new levels. I've seen people that have health issues that heal. I mean, every imaginable thing, I’ve breaking through. I've seen it in that course. And it's the same principles applied now into different areas of life. In any other area of our life, if we don't empower, the world's going to overpower something. And I'm showing I want to show people how to not let anything on the outside world interfere with what's inside. Lisa: And you talk about, it's on the way, the challenges that we have to look at the challenges that we have and ask how is this going to actually help me get wherever I am. And this is something that I've managed to do a couple of times in my life really well, other times not so good. But where I've taken a really massive challenge, I had my own listeners, I had a mum who had a massive aneurysm five years ago, and we were told she would never have any quality of life again, massive brain damage. We know that's not happening on my watch. I'm going to, there is somebody in something in the world that can help with her. And this became my mantra that I was going to get back or die trying. That was that total dedication that I brought to her because of love. When you love someone, you're able to mobilise for the last resources that you have. And that nearly bloody killed me as far as the whole effort that went on to it, and the cost and the emotional costs, and the physical and the health and all the rest of it. It took me three years to get it back to health, full health. She's now got a full driver's license back and a full independent life back and as my wonderful mum again. And that was coming from a state of being in a vegetative state, not much over a vegetative state at least. Hardly any higher function, no speech, no move, be able to move anything. Dr John: That’s a book there. That's a book or a movie. Lisa: It's the book. Dr John: That's a book and a movie for sure. Lisa: Exactly. And this is very powerful. Because I saw this and when you're in the darkness, everybody is telling you there is no hope, there is no chance. And these are medical professionals who have been to medical school, who have a hell of a lot more authority than you. You just go, ‘No, I am not accepting it because that alternative means death, basically, decline and death in being in an institution. And that is not what I'm going to answer. I'm going to find somebody who can help me’ and I did. I found hundreds of people, actually, and this is what tipped me into doing what I'm doing now, is finding world leading experts to give me the next piece of the puzzle for her and for the people now that are following me so that I can help empower people, not to be limited by the people who tell us we can't do something. It's because that means basically they don't have the answer. Not that there is no answer, is my understanding. And they were right. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. But I did it and my mum is alive and she's well, and that book. I really want to empower people with a story. I see that same like they're obviously your passion. What you went through with your learning problems when you were young and your mum standing beside you has actually propelled you into this lifelong journey that I find absolutely fascinating because that passion, and I can see that passion in you, is still very much alive 48 years later because you're doing what your priority is. Dr John: I'm definitely doing what I love doing. It's interesting that your story reminded me of something that happened to me when I was 27. If you don't mind, I'd like to share this. So I graduated from my professional school. I had a bit of a reputation there of being kind of the taking the cream of the crop clients, patients that were turned down everywhere else. I just tackled it, see what we can do with it. And I got a family from Mexico, with a son that fell three stories off an apartment complex onto the ground on his head. He went into a coma, been in a coma for three and a half years. And the mother, they assumed he was dead a few times, but there was still a breath. There were still something. It wasn't a strong breath. You couldn't see it but you could put a mirror in front of you and get a little bit of breath out there. So he wasn't dead. And he had decerebrate rigidity. So his whole body was so rigid that when I saw him, you could lift up his feet and his whole body would rock. It was so stiff. His hands are like this. A classical decerebrate rigidity. And he had gone to, throughout different hospitals in Mexico, where he was from, and nobody checked them. They came to America, they went to the Medical Center in Houston, which is the largest Medical Center America. And they got rejected. No one would accept it. There's nothing we can do. They went out to the professional school that I'd gone to. And they said, ‘We can't do anything.’ But we know this interesting character. West Houston, if there's anybody that would try something this guy might try, who knows? And they sent him to my office. I remember when they came in, they carried him wrapped up in a white sheet, and laid him on the armrest of the chairs on my office. I looked out there and I saw this Mexican man and woman and seven or eight other kids in a family. I'm in this. At first, I didn't know what this was, this thing wrapped up in this sheet. They came down my hallway and I saw him going down the hallway. And like, ‘What on earth is this?’ Then they unveiled him in my exam room. And there was this 58 pound tube in his nose, coma case that was so stiff. It was ridiculous. I mean, he had gauze on his chin and his hand was rubbing on it and to protect the chin from having an ulcer. It had an odor to him in the head. It was just nothing. Just stare. He just sat there. But the mother and father said, ‘No, he's still alive. Please help.’ So I didn't really have much to do an exam with. So I got him, we took him in and did a film of his spine and his skull from the history. We found his foramen magnum, his skull was jammed down on a spinal cord and his spinal cord is up in his foramen magnum. This opening in the bottom of the skull. And I thought that night, when I was developing those films, and I looked at that I thought, 'I wonder what happened if I lifted that skull? If I've got that off? It could? Could something happen?' And I was scared because you just don't do that. He could die just instantly. I sent them over to this health food store to get him some liquid vitamins and minerals and amino acids to try to get nutrients in him because they're feeding him beans and rice with liquid. It was just crazy. So the next day came in. We had four doctors on a preceptorship visiting my office, one doctor that was working for me, one assistant, the seven or eight kids plus him and the mother and father in this little room. It was packed. And I said to him that I saw that on the film something that might have make him, help. I don't know, I can't guarantee it. But if we, if I did a particular manoeuvre, it might open up the brain function. And the little woman held on to her husband and she said, 'If he dies, he dies. If he lives, we rejoice. But please help us. We have nowhere else to go.' Lisa: Yeah. Wow. Dr John: She said that there was something that took over me, I can't describe it. It was like a very powerful feeling, like I had a power of a Mack truck in me. I don't know how to describe it. And I had this manoeuvre that we could do this, what they call the Chrane Condyle Lift, that can actually lift the skull up the spine. And I said to myself, if I'm not willing to have him die in my hands, I can't raise the dead with my hands as a little quote that I learned from an ancient healing philosopher. And I thought, 'Okay, we're, I'm going to take the risk, and just see what happens.' Because, I mean, I don't know what to do. I'm just gonna do it. Because I mean, they've got no place to go and I only took a rip. As I lifted that skull with this powerful movement. He came out of his coma. He came right out of the coma. He screamed, and this whining noise you couldn't. It was not coherent. It was just this whining sound. The whole family went on their knees, they were Catholic. They just went to their knees and prayed. I was blown away. I saw the four doctors one of them ran down the hallway and vomited, couldn't handle it. The other just stared. And here's this boy squirming on the table. I walked out to let the family be with the child for a minute and just sat with one of my doctors. We sat there and just cried. Because we knew that the spinal cord expressed life in the body. But we didn't know what would happen if we took the spinal cord, it just scanned off. Theoretically, it could kill you. But there was some still life in the spinal cord. Anyway, this boy went on to gain 20 pounds up to 78 pounds. We took him off the tube, we got him to move, we had everybody in the family take a joint in his body and move his joints to remobilise him. Sometimes I think we probably tore some ligaments doing it. But we got mobility. And this boy came out of it. And I have a picture here with me of the boy actually graduating from high school. Lisa: You’re kidding me? Why is this not an? What is not? Why have I never heard the story?  Dr John: I don’t get to share it too often. I didn't many years ago. I haven't practised in a long time. But all I know is that that was a moment that you just, it's probably like you had with your mum when you saw incremental progress. Lisa: Yeah. Just grind. Dr John: And I think that that's a metaphor. That's a metaphor. It doesn't matter where you've come from, doesn't matter what you're going through, doesn't matter what you've been through. What matters is you have something that you're striving for. And are you willing to do some incremental movement towards that? What else just said is, he's got a diagnosis. Diagnosis means through knowledge, supposedly, but it could also mean die to an agnosis. You don't know. Even the doctors don't know. But the reality is,  he came out of the coma. And I had over the next few months, I had some amazing cases of a boy that was blind and couldn't walk, and all of a sudden see and walked again. I had a boy that was paralysed quadriplegic, was able to walk. I mean, I had some amazing stuff happen. When you're willing to do what other people aren't willing to do, you're willing to experience when other people don't get to experience. Lisa: Yep, it is just so powerful. And I'm just absolutely blown away from that story. Because, I mean, I know with my mum who was only in a coma for three weeks, and had stroke and so on, and in the specificity and the things that I've had to deal with. The whole vestibular system being completely offline, she has like a rag doll, having to read, programming her from being a baby, basically, to being an adult, within that three year period with a body that is now like 79 years old. And the doctors going like, your brain can't change that much. And in just going, I'm going to keep going. I'm only listening to people who tell me I can do something, I'm not listening to anybody who tells me I can't do something. And this is something that I've really integrated into my entire life like as an athlete, doing stupidly long ultramarathon distances. I was always told you can't do this, and you can't do that. It's impossible. And I was like, 'We'll see.' I'm going to throw everything in it. And that was my passion at the time have now retired from doing the stupid distances because I've got other missions on in life. But whatever it is, is always the big mission. And then everybody comes up against people who tell you, you can't do it. This is one of the biggest limiting things that I see. Dr John: That's what Einstein said, greatness is automatically pounded by mediocre minds.  Lisa: Wow. Dr John: I had a boy, a boy attend my breakthrough experience, who had a surfing accident and became arms and legs not working, He could move his neck. He got a little bit of function slowly into the hand that was about it, just a tiny bit. And I remember a man wheeling him in and having them kind of strapped to a wheelchair. I knew the father and I knew his brother. There were doctors who were colleagues of mine. And they brought him, they flew him literally from Los Angeles over to Texas to come to the breakthrough experience. I remember him looking straight down really depressed, suicidal, because he was a surfer and he was on his way to being a great surfer. If he couldn't surf, he didn't want to live kind of. I remember getting on my knees and looking up at him at this chair, and I said, 'It all determines inside you what you decide. I don't know what the limit you have in your body. I don't know what you can repair. I don't know what you can do. I don't want to say you can't. But all I know is that if you're going to, you're going to have to put everything into it. You're gonna have to have no turning back kind of attitude. There's got to be a relentless pursuit of your master plan to serve.' His name is Jesse Billauer. He made a decision at the Breakthrough Experience that nothing was going to stop him from surfing again, nothing. He is really, in the room was absolutely applauding him. The before and after in that weekend was so astonishing that it was tear jerking. Well, about 17 years ago, 16 half years ago, I had the opportunity to get, I was living on the Gold Coast of Australia. I had many homes in New York and different places. But I had one in the Gold Coast of Australia in Aria, lived in the penthouse of Aria. And all of a sudden, I found in my entrance of my penthouse, which you only can get into with my key somebody from downstairs, put it in there like mail, a DVD video of a surfing movie, called Stepping Into Liquid. And when I pulled that up and put that in there, there was Jesse Billauer, surfing. He found a way of using his head muscles, and designing a special vehicle, a transport system, a surfboard. He had to have somebody take them out into the water and push him. But once he got on a wave his head movements were able to ride and he was riding like 12 foot waves, which is 20 foot face waves. He was doing that. And he was an inspiration. He became friends with Superman who had quadriplegia and they became friends and he created a foundation to do something but he taught people how to go surfing as a quadriplegic. So when the wise big enough to house take care of themselves, you've proven that in your book. What little I've done in my life compared to some of these kind of stories is just astonishing what I see sometimes people do. I mean, mind blowing stuff that people, that determination to overcome that are absolute inspirations. Inspiration is a byproduct of pursuing something that's deeply inspiring and deeply meaningful, through a challenge that people believe is not possible. That's inspiration. Lisa: That's how we grow as a human race. We have these amazing people that do incredible things. And these stories, I mean, these are stories that aren't even out there in the world, in a huge way. There are hundreds of these stories and thousands of these stories and miraculous stories. These are the things that we should be talking about. Because why are we not studying the outliers? Why are we not? When I look at my book, or my story, which I share publicly and not a single doctor that had anything to do with my mum ever asked me, 'Well, how did you do it?' Nobody is interested in why she has not taken the normal path as long gone. Nobody has asked me what did you do? People do. My audience want to know why. The people that follow me, etc. But nobody that was involved in that case. And I see that over and over again.  Dr John: It's forcing him to face their own, you might say, belief systems about what they've been taught. There's an educated awareness by the herd and then there's an innate yearning by the master. The master transcends the herd, if you will. You can be a sheep or a shepherd. The shepherd is the one that goes out and does things that the sheep are not willing to do. But then once they do it, they'll rally around it. They are there watching you to be the hero instead of becoming the hero. Lisa: Wow. And why is it in the medical fraternity that there seems to be a very big herd mentality, like no one is scared to step outside of their norms, and they get slammed. I see this in academia and in science as well, where people who have brilliant ideas and hypotheses and studies and so on, they just get slammed because it's outside of the current paradigm.  Dr John: William James, one of the founders of modern psychology, said 'To be great…' And Emerson followed in suit, 'To be greatest, to be misunderstood.’ William James basically said that the majority of people fear rejection from the multitudes because that was survival. People that are into survival follow the multitude. People that are in thrival create a new paradigm. At first they're going to be ridiculed. They're going to be violently opposed to Schopenhauer and Gandhi said, but eventually becomes self-evident. And you're either following a culture or building one. The people that do that build a new culture. They build a new culture of idea. Emerson said in his essays on circles, 'We rise up and we create a new circle of possibility. And then that becomes the new norm until somebody comes up and breaks through that concentric sphere with another circle.' It's like the four minute mile. I had a gentleman on my program the other day who is striving to be the fastest runner in the world. He's got bronze and silver medals, but he hadn't got the fastest running. And he's not stopping. He's working sometimes eight to 13 hours a day on this project. I believe that the way he's so determined to do it, and how he works on it, and he doesn't need a coach telling him what to do. He just does it. He's inspired to do it. He'll be the fastest runner, he won't stop till he's the fastest runner in the world. And that’s determination, that to be great at that one thing, find that one thing that you really target like a magnifying glass, on that you become the greatest at that thing.  Mine was human development, human behaviour. I want to have the broadest and greatest width of information about that. That's my one thing. But each individual has something that they can excel in, if they just define it, and give themselves permission at it, and say, thank you but no thank you to the opinions. The opinions are the cheapest commodities on Earth that would circulate the most as a use value. There’s ton of those. But those opinions aren’t what matter. It's not you comparing yourself to other people, it's you comparing your daily actions to what's deeply meaningful to you, and the highest priority actions daily, that’s what it is. Lisa: How do you, this is a problem that I face, get to a certain level of success and achievement, and then you start getting lots of offers and opportunities and so on, and you start to lose the focus. You get distracted from the things that are happening in this day and age where the internet and everything that ends up like I get the shiny object syndrome. And say, 'Oh, this is an extremely interesting area of study, and I should go down that path. And then I go down that path, and then I go down that path.' It is adding to the whole picture of a general education. as someone who studied as much as you have, you've obviously encompassed all of these areas. But I think what I'm asking is, how do you find out what your highest priority is? And how do you get a team around you, so that you're not limited? I think there's a lot of business people that are listening to this, me included in this, who has struggling to get past a certain ceiling because the area of genius is one thing that they love and excelling at, and you'd like to spend all of your time doing that. But you're stuck in the groundhog day of admin and technology in the stuff that you hate. And not busting through because financially, you can't delegate to people. You also got to find people that are a good fit for you who can do the jobs, and then also have the finances to be able to break through to that near next level. Can you talk to that about? Dr John: Yes, absolutely. When I was 27 years old, I was just starting my practice. I was doing a little of everything, anything and everything, just to get the thing cranking. I had one assistant that I hired. But I realised I was doing way too many trivial things. And that'll burn you out after a while if you're doing stuff that's not really what your specialty is. I went to the bookstore and I got a book by Alec McKinsey called The Time Trap. I read this book. As I read it, I underlined it and extracted notes like I do. I decided to put together a little sheet for it. I'll share that because it was a goldmine. I made a list of every single thing that I do in a day, over a three month period, because each day I had sometimes different things to do. But I wrote down everything I might be doing in those three months in a day. I just wrote them all down. And I don't mean broad generalities like marketing or this type of thing or radiographs or whatever. I mean, the actual actions. The actual moment by moment actions I do in those categories. I made a list of those and it was a big list. And I looked at it. Then right next that list, every single thing I did from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed, everything —  home, personal, professional. I wanted to know what my day looked. I want to be an honest, objective view of what am I actually doing with my day. Because if I want to create my life the way I want, I've got to take a look at what I'm actually doing because if I'm not doing things that give me the results, no wonder I'm not getting there.  I made that list, and right next to it, in column number two of six columns is how much does it produce per hour. Which is a measure of actually meeting somebody's need as a service and people willing to pay. How much is that produced per hour? And that was humbling because there are whole lot of stuff that I will do without pay. I was minoring in majors and majoring in minors. I was doing all kinds of stuff that was just cost, no return. I stopped and I looked at that, and that was humbling, and frustrating, and a bunch of stuff went through my mind. I mean, I just, but I had to be honest to myself, what does it actually produce? I extrapolate. If I spent two hours on it, what is it per hour? Cut it in half. If I spent 30 minutes, I’d double the number to get an idea what it is per hour. There's a lot of stuff that was not making anything and there was a few things that were making a lot.  The third column I wrote down, how much meaning does it have? How much is it that makes me inspired to get up and do it? I can't wait to do what people can't wait to get. Those are the things I want to target. So I looked at it on a one to ten scale, how much meaning it was. I made a list on a one to ten scale of every one of those items, how inspired am I to do that? And there's a lot of stuff on there that was not inspiring, that I didn't want to do. I thought, 'Hell. I went to ten years of college for this?' I made this list and I put this one to ten thing. And then I prioritised the tens down to the ones. I prioritise productivity down from the ones that made thousands of dollars an hour to nothing an hour. I just prioritise them. And then I looked. There were some that were overlapped, where the thing that was most meaningful and inspiring match where it’s most productive. I prioritise that based on the two together. And that was really eye opening. Then I went to the next one because I realised that if I don't delegate, I'm trapped. Then I put what does it cost? Every cost. Not just salary, but training costs, no hiring costs, parking costs, insurance costs, everything. What is the cost of somebody excelling at doing what it is I'm doing at a greater job than me? What would it cost? On every one of those items? The best I could do? I had to just guess on something, but I definitely did the best I could.  And then I prioritise that based on spread, how much it produced versus how much it cost. Then I put another column. How much time am I actually spending on average? The final column, I wrote down, what are my final priorities with all these variables? I did a very thorough prioritisation system there. I sliced those into ten layers. I put a job description, I put a job description on that bottom layer, and hired somebody to do that but bottom layer. It took me three people to get the right person because I had to learn about hiring. I didn't know how about, hiring. I finally got the first person there, and that was free. That allowed me to go up a notch. And then I hired the next layer. What I did is it allowed me to go and put more time into the thing to produce the most, which was actually sharing a message of what I was doing publicly, with speaking. Public speaking was my door opener. I just kept knocking out layers.In the next 18 months, my business tenfold in increase in income and business. I had 12 staff members and five doctors working for me in a 5000 square foot office from under 1000 square foot original office in 18 months. Because I said goodbye to anything that weighed me down. Anytime you do something that's lower on your values, and anytime something hone your value value yourself and the world values you when you value. It's waiting for you just to get authentic and live by the highest values, which is your ideological identity. The thing you really revolve around you. Mine was teaching, so I call myself a teacher, right? So whatever that highest value is, if you prioritise your day and fill your day with high priority actions that inspire you, it doesn't fill up with low party distractions that don't, because it's now you're allowing yourself to be authentic. And it doesn't cost to properly delegate if you get the right people, and you go on and do what produces more per hour, it doesn't cost it makes sense. Lisa: That's the hard part, isn't it? As is growing. Dr John: You do your responsibilities. Go do the thing that knocks down the doors and goes and does the deals and then go and let them do all the crazy work. Like when I was 27, that's the last time I ever wrote a check or did payroll or looked at bills. I never looked at that again. Because that's a $20 an hour job and I could make way more speaking and doing my doctrine. So I thought, 'I'm not doing anything that's going to devalue me ever again in my life.' I've never gone back. 38 years, I've never gone back. Lisa: So systematise. This is a thing here, where I have a bit of a problem, a bit of a chaos, right? Dr John: I'm an ignoramus when it comes to anything other than research, write, travel, and teach. I'm useless. I'm not. I do jokes and say when I'm having I want to make love with my girlfriend. I tell her. I put my arms around I said, 'If I was to organise and have Hugh Jackman or Brad Pitt take care of lovemaking for you on my behalf and things like that, would you still love me?' One time if she said, 'No, I will still love you more.' I'm joking. That’s a joke. But the point is that if you're not delegating lower priority things, you're trapped. Lisa: And this is the dilemma, I think, of small businesses is giving that mix right and not taking on people before you can go to that next level. Dr John: But you go. You go to the next level by taking them on if it's done properly. Lisa: If it's done properly, because I've- Dr John: You want to make sure. That's why I have a value determination process on my website to determine the values of people I hire because if they're not inspired to do what I need to delegate, that's not the right person.You gotta have the right people on the bus, this column says. I have to be clear about what I can produce if I go and do these other things. And me speaking it, and doing the doctoring on the highest priority patients was way more productive financially than me doing those other things. So once I got on to that, I put somebody in place just to book speeches, and just to make sure that I was scheduled and filled my day with schedules with patients, it was a updated day and night. I've never gone back to that. I only research, write, travel, teach. That's it. Lisa: That's my dream. I'm gonna get there. Dr John: I don't do it. What's interesting is I became financially independent doing that because of that. I learned that if I don't value myself, and I don't pay myself, other people aren't going to pay me. If they're waiting for you to value you add when you value you, the world values you. You pay yourself first, other people pay you first. It's a reflection, economically, there. And that's what allowed me to do it. Because financial independence isn't for debauchery and for the fun life, in my opinion. It's for making sure that you get to do what you love because you love it not because you have to do it. Lisa: And having an impact on the world. But if you're stuck doing the admin and the technical, logical stuff, and the crap that goes along with the business. You're not impacting the world like you want to be impacting. Dr John: Weel, the individual that does the administration is impacting the world through the ripple effect by giving you the freedom to do it. Lisa: Exactly. Dr John: If that's what they love doing. That’s not what I love doing. But there are people that love administration, they love that stuff and love behind the scenes, I love doing that. Finding those people. That's the key. Lisa: Finding those people. I's given me a bit of encouragement because I've been in that sort of groundhog days I had to get through the ceiling and get to the next level of reach. Dr John: I finally realised that the cost of hiring somebody is insignificant compared to the freedom that it provides if you do your priority. Lisa: If you get your stuff right, and know what you… Dr John: Because the energy, your energy goes up the second you're doing what you love doing. And that draws business to you. Lisa: Absolutely. I mean, like doing what we're doing. Now, this is my happy place.  Dr John: We’re both in our element. This is why we're probably going to slow down. The point is, when you're doing something you love to do, when you're on fire, with kind of an enthusiasm, people come around to watch you burn. They want to see you on fire.  Lisa: I mean, they do, they do. And I've seen that in times in my life where I've been preparing for a big race or something, and I need sponsors. I just go out there.  At the start, I didn't know how to do a sponsored proposal, I didn't know how to do any of that fancy stuff. I just went out there and told the story. And by sharing the story, people were like, 'I want to get on board with this. That's exciting.' People would come on in and and when you don't know, one of the things that I've found in life is the less you know, sometimes the more audacious you are. When you actually h

On this episode of our one hit wonder series we talk about the 2006 hit Young Folks from the Swedish indie pop/rock band Peter Bjorn and John. Tune in as we talk this seemingly out of no where hit, what does it mean to be a one hit wonder and what success looks like in America vs around the world. 

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Luke Simmons

Somewhere in the city of Chicago, a man named John has radio signals broadcasted into his head by 6 aliens in our upper stratosphere. These 6 aliens have their own obsessions to complete and will stop at nothing to see them accomplished. Once Upon a Tavern is a Dungeons and Dragons stream that broadcasts on Twitch.tv every Sunday from 5pm to 9pm CST.

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Sarah: So John, you told me about the paleo diet and what it is. But why did you decide to eat like that?John: Well, let me tell you. I was feeling sick for a long time.Sarah: Oh, I'm sorry.John: Oh, it's okay now.Thanks though. I started to feel sick three years ago, and then it got worse and worse in my stomach. I had lots of stomach trouble called indigestion, and I didn't know why until I found out that some foods are healthier than others. So that's why I started learning about the paleo diet and eating healthy. I found that we should eat fresh fruits and fresh vegetables and we definitely shouldn't eat fast food. And we shouldn't eat very many snacks either.Sarah: Oh.John: And because I was sick with my stomach trouble, I was also feeling depressed. But I learned that our moods and our emotions can be affected by what we eat.Sarah: Really?John: Yes. I was very surprised to learn that. But it makes sense because our brain chemistry comes from the foods we eat. When we eat healthy foods, we get good chemistry in our body and our brains can function normally, and we can have good moods and good emotions.Sarah: So you feel happier and healthier now that you changed your diet.John: That's true. But changing my diet wasn't enough. Even though I fixed my diet, I still didn't feel 100 percent. So I had to do more research. And I found something else that's very important.I didn't realize before but everyone needs to get enough exercise every week. In fact, it's best if you can exercise 30 minutes every day.Sarah: Everyday?John: Well, of course you can take a day off. Two days off each week is okay. And you don't have to do very difficult exercise. Just riding a bicycle or jogging is enough. But I also found that having a healthy diet and getting enough exercise is still not enough because you need two more important factors.Sarah: What are they?John: One is called stress management. When we feel stressed, our body has a reaction to stress, and it can make you feel sick, and it can put you in a bad mood. So we need to learn ways to manage our stress. So we need to learn how to breathe deeply and relax more. And when we encounter stress, we should learn healthy ways to react and not react in unhealthy ways, such as getting angry or feeling frustrated.Sarah: What's a healthy way to react?John: Well first, you should breathe and relax your body by slowing down. And then you should think calmly and clearly about the best way to handle a problem. So don't just worry about the problem and think about what can go wrong, but think calmly about ways to solve problems.Sarah: Okay.John: But I found the most important factor in feeling healthy was a big surprise to me.Sarah: What was it?John: We need to get enough sleep.Sarah: Oh.John: Everyone knows we should sleep more but very few people sleep enough. Most adults should sleep 8 hours every night. I was only sleeping 5 or 6 hours every night.Sarah: Oh wow.John: Yeah. So sleeping at night is like recharging your battery, right. So do you have a cell phone?Sarah: Sure, of course.John: What do you do when the battery is dead?Sarah: I plug it in.John: Yeah. And you need to leave it plugged in until it has a full charge. Well, not sleeping enough is just like unplugging your phone before it's charged. So it's much better to have a healthy diet and get a regular exercise, learn stress management skills, and most importantly, get enough sleep every night.Sarah: Okay. I'll try hard. Thank you.

Sarah: So John, you told me about the paleo diet and what it is. But why did you decide to eat like that?John: Well, let me tell you. I was feeling sick for a long time.Sarah: Oh, I'm sorry.John: Oh, it's okay now.Thanks though. I started to feel sick three years ago, and then it got worse and worse in my stomach. I had lots of stomach trouble called indigestion, and I didn't know why until I found out that some foods are healthier than others. So that's why I started learning about the paleo diet and eating healthy. I found that we should eat fresh fruits and fresh vegetables and we definitely shouldn't eat fast food. And we shouldn't eat very many snacks either.Sarah: Oh.John: And because I was sick with my stomach trouble, I was also feeling depressed. But I learned that our moods and our emotions can be affected by what we eat.Sarah: Really?John: Yes. I was very surprised to learn that. But it makes sense because our brain chemistry comes from the foods we eat. When we eat healthy foods, we get good chemistry in our body and our brains can function normally, and we can have good moods and good emotions.Sarah: So you feel happier and healthier now that you changed your diet.John: That's true. But changing my diet wasn't enough. Even though I fixed my diet, I still didn't feel 100 percent. So I had to do more research. And I found something else that's very important.I didn't realize before but everyone needs to get enough exercise every week. In fact, it's best if you can exercise 30 minutes every day.Sarah: Everyday?John: Well, of course you can take a day off. Two days off each week is okay. And you don't have to do very difficult exercise. Just riding a bicycle or jogging is enough. But I also found that having a healthy diet and getting enough exercise is still not enough because you need two more important factors.Sarah: What are they?John: One is called stress management. When we feel stressed, our body has a reaction to stress, and it can make you feel sick, and it can put you in a bad mood. So we need to learn ways to manage our stress. So we need to learn how to breathe deeply and relax more. And when we encounter stress, we should learn healthy ways to react and not react in unhealthy ways, such as getting angry or feeling frustrated.Sarah: What's a healthy way to react?John: Well first, you should breathe and relax your body by slowing down. And then you should think calmly and clearly about the best way to handle a problem. So don't just worry about the problem and think about what can go wrong, but think calmly about ways to solve problems.Sarah: Okay.John: But I found the most important factor in feeling healthy was a big surprise to me.Sarah: What was it?John: We need to get enough sleep.Sarah: Oh.John: Everyone knows we should sleep more but very few people sleep enough. Most adults should sleep 8 hours every night. I was only sleeping 5 or 6 hours every night.Sarah: Oh wow.John: Yeah. So sleeping at night is like recharging your battery, right. So do you have a cell phone?Sarah: Sure, of course.John: What do you do when the battery is dead?Sarah: I plug it in.John: Yeah. And you need to leave it plugged in until it has a full charge. Well, not sleeping enough is just like unplugging your phone before it's charged. So it's much better to have a healthy diet and get a regular exercise, learn stress management skills, and most importantly, get enough sleep every night.Sarah: Okay. I'll try hard. Thank you.

Sarah: So John, you told me about the paleo diet and what it is. But why did you decide to eat like that?John: Well, let me tell you. I was feeling sick for a long time.Sarah: Oh, I'm sorry.John: Oh, it's okay now.Thanks though. I started to feel sick three years ago, and then it got worse and worse in my stomach. I had lots of stomach trouble called indigestion, and I didn't know why until I found out that some foods are healthier than others. So that's why I started learning about the paleo diet and eating healthy. I found that we should eat fresh fruits and fresh vegetables and we definitely shouldn't eat fast food. And we shouldn't eat very many snacks either.Sarah: Oh.John: And because I was sick with my stomach trouble, I was also feeling depressed. But I learned that our moods and our emotions can be affected by what we eat.Sarah: Really?John: Yes. I was very surprised to learn that. But it makes sense because our brain chemistry comes from the foods we eat. When we eat healthy foods, we get good chemistry in our body and our brains can function normally, and we can have good moods and good emotions.Sarah: So you feel happier and healthier now that you changed your diet.John: That's true. But changing my diet wasn't enough. Even though I fixed my diet, I still didn't feel 100 percent. So I had to do more research. And I found something else that's very important.I didn't realize before but everyone needs to get enough exercise every week. In fact, it's best if you can exercise 30 minutes every day.Sarah: Everyday?John: Well, of course you can take a day off. Two days off each week is okay. And you don't have to do very difficult exercise. Just riding a bicycle or jogging is enough. But I also found that having a healthy diet and getting enough exercise is still not enough because you need two more important factors.Sarah: What are they?John: One is called stress management. When we feel stressed, our body has a reaction to stress, and it can make you feel sick, and it can put you in a bad mood. So we need to learn ways to manage our stress. So we need to learn how to breathe deeply and relax more. And when we encounter stress, we should learn healthy ways to react and not react in unhealthy ways, such as getting angry or feeling frustrated.Sarah: What's a healthy way to react?John: Well first, you should breathe and relax your body by slowing down. And then you should think calmly and clearly about the best way to handle a problem. So don't just worry about the problem and think about what can go wrong, but think calmly about ways to solve problems.Sarah: Okay.John: But I found the most important factor in feeling healthy was a big surprise to me.Sarah: What was it?John: We need to get enough sleep.Sarah: Oh.John: Everyone knows we should sleep more but very few people sleep enough. Most adults should sleep 8 hours every night. I was only sleeping 5 or 6 hours every night.Sarah: Oh wow.John: Yeah. So sleeping at night is like recharging your battery, right. So do you have a cell phone?Sarah: Sure, of course.John: What do you do when the battery is dead?Sarah: I plug it in.John: Yeah. And you need to leave it plugged in until it has a full charge. Well, not sleeping enough is just like unplugging your phone before it's charged. So it's much better to have a healthy diet and get a regular exercise, learn stress management skills, and most importantly, get enough sleep every night.Sarah: Okay. I'll try hard. Thank you.

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John: Hi, this is Doctor John Dacey with my weekly podcast, New Solutions to the Anxiety Epidemic. Today, I have a friend of mine, James, who’s going to be talking to us about his own situation and his own familiarity with anxiety. James, how are you? James: I’m doing alright, how are you? John: Good, thank you. I wonder if you could tell us a little something about yourself before we get started. James: Well, I am currently a junior in high school. I’m 17. John: How are you finding taking courses online? James: Online? It’s presented its own set of challenges. I wouldn’t say it’s better or worse than regular school but, I think there’s less work but it’s a different kind of material. It feels a little bit less meaningful. John: Yeah, I can understand that. People say that there’s such a thing as Zoom exhaustion. After you’ve spent a certain amount of time on Zoom that it’s much more tiring than sitting there and talking to somebody. James: Yeah, I don’t do too many Zoom calls because of the way the school has set it up for us but I get that. John: Today, what I would like to do is go over 7 of the 8 types of anxiety that there are and have you tell me, do you think that you have a condition in that area, the anxiety syndrome, and we’ll talk a little bit about if you’ve discovered anything that’s helped with you. Is that ok? James: Sounds good. John: I’m going to skip the first one which is called simple phobias because everybody has them, agoraphobia, afraid of falling from heights, things like that. We’ll start with probably the most common one which is social anxiety. Social anxiety is things like fear of speaking in public, feeling of not wanting to go to parties, that sort of thing. Do you think you’re bothered by any of that? James: Not generally. Sometimes I’ll have a little bit in large groups but generally speaking, that’s not something that I tend to experience. John: I remember some years ago watching you sing by yourself in front of probably 300 people in the audience and you seemed to be very calm about the whole thing and very confident. Is that typically the case? James: Yeah that tends to be the case. John: And you’ve been in some theater things where if you were going to have social anxiety, that’s where you’d have it. James: Yeah, I’ve been doing theater from a very young age so it’s something that I’ve got pretty used to. John: That’s great. Separation anxiety usually bothers younger people but sometimes older people. Separation anxiety is when you feel like if you’re not around a person who is very powerful, that knows how to take care of you, that you’re in trouble. Did you have any trouble starting school, for example leaving your mother? James: No, I don’t think I did. John: I don’t think you did either. The next one is called generalized anxiety. Just a general nervous feeling at least half of the time. James: Yeah, that’s the one that I definitely have. John: That usually comes about from a bunch of experiences that didn’t go so well for you, or  that you feel like they didn’t go so well for you, and you become sort of nervous, on the lookout and what we call “hypervigilant.” Do you know what I mean when I say hypervigilant? James: Yeah, exactly. John: What about that does that seem like something that you’ve been dealing with? James: Yeah I think it’s something that I definitely have. It’s something I was diagnosed with and it’s something I’m on medication for. John: Oh ok. When you talk to your therapist who’s the one who did the diagnosis I suppose, what suggestions do they make about why you have this? Do you have any guess as to why you’re generally anxious? James: There’s a history of anxiety in my family. John: So, you think it might be genetic? James: I think genetics certainly has a large role in it. John: We say that everything is biopsychosocial in my field so the biological part would be genetics. Can you think of anything that psychologically might have oriented you toward that? From your experiences, for example. James: Yeah, I think some of it’s genetic and some of it’s from my experiences. Some of it from when I was younger, but it’s a combination of things that have added up to this. John: What is your position in the family? James: I’m the youngest. John: Do you think that might have anything to do with it? James: Being the youngest? I think there’s a certain level of insecurity about being young and having to prove yourself so I’m sure that played a role. John: Yeah, that’s absolutely true. Your siblings are pretty smart if I remember. They are smart people. James: They are. They’re quite intelligent. John: But as I think you know, I think you’re very smart and I’m inviting you to be in a group of mine called “Spirituality and Science.” It’s almost all adults, older adults for that matter but you’re probably the youngest person in the group but you seem to do very well supporting yourself. James: Well thank you. John: Do you feel nervous when you’re in that group? James: No, it’s a very relaxed environment. John. Oh, that’s great. Now that’s the first four and they tend to be less serious so let’s look at the next ones. Agoraphobia is fear of being away from home because of lack of control. Are you bothered by that at all? Do you feel nervous when you’re about to go on a trip or something like that? James: No. John: Ok so being out of the house or being away from the home is not a problem. James: No. John: The next one is called panic attacks. Those are feelings of fearfulness that seem to come from nowhere. They don’t seem to be related to anything. All of a sudden you start to feel really nervous. How about that one? James: Yeah that’s one that I experience. John: I’m going to guess that you probably think that’s genetic also. James: I don’t know if it’s genetic. It’s not something that I experienced when I was younger. It really didn’t come up until fairly recently, actually. John: How recently, James? James: About a year or two ago is when it first started and then it’s ramped up in the past year or so. John: When you say started, what was the first one like? James: The first one I think was actually in my chemistry class and it was just like I was doing my work. The whole room was silent and I was just doing my work and then all of a sudden, something changed and I’m not 100% sure what it was but something shifted and it was like I couldn’t breathe, my chest was compressing, shaking. It was a terrifying experience. John: That’s exactly how everybody describes it. We can be very sure you had a panic attack because that’s exactly what it sounds like. And it seems to come out of nowhere am I right? James: Yeah. John: Has anybody ever told you that it seems to be, but it actually isn’t? When I talked to my clients about panic attacks, I make an analogy to a bunch of cowboys out with a heard of cattle and if the heard of cattle starts to get nervous and one or two of them start to stand up, the cowboys have to start whistling and singing to calm them back down. Because if they all get up and going, then the next thing you know, you got a stampede on your hands and there’s nothing you can do except follow along. That’s sort of an analogy to what a panic attack is described as. I’ve had a couple myself, only about two, and it’s the weirdest thing, it seems to come out of nowhere but it really doesn’t. And what we tell people is, “you’ve got to try and be aware of your subconscious.” And that’s a really hard thing to do especially when the subconscious is saying, “something scary is about to happen” because you try to deny it. Nobody wants to be scared out of their minds. It’s a very unpleasant feeling and that’s what a panic attack is like. Instead of saying, “I think I’m beginning to feel the beginnings of a panic attack” you try and avoid it and it makes it worse. Does that sound right? James: Yeah. John: have you had any success with stopping them? James: Yeah I think I have. John: As I might say, “cutting them off at the pass.” Do you know what I mean? James: Yeah. It’s something that’s really hard to do. John: It is really hard to do. The biggest thing that’s hard about it is that you don’t want to be thinking about this. Am I right? James: Exactly. It’s something that I’ve had a lot of, so I’ve had to get pretty good at preventing them, cutting them off before they get to that point and recovering after them which is also something that’s I’ve struggled with because they’re pretty debilitating. They’re hard to come back from. John: One of the things that I’ve heard is that they’re especially hard for males because males are supposed to be strong and not give in to something like this. Am I right? James: Yeah, I think there’s some pressure. John: When you’re having a panic attack, do you tell all your friends around you that you’re having one? James: Generally, no. John: Do you feel a little bit ashamed of it? James: Yeah, I mean, it’s not something that I want to be experiencing. John: Yeah of course not. Of course, you don’t. And of course, with the stereotype that we have that men are so brave and tough, it’s not the image that we want to give to ourselves. “I can’t talk to you right now because I’m having a panic attack.” But, you know, that’s how it is. Okay, there’s only two more. OCD, which is obsessive-compulsive disorder. James: I think I have a little bit of that. John: What’s your evidence? James: I find myself having to do things a certain number of times. It’s pretty manageable and it’s not super severe, but there are certain things where like, I have to flip a coin in my hand a certain number of times or whatever so it’s even on both sides. John: James, my understanding of OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, is that it is not necessarily coming from a learned experience but from another part of your brain called the amygdala and that’s it’s definitely genetic. Do you have anybody else in your family, you don’t have to say who, but do you have anybody else in your family that has trouble with this? James: Yeah, definitely. John: Would that be your father or your mother? James: I believe it’s my mother’s side. John: And anybody else in your family? James: Yeah, some siblings. John: Ok, well dealing with that is a tough one and what you have to do is basically reprogram your amygdala, is what we say about it and it means when you got to go back in the house or you got to do somethings repeatedly because they make you feel safe, you know that old phrase, “don’t step on a crack, you’ll break your mother’s back,” do you remember that? James: Yeah John: That sort of OCD-ish because it means that if you don’t step on a crack, then your mother’s back won’t be broken. But if you do step on a crack, your mother’s back will probably not be broken. It just makes you feel a little bit better that you can do something about which you almost really have no control. Am I right? James: Right. John: Okay, James, one more. Post-traumatic stress disorder. You’re pretty young for this. It’s usually soldiers and people who have been in battle or firemen who have seen burnt up bodies. Do you think you have anything in PTSD? James: I don’t think so. John: Well, James, I appreciate very much you talking to me about this. You’re very brave and I think also one of the things it does is it shows other males that it’s OK to talk about some of this stuff and in fact, it’s really necessary to talk about it, even if you don’t feel like it. Would you agree with that? James: Yeah, 100%. John: Okay, James. Thanks a million for participating today, I appreciate it.

Why did Jesus have to die? Why couldn't God just forgive?

We cover the basics on the traditional IRA. John and Nick will break down what this investment vehicle is for and how it may be able to benefit you.Helpful Information:PFG Website: https://www.pfgprivatewealth.com/Contact: 813-286-7776Email: info@pfgprivatewealth.comFor a transcript of today's show, visit the blog related to this episode at https://www.pfgprivatewealth.com/podcast/Transcript of Today's Show:----more----Speaker 1: Hey everybody, welcome into this edition of Retirement Planning Redefined with John and Nick here with me, talking about investing finance and retirement. From their office, their PFG Private Wealth in Tampa Bay guys, what's going on? How are you this week, John?John: I'm good. How are you doing?Speaker 1: I'm hanging in there. Amidst the goofiness of the world, I'm doing all right. How about you, Nick? You doing okay?Nick: Yep, yep. Pretty good. We finished up the retirement classes that we teach recently, so just meeting with a lot of people after that class.Speaker 1: Okay. Those went pretty well?Nick: Yeah. Yeah, always good. Always fun.Speaker 1: Okay, well, very good. Listen, I got a little bit of a kind of a class idea for us to run through here. I wanted to talk this week about IRAs, really just an IRA 101, if you will, and then we'll follow it up with our next podcast coming up after this one. We'll follow up with the Roth side of the coin. Let's jump into here just a little bit and talk about this and get rocking and rolling. Just do us a favor. Just assume that we don't all have the same knowledge base. What is an IRA? Give us just a quick 101 on that.John: So yeah, good question. Especially with a tax season coming up, because I know a lot of people when they're doing their taxes, and whether it's TurboTax or working with an accountant, at the end of it it says you might want contribute to an IRA and maybe save some taxes this year. Or maybe get [inaudible 00:01:22] taxable income down the road. But you brought this topic up. So when I raise an individual retirement account on the personal side, a lot of people have their employer sponsored plans, but the IRA is for the individual. Really, there's a lot of tax benefits to it to provide for saving for retirement. One of the biggest questions that Nick and I get, or I guess assumptions, is that most people think an IRA is an actual investment, and it's really not. I explain it as imagine a tax shell, a tax shell you can invest in a lot of different things, and you have some tax benefits within the shell.Speaker 1: Okay. So it's like a turtle shell, if you want to look out that way. It's a wrapper really, right? So it's what your Snicker bar comes in. It's the wrapper. Then inside there you can put all sorts of different stuff. So who can contribute to IRAs?John: Well, there's two main types, and Nick will jump into that. But there's your traditional IRA and then a Roth IRA.Speaker 1: Okay.Nick: From the standpoint of how those break down, how those work, we're going to focus on traditional IRAs today. The number one determination on whether or not you can contribute to an IRA is if there is earned income in the household. So if it's a single person household, they have to have earned income. That does not include pension income, social security income, rental income. It's earned income. You receive some sort of wage for doing a job. So that's the first rule. You can contribute for 2019 and for 2020 essentially, if you're under 50, you can contribute $6,000. If you're over 50, you can take part in what's called a catch-up, which is an additional $1,000 for a total of $7,000.Nick: So as an example, let say that it's a two-person household. One person is working, one person is not, and the person that's working has a least $14,000 of income. Then as long as they satisfy a couple other rules that we'll talk about, they can make a contribution for themself for the $7,000 and for the spouse for the $7,000. So earned income doesn't have to be for both people. It has to be for one, and then the amount ties in the amount of earned income.Speaker 1: Oh, okay.John: One thing to jump into that, and I've seen some people, not our clients, but others, make some mistakes where they think that, we talked about the two different kinds, traditional and Roth, where they think they can make, let's say, $7,000 into one and $7,000 in the other. It's actually $7,000 total between the two of them.Speaker 1: Oh, that's a good point. Yeah. So, okay, so those are good to know. Whenever you're talking about just the contribution, the base set up of them. So let's stick with the traditional IRA and talk about it. What are some key things to think about like as an investment vehicle, as a machine here? These are pre-taxed, right?Nick: Yeah. When we talk about, and this is where the confusion really sets in for many people, when we talk about traditional IRAs, we really like to have conversations with people to make sure that they understand that there can be both a tax deductible or pretax traditional IRA, and there can be non-deductible traditional IRAs. So the logistics are dependent upon, really, a couple of different things whether or not they're active in an employer's plan. Then there are income limits that will determine whether or not somebody can participate in the tax deductible side of a traditional IRA. So that can be a little confusing. We usually have people consult with their tax prepare or and/or their software so that they can fully understand.Nick: But part of the reason that we bring that up is a real-world scenario is, what [inaudible 00:05:17] this client, worked at a company for 10 years, and she contributed to the 401k on a pretax basis. She left the company, rolled her 401k into a rollover IRA, and she's no longer working, but her spouse is working and wants to make IRA contributions for them. But he has a plan at work and makes too much money. They might have to do a non-deductible IRA. So usually what we will tell them to do is to open a second IRA, and when they make the contribution, they're going to account for it on their taxes as they made it. They're not going to deduct it. So we try not to commingle those dollars together. So a nondeductible IRA, we would like you to be separate from a rollover IRA. Otherwise, they have to keep track of the cost basis and their tax basis on nondeductible proportion commingled, and we're really just [inaudible 00:06:16] nightmare.John: Yeah, that's never fun to try and keep track of and never easy. One thing with with the pretax, just give an example of what that means is, let's say someone's taxable income in a given year is $100,000, and doing their taxes, it says, you might want to make a deductible contribution to an IRA. If they were to put $5,000 into the IRA, their taxable income for that given year would be $95,000. So that's where people look at the pretax as a benefit versus a nondeductible. That same example, $100,000 of income, you put $5,000 into a nondeductible IRA, your taxable income stays at that $100,000.Speaker 1: Okay. So what are the factors that determine if it's deductible or not?Nick: The answer is that it's fairly complicated. The first factor is, if we talk about an individual, they're going to look at do you have a plan at work that you're able to contribute to? So that's the first test. The second test is an income test. The tricky part with the income test is that there is a test for your income, and then there's also tests for household income. So usually we revert to the charts and advisors. We work together with the tax preparers to help make sure that we're in compliance with all of the rules. It should be much less complicated than it actually is. But it's really, honestly, a pain. I will say that if you do not have a plan at work that you can contribute to, your ability to contribute in [inaudible 00:07:56] to an IRA, a traditional IRA is much easier.Speaker 1: Okay. Gotcha. All right. So if that's some of the determining factors in there, what are some other important things for us to take away from a traditional IRA standpoint?John: Yeah, one of the biggest benefits to investing in an IRA versus, let's say, outside of it, is and if the account grows tax-deferred. So let's say you had money outside of an IRA and you get some growth on it, I say typically, because nothing's ever absolute. But you can really get it [inaudible 00:08:28] every single year and the gains and the dividends and things like that. Within the IRA shell, going back to that, it just continues to grow tax-deferred. So really help the compounding growth of it.Speaker 1: Okay. So when we're talking about some of these important pieces and the different things with the traditional, what are some other, I know a lot of times we know that it's the 59 and a half, right? All that kind of stuff. Give us some other things to think about just so that we're aware of the gist of it. Now, there was some changes to the Secure Act, which also makes them some of these numbers a little bit different now. The 59 and a half is still there, but now it's gone from 70 and a half to 72, right?John: Yeah. With good things like tax deferral and pre-tax, we do have some nice rules that the IRS/government basically hands down to us. One of them is as far as access to the account, you cannot fully access the account without any penalties until 59 and a half. After you're 59 and a half, you do get access to your account. If you access it before that, there is a 10% penalty on top of a whatever you draw. So that's basically deter to pull out early. There are some special circumstances as far as pulling out before 59 and a half, which could be any type of hardships financially, health wise, and also first time home purchases. We get that quite a bit sometimes where people say, I'm looking to buy a house and I want to go ahead and pull out of my IRA. Can I do so and avoid the penalty? The answer is yes, up to $10,000.John: Some of the changes with the Secure Act where they used to be after 70 and a half, you can no longer contribute to an IRA, even if you have earned income. That's actually gone, which is a nice feature when we're doing planning for clients above 70 and a half, where we can now make a deductible contribution to an IRA, where before we couldn't. Nick's the expert in RMD, so he can jump in and take that.Nick: One of the biggest things to keep in mind from the standpoint of traditional IRAs are that they do have required minimum distributions. The good thing is that those required minimum distributions are now required at age 72 versus 70 and a half. So that makes things a little bit easier for people. And again, that's kind of a big differentiator from the standpoint of a Roth IRA does not have an RMD, a traditional IRA does have an RMD.Speaker 1: Right, and with the RMDs, it's money that basically the government says, we're tired of waiting. Where's our tax revenue? Is there any basic things there just to think about when we're thinking about having to pull this out? Is there a figure attached to it?Nick: I would say we try to give people an idea, because sometimes there's uncertainty on any sort of concept of how much they have to take out. But on average it's about 3.6% in the first year. I would say though, that probably one of the biggest, or I should say one of the most misunderstood portions about it are that the RMD amount that has to come out, it's based on the prior years and balance of all of the pretax accounts. So you may have multiple accounts, you don't have to take an RMD out of each account. You just need to make sure that you take out the amount that is due, and you have the ability to be able to pick which account you want to take that out of, which really, at first thought that can seem more complicated. But if you're working with somebody it helps increase the ability to strategize and ladder your investments and use a bucket strategy where you can use short-term, mid-term, long-term strategies on your money, and have a little bit more flexibility on which account you're going to take money out of when.John: To jump on that, we went through that paycheck series when we talked about having a long-term bucket, and in some strategies that's where by being able to choose what IRA you draw from, you can just let that long-term bucket just continue to build up and not worrying about pulling out of it.Speaker 1: Gotcha. Okay. All right. So that gives us a good rundown, I think, through the traditional side of it, and gives us some basic class, if you will, on what these are. Of course, as the guys mentioned, they teach classes all the time. So if there's things you want to learn more about the IRA, the traditional IRA, and how you might be able to be using it or better using it as part of an investment vehicle, then always reach out to the team and have a conversation about that specifically. Because again, we just covered some basics and general things that apply to just about everybody here. But when you want to see how it works for your situation specifically, you always have to have those conversations one-on-one. So reach out to them, let them know if you want to chat about the traditional IRA, or how you can better use the vehicle, or change, or whatever it is that you're looking to do.Speaker 1: (813) 286-7776 is the number you call to have a conversation with them. You simply let them know that you want to come in. They'll get you scheduled and set up for a time that works well for you. That's (813) 286-7776. They are financial advisors at PFG Private Wealth in the Tampa Bay area. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart, Stitcher, whatever platform of choice you like to use. You can simply download the app onto your smartphone and search Retirement Planning Redefined on the app for the podcast. Or you could just simply go to their website at pfgprivatewealth.com. That's pfgprivatewealth.com. Guys, thanks for spending a few minutes with me this week talking about IRAs. So let's, next podcast, talk about the Roth side. We'll flip over to the cousins, okay?John: One more thing I want to mention before we go is withdrawing from the accounts of, let's say someone goes to retire above 59 and a half, and it's time to really start using this money as income. So it's just important to understand that whatever amount that you withdraw out of the IRA, assuming everything was pre-tax that went into it, it adds to your taxable income. So for example, if someone's pulling $50,000 out of their IRA, their taxable income goes up by $50,000 in a given year. So we just want to point that out, because as people are putting money into it, we sometimes do get questions of, when I take it out am I actually taxed on this, the answer is yes, if it was pretax put into it.Speaker 1: Gotcha. Okay. Yeah, great point. Thanks for bringing that up as well. So I appreciate that. And again, folks, the nice thing about a podcast is you can always pause it, and you can always rewind it, replay it. If you're learning, trying to learn something useful, or get a new nugget of information here, that's a great thing about it. That's also why subscribing is fantastic. You can hear new episodes that come out, as well as go back and check on something that you were thinking about, and that way when you come to have that conversation, you can say, listen, I want to understand more about how withdrawals with my traditional IRA is going to affect me, or whatever your question might be. So again, guys, thanks for your time this week. I'll let you get back to work and we'll talk again soon.John: Thanks.Nick: Thanks.Speaker 1: We'll catch you next time here, folks, on the podcast. Again, go subscribe. We'd appreciate it on Retirement Planning Redefined with John and Nick from PFG Private Wealth.

Everyone Is John is a One Page RPG where all the players vie for control of the same character. In our version, three bizarre aliens try to get one human to accomplish their unusual research needs on a strange alternate version of Earth. Glorbax gets yeeted by a deli poltergeist, Abrak the Mu eats anywhere between four and six sandwiches, and Kurzot, Esq. gets paid real money for his clown performance. Recorded on 12/19/19

Don't Waste Your Life (Part 1) - John PiperDon't Waste Your Life (Part 2) - John PiperDon't Waste Your Life (Part 3) - John PiperFamilyLife Today® Radio TranscriptReferences to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete. Don't Waste Your LifeDay 3 of 3 Guest:                            John Piper From the Series:         Boasting in the Cross ________________________________________________________________ Bob:                On days other than Good Friday is the cross central to your thinking?  Is it central to your life?  Here's Dr. John Piper with thoughts about the cross. John:              The word "cross" might mean something you're crucified on, or it might mean a piece of jewelry, or it might mean the last name of somebody you know, but in redemptive historical terms Jesus Christ the Son of God came into the world, He lived a perfect life, He laid Himself out voluntarily to be slaughtered on a cross.  He breathed his last breath in obedience to the Father so that He was a perfectly righteous substitute.  Then He raised Himself from the dead, He was taken up, sits at the right hand of God, intercedes for us.  When I say "the cross," I mean that great redemptive work from incarnation to the installation at God's right hand.  Yeah, that's really crucial to see. Bob:                This is FamilyLife Today for Friday, July 28th.  Our host is the president of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.  Today we'll look at the implications of the cross, why it still matters for your life 2,000 years later.                         And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us on the Friday edition.  You know, Dennis, I don't know that I will ever forget something that I heard our guest today say.  I remember where I was.  I was driving along on a highway on my way to Mount Ida, Arkansas.  I was tooling along listening to John Piper on tape, and he was saying that the world is not going to look at Christians in times of prosperity and say "I want to be a Christian," because you know what?  When Christians are blessed, they say "Praise the Lord," and when pagans are blessed, all we say is, "Boy, wasn't that lucky?"  He said, "No, the world is going to sit up and take notice when we go through adversity, and we still have a confidence in God; when we go through trials, and when we live the kind of radical life, then the world will say, 'Where does that come from?'"  And I thought, "He's right.  I am too comfortable, I am too content."  In fact, I should say here at the very beginning there needs to be a surgeon general warning on today's program. Dennis:          Mm-hm, I'll tell you that. Bob:                This program will create conviction in your soul and could bring you to a point of personal repentance yourself. Dennis:          It could bring you to the conclusion that you are dangerously close, too close, to the world. Bob:                Yeah, and it might bring you to the point where you need to get more dangerously involved in the Gospel.  And so let me introduce the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church and the person who has brought me under conviction many times, John Piper, who is back with us for a third day.  Welcome back to FamilyLife Today. John:              Thanks, I'm real glad to be here. Bob:                And this book, "Don't Waste Your Life," you felt so strongly about this book you went to the publisher and said, "I want to give 50,000 copies of this book away." John:              Yeah, we created a website just to give it away called "Don't Waste Your Life."  You can go there now, but we don't give them away anymore, because people took them, and we got a special deal because we just wanted to jumpstart the impact of the book and give as many away as we could, so we raised the money and people took them. Bob:                Gave away 50,000?  Do you have any idea – any of the stories of folks who wrote to get a copy of this book? John:              Not yet. Dennis:          John, at the end of the broadcast yesterday, we challenged the listener to consider writing a title deed and transferring ownership over to Jesus Christ to become a disciple, a learner, a follower, a pursuer of God and His agenda for their lives.  And this is really at the core of what "Don't Waste Your Life" is all about.  In fact, you quote 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, as really one of the seminal passages in the New Testament calling people to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Christ. John:              Yeah, the link that I heard, what you ended the program that way, was between signing your life off so that it belongs now to another and the glory of God, which is the ultimate value of the universe and the value that we live to display, and the link is made there in that verse in 1 Corinthians 6 because Paul says you are not your own, you were bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your bodies, which are God's.  So he made the link between being owned by God and glorifying God.  And so I think you're absolutely right – every person should be challenged to sign the title of their lives over to another who will not then say, "Ah, now I have a slave."  He will say, "No longer do I call you slaves.  I call you friends.  And now, come on, let's live together to magnify my glory in the world, thus says the Lord."                         So that was the link I heard, and I thought it was crucial because the cross is right at the center of this book, and that's what I thought it might be helpful to think about a little bit – in what way is the cross center, because this book grew out of the one-day event in Memphis, Tennessee, in the year 2000, I think it was, where I delivered a message called "Boasting Only in the Cross," and told the illustration of the shells and so on that we talked about a couple of days ago.  That message was taken from Galatians 6:14, which says, "God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world was crucified to me and I to the world," and I raised the question, "Really?  How can you only boast in the cross, only glory, only enjoy the cross?  What about your family?  What about your health?  What about your job?  I mean, aren't these good things that the Lord has given us?  Shouldn't we be glad that we have them?"  And my answer was, "Yes, you should be glad that you have them, but you should realize that as a sinner you only have them to enjoy forever because Christ died to take away the penalty of judgment and to become your righteousness and to become your sacrifice."                         So the cross is relevant for every single delight in my life.  If it's a beautiful blue sky day outside, and I have eyes to see it, I should be glad because of the cross, because apart from the cross I'd be in hell today.  He would snuff me out of existence because I deserved to be judged.  So the cross really is an absolutely central reality in everything I think about and everything we all do. Dennis:          And the passage that commands us as followers after Christ to take up our cross and follow after Him – what do you think He's challenging us to do at that point, John?  If the cross is to be central, and we're focusing on Christ-finished work, the love that is poured out there, the grace, forgiveness, the purpose, the peace with God, the relationship with God, all that's found in the cross, and He commands us to pick up our own cross, it seems to me at points it's almost like the fine print in the contract.  It's like now that he's got me, hello, there's a cross that I must carry. John:              Yeah, the whole text, in fact, uses the words "deny."  If anyone would be my disciple and deny himself and take up His cross and follow me, but the argument that he gives following that verse is "For he who seeks to save his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake and the Gospels will find it," and you do want to find it, don't you?  Therefore, lose it.                         So you've got this paradoxical call from the Lord saying, "Look, I have come to give you life.  I will give you everlasting joy in My presence at My Father's right hand if you join me on the Calvary road of self-denial and love."  Now, what does that mean?  I think it means assess all the things that stand in the way of making Jesus look more valuable than life and get rid of them.                         In other words, it might be your car, it might be your house, it might be the job you presently have.  Whatever is standing between you and an effective display of the superior worth of Jesus in your life, let it go.  That's what I think self-denial is. Dennis:          Isn't it interesting how we, as believers, can find something or someone or some activity that we enjoy and become enslaved to other than God?  It's just fascinating to me.  He made us to know Him, walk with Him, enjoy Him, interact with Him, and yet it's as though we're running from the hound of heaven in pursuit of all these different things, even the ministry.  And you've experienced this as a pastor, I'm sure – even the ministry can be addictive. John:              Right, it can be.  And how to move away from that without contradicting the goodness of creation is a challenge.  Because most of the idols that we have are good, they just shouldn't be idols.  And so to move away from them, you can swing to the ascetic side where you become a creation-denying person, and do you know who I got a lot of help from on that, is St. Augustine, and it's a prayer that he made.  He said, "He loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake."  I found that very helpful, because it's saying anything can be an idol, any good thing can be an idol.  "He loves thee too little who loves anything together with Thee," and then he qualifies it by saying, "Which he loves not for Thy sake," which means that any good thing that is an idol can be deposed from its idolatrous position and become an instrument of worship.  So you might be worshiping food, and the solution to that is not to starve yourself to death with an eating disorder, but rather to say it's a precious gift from God to be used in moderation for the joy it brings and the strength it brings, and I will now turn all my eating back in thanks and worship to God and eat in moderation.  That's the kind of thing that he wants the shift to involve. Bob:                We started talking about not the cross that we pick up and carry but about the one that He carried for us.  I don't know that I can go through the day consciously aware of the cross.  Is that something that comes to mind on a conscious level for you, hour by hour, throughout a day? John:              I wish it came more often.  I think, to be honest there, I'd have to say no.  But my prayer is that when Paul said, "God forbid that I should glory, exalt, boast, rejoice, save in the cross, he meant, I think, number one, the cross bought all my joys as a believer.  It bought all my joys.  Therefore, as I rejoice in anything, that joy should be attached to the cross.  It doesn't, I'm sure, have to consciously be at every moment but probably more often than we do.  If we could realize the magnitude in the history, in the universe, of what happened when Christ, the Son of God, died in the place of sinners and provided a righteousness for us ungodly people, I think we would be more ravished with it than we are, and it would be more constant in our thinking than it is.  So, to be honest, no, but to express my longing, I wish it were. Dennis:          And so, for you, when you say, "I want to glory in the cross, I want to focus on the cross, I want to be caught up in the cross," you are caught up with the presence of God, His righteousness, His incarnation, His death on the cross on behalf of your sins, His burial and resurrection and ascension into heaven.  Have I done a good job of paraphrasing or describing what you are caught up with as we describe the cross?  Because a lot of people wear it as jewelry, and it's an event.  It's not just an event, though, is it, John? John:              That's a very helpful observation for the radio, especially, because the word "cross" might mean something you're crucified on, or it might mean a piece of jewelry, or it might mean the last name of somebody you know, but you summed it up – in redemptive historical terms, that's right – Jesus Christ the Son of God came into the world, He lived a perfect life becoming a holy, perfect lamb of God, He laid Himself out voluntarily to be slaughtered on a cross.  He poured out his forgiveness on us – "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing" – He breathed his last breath in obedience to the Father so that He was a perfectly righteous substitute, and then He raised Himself from the dead.  I say that, even though the Father raised Him, it says in Romans 6, because He said, "Nobody takes my life from me.  I'll lay it down, and if I lay it down, I can take it again."  Jesus Almighty raised Himself from the dead, He was taken up, sits at the right hand of God, intercedes for us.  When I say "the cross," I mean that great redemptive work from incarnation to the installation at God's right hand.  Yeah, that's really crucial to see. Dennis:          And to that person who is listening to us right now, who does not have the awe, who does not have the wonder, who looks at the cross and said, "Yeah, that was an event in history," but who doesn't know the Savior, who doesn't know God's forgiveness, the peace with God that passes all understanding, what would you say to that person right now?   John:              Depending on how much they know, I would say, "Get to know Him by looking at the Scriptures, reading the Gospels, and once you see Him crucified, risen, then do what the Bible says – "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved."  And if you say, "Believe on Him," what does that mean?  What does that involved – believe on Him?                         I would say take these three words – it means trust Him or accept Him or embrace Him as Savior from your sin and judgment, as Lord of your life who has the right to dictate what is healthy and good and right for you to do, and the third and maybe just as important as the other three is embrace Him as your treasure, because I find that many people today will talk about Jesus as Savior or Jesus as Lord, and it's such worn-out language, they don't really realize the impact it must have in the transformation of their values.  But when I say, "Is He your treasure?  Are you accepting Him as your treasure," to as many as received Him, to them gave me power to become the children of God, receive Him as what, that I say, "Treasure, the treasure of your life."  Then they say, "Whoa, maybe He's not."                         And so I would say to every listener, get to know Him well enough to see that He is a Savior.  He is a wonderful Lord.  He's not a hard taskmaster, and He is a treasure that is so valuable that you can "let goods and kindred go, this mortal life, old soul, the body they may kill, God's truth abided still," and you can live a radical God-glorifying lifestyle because He's the treasure that will never fail. Dennis:          We have people listening from all types of denominations, and when you just went through what you explained, immediately they thought, "Well, do I need to pray to be able to move into that right relationship with God?  Do I need to kneel?  Do I need to go to a church or a cathedral?  Where do I need to go, how do I go about establishing this right relationship with God?" John:              One of the most beautiful things to me about the coming of Jesus Christ into the world is that He de-localized and de-externalized worship.  Because when He met the woman at the well, and she said, "Well, now, help me to understand this worship issue, Jesus.  Do we worship in this mountain or do we worship in Jerusalem?"  And Jesus said, "The day is coming and now is when you will not worship in this mountain or in Jerusalem, but you will worship in spirit and in truth."                         Notice the shift in categories from geography to spirit, and the reason he shifted from mountain in Jerusalem to truth in spirit is because truth in spirit can be anywhere, anytime.  In fact, Jesus Himself becomes the new temple.  Christianity is the one religion that has no geographic center.  We have no shrine.  You don't have to go anywhere or move one single muscle to get right with God through Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ is here, now, whenever He is called upon.                          And so I would say, "Call upon the name of the Lord, and you will be saved" – Romans 10:13.  And you can do that without moving your tongue.  A paralyzed person lying in bed unable to move eyelash or tongue can call upon the name of the Lord in their heart, and He promises you, "Call upon me as Savior, as Lord, as treasure, and you'll have all your sins forgiven, and you will have a righteousness imputed to you.  You'll have a home in heaven with me forever, because you've just honored me as a great Savior." Dennis:          And what I would say to the listener after the compelling picture you've presented to them of the love of God, poured out in the person of Jesus Christ, after we've spent an entire broadcast describing the cross and how attractive it is – if right now that picture, the person of Jesus Christ and all the cross represents is attractive to you as Savior, Lord, and treasure, right now, don't drive another mile, don't do another activity at work or at home or wherever you are listening to this broadcast.  Right now stop and make it right with God.  Do business with Him. John:              And, you know, I would just add when you use the word "attractive," they're going to feel that as yes and no, aren't they? Dennis:          Uh-huh, they are. John:              The cross is horrific.  It is ugly.  In fact, we've seen it recently in the movie.  It's really ugly.  Mel Gibson's, "The Passion of Christ," portrays Gethsemane and the cross for what it really was and yet in that very substitutionary ugliness is the attraction.  I mean, my only hope is that that didn't happen to me, it happened to Him for me, and so I'm both repulsed by it.  I've talked to people who say they can't watch more than a third of that movie, it's so horrible, and yet others are drawn to that movie because that it happened is my only hope.                         And so I hope that my effort to describe the meaning of that suffering will really help people see what that's all about. Bob:                You know, I was in the audience with about 3,000 others back in April when you spoke at the "Together for the Gospel" conference in Louisville, and you talked about how the cross is really the centerpiece of the Gospel, and if we're going to present the Gospel, we have to present the reality of the cross.  And if that's the centerpiece of our life, then our life is not going to be a wasted life.                         I really want to encourage our listeners, get a copy of John's book, "Don't Waste Your Life," which we have in our FamilyLife Resource Center.  This would be a good book to read together with your teenagers over the summer or just hand it off to them as a reading assignment and pay them $15, $20, whatever it takes, to get them to read it.  Maybe there's some other incentive you can use to get them to go through this book, and have them write a book report on it and report back to you on what they learned from the book.                         We have it, again, in our FamilyLife Resource Center.  Go to our website, FamilyLife.com, and in the center of the home page, you'll see a little button that says "Go."  Click on that button, it will take you right to the page where you can get more information about John's book, "Don't Waste Your Life."  You can order online if you'd like.  Again, it's FamilyLife.com or you can call 1-800-358-6329; that's 1-800-F-as-in-family, L-as-in-life, and then the word TODAY, and someone on our team can let you know how you can have a copy of this book sent out to you.                         I've already mentioned this week that my daughter had a chance to hear you speak at one of the Passion Conferences a few years ago.  In fact, she heard you twice – one year – I think it was in Texas, and the next year it was in Tennessee, and she brought back CDs, and I listened to them as well, and both of us profited from your teaching ministry during those conferences.                         She also heard Beth Moore speak at those same events with you and was struck by Beth's passion that our lives would be cross-centered, spiritually centered and, Dennis, you and I had the opportunity to talk to Beth several months ago.  We talked about her marriage and her family.  She's been married to her husband Keith for 25 years and, of course, tens of thousands of women have done her Bible studies in churches all around the country.                          Our conversation with her, I described it to my wife later and said she was one of the most highly caffeinated people I've ever met.  It was an energetic conversation, a lot of fun, and this month we'd like to make a CD of that conversation available to any of our listeners who can help support the ministry of FamilyLife Today with a donation of any amount.  We are a listener-supported ministry, and we depend on your financial support in order to continue the ministry of FamilyLife Today.                         If you can help us with a donation of any amount, you can request the CD of our conversation with Beth Moore.  You can go online at FamilyLife.com, fill out the donation form that you find there.  As you do that, you'll come to a keycode box, and if you type the word "free" into that keycode box, we'll know that you're interested in getting a copy of the CD with Beth Moore or call us at 1-800-F-as-in-family, L-as-in-life, and then the word TODAY, and make a donation over the phone and, again, mention you'd like the CD with Beth Moore, and we'll be happy to send it out to you.  It's our way of saying thanks for your financial support of the ministry of FamilyLife Today.  We appreciate hearing from you.                         Well, I hope you have a great weekend.  I hope you and your family are able to worship together this weekend, and I hope you can be back with us on Monday when we're going to begin to look at the kind of a foundation that needs to be poured underneath a family to make sure that it grows to become a spiritually strong family.  I hope you can join us to be part of that conversation.                         I want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.  On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.  We'll see you next time for another edition of FamilyLife Today.                          FamilyLife Today is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.   We are so happy to provide these transcripts to you.  However, there is a cost to transcribe, create, and produce them for our website.  If you've benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would   you consider donating today to help defray the costs?   Copyright © FamilyLife.  All rights reserved. www.FamilyLife.com      

2019-12-08 - Pastor Aaron Smith

Today's show is part 4 of our social security discussion. Our topic today is spousal benefit options. John and Nick will walk us through the ins and outs of this facet of social security and offer their advice.Helpful Information:PFG Website: https://www.pfgprivatewealth.com/Contact: 813-286-7776Email: info@pfgprivatewealth.comTranscript of Today's Show:----more----Mark: Hey everybody, welcome into another edition of Retirement Planning Redefined. Thanks as always for checking out and tuning into the podcast with John and Nick, financial advisors at PFG Private wealth. Gents, what's going on? John, I'll start with you. How are you buddy?John: I'm doing good. I'm doing good. How are you doing Mark?Mark: I'm hanging in there. How's the little one's doing? I know they, you had some cold running through the house. Everybody getting better?John: They're getting much better, which is good. No more getting coughed in my face a lot less this week, so yeah, that's a good thing.Mark: And Nick, how are you my friend?Nick: Good, good. Looking forward to the holidays coming up here and all kinds of good food.Mark: Oh yeah, yeah. Are you a Thanksgiving kind of guy?Nick: I have become more so after my brother started deep frying turkeys a couple of years ago.Mark: Okay, good. So no YouTube videos of that now, so just be careful. We don't want to see any flying turkeys.Nick: He's got it all under control.Mark: Fantastic. Awesome. Yeah. At the time of this podcast taping it is just about Thanksgiving. It's just about here on us. And so we're going to continue on with our a multi-part series we've been doing about Social Security. So hopefully you've been checking these out and if you have, great, if you have not, make sure you go to the podcast page, you can find it on their website at pfgprivatewealth.com that's P F G private wealth.com and you'll find the podcast page. You can subscribe to it on Apple or Google or Spotify. I think there's other couple of choices there as well.Mark: So make sure you do, a lot of good content that we're discussing. This is a multi-part series all around Social Security and part four here is going to be on Social Security, spousal benefits, not deep frying turkeys that'll come another day, but a Social Security spousal benefits. So guys, let's get into this and just kind of break down some information for us on, I guess, what we're entitled to or how this whole thing kind of works.Nick: Sure. So just kind of a recap on, you know, how eligibility wears for Social Security. Essentially somebody needs to work, you know, for 40 quarters, pay payroll taxes for those 40 quarters and they become eligible for their own benefit. However, you know, one of the common questions that we may get is one spouse stayed at home, one spouse worked. The spouse that stayed at home didn't get their 40 quarters. And they want to know are they eligible for any sort of benefit.Nick: So it's important to understand that, you know, as long as the couple is married, the person that has not qualified for the benefit is eligible for a spousal benefit. And that spousal benefit is essentially calculated by looking at the full retirement amount benefit for the spouse that was working and multiplying by 50%. So, that's the starting line. That's kind of how you understand how they calculate that. And the reason that they did create that was understanding that households, you know, it's not always cut and dry from the standpoint of one spouse is working. There's obviously value to the other spouse staying home, helping to raise a family and they want to protect that spouse in situations like divorce or other sorts of scenarios by providing them with this kind of caveat for how the benefits work.Mark: Okay. And yeah, so the simple way to break it down. So give us some more, John, give us some more things to think about here when we're talking about the eligibility of spouses, maybe some rules, things of that nature.John: Yeah. So basically, some of the rules before you can collect a spousal benefit, the primary worker must have filed. So wait until the spouse actually draws and then you can go ahead and take your spousal benefit. Spouses can actually start taking it at age 62, that's the soonest that you can start taking.Nick: So a kind of a good example of that is, so let's say, Mr. Smith has been the worker and Mrs. Smith stayed at home with the family and raised a family. And a couple of years ago, two years ago, she started working, you know, so she's not eligible for her own benefit. So Mr. Smith is going to continue to work and Mrs. Smith is trying to figure out, "Hey, I'm also 62, can I file for benefits?" So the answer is not until Mr. Smith essentially retires and fights for his benefit. So that's where the restrictions on the ages kind of come to play.Nick: And when John referred to that primary worker must filed for their benefits, there used to be some other rules in play where you can kind of navigate around, but they really cut down and things are a lot more restricted than they used to be.John: Yeah. And just to kind of give some numbers to that, let's say Mr Smith's full retirement benefit was 2,400, Mrs Smith's spousal benefit would be, as Nick mentioned, 50% of that sort of 1200. And again, so her spousal benefit is based off of his full retirement amount benefit and not what he actually gets. So example of that would be, you know, when she goes to draw, let's say if he'd started taking early and he get his full 2,400, she's not penalize by that. Her 50% is still the 1200, assuming she draws at her full retirement age.John: If she decides to take early at 62 she will actually have a reduction of her spousal benefit.Nick: It is important for people to understand that, you know, there's the dates on when people start to receive the benefits are calculated, or factored in I should say, for each person. Though it factored in potentially when Mr. Smith files and starts collecting and it's also factored in when Mrs. Smith files and starts collecting. And so there's a lot of different variations on how that works. And because there are some different variations, we typically recommend to people that, you know, I was helping you kind of walk through the different, let's test out different scenarios and figure which one makes the most sense because there are so many factors that go into the decision.Nick: We understand a lot of people like to just, you know, they want a cut and dry answer and unfortunately or fortunately, the positive to there not being a cut and dry answer is that, you know, oftentimes they can be strategic and find something that works better for them and if it were cut and dry. But it does take a factoring in a lot of other things to make the right decision.John: Yeah. At first the answers to certain questions are, it depends.Mark: Yeah, that's the case a lot of times I think.John: One question we actually get a lot and we talked about in the last sessions was, you know, if you draw Social Security after full retirement age, you actually get a percent increase in your benefit. That does not work for spousal benefits. So if the spouse didn't want to take or they want to defer their spousal benefit, they do not get the 8% increase on it.Nick: Yeah. So, we have seen that mistake happen, you know, the primary person has decided, "Hey, let's wait to collect the benefit" because they are under the assumption that not only will their benefit grow by 8%, but the spousal benefit that their spouse will take will grow, but that's not the case. Only their benefit grows, the spousal benefit does not. So when we run kind of break even calculations, it can often makes sense to just have them start collecting so that they can get both of them.John: Yeah. And then, you know, it's important understand also for to be eligible for spousal benefits, you have to be married at least one year. So can't be a just getting married and after six months started drawing on Social Security for a spouse.Mark: They're not going to just make it too easy for you anyway. All right, so that's some good rules. That's some good basic information there. What are some strategies? Give us a few things to think about when it comes to the spousal benefit options.John: Yeah. And like we said, everyone's situation is different. It really depends and it's important to customize what works for you. And I think we offered in the last session, but if anyone wants it, we actually are working on a Social Security machination strategy, which we're happy to do so. But one thing that we'll do with some spousal strategies, depending on the situation, we might have one spouse claim early and the other spouse, depending on the situation, you know example of that would be, let's say we have a high earner and they want to protect the spouse in case of a premature death. So we might go ahead and have the high earner, who's Social Security benefit is higher, actually delay theirs. So, if they were to pass away prematurely, that spouse can actually jump onto a higher amount, high Social Security benefit, which is nice strategy to protect the surviving spouse.John: I've used that a couple of times when there's an age gap on the spouses or if I'm there, you know, sometimes clients will come in and they're just concerned saying, "Hey, I'm really concerned something could happen to me. Is my spouse going to be okay?" We'll go ahead and implement some strategies like that.Nick: Another time where that can be used is if the primary earner has worked at in an occupation where they're eligible for a pension and they're going to receive a pension and they, you know, kind of through planning or whatever it may be. Or like the example of John mentioned where on of the spouses is maybe quite a bit younger, so when the other spouse is quite a bit younger, it pulls down the pension amount that the primary person would receive. So to offset that a little bit, we might recommend, "Well, hey, instead of doing a hundred percent survivor benefit on the pension, let's do a 50% so that you can have a higher pay out. But to offset that, what we'll do is we'll have you wait to take Social Security until 70." So the pension amount that the spouse would receive would be less, but we can offset that waiting on Social Security a little bit and still have more income coming in the household.Mark: Gotcha. Okay. All right. So a couple of different strategies there to consider and I think a lot of times people sometimes don't plan ahead for that part. It's like we're sitting there talking about different, when you're getting your retirement plan done, I think sometimes we look at it overall and say, "Well, we want to turn Social Security on as soon as we can and yada, yada yada." Instead of saying, "Okay, how can we most maximize our Social Security for both of us in an overall inclusive retirement plan?"Mark: So it's certainly important to do. And as John mentioned, you know, they can run that Social Security maximization if you have some questions on that. If you want to get that done or have a chat with them, give them a call at (813) 286-7776 that's (813) 286-7776 and you can also check them out online at pfgprivatewealth.com.Mark: As I mentioned before, there are financial advisors here in the Tampa Bay area, so if you have some questions about that, again, as always when you're listening to this show or any other show before you take any action, always check with a qualified professional about your specific situation because everybody's, it can be so different, so make sure you have that chat.Mark: All right guys, I think in the interest of time we can probably squeeze in a couple more things. Can you give us a few things to think about on divorced spousal situations?John: Yeah, so it is important for people to understand that they are still eligible for a spousal benefit if they were married for 10 years and they are not remarried. So a scenario that we may see with that is they were previously married to a high earner, maybe they worked a lower paying job, they were married for 25 years, became divorced, they went back to work to cover expenses, et cetera. They may be in a relationship currently, but they're not officially married and we kind of go through calculations and we determined that, "Hey, the spousal benefit that you could receive from you former spouse would be higher than the benefit that you would receive on your own and or higher than the benefit that you would receive if you were to marry your current partner." And obviously a lot of other factors go into that.John: But, from a purely financial decision, that could work out really well because again, you cannot collect that spousal benefit from a former spouse if you are remarried. We have had questions along the lines of, you know, "Hey, I was married twice. Both were over 10 years. Am I restricted to choose just the most recent one?" And the answer is no, you can pick the higher. We had a nice young lady one time that had four different ten year marriages and she asked if she could add them all up together and unfortunately you can't, it's just the higher.Nick: But she had a lot of options.John: Yeah. It's good to have options.Mark: Like window shopping apparently.John: So, yeah. So those are a couple of things to keep in mind.Nick: Yeah. And one question we get a lot with divorced clients, they say, "How soon can I draw on the ex-spouse's Social Security?" And really you can draw on an ex-spouse once that ex-spouse hits age 62. Unlike a kind of a normal situation, when we wait until the spouse draws Social Security. They put this rule in really to protect the ex spouse because we've seen scenarios where certain people might delay drawing to intentionally hurt the other spouse and so they can't draw on them. So basically the rule is once the ex-spouse hits over 62, you can actually start drawing on the spousal benefits for divorcees.John: Yeah. It does not matter whether or not they're collecting. And also some people are happy about this, some people are not. But when you do get that benefit from a former spouse, again it does not affect their own benefit. There is no negative impact to doing that to them.Mark: They don't even know about it.Nick: They would have no idea. And it actually wouldn't affect any new spouse for somebody. So we get that question quite a bit where it says, "Hey, an ex-spouse draws on my Social Security. Does that affect my new wife or husband?" The answer is no.Mark: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And there's interesting on the time period on that, it's funny that you kind of brought that up. My mother, who's 78, actually was given that information and did a refile with the Social Security for her first husband. She was married twice as well. And so yes, she was able to do that and they hadn't been married in like 40 years, but they were married over 10 years. So they were like, "Yep, that's something you can do." So I was like, "Okay, well knock yourself out."Mark: So yeah, it's interesting. There's definitely some few things to consider in there. Different kinds of a spousal benefit options, divorce spousal benefit options. So again, a lot of it comes down to having a conversation about your specific situation with your advisor when it comes to Social Security, because there are a lot of things in Social Security obviously, which is why we're on a four part series, going to be a five part series actually around this.Mark: So with that said, I think we're going to depart this week on the program. I'll say John and Nick, thanks for your time. As always, we appreciate it. Folks, make sure you reach out to them, give them a call if you've got some questions at (813) 286-7776. (813) 286-7776, again, that number to call. And as always, make sure you subscribe to the podcast. Retirement Planning Redefined. You can find it on Apple, Google or Spotify.Mark: You can also just find it on their website at pfgprivatewealth.com and as I said at the beginning of this, that it was prior to Thanksgiving when we were taping this. Now we'll actually air it after Thanksgiving. So we certainly hope that everybody had a great holiday season. And we'll see you for more of our conversation around Social Security through the month of December, right here on Retirement Planning Redefined. For John, for Nick, we'll see you next time.

0:00 Jimmy and Johnny do their first pod away from 499 Danforth Jewellers; their first call-in | 2:30 Getting into Leafs-Avalanche post-game analysis | 4:45 Tyson Burried It | The shackles are off | 7:00 Is Morgan Rielly playing terribly or is he tired? | 7:30 New stats dog in training - Athena being trained by Gizmo | 8:15 Morgan tries to do a little too much and is compensating for Codi Ceci | Jimmy doesn’t Rielly is injured | 11:00 So pleased to see Sheldon take timeout during Leafs powerplay to give first unit a breather | Jimmy makes great point also that Leafs were playing at altitude in Colorado | Why we need home ice - if we play Colorado in finals | John One pleads the fifth due to Scotch effect | Proof is in the podcast | 19:00 What a difference one person (one coach) makes | Under Babcock would have lost Colorado game by three | 20:00 Raptors played well vs Atlanta | 21:00 Old Vince Carter didn’t do too much | 23:00 Switching gears to NFL. Rumours of Patriots not covering spread vs Cowboys but Jimmy says it won’t happen | Johnny says he will use Jimmy’s bet tip to make a bet on Pats with his Bet365 account | Ms. T. and Mr. X will soon be appearing to provide NFL picks | 27:00 Leafs don’t play until Wednesday | Time off for Coach Keefe to work with players | Must win over Detroit and next two games vs Buffalo | Jimmy would play Kasimir in first game of back-to-backs vs Buffalo | 30:30 Nylander’s value is going up | Won’t miss Nylander when he’s gone | 32:00 Raptors face Sixers Monday | Chris Boucher really good game vs Hawks | Siakam 34 points and back to his old self | Freddie Van Vleet 24 points ...   Jimmy's Gems   Part of the Best Player in the World Podcast Network   Individual views expressed during podcasts are not necessarily those of Best Player in the World Inc.

01:00 Special guest… John Three joins John One and John Two for beer, roti, scotch and conversation | The Firing Line | 1:45 Announcing that Toronto Sun reporter Lance Hornby and Toronto Star reporter Kevin McGran will be appearing on the pod very shortly | 2:30 Babcock Shackles not available at Danforth Jewellers | Topic 1: The Firing of Don Cherry | John One thinks that the firing of further polarized Canadian society | 06:00 John Three sat on plane with Ron and Don Cherry on the way to Heritage Classic in Regina | Opportunity to do something different | 9:00 Back in day bar would turn up Coaches Corner | 11:45 Pochettino is like Babcock - players not listening, mutiny | 17:00 Tyson Barrie looks like a new guy | 19:00 Babcock is the first coach to go down; on same day November as Blues Mike Yeo last season | 20:30 John One thinks Dubas trying to do something revolutionary and barring injuries will go to final; Leafs will easily defeat Boston | 22:30 Oilers and McDavid on the TV | John Three would love to see Leafs style of hockey win the Cup | 24:30 McDavid is best player since Bobby Orr | NHL playoffs are a different game | 25:00 During playoffs the whistle gets put away | Soccer is so Brad Marchant: smart cheats | Why Kadri gets it wrong | Marchand plays his opponents like a violin | Leo Komorov | Buyfuglien | 33:00 Clutch and Grab Era | 33:30 The Trap; the sound of the cork being twisted off a bottle of scotch | 35:30 Refereeing in Leafs Boston series was appalling | 36:30 John One and Mario: NHL is Bush League | Mario as Jesus | Gretzky never got hit | 40:00 Lindros physical to his own detriment | Lindroses played like they were invincible | 42:30 Brain injuries bad for stars | 43:30 Kerfoot’s dirty hit in Colorado | Of three fired Pochettino the best to go out for steak dinner with? | Leafs an ideological build like Man City and Liverpool | 47:00 Idea of being shackled by your coach | Have to sacrifice to win | 49:00 Crosby does the little things; most talented grinder ever; works ass of in off season | 51:00 John Three says culture of Patriots comes from players | 54:30 Babcock won with stacked teams | John One winning teams need big big stars | 56:00 Talent and leadership are different | 57:00 Tavares contract may be the Leafs worst and would have played only on 70s Canadiens third line | Tavares the safe bet - very MLSE and very Babcock | Take the C from Tavares | 59:00 John Two’s view of Leafs from Vancouver | 1:02 Shanahan a highly evolved thinker should come for Deep Dive and enjoy some McCallan’s | 1:03:00 John Three loves BP necklace bling | 1:04:00 Lance Hornby coming up next week and then Kevin McGran | Win the Cup for Lance! ... The Two Johns Part of the Best Player in the World Podcast Network Individual views expressed during podcasts are not necessarily those of Best Player in the World Inc.

"2 John" is the fourteenth sermon in this series. 2 John is a letter that came soon after 1 John, but this letter is to a local congregation. Where as the first letter was written to a region, this is written to ONE CHURCH within that region.

0:00 Best Player in the Word Deep Dive recording at Rooster Coffee House in Toronto on a day with TFC, the Leafs and Raptors in action | 1:50 John One thinks Toronto FC repeated the tendency from first championship loss to Seattle - did not take the risks, not aggressive enough, did not go for it, despite dominating play and being “the better team” | 4:00 TFC NOT about being big man but about simply being the goal scorer TFC needed | 5:33 Missing Giovinco | 7:00 third Seattle goal result of goaltender decision | 9:30 TFC could’ve won three titles if best team had won | 11:40 Important that owner Larry Tannenbaum attended the game - MLSE ownership actually cares about winning along with making money | 14:15 Edson Cavani to TFC? Really? | 16:30 The importance of Michael Bradley’s winning mentality; tough to replace | 21:30 Tyson Barrie looks bamboozled | 27:30 the #firebabcock hashtag and Dubas’ analytics driven view of how to win | The Athletic $6 per month | 42:30 Elephant in the room with Marner: 4-6 weeks out? | John Two likes the Nylander for Domi deal idea | 56:30 Auston Matthews is making $3M more a year than Sid Crosby | Thanks to our sponsor Danforth Jewellers

Welcome back to the Bench Mob Podcast!!! This week's Topics: 1. Is John one of Dem Boyz??? 2. John tries to roast Trevor's League Pass habits 3. North Korean Basketball 4. Did Will Smith kill Tupac??? 5. NHL breaking news 6. Pull or Pass #LacedUpSports #LacedUpNation #BenchMob #BenchMobPodcast #PullOrPass #NorthKorea #NorthKoreanBasketball #LeaguePass #NHL #WillSmith Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IayT52CriEB6kx2Ev1sEI SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/lacedupsports Google Music Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Iccgc6flh7ayf62uqcd5hdpfc3a?t=Laced_Up_Sports

0:00 Once again Jimmy Gems starts off a pod with a musical reference. Last time it was Steve Miller, this time it’s Kenny G | 1:45 Kenny G is the best saxophone player in the world | 4:00 Jimmy can do just about anything humanly possible with jewellery | 5:00 Jimmy’s joy: fullfilling people’s dreams and putting them into reality | 6:00 In 33 years of being a jeweller Jimmy has cut thousands of rings off thousands of rings for his customers | 7:30 Half of Jim’s prediction has come true: Leafs beat San Jose last night. The other half? That the Leafs will beat the Habs in Montreal tonight | 8:00 Brutal Leafs goaltending last time Habs were in Toronto | 9:00 Gizmo the Stats Dog says it will be Hutchinson in goal tonight | 10:00 Leafs can get more out of Tyson Barrie | 11:00 Barrie is thinking too much | 11:45 Jake Muzzin is finding his way finally | 12:30 Jake Muzzin has same amount of points as Nylander | 13:30 Pastrnak is a better player - he finds space where the other 88 Nylander cannot | 14:30 Shout out to Jimmy’s friend Sean: would take two Bruins: McAvoy and Pastrnak | 17:00 Trade Nylander for 2 rentals; reminds Jimmy of Errol Thompson | 18:00 John One proposes that when Hyman and Tavares return and the Leafs stay healthy, Nylander could end up on the third line and look so expensive there that Jimmy’s idea of trading him will come true | Mikheyev and Timashov less of a liablity than Nylander | 22:00 Patrick Marleau was a great guy | 23:00 Babcock should instill in players minds every single game that they have a lot of work to do | Anything less than excellence is UNACCEPTABLE | 24:00 Back-to-backs are a built-in excuse | 28:00 Biased refereeing in Montreal tonight | 30:30 Jimmy continues to predict Leafs will beat Montreal tonight and that their new rivals may actually be the young and talented Buffalo Sabres | 31:00 Some fine people from Buffalo just shopped at Danforth Jewellers. The gentleman, Ari, actually wore #6 for the Buffalos Jr Sabres back in the day and used to get handed down to him Jim Schoenfeld’s huge used jerseys | Days of Gil Perreault and Rene Robert | Jimmy’s neighbour Punch Imlach also spent time in Buffalo | Ari lives around the corner from legendary coach Scotty Bowman who still makes his home in Buffalo | Gizmo the Stats Dog finds the info we are looking for: Bowman won 9 Stanley Cups | 37:00 Bowman chose to coach teams loaded with the best players, the most talent | 40:00 Al Arbour. Nice guy coaches don’t win Cups | 40:30 Jimmy wants to design Stanley Cup ring | 42:00 The clock is ticking on Babcock at Danforth Jewellers…

John One and John Two return with another Deep Dive from a basement somewhere in Toronto,#WeTheChamps, Canada. The theme of this pod is “Chemistry” as the two Johns enjoy a beer and some pasta while watching TFC vs NYCFC and the Nationals vs the Astros |Time Stamps: 0:00 Fall time - the best time of the year to watch the best players | 2:00 Types of players who develop chemistry with their teammates | 2:30 TFC win a penalty and Pozuelo scores it | 5:00 Chemistry is: 1. Who drives other players; 2. Binding players together; 3. Telepathic connection: Vancouver Canucks twins, the Sedins | 8:00 Magical players; duos and trios. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews | Brett Hull and Adam Oates | 12:15 Chemistry between Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner? | 14:00 Chemistry between Messi, Suarez and Neymar | 17:00 The chemistry that Kawhi Leonard introduced to the Raptors | 24:30 How being unselfish contributes to team chemistry |  28:00 Do what’s required and do it with humility | 35:00 How great players have changed their games and reached higher levels, ie: hockey’s Steve Yzerman | 47:00 Linchpins: Duncan Keith, Zdeno Chara |  49:00 How far can Raptors go without linchpin Kawhi Leonard | 50:45 the Best Player in the World necklace and where to get it | 53:00 Managers don’t matter much in baseball | 59:00 How great was Guy Lafleur and could those great Canadiens teams have won without him? | 1:00:00 Rocket Richard, Believeau | Mikheyev = Mahovlich? | 1:04:00 Don’t do what Neymar does | 1:07:00 What THIS is all about: the players…

Best Player in the World returns to Danforth Jewellers to get some more gems from Jimmy the Jeweller, who takes exception to the refereeing vs the Bruins, assesses Leafs players performances, explains what he expects vs Columbus and Boston again away at the Garden. | Time Stamps: 1:20 Phantom referee calls against Leafs in Bruins game | 2:30 NHL referees favour Bruins and their style of play | 3:15 Leafs GM Kyle Dubas was visibly upset by Leafs goalie Freddy Andersen being rammed by Bruin Backes |  6:00 Chara has lost a step, Coyle not a bona fide NHL defenceman | 7:00 Jimmy calls a Toronto - Buffalo/Montreal first round playoff match up | 7:40 John One says Bruins are not so much “tough” as they are cheats | 8:45 Timashov looks like seasoned veteran who plays a North American style | 10:30 Matthews did not shine vs Boston and Jimmy thinks something is up between him and coach Babcock | Morgan Rielly had great game | Holl had a couple of good simple shifts | 13:00 Marincin’s mistakes | 15:20 Marchand has lost a step. Leafs hit the Bruins | Bruins McAvoy didn’t do much | 17:00 Shanahan needs to address referee bias with the NHL before playoffs begin | 19:15 Rielly post-Bruins game said that “this is just the beginning of what we want to do.” | 20:15 Nylander was non-existent | 22:00 What is Shore’s first name? Jimmy admits to not  following the fringe players very much :)  More concerned about core players (gems) | 23:45 If Leafs had Dermott, Hyman and Tavares out last season they would have lost to the Bruins | 24:30 Leafs need to step on Columbus’ neck from get go | 25:00 Best Chocolate in the World?: Godiva? Leonidas? Nestle? Jimmy’s sweet tooth | 27:00 Toronto needs to exploit Columbus’ lack of talent | Jimmy would play Freddy back to back vs Columbus and Boston | 29:30 Allowing over 40 shots vs Boston a big no-no. Andersen played a great game | On Tuesday night in Boston Leafs need to make a statement; a very big game. Last year Leafs didn’t have Barrie, Timashov, Mikheyev | 31:45 Jimmy likes Kerfoot better than Kadri; very smart | 33:30 The Raptor’s basketball is not the Leafs ball. Leafs need to get on the ball and stop mental lapses | 35:00 Jimmy’s special realtionship with the city of Boston and their fans :)

In this episode of Jimmy's Gems, Jimmy reacts to the Leafs loss to the St. Louis Blues and doesn't hold back, calling into question the Leafs' culture and insisting that winning needs to become a daily habit for his beloved team. Time Stamps: 0:30: It’s about f*** winning | 2:30 Rielly’s mistake | 3:30 Mental errors costing points | 3:45 The habit of winning | 3:55 It’s a culture | 6:00 Goaltender Hutchinson doesn’t have what it takes | 6:30 Kapanen’s mistake on Blues’ winning goal | 7:00 Make it a a culture of winning | 8:00 Curtis McElhinney painful to let him go | 9:30 Justin Pogge | 10:00 Championship calibre team needs strong leadership | 12:00 Unacceptable loses | 12:45 Did Tavares have a pulse in Blues game? | 13:30 Gilmour the Killer. Habit of winning needs to start now | 14:15 Leafs culture of passive aggressiveness needs to change | 16:30 Leafs do miss Hyman and Dermott | 17:15 Jimmy predicts Nylandler will be traded this season | 20:00 It matters RIGHT NOW. John One talks about how Sir Alex Ferguson used to blast his best players and captains | 21:00 Going to work every day | 22:00 Game 3 and 4 losses do matter a lot | 23:30 We don’t have any legends. No one since Gilmour | 22:00 Game 3 and 4 losses matter a lot | 23:30 We don’t have any legends. Closest was Doug Gilmour | 25:10 Tavares needs to take page out of Gilmour’s book or Sittler’s | 27:00 Sending a message to the Leafs. It’s the Raptors basketball | 29:20 Cosistency in business because you often get only one shot. You can’t take a day off | 31:00 Is Tavares himself suffering because of the culture? | 32:00 Babcock seems to be making excuses for the players | 33:20 The time is now. RIGHT NOW. That we’re talking about games 3 and 4 mattering - there’s something there | Greek proverb: The fish stinks from the head. Babcock won’t get many more chances |  40:00 Shouldn’t the striving for excellence be happening on a daily basis? |  41:20 It is the coach’s job to prevent a loss in any possible way | 42:00 It’s worse when your coach tells you you did a lot of good things when you’re losing | 42:45 The bureaucratic BS with Bell and Rogers | 43:30 The tone of the team is Shanahan’s responsibility | 44:00 Mark Hunter brought in Marner. Marner is super competitive; intensity of Marner | 46:00 the time is now. RIGHT NOW. THIS GAME. Right now wasn’t agains the Canadiens or Blues | 47:00 Call out to protect the Leafs house. Every night | 48:00 Marner and Matthews haven’t take a night off yet | 48:30 Freddy Andersen has “it”…

As they watch the Leafs give up another lead and lose at home to the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues, John One and John Two examine whether even the great Lionel Messi could solve the problems at Manchester United, and finish up discussing the dire situation Connor McDavid finds himself in in Edmonton with a dysfunctional Oilers organization. 

In this grand opening Best Player in the World podcast John One and John Two go deep in discussing sports shrines, heroic players and captaincy. Time Stamps: 0:30 The lonely podcaster finds a friend to talk to. 1:10 Spain. Barcelona. The Camp Nou. Gaudi. The differences and similarities between religious and sports shrines. 5:00 John2's Camp Nou tour. The "More than a club" slogan. 8:00 John1 on his Anfield tour. 12:00 The importance of stadium architecture. 15:00 Fenway Group's decision to add to rather replace Anfield. 17:00 Iconography in stadiums. 19:30 Tim Leiweke's initial view of Maple Leafs' photographs. 25:00 The Camp Nou tour ends in the Barca Shop. 32:00 The importance of Messi to the Barca shrine. 33:00 Messi vs Ronaldinho vs Neymar Jr. 40:00 Leap into hockey and assessing Mitch Marner's true value. 48:00 Heroes: Could Bobby Orr have done an Auston Matthews? 55:00 Players infantilized by parents. 1:00:00 Crossing the line: Bobby Hull, Michael Jackson. 1:04:00 People behind the talent: Quincy Jones behind MJ. 1:05:00 Auston Matthews' learning opportunity. 1:10:00 NBA players reveal more than NHL players. 1:12:00 Malkin. 1:15:00 Sacrificial Salming. 1:19:00 Sid the Kid or Sid the Killer? 1:21:00 The Leafs captaincy. 1:24:00 What is the role of a captain?

John is a one man band who wants to offer everything to his clients - from social media content videos to drone footage. But what is John's TRUE passion? He comes into this one on one session thinking he needs to do everything from editing to selling, but we really dig deep to discover what John can outsource and where he can lean into his super power. In this episode, we will discuss: Leveraging your expertise Pricing project vs day rates Outsourcing what you're not passionate about SHOW NOTES :16 John introduces himself and describes his current situation with his media production company. 6:46 John goes over what his current struggles are. 11:20 Different reasons for procrastinating 19:00 Different kinds of retainer strategies 24:34 The nuances of pricing 31:53 Understanding your client's language to help deliver more value 38:44 John discusses his biggest struggle 43:07 John discovers he doesn't actually like editing 10 out of 10 54:59 John decides he is hiring an editor

This past Saturday night at Refuge.Church we continued our study through John’s Gospel as we looked at Chapter 10; Jesus final public teaching. The illustration of sheep and shepherd has become so familiar to most of us, that its power.… Read More Gospel of John: One Flock

John Ramstead, a former Navy combat fighter pilot, joins the show today to talk about faith, entrepreneurship, transformation, and adversity. John discusses how an accident propelled him into a different entrepreneurial career and life path as a keynote speaker, leadership trainer, coach, author, and podcast host. Show Notes: Ramstead shares the story of his near-death, transformational accident, his connection to God’s love in that moment, and his initial road to recovery clarified his Calling path How small moments lead to transformational change Significance means the legacy that one leaves in other people He talks about the idea of looking internally as opposed to externally at one’s identity From God’s perspective, we are created in His perfection and can accomplish great things with HIm Ramstead shares some of his experiences as a fighter pilot and how they also shaped his identity and taught him about human nature People are capable of doing so much more than they usually realize Ramstead talks about finding one’s calling and tapping into one’s passions and core values He discusses being a positive member of a workplace as an almost instant catalyst to transformation He ends by giving advice to people that are struggling to find their way forward and discover their calling journey   3 Key Points:    For positive transformation to occur, one must focus on internal passions, convictions, and core values instead of external drivers.    People are capable of doing much more than they usually realize.   Through Christ, God sees each of us as perfect, very capable beings. Relying and believing on that truth will propel people to a transformed life.   Tweetable Quotes: - “Every single morning is our second chance, and guess what, if we blew it today, tomorrow is another second chance.” - John - “One of my callings today is to break the chains of false identities that are holding people back.” - John - “Action begets clarity.” -John   Resources Mentioned: Free 30 Minute Coaching Call - Email: john@eternalleadership.com Eternal Leadership Podcast Download FREE eBook – “Discover Your Core Values” eternalleadership.com beyondinfluence.com Ask - a book by Ryan Levesque  

Episode 2 of the Wisconsin Great River Road Microcast features Raptor Resource Project execuitive director John Howe.Bob: Why are we all fascinated with the bald eagle?John: It’s our national symbol. I think the thing that draws people in and they’re so interested in the details of the eagle is that people typically see bald eagles and you see them flying way up in the air, you might see a nest or you might see them perched along the river. Bob: John Howe is the Executive Director of the Raptor Resource Project. John, what is that? What is the Raptor Resource Project?John: The Raptor Resource Project was started back in 1988 by Bob Anderson, and primarily started to captively bred and raise peregrine falcons to help repopulate falcons after the devasting effects of DDT across the country. The work actively monitoring the peregrine falcon population up and down the Mississippi River from northern Minnesota down to Illinois, at about 50 sites that we band peregrine falcons. We’ve got nests. We’ve got nest cams and ways that we share that and help educate people.Bob: John, why is the Wisconsin Great River Road the home to such a high number of eagles nests and raptors in general?John: It’s the river that brings them. The Mississippi River is a national flyway for raptors and other waterfowl. It’s amazing. They congregate along that flyway, and it’s part of their instinct to follow that flyway. It’s a major food source for them. It’s a pass way for their migration. It’s a home. It’s being along the Wisconsin boundary of the river and the river floodplain along the Mississippi and the tributaries that come in. That’s where you’re going to find the tide populations and the congregations of these raptors that we love to watch, [including] the bald eagles. We were talking the other day a little bit about the peregrine falcons. At different times of the year there are great opportunities to hear them and see them and watch them in their home territory.Bob: Where’s the best place on the Wisconsin Great River Road to watch the eagles and the raptors?John: Right in the season of Bald Eagle Days up and down the river – Ferryville, Prairie du Chien. A lot of the little towns along the river have their Bald Eagle Days celebrations. Really, the way to get hooked into that is seeing it. Up until about this point where we’re watching, for example, bald eagles, we’re watching them grabbing sticks, breaking sticks, perching, and they’re pair bonding and they’re getting ready for egg laying. When that comes up, we’re going to be looking at egg laying. You can’t see that kind of stuff when you’re driving on the highway or even if you’re along the river. We were talking earlier about that fascination with eagles, and the wild popularity with the Eagle Cam is we actually get to see those details about what’s going on.Bob: Let’s just jump into that right now and ask a little bit more about the Eagle Cam. If we don’t have the opportunity to be on the Wisconsin Great River Road, how can we check out and find out more about eagles and watch them be born and kind of see their habitat?John: We manage a number of different cams in the area. For bald eagles, the premier eagle cam is the Decorah Eagle Cams. Going to our website, www.raptorresource.org, our cams are there. We also stream them through explore.org.Bob: Where along the Wisconsin Great River Road is the best place to view eagles and raptors?John: Between La Crosse all the way down to Prairie du Chien, there’s some great viewing areas. You’re right along the rivers, so it really depends on timing. [There also are] lock and dam areas. The lock and dams typically … That disturbing that happens right at the downstream where you always see the boats and the fishermen, that’s where the eagles are going to be congregating to fish also.Bob: John, earlier you were mentioning about the Mississippi River Flyway. Are there any cameras you have in the Great River Mississippi Flyway area?John: One of the original peregrine falcon cams – and probably the best one we have – is the Great Spirit Bluff peregrine falcon cam. That’s also available on our website, as I mentioned before. When you move away from the bluff and look down and see the tundra swans and the pelicans and the eagles during the great migration along the flyway in the Mississippi River. It was a dream, and we ended up putting up a cam down there on an island out on Lake Onalaska. It was a collaborative project with the National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and the Raptor Resource Project. We started that up last fall, and we have one season of watching all the waterfowl and the eagles. We’ve caught falcons, and we’ve caught great horned owls out there. [There is] a lot of neat waterfowl and raptors right out in Lake Onalaska. The audio on the camera, it’s almost like you’re sitting right down there in the middle of the flyway. Birds will do things out there without a human there. You’re going to get to see and hear some things that you would not see or hear if it wasn’t being brought to you by a camera.

Keevin introduces our series on 1, 2, and 3 John.

Chapter 8 - Pragmatic Projects Season 2 - Episode 14 - Chapter 8 Part 2 John: Welcome to Iteration: A weekly podcast about programming, development, and design through the lens of amazing books, chapter-by-chapter. JP: This is part 2 of Chapter 8 - THE FINAL CHAPTER! 65 - Test state coverage, not code coverage Identify and test significant program states. Just testing lines of code isn't enough JP: Even if you test every single line of code - that's not what matters. What matters is how many different permutations of your app's state you have covered. drops mic John: Coverage tools are nice - but they only give you a window into the state passed into it. If you can extract state out into separate objects or methods to be able to test them decoupled from time. 66 - Find bugs once Once a human tester finds a bug, it should be the last time a human tester finds that bug. Automatic tests should check for it from then on. JP: We don't have time to find a bug more than once... "We have to spend our time writing new code - and new bugs" John: Step one of debugging - write a test that's failing. I broke this pattern this weekend. :( 67 - English is just a programming language Write docs as you would write code: honor the DRY principle, use metadata, MVC, auto-generation and so on JP: don't dread writing docs. it's part of your application. I think this tip is phrased in such a way to appeal to engineers. think of documentation writing as writing code, not writing literature John: I like this in theory - I'm having trouble getting tooling in place for this that makes sense. I really want to dynamically generate, external API docs, internal docs and user guides totally automatically. Super struggling to get anything moving in rails. 68 - Build documentation in, don't bolt it on Documentation created separately from code is less likely to be correct and up to date JP: sometimes you need documentation. obviously, name your variables well, but sometimes explain what a function does or why it does it. at OL we'll sometimes write include the GitHub issue number for a weird quirk or to explain why a test is testing for certain functionality. treat docs like code. part of the code, not separate from it John: I feel like this is a bit outdated. If written well modern languages really can be self-documenting. Basecamp really doesn't "do" code comments or internal docs - Per DHH - If there is a comment explaining a method or model I break it up further until it doesn't need explaining. I worship in the church of Henninger-Hansen. 69 - Gently exceed your users' expectations Come to understand your users' expectations, then deliver just that little bit more. JP: "Never lose sight of the business problems your application is intended to solve". John: One of my favorite parts of the job is delivering features users get super jazzed about. 7- - Sign your work Craftspeople of an earlier age were proud to sign their work. You should be, too "Anonymity, especially on large projects, can provide a breeding ground for sloppiness, mistakes, sloth, and bad code. [...] We want to see a pride of ownership. Your signature should come to be recognized as an indicator of quality. A really professional job. Written by a real programmer. A Pragmatic Programmer" JP: lol, git blame John: Take pride in what you do. Picks JP: https://github.com/sindresorhus/refined-github John: LG 22MD4KA-B UltraFine 4K Display 21.5" UHD 4096x2304 4xUSB-C Next week: Pragmatic Programmer in Practice - Book recap in the context of our real-life development work.

Kevin speaks from John 11:45-57

[paypal-donation] Yesterday was President Monson's funeral.  When an LDS President dies, the First Presidency is dissolved.  Have you ever wondered why that is the case?  Historian John Hamer and apostle Lachlan MacKay of the Community of Christ will talk about why that happens in the LDS Church.  It's a really interesting conversation as we discussion several succession claims. John:  One of the last acts that Joseph Smith does before going to Carthage is he had given another one of these special blessings to Joseph III and several of these where Joseph had been prophesied at one point or another that he would be in his father's role in being prophet, but he was what?  He was eleven? Lachlan:  Eleven or eleven and a half. John:  He's eleven, so ok.  He wasn't going to be the successor at that point.  What I argue, I think anyway, I think that the person who had the best claim at the point, in terms of both civil, and canon, which is to say church rules and law is Sidney Rigdon, who even though he's been a little on the outs, he is still actively campaigning as the vice-presidential candidate in Joseph Smith's U.S. presidential election.  So Joseph Smith then Sidney Rigdon; Sidney Rigdon is the only guy left in the First Presidency. Even though in the LDS tradition, there is this idea that the First Presidency dissolves, and then the senior most apostle always succeeds, the only reason that is the idea is because they didn't want to have Sidney Rigdon be in charge.  It doesn't say that in the Doctrine & Covenants or anything like that.  There's no canonical, there's no canon law that says anything of the kind.  The First Presidency had been a completely distinct [quorum] in the early church tradition from the Twelve. Lachlan:  There's nothing that says it dissolves. John: There's nothing that says it dissolves and also not like the First Presidency is just like three more of the Twelve or something like that.  It's a completely distinct [quorum.]  Anyway, so what I say is Sidney Rigdon is the last surviving member of the First Presidency and then according to the actual incorporation like we're talking about the Church's possession, William Marks had signed it over to Joseph Smith on behalf of the Church.  The Church is incorporated in the state of Illinois, and part of incorporation and the documents in Carthage, it says held by Joseph Smith as Trustee in Trust for the Church and my successors in the First Presidency. Because of that, when Brigham Young does take over, he doesn't create a new First Presidency; the Twelve just take over headquarters.  It's one of the reasons why he is not able to get title to these temples is because James Strang knows about that because he has a lot of these guys in his group.  They know about this incorporation ruling.  This is really complicated details, but anyway, part of the idea of it is he charges that since he is the successor to the First Presidency, he has organized a new First Presidency.  This doesn't in Brigham Young's church until 1847, so he's operating that way with the First Presidency, and so he says, “You don't have a First Presidency. I have title to the Nauvoo Temple.  You're trying to sell my temple.” GT:  James Strang created a First Presidency and said that should be the successor? John:  Yeah, he did that at that point.  But before that, I've got to dial it back.  The person who was the surviving member of the First Presidency then is Sidney Rigdon.  Sidney Rigdon gets outmaneuvered in this showdown between Brigham Young and Sidney Rigdon.  He gets kicked out of Nauvoo, or flees for his life and he goes back and reorganizes and creates a new headquarters of the church in Pittsburgh.  But at that point, he suffers one of these things that all kinds of schismatic Mormon Latter Day Saint heritage churches do which is, then they start asking themselves:  where did we go wrong? We will also talk about some of the other leaders who wanted to ...

Walk through all three of John's letters with Pastor Rob Rucci and see how we can learn from these ancient churches for better and for worse.  If you would like to learn more about Upcountry Church you can visit our website at www.UpcountryChurch.org and find us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Please, like, share, and tag your friends!

John "One Legged Lightning" Stitt is a Strongman competitor who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident in 2013, that didn't stop him from competing in Strongman though as John just competed in the first ever Arnold Disabled Strongman competition.  Kalle & John talk about training with 1 leg, Disabled Strongman contests, the growth of the division and some of the athletes in it a long with how he views the "No excuses" comments"  Follow John on , & You can pick up his shirts to support his travel to contests   Follow  &   Support this podcast by hitting Subscribe and giving a 5 star rating!   Sign up for Strongman programming at just $15 a month!  use code STRONGTALK to get $5 off EACH month  Interested in Strongman Coaching? Fill out the form at  Visit our  for all your training needs! Shop using our affiliate links on  &  to support this podcast! Support our 

GRP 49- We have a very special episode for you guys today. Co-hosting this episode with me is Chantel Taylor. Chantel is a British Army veteran where she served for 12 years as a Combat Medic with multiple deployments and was involved in some heavy fighting in southern Afghanistan. Our special guest for this episode is Navy SEAL veteran Ray Mendoza, and Army Ranger Mike Baumgarten. Ray served for over 16 years 13 of those were as a SEAL, and Mike served for 10 years all with Ranger Regiment and has 10 combat deployments. Ray and Mike are producers for a show airing this veteran’s day on the History channel called "The Warfighters". Since 2001, the Army Rangers, the Navy Seals and the Green Berets have been fighting the War on Terror. It remains the longest war in American history. For the past 15 years, they have been at the tip of the spear, honorably risking their lives for their country and one another. “The Warfighters” is a harrowing and impactful portrayal of the triumphs and sacrifices the United States Special Operations Forces have endured on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. We talk their careers in the Army and Navy respectively, as well as PTSD and issues facing veterans. Below is an excerpt. John: One interesting aspect of veteran suicide and PTS is this isn't something new. There's evidence of this existing throughout almost every conflict in the history of the world. In WW2 they called it shell shock, in Vietnam, they had a different term for it. With this age of connectivity and with so many guys coming home from such a prolonged period of warfighting. The reality of it is going to seep into everyday life for civilians. As a society, we ask these questions of ourselves. How can we approach this? I think now with the culmination of everything that's happened we are closer to cracking this nut than ever before. Mike: There are more resources devoted to it. The understanding has been expanded. In the Civil War, they called it Lonely heart syndrome. Understanding that it's not just a feeling. It's a physical change to that person's brain. When you go to war you need to understanding the effects. If there was a greater understanding of the price I feel like there would be more deliberation into putting America's sons and daughters into harm's way without realizing that you need to have the infrastructure to take care of them when they get back.

GRP 46-First and foremost I want to send my deepest condolence's to the family of FDNY Battalion Chief Michael J. Fahy who was killed in the Bronx, New York today. Chief Fahy died responding to a reported gas leak from a house which subsequently exploded killing the Battalion Chief and wounding several others. He served for 17 years and was considered to be a rising star within the Fire Department. At the end of the episode, I added some audio as a small tribute. On for this episode is retired 3/75 Army Ranger Medic, and author Leo Jenkins. Leo served with Ranger Battalion for several deployments and played a role in the rescue and recovery effort of the fallen SEALs from the ill-fated Operation Red Wings. We discuss Leo's current lifestyle as a modern day nomad who travels from country to country mixing it up with the locals. It's a lifestyle and way of thinking Leo's embraced that really helped him deal with his post-military struggles. We discuss his involvement with a unique organization called The Team 5 Foundation which deploys to high-risk locations globally teaching medicine and treating the local population. Leo recently deployed with Team 5 and we discuss what that was like. Below is an excerpt from the episode. John: One of the pictures you took, to me was an iconic image showing Rangers taking IV fluid in a rush to find the missing SEALs from Operation Red Wings. You guys were on your movement moving through harsh terrain in very hot weather. Leo Jennings: I think I started lines on five, or six of our guys during those four days. These aren't guys coming off the couch. These are guys who maintain a very high level of fitness. Dudes were taking IV's but quitting was not an option. Guys really sucked it up because they knew that fellow U.S service members were out there in harm's way. Even if it was to recover their bodies those guys from those units will walk until their feet are bloody nubs. Let's keep this going until all of these Americans are recovered. Never shall I leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy. That's the most important thing. If you're a little bit hot or tired you suck that up and drive on. Send questions, or comments to Podcast@globalrecon.net

If you would like to learn more about Upcountry Church you can visit our website at www.UpcountryChurch.org

Today we talk with John McIntyre, a fellow email copywriter. First we begin discussing email marketing and take you deep into both of our processes for creating emails that sell on autopilot. Then we make a dramatic shift and get into a philosophical discussion about life, the addiction to money and why "constantly striving for higher revenue" is a unfulfilling way to live life for most people. In this episode we discuss... How to overcome objections using stories, case studies and more... Why "tips, tricks and hacks" do NOT work... Why templated systems don't work for most people... Why segmentation is the key to better email results... An epic discussion on why most entrepreneurs live un-fulfilled lives... Resources Mentioned  www.McMethod.com The Millionaire Next Door (book) Want To Work With Me? Visit http://www.JeremyReeves.com or email me at Jeremy@JeremyReeves.com Enjoy! Transcript Hey, guys. Welcome back to another episode of The Sales Funnel Mastery podcast. Today, I have a guest on the other line. His name is John McIntyre and he is a fellow marketer, he's an email copywriting specialist and basically, focuses on writing emails. I was actually on John's podcast a couple of weeks ago and when that goes live, I'll give you the link to my podcast. So I thought that I would get him on my podcast and expose you guys to him and how he thinks. So instead doing one of the boring introduction that everybody does, I'm just going to let John tell you who he is and how he came to be and what he does and we'll take it from there. Jeremy Reeves: So John, how are you? John McIntyre: I'm doing good, Jeremy. How are you? Jeremy: I apologize. I was just taking an extra (00:57). I'm good. So tell us a little about yourself. John: My name is John and I'm from Sydney, Australia. Though, I actually live in Thailand. A lot of people find that quite interesting. I grew up in Sydney, but I ended up in the Philippines, working. I did some marketing for a beach resort there. A nice, gorgeous resort on the beach which was a "tough life" as you can imagine. I still remember, this is when I just getting started with the agency that I have now, I'd still remember, every morning, I'd wake up and I'd get some coffee from the resort and they were right on the beach. So I'd grab a white plastic table and put that right next to the sand, right beneath two coconut trees and I'd get a big extension table from the restaurant and run it out to my table, out a seat there, and I'd set my laptop up and have breakfast, drink my coffee, and do some work, sitting under a coconut tree and just this bright beach (01:52). Jeremy: Sounds torturous. John: It was a tough period a lot. I worked really hard. Jeremy: Nice. John: So that was when I started around then I started learning copywriting, doing some email stuff, some sales letters, all the usual stuff. And around that, I started, I guess what you may call an 'agency'. What's becoming is we ended up moving to, after a year in the Philippines, I moved to Thailand. I had a conference that I went to in Bangkok. The big group went to Chiang Mai, which is an hour north of Bangkok on the plane. And I've been here ever since, which is two and a half years now. It just kind of whizzes by and this is what I do. I started as a copywriter, just doing bunch of different stuff and eventually realized that most people were coming to me for email stuff and basically thought that, you understand as a copywriter, you need a thing. So my thing was going to be email marketing and I decided to call myself the "Auto-responder Guy'. And that was a year ago, eighteen months, something like that. That was a really good decision. It worked out really well in terms of what it's done for the business but it's actually funny right now, I'm actually working with building out a process of bringing out bigger clients. And none of them having any idea what an auto-responder is, they don't think in terms of auto-responders and email marketing, they think in terms of leads and database and conversions. I'm slowly going through a slight transition. I'm trying to decide whether to drop the whole Auto-responder Guy things and go for more of that lead conversion angle. But time will tell. So that's what I do, man. I write emails, I set up similar stuff to you, I just come out form a slightly different angle. Jeremy: Okay. Nice. So tell us about The McMethod. What's your process? I know one of the things you do is write ten-part email sequences for clients and you have your McMethod that you sell as a product. So tell us about your methodology for the writing the emails and the process that you go through. John: Sure. So the first time I did this, I know this guy who's like a tropical MBA and it's about moving to the tropics and doing some business stuff, learning how to build a business. Anyway, so he was the first guy who hired me to write some emails for him. And what I came up with was where I will send an email every three days, ten emails a month and so what that morphed into was, you might call it a productized service (04:23) coming to me for a 10-email sequence. So we jump on the phone (04:27) their business and then I'd give him his ten emails and do it like that. It's fairly streamline, very easy to deliver. I've got guys that work for me to do (04:36) the bulk of the writing which is quite useful and (04:39) the way I do that is because it's productized like that, it makes it quite easy to do. And then we got a product which is called The McIntyre Method which is a four-week video training program on how to create your own ten-email sequence. But the idea, really is as I've grown, I've realized is that there's no ideal length, there's no ideal set of emails. If you really have a problem and you've got different solutions to solve that problem. So what I do now is there are sequences where I do ten emails since that's what a lot of people know me for, but also bringing in a lot more custom stuff. So depending on the problem, sometimes, someone really needs three or four emails, sometimes, it's going to be quite a lot more than that. So probably we're looking at today, we're looking at a proper sales funnel of something like fifty emails, I think. If you're really going to talk about emails. So you see (05:37) the process how it happens. Jeremy: Yeah. So that's one of the things that I've learned is everybody comes out and they need different things. In fact, I just had a client he just signed up maybe a week and a half ago or so and he came and he wanted A, B, C, D. I told him he needed less than that which you usually don't hear of that often. He was going like, "Oh, this guy had that so I need that." For this business, and where he's at, he didn't really need that exact thing. It's funny. People need different things and a lot of people start out like I'm going to provide this is in their service, and then it comes to being more like a custom job. So tell us when you're writing out those sequences, it doesn't really matter what the length, if it's ten or if it's fifty or anything like that. What's the big goal that you're trying to achieve when you're writing out these sequences (besides sales, obviously)? John: Right. I mean, ultimately, yeah. It does (07:08) but if people come to me and they think "Well, it's going to be the best subject line, all the best talk, all the best story." it's really (07:15) because at the end of the day, the only that really matters is are you solving a problem anyone actually cares about? And if the answer is 'Yes', well, great. Then you're in business. So now you need to understand as much as you can about the person you're trying to sell something to and as much as you can about the solution. This takes years and years to develop. This isn't something that you can sit down and do a brainstorming session and you've got it. I was reading an article about to go from 1 million to 10 million to 100 million with a software start-up. And often, it'll take them months or if not years just to get what they call 'Product Market Fit'. You might say it's a terminology from the start-up world but the idea if you've really got to a point where you can fit the product to the solution that you're offering to the exact needs that the person who's buying it. And sometimes that's going to mean changing the product, sometimes it's only going to mean changing the copy. And so the reason why you got to understand all that first is because that's what drives the copy. So when you sit down to figure out "Well, we got this prospect here, he's 37 years old, he manages a team of developers, and he works at a corporate company like Microsoft. And what he's trying to achieve is time management." And so there's our prospect. He really needs to leanr how to manage his own time and the time of his team. And then the other side, you got your product which is a software app for time management. It starts with understanding exactly what John Smith over here who works at Miscrosoft what his problems are, what his challenges are, what he really needs out of the product that you're offering him. Once you've got that, then you can go and build the product. Because ideally, the product's driven by John Smith's needs, otherwise it's not going to work for him and once you got that product, and assuming you got those two pieces worked out, because this is the thing, a lot of people come after that. It was kind of really interesting, I was at a marketing conference in the U.S. last September. And one thing I find, maybe this is just me being an Australian, coming from the outside direct response world but it seems a bit everyone always talks about hacks or how to optimize your sales copy, how to get a better funnel. Very rarely, does anyone ever say "Is this business worth having in the first place?" Jeremy: Yeah. John: It's funny how I always come back to this question of like that's the 99% of the battle is, are you selling sh*t that someone actually cares about? That's in a nutshell. But assuming you've got that, assuming you've nailed that or you're in the process of nailing that, how are we going to come up with the same auto-responder or any kind of marketing pieces you think about. I think about like you're on a bridge, you're on (10:01) and on one side of this (10:02), you've got his prospect and he's John Smith, he's got his problem that he needs to track the time to himself and his team and do it accurately and a bunch of different problems like that. And on the other side of the (10:13), you've got your product (10:17). And this could be an ebook on how to save time, it could be a software app, it could be a DVD series,. One thing I'm going to say is that the product doesn't really matter as long as it solves his problems. We've got this. Prospect on once of the (10:28), and the product on the other. The way I see it, the goal of any marketing piece is just to bridge that gap. So when I say bridge that gap, is that you're really going to sit down and list why wouldn't John Smith buy that in the first place? And step number one, he doesn't know what the hell it is, he doesn't even know it exists. So step number one, is making John aware that there is a solution to his product. Now let's say he went to John and say "Here's my solution. Do you want to buy it?" he's going to be like "Well, No. I got no idea who you are." Alright, so there's one objection. He doesn't know who you are. So your auto-responder needs to: Number one, get his attention. Because without his attention, he's not going to know who you are. So that's more of a traffic issue. But then you need to establish the authority otherwise he's going to be like "No, I don't trust you." then he's going to be like "I trust you but I know anyone else who's used this. Do you have any stores? Is there anyone else using this or am I the first person? And it's like therefore you need testimonials and case studies. And so what happens is once you understand what John's all about and what objections he might have, what's really stopping him from making that purchase in the first place? Then you have a list of five to ten main things. Main problems, main objections that you need to handle before he's going to buy that product. And the auto-responder just becomes a bunch of emails or a series of emails, could be a straight sequence, could be segmented in bunch of different ways, but the main thing is it's knocking out each of those objections in as many different angles as possible. Jeremy:Nice. That's a really good point. When I worked with clients, I actually have a 'she', it's like I call my copywriting researchee and it has twelve pages long of information that I fill out based on the avatar of the person and the demographics and the market and the competitors. One of the things on there is I write down a sheet of paper all the objections I could possibly think of and then as I'm writing the copy, whether it's a sales letter or an email sequence, I literally cross off each objection to make sure all of them are hit. The same thing with benefits, because you can create sentences and paragraphs that overcome the objection and then transition into giving them the benefit. I wish I had an example at the top of my head but I don't. So it's good to actually write it down rather than just having it in your head and hoping that you hit all of them. John: Absolutely! Part of the product that I've got to teach the people how to do this, is you make a list of these objections and then you just down. When you write your emails, you write an email for this objection, and then you write for this objection, and then you write for this objection. It's really that simple. Jeremy: Yeah. Let me ask you, what are some of your favorite ways of overcoming those objections. Do you use outside proof or anything like that to overcome those objections or do you just tackle them directly? What are your favorite ways to overcome the objections? John: To be honest, this goes back to understanding John Smith, your prospect. Like for example, my buddy calls me up and he says "Hey, we're all going out tonight for dinner. Do you want to come?" and I'm like "No, I can't." and then he just starts saying stuff "Oh, come on, man. you don't need to work tonight. It's The Friday night. We're going to go out." but low and behold, I wasn't even working in the first place. That wasn't the reason I couldn't go. So what he's done there is he's hit the wrong objection. This goes back to you doing sportsh as a 5 levels of awareness. You've really got to take the time to understand where someone's at in that awareness cycle. And this is from someone who's got no idea that you have any problem to someone who's aware that he has problem, aware that there's solutions out there and he's really just looking between solutions. And every layer in between that is five main layers, although five ways that he splits it up. as for how I do it, with email, storytelling is really the biggest thing you can do with emails. It fits perfectly. But ultimately, you really need to know if the trust is the issue, then you're going to need case studies and you're going to need proof. Maybe trust isn't the issue. Maybe the industry is so well-established, that he doesn't actually need trust. He believes you, he just wants a better price. So what you need to write is you need to have a special offer, where it's a time-sensitive offer for a lower price. It really depends on what angle you're going for. this is why sometimes it's hard. It's much fancier if I can get on a podcast and say "Well, Jeremy. I've got this three-step system..." Jeremy: Yeah. John: Gurus do this all the time. But it's total crap. There is no formula to do it. Jeremy: Like you're saying before, it's the same with little tricks and things like that and little hacks and all that kind of stuff. Most people are trying these weird, little hacks and tracks, but they don't have the basics in place. They're trying to do all of those but they're missing the stories, they're missing the case studies, they're missing the understanding who they're talking to. Like your example before. You're saying giving them the wrong objection. I can't tell you how many email sequences that I'm on and they're like "Do you suffer from this?" or "Is this your problem?" (16:20) notes actually not even close. One of the things you can do to overcome that is segmentation. What are your thoughts on segmentation and writing emails to more, say, you have a 10,000-person list segmenting based on their interests, maybe website behavior, like what pages they visited, so you know more about them. What's your experience on that? John: The reason I'm laughing right now is that I've been so bad at segmenting for so long. It's something that's changing right now. For example, the traffic that goes to my site is probably two main segments. I could split them up in a bunch of different ways but the two main ones are people who want to learn how to write emails themselves and become a copywriter and get their own clients. Maybe they just took off their own business and on the other side is people who had a business and they don't have time to write themselves, they need to hire someone. So it's taken me the longest, it's so easy to do and I did this recently, actually. But it was so easy to set up so now what happens is if someone signs up, the first thing that happens, is the next page is just like "Alright, you're almost done, before I could set you up your email sequence, your tips, answer this question - when it comes to converting more leads to business, would you rather write an email or convert the leads yourself or hire an expert to do it for you?" And so what happens after that now, based on what they say in response, I, then send them a custom sequence. So obviously, an example here would be like, the people who sign up, who want to do it themselves, they're really interested., they want to have a lifestyle, they want to have an automated business, they want to have passive income, email marketing, auto-responders. And on the other side that really want to hire an expert, they're mostly likely thinking about leads, leads, databases, conversions, revenues, then I'm really thinking about email marketing and auto-responders and quick my job and travel kind of thing. And already, I'm so glad that it's already been making a difference. I wish I got started doing this segmenting earlier because I've got a list of thousands of people and I only know the ones recently who are actually interested in hiring someone. Jeremy: And it really is good. There's a lot of ancillary benefits that go along with that. Like number one, you are able target them better and talk to them better and do all the things that we've been talking about the last twenty minutes. Another is your deliverability goes up because your open rates and your click-through rates, and all of your email stats increase so then that gives the email... I don't know the tech behind it. John: The email gotsky. Jeremy: Yeah, the email gotsky. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy, the higher your opening click-through rates, the higher, they say "Okay, well. You're sending relevant.." It's kind of like Google. You're sending relevant content to them, so I'm going to increase your reputation and that in turn gets better deliverability, so then more people see it, and it keeps that cycle continuous. Same thing with cleaning out your list. Everybody always wants a huge numbers list. This is something I am lacking in too so I can't really harp on anybody for doing this. But cleaning out your list, like looking at people who haven't opened your emails in the last three months or two months or six months and putting them into a re-engagement campaign and not sending to them. If you have a (20:16) to your list that hasn't been engaged in the last six months and then you put them on a separate list and start sending only to people who have been engaged, your open rates and click-through rates are going to go up by roughly 30% and then again, your deliverability goes up and the whole cycle continues. So one question, it's not exactly with auto-responders, but what is your opinion on a lot of people just want to grow their business but I feel like they don't really know why. It's like "Oh, I have to hit seven figures." And my question is why? Why do you want to hit seven figures, or eight figures or six figures? And a lot of people really don't know the answer. What's your opinion on people just growing businesses versus having an actual reason for hitting a specific number to be able to afford a certain lifestyle or anything like that. I know this has nothing to do with emails but it's... John: No, I love this question. This is something that's been on my mind a lot lately because I live in Thailand - Chiang Mai, Thailand. I lot of people live out here because the cost of living is quite low. And when I got here, I was probably a lot more budget-conscious when I first arrived. Now it's I don't have a budget, basically. And if I tried to live the same kind the way I tried to live here, I'd eat out all the time, I'd have great apartment in the best part of the town, taking regular trips to all sorts of places. This weekend, we're doing a dirt bike trip two days way up in the mountains. So one day up, one day back. Renting bikes, all the gear. And one day, I've been chatting to a couple of friends (22:14) today is this idea where when you get into business, especially this whole copywriting, just this whole entreprenuership thing, the whole hustle and grind and who's working the most hours and who had the best product launch, it's so glorified. I feel like it's a one upmanship game where everyone's trying to do better, very few people really stop and get a hang on - do you really want that? Is this really what life's about? Just hanging out? And who can put in the most hours and who can split test and who can build the biggest business because I don't think it is. But you never want to say that because it's kind of sacrilegious to say that like a business in marketing form, Facebook groups or some webinar. Like, no one would ever come out and say "No, I don't want to make seven figures." Jeremy: Yeah. Oh, I do. Like, I say that, I mean. John: Right. Interesting is I'd like to have a start-up that does a $100 million. Like, I'd love to have a copy like that but the more I think about it, I'm reading another book by Felix Denis it's called 'The Narrow Road'. Jeremy: Yeah. It's a good one. John: Yeah. It's (23:34) but I mean. I'm reading (23:37) in one of his essays he mentions that if you want to do a start-up and you want to build and make more of like a $100 million company. But the example was basically they were cramming thirty years of your working life into four years and so doing that means your life is work for that amount of time. And it's not as simple as that, it's not like you do it for four years and you bail, you go for four years and you go public, then there's a bunch of more mess, and the works gets even bigger and your health suffers, and it's going to be quite hard to manage any kind of social life, let alone a marriage or kids or anything like that. We're often sold the dream and we sell each other on this, this dream that you can have anything you want and it's just not true. It's kind of like you can have anything you want but you can't have everything. What I think about me for me personally, I enjoy living in Thailand. It would be easier if I was in the U.S Timezone, for example. But I prefer living out in Thailand. There's cost with that. Or it would be very hard to have a start-up out here. Or I like going to the gym and taking off to the gym for two hours, couple times a week. Or taking an afternoon off. Like today and yesterday, I took a nap in the park. Read a book, took a nap, you're just here, you don't feel like working, you're just like sweet! All I can chill, read a book, take a nap, listen to the birds, and if you're going to build a million dollar company or a ten million company, those moments, when you get to do a lot of that stuff, become a lot rarer. But no one's willing to talk about that. Jeremy: Yeah, I know. It's something that I'm really focusing a lot on in my life, like I've hot the point where I don't "need" more money. I'm taking care of everything. Like, my lifestyle, I do pretty much whatever I want to do which now I'm limited because I have a one and two-year-old. But I've been thinking about this a lot lately. And it's like, my kind of growth strategy is I want to continue growing just because I like the challenge of it, but I keep a criteria that I work up until 3:30. Usually 3:00. 3:30 is like my max end time in the afternoon so I'm growing as much as I can and focusing on net income, not gross. I don't care about gross, whatsoever. But focusing on net, what I actually bring home and can write checks with. But I won't work past 3:30. That's my criteria. I think it's good for people to have criteria. Maybe you work really hard during the week, you take the whole weekend off. I made a new webinar. It was a two to three weeks ago and people's excuse for the whole workaholic thing is "My business is my passion." So I work constantly for that and my response is always "Man, you must live a boring-ass life because if you have one passion, that must be awful." Like, why would you want to live life with one passion. Working is my passion. I love working, I live writing, I love coming up with strategy and all that kind of stuff. But I do that for the third of the day. And then I get spend time with my kids and spend time with my wife. I do the same thing, if I just don't feel like working in the afternoon, I'll take a nap, or I'll go out back and work out, play with the kids in the yard, go for a walk. You have to ask yourself why? I want to double my business this year - why? John: Eventually, like, one thing I've found and this has been fairly common of the guys I know in Thailand is no matter where you live, if you go to business, eventually you're going to get to the point where you make enough money to do all these you want and save some money, like you've covered all your bases. Then it's like "Well, I could keep working hard and there's wrong with that and it can be really fun to work hard but the bigger question, and this is the one I've been trying to work on lately, is (28:22 - 28:24) but for the most part, life is free and amazing. Like, I'm traveling around and I'm 25. So I'm like young, got this cool stuff going on, but then it's a bit like "Well, now, what now?" It's fun to have a mission and I enjoy the challenge of doing the business and growing your business, but I don't want to do it all the time. So the question becomes "What does it mean to have a good life, to build a good life?" And the answer's going to be different for everyone and I'm still figuring it out what that means to me but in many ways I love my job, I love working hard, I love the challenge, I love getting in the ring and having a go but I don't think grinding on the laptop all day, that I won't do. I agree, if someone's life is just working, I don't know how that fun that is. Jeremy: I know. I never got that. For me, I think I'm a little bit lucky in the sense that as my kids were growing up and as Katie was pregnant, that's when my business started taking off and I wasn't already a workaholic before kids, it kind of happened in lock step. I think I'm a little bit lucky in that sense that I was able to cement those values at the right time. Because let's just say you had kids at 35. And from 20 or 25 to 35, you were a workaholic, you were building a big business, it's hard to break out of that and I understand that. But I also think that a lot of people use it as a crutch, it's like "Oh, I have to..." Here's a good example, I have one client, she has a three and a half billion dollar business, the personal income is very high, more than anybody ever needs, she can have an awesome lifestyle, but I've been harping on her. I'll try not to say too much information so people won't know who is but I've been talking with her lately and she just e,ailed me last week and her husband booked a vacation for nine days away, they're taking free days because I introduced her to Strategic Coach, the free days and all that kind of stuff, where you take the day off where it's zero business. There's no email, there's no thinking about business, no talking about business, like no business whatsoever and she emailed me that she and her husband booked 9-day vacation away and there's no cellphone reception or anything like that. And she said that she hasn't had time away from her business since 2006... John: Wow... Jeremy: But it is possible, she went all those years and she was just stuck in that rut of just working and working and working and working and what broke her out of it was her daughter, she's really sick, she got like a tick (31:52) illness, I think (31:53) disease, I would imagine. And so she's in the hospital a lot, like one of her flares up, she has it really bad, apparently. So this client, she's like "I can't like I have anymore because I need to be there for my daughter." So she finally made the decision to make less money and scale back the business so she can have more free time. It's interesting. I think it's definitely worth thinking about for people. And on eof the things that helps with me, I know exactly how much money I need ti have my "perfect dream lifestyle" plus have enough savings for like long-term financial independence (32:46) real estate and all that. Plus, I always leave in a buffer, for like, kind of the just in case and then taxes and then everything. But I have a specific number that I'm trying to reach and I'm not quite there yet, I'm starting to get close but I'm not quite there yet but I have a specific number that when I hit it, it's like trying to hit that number without working longer and that's my thing that I came up with that works really, really well for me. So everybody should just think, map out your dream lifestyle, exactly how much money you need and then work to get that. You can probably do with a lot less, by the way. You really don't need that much. John: This is like a fascinating thing because like this is... This is the (33:40) I've noticed about businesses is a lot of people want to get into it to make more money, to have a better lifestyle, they're often one of like good financial sense, look at investors, anything to do with money and economics, is one of the best things you can do is just learn to spend less than you are. While earning more can help and you can have a better lifestyle and all that, like (33:59) today, actually. I was online, that was a lady's site, multi-level marketing something, the testimonial was like "We started making all this, we bought a new house and we bought a new car." that's one of the worst things you could've done. Jeremy: I know. John: Because that cements, that's enlisting yourself, because I'm assuming they probably would have up'd the house payments, up'd the car payments, because people have consumer mentality. At a certain point, you're going to realize this what's pretty much living in Thailand is getting this experience of having a huge amount of wealth without spending that much money for it. You kind of realize, well, there's not much difference. I stayed in $300 a night business hotels in Bangkok and afterwards, it's a nice hotel and it was cool and everything but it's really not much different from a $50 a night hotel. Jeremy: Yeah. John: I like motorcycles. I could buy a Ducati for $35,000 but then I'm like "I'd get another bike for $7,000" and it's going to do %99 of the same enjoyment for way less or even better I can just rent a motorcycle every week, whenever I feel like going, then I don't have to deal with licensing, the registration, I don't have to deal with insurance or any of the stuff and I can have a bike anytime I want I want to go and ride it. Jeremy: One of the things that helps with that is getting rid of your ego. John: Yeah. Jeremy: If you're buying stuff that's more high-end, it's almost always because you want other people to see that you're successful. And maybe that pisses some people off but that's the truth of it. John: Have you read 'The Millionaire Next Door'? Jeremy: Yeah. That was a good book. John: One of the lines that stuck with me (35:47), he basically said that "At a certain point, you've got to choose, with the money that we all have, you got to make a choice between how you're going to spend the money to acquire social status, which is basically buying high-status items like nice cars, houses, watches, clothes, anything that makes you look better as a person, or you're going to use that money that you make to prioritize wealth-building which means investing and saving and living in a worse neighborhood, buying second-hand cars, and not buying expensive shoes." There's a choice and people don't realize that they're making a choice when you go buy a new house or a new car or something nice, you're prioritizing ego and social status instead of wealth. I think if some people think about it, they might realize because this is what I think about like I like social status too. I'd love to have a Ferrari but what's more important to me in the long run where I'd rather have the wealth. I think I'd rather have the wealth and freedom than the Ferrari. Jeremy: Yeah, and with the wealth, like a view of $10 million sitting in the bank, it's peace of mind. Then you can go out and buy a Ducati or whatever. But get the wealth sitting in the bank first. And start (36:59). I was doing some Funnel Days in Florida. I went in and rented, for my car, because I've never been a car person, when I was a teenager I was into the Riser kind of car, the little like the Eclipses and the Hondas and all that, they're all loud, the Fast and Furious kind of stuff which I this is absolutely embarrassing now, but I sued to be into cars but not really that much, so when I was in Florida, I was like, "You know what? I'm going to see what it's like to drive a really fast car." So I got this high-end Mustang and I was like it's cool driving around in it, it makes you feel like a big hotshot and it's fast and it's fun and all that kind of stuff. But it's just not worth the extra you're going to spend. I have an expensive car, I have a Tahoe but because we have kids and we need the extra space. We always have strollers in the car our other car that we have is an Equinox which is not really expensive but it doe the trick. It gets you from A to B and it's not this big, fancy, high-end car. And the same, the Tahoe, it was more expensive but we needed the space. we needed the extra seat in the car, we needed the trunk room for the strollers and stuff so it's a pretty practical car but most people don't need big, giant cars like that. but it's interesting what people spend their money on and why they spend their money that stuff. John: Yeah, really interesting. Jeremy: Wait. I know the conversation kind of took a pretty wild turn from emails. I apologize. My voice, if it's starting to get hoarse, I've been battling a cold now for like ten days and it refuses to go away. But yeah, it was a pleasure talking to you. Before we head off, thanks again for everything. But before we head off, tell everybody about who can benefit from getting into your world and what do you have to offer people? John: Sure. So what I do I mean (39:38) the email marketing stuff, so if you want to learn emails better want to basically convert more leads into customers, that's what I do. So if you head over to my website that I operate from is www.TheMcMethod.com. There's a bunch of stuff there. I've got a podcast. I'm almost up to 100 episodes and every episode is an interview with a marketer, like Jeremy, which should be live in a couple weeks. I've got Perry Marshall, John Carlton, John Benson, Russell Brighton, some of the biggest guys in the industry and exactly what their marketing strategies are. Honestly, that'll be the best place to start but there's obviously, I sent that email tips which he heard a little about the funnel here. And there's a community and coaching and all that sort of stuff which you'll see in the back end but I'd say the place to start would be to check out the site and have a listen to the podcast, if you like that, join the list, and hit me up. Jeremy: Yeah. Sounds good. Alright, thanks everybody for listening. As always, if you got value out of this, share it, and write reviews on iTunes because that helps to get more people listening to the podcast, make sure to send it to your friends, and colleagues, anybody who would benefit, head over to JeremyReeves.com. If you have any questions or you would like to work with me or check out any of my products or go to www.TheMcMethod.com to check out John's stuff and we'll talk to you next time. John: Sounds great, Jeremy. Thanks for having me. Jeremy: Alright, thanks. Have a good one.  

Xiaohua: Hello, and welcome to Round Table’s Word of the Week. 听说土豆成为主粮了，and so today we are going to talk about potatoes.John: Potatoes. And funny enough, actually the English word “potato” comes from the Spanish word “patata” and it’s actually the name still used in Spain and it referred to a type of sweet potato rather than the other way around. So at first, it was a type of sweet potato and then it just became known as the potato.Xiaohua: Potato这个词是从西班牙文的patata来的。那么最开始的时候，potato实际上是指白薯，也就是sweet potato，但是渐渐地呢，才用来指土豆这种食物。John: And interestingly enough, it was actually first domesticated in southern Peru, so it is actually from the New World, if you will. So in Peru and Bolivia between 8000 and 5000 BC, it has since spread around the world.Xiaohua: 土豆种植的历史还挺长久的。在公元8000至5000年前，南美的秘鲁和玻利维亚就有人开始种植土豆了。John: And amazingly enough, potatoes are used in a vast variety of ways, not just eating. Some people may be familiar with vodka. It can be made from potatoes. Akvavit, from Sweden, another part of Scandinavia, that is also made from potatoes. It can be used for food for domestic animals and also potato starch is used in food industry to make thickeners and binders and soups, and in the textile industry as adhesives and even in the manufacturing of paper and boards.Xiaohua: 我们来看看土豆的各种用途吧。土豆可以用来酿酒，尤其是像伏特加，akvavit这样的烈酒；可以当做饲料，这我们都知道了，中国的农民经常用土豆皮来喂猪；另外土豆淀粉也是很常用的一种东西。还有呢就是，土豆竟然可以在纺织业中做粘合剂或者用来加工纸和纸板。John: After the news that the Ministry of Agriculture is making the potato a stable food in China, I imagine most of listeners are going to be interested, in what the hack should we do with this thing. Well interestingly enough, potatoes can be prepared in a variety of ways: skin-on or peeled, whole or cut up, seasonings or without, mashed or whatever. But really, all that you need to pay attention to, more the often than not, is first boiling the potato, getting it to a temperature that the starch granules actually first swell up and then making other types of dishes with it.Xiaohua: 我们下面还是说说最重要的议题，怎么样做土豆吧。做土豆的方法可以有很多种，可以带皮吃不带皮吃，整个吃切开了吃，煮煮就吃或者是放调料吃等等。但是最重要的就是土豆一定要煮熟了再吃。John: Exactly, so of course, I think most people are familiar with mashed potatoes. And mashed potatoes can come with in an amazing variety, because really all you get to do is boil the potatoes, peeled or not peeled, so you can do it with skin-on or skin-off everyone to do it, and then you just mash it up. And there are some different ways making mashed potatoes. My favorite is my mother’s roast garlic mashed potatoes, with roasted garlic and butter and salts and maybe some milk with mashed potatoes. But you can put anything in there. You can put mayonnaise, sour cream, anything to kind of cream it up a little bit, but then you know add bacon, add onions, add garlic. It’s just, the varieties are endless.Xiaohua: Mashed potato是土豆泥。土豆泥的做法可多了去了，可以保留着土豆皮也可以把土豆皮削去，然后煮熟之后压成泥，然后可以加你任何想加的东西，牛奶，酸奶，酸奶油，黄油。John推荐加烤大蒜roasted garlic.John: Yeah, it’s really good. Roasted garlic smashed potatoes are freaking amazing. And then a big favorite in the United States is the baked potato. If you go to a lot of restaurants that serve the steak, one of the side items and choices are going to be a baked potato. In my family, whenever we ate steak, we also ate the baked potato. And it’s just easy to, basically, you just wrap it in tin foil, and bake the heck out of it for 45 minutes to an hour. It takes a while. And then you cut it open and you put some butter or whatever you want really inside of it.Xiaohua: 整个的烤土豆baked potato也是美国人非常喜欢吃的一道土豆菜肴。基本上就是用锡纸包好放在烤箱里烤很长一段时间，然后拿出来之后，或者切开在里面加上盐、黄油以及你任何喜欢吃的东西。John: And then there are I think as everyone knows French-fried potatoes. In the UK and Australia, they call it chips and in the US chips are potato chips, you know like薯片or something like that. And then there is scalloped potato, which is basically just very thinly sliced potatos. Then you can make you know hashbrowns for example, so by grating them and making like土豆丝almost and then frying it up. And then of course, there is an Italian dish called rosti, which is basically you mash up potatoes, you take the mashed potatoes and you make them into a type of dumpling.John: One of my favorite dishes, so I already talked about the roasted garlic mashed potatoes, but another one my favorite dish was one of my mother’s classics, potato所 au gratin, which is a horribly pronounced French word. But gratin, it just means a type of casserole and so with potatoes au gratin, you scallop the potatoes very, vehin and then you cook it in a sauce of cheese and milk. And it’s just amazing.Xiaohua: 这是John最喜欢吃的菜potato au gratin. Au gratin是法语，意思就是焗烤成的一种菜肴，通常表面上是有一点烤焦的样子。Potato au gratin就是把土豆切成薄片放在烤盘或烤碗里，然后上面再浇上自制的调料汁在烤箱里烤制而成。The mere talk of it makes my mouth watery.

Children's song

The podcast returns after the tragic death of one of its co-hosts, Mr. Rory St. John. In this episode, the hosts remaining alive (namely Jordan D. White, Frank Allen, and Scape White) pay tribute to their fallen comrade while commencing with the difficult job of moving on with their lives. It's not easy. In this episode: Four episodes of This Day in History and Where Are They Now In History...all of which were completed before Rory's death! Another Lesson from the Life of Nathan Van Etten in which Nathan finds himself a hostage while having...a change of mind! All-new series Annie Italic, Girl Reporter, in which our fourth-estate femme finds herself looking into...an old guy! The second and final episode of Rory's Stories From Another World, in which Rory tells another version of The Picture of Dorian Grey to writer Oscar Wilde! Rememberances of Rory St. John, from his friends and colleagues, in the form of both listener mail and audio letters! Jordan performs a musical tribute in the form of a Ukulele is for Covers version of Eric Clapton's Tears In Heaven! Our condolences! Download it now! And, please, send us your questions, comments, suggestions, and cacti to castinwax@gmail.com! As text or MP3s! We're not picky!