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LIKE, COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE The moment many Florida fans have been waiting for has finally arrived! Join David Waters and the Gators Breakdown Plus community for an members-only chat reacting to Billy Napier's firing after a 22-23 record at UF. Billy Gonzales named interim coach as the Gators begin their crucial coaching search. We discuss: Why this is an inflection point for the Florida program Lane Kiffin as the top target and Marcus Freeman interest What the administration must do to get this hire right The Billy G interim decision over Luke How this coaching cycle will define Florida football's future #FloridaGators #GatorsBreakdown #GoGators #CFB #SECFootball #CollegeFootball JOIN Gators Breakdown Plus: https://gatorsbreakdownplus.com Get Florida Gators merch at Fanatics: https://fanatics.93n6tx.net/DVYxja Questions or comments? Send them to gatorsbreakdown@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Luke's HAARP Time Warp: Part 14 Sovereigns Negotiate Dominion. Based on a post by somethin fishy, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. They rode on until they came up to a large brick building with many windows in it. Once there, Marion led the way to a stable around back where their horses could be taken care of. They were quickly let past the guards on the entrance to the hospital. Alice had insisted on having guards that were paid by the hospital; one to take care of some of the more combative patients, two to deal with people that might try to steal medical supplies, and three to keep people who might wish to do her patients harm out. Once inside both Luke and Marion removed their helmets and kept them in the crook of their left arm. As the four of them were going into the ward were Hardrada was, they came across Alice. “Hey doc” chirped Luke “How's our Norwegian guest doing?” “Not bad considering one of my nurses gave him a black eye.” “He made a move on her?” “Yep, but I think he learned his lesson. The worst thing hurt is his pride but that's his problem not mine.” Luke smiled at this as they entered. Once again, the king was amazed. This hospital was clean and bright. Wounded or sick men and women were in beds on either side of the aisle they were walking down. By now he was starting to forget all the questions that he wanted to ask Marion for he had so many. Finally, they stopped in front of a large man with a black eye. “Your majesty, may I have the pleasure to introduce to you King Hardrada of Norway. Luke and I will leave you three alone for some time. Just remember that he is under my protection and if you hurt him then you will have to deal with Dr. Alice and she is far worse to deal with then I am and I have castrated men who crossed me before.” Marion and Luke stepped away so that the two kings could talk in private. Watching, Luke whispered to Marion. “I'm going to go and get the first brigade and elements of the fourth ready to go fight those damn Scots.” She nodded and Luke turned to leave. “Oh, before I forget, what would you like for lunch, sweetheart?” “I'm thinking that I will have probably have a sandwich and a pint. Can you tell Gabriel to come and find me please for we need to discuss security while Godwinson's army is here?” Luke pulled her in for a deep kiss before he left. After Luke left, Marion felt someone come up beside her and out of the corner of her eye, she could see bright red. “Well doc, how soon can you release him?” Alice smiled at this. She was finding that she loved to be called doc. “Just a couple of days. There doesn't seem to be any infection and drainage is a minimum. Speaking of infections though; I need Luke to get me some kind of general antibiotic for we are losing too many to simple damn infections. From what I have been able to determine, most of those damn infections are staph so I have ordered all surfaces to be cleaned. Also, I'm going to need more surgical tools so that the doctors that I'm training can have enough tools. Good news though; Luke's suggestion about the smallpox vaccine appears to be working quite well and hopefully within a month or two, I will be ready to begin full scale vaccinations.” “Okay, I'll talk to Luke about your stuff and that's excellent news about the pox vaccine.” The ladies stood there for a couple of minutes while the kings finished talking. Godwinson then walked over to Marion. “He is your problem milady. After all your forces captured him, so it would only seem fair that you should get his ransom.” “Thank you, your majesty. Now may I introduce to you Dr. Alice. She is the one that runs the medical side of things here in York.” “Your majesty, it is a pleasure to meet you.” Alice said “A woman doctor? I thought Marion was joking!” Alice's face flushed with anger as she growled “Now listen here you fucking idiot. So, what if I don't have a cock swinging between my legs. The advantage of that is that I don't have to think with my balls! But I tell you this; I am the best doctor in the world right now. If these Facts anger you then that is your fucking problem and you can get the fuck out of My hospital.” The king was taken back, after all nobody talked to the king in such a manor. He was surprised to see the same anger in Marion's face as well. It was clear to him that he had crossed some kind of line. What scared him though was what he saw behind Marion. Standing in the doorway was a very angry Gabriel and an even madder Luke. Luke walked over to a fireplace and picked up one of the tools, he made sure the king and his guard were watching as he proceeded to bend the formerly straight shaft into a series of small loops with his bare hands. The king's face turned ghostly white seeing this for he had never seen someone do that. When he turned to look at Hardrada; he was met with a smile and a shrug. After all, Hardrada had already learned the hard way that you do not insult the women here. The king then very wisely apologized to Alice and to Marion. The four's tempers began to cool down after that and the king was glad to see Gabriel and Luke relax so Marion's next words surprised him. “Would you like to have lunch with us and we could begin to answer some of your questions?” “Yes, I would.” “Then come with me please.” Marion said bye to Alice who went back to her duties as Marion led the king, his guard, Gabriel, and Luke to the castle. Outside the king could see that his men were starting to come into York and they were just as amazed as he still was. It was a short ride to the castle which by this time was packed with offices for administration. Finally, they were able to get their food and sit down. They proceeded to answer many of the king's questions but when it came to where Luke was from, the king was met with silence and looks telling him that he definitely should not go a step further with those questions. The king stayed with Marion and asked questions for the next couple of hours. He was deeply impressed that she, Luke, and Gabriel were such charming host as long as he was careful of what he said. Eventually though the elephant in the room had to be addressed. Why did Marion have such a large army in the first place? “The answer to that your majesty is very simple” explained Gabriel “if Marion didn't have her army, then we would all be dead and a large number of the people of York would also be dead at the hands of Cecilia. It was either fight or die; the people fought and won.” As soon as Gabriel finished, a messenger interrupted. After Marion heard the message, she invited the king to come with them. The five of them went to the train station where a part of Marion's army was getting ready to leave to fight the Scots. The troops and their equipment caused wonder for the king and his guard. Uniforms everywhere, all the troops had the same kind of weapons, most of all was the large number of women that made up Marion's army. Marion though was watching Alice and Markus for he was deploying with the army to the lake district. She thought it was a bit funny watching Alice behave the same way that she did whenever Luke had to leave for combat missions. Chapter 66. After Marion's army left, the king went back to his. They would end up spending five days in York until he received word that the Normans had finally landed. The king left immediately and started to recall his army for most of them had left to go home and tend to their crops. Luke estimated that the king would only be able to get maybe six thousand troops by the time he got to Hastings. Before the king had left, he did ask Marion for some of her troops, but she refused. Most of her army was keeping order, or fighting the Scots, or being refit. At least that's what she told him. In reality she was readying her army for when William won the Battle of Hastings. She had done this at Luke's request and by now she had figured out at what he was angling after. He wanted her to be Queen of England and help led them to an enlightened future to hopefully avoid the pitfalls of his own history. As much as Marion hated lying to her own king, she did have to admit that Luke's path was probably the best one that she could take. Just two days after Godwinson left to confront the Normans, Luke got some very bad news from the lake district. It appeared that even he had gotten cocky in that the army that he sent up there didn't have adequate recon capabilities. While they had been tangled up with the Scottish army to their front, a force a cavalry had snuck around them. When they attacked, they had targeted the medical unit first. At first the reports were contradictory, one said that the army had been routed, another said that they had won a great victory. After spending all day in the telegraph room, Luke had the whole picture. Yes, the army had won once again, but the losses were very heavy. Almost half the army had been killed or wounded and it was only due to the talent and extreme bravery of the commander that the entire army had not been annihilated. One of the worst reports was that the entire medical unit had been wiped out. Every doctor and nurse had been killed when the enemy cavalry had surprised and overran the field hospital. Among the confirmed dead was Alice's fiancé. The commander also recommended him for the highest honors possible for he had fought the cavalry long enough for the commander to get his message of the attack and organize a response. If he hadn't done that, then the army probably would have been wiped out. Luke was deeply saddened for he knew just how much Alice and Markus loved each other. As he was leaving the room, Marion entered. She was really happy until she saw the look in Luke's eyes. “What happened.... Luke what's wrong?” He didn't say anything; he just handed her the report. “Oh my god!!” exclaimed Marion after she had finished and her hands flew to her mouth. “Yep, and now I have to tell Alice that I was a fucking dumbass and got her fiancé killed. Excuse me please darling for I want Alice to hear the news from me instead of through the grapevine and I want to do it before I go get that bottle of booze that I've been saving for a rainy day.” “Luke, I'm going with you for Alice is one of my best friends and I signed off on the forces that you send up there.” When they found Alice, she was in her hospital office and was in a really good mood. “Hey Marion, great news! Markus's priest says that he can marry us as soon as he gets back. I Can't Wait!” she squealed. Marion forced herself to smile weakly “That's good Alice.” “Something wrong Marion? I haven't seen you this quiet in a long time.” Marion tried to talk but all she did was tear up. Finally, she couldn't take it and ran out sobbing. “Luke, what happened?” Alice was now worried. Luke kneeled down in front of Alice and took her hands “Alice we just got some very bad news from the front. It seems that I got cocky and we paid for it. Almost half the army that went to the lake district has been killed or wounded. It seems that they suffered a surprise attack in the rear while they were tangled up with the Scottish army in front of them. Now I haven't got a full causality list yet but it has been confirmed Alice… Markus is dead. It seems that the medical unit was right in the way of the attack and they were wiped out. Markus has been recommended for the highest honors possible for he was able to fight off the enemy just long enough for the commander to save the rest of the army. I am so sorry Alice.” Alice was now in tears for Markus was her life. She had never really had luck with men because she was a strong-willed woman and had no intention of quitting being a doctor. She fell into Luke's arms and sobbed. He held her and cried with her for he had liked Markus tremendously even though Luke had never told him so. They then heard someone come it. It was Gabriel, Marion, and Pollyanna. Matt wasn't available at the moment, but Marion had sure that he got word as well. Marion had told them the news and they had come to help comfort their friend. Marion had also brought Luke's booze. This was some of the strong whiskey that he had made while he was working on the alcohol supply for the hospital. Pollyanna put five glasses out on Alice's desk and Marion poured everyone a drink. “I Don't Want A Fucking Drink! I Want Markus Back!” screamed Alice “Alice. Shut-up and drink” stated Pollyanna Luke raised his glass: “To Markus and all of the others that we have lost. You might be lost but you will not be forgotten.” With that, they all downed their glasses with Alice immediately demanding another which Marion poured and Alice gulped down. Marion refilled the glass again but this time Luke stopped the glass from getting to Alice's mouth. “Come on Alice. Let's all get out of here.” Luke guided them back to the castle where they ended up in Marion's chambers. Everyone by now had heard of the disaster so they all gave the five space. Back in Marion's chambers the drinking continued with the exception of Gabriel because she was pregnant. The remaining four drained Luke's supply which wasn't too big to start with, thankfully. It had been enough though for the four to get plastered. Gabriel slipped out and got Matt. Being that Pollyanna was wasted, it would take both of them to get her back into her bed. Matt simply picked Pollyanna up and put her over his shoulder while Gabriel got the doors. When she got back Luke, Marion, and Alice were passed out for which Gabriel was thankful for because she hated dealing with drunks. Luke had passed out on the coach, while Marion was in their bed, and Alice was in Luke's favorite arm chair. Gabriel went around and put covers over everyone. She then got a shower and got into bed with Marion, spooning her softly. Gabriel had to admit though that if she hadn't been pregnant then she would have been wasted too. Eventually she fell asleep. Sometime during the night, Luke was disturbed by someone playing with his cock. Between the booze, the darkness, him still being mostly asleep, and the awesome feeling; he couldn't tell who was working on his cock and Little Luke didn't care. Eventually whoever it was rose up and slowly sank down Luke's organ. It should have occurred to him that the person working his cock had seemed a little timid and had winced a little when Luke's cock first entered her but it didn't. All he knew was that his cock was in someone really, really tight and really, really hot. Luke tried to grab her hips, but she smacked his hands down. Up and down, she moved; her tight pussy had a death grip on Little Luke and Luke had to admit that it felt like he had put his cock into a furnace. After a few minutes, the pussy's grip tightened even more as Luke watched her stiffen up and start quivering. This was too much for Luke as he thrust his hips up and deposited a massive load of hot sticky cum into her tight cunt. With this, the lady got off and covered Luke up. Luke for his part passed back out. The next morning Luke's head was killing him. When Luke went to get up, he noticed that his cock was sticky like it had been inside someone. This brought back the memory of the night before for he thought that he was having a dream. Now he was curious as to who had ridden him. He figured that it wasn't Marion for she was much louder and he hadn't noticed an expanded belly on the person ridding him. He fixed his pants and got up. Marion and Gabriel were still sleeping so he was quiet. He then noticed Alice sleeping in his chair. Luke looked at her and started thinking. ‘No way it was her' he thought as he staggered into the bathroom to wash up and relieve himself. When he came out, the ladies were all getting up. At least he felt better after his cold shower, the water heater hadn't had enough sun yet to warm up. He stopped by Marion and Gabriel. “Okay I got a question for y'all. Which one of you lovely ladies rode little Luke last night?” Marion and Gabriel looked at each other. They rubbed their hands on each other's pussies. “Wasn't Marion.” Claimed Gabriel “Wasn't Gabriel.” Moaned Marion. “You sure one of us rode you last night?” “Well, someone did for I thought I remembered someone riding me last night and when I got up this morning, I was sticky.” About this time Alice got up and she was limping slightly. Gabriel and Marion, both caught it. So did Luke as soon as he looked at Alice's walk. Marion was about to say something when Luke stopped her. “Alice” he said softly “Can you come here for a minute, please?” “Can it wait? I have to pee.” “No, it can't and it will only take a moment.” She stumbled over. “Did you impale yourself last night?” she just looked confused. “He means dearie” said Marion, softy “did you have sex with him last night?” “No!” “You sure?” asked Gabriel “for your legs are telling a different story.” “Look, I'm a virgin! I know I still have my hymen because Markus saw it one day when he was eating me out and I looked at it myself with a mirror. I was going to give it to him on our wedding night! If You Don't Believe Me Then Look For Yourself!” With that, Alice dropped her pants, laid down on the bed and spread her legs wide. Luke didn't want to look but he wanted to know who had rode him and Alice was the last choice. He hoped and prayed that it wasn't her for she had been through enough already and the last thing he wanted to do was to add more for her to worry about. Marion gently pulled one side of her pussy back, while Gabriel pulled the other side back. When Luke looked, Alice's hymen was gone and she had dried cum on her pussy and in her flaming pubic hair. Marion and Gabriel saw this too. The three looked at each other and Gabriel went to the bathroom to get her small mirror. Marion was the one that got elected to break the news to Alice. “Alice, darling. It was you last night. Your hymen is gone and you have dried cum on you.” “Marion of York, you are so fucking full of shit!” Alice screamed. “Take a look for yourself.” Marion said as Gabriel handed the mirror to Alice. Alice checked herself out and when she saw that they were telling the truth, she burst into tears again. She just couldn't believe what she had done. Here they had been fighting to make men and women equal and she had just raped the man that had saved her and had given her life real meaning. She was going to run out of the room when Marion caught her and sat her down on the bed. Marion looked at Gabriel and Luke. They got the message and quietly left. “Alice” said Marion, softy. And Alice looked up. Her face was a wreck. She had tear streaks all over, she had bags under her eyes, and her eyes were red and bloodshot. “Did you know what you were doing last night?” Alice just sat there quietly for she was in a state of shock. “Alice?” asked Marion again. Now the flood gates opened for Alice. “No! I swear I didn't know! I would never do anything... I mean... Well, what I mean is...” that was as far as she got before Marion put her finger over Alice's lips and Alice started sobbing again. As Alice was crying, Marion pulled her to her and hugged her tightly until she was able to calm down a little bit. Alice for her part was expecting for Marion to have her arrested for rape. “You have nothing to fear Alice for I am not angry with you. I just wish that you had told us that you wanted to get laid so that Luke could have made you a woman correctly.” “What?? You mean that you're not mad at me for raping Luke.” “No, I'm not. I should be furious with you and have you arrested but you have been under so much strain with everything going on and then to lose the man that you love the most before you can even get married. I mean damn, I doubt that I could live with that. Considering this, I can't see myself doing anything to add to your problems, but honey I do have one request.” Alice looked at her. “Next time you want to get laid, just ask Luke. Its fine with me if you want him to show you how to love or even to give you a child. I mean he has already given Gabriel and I one, plus he is a very considerate and thorough lover. I highly doubt that you could do any better. I know that I can't.” Alice just sat there in disbelief. Marion had just given her permission to sleep with her husband and for him to knock her up, if she wanted it. This was something that secretly Alice had wanted but she had been afraid for Luke had always seemed so tough and demanding, plus he was with Marion already. She broke down in more tears, but this time they were tears of joy. She wrapped her arms around Marion tightly and held on until she had cried herself out. Once she had, Marion told her. “Come here tonight Alice.” Alice excused herself so that she could clean herself up before she started working for the day and Marion went to tell Luke about Alice. She found both Luke and Gabriel in the telegraph room. As she walked in, Gabriel told her “Looks like you get to negotiate with Scotland too. The armies clashed again only this time, your army not only completely routed theirs, but captured almost all of it, including King Malcom the third. We also got a message that…” Gabriel stopped there and looked around “We need to go somewhere completely private” So Luke took them to his office and locked the door once the three of them were inside. Once in Gabriel continued “The Battle of Hastings unfolded exactly how Luke said it would; King Godwinson is dead and his army has been routed. We won't know for a few days yet how the nobles will react though.” “So, it's starting is what you are saying. I need to decide if I want to become the Queen of England or stay a local leader.” “That is exactly what we are saying Marion and I personally recommend that you work to becoming the Queen of England for the Normans won't let you stay a local leader.” “I second that” chimed in Luke. “You will have a huge advantage in that you already know what kind of pitfalls are ahead for humanity and hopefully under your leadership, everyone will be able to avoid the worst of them, hopefully.” Marion was now starting to panic a little for in the back of her mind, she had never expected this to happen. “I need a few days to think this over.” “Of course. We do have some time before you need to decide and by waiting a little bit, it would be less suspicious anyway.” Luke said. Marion looked at him and nodded. Gabriel was getting ready to leave for she had a few things to do but Marion stopped her. “We all have one other thing to talk about.” Luke and Gabriel looked at her and waited for her to continue “I had a talk with Alice. First, she feels terrible about raping you, Luke. I mean really, really terrible. Now I kind of promised her that you would teach her how to love and you would make love to her tonight. I also kind of told her that if she wants a child that you would be her sperm donor. I hope that's okay Luke?” “Marion, seriously. I really wish that you have asked me first. How would like it if I promised you to a bunch of men.” Marion was going to protest but thought about it for a second. He was right as usual. It was her turn to burst into tears. “I'm so sorry Luke!” she whaled “I wasn't thinking. I just saw one of my best friends in pain and thought that you would help her. I'm so sorry! I truly am! Please forgive me! Please??” “I wasn't mad at you, Marion. Just please don't offer me to anyone else. You know that I was a one-woman man and it took me a while to accept Gabriel as a regular lover. Now before you ask, I will be happy to help Alice through this difficult period” “Thank you, Luke. Has anyone ever tell you that you're the greatest.” “Yep. That's been mentioned a couple of times.” Marion laughed as she swayed against Luke, and she ended up just hugging him tightly. The feeling of Luke's powerful body in her arms reminded her once again that she was the luckiest woman on Earth. She had a loving husband who supported her completely and she had loyal friends that would die to protect her. The rest of the day, everyone was doing their jobs. Luke and Alice were in constant communication with the lake district army about handling wounded and prisoners. Alice ordered a very small medical unit to leave immediately and get up to the lake district to help with wounded. Luke had sure that they would get top priority for transportation and any needed supplies. Meanwhile Marion and Gabriel had loads of civil administration duties to take care of. Finally, it was dinner time. This time Alice joined Marion, Gabriel, and Luke. This was the first time that she had done that for normally she would eat either in her chambers or in her office. Chapter 67. After dinner, Alice was extremely nervous for she had never been in bed with a man. Yes, her body had raped Luke the night before, but her brain wasn't participating. This time, her whole body and soul would be involved. Looking at Alice, Gabriel knew some emotions that she was feeling. Gabriel could remember how nervous she had been her first time. Something that Gabriel had never told anyone was that she had been engaged to be married as well. Her parents had picked a man from a neighboring village to marry her. The man was rough and crude, but had been from a prosperous family. Fortunately for Gabriel, the man had been killed by some of Richard's troops before the marriage could take place. Gabriel knew that Alice couldn't be in better hands; for Luke was very gentle and very experienced. He would make sure that Alice's first time would be one to remember. Marion had been watching as well. Luke had been her first as well and she had been so glad for that; for intercourse was something that she looked forward to unlike many of the women that she knew growing up. Luke gently picked Alice up. In his strong arms, Alice couldn't help but smile for she felt safe and loved. He carried her back into bedroom while Gabriel and Marion cleaned up after dinner. They left the chambers to go back to the office for a couple of hours so that Alice would have some privacy. They decided on the office because Marion had some paperwork to finish up anyway. Back in the bedroom, Luke carefully undressed Alice. He loved her snow-white skin and red hair. Unlike Marion and Gabriel, Alice still had her full bush. “Should I shave it for you?” “Only if you want it shave it but that is totally up to you.” “Well, what do you like?” “Maybe we can just trim it up a little bit.” Alice nodded. With that Luke spread a towel out on the bed and invited Alice to lay down on it. He went and got his scissors. It took him a few minutes but he got Alice's bush trimmed up to where it was neat. When she looked it over, she had to admit that it looked good and it actually felt much nicer. “If in the future you want to shave it off, I suggest that you get Gabriel or Marion to help you the first time.” “Okay. Thank you, Luke but I think for now I'll keep the hair and just trim it.” Luke then went back and turned on the water. When the temperature was good, he picked Alice up and took her into the shower. She giggled the entire way to the shower. They spent a decent amount of time washing each other off. The feeling of Luke's strong and rough hands running over Alice's skin made her relax completely. Softy she started humming to herself as Luke made sure that she was clean. When he was washing down her front, Alice leaned into Luke's chest and purred; she was now so content. When he finished with her, he turned off the water and got towels to dry off with. He wrapped one around Alice and another around her head to dry her hair off. Alice was really enjoying being pampered like this. After Luke had dried himself off, he went back into the bedroom with Alice following. Luke sat down on the edge of the bed and Alice sat next to him. She wrapped her delicate hands around Luke's massive bicep. After all this time with being around Luke; Alice was still amazed by the power in those arms and yet he was the gentlest person that she had ever met. Luke smiled at her as he gently put his arm around her and pulled her close. She laid her head on Luke's chest and looked up into his bright blue eyes and she started to melt at the loving look that she got. Luke started to move his head down and even though Alice was a novice, she moved her head up. Their lips met and sparks flew between them. Alice wasn't sure what to do next. Not only was she inexperienced but she had started out with very low expectations for the evening. Going in she had been sure that Luke would back out. Perhaps sensing her unease, Luke pulled away for a minute. “Just be yourself and trust your body, Alice. Let it tell you want it wants.” “Okay” She smiled up at him and resumed with their kissing. Luke started to move his hands along Alice's neck. This caused her to get goosebumps all over. When Luke's fingers reached her large, bright pink nipples, they were rock hard and Alice's body was starting to move on its own. She stretched out on the bed and moved up so that she would be completely on the bed. Luke smiled and laid down next to her in a spot that would allow him to suck on her nipples, kiss her long neck, or caress most of her body. Luke started by planting kisses on her neck and Alice hummed with content. Her humming got louder as Luke moved down her body making sure to kiss every square millimeter of her body. When Luke reached her nipples, Alice's humming became moans of pleasure as her hands found their way into Luke's hair. Alice held Luke's head tightly to her A cup tits while Luke sucked, licked, and nibbled on her tits. He switched from one tit to the other. While he would be working on one with his mouth, he would work the other with his fingers. Alice had never imagined that sex could ever feel this good as she felt like electricity was flowing from her nipples into the rest of her body. She of course knew all about the feeling of electricity for some of the training that Luke had given when he started to introduce some of his electrical devises was for the trainee to get shocked on purpose. Luke had made sure the shock was painful but nowhere near lethal. This way, people would develop a healthy respect for electricity and it always worked. Now Alice was feeling something that she had never felt before and she had no desire to end it. She could feel her body temperature rising and the amount of moisture between her legs skyrocket. “Oh Luke, don't forget about the rest of my body…. please” He chuckled at this as he began to work his way down Alice's toned body. Slowly he worked his way down and the lower he got; the shallower Alice's breathing became and the more her head thrashed around for she was getting even more excited. As he got to her pussy, Alice's mood changed. She no longer wanted him to explore, she wanted him to stay where he was. She kept him in his current position by digging her fingers into his scalp and holding tight. Luke smiled as he took a deep breath and breathed in her scent. To say it was intoxicating was an understatement for Luke could see himself easily getting addicted to it. She was actually more addicting than Marion, and Luke was completely addicted to Marion's scent. Alice smelled fresh and clean with a mild undertow of sexy musk. If Alice thought that she was warm before Luke started on her pussy, she was now flaming hot. The feeling of Luke's hot breath, plus his tongue, and his neatly trimmed mustache and beard sent her over the edge before he could really even get started on licking her inner lips. As she finished with her first Luke originated orgasm Luke just smiled and told her that they were still in the appetizer phase. Her head flopped back on the bed as she moaned. She didn't know if she could even survive the rest of the night but if she did die then she would definitely be happy. Her next orgasm slammed into her the moment Luke ran his tongue up her slit. He had started at her anus and dragged it across her skin. She felt his tongue dip into her cunt and come back out. When his tongue first went across her clit; her eyes light up with stars and then he shifted just a bit and Alice exploded. She squirted all over Luke's face. Alice of course was embarrassed but Luke was smiling. “You should be proud of yourself for not many women can do that.” Alice was sure that her checks were as red as her hair. When Luke went to move his tongue back down to her pussy, she stopped him for she had to rest. Moved be a sudden idea, Alice pushed Luke onto his back where she proceeded to do the same things to Luke that he had done to her. She really enjoyed her sudden power over Luke for she had him quivering by the time she had got down to his cock. Now she had never sucked a cock, but by listening to various other woman, Alice had a theoretical knowledge on how to do it. As she started, she heard Luke whisper: “Be gentle please. God be gentle.” And the rest of it was babble. Alice started by tracing his member with her tongue. When she got to his balls, she sucked each one of them into her mouth and massaged them with her tongue before allowing them to pop back out of her mouth. When she checked on Luke's cock, she found that is far harder and larger than it had been when she had started. She then slowly ran her tongue up the underside and watched as Luke's cock twitched and his hips thrust upwards. Since she didn't' want him to cum yet, she went back to light teasing until he settled down a bit. Then it was back to working on his cock. This time she started with the head as she swirled her tongue around it. She accidentally got some pre-cum on her tongue and quickly decided that she liked the taste even though it was salty and had a slight metallic taste. She then opened her mouth and took Luke as deep into her mouth as she could. She was able to get almost all of his cock into his mouth before she gagged. As she pulled her head up, she used her mouth to pull a slight vacuum on Luke as her tongue swirled around his cock. Since she could watch his eyes while she did this; she had seen his eyes roll back into his head. She smiled as she repeated the process slowly. Doing this, she kept him almost ready to cum but not quite there. She kept this up for almost five minutes all the while Luke's cock grew larger and harder. When Alice thought that Luke couldn't handle any more, she rolled off of him and spread her legs wide. She was ready to get laid. When Luke opened his eyes, Alice noticed that they had glazed over and instead of his usual warm look; he had lust in his eyes. This scared and excited Alice at the same time. “Come on Luke, I'm ready. Now give it to me!!” As soon as Luke could focus a bit, he moved down to Alice's feet and kissed his way up. This time he didn't stop at her pussy or her tits. When Luke reached Alice's lips, she could feel the tip of his cock rubbing on her puffy lips. Alice shifted her hips slightly and the tip of Luke's cock slipped into her. Alice then wrapped her legs over Luke's ass and dug her fingers into his back, drawing blood, as she pulled him into her. Deeper and deeper he moved, forcing Alice's tight pussy to give it room. Alice kept pulling on Luke until he bottomed out inside her. She then shifted her hips some more and she felt Luke's tip push on her cervix. This caused her some bad pain and she stopped. Luke thankfully had seen her pain and pulled back enough to where it didn't hurt anymore. Slowly he pulled his cock out until, just the tip was still inside her. He then reversed course and drove deep inside her again. If Alice thought that the orgasms that she had before were mind blowing then she had another thing coming. Slowly both of them built toward their orgasms. Alice discovered her Kegel muscles by accident and Luke's reaction encouraged her to continue. She would flex her muscles in the opposite direction that Luke was moving and this drove both of them wild with lust. Finally, Alice had enough; she wanted Luke's cum planted deep inside her so she pulled on Luke harder. He quickly got the message and he started pounding her. The biggest difference between Marion and Alice was that Alice was a quiet love maker while Marion was quite loud. It only took Luke a minute of pounding Alice's tight body for him to explode. Thermonuclear blast went off in his eyes and even the light from a candle bothered him. What happened to Alice was worse for Luke cumming had set her off. This orgasm dwarfed all the other ones that she had ever had. Her grip on Luke was so tight that he thought that she might crack a rib, not that he cared at the moment. He shot nine loads of cum deep into Alice, but she didn't feel all of them for she blacked out, about half way through. Once Luke finished, he rolled off of her and pulled her close to him. He then managed to pull the cover over their bodies before he passed out. Watching all the action from the shadows across the room were Marion and Gabriel. They each had one of their hands on the other's pussy as they watched and had already given each other a couple of pleasurable orgasms watching Luke and Alice. When Luke and Alice finished Gabriel leaned over and whispered in Marion's ear. “I think we have another for our bed for I doubt that Alice could ever be satisfied with another man ever again.” Marion nodded her agreement as she pulled Gabriel out of the room. They had set up Luke's sleeping gear in one of the outer rooms. They snuggled up in each other's arms and passed out for they didn't want to make too much noise. Chapter 68. The next morning Luke woke up to a sight that he hoped he would still remember on his death bed. In fact, as soon as he had time, he was determined to sketch it so that he couldn't forget. Alice was lying next to him with her fire red hair spread around her head like a halo of fire in the morning sun while the cover stopped just below her tits, leaving them bathed in sunlight. He quietly slipped out of bed and went bathroom. When he got back, he just couldn't bear the thought of this gorgeous creature waking up by herself, so he crawled back into bed with her and wrapped his arms around her. He lay there just thinking how lucky he was. After all he had a loving wife and a pregnant lover. He had a beautiful daughter that was healthy. He commanded the most powerful army in the world and his wife was rapidly becoming the most powerful noble in England. Now he had just spent a night with someone who was possibly the only woman on Earth that was more beautiful than his wife. Yes, he was a very lucky man and he knew it. Peeking through one of the doors was Marion and Gabriel. They watched as Luke got up and then crawled back into bed with Alice, which for her part, was still sleeping soundly. “I'm wondering if you just created a monster, darling.” “I know my husband and there is no way that he would leave me. Actually, I'm glad that he got back in bed with her. She shouldn't wake up alone. Come on Gabriel let's get out of here before we get caught spying.” They left to get a jump on the day's work. It was almost an hour later before Alice woke up. At first, she was confused but when she saw Luke looking up at her smiling, everything came back to her. She was so glad that her first time was someone who was so loving and caring as Luke. “Oh Luke, how can I ever thank you for last night? That was the most wonderful experience that I have ever had. I mean I never dreamed that it could be so good.” “Usually it's not that good, but when two people are perfectly in sync with each other than magic happens. Sometimes even Marion and I have disappointing sex. Usually something is bothering one of us. When that happens you just soldier on and try to understand the other person as best you can. It's when it repeatedly happens, that's when you have a problem. As for thanking me, just live your life so that you are happy.” “Right now, I don't know what will make me happy but I am so glad that we did that.” Alice and Luke laid they in bed for a little while and quietly talked while Luke traced Alice's curves very lightly with his fingertips. Mostly they talked about Alice's feelings. After all, her fiancé had just been killed and now she had slept with the man who had got her out of sexual servitude. Finally, Alice got up. She was sticky and had to get a shower. Since Luke needed one too, they shared a shower. As they got up, Alice noticed that Luke's cock was hard again. “Oh my. Is that from me?” Luke looked down at his cock and smiled. “Now why would you think that me seeing one of the most beautiful women in the world naked would case little Luke to stand at attention.” “You think I'm beautiful? Even with my scar, partially missing ear, and small tits?” “Honey, you give Marion a run for her money, and if I wasn't married to her, I would have a very hard time deciding on which one of you are more beautiful. As far as your scar goes; it just shows that you are a very courageous woman who isn't afraid to fight. With your small tits you won't have to worry about them becoming shapeless bags when you get older.” Alice smiled at Luke and she was sure that her checks were bright red. Moving by instinct, she went over and holding Luke's cock, took him back to the shower where she turned the water on. Once the water was warm, they got in where Alice wrapped her arms around Luke's neck. He moved his hands down to her legs to give her more support and in doing so pulled Alice's cunt right to his cock. He then hooked his elbows under Alice's knees and this opened her pussy up fully to Luke. Alice's eyes were instantly covered in lust as she reached down and guided Luke's cock into her pussy. Luke moved so that he could pin Alice against the wall. Doing this allowed him to pound her senseless and that is exactly what he did. Within minutes, Alice was reduced to a ragdoll as Luke's pounding and the steam from the water had completely overwhelmed her senses. She was now in a state of near constant orgasms as Luke continued to work her. Alice's jaw hung slack, her eyes were completely glazed over when they weren't rolled back into her head, and her tits were jiggling in sync with Luke's pounding as he got closer to his orgasm. Finally, mercifully, Luke exploded deep inside Alice although he doubted that she realized it. Gently he sat her down on a built-in bench and proceeded to clean her and himself up. Once done, he dried Alice off and laid her out in bed and covered her up. He then started getting ready for the day because he was sure that he had paperwork to do. When he left the room, Alice was still sleeping soundly. An hour later, Alice found Luke in his office. She had come to tell him that she was headed back to her hospital. Marion called out from her office: “Are you going to be staying with us tonight?” “No, I don't think so. After all I don't want to wear out my welcome.” “Alice, look here. I talked it over with Gabriel and we would be honored if you moved in with us.” “I can't do that. Not this soon after Markus.” “Okay well the invitation will remain standing if in the future you get lonely.” “Thank you, Marion.” A couple of hours later Marion got a message from Alice. “Will be releasing King Hardrada in a couple of hours.” Marion had already decided on what she wanted from the king. She didn't want money, she wanted all of his British lands. When Marion told the king what his ransom was, he exploded. He was not going to part with any of his land. “Fine then” Marion said “Guards, take this man and put him in a cell.” Looking back at Hardrada “When you finally come to your senses and turn over the land that I want, you and the remainder your army will be released. Until then you will remain in a prison cell. Also remember that the longer you wait the higher the price for your freedom for I will be charging you for housing and feeding the rest of your men.” Marion and Gabriel watched as the furious king was hauled away. “How long do you think before he comes to his senses?” asked Gabriel “Couple of days.” Chapter 69. Just as Marion had predicted, the king of Norway signed over all of his British lands to Marion after a few days and paid her outrageous price for housing and feeding his army. She had intentionally overcharged to force the king to do what she wanted him to do. After he had signed, he and the remainder of his army was given enough ships to get back to Norway. The rest Marion kept for she could use then to fairy troops and material up to her new lands. He had enough of dealing with Marion of York for she was a very dangerous shark and he for one was very slow to realize that. Negotiating with the king of Scotland was a different matter altogether. He refused to give Marion anything. For the most part he refused to even look at her. But that was okay; for Marion had a better idea. She ordered her army to continue into Scotland and conquer it. Doing that would take some serious time for she knew all about the highlanders but given the history that Luke had told her, she figured that it was better to conquer Scotland now while she had the chance. After she had decided on the course of action, she stopped even trying to negotiate with the Scottish king. She figured that once Scotland had been conquered, then she would exile the king to somewhere in Europe. Furthermore, this was the course of action that Luke supported. It was now early November and none of the English nobles had challenged William of Normandy so Marion and Luke started finalizing their plans. They would draw down the northern army to be able to send extra troops south. This army Luke would command in person because the battle that they would fight would have massive repercussions on the future. All told he would be able to take almost ten thousand soldiers south and since William hadn't really moved from his coastal fort, Luke figured that his army could be there in about two weeks or less, depending on the roads. Marion would stay in York for Luke was unwilling to let his wife take the risk of coming with the army. Gabriel had to stay behind anyway because she was starting to have a hard time moving around due to her pregnancy. She didn't mind though for she was looking forward toward being a mother. Alice however would be going. Since the surprise Scottish attack, she was short of medics and doctors She knew that in a couple of years this wouldn't have been a problem but for the time being, she just didn't have enough personal to send with Luke. She figured that by her going along that at least Luke would have at least one competent doctor. To help Luke's army move faster, he was taking Pollyanna and all of her engineers with him. He knew that many of the existing bridges wouldn't be able to support the weight of his artillery so they would have to build their own bridges across many of the rivers and streams they came to. The night before the army left however, Luke asked Gabriel to sleep somewhere else for the night. He wanted to be able to make love to his wife without interruptions. Gabriel was about to refuse but then she saw the look in Luke's eyes. It seemed like he was almost pleading with her and he looked very sad. Part of the reason was that he knew that he would be gone for a while and part of it was that he had a voice in his head telling him that he wouldn't survive this campaign and this terrified Luke. Marion knew that something was off the second that she heard that Luke had asked Gabriel to sleep somewhere else that night but she didn't argue. During their shower, Marion really noticed something was off for Luke was moving much slower and more deliberate than he usually did. He made sure to rub every millimeter of Marion's body and this caused her to melt into his arms. When she tried to mount him, in the shower, he stopped her and whispered in her ear: “What's your hurry?” After they got out of the shower, Marion's curiosity finally got the better of her. “Luke, honey. What's wrong? You never refuse me mounting you in the shower.” She saw Luke take a deep breath and squeeze his eyes shut. Finally, he spoke: “I'm absolutely terrified Marion. We are about to permanently alter the future and what if it turns out to be the wrong call. Furthermore, I got this voice in my head that keeps telling me that I won't make it through this campaign.” When he finished, he started crying. Marion was at his side in a second and she knew just how to get him to calm down. She pulled his head down until one of her nipples was in his mouth. At first, he wouldn't suckle at all, but after a while basic instincts took over. Slowly he began to suck at his wife's nipple as she cradled his head and he quietly cried. It really scared her to see her husband in such a state. Slowly Luke's hands began to roam Marion's body and his trademark feather light touch was starting to get Marion aroused. She also noticed a change in the way that Luke was sucking her nipples for he was now working them so that she would get increasing pleasure. As Luke was caressing her body, Marion's hands were roaming Luke's as best they could. She knew that Luke would be okay when he started kissing the rest of her body. As he kissed her, she continued to rub his shoulders. Somehow, she knew that tonight was not a night for animalistic fucking; tonight, it was slow and long love making. Gently she pushed Luke onto his back and she began to kiss on him. She felt one of his hands find its way into her hair where it stayed. Marion kept kissing Luke's body until he began to moan softly. This is what she was waiting for and she swung a leg over Luke's body and slowly sunk down on his cock. They didn't stay that way very long for Luke flipped them over so that he could easily kiss Marion while he thrust up into her. The pace that Luke was setting was almost maddening for Marion because she felt like she was stuck and wasn't getting any closer to cumming, but one look into Luke's eyes killed any protest that Marion was going to make. His eyes didn't convey any of the lust that they usually did while they were making love. Instead, what Marion saw was pure love. However, something else was buried in there and this scared Marion for she saw some of the sheer terror that Luke was feeling. Eventually they ended up one their sides with Marion facing away from Luke and his cock buried deep into her cunt. He was lightly flicking her clit and this drove her quickly toward her climax. Also, in this position she found that she could completely relax. Suddenly her climax hit and she wasn't ready for it. Her body seized up as it took over and she stayed tense for almost a minute before she started to shake violently and she had to admit that she had never shaken harder. As she was finishing, she felt Luke swell up and felt his hot cum flood her pussy. When he finished, he didn't even bother pulling out as he wrapped his arms around Marion and they both went to sleep. The next morning, Luke was up earlier than usual and by the time that Marion woke up, Luke was dressed for he had a couple of hours of work to do before the army could get underway. Before he left, he gave Marion a love filled kiss. On his way out, he saw Gabriel sleeping on the coach so he went over and gave her a kiss on her forehead and whispered to her: “Take care of her while I'm gone and when I don't come back, please watch over her and never let her forget me.” With that he shed a tear, turned on his heel, and was out the door. He wanted to have the army on the train by eight am, so he had just a couple of hours to get ready. Fortunately, his troops were all well trained and they had been put on alert a few days before so they were all in their barracks and sober so it didn't take that long to get them ready. At about 7:30 they started loading and Luke wasn't surprised to see Marion and Gabriel there and in uniform. What he was surprised by was that Marion had Mackenzie in her arms. At least they were able to get one last kiss in and Luke held Marion tight in his arms and buried his nose in her hair for he knew that he wouldn't be returning. He took Mackenzie and gave her a kiss as well before he bounced her up and down in his arms. Finally, it was time to go and he gave Mackenzie back to Marion. After one last kiss, he boarded the train. When Marion and Gabriel got back to the castle, they went to find Alice. She was scheduled to leave on a later train so she was still relaxing in her chambers. Marion had to talk to her urgently. When Marion came into the room, it took Alice all of two seconds to figure out that something was seriously wrong. “What's wrong, Marion?” “Can I ask a personal favor of you?” “Yes of course.” “Can you keep an extra eye on my Luke please?” Marion went on to explain what Luke was concerned with and when she finished Alice was stunned. She would have never in a million years thought that Luke would be terrified of a voice inside his own head. But then the more she thought about it the more it made sense; after all you couldn't just ignore a voice in your head like you could with other people. She gave Marion a warm smile. “And what all can I do to help keep the voices out of his head?” “Anything that you want, just don't hurt him please.” “Now Marion, you know damn well that I could never hurt Luke; plus, it goes against the Hippocratic oath.” “Thank you, Alice. Thank you so much. I can't even begin to tell you just how much this means to me.” Marion gave Alice a hug and left with Gabriel and Mackenzie. To be continued in part 15, Based on a post by somethin fishy, for Sex Stories.

David Gilliland preaches on how the Lord Jesus expounds the Old Testament Scripture in the Gospel of John. He highlights the finality of Scripture, the function of Scripture and the fulness of Scripture in this Gospel. Readings: John 2:20-22, 7:37-39, 10:33-36, 12:14-16, 20:8-10. (Message preached in North America) Complete series: How the Lord uses the Old Testament in Matthew How the Lord uses the Old Testament in Mark How the Lord uses the Old Testament in Luke How the Lord The post The Old Testament in John (63 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

David Gilliland preaches on the beginning, the boundaries and the breadth of the Lord's ministry in the gospel of Mark as it relates to the Old Testament. Readings: Mark 1:1-4, 9-11, 7:10-3, 5-8, 10:1-9, 11:15-18, 12:10-12, 24-27, 35-37. (Message preached in North America) Complete series: How the Lord uses the Old Testament in Matthew How the Lord uses the Old Testament in Mark How the Lord uses the Old Testament in Luke How the Lord uses the Old Testament in The post The Old Testament in Mark (57 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

David Gilliland preaches on allusions to Old Testament Scripture, and accomplishments of OT Scripture, and answers to OT Scripture in the Gospel of Matthew. Readings: Matt 1:1, 21-23, 21:1-7, 26:47-48, 51-56. (Message preached in North America) Complete series: How the Lord uses the Old Testament in Matthew How the Lord uses the Old Testament in Mark How the Lord uses the Old Testament in Luke How the Lord uses the Old Testament in John The post The Old Testament in Matthew (59 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

Joel sat down with the three candidates running for Area 3 Director to have a conversation about issues within USPSA and how they plan to make a difference if elected. The candidates were sent a questions list ahead of time, but they didn't know which of them were designated for answering each question first. At the end of the discussion, they were each asked a question specific to them that they were not allowed to prepare for. For reference, the questions list is below:   Luke What qualifications do you have for being an Area Director? Do you feel personal shooting ability ties into being a good area director? Kevin You were all asked to describe the current culture of USPSA for your bio's. Knowing what you think of the current culture, how do you think you can change the culture to make it a more welcoming environment for new and current shooters? Scott The bans are a very hot topic. What behavior do you feel warrants a ban or suspension? What guidelines do you think should be established to endure bans are made objectively and not subjective to a board members feelings towards a particular member? Kevin What does transparency mean to you? When do you feel executive session is appropriate to use? Luke How do you plan to bring fiscal responsibility to the USPSA organization? Kevin If you had to pick one thing that needs to change about the organization, what would it be, and how would you plan to actually make that change a reality? Luke What changes, if any, have you made at your local matches that have been successful that you could implement on a bigger scale? Scott In regards to match staff, what plans, if any, do you have to revamp the RO program? What are your feelings about the current system for compensating RO's and do you feel it is adequate? Kevin How you feel about the rule set? What changes, if any, do you feel we need to make to equipment or division rules? How often do you feel they should be made? Scott Why do you, or don't you, feel it's important for the Area Director to be the Match Director at the Area match?   Blind Questions: For Luke: Your campaign seems to be based on creating suveys to poll the members. How do you plan to handle decision making in board meetings if you don't have the ability to have members think for you in the moment? For Kevin: The bans and suspensions are a very hot topic. As someone that voted in favor of the bans, what was your thought process behind voting to ban the members and how do you think it reflects on the membership? For Scott: Most people see you as very agreeable and not polarizing in any way. I've had several members ask me privately if you are willing to have uncomfortable conversations and go against the flow if you don't agree with something, or if you will be a go along to get along guy. How would you respond to that?

Luke Knox ’22 speaks with Joe Morgan ‘81 about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, and how his Holy Cross education prepared him to lead with integrity. Recorded on January 28, 2020 --- Transcript Joe: So, the experiences that I had at Holy Cross created tremendous friendships but also expanded my mind and allowed me to get into situations that are uncomfortable for me, but then find a place for me within that circumstance. And I think a lot of times that I see people that don't have that background, they get into a circumstance, they get fixed on their belief, and they can't participate in critical thinking. And critical thinking is the essence of what I believe Jesuit education's all about, is it puts you on a circumstance where you are given the tools, but then almost expected to participate in a broader discussion. And as soon as you get stubborn and dig in, unless of course you're in a debate, you lose the opportunity, I think, to take full advantage of the Holy Cross education. 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: This episode features Joe Morgan from the Class of 1981, a self-proclaimed poster child of Worcester higher education, Joe is a Worcester native who attended Holy Cross, WPI, and Clark University. After beginning his career as an engineer, he quickly rose through the ranks to serve as President of Sony Chemicals Corporation of America. From there, he pursued corporate roles at numerous private and public companies. At each stage, he used his influence in the C-Suite to lead with the values that he learned in his Jesuit Holy Cross education. Maura: Luke Knox from the Class of 2022 speaks with Joe about his decision to start his own company in November 2016 called siY. Be safe. Be inspired. Be you. As an entrepreneur himself, Luke speaks with Joe about best practices in business and management. Throughout the conversation, Joe touts the importance of leading with empathy in order to transform individuals, teams, and corporations. Luke: Welcome, everyone. I'm Luke Knox, a sophomore economics major. Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Joe Morgan, Holy Cross Class of 1981. Joe, it's great to have you on today. Thank you for coming onto the show. Joe: Thanks for inviting me, Luke. Glad to be here. Luke: No problem. Yeah. Luke: Starting off, you were a chemistry major when you were at Holy Cross, and in addition to receiving a Bachelor of Arts from here, you also earned your Bachelor of Science degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and an MBA from Clark University. It sounds like you've been educated by really the top institutions of Worcester. Joe: Right. So, I often refer to myself as the poster child of higher education in Worcester. There's actually a little bit of extra data on those choices though. I started as a math major at Holy Cross. My dad was a math major, so dutiful son, I wanted to do what my dad did. But then I didn't like it, so I became a chemistry major. And then there was a 3/2 program with WPI, and I like scale, big scale instead of beakers and labs, so I didn't really like the experimental side of chemistry, so I went and got a chemical engineering degree at WPI. And then I needed a business degree in order to do what I do, which I'm sure we're going to talk about. Luke: Yeah, we'll get to that. That's great. Worcester, obviously, grew up in Worcester. Great schools here. It's nice to see that homegrown and experiencing all that Worcester has to offer. And I know that, from being a chemistry major at Holy Cross, now you're getting your MBA and you're running businesses, you're obviously a very highly motivated individual. And in your opinion, what would you say your personal mission is and how does that drive you in the work you do? Joe: Well, I think when I was growing up, my parents focused on a few things. One was faith, certainly, and the other was education. So they invested a lot of time in both of those. And when you have strong faith and then you've spent your time in education, you get exposed to a lot of thought process, honestly. And so what my mission is, and it does reflect back probably to my family, which is the third thing my parents focused on, is giving back to people that don't have the benefit of the things that you've been given. Joe: And so I spent a lot of time thinking about that with kid is really a passion for me. The impoverished is another thing I'm deeply passionate about. Joe: But I would say what's interesting now for me more so than ever before, I've run a lot of bigger companies, and now I have my own company, which we'll chat about. But we're at a time I think in our world and our country where we can't seem to get to a common agenda. And so, I have a mission or a passion now to help people see the possibilities of that. Because leadership is daily providing a platform for hope, but then wrapping it with reality. And that's what I spend my time on each day and more. Joe: There's a thing called The Bridge that I've developed with some folks, and we can chat a little bit about that, but that's the essence of my focus now is to help people see the possibilities, but deep down inside for me, it's the kids. It's just making sure that that next generation can see the possibilities of the future. And I don't think today in every case that is true, so that's something that me and others like me are spending time on. Luke: And that same thought process intertwines right with the Holy Cross mission statement- Joe: Right. Luke: ... men and women for others. Joe: Right. Luke: And could you speak a little more about how that... being at Holy Cross and going by that motto, how that has also affected you and your life decisions? Joe: You know what? I was chatting this morning about this, is I think growing up in a Catholic education is a lot of memorization that takes place. And I think if you don't get stressed about trying to memorize all the things about Jesuit education and the mission and the vision and all, but just live it, let it penetrate you, then I think the possibilities of living what you just said comes to be. Joe: So, the experiences that I had at Holy Cross created tremendous friendships but also expanded my mind and allowed me to get into situations that are uncomfortable for me, but then find a place for me within that circumstance. And I think a lot of times that I see people that don't have that background, they get into a circumstance, they get fixed on their belief, and they can't participate in critical thinking. And critical thinking is the essence of what I believe Jesuit education's all about, is it puts you on a circumstance where you are given the tools, but then almost expected to participate in a broader discussion. And as soon as you get stubborn and dig in, unless of course you're in a debate, you lose the opportunity, I think, to take full advantage of the Holy Cross education. Joe: Now where that's taken me in my career, you mentioned WPI and the 3/2 program, I always say that Holy Cross helped me get every job that I have because I learned communication skills, I learned adaptation. WPI allowed me to advance in technical fields because of the process expertise that I was able to glean through that particular education. And that combination was really powerful for me. Luke: And going back to what you were saying about communication skills, I think when I was thinking about my own choices on where I wanted to go to school, I definitely wanted to go somewhere like Holy Cross where I could learn those crucial communication skills. And I know that being in business, being an entrepreneur, how like you were just saying, how really important being able to present yourself and effectively communicate with others, how important that is to not only sell a product, but to grow a business. I was wondering if you could speak more about that and how you've used your communication skill to further your career? Joe: On the communications side, simplicity is so, so important. I am sure as you've gone through your entrepreneurial journey you probably got way too complex at the start, and people have advised you to make it simple, simple, simple. The one-pager, whatever they've told you, and it's true. Because people can't absorb more than that generally. And as the entrepreneur, as the person with the idea, you know way more than they do, and you're trying to engage them just a little bit in what you do so that they'll help you, whether you want money or you want them to buy the product or you want advocacy, whatever that might me, on the communications side, simple, simple, simple. But then also be really clear on knowing your audience. What is it that you want from them or need from them or desire from them and focus only on that. Don't make it broader because you'll lose them. And I think a lot of entrepreneurs that I'm around, they get so passionate about what they do, they lose sight of why they're in this particular conversation and dialog. So that would be one thing. Joe: The other thing is the issue of courage. You have to be somewhat courageous to be an entrepreneur. That doesn't mean that you're necessarily saving lives or something like that. You might, depending upon what you do, but you really do have to have courage because as I'm sure, you can share this with the group too, the audience, is there's a lot of negative that comes from entrepreneurialism. You get a lot of feedback that hurts. And how fast do you respond to that is going to be important. Your resilience quotient is really, really important because if you get stubborn and say, "I don't really care what you said to me. I'm just going to continue to do what I was doing." Probably shouldn't take that approach. There's some value in every input that you get. Joe: The other, probably the third part of this is trust. Be really careful who you look to for trust. If someone doesn't have your interest in mind, it's really all about them, then you're probably not going to get good advice. So that's the other part. So, you want to focus on being courageous, learn a lot, but then your advice, and then always, always, always be simple. Luke: And I think it's super important as an entrepreneur, and I'm sure that you realize this as well, is that when you receive that, it always happens you're going to receive negative criticism. And I think me personally, in my own experience, I've taken that really, not as an opportunity to be bitter, but to be better and to realize, okay, it's really important to view every single opinion that's coming at me with, whether you have a product or a business or you're offering a service, anything like that, and to use it to every day learn more about yourself, learn more about what you want to do, your product, whatever, and use that to help you out in that business setting the next day. Joe: Right. Luke: Stuff like that. Joe: Well, I think, you're an entrepreneur, so when you start a business, it's probably your money. So- Luke: Yeah, it is. Joe: ... people that are around you, it's not their money. So it's easy to spend someone's money if it's not your money. And then time is all you have. So if you waste your time and waste your money, you're not going to have the opportunity to create something of value from your ideas. So really what's important is keeping it simple, but then taking the input from people that you trust and adapting quickly so that you can use whatever resource you have, which I think for... As I'm an entrepreneur too, you end up just with a little bit of time and a little bit of money, and if you use it right, you can turn it into more time and more money. If you use it badly, then it spirals. So, I'm sure you've experienced that. Joe: I think the other part of entrepreneurialism too is at some point you want whatever you're doing to grow, and at that point you're going to bring in other people. Learning how to trust other people is really a big deal, and I actually think that gets back to your first question about Holy Cross, is you believe in the mission, which I think we do or we wouldn't be sitting here, and you are a good judge of people, you always have to validate, you can bring people in far more easily than people that don't have belief in others. And you'll never be able to get the benefit of what your idea is if you can't eventually bring people into the conversation. Joe: I have been the intrepreneur a number of times working for entrepreneurs early in my career, and I actually never asked the question, but they trusted me enough to let me do the things on their behalf because they knew that they couldn't scale it beyond their own means. But I've also seen entrepreneurs that don't trust anybody, and it's a problem because their idea's great, but who wants to work in an environment where you're not trusted? Where every day you think, "Oh my gosh, you've taken something from me?" That's not helpful. So what happens then is people leave. The really good ones leave and then they get marginalized and the business never really achieves what it set out to do. Joe: So that would be a piece of advice for you because I hope that what you're doing just explodes- Luke: Thank you. Yeah. Joe: ... but you're going to have to bring in other people when you do it, you know? Luke: Yeah. And we're kind of in that process right now where we're really building a team. And I know that one of your skills is being able to do that and build a successful team. And if you just had to list off a couple of big characteristics that every team regardless of what business they're in or whatever, what are those main characteristics that every team kind of needs to have? Joe: I thought you were going to ask me a different question, so I'm going to answer the one I thought you were going to ask me, and then I will answer... Joe: I think the first thing to build a team is you have to know what you are good at. So get a white board and write that down. Don't write it in a notebook. Put it on the wall and then walk past it for a few days and make sure that you're being honest with yourself. Don't put it in a notebook, close it, stick it somewhere that you'll never go retrieve it. Put it on a wall. And then let a couple people that you know that actually care about you look at it and say, "You know what, Luke, I don't agree with that. You think you're really good at that but you're actually not." And so move that to the other one which is, whatever the right term is, deficiency or something that I can improve. But be really clear on the three to five things that you're really great at, but then also compare that to what you're most passionate about. Joe: If you could spend the amount of time that you spend on entrepreneurialism, what part of that do you love the most? And if you could spend all your time doing that, because that's likely to equate to value. Once you get that right, now you can start filling in the spots. And don't think about it so much functionally, although eventually you have to have competency in the functions. Think about it in terms of behaviors and values. You've got to get people with the same values as yourself, and they have to be able to articulate that and then demonstrate it. So that's one. Joe: The second one is the behaviors which are different. Values are aligned in the sand. Integrity, think honesty, things like that. Behaviors are when faced with a pressure situation, I scream and yell. That's a behavior. Luke: Right. Joe: I'm guessing you probably don't want that around. Luke: No. Yeah. Joe: You want somebody that's going to get on the balls of their feet and participate and dig in. That's a behavior that you might want in your business. So I'd be really clear on who you are, where you like to spend your time, get the attitudes and the behaviors and the values right. Joe: Now you can talk about financial. So if you're going to scale your business, you're an economics major so you have some reasonable financial understanding, but you do have to have financial expertise in your business so people can cover your back so you can do all those great things you want to do. Joe: Without sales, we don't have a business, so that may be your strength, but you might be the idea person. You may be the product manager, whatever that strength is. So if you need sales and you need finance, make sure that you've got really strong people in the marketplace that you're in. Now you could have a pure online business in which case you need somebody with e-commerce expertise. Whatever that core thing is, get the best you can, and whatever you think you can afford, pay a little more. Because what tends to happen, I see a lot of times with entrepreneurs is you scale it back just a little bit, and you want people to feel like you do, but they're not going to because it's not their business. Luke: Good point. Yeah. Joe: So, don't ever be misguided by a person's individual passion to be an employee versus an entrepreneur. They're different. They're just different. So I think it's really about who the person is first, and then you get to the acumen. Because I'm on a lot of boards with people and I meet some people that are just misaligned on the behaviors and the values, but they're wicked smart. And I can tell you the wicked smart does not trump values and behaviors ever. Eventually that is going to catch up, and it's I would... that's kind of the pecking order that I would recommend. Luke: Yeah, values and behavior, definitely. Joe: Always. Joe: And it depends on what you need in your business too. I don't know the details of your company, but you have to be clear on what competencies are most critical to you. Luke: Great point. And then being a leader in those teams, I know in one of your most recent articles, you talk about having the ability to really fully understand what's going on in somebody's life and how that might affect them in the workplace and outside of it. Joe: Right. Luke: Being a leader in a team and definitely being a leader in a startup company, how do you think that, myself or you, how do you go about that with being compassionate and empathetic towards your employees, your partners, people in your company? Joe: Well, this gets to curiosity. I was asked recently in an article, what do truly curious people do? It's not questions. It's about answers. So you're asking me questions right now. You're curious about those, I can tell by this conversation. But if you were just asking questions and you don't really care what I say, we're not going to have a very productive conversation. Luke: Right. Joe: And you're not going to demonstrate any compassion. Or interest, actually. Joe: So, I think the most important thing is that first question or two that you ask in any interaction. Demonstrate that you actually about the person. So for example, we've faced some tragedy here at Holy Cross recently and I am quite confident that people that were closest to that, if you tried to have a conversation about something other than that circumstance, it would be very, very difficult for them. And you might have planned for weeks, months, maybe even six months, a year, to have a particular meeting with someone that might have been close to that situation, and you want to talk about your product. And you know what? They don't want to talk about your product. They're dealing with something that is just life changing and devastating to them. And if you have no ability to be sympathetic to that, then how are you possibly ever going to connect with them? Joe: And that's one of the things I've learned in my career is you can plan and prepare as an entrepreneur, as a business owner, for that sale or that interaction, but what happened just before that person walked in the room is going to affect whether that interaction that have been planning for is successful or not. And so we need to draw that out. We need to not take it personally if they're not involved in the meeting. Something awful might have happened. Joe: I'll tell you a small story. My daughter was sick, and she was diagnosed with mono when she was in high school. And I was in a board meeting and my office was attached to the board room. And I had a board member that was very high personality and I'm a high personality too, and so he and I would often get into these challenges of one another. And as CEO, I'm supposed to accept that, and generally I did, and I kind of facilitated it. But when I heard my daughter was sick, my energy and my life is driven by my children and my wife, and so when I heard that I was just really affected by it. And so of course I walked into the board room moments after that, and within 15 minutes he was, not attacking, but he was on me again, and to me that was a game-on moment. And my back went up and I leaned in, and it was one of the most intense interactions of my career. Joe: Did I say anything inappropriate? No. Could I have taken a different track? For sure. Could you have heard a pin drop in the room? Absolutely. And he and I went at it, and then afterward he finally asked me what was different about today, and I said, "Here's why." "So why didn't you tell me that?" I said, "You never asked a question. You've never asked me a question about me ever." Joe: And so that to me is one of the largest demonstrations. You can have tremendous people around you, but if you never ask them anything about them, how you possibly going to get the most out of the relationship? You won't. So that would be most advice is really get the questions right, and really care about the answers. And then once you know the answers, if the meeting that you were going to have isn't possible now, talk about the other thing. Go there. Joe: I will say this though. There's a lot of conversation about empathy right now. I think empathy is one of the most difficult things. Pure definition, I see the world as you do. I think that's really, really hard, but I do think if you listen to people and have the right conversation, you can get closer and closer to their life experiences. But I think empathy is one of the most challenging things in the world. Luke: And it sounds like from what you're saying, a huge part in working with clients or working with your team is having a relationship with them- Joe: Yeah. Sure. Luke: ... and like a pure relationship. And I definitely agree with you that that understanding and that ability to emphasize with people, granted it is very difficult to do that, but putting your effort into that shows and people definitely can appreciate that. Joe: So for you, what is your favorite place on campus here? Luke: My favorite place? Probably Cool Beans. Joe: Cool Beans. Why? Luke: It's just a place where usually I'm studying in the science library or Dinand, and it's just like a place where go back, get a coffee, kind of decompress and just kind of enjoy myself for a little bit before I go back to studying. Joe: So it's comforting to you, right? Luke: Yeah. Definitely. Joe: It allows you... Do you think better there? Luke: Yeah. I do. Joe: So that's really interesting question, isn't it? Luke: Yeah, it is. Joe: So if I want to have a- Luke: It is. Yeah. Joe: ... really interesting conversation with you, that would be the place we should go. Luke: True. Joe: We shouldn't go where I want to go. If I want to have a conversation about you, then I need to find where you're most comfortable. And then let's go there. Joe: So here's an interesting thing. When I was first a manager, there were all these books about management, leadership, and... I had some managers that, "We're going to adopt this book." You know what? That's not really what we should do. Think about Holy Cross. When you read all these books we read, you're only two years in and I was here for four years. I didn't commit to memory everything I read, but I adapted my life to certain principles that I learned, and then I paid attention to the professors who have read far more than I ever would read about a specific topic. I wasn't trying to memorize all of it or have my life guided verbatim with everything I learned. It was really about this will help me shape it. Joe: So there was this thing called manage by walking around. So, okay. We're going to manage by walking around, which was about visibility. People would get feedback that managers weren't visible, so we have to be more visible. So what managers would do... I wasn't a manager. I was becoming a manager. They would just appear. So what would your reaction be if you're in the middle of doing something and a person that you never see suddenly appears? What would your reaction be do you think? Luke: I would probably be first, like if it was my boss or something that came over, I would definitely make sure I was really paying attention to everything I'm doing and doing it the best I can, and then try to get some type of one-on-one interaction with them if I never see them and kind of put a face to their name. Joe: So you're taking the burden of that. It's supposed to be them making you feel good, and you're feeling like you have your change your behaviors- Luke: Work harder and- Joe: Yeah. Exactly. Luke: ... yeah. Yeah. You feel on the spot. Yeah. Joe: Precisely. I was annoyed because I don't... they weren't adding any value to me. So I thought that was really... to be honest with you, I thought that was stupid, a really stupid guiding principle. So I think management by walking together is better. Joe: So what I do and have done is I go get somebody and say, "Let's go take a walk." And it's fascinating what happens when you take a walk with someone versus sitting in a small space with someone. There's a lot going on. You can point out things, say, "Hey." It's just more comforting, more casual, and so that's the way I began doing it. And I learned so much about people getting, again, closer to empathy by walking with them as opposed to walking into their environment and hovering over them and making them feel like I was participating, when in fact, I really wasn't. Joe: I didn't do it but once or twice. I thought it was foolish, and then I did this other thing. It was really great. So that's how I did my one-on-ones and my up-to-speeds and all that stuff with people, which was great. Luke: Because sometimes in my opinion, it can feel like if you have a boss hovering over you, it almost feels like they're micromanaging you. And that kind of makes you feel a little degraded and kind of, "Hey, I can do my job. I don't need him watching over me." Joe: Right. Luke: And I think that's a great idea of walking around with whoever is in your company and really, like I was saying, building that relationship with them. Joe: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah, because it's... You break barriers that way. Joe: I had a guy that worked for me, 6'7", and I used to get feedback that he would be intimidating sometimes. He's the nicest guy, and what he would do is he would walk up to someone when they were sitting at their desk and he'd lean over them. He was like Godzilla. And they would be so intimidated by his size, but he was the nicest guy. And all I told him to do was just sit down. Just sit down with them. And then he... And that barrier went away. It was fine. But he just, he wasn't intimidating, but he... intending to be intimidating. Luke: And building that relationship and how have you as a leader within the company that you're starting right now, siY, how have you adopted those same principles into, hey, now you're the CEO. Now you're running this company. You're at the very top. How have you done that as the head of this company? Joe: The truth of that is when you're running a big company like I've had the fortune of doing, you have a platform. I have employed large numbers of employees that work for me and if there's something that I want to convey, get across, I have resources all over the place. I don't have that now. I have a virtual company essentially. And so, I have a large group of executives that I have great regard for that work as part of my network. I have some other people that subcontract work to me. So my influence has to be demonstrated in a very, very different way. Joe: So I'm on the front end of the business creating demand for what we do at siY, and then engaging these folks as independent people. But they buy into the mission. It goes back to what I said before, we have values in our company, we have behavioral expectations, and then we have a vision to create environments where dialog leads to impact. It's not to create a dialog, but it's actually to have an impact. And everybody agrees with that. Joe: So we go together in our own walks of life, not associated entirely to siY, but when we come together, that's who we are. So it's a very different experience for me, but one that has yielded so many incredible situations that I wouldn't have otherwise been able to do. Luke: At siY, could you tell me a little more about what you do? Joe: Sure. Luke: How you got the name? Joe: Let me tell you the story on the name because I think that really kind of demonstrates my career journey. When I came out of WPI, I was a chemical engineer. That was 1983. Market wasn't so good. Economy was rough. So I ended up taking a job as a buyer. And I figured, my father always said, "You may not be the biggest," which I'm not, "you may not be the smartest," I'm not, "but no one should ever out work you." So I figured if I get a job, I'll just work really, really hard and then I'll create opportunities for myself. Which I was fortunate to do. Joe: And the first big job I got was a safety engineer. So, I was working at a chemical plant focused on safety. And what I found was that the mechanism of creating a safe environment for people was vital to being successful in business, but attitudes and behavior were so important in order for that environment to actually be created. Joe: So the first part of be safe was physical safety. And then I experienced that, and then I also had experiences as a manager, and I realized that emotional safety is also very important. Going back to that conversation we had just a few moments ago, people have stuff going on in their lives. It's actually okay to cry and laugh. Don't judge people because they have emotion. Actually try and help them leverage their emotion in a positive way. So emotional safety was really, really important. I always say every person who's ever worked for me has cried at some point, not because I'm yelling or mean to them, but because they have something going on in their life and they need to express it. Joe: The other one is people are really, really smart and they have a lot of experiences. They may be different experiences, but I respect you, Luke, for what you've done already. And those experiences that you have and your intellect, I need to learn from you just as you're learning from me. But a lot of people don't do that because you don't have my experience. You don't have gray hair yet. So therefore, your experiences aren't really relevant. Not true. Absolutely not true. Luke: Right. Joe: So the other one is intellectual safety. I need to create an environment where you can feel that whatever experience and intellect you have can be applied. So those are three parts. Joe: I started with a triangle, and then I realized cyber safety is very, very important in the world we're in today. Having had my identification stolen, I know that personally. So now I call that the safety diamond. So physical, intellectual, emotional, and cyber safety. So we talk about that. So be safe. Inspired is... I'm not an alarm clock. You have to get out of bed in the morning, but then I'm going to ask you one question. What are you most passionate about? That question I ask you, if you could spend all of your time doing something, what would it be? And once you tell me that, if you're willing to tell me that, let's focus on that and I'll inspire the hell out of you to be able to go after that dream. I will push you in ways that will allow you to live that dream. That's the inspired part. Joe: And then you, in my company it's YOU, there's something about you, maybe more than one thing, that's truly unique. It's not that you're an economics major. There's a lot of economics majors. There's something about you, and let's find out what that is and let's celebrate that. So create a safe environment, find your passion, inspire you to continue to peck away at that every day, and then celebrate what's unique about you, that's be safe; be inspired; be you. Joe: The logo of my company is a wave. I grew up going to Maine in the summer. Surfed a little bit. Always found that the whole surfing thing, you have to work really, really hard. You have to be strategic to choose when to go. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. And if it doesn't work, then you... some people get mad and they leave, but you just go back out until you get that. And when you get that wave, it is the best feeling in the world. Luke: It's great, yeah. Joe: It is absolutely one of the best feelings ever, and that's why the wave's there. And the blue is the eyes of my kids. And so every time I look at it, I see my children, which is the source of a great deal of energy for me. Luke: Totally. Joe: So that's why that's where that is. And my daughter designed it for me. And she's a Holy Cross grad. Luke: Oh nice. Joe: So, be safe; be inspired; be you; that's how that all came together, and where that comes to live is we do advisory work for small to mid-sized companies, and we help them... we bring people with experiences that they normally wouldn't be able to access due to the size of their company, and we help them do things with strategy, culture, and... sometimes it's the finances and the business, but it's always strategy and culture. But everything we do starts with people. And if we are not allowed to interact with the people, we can't do business with them because that's where it all starts. So, that's what we do. Luke: That's nice. Yeah. A consulting firm for- Joe: Yeah, we do advisory consulting. Luke: Yeah, for those small companies who might not be able to access- Joe: That's right. Luke: ... the resources of a large consulting firm like McKinsey or something like that. Joe: Right. With have the skills of companies, the larger companies, but we do it at a point where, price point, and also a participation point that's a little different. Luke: And back to what you were saying about... personal interaction and culture, do you mean the culture within that said company? Joe: Yes. But that's a great question because culture is all about interactions. And so, interactions are not just the employees or the team or whatever the term is for the company; it's really whoever you interact with. So there's a supplier interaction. There's a customer interaction. There's a community interaction. And if it's a privately held business, there's a family interaction. So you have to be concerned and confident in all of those things. Joe: We take an operator's view. So we try and sit on the side of the table of the owner or the leaders, and that's how we come at it every day. We don't come in with a mechanism, we're going to say, "This is how you do it." We're going to adapt our business to... or excuse me, our approach to what is most appropriate for the company that we're doing business with. And we're not for everybody because not everybody wants to share everything about what they do. Luke: Very true. Luke: So essentially, reiterating, you go in. For each different client you work with, do you attack that operation differently? Like so for company X, you might advise them this way, but then for this company, you're doing it in a different way. Do you approach each person you work with the same, or do you kind of take it as a case-by-case scenario? Joe: I would say... That's a great, that's a very good question because I think there has to be somewhat of an approach that's consistent- Luke: Sure. Yeah. Joe: ... or you can never scale it. So there is a... It always starts with an assessment. So, I always meet with the CEO. I would say 9 out of 10 times I interact with the board, if there is one. Most of the time there is. And then I talk to the most senior leaders of the company. And then I walk the business with them, going back to my walking thing. I want to see the business myself. Because sometimes people describe the business to you in a room, and then you go out, and like that is not at all what's going on here. So you get a really good sense right away how people react to people. Joe: So for example, I have had numerous situations where a CEO would tell me, "I am absolutely connected with the employees of the company." And then they walk out there, and everybody turns away as they walk in. And so that's not... So they're missing something there. Joe: So it's really, the assessment is, tell me about your business. Let me talk to some people so that I can balance it. Let's go for a walk. And then let's come back. I'll give you some observations and some thoughts on it. And from there, let's build a plan. What is it that you need to do? Joe: And it could be that we help people kind of restate their vision. We help people understand the value system that actually exists within their business. Have they been consistent there? And spend some time on the truths of the company. What is it that is actually going on here? And then from there, I would say that all the time there's a transformation happening in the business. Joe: If you go back to the first question you asked me about Holy Cross and the Jesuits, that it's evolution. It's about evolution, evolving as people. And that's what happens in companies too. You may have a great idea as an entrepreneur but it's not going to last forever. In fact, in your lifetime- Luke: Very true. Yeah. Joe: ... ideas come and go far more quickly than they did when I was starting at your age. So, we have to be aware of those changes, and we spend a lot of time with preparing the company for a transformative change. Joe: So for example, if you have a product that's been great, you've made money, and then suddenly it's starting to decline, well, it could be that the team that you have around you is really good for that, but where you need to go, it's not. So we come in as a third party and help you see the things that you wouldn't otherwise see. Joe: Because it's hard. Change is very difficult, especially when it becomes personal. Sometimes people aren't the right people and you have to help them see that, and if they can change, great. If they can't, then maybe you need to get someone different. So we do that too. We help people do it. Joe: But we try and work with companies that are probably between 50 million and a billion and a half to two billion in size. And we always work with the most senior people in the company. And we get in early, and then we help create plans, and generally we'll stay for maybe six months, and then if they want us to operate, we will, but generally, they don't. Joe: And then I have a lot of clients personally that I work with the CEO in an advisory capacity and I'm kind of a confidant to them. So we spend time talking about the business and I get to help them. Because CEO jobs are very lonely, and so they don't have anybody to talk to, so I become that person for them. So, that's just Joe Morgan. It's part of siY, but it's not the total focus. Luke: And going back to your Holy Cross education, were there any times when you were at Holy Cross or any other school in Worcester where you thought about wanting to do that in the future? Wanting to be in this line of work that you're currently in? Joe: I'll tell you, my parents were schoolteachers so we didn't talk about business. But if I was honest about it, if I go back to my first job, if I had been aware of what I was actually doing, I think the answer would have been yes, but I wasn't. I worked. I made money. I wanted... My wife and I went to Holy Cross. We got married in 1983. We've been married for 36 years. Love of my life and my best friend. Very, very fortunate. But I thought about I need a job. I'm going to advance. Hopefully as I advance, I'll get more responsibility, but I don't think it was until I got exposed to presidents of companies that I realized there was a better way. And it was at that time when I was in my late 20s where I thought, "I think I can do this better." Joe: Now, I had great mentors that were around me that taught me different things. Like my father-in-law is a finance guy. I remember when I was just out of Holy Cross, my wife Amy and I went down to visit her parents in Washington, DC, and I went to his office. The people loved him. They absolutely loved him. But they would do anything for him too, and they worked incredibly hard. And I thought, "Why aren't all the executives like that?" Luke: Right. Interesting. Joe: Because wouldn't it be great if they were? Luke: Yeah. It would be. Yeah. Joe: And they're not. They're just not. And he was just such a great guy. Joe: And then I worked for an entrepreneur, and he said, "I need you to go do things that I can't do in the role that I'm in, but I have your back." And I thought, "Wow. He trusts me. What a great thing. I'll go do anything now that I know that." I had another mentor, he taught me about people. He said, "It's all about the people, Joe." And he communicated and he... I've told this story before, but when you're interviewed, he'd say, "Cross your legs," which I'm doing right now. And I did. And I had short socks, and you could see skin. The next day... You'll never have this in your career, interoffice envelope. You ever heard of that? Luke: No, I haven't. No. Joe: So it's an envelope that you write someone's name on and then you put it in the mailbox, and it gets delivered. Luke: Okay. Yeah. Joe: And there's a little red string on the back that you put on this little circle thing that's a clasp. Luke: Got it. Joe: So and the next day I get an interoffice envelope from the president. I'm like, "Oh my gosh. Did I do something wrong?" And I open it up and it's... I'll show you right now, long socks. So I've always worn long socks. Joe: So the little things matter. Shine your shoes. Clean your car. It's all the little stuff. Luke: It's all attention to detail, stuff like that. Joe: Exactly. Always. And that was very, very important to me in my development as a career. Joe: But I will say, going back to my first job, I was an ice cream maker in Ogunquit, Maine at the Viking. It's not there anymore. Mrs. Everson was the owner, and to be a cashier was like a big thing because you're holding the money at the company, right? And to get a key to get into the business when the family wasn't there was also a big thing. I got both of those. Luke: Wow. Joe: I got to be a cashier and my sister was a cashier too, but I got to be a cashier, and they gave me the key to make the ice cream. But the thing that I remember absolutely the most was when you give people back change, this is how you do it. So the George Washington, Lincoln, Hamilton, the face is always in the same direction. And how many times... You probably... I don't even know if you use money, but... cash. Luke: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Joe: You may just use a card. Luke: Yeah. Joe: Today, nobody... They just hand the money to you. It's unbelievable. It drives me absolutely crazy. Luke: I never thought about that. Joe: But it's the attention to detail and respecting that it's my money actually. I just bought something from you. It's actually my money. So give it back to me with respect. That's what she taught me. So those are the things... Joe: I wish I had a mentor when I was your age about business that allowed me to kind of coagulate all these experiences because I think I would have been... I think I would have done something on my own earlier, but I also got married when I was 23, so we began a life shortly thereafter together, and so you get in that groove, that swim lane, and it wasn't until about three years ago that I decided to start my own business. Luke: And it's those very small but important attentions to detail that really build your character and really show you how a business should operate and how you should operate in life. But however, you got married at 23, and then you were in jobs. It's definitely a difficult and very courageous decision to step out of that and then go and start your own business. And I was wondering if you could speak a little bit to about the courage that entrepreneurs have to have if they want to succeed? Joe: My courage at this stage is probably different than the courage at your stage possibly. I've got a large network. I've been fortunate in some circumstances. I do fund my own business, so I'm not... I don't have any investors or anything. I don't have any partners per se. Joe: The courage for me was the change. It was less the financial implication, but it was more... But I will say right now, it's a financial implication because what I've learned, I want to address... because I have a couple other things that will become... I'll hire employees to do these other things. So now I have to make a substantial investment to make those happen. So that's going to require some courage on my side to go with it, right? Joe: But I would say that the thing that was the catalyst... This was actually an absolute true story. I was at church on a Sunday, and I was in a situation with a business that I was CEO of. It was a difficult situation, and the priest is fantastic at our church, and... in his homily he told a story about when he was in... being prepared to become a priest. He said that he was walking. He was distraught about something. He was walking in the hills and he found himself in a place where he really wasn't paying attention and suddenly, he can't go back because the crevice was so large. And he doesn't really even know exactly how he got there. And the only thing he could do was go forward. And had he been totally cognizant of the situation, he never would have gotten himself into that particular spot. Joe: So at that moment in church, I decided, I am going to go do this. That was when I decided to do this. Luke: Wow. Joe: And it was because of my faith and it was because- Luke: Your faith. Yeah. Joe: ... of that story, and I said, "This is my moment. I have stepped across. I can't go back so I'm going forward." And I actually went and resigned the next day. Luke: Wow. Joe: Now I had to talk to my wife about it, of course. And that was the courageous part, because it was hard. We were going to eat, we had a house, and all that stuff. It's not like that. But it was a big difference, and our lives changed as a result of that. Joe: And so, I went, and I actually went to Gethsemani in where Thomas Merton was as a monk, and I spent three days there in silence, which is hard to believe. I didn't talk for three days. I went to mass six or seven times a day, and I read a lot of books and I went walking in the woods. And here's what I got from that experience is silence is the loudest experience you'll ever have. And just by being alone in the woods, I heard things that I hadn't heard. And that was tragic to me because I had been working and traveling, and I missed out on so much. And I realized that I had missed a spontaneity in life by traveling and doing all that I had done and my career. I never missed a birthday, I never missed an anniversary, I never missed any of the planned things, but I missed all the things when your son or daughter comes home and someone's mean to them at school, or something happened that was great. I wasn't there. I wasn't there. And I made a vow that if I was able to make this change that I would be more aware of that. Joe: Now I'm not perfect, but I work every day to try and be more in the spontaneity of life. And that's a lesson is to... sometimes you have to step out of what you have to see that there's so much more. Like I wouldn't be doing this today probably if I was in the other situation. My schedule would be too busy. Well, I made this a priority because I love Holy Cross and I want to give back, and if one person walks away from this conversation feeling better about themselves, or they see there's something that they can do now that they might have not really thought possible, then Luke, you and I just spent a good 20, 30 minutes together. And that's the way I would say I feel now. Luke: It's powerful, yeah. Joe: Yeah, it's big. For me it works. Luke: That's amazing about the faith and church. That's... yeah. That's unbelievable. Joe: He's fantastic. Actually the other priest, we have... There's only one Jesuit in Tennessee and he graduated with Father Bruce. He went to Holy Cross, Class of '81. Yeah. So he's great too. Yeah, he's awesome. It wasn't his story though. Luke: Just going back to Worcester, that's a lot to digest. But some more lighthearted stuff now. Grew up in Worcester. Went to school in Worcester. I got to know, best spot, restaurant. What do you think? Joe: Wow. That's a great question. Luke: There's a lot of good ones. Joe: My favorite place is no longer there, which was the Millbrook Diner, which you probably have never heard of. So that's a good question. What's the favorite... There's... I would say where I usually go is either Miss Woo's or The Boy. And then I used to go to the... What's the diner across the street? Part... from the Boulevard. That's where we used to go, but I don't think that- Luke: I know- Joe: You know what I'm talking about? Luke: Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Joe: But I would- Luke: I can't think of the name. Joe: That's a good... I don't know. That's a... I don't know. There's it's many new places here. What the heck? Luke: Yeah, there are. Joe: So, I will tell you this. Kelley Square today, I did go through Kelley Square, which is when I went to St. John's in Shrewsbury, I had a brother, Brother William taught us. He said he used to close his eyes and just drive through. Continues to be the case. The worst place, although with the new baseball stadium, I suppose it's going to be addressed. Very happy that the Sox are coming to Worcester. We're happy about that, yup. Joe: I'm a diner guy, to be honest with you, so I love all the diners. That would be the way I grew up. Luke: Yeah, diners are great. Yeah. Luke: Another kind of just lighthearted question. But as a business executive, obviously you got to be very in-tune with what's going on in society. Are there any new type of trends in social media or in the news that have really caught your eye? Joe: Yeah. So without getting too political, I will say that I have a problem with current leadership. It does matter how you do what you do. It's not just the outcome. So the mechanism, the value system, and how you actually approach leadership matters a lot to me. So, I'm going to add something here that is a little bit of a twist on your question, but I think it'll kind of bring- Luke: Sure. Joe: ... a few things together. Joe: So when I was running a bigger company, I had a platform and I had a responsibility as the CEO of the company, I felt, to talk about the question that you just asked me about. If we're having a bad economic period, 2008 I was CEO of a company, economic crash, I got in front of everybody and said, "Okay, we got problems. Here's what's going to have to happen. We're going to have to freeze... We might have to have some layoffs," but I was honest and transparent with everybody. Very, very difficult. Joe: So macroeconomic trends, I think, if I were running a bigger company, this issue with the virus from China- Luke: Coronavirus. Joe: ... everybody's concerned about that. They should be. Whether it'll be bigger than people think it is at the moment, I don't know. I'm not an expert in that area, but I do think we need to be aware of it. So I think we need to convey these things. Joe: But what's most troubling to me is that we can't seem to get to a common agenda. We can't figure that out. And if the country were a business, we'd go out of business. And so, I believe that some of the business principles can be brought to that conversation. So I started a thing called The Bridge. And The Bridge is bringing people from different perspectives together. And I've done it in Ohio. I've had public forum in Ohio with groups of people, and now I'm doing it in Nashville on the 18th of this month. Joe: And people that are helping me facilitate this are four people. Well, there's three that's going to do this one. There's Troy Smith. He's an African American leader in the city. Great guy. He did some rap stuff when he was a kid. He grew up in the hood as he told me. We couldn't in some ways be any more different, but we're actually found a common platform. Jenn Miller is an inclusion diversity expert. She does this for businesses. She too is African American. Has got seven kids. Absolutely fantastic person. And then Chloe Adams. Chloe Adams is, she's 25. She went to Auburn University as a marketing communications person. And I got to know her because my office is there and she's just a direct communicator and appeals to her generation. Joe: So we're having a meeting where we're bringing people together, about two groups of 40, and we're going to have a conversation about the common platform. And the four of us are going to tell a little story of why this is so important to us, and I want to show people that it's possible to not solve it, but to agree that we can address things together. That we're going to have this conversation. And so we're addressing it through the lens of men and women, black and white, or Asian, what... Indian. Luke: Sure. Joe: Different races, ages, and orientation. Bring people... It doesn't matter. It's the you, YOU. We're trying to bring as much diversity- Joe: ... into that conversation. And then show... These will be people that don't know each other, and they'll be able to sit in a room and have a conversation. And just by virtue of bringing this up, it's amazing how many people want to participate in a conversation. Joe: Now not sure where it's going to go and I don't really care at the moment where it goes, but I think it can be a bit of a movement, and I'm really excited about where we can take it. Joe: So that's probably a part of where my energy is now being focused because I think without figuring this out, it's just not helpful. So that's a big part for me. Luke: It's super important to understand everybody and everyone's background, and like you were saying, that whole empathy and understanding where people are coming from, their beliefs and stuff like that- Joe: Right. Luke: ... instead of shying away from that, embracing everybody and figuring out... or not even figuring out problems in society or whatever, in a company, but just addressing those issues and talking about it and being united, that's huge in my opinion. Yeah. Joe: Think about this conversation. We don't know each other that well, right? Luke: Right. Joe: But we were educated by the same institution, similar principles, many decades apart. But the expectation of us is the same. We're to take this platform and bring it into the world, not pass judgment on people, but bring people together. And then evolve as we learn from others and make an impact that's different tomorrow than it is today because we've evolved. We've learned. That's the part. But you can't dig in too early. And as long as you're willing to listen and learn and talk, we can make a difference. And I will not be dissuaded from that. I will not. And there are people that get angry about these things and they want to dig in on one issue or they disagree, but that's part of this. I'm not right, but I can facilitate a conversation. And I think that's a skillset that I would really recommend continue to let evolve for yourself is be able to facilitate and bring people into the conversation because the most quiet person in the room is maybe the one that's most valuable. Just because people process, you know? Luke: And that's something that I was taught growing up as well. My dad, I always remember him talking to me about listening to everybody in the room. That's what he would say. "Listen to everybody in the room. Everybody can offer something unique and bring something to the table. And comprehend that, understand that, and then use that to move forward." Joe: Right. Luke: And yeah, that's big. Joe: Because if you think about it metaphorically, it's like making a cake or some... I don't know, some meal or whatever. If you look at the people as being the ingredients, you don't put equal amounts of everything. But if every person is an ingredient, you just take the right amounts, oh my gosh, it's like the best cake ever, right? Luke: Yup. Joe: And that's, I think, what I always think about when I'm in a room is, we're trying to bake something. We're try to make something together. And I don't know if I heard someone say this or I made this up myself, but every time we're together, just today, this will never happen again. Luke: True. Joe: Once in history will you and I be sitting in this room at this time of the day under this circumstance. So if we don't walk away... if we can walk away with one thing from that and then tell someone else and do something different, what a great experience. And if you have more people in the room, wow. So let's take full advantage of that. Because we are blessed to be able to do these things. Luke: Completely agree. Yeah. And we'll just wrap it up here briefly. Joe: Sure. Luke: But one last thing about Holy Cross. What was your favorite class? Were there any... I know you're a chemistry major, but were there any other... obviously the liberal arts education, learning more about just the specific major you're in, were there any big classes that jumped out at you and really help you even today? Joe: I think the one that I talk about often is I took a course on, I don't know if it was about atheism, but it was taught by an atheist. And I thought that was really interesting because, of course, being void of faith given how I grew up, I said the rosary every day and went to mass and all that stuff. But I just thought it was really interesting to have someone with such conviction about a totally opposing view, but also being open to the others and being able to teach us about that. And that to me gave great confirmation of what the Jesuit, what I took away from one of the Jesuit pillars was, "We will teach you from those that have depth of understanding and belief as opposed to someone that has a surface level understanding and just expose you to the topic." And I thought that was fantastic. Joe: Now he didn't convert me to atheism obviously, but it really in some ways confirmed my faith. But I would not have thought about that in a way that I have. And I also think that he moved my lack of judgment, how I don't judge people, forward because I might have had a very negative reaction to an atheist. But in that course, I learned that he too is good person. He just has a different viewpoint. And I thought that was fantastic. Joe: I played soccer at Holy Cross so I cannot leave this conversation without saying that the guys that I played soccer with, those stories continue, and we just had a blast. And being a student athlete was fantastic. We had so much fun. We had so much fun. Luke: All right. Joe: Luke, thank you. Luke: Yeah, thank you. Joe: This was great. Luke: Appreciate it. Joe: Awesome. Luke: Definitely. Joe: So much fun. Good luck to you. Luke: Thank you. You as well. 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 men and women for and with others. A special thanks to today's guest and everyone at Holy Cross who has contributed to making this podcast a reality. Maura: If you or someone you know would like to be featured on this podcast, 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.

Alexander Shaia returns to the oneLife Maps Podcast to talk with Sharon Swing about the Gospel of Matthew as a life-stage guide for facing change.You may want to listen to the first episode we recorded with Alexander in episode 34: Reading the Gospels as Life-Stage Guides.If you have engaged in 'Listen to My Life: Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story,' you may find that your lingering question may be a reflection of the four questions we discuss in this episode of the OneLIfe Maps Podcast. The Gospels may have more to say about how to navigate thru this season of your life than you may imagine.Alexander Shaia invites us to take a look at the gospel thru a fresh lens and read each gospel account as more than a telling of Jesus' life and words. Each is the story of a practice in response to a core life question:Gospel of Matthew: How do we face change? (The focus of this episode.)Mark: How do we move through trials and suffering?John: How do we receive joy and know union?Luke: How do we mature in service?And these four gospels are more than the sum of their parts. The four in the sequence of their fourth century reading cycle are one of the world's great maps of the universal journey- one of growth, transformation and love. As Alexander's describes, The Four-Gospel Journey is the pattern of the living, here and now Christ - a pattern within the Cosmos, in everything and across all time. To make this universal journey with another or a small community - see the "Heart and Mind Companion Guides" at the Quadratos website. The Guides follow the book. There is one guide for each of the four paths, as well as one to prepare for the journey, and another on the eight core practices of Quadratos. Alexander John Shaia, PhD, is a thoughtful and poetic man, living the ancient rhythms of his Lebanese and Aramaic heritage. With deep conviction, he invites us into a practice of spirituality (and Christianity) for the twenty-first century—one that crosses traditional boundaries, encourages vital thinking and inhabits a genuine community of the heart. As a spiritual director, educator, anthropologist, psychologist, Sandplay therapist and ritualist, Alexander is a wholistic, cross-discipline visionary and passionate professional speaker. He founded The Journey of Quadratos LLC, as well as the Blue Door Retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Now he travels internationally, speaking, leading seminars and conducting retreats on Quadratos, the Four-Gospel Journey and Gateway to Oneness (The 72 Hours of Easter.) Each autumn Alexander guides an intimate band of pilgrims on the Camino, the West's most ancient path of transformation. See the Quadratos website for more about his work and offerings. Contact info for speaking engagements is also found on the website. https://quadratos.comIf you are interested in becoming equipped to facilitate others thru 'Listen to My Life' life mapping materials, you can get more information about our upcoming Facilitator Certification Workshop, November 18-20 in the Chicago Area. You can find more information here: https://onelifemaps.lpages.co/november_2019-facilitator-certification-workshop-landing-pagePlease explore www.onelifemaps.com to download a free introduction booklet to 'Listen to My Life: Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story,' that contains the artwork we refer to in this episode. You can purchase your 'Listen to My Life' portfolio on that website, too.Sharon Swing and others on our team offer one-on-one coaching or spiritual direction as guidance thru the 'Listen to My Life' experience in addition to virtual coaching groups that happen several times a year.Please join us for a virtual journey thru 'Listen to My Life' starting September 10, 2019 with Sharon Swing, Sibyl Towner and Joan Kelley. Find out more at: https://onelifemaps.lpages.co/september-2019-listen-to-my-life-virtual-workshop-landing-pageAudio Meditations as a Thank You for Your SupportWe're on a mission to help people recognize and respond to God in their story. Will you help? Become a patron of OneLIfe Maps at the $5 a month or more level at http://www.patreon.com/onelifemaps recieve access to recorded audio meditations that are created to assist you in becoming self-aware and God-aware.Sibyl Towner and I (Sharon Swing), co-authored the 'Listen to My Life: Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story' visual maps, and we produce the oneLifemaps podcast along with our friend and Director of Facilitator Development, Joan Kelley.We are offering you the opportunity to support the continuation of the oneLifemaps podcast and the publishing of 'Listen to My Life' in and weekly audio meditations as a token of our appreciation.If we can serve you, please let us know by emailing us here.EquipmentWe've had some questions about our podcasting equipment. Here is what we use, with links to Amazon included:Recorder https://amzn.to/2WoWgOsMicrophones: https://amzn.to/2SuA27bMicrophone Stands: https://amzn.to/2UcPdnbHeadset: https://amzn.to/2T8loHSMicrophone Wind Screens: https://amzn.to/2T7xlh3Headset Extension Cords: https://amzn.to/2VsuPP0Headset Cable Splitter: https://amzn.to/2tGMoyP Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you have engaged in 'Listen to My Life: Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story,' you may find that your lingering question may be a reflection of the four questions we discuss in this episode of the OneLIfe Maps Podcast. The Gospels may have more to say about how to navigate thru this season of your life than you may imagine.Alexander Shaia invites us to take a look at the gospel thru a fresh lens and read each gospel account as more than a telling of Jesus' life and words. Each is the story of a practice in response to a core life question:Gospel of Matthew: How do we face change?Mark: How do we move through trials and suffering?John: How do we receive joy and know union?Luke: How do we mature in service?And these four gospels are more than the sum of their parts. The four in the sequence of their fourth century reading cycle are one of the world's great maps of the universal journey- one of growth, transformation and love. As Alexander's describes, The Four-Gospel Journey is the pattern of the living, here and now Christ - a pattern within the Cosmos, in everything and across all time. To make this universal journey with another or a small community - see the "Heart and Mind Companion Guides" at the Quadratos website. The Guides follow the book. There is one guide for each of the four paths, as well as one to prepare for the journey, and another on the eight core practices of Quadratos. Alexander John Shaia, PhD, is a thoughtful and poetic man, living the ancient rhythms of his Lebanese and Aramaic heritage. With deep conviction, he invites us into a practice of spirituality (and Christianity) for the twenty-first century—one that crosses traditional boundaries, encourages vital thinking and inhabits a genuine community of the heart. As a spiritual director, educator, anthropologist, psychologist, Sandplay therapist and ritualist, Alexander is a wholistic, cross-discipline visionary and passionate professional speaker. He founded The Journey of Quadratos LLC, as well as the Blue Door Retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Now he travels internationally, speaking, leading seminars and conducting retreats on Quadratos, the Four-Gospel Journey and Gateway to Oneness (The 72 Hours of Easter.) Each autumn Alexander guides an intimate band of pilgrims on the Camino, the West's most ancient path of transformation. See the Quadratos website for more about his work and offerings. Contact info for speaking engagements is also found on the website. https://quadratos.comPlease join us for a virtual journey thru 'Listen to My Life' starting September 10, 2019 with Sharon Swing, Sibyl Towner and Joan Kelley. Find out more at: https://onelifemaps.lpages.co/september-2019-listen-to-my-life-virtual-workshop-landing-pageIf you are interested in becoming equipped to facilitate others thru 'Listen to My Life' life mapping materials, you can get more information about our upcoming Facilitator Certification Workshop, November 18-20 in the Chicago Area. You can find more information here: https://onelifemaps.lpages.co/november_2019-facilitator-certification-workshop-landing-pagePlease explore www.onelifemaps.com to download a free introduction booklet to 'Listen to My Life: Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story,' that contains the artwork we refer to in this episode. You can purchase your 'Listen to My Life' portfolio on that website, too.Sharon Swing and others on our team offer one-on-one coaching or spiritual direction as guidance thru the 'Listen to My Life' experience in addition to virtual coaching groups that happen several times a year.Please join us for a virtual journey thru 'Listen to My Life' starting September 10, 2019 with Sharon Swing, Sibyl Towner and Joan Kelley. Find out more at: https://onelifemaps.lpages.co/september-2019-listen-to-my-life-virtual-workshop-landing-pageAudio Meditations as a Thank You for Your SupportWe're on a mission to help people recognize and respond to God in their story. Will you help? Become a patron of OneLIfe Maps at the $5 a month or more level at http://www.patreon.com/onelifemaps recieve access to recorded audio meditations that are created to assist you in becoming self-aware and God-aware.Sibyl Towner and I (Sharon Swing), co-authored the 'Listen to My Life: Maps for Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story' visual maps, and we produce the oneLifemaps podcast along with our friend and Director of Facilitator Development, Joan Kelley.We are offering you the opportunity to support the continuation of the oneLifemaps podcast and the publishing of 'Listen to My Life' in and weekly audio meditations as a token of our appreciation.If we can serve you, please let us know by emailing us here.EquipmentWe've had some questions about our podcasting equipment. Here is what we use, with links to Amazon included:Recorder https://amzn.to/2WoWgOsMicrophones: https://amzn.to/2SuA27bMicrophone Stands: https://amzn.to/2UcPdnbHeadset: https://amzn.to/2T8loHSMicrophone Wind Screens: https://amzn.to/2T7xlh3Headset Extension Cords: https://amzn.to/2VsuPP0Headset Cable Splitter: https://amzn.to/2tGMoyPThe links in this episode may give us a minuscule amount of affiliate revenue from Amazon, but they won't cost you anything at all. Thanks for the support. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Member Luke Smith Shares Success Stories (LA 971) Transcript: Steven Butala:                   Steve and Jill here. Jill DeWit:                            Hello. Steven Butala:                   Welcome to the Land Academy show entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala. Jill DeWit:                            And I'm Jill DeWit broadcasting from sunny souther California. Steven Butala:                   Today Jill and I talk with member Luke Smith and he shares his success stories about how he got here, where he's going, what he's failed at, what he's succeeding at and the whole story. Jill DeWit:                            He's also in sunny souther California. Steven Butala:                   Yeah, he is. Before we get into it, let's ask him this first question. How did you get here Luke? How did you get to Land Academy? How did you get to become a member? You can skip the [inaudible 00:00:37] process. Give us some background. Luke Smith:                         That's a good question. My sister lives in Detroit and times were really tough in 2008. She didn't have a job she didn't have a way to put food on the table for her kids. So the houses are cheap. I said let's go by some of these houses, let's rent them out. I'll hire you. I'll pay ahead. I was making some money at the time. I sent her out to buy these cheap houses, these ghetto houses in Detroit and rented things out. Fix them out and the rent should pay for it over time. That learning curve, the cost was realtors, and dealing with the banks and the insurance companies. I was doing this from out of state. I'm in California, originally from Michigan. It was a nightmare. Nobody wanted to sell me those houses. No one wanted to help me. As soon as I got on, the rents were great. The renters were great and they worked beautifully. I wanted to buy more of them. That's how I found Land Academy. I wanted to buy more of those houses but I didn't want to pay the middle man people. I didn't want to deal with them. I didn't want to have them on board. That was the main cost of the transaction. It was all those middle man people. Luke Smith:                         I went on bigger pockets and I started reading around. I saw some articles of Jacks or Steve's. He was talking about buying land. Vacant land and doing it through the mail and skipping all the middle men people. Like, oh I want to learn that. That got my interest. I think if he can do it for land, I can probably figure out how to do it for houses. Just skip through the whole process. I'll try to land. I subscribed to his stuff and I'm like I was reading all the free side. I'll do it on my own. I start testing it and it's like, I'll just mail out Mohave County. Next to Lake Havasu, that stuff looks like it sells well. 100 dollars an acre and these 1.2 acre properties. 123 dollar offers. I couldn't figure out how to print them on my printer so I was handwriting them. It's like, we'll just get them in the mail just stamp and stamps on there. Totally old school and people got back to me. I'd send a hundred of those things out and maybe 40 people would get back to me because it's handwritten and it's stupid offer. They'd yell at me and tell me how stupid I was and everything. Luke Smith:                         I about fell out of my chair that the people would actually get back to me. They wrote me letters. They sent me faxes. Emails, calls, lots and lots of calls. Literally 40% response rate I got on those hundred mailer units. I didn't get any deals but I got people that got back. I said okay. I just didn't do something right like the price. This reaches people, I just didn't get the price right. Then I think it was probably Jill sent out a promo for Land Academy cash flow for land stuff. It was her style writing, not Steve's. I'm guessing Jill's. It said you get first three people that sign up get free ten acre property in [inaudible 00:03:55] Nevada.

Download This week, we’re discussing the last ten stories from FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW, a collection of 40 stories related to A New Hope, specifically “There Is Another” by Gary D. Schmidt through “Whills” by Tom Angleberger. What might have happened if Yoda had trained Leia instead of Luke? How have more recent Star Wars stories, […]

This week Mike and Joao go over latest news on The Last Jedi and how they'll prepare for it. Quick Episode Summary: No Lando on The Last Jedi Tons of TV spots for the Last Jedi New information on the Crystal Foxes Entertainment Weekly snippets Will Luke & Leia reunite in The Last Jedi Entertainment weekly images of Rey and Luke How are Mike and Joao preparing for the Last Jedi? Will they watch more of the TV spots? Will they seek spoilers with a few weeks left? Mike and Joao talk about the future podcasts covering the Last Jedi Help us spread the word about the show Click here to subscribe via iTunes Click here to subscribe via RSS Click here to subscribe via Stitcher Click here to subscribe via Google Play Music Click here to subscribe via SoundCloud Click here to subscribe on iHeartRadio Feedback and Promotion Send feedback and comments to cantinacastfanmail@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @TheCantinaCast Like us on Facebook: The Cantina Cast Follow us on Instagram: The Cantina Cast Subscribe on YouTube: Cantina Cast Mike's Twitter: @PodcasterMike Mike's Facebook: PodcasterMike Mike's Instagram: @PodcasterMike Discord Channel Cantina Cast Channel PS4 ID's Phasmaslover66 (Mike) and Kylo_Driver (Joao) Support the show: Cantina Cast Patreon page

Have you ever wondered how to find a balance between being an entrepreneurial beast, making tons of cash, while still making a difference in the world and keeping grounded spiritually? Is it possible to achieve a high level of material success and public notoriety, yet remain faithful to your spiritual values and principles? Not many people manage to reach for the stars while keeping their feet on the ground, but we managed to find a very special guest who seems to have figured out how to walk this tightrope of high performance, yet keep his heart and soul very much intact along the way. In this episode, we sit down with 'the godfather of hip-hop' himself, Russell Simmons, and learn how he's used yoga and meditation to not only build an empire but also to teach thousands of people around the world about the value of the yogic lifestyle through is many books and philanthropic ventures. You'll learn the history of Russell's spiritual journey, the most powerful practices he's discovered along the way, and what motivates him to keep pushing the boundaries of personal growth and enlightenment. This one is dedicated to the pursuit of success. Inside and out. Pass it on... Luke How yoga has transformed Russell's life, and led him to open his own studio called Tantris in LA How he first found yoga, and what technique he practices  Sobriety, faith, and how he built the habit of meditation into his life What are the biggest benefits of meditation? On commercializing yoga lifestyle What drives him  to share his life and message with the world, even though he’s achieved enough material success to just chill and retire What he had to say to someone who believes that money and fame will make them happy? The most important spiritual principles to learn and live by  How being ‘rich' has little to do with living in a mansion and everything to do with living in a positive state of consciousness How can someone avoid having material, or even spiritual success go to their head? How to keep the ego in check? Lifestyle recommendations To see more about this show, visit the show notes page.   CHECK OUT MY NEW STORE!  THE MASTER MARKET. Now you can have access to all the products I love and talk about on the shows. And as you know me, I'm all about discount hook ups so keep an eye out for those coupon codes. Make sure to bookmark and visit this section often as I plan on making frequent updates.    THIS SHOW IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: FOUR SIGMATIC: Melt away stress, boost immunity, relax & sleep deeper, improve productivity, increase brain power, get stimulation without jitters. Sound like all the good stuff you want? Welcome to the medicinal fungi kingdom with Four Sigmatic's highest quality mushroom & herbs in little packets of magical power that you can add to your coffee or warm drink. Your discount hookup is 15% off when you use "THELIFESTYLIST" coupon code.  AND...  ORGANIFI. This product has changed the green juice game for me. A green powdered superfood that comes in portable packets perfect for travel, keeping in your car or bag. On-demand instant green juice that is alkalizing, energizing and gives you mental clarity. What else is so special about it? Zero glycemic index & comes with all 11 most important superfoods: turmeric, chlorella, wheat grass, spirulina, mint, moringa, ashwagandha, lemon, beets, coconut, matcha green tea. Awesome stuff! Save 20% using coupon code "LIFESTYLIST" HELP SUPPORT THIS SHOW! Starting and growing a podcast requires a ton of time, energy, and money. Do you appreciate this information, and want to support my mission to deliver as much life enhancing information as possible to as many people as possible? The easiest, and most effective way you can help is to do this: 1. Go to Lukestorey.com/support and donate towards show production costs 2. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes 3. Write us a review in iTunes 4. Share this show with 1 friend right now You’d be amazed how much these four simple steps do to help us grow! Here’s the magic link for reviews. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening, and joining me on this journey we call life.

This episode is a tribute to our guest, the late Psalm Isadora, who tragically took her own life March 26th, 2017, a mere 45 days after the date of this recording. Psalm was a teacher, author, and speaker who taught sexual healing through workshops, videos, documentaries, and training. This show, as well as the majority of her life's work, was based on recovering from trauma and shame through the exploration and expression of our sexuality. During the interview she spoke candidly about her own childhood sexual abuse, and her lifelong struggles with depression, as well as with drugs and alcohol. These are issues with which I have had so much personal experience, that this discussion has had a lasting impact on me since the time of the recording. Looking back now, just over a month after her passing it's more clear to me now than ever how important it is for us as a culture to embrace and openly discuss our common issues with shame and sexuality, and to support one another in overcoming the sense of isolation that so often accompanies these common aspects of human life. Through courageously exploring our inner demons, and seeking to better understand ourselves and those around us, we stand a much better chance of overcoming the trauma and shame that is holding so many of us back from living a life of harmony, happiness, fulfillment, and lasting intimacy with our chosen partners. This was the crux of Psalms' message. May this episode serve as a continuation of her life's work, and an inspiration to the thousands of fans and students she left behind. With deep reverence, I offer my prayers and blessings to Psalm, and her friends and family. May god rest her soul. Luke How being a sex coach became her life's work and mission Growing up in a religious commune, and the mixed messages around sexually which led to sexual abuse, shame, guilt, trauma Hitting rock bottom, depression, anxiety, facing traumas and taking responsibility for her healing process  Prayer and faith: how she turned her experience into a business Using sexuality as a tool to overcome shame and trauma from sex Women, orgasm and giving themselves permission to feel pleasure How a 53-year old had her first orgasm under Psalm's coaching, and how her life and creativity blossomed as consequence  Women are the Shakti of sexual energy and are built to have multiple orgasms  The ease of access to pornography through technology, and the influence on younger generations  Beyond anatomy: sex education and expression breeds empowered men and women Tantric sex explained  Achieving multiple, full body orgasms: edging technique for men, Oyoga inhale for women Power vs. seduction: women owning their body, self worth, and channeling their Shakti Who's more afraid of sexual intimacy, men or women?  Psalm's view on male orgasm and semen retention Transmutation of sexual energy for business and creativity success As men age, are they less able to have sex without emotional commitment?  White Tantra vs. red Tantra  Her approach to group sex Mindfulness, radical honesty and open communication: keys to healthy sexuality Lifestyle recommendations   Episode resources:  Samadhi Tank Altered States - Movie Scanners - Movie NSF - National Sanitation Foundation  Waxelene Joe Rogan View guest page here.  HELP SUPPORT THIS SHOW! Starting and growing a podcast requires a ton of time, energy, and money. Do you appreciate this information, and want to support my mission to deliver as much life enhancing information as possible to as many people as possible? The easiest, and most effective way you can help is to do this: 1. Go to Lukestorey.com/support and donate towards show production costs 2. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes 3. Write us a review in iTunes 4. Share this show with 1 friend right now You’d be amazed how much these four simple steps do to help us grow! Here’s the magic link for reviews. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening, and joining me on this journey we call life.

Get your eggnog ready, on this week's episode of Technicolor Jesus we talk Christmas movies! Rather than focus on one Christmas movie, Matt and Adam each choose four Christmas movies and talk about their merits for people in ministry. What does Gonzo's apearance as Charles Dickens mean for our Christmas vocabularies? How does Buddy the Elf help us understand the genealogies in Matthew and Luke? How is Rocky an agent of reconciliation? Also, stay for Adam's rant for why It's a Wonderful Life is the real war on Christmas. It's all here, folks. Your one stop shop for Christmas movie and ministry frivolity. Intro: 20th Century Fox Fail: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNrKAzHsp0g Outro: Christmas in Hollis- Run DMC

After a brief hiatus, the ForceCast is back with a look at the international trailer, TV spots, and Entertainment Weekly articles. What does the international trailer reveal about Rey? What does Finn know about Luke? How much will Poe Dameron be involved? What are Maz Kanata's abilities? Lively debates about these story elements and more on this week's ForceCast.