Share The Struggle
Share The Struggle
When Life Forces Change, Growth Follows
What happens when life forces you to confront deep-seated negativity? My wife joins me to share her transformative journey in this powerful episode that examines how removing toxicity creates space for unexpected blessings.
After losing her mother to suicide, my wife began evaluating every aspect of her life—relationships, possessions, and most significantly, her increasingly toxic workplace. Despite creating her referral department position from scratch and investing five years with the company, she found herself consistently overworked and underappreciated. The final straw came when management approached her the day after her mother's death, offering a nominal raise while simultaneously eliminating her title.
Today, she reveals how this painful chapter led to an exciting new opportunity with Maine Health's Home Health and Hospice Services—a position that perfectly aligns with her strengths while offering the work-from-home flexibility her previous employer had promised but never delivered. Her story powerfully demonstrates how removing negativity creates space for positive change.
We don't just discuss her experience—we provide actionable steps to help you eliminate negativity from your own life. From becoming aware of negative thought patterns to challenging them through reframing, practicing gratitude, surrounding yourself with positive people, and engaging in activities that bring joy, we offer a comprehensive roadmap for transformation.
The first half of the show also features exciting updates about our Loud Proud American brand, including our new No-Tariff Guarantee that allows us to lower prices while maintaining our commitment to American manufacturing. Our t-shirts are now $25 and hoodies $50—proving that supporting local production doesn't have to cost more.
Ready to transform your own relationship with negativity? Listen now, and don't forget our challenge: for every negative thought you catch yourself thinking, counter it with two positive affirmations. Your journey toward positivity starts with a single step.
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Today Share the Struggle podcast is a two-sweet treat because today is going to be a two-part show, starting with a recap, a quick look back at Memorial Weekend and some exciting, loud, proud American updates that you will surely enjoy. The second half of the show I will be joined by my beautiful bride, my lovely wife, as she shares some exciting personal news that will kick off a detailed discussion on the benefits of removing negativity and we will outline actionable steps to help free yourself from negativity. Let me tell you something Everybody struggles. The difference is some people choose to go through it and some choose to grow through it. The choice is completely yours. Which one you choose will have a very profound effect on the way you live your life. If you find strength in the struggle, then this podcast is for you, is for you.
Speaker 1:You have a relationship that is comfortable with uncomfortable conversations. Uncomfortable conversations challenge you, humble you and they build you. When you sprinkle a little time and distance on it, it all makes sense. Most disagreements, they stem from our own insecurities. You are right where you need to be. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. Get low, almighty. Am I so excited to be back with you? Oh, it's true, it is damn true. How do you do boo Episode 255? Get low almighty. Do I feel alive? Wow, that was an interesting little opener there. But you know, when we push go on the podcast, I just let the podcast spirits take control of me vocals. Hopefully that was a pleasant little wake up and not an annoying one, but it just felt right, it just felt natural.
Speaker 1:That's what happens when we hit go on the show. So you know, you got to know. Stop rhyming, okay, that's enough. The people have heard enough. How's everybody doing, how's your mentals, how's your dentals, how you be doing? Happy Memorial Weekend. Post Memorial weekend.
Speaker 1:I hope you guys had a tremendous holiday weekend. I hope a few things were accomplished over the weekend. First and foremost, most importantly, I hope you took the time to realize the true meaning and importance of the holiday, that it's not about a long weekend, it's not about having Monday off, it's not about barbecues and what you do's. It's about being thankful, being grateful, praying for and spending time reflecting on those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for us to get to do the things that we love and enjoy to do Past, present and future military. Thanking them, appreciating them and truly praying for and recognizing all that have paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we get to do whatever the hell it is we want to do. Those are our freedoms. Because somebody paid the ultimate sacrifice. I get to chase my personal American dream. I get to run my business and do what I do and however I want to do it and however I see fit. Those opportunities have been given to me because someone, many someones, have paid the ultimate sacrifice and their families continue to pay that sacrifice because their loved one isn't here, and those that are present and future military active duty members that their family sacrifices while their loved ones are away All members of the military pay a very important and pivotal role in our lives and all those things that we get to take for granted. So I hope, first and foremost, you recognize and celebrated them and, secondly, I hope you enjoyed yourself and your family. I hope you took advantage of the weekend and the opportunity.
Speaker 1:For me, these holiday weekends are long working weekends and it's something that we are all so thankful for, because when I get to say to you long working weekends, that means that we are making money and we love to make money. We need to make money. It's one of those things, folks, where I could care less about money if it wasn't a means to all the things that we need. Let's be honest, right, I would just willy-nilly, just enjoy life and not worry about those things. But you need them, folks. Okay, you need them. You need the dollars and the cents. Our life just don't make sense. So we love being busy. We love working and making things happen. So when we start talking about these long holiday weekends, those are usually late nights for us, but this one is an easier one for us because we always do Memorial Weekend.
Speaker 1:Set up at Bentley Saloon, it's only a few miles away from home, so I have the opportunity of getting up working in the morning or spending time with the family in the morning and then going off to work and making things happen. Coming home at night, staying in my own bed, one of those things. It's funny, it feels special to us because we all have the opportunity. I can wake up and go to sleep in my own bed. I can see my family. And it's weird because I scratched my head and said, man, this just feels so easy and nice and then I realized that's what? The rest of the freaking world does.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's what a normal nine to five person gets to do. They sleep in their own bed, they wake in their own bed, they see their families, they work close to home. That's what the bulk of the population does. You're just the lunatic that decides to live like a vagabond, heading all over free Willy's world. Okay, sorry about that. It's weird. I literally can have one of these weekends and be like oh wow, that was nice and easy, it wasn't that convenient. No shit, sherlock, everybody does that, not everybody lives in a school bus trying to make a living chasing dollars. You idiot, what have you done with your life? God, you're a disgrace. Anyways, that's my life this weekend again, it was long hours, but it's much more enjoyable when you get to come home and you can see your family during the day and all those good things as well. So it's funny.
Speaker 1:We also were talking about Memorial Weekend. Listen to this little fun fact for you folks Loud Proud American has been in business for five wholesome years. All right there, big ears, five wholesome years. All right there, big ears, five wholesome years. Do you want to know something? Since the creation, the formation of this fantastic spiritual journey to Valhalla that we have created here. We have never emphasis on, never had a dry memorial weekend, and I don't mean one without booze. I have those. Okay, I mean weather wise no rain. Here we are again Another rainy one.
Speaker 1:We budgeted it out and planned this one out pretty decent, though. We started our setup on Thursday. I knew the weather was coming in. I knew it was going to be shit. Me and my mom, you know we built the tent was going to be shit. Me and my mom, you know we built the tent, got everything done before the nasty weather moved in. It rained. You know cats and dogs. Is that really what happens when it rains? Cats and dogs? You're an idiot. Well, it rained like crazy, and it rained in the morning on Friday, but by the afternoon I rolled in there. I was able to open I was the only vendor that was open made a few bucks, made the best of the Friday, and then we had a decent Saturday and Sunday, but the weather never really broke in our favor.
Speaker 1:Saturday was one of those things where it was cold, it was cloudy, it was overcast. It wouldn't rain for an hour and then it would rain for 20 minutes and then it turned into a scenario where it might not rain for half an hour and then it would rain for another 20 minutes and it was like that all day long. So we're kind of chasing our tails, not really getting the benefit of the nice weather-filled holiday weekend where people are just feeling, oh, let's just dig into our pockets and just give money away. I'm telling you, when people are on vacation and the sun is shining, we look at vacation money different. Okay, people just spend vacation money. It's not in the budget, all right, it's different. I never had that benefit. Sunday was a little bit better Still kind of chilly, not that great, right.
Speaker 1:The best day of the week was Monday and it was definitely busier at the saloon on Monday, but a lot of people were already, they'd had enough. They were pulling their campers out in the morning and they were leaving. So if I break it all down for you, we had a pretty decent weekend. We didn't lose a day to sales Last year for Memorial weekend. It rained so bad on Memorial day on Monday that we never opened. We just closed up, went home, had soups and breads, just got all fat and sassy, all right. So this year we didn't lose a day, but I was still down a few hundred dollars on the weekend. So, ironically, we had one more day of sales. So, ironically, we had one more day of sales but we ended with a little less dollars at the end of the weekend. But I think it's because we'd never really experienced any great days until it was the last day and everybody was kind of rolling out.
Speaker 1:But we're not here to focus on the negative. No, I got an emphasis on positive with today's episode. The wife is going to be here in segment two of the show. She's going to share something exciting with you on the show. She's going to share some exciting personal news. It's going to kick off a discussion that we want to have on negativity, on removing negativity.
Speaker 1:Sometimes we remove negativity or we're forced to remove it because it's out of our control. Other times we choose to remove it. I've had some conversations over the weekend. That has really made this episode an important one. I've had some conversations with a few people where I've you know some of them I've talked to when they're going through some tough times. Some have chosen to go through tough times and I'm telling them I can promise you, if you cut yourself from this stuff, whether it's been out of your control. Here's an opportunity for you to take control to take control of yourself and your actions and remove negativity.
Speaker 1:I have told a couple people over this holiday weekend listen, I feel good things, big things, great things for you, because you are going to do the right things removing this negativity. I shared some stories with them on things that have come to me in my life by removing negativity. My wife has another great example of that. If you guys have been listening over the past few weeks, you understand her story and what she's going through. I'm not going to take any of the excitement of the second half. I want her to share that with you. But it's also going to come with some actionable steps and a surprise revelation when it comes to removing negativity that I'm going to outline. But as we continue or I should say begin this conversation on not being negative, I'm not going to open the show being negative about the results of a weekend. No, I'm about to sprankle. Okay, unless you're from the South, I'm going to sprankle some positivity on my weekend. Okay, here it is.
Speaker 1:Folks, I've been waiting to share some exciting news with you about Loud Proud American, because I dabbled in something a couple weeks ago when we started our first events of the year when we were at Ledgeway Farm seeing the fam Matt and Sarah up to Ledgeway Farm and then we went double dipping weekend and we headed on over to Bonnie Eagle and that's rolled into Bentley Saloon and I have been trying something new. I have been spending tons of time and research on something and then I finally just said listen here, fella, you can't just keep doing math and looking at dollars and cents. If it just feels right, then it makes sense. With that said, folks, I have been all fluffed up. I've been like Tom Turkey walking around okay, real cock of the walk, thinking about American manufacturing. Shocker, I know. Right, y'all knew this already. Right, y'all knew this already.
Speaker 1:I have been so encouraged by the how should I say optimism of our country, the optimism of our economy, the fact that I feel like America is getting back to being the patriotic country, to being the proud Americans. I think it's even more important for us to be loud about being proud Americans. I am encouraged by the emphasis and the focus that is being placed on American manufacturing. That, in fact, has been our mission. So when the highest leader in our country is focused and aligned, unified, with our same thoughts, processes and missions, then it is uplifting, it is encouraging, it is motivating. This is positivity and I need to ride this wave. I need to capitalize on this moment. I'm excited about this moment.
Speaker 1:I'm discouraged by all the nonsense, bitching and moaning about tariffs that I see on TV. When our president says the consumer should not pay the tariff, I am going to tell you, folks, wholeheartedly, based on what I do and how I've been doing it and how long I've been doing it, he is absolutely right. These manufacturers, these, these companies, these big box brands they make plenty of money on this foreign bullshit, garbage that they're hauling into our country and they're feeding all of us they're force feeding all of us. Listen, they make plenty of money on it. They can handle the tariff. The truth is, folks, they've been playing an unfair game forever. I can't spend all day on this topic. I would love to spend all day on this topic, but I'm sharing today's show with my wife.
Speaker 1:We'll continue this topic at another time, but I want to share with you guys this they can afford to absorb the tariff because, truth be told, half of these products are being made in a sweatshop with child labor. They're paying cents on the dollar for things. They're getting them over here and they are taking advantage of us. They are overcharging us for garbage. We've also have come accustomed to this new higher tier pricing that we all had to endure during COVID oh, supply chains and this and that, and factories this and that we need to raise our prices. But trust us folks, they will go down when COVID is over. Bull shiotsky okay, we adjusted to new COVID pricing and COVID is over and we are still playing this supply chain nonsense, bullshit pricing. It is gouging us. It is taking advantage of us. They don't need to do this to us. You understand what I'm saying? It ain't true, cinderella? They don't need to be doing this.
Speaker 1:There's plenty of money for them to be made. When I look at the apparel business, they're buying Chinese t-shirts and they're bringing them here and they're paying a dollar for them. Big box stores are paying a dollar for them. Big box stores are paying a dollar. Even Joe Schmo next door is paying like $2 for these garbage, cardboard feeling Chinese t-shirts and then they're spilling all over them and they're selling them to you for $30. It's true, it's damn true.
Speaker 1:This old boy right here has been buying American made products since day one. I pay five times the cost in most occasions, sometimes even more when we go head-to-head on these products. Okay, the cost that I have into my finished product versus Debbie down the street is a tremendous difference. And here's the thing, folks. I've been going to fairs and I've been doing these things for five years and I go there and I start selling my t-shirts at $27 and I look at this foreign garbage that's being sold for $27 and $30. It's the same price, if not more, than me, at fairs and festivals. I'm seeing this right. I see sweatshirts that are $50 to $60. I'm pricing ours at $55.
Speaker 1:And I said you know what, folks, when everybody in the world is raising prices, when everybody in the world is gouging and charging you supply and demand, supply chain nonsense, covid ridiculousness, pandemic pricing. We here at Loud Proud American are lowering our prices on the most popular items that we have because we are coming to you with a no tariff guarantee, because American manufacturing comes with a no tariff guarantee. There is no tariff, there has never been a tariff and there will never be a tariff on Loud Proud American Goods, because they are loud and proudly made right here in America. You understand me, you hear me, you feel me. I hope and truly hope and pray that you do, because our proudly made and American goods support your neighbor, they support your community, they support your country. It's about American manufacturing. And now you're going to find me at many, many places and we are going to be one of the cheaper places in town and it's proudly made right here.
Speaker 1:The excuses are over. I do not want to hear I can't pay that much, I'm paying too much. And I say to you well, it's American made, bologna, it's American made and it's cheaper than Debbie down the street de-throating you with overpriced nonsense, bullshit, because Debbie, all of a sudden, is going to pay 25% tariff on her Chinese goods. Well, I'm sorry, because she's paying duck low over there. You know a fraction of a penny an hour to bust their ass in a factory to make something Bullshit. I'm tired of us supporting China and all these other garbage, nonsense, ridiculousness, hallelujah, where's the Tylenol? I apologize, I'm getting heated. The bottom line here, folks, is from here on out, we have enacted our tariff-free guarantee.
Speaker 1:You are buying t-shirts from Loud Proud American for $25. Listen, we've been selling t-shirts for $27 a piece, all sizes, and if you bought two, we dropped the price down two for 50. If you're buying more than one t-shirt, you were lowering the price. You're saving $2 a shirt. We are now going to give you all of our shirts at 25 bucks. You're going to buy t-shirts, tank tops and muscle shirts all for $25. We are talking about sizes from extra small all the way to 5X for 25 bucks. We ain't getting rich here, folks. We're supporting the mission here.
Speaker 1:$25 t-shirts coming to you right now. I have been to a couple of events already where I'm one of the cheapest ones around already, when I'm one of the cheapest ones around and it's made right here in America, and our oh so soft, light sweatshirts. They are going to be seeing a price or they have already seen a price reduction of $5. You are no longer paying 55 for a loud, proud American hoodie. You are paying 50 bucks. Everybody's raising prices, everybody's complaining about pricing and here we are rewarding our country for what it is that we do supporting American-made baby. We are lowering prices.
Speaker 1:T-shirts $25. Hoodies $50. In the future hopefully in the short future you will see me bring in some heavyweight T-shirts and some heavyweight hoodies. Those prices will be different because I'm going to pay far more for me to get them, hoodies, those prices will be different because I'm going to pay far more for me to get them. But for the everyday, lovable, wearable, comfortable, amazing items that y'all are used to, we are rewarding you with a better, lower price. Hot damn, that is what we are sprinkling, for positivity, on you today. I thank you. Gun check, gun check, loud Proud. American is a lifestyle brand dedicated and determined to represent the American spirit, with an unrelenting commitment to provide made-in-the-USA products. If you would like to join the 2% of Americans that buy American and support American, head on over to wwwlalproudamericanshop. Together we can bring back American manufacturing. All right, all right, all right, and we're back. Second segment of the show. We know it's going to be better than the first because I am joined by my lovely, by my beautiful, my fantastic, fantabulous, scrumptious wife.
Speaker 2:All right, y'all, it's just me.
Speaker 1:Well, let's just say I was laying it on Really nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what do you?
Speaker 1:want Settle down. I'm not. I mean, I'm always shooting for something, but the point here is folks.
Speaker 2:You're a man, we're certain you're always shooting your shot.
Speaker 1:Well, shooters got to shoot. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:Anyways, that's not the point here.
Speaker 1:I am celebrating you, I am romancing you, I am recognizing you Because today is a big old, beautiful day for you. Stop reading your phone and talk to the people.
Speaker 2:I was trying to buy a new camper, sorry, yeah, that's not the priority right now.
Speaker 1:Okay, the people are the priority.
Speaker 2:Sorry, it's fair season, I'm in fair mode.
Speaker 1:Not pheromones. Fair mode is also going to have to include a vehicle, because Old Red's going to be, yeah, heading to pasture and the baby wants a new SUV or pickup truck.
Speaker 2:Do you hear?
Speaker 1:it. So one of us, one of us, you know, get the promotion One of us.
Speaker 2:I wish.
Speaker 1:Get the new gig. Talk to us, let it out of the bag. Gig Mm-hmm. Talk to us, let it out of the bag. I've got all this suspense going here All right, y'all, everybody in the studio audience is more excited than you are.
Speaker 2:Here it is. I started selling feet pics on OnlyFans.
Speaker 1:They are flying off the shelves.
Speaker 2:I got Vienna sausages for toes. God, just pull up my proposal video.
Speaker 1:It's go to OnlyFans backslash fungus, stop it. No, I said fun us. Like it's, we're us, all of us are fun, we're fun people. You know what I mean. Listen.
Speaker 2:I'm a fun guy.
Speaker 1:I'm a fun guy. Mushroom walks into a bar.
Speaker 2:Hey, I'm a fun guy, yeah, there you go.
Speaker 1:Dad joke Bada bing, bada boom. Coolest guy in the room how you doing huh, how you doing. All right, I told you we had a very limited, specific amount of time. I'm sorry To capture all of this, and this is what's happening.
Speaker 2:I found a squirrel today. What do you want from me?
Speaker 1:I believe it was a chipmunk, but you did try to rescue it from fighting from the cat destroying its life, ending it. But don't chime in, we're not talking about it. Okay, Typically you're trying to keep me wrangled into a corner and I'm going to try to do to you what you did to the squirrel today. You kept me off the podcast for a couple of episodes. You're rearing and ready to go, and that baby's ready to go, over there working on peanut butter jelly toys and staring at microphones, ready to rock and roll.
Speaker 2:I'm feral, unhinged.
Speaker 1:New t-shirt coming out soon. Folks, Feral and unhinged.
Speaker 2:Fuck around and find out.
Speaker 1:Okay, the reason why I wanted you on the show is we dropped some clues along the way Over the past few weeks. Well, I think you've had what? A week or two weeks off, A little apreeve here, where I've been doing the show solo, doing my morning recordings. The old AM Szechuans.
Speaker 2:Szechuan.
Speaker 1:Leading up to that, when you were sharing your story and all the difficult things that you're going through, the things that you've been growing through, you've shed some light on your life history and all the choices that you made and you have talked along the way about removing negativity and how you had to remove negativity to get the life that you have now, and that you've gone on this quest to cut even more negativity because you've had to and you're making these different choices and healthier decisions and pointing your life in new directions. And we dropped some clues because we knew there was an opportunity that you were shooting for, striving for that we believed was going to be coming true for you and we wanted to share with the people, because this is yet another example of the benefits of removing negativity and what can come to you when you do so.
Speaker 2:So let's talk about it a little bit I'm going to hand it over to you, okay.
Speaker 1:And I'm going to work on the Celebrational Margarita for this big special day of yours.
Speaker 2:Next to my baby bottle over here, mom life, I'm also so stoked that you gave the baby enough stuff to start a freaking acoustic band over there.
Speaker 1:She's got maracas tambourines. I don't know. Cowbell, you're doing great dear and it's like your mother to give you those things before we go live on the second half of the show. So good night.
Speaker 2:She's feral, unhinged. Yeah, I love you too, babe. Thanks for showing me the pony.
Speaker 1:So good night. She's feral, unhinged. Yeah, I love you too, babe. Thanks for showing me the pony.
Speaker 2:Now mama's turn to talk. All right, y'all, here's the inside scoop. So after my mom's suicide, I decided to kind of evaluate all aspects of my life Top, bottom, left, right, things hidden in the closet. I decided to evaluate all the things and I just needed to really sit down and focus and like let go of the things that are no longer serving me. I started like purging anything and everything, just to remove all negativity and things that maybe I've been hanging on to, that were like had a memory but wasn't a very good one. I guess you could say, um, and with that I decided to also remove people in my life that were just it was a one-sided relationship or, you know, not serving me in any way, shape or form holding you back and one of the biggest things that I kept finding myself going back to was my job.
Speaker 2:My job. The more that I looked at negativity in a different light and how it's no longer serving me and it's bringing me down, the biggest thing that I kept going back to was my job. It was I was overworked and underappreciated. And let's just put this out there I am not afraid to get my hands dirty and work. I'm not. I have worked multiple jobs all in one day just to make ends meet. So I am a hard worker through and through, but when I'm given opportunities only to basically keep me quiet, I I had enough given you making promises, just to take them away yeah, like that, given me, yeah, given me promises, given me opportunities, um only for, you know, those to come to fruition for what like a couple weeks?
Speaker 1:yeah, give you short term. Yeah, hey, we did this for you, yeah, and uh, oops, sorry, we're gonna take that away yeah, that's not gonna work spoiler alert the rest of your staff sucks, so we're gonna punish you yeah your job was a source of release right it was something that you used to go to and enjoy, and it has changed to a source of frustration and anxiety and one that you would come home from work and often spend, you know, 20 minutes in the in the vehicle on the phone complaining, and you know that type of stuff getting it off your chest, so definitely wasn't serving you anymore.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and the hardest thing was to let go of the job because, like, I created this position, I built, um, I built this position from the ground up. So I found a weak spot in my office and we didn't have a referral department in my office and we didn't have any sort of plan on how referrals were going to work. And so I saw an opportunity and ran to my boss and was like, oh my God, let me do this, like, let me do this, and I created forms, I put processes together. I, you know, did anything and everything over the last five years in this position and it was exactly what I wanted. I wanted to get away from the frontline.
Speaker 2:No more patient, you know, not being on the front line working with patients all day, in and out, working the backside of patient care, is what I was looking for and that position was doing it. So I really had to just kind of evaluate the situation and, within doing that, I had just had, I don't know, an urge or some something inside, just said like, hey, why not just check the job listings? You know what I mean. Like in my own career, like in my own company, I mean, excuse me, um. So that's what I did because, after evaluating the situation, I could have gone anywhere, but I've already been invested in this company for five years and there's so many opportunities within my company that I could just do like a lateral move.
Speaker 1:For the people that don't realize you work for the largest hospital in Maine, so they're always purchasing up other hospitals and healthcare facilities and things like that. So there's countless opportunities. You're five years invested, you're getting raises, you have your vacation and things like that. So there's countless opportunities. You're five years invested, you're getting raises, you have your vacation and all those things.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I know with all the conversation that we had, you're looking at Angel's situation and saying I need to prioritize me, and you were focused on how do I be the best mom, how? Do I be the best you know wife person friend. And that goes along with removing things that are weighing on you or that change you. Your job was at a point of changing you. It wasn't allowing you to be yourself and enjoy yourself. So um you said you know I'm going to use this lesson.
Speaker 1:Angel's story as an opportunity for me to, you know, recommit to my goals and to refocus, and this is one of the big changes that I need to make. So you started looking and then you you know you found an opportunity.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean let's just backpedal really quick. Um, I realized how toxic my office was when they came to me the day after my mom committed suicide and was like here's a raise, but we took your title away yeah I'm sorry, what you couldn't have even let me grieve for like a couple of days, like nothing.
Speaker 2:Like oh, here's a raise, mind you, it was a dollar. So like, okay, I'll take your money, but like fuck off at the same time, you know what I mean. Like you literally just told me that you eliminated my position and it was absorbed by the front desk staff. Yeah, and I specifically had multiple conversations with them. That was like if and when you ever decide to put me back on the front line, I will walk. That's where I was at, that's where I was at. And they didn't think I was gonna do it.
Speaker 1:They did not, it was they've taken advantage of a situation where people would leave your office or get low, let go from your office and instead of finding replacements, they would just put the workload on you and have you carry it. You worked months by yourself with what typically would be a three or four person situation.
Speaker 2:I worked nine months running the front desk and running my referrals of a doctor's office who had four providers and two nurse practitioners by myself, and we have a float pool within the state of main health she just wouldn't even apply for, wouldn't even put, put our name on it, just made her numbers look better there was less payroll and let's just, let's just run it, and yeah, we'll run it till the wheels fall off and you get
Speaker 2:burnt out and here we are and what I found out when I I was leaving is that they were hiring two receptionist. I couldn't have even got you to hire one while I was there, yeah, so it was just like the writing was on the wall that it was like things have changed and I needed to go. It was toxic.
Speaker 1:So this is a positive episode because we're cutting negativity. So now the negativity's over, gone, that's gone. That's behind you. Sprinkle the positive outlook on it. Tell us what you're doing now absolutely so.
Speaker 2:Um, we had a great holiday weekend and today I started my new job. I was so excited to start this new job. I didn't even have the first day jitters. I like do, do, do, do, do. And then I get up to like, the intersection no morning scoots, no, I didn't have the anxiety toots or nothing. But I get up to the interstate and normally I take the far right lane to go to work. I didn't even think about it, I was just like do, do, do, do, do, take the middle lane right to the highway. I wasn't even like confused or nothing. My body was like let's go.
Speaker 1:Johnny Committed, ready to go.
Speaker 2:I was ready, ready to rock and roll. I get to my new office. My new manager is standing outside greeting me. Are you kidding me right now? Are you kidding me? Impressive. Who is this lady? Like you are God sent? I don't even understand. So then I like go there and I'm just like absorbing it, I'm just taking it all in, like she's like you need to take a break. Do you need to like be okay? And I'm like I'm great, I'm golden, like this is wonderful. I haven't had lunch alone today. You never have lunch alone. I'm always afraid to have lunch alone I'll cross that off the list I did so.
Speaker 1:It was great you were. Some of your goals in this new position um were to get away from like front line front.
Speaker 2:Yes, you know, patient facing positions yes, yep, get away from the front line. Um, this new position? Uh, there is not one patient that even walks into our building. The doors are locked. So now my new position is working for main health, home health and Hospice Services. So I'll obtain authorizations for you to get services in your home for PT, ot, speech therapy and end of life for hospice if that comes down the line, and that's the insurance company that I'll be assigned to if you have that insurance and need those services. Um, so I'll obtain those authorizations for you.
Speaker 1:Um you're basically working um with billing and the all behind the scenes and the like insurance company.
Speaker 2:That's it, yep, yep. So, um, I'll use the portals and um get your insurance benefits, um and then submit. Submit it to the team who's going to do your services, like in the home. Um, and then every six months, um 30 days to six months, depending on what insurance you have um, I'll have to do um recertifications, uh, to make sure that you're covered and um have enough benefits. Um.
Speaker 1:so, yeah, I go from answering a hundred calls a day to answering no calls in a day, um, you're taking the things off the plate that gave you the most frustration and then you're adding things to the plate that you really, um, wish were put on the plate, or I guess we should say things that were promised to you that were eventually taken from you.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 1:Those things are actually now being granted to you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the other benefit that was offered to me during this interview was the ability to work from home, and that was something that was offered to me before I went on a maternity leave at my other job, which was immediately taken away as soon as I got home. They only allowed me to work from home while you were in Florida and then basically took it away. So this is not something that can be taken away, because there's two employees that are fully remote, so I know they're not going to take it away. Today, on my first day, I actually had the opportunity to talk to them about your fair schedule and kind of go into detail about that and how I have those dates ahead of time, and they were like, yeah, just let me know, just let me know, and you can work from home those days, which is amazing, amazing for our family because, like, who knows? Like as long as I have wifi and I can do my job, it doesn't matter where I am.
Speaker 1:There's so many avenues here, because number one your weekly days from home are going to be Tuesdays and Thursdays which is the days that puts the most strain on the family, because I'm getting up at five for my mom to work and then I'm basically like today I didn't have any time to work on the business today with our schedule. So this is going to help because we're you know you're not going to be full-time working and taking care of her.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And neither am I. We're going to be sharing the load here to make this work, but that's far better for the family than what we've been faced with, and then being on the road is going to be tremendous because you can work on the road. These are opportunities that we never thought they really wouldn't have been possible before.
Speaker 2:They were not an option.
Speaker 1:Because you were taking calls. You were doing all these things. You had to be in the office. This is a whole different avenue for you, so I don't even know how to really describe it to the people that are listening, but it's everything that you like about what you've been doing, but also being granted the things that you were always promised and in a position where they're not going to be taken away from you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you're also taking the things off the plate that you really didn't want to do anymore, exactly, yeah, no, I really enjoy like medical, the medical field in general, so what I really enjoy, like the digging around, detective work in the billing and that sort of thing.
Speaker 2:So this is like the best of both worlds. And I've actually already been assigned to my insurance company because nobody wants it, nobody likes to do the digging and nobody likes to do the detective work, and I was like absolutely put me on it, like so I already have my assignments when I'm fully trained and I already know that I have a 200 patient caseload like as soon as I'm assigned. So like 200 patients a month have to be assigned with main care and have to be recertified and all that kind of stuff, and that's all on the portal. So like I don't even have to be assigned with main care and have to be recertified and all that kind of stuff and that's all on the portal. So like I don't even have to call anybody because everything is. I log right on, put the patient's insurance information in and it spits out all the details I need.
Speaker 1:One of the biggest things that you enjoy about any form of work is busy work.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, I love busy work, love busy work.
Speaker 1:Things that I can't stand doing you love doing so yep, um. This is a tremendous win for you in so many avenues. Had you let the frustration of your work, the anxiety and stress of the current situation that you're going through derail you, then you wouldn't have had this opportunity, right?
Speaker 1:if you threw this away and started fresh with a whole new company, then you lost the five years so you hung in there, you realized what you needed to do for you and your family, and then you applied yourself to doing that. Now, what I also want to say is that you've had these thoughts come up over the past couple of years. You've interviewed, you've had different opportunities. Some things you said no to, some things didn't just come true for you, but ultimately, the example that needs to be made today is that this opportunity was created for you when you physically, mentally, emotionally, made the decision to better yourself and remove even more layers of negativity.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think this opportunity came to me when I was ready.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I hinted at it in the first segment on today's show, but I had some conversations over the weekend with some people that are going through some tough times, some difficult times, that are having life-changing events, some of those completely out of their control, and I've expressed to them that this is only going to create opportunity for you when you go through these times in life, these great challenges in life, as long as you put things in perspective and you make the right changes for yourself and remove, like, use it as an opportunity to challenge yourself, to change yourself, to remove negative things for yourself, then you'll be surprised by the things that come true for you. You know what I mean. It's very true. Yeah, I've shared my story on here several times about different opportunities in my life where I've made those challenges and those changes. Today's episode is about you and your story.
Speaker 1:But super quick, I went through a shitty relationship when I eliminated that. I very quickly was promoted, got one of the biggest promotions of my life. Shortly after that I was meeting my soon-to-be wife. All these things happen when you commit to yourself and you cut those things for yourself. I've seen all of that happen for you and I really wanted to share it, because we're going to outline some tips and some techniques and some things, some actionable items, to cut negativity. But I want people to realize that cutting negativity takes working on yourself, cutting negativity. I've heard so many people, I've had so many conversations with people that say, yeah, I just, it's new me, okay, because I just cut negativity, I'm done with the negative people, I'm moving on. Okay, cinderella, well, that's step one.
Speaker 2:Okay yeah, that's just the icing on the cake.
Speaker 1:Just walking away from some shumbum isn't going to be all that it takes. Okay, if you want to cut negativity, then cutting negativity takes working on yourself, because I got news for you You're negative. If you have to cut negativity from your life, that means in shum, shum, shum way, shape or form, you are negative. You're being surrounded by negative.
Speaker 2:They say, you surround yourself by like-minded people.
Speaker 1:Without a doubt, if you are at a position in your life where you need to cut negativity, that means here's your eye opener folks. You are negative, you are becoming negative. The person that's around you that's negative is changing you, your personality, your actions, and you're starting to feel negative and you're coming to the realization that you need to remove this person from your life because you are becoming negative. That means that you are negative. You need to work on yourself. Just saying bye, Felicia, to that negative Moesha isn't going to be the end, all be all If you want to cut negativity.
Speaker 1:It takes working on yourself, and I know by all the changes that you've made, especially since Angel and what happened and you sharing your story. Number one, I feel like this starts with you being bold enough, courageous enough and transparent enough to turn a microphone on and share your story. That was step one. By doing so, you remove negative, you remove negative people, you close the chapter and you open yourself up to new people. You have a new circle developing around you because you shared your story and then you took more things into perspective. You looked more into spiritual and we're going to be leaning more into that in the coming weeks and days and months and years and you had those sessions, those shamanic Reiki sessions. You did so much to work on yourself to make yourself the better mother, wife, person that you want to be.
Speaker 1:Those things are all steps in removing negativity. It's not just saying I'm not talking to you anymore because I think you're negative. It's not that I'm not going to text you anymore because you're negative, I'm not going to attempt to contact you anymore. No, that's not it. It takes working on yourself. Yes, part of the recipe is removing that person from the recipe. That's one of the key ingredients, but the biggest portion of the pie is working on yourself, and I want to commend you for working on yourself thanks.
Speaker 2:It hasn't been easy, trust me.
Speaker 1:There has been, uh, lots of struggles, there's been lots of tears, but they're all a point of release there's also little tips and opportunities and signs that come to you along the way to show you you're doing the right thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I mean, I constantly look for my signs. Um, you know we've talked about um. You know angel numbers. Um've also talked about seeing signs in animals, but little things. I always joke about the. I don't know if I've talked about it on here, but I only go to the Goodwill when the Goodwill tells me Goodwill gods. If you don't know what Goodwill is, goodwill tells me Goodwill gods. If you don't know what Goodwill is, google it. It's just a consignment store. I only go there when I feel drawn to go there. Something up above brings me there. And on Friday, my last day at work, I had some stuff in the back of my car and I was like I'm just going to go there, like on my lunch break, what have you? And I didn't.
Speaker 1:When you said I have stuff in my car, people that you're going to donate. Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry, my bad.
Speaker 2:Yes, I have stuff in my car to donate. I was going to just drop it off on my lunch break. Go back to work, what have you Do? A little peruse around, check the junk. I didn't do that. I didn't feel the urge to go there. So you were busy.
Speaker 2:I ran home, grabbed your mom, I went to the Goodwill, donated our stuff and we walked around. I get a few things and I'm cashing out and right behind the guy in the register, right behind the guy mm-mm-mm-mm-mm, there is a authentic Indian drum sitting there on the counter. My mouth was on the ground. Let me just tell you. I can see it sitting there behind the guy. Your mom had already looked at it, put it up, left it there and I was like, oh Lord, have mercy. I cashed out, I looked at it a couple of times, went back. I even said I'm going to take a picture of this and send it to you, because this is the same drum that, if you guys remember, in my last couple of episodes I talked to you about Missy doing the drum solo. This is the same drum.
Speaker 2:I said to your mom I'm going to take a picture of it and send it to you. No, no, I'm not. Nope, not going to happen. Something inside of me was like don't you dare walk away? So I was like I get back in line. The cashier says to me oh, someone just returned this 20 minutes ago. I beg your finest pardon, they did what, returned it. Who returns a drum? It's not broken. The drumstick is attached and there's a bald eagle on the front of it. If y'all been listening, you know your dad comes forward as a bald eagle and there it was. It's painted, drawn on the front of it. I brought that thing home.
Speaker 1:The person told you it was returned, not just once.
Speaker 2:Three times.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how does this drum get purchased, brought home and then returned? There's got to be some bad mojo. This drum was trying to work its way to you.
Speaker 2:That's what Missy says. That's what Missy says. She's like three times it was returned. I was like I mean, I don't know, maybe the guy was lying to me, but one time was sufficient enough. I still couldn't put my hands on why this was returned. I start running through things through my head Like this has got bad juju, I don't know. So I brought that bad boy home and I saged it. I ain't bringing no bad juju into my life. I even let the sage roll into my car because I was like I carried that thing home. So there was that. And then over the weekend we went yard sailing and I found a couple of bracelets that I've been looking for. I literally have them in my cart, in my Amazon cart, right now that I was looking for Just some bracelets, charm bracelets that I used to have as a kid, and I was like, oh my God, I love those.
Speaker 1:I think it's also one of those things where, if you're just in that negative mindset and you're just kind of, you know, just smugging around through life, grotting around, struggling around, you're not open to things, you're not aware of all your surroundings. There's beautiful things that are happening to you and for you, and you just are oblivious to them because you're just in this ho is me, woe is me oh, woe is me Ho Ho. Yeah, woe is me.
Speaker 2:You're feeling hoey, this is true, this is about to be a ho down About to be a ho down.
Speaker 1:So here's the thing, folks we're talking about this great opportunity for you. We're talking about these ultimate signs for you that you're going in the right direction, and we've talked about all the work that you're doing for yourself, on yourself, and I really wanted to outline that for everybody and use your story as an example that you know, in different ways, things can get better and brighter for you when you go through tragic events in your life. And I think a lot of that comes from step one just sharing those events in your life, because if you're going to remove negativity and you're going to move towards positivity, then you truly need to start working on yourself, and we have some actionable items here. I did some research today. I want to share some tips, tricks, techniques, different things and, as I go through some of these, if one of these hits home to you, feel free to chime in, to jump in.
Speaker 1:But first to get things going here, cutting out negativity requires a conscious effort to identify and address negative thought patterns and behaviors, often through self-reflection and practice. It involves becoming aware of your negative thoughts, acknowledging them and choosing to not let them dictate your actions or reactions. So that kind of outlines the process of removing this negativity. As we're talking about, it's more than just saying bye, felicia, moving on from that person, because ultimately, there's triggers. Like you said, there was things you were holding on to that triggered those negative memories.
Speaker 1:A lot of times we hold on to something because it's sentimental, but when you sit and reflect on the sentimental item, it often brings up these negative thoughts and emotions and we often spend more time just talking negative shit to ourselves. We are shit talkers when it comes to the way we talk to ourselves. With all that in mind, we are going to knock out some more detailed, actionable steps to look at this process here. So number one is on awareness and identification. Become aware of your negative thoughts. Pay attention to the thoughts and reactions that arise in your mind. Just being self-conscious enough to realize what you're saying to yourself, I think, is half the battle.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:Do you ever just talk yourself into a bad day Mentally?
Speaker 2:Probably.
Speaker 1:I've been in that mode sometimes where all of a sudden you look at the clock and you go it's noontime, I didn't get anything done and I'm absolutely miserable. Let me understand why. And you start to peel the onion back and you start looking at it and going well, you woke up and said this to yourself. You went to do this and it didn't go right. So you said this to yourself. The moment you start to realize the shit that you're saying to yourself is often the reason why you're down on yourself. Identify areas where you routinely go negative. Notice the specific situations or topics that tend to trigger negative thoughts. Is there anything that you don't have to have an answer off the top of your head? But is there anything that you do that could trigger something negative? Like you know, do you go on social media? Like there's a certain site, is it a TV show? Is it a program? Is it a conversation? Is there anything that you can think of that? I know when I get into this I'm gonna have a negative thought yeah what is it?
Speaker 2:laundry laundry gives you negative thoughts because I go through my closet and I start like I have things in my closet that I want to wear but I can't wear because I don't feel comfortable in them anymore. But I keep them there in hopes that I'll lose enough weight to fit in them.
Speaker 1:That makes a lot of sense. Now that you put it that way, I can understand that. I've got stuff in my closet that I've been like I bought it brand new and I ain't worked my way into it yet you know what I mean, but I can understand what you're saying there.
Speaker 2:So I like beat myself up, or if I'm like trying to pick out my outfit for like the next day, and I like pull something out and I'm like, oh my god, this is gonna look so cute. And then the next morning I put it on and like I just I feel bloated that day. I just I immediately just start downplaying like the whole rest of. I'm just like whatever, like this is, like this is just it's a good one.
Speaker 1:I like that. Yeah, Recognize the impact of your group and environment. Consider how your social circle and surrounding environment may influence your own negativity. I know for you. You just said you quit your job. I mean you didn't just quit and walk out, you found a replacement.
Speaker 2:But part of that was I gave a two-week notice, y'all didn't just quit and walk out.
Speaker 1:You found a replacement. I gave a two-week notice, y'all I know. Actually you worked more than two weeks, I did. You recognized that environment wasn't suiting you anymore, it wasn't serving you. You recognized that the people that were there were pretty toxic. Right, I mean, you still have good relationships with some of them, but it was a pretty toxic environment with a lot of folks there and you needed to get yourself out of that situation.
Speaker 2:A lot of them would start a conversation with you just to hear themselves talk and you're just like why do I even bother? I don't want to tell you how my weekend was, because you just want to talk about your own self.
Speaker 1:It's a true story.
Speaker 2:So I just stopped talking. I'd be like, oh yeah, it was great Word vomit.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So the first part of this is awareness and identification. Then we're going to move into challenging negative thought patterns. Reframing, that's the first big one. Challenge negative thoughts and consider alternative, more positive perspectives. I can get into this a lot when it comes to an event right Like when you get somewhere and, let's say, day one is turd you know, or like florida we talk about wasn't all that I hoped for.
Speaker 1:So if I just ultimately focused on well, you didn't make all the money that you wanted to make. You didn't make what you've expected to make, you had all this time away from your family. You're never going to replace that time. That's going to put me in an endless rabbit hole of nonsense. But if, if I reframe that and say, look at all the people that you touched, look at all the people that now are owning and wearing and consuming and loving Loud, proud American apparel that you never would have met before, we're talking about hundreds of items that were sold that are now going all throughout the country. People at Bike Week aren't just from Florida, they're from all over the place Virginia, pennsylvania, maryland, whatever. They're all over the place. These people are wearing your stuff, they're bringing it to their hometowns. Even all the people that are Florida residents. I never would have met those people.
Speaker 1:The memories I made on the road, the stories I have with Brian and Zach, the whole family, the whole nine when you reframe things and you look at them different, it's a hell of a lot more fulfilling and it just leaves you with a more positive thing I could have looked at that trip and said, wow, you didn't make what you wanted to make. You would have been better off staying home and applying that money in a different avenue, where I can look at it and say, dude, be proud of yourself, you just accomplished something on your bucket list for business. It's all in how we look at things, how and how we reframe things. Changing language is another big one. Be mindful of the language you use and replace negative words and phrases with more constructive ones. What is so funny over there? What are you guys doing?
Speaker 2:We're playing with snacks.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness, hiccups are funny too. Challenge Nope, not the word I was thinking about. I was looking at a challenge you're playing over there.
Speaker 1:You're encouraging it. Now You're provoking it, changing language. Be mindful of the language you use and replace negative words and phrases with more constructive ones. Or baby giggles you know what I mean If you're stressing out and you're feeling like shit and all hell's about to break loose baby giggles. You know what I mean. I can get through some challenging times with some baby giggles. You are crazy, as I take this opportunity to appreciate the laughter and the chaos that's happening across the living room right now. That is the next tip Practice gratitude. Focus on the good things in your life and express gratitude for them. As much as a podcast professional recording his podcast would be offended that his audio is being hijacked by his precious little daughter and edit the whole thing out. I am not that guy. I am going to practice gratitude and I'm going to focus on the good things in my life and appreciate that I have this beautiful, amazing little sweetie over there that thinks snacks are hilarious.
Speaker 1:She is my child, oh my God, what in the heck you need to give her the margarita right she's actually no, I wouldn't even have the margarita myself all right, positive affirmations, repeat positive statements about yourself and your situation.
Speaker 1:That's another good one. Positive in, positive out. It always comes down to you know what we perceive to be shall be. So if we're telling ourselves, you know we're never going to fit in this, we look like shit, we feel like shit, then guess what folks You're going to look and feel like shit forever. Positive in, positive out. That's just how it's going to work.
Speaker 1:The next block of things to focus on is building positive habits. Surround yourself with positive people. Choose to spend time with individuals who are supportive and uplifting. I truly hope and pray that, after 255 consecutive weeks of share the struggle podcast, that y'all would consider us some positive people, that we are positive individuals that are supporting you, that are uplifting you, that are encouraging. So when you find yourself feeling down, man, maybe look back and grab another episode and fuel yourself up with positivity. Focus on the good and the now Instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Stay present and appreciate the positive aspects of your current situation. We've said so many times one of the biggest examples for this for me is when you plan a vacation. Let's say you plan a vacation, maybe it takes six months or it takes a year and you save money for it and you get out there on that vacation and when you're right in the middle of that vacation, all you can think about is the work not getting done at home.
Speaker 2:You are the worst, oh my.
Speaker 1:God. All you can think about is what you're missing, what needs to be done, chores, the workload being shifted to family and friends, and you stress yourself out. You need to be grounded right here, right now, in the present. I've done so much at trying to live in the moment and appreciate those things when I'm doing them, because I was the worst. I'm still not perfect, but there's times when I find myself not taking advantage of the opportunity, not fully appreciating the situation, something that you've worked so hard for, that you planned so hard for, that you're now fully engulfed in. I try to be present right there, in the now, so I encourage y'all to do that as well. Engage in enjoyable activities. Find activities that bring you joy and help you stay grounded, such as exercise, mindfulness or hobbies. The next one and the final block is practice patience. It takes time and effort. Rewriting your brain and changing habitual thought patterns takes time and practice. Be patient with yourself. Don't get discouraged if you slip up occasionally. Just keep practicing and focusing on positive change. Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes improvement, and if all we do today is improve a little bit today, then tomorrow will always be a better day.
Speaker 1:I truly hope that today's message resonates with you. I truly hope there is something positive here for you today and I hope these steps, these actionable items, can help you remove negativity. I hope that you truly understand that when you're cutting negativity, it takes working on yourself. It's more than just cutting negative people out of your life. Yes, that is necessary. Yes, you need to leave the negative people behind you. Negative Nancys will not serve you. Debbie Downers do not deserve you. Leave them in the past but truly, to make the moment last, focus on yourself, work on yourself, take the actionable steps and when you do so, great opportunities will come to you, just like my wife's story I'm dropping a challenge right here, right now.
Speaker 2:Whoa, if you're shooting your own shot here, huh you just gotta shoot if you find yourself, if you find yourself talking down to yourself, negative talk, anything like that. You owe it to yourself to give yourself two compliments. Okay, in any way, shape or form or form. Hey, listen, I'm feeling fat today. All right, we have beautiful eyes and those pants make your ass look fat. There you go.
Speaker 1:You said that as a positive, I did Okay.
Speaker 2:I did. Your ass looks fat in them jeans. Okay, damn girl. Yeah, I'm talking about P-H-A-T.
Speaker 1:I got beautiful eyes and thick thighs. You know what I'm saying? Hey, thick thighs. This honey make money.
Speaker 2:Thick thighs save lives. Oh hello, that's what you deserve. You deserve for that one bad talk about yourself.
Speaker 1:There is this you got a compliment. There's this old management thing that I was taught years ago. I'm trying to remember how it works. It's been a long time.
Speaker 2:Is that your two no's and one yes?
Speaker 1:No, that's a different one, but it's a good one.
Speaker 2:I do remember that from your management.
Speaker 1:This was basically you keep five pennies in your left pocket. Okay, okay, in like your left pocket, okay, okay. And when you're doing your morning walkarounds and you're talking to people, each time you leave a compliment to somebody, you can take that penny out of your left pocket and put it into your right.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Kind of balance out your walk okay. So if you're out there and you're walking around and you're talking to people mentally, when you're dropping positive comments, let's call them positive pennies. Okay, I'm dropping some positive scents. When I'm out there making scents, dropping positive pennies out there, as I walk by and I see somebody doing a great job in their area or in their department, you stop in, you talk to them, you congratulate them, you acknowledge them, you appreciate them. When you walk away, take that penny and put it on your other side.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:You don't earn the right. You don't buy the opportunity to say one negative until you get all them pennies from your left to your right. So that was a philosophy taught to me way back in the day that basically you can't buy the opportunity to say something negative until you've got five cents in your right pocket. You know what I'm saying? That makes sense.
Speaker 1:So you've got to go around. You're damn right, it makes sense. You've got to go around speaking positives before you can talk negatives, and positives before you can talk negatives. And part of the trick here, folks, is if you start your morning off with five positives, it gets to be a lot more difficult to find that one negative.
Speaker 2:This is true, this is true and I will say it does boost your day to have somebody give you a compliment.
Speaker 1:You're right, positive in, positive out. If you touch that snack bag, one more ever-loving time.
Speaker 2:I'm trying to keep the baby quiet.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, you're keeping the baby quiet, you're baiting her with bait and switch over there to make her giggle. No, and you're crinkling wrappers in there making the big daddy over here want to go eat a Big Mac. Sounds like fast food wrappers in the background.
Speaker 2:What she laughs about is when I keep the snacks in my hand and I close my hand.
Speaker 1:I know I've seen you antagonizing it. I'm sorry, baby. I will go over there and give you all the snacks and teach your mother a lesson. No, we're off the rails here, clearly.
Speaker 2:Squirrel.
Speaker 1:There was some positives here. I'm confident in it. My wife saved the chipmunks life. Today, all that means good things coming our way.
Speaker 2:Good vibes. I should look it up.
Speaker 1:Thank you for supporting my American dream.
Speaker 2:I'm not allowed to swear Good point.
Speaker 1:You're fucking. Hands are on the savage. That's it and that's all Biggie Smalls. If you're a loud, proud American and you find yourself just wanting more, find me on YouTube and Facebook at Loud Proud American, or the face page, as my mama calls it. If you're a fan of the Graham Cracker, you want to find me on Instagram, or all the kids are tickety talking on the TikTok. You can find me on both of those, at Loud underscore Pr, proud, underscore American. A big old thank you to the boys from the Gut Truckers for the background beats and the theme song to this year's podcast. If you are enjoying what you're hearing, you can track down the Gut Truckers on Facebook. Just search Gut Truckers. Give them, motherfuckers, a like too. I truly thank you for supporting my American dream. Now go wash your fucking hands, you filthy savage.