Keep Hope Alive Podcast
Keep Hope Alive through the power of knowing who you are as a person and expressing self-love. Life is a journey and with the blank pages we create our story. Keep Hope Alive is about the power of knowledge in today's world. ALL topics are welcomed.
Keep Hope Alive Podcast
Celebrating Success and Creativity in Alex Dumas's Journey
Ever felt out of place growing up, like you were constantly juggling between different worlds? Our guest, Alex Dumas, knows that feeling all too well. As the youngest of four in a Haitian immigrant family in Long Island, New York, Alex's childhood was filled with the challenge of balancing cultural expectations while carving out his own identity. This episode invites you to join Alex as he recounts his journey of discovering the power within himself, emphasizing the importance of staying true to one's values. Through his candid storytelling, Alex highlights how the support of family and community became his anchor, helping him navigate the complexities of identity and belonging.
Get ready to uncover the secrets of building unshakeable confidence even when life throws curveballs your way. With the tenacity of an athlete, Alex shares his insights into the thrill of setting ambitious goals and the crucial role of pacing to prevent burnout. This conversation is a treasure trove of wisdom, where you'll learn how asking the right questions can transform challenges into golden opportunities. As a seasoned keynote speaker, Alex reveals his approach to amplifying voices, celebrating achievements, and finding strength in collaboration, all while staying rooted in one's story and self-worth.
The power of storytelling and creativity takes center stage as Alex delves into his current endeavors, from hosting the podcasts "Love, Serve, Care" and "Elevate and Celebrate" to planning new projects like "Speak Up, Standout." You'll hear about the importance of embracing authenticity and the fun side of connecting through platforms like TikTok. As we discuss the unpredictable nature of emotions in parenting and professional life, you'll find inspiration in Alex's ability to balance personal passions with responsibilities. Join us as we explore the art of sharing genuine stories, celebrating milestones, and extending gratitude to the community that supports and uplifts us.
Brice Harney
Life On Record
Miles of Smiles Entertainment
Richmond Punch
TK Hair Salon
Ogden Ventures LLC
CEO of Ogden Ventures LLC
SnappBandZ
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Love & Light - Keep Hope Alive
Hello and welcome to Keep Hope Alive podcast. Today we have another special guest with us. I'd like to welcome Alex Dumas on the show. So welcome, welcome.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Nadine. Welcome myself. Good to be here.
Speaker 1:Oh good, I'm so glad. So you're a professional speaker and a best-selling author and I can't wait to dive into your story. It's going to be so fun. But, alex, I always have a question. My first question of the day is okay, let's put it this way we're best friends. We got invited to go to our friend's wedding. So we're walking into the ceremony part and to the right we see something we need to sign. What is that one thing we need to sign to let our friends know we were actually there.
Speaker 2:Let them know that we were present the guest book.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Very good, Yay. So one of the biggest sponsors I have here is Life on Record and what they do instead of having a guest book. It is a vintage rotary phone, so your guests walk up to this vintage phone, pick it up. They can leave a message Congratulations on your big day. We're so happy for you. Many years of happiness and joy and love. And then you might get a groomsman. It's about time you put a ring on her finger. Whatever the message may be, it is there for your guests to pick up and leave that message. Also, they have a little sign with a QR code that they can scan with their own phone so they can leave a message before or after.
Speaker 1:Now this phone goes good at any event, but I always use the subject as a wedding and stuff. Now, what they do with the messages? They will burn them either on a 12-inch vinyl record or you can get a keepsake box. Now their plans only start at $99. You get the phone number. I got to make sure you hear number. You got to return the phone, but the phone number for one year. So this is a great thing to have at your event to listen to everybody congratulating you or wishing you well, Please visit them at wwwlifeonrecordcom. All right, so here we go. My second question of the day who is Alex DeMoss?
Speaker 2:Wow, Gosh, how much time do we have for that? Right Cause we can. That could be hours and hours. You know, for what you said earlier, I'm a professional speaker, best-selling author, leadership expert, community leader and all these different things, and I share all that kind of upfront like wow, this looks amazing. So impressive, alex, you're awesome. Like yeah, all that's true.
Speaker 2:And I also want to let the audience know that it wasn't always like this. I didn't always believe that that was capable or possible for me. You know, I'm somebody who grew up in a pretty much regular life, mundane, in Long Island, new York, youngest of four kids, my parents immigrants from Haiti, and that comes with its own different cultural standards and expectations to live by, and a lot of those I fell short of and I wrote about this in the book. So you see behind me a journey of riches, a power of self-discovery, where I, honestly, nadine, was somebody who was always kind of in between things, right, Always kind of on the inside, but outside not quite fitting in, wanted to be accepted, wanted to have people like me, fun, personal guy, but also quiet, shy, you know some people might say like a introverted, extrovert. I don't know if that's the the right term for it, but I just know that for myself, feeling out of place, out of sorts, trying to find who I am, trying to find my identity, trying to find my voice in the world, and that maybe led me to test out things this way of like. Maybe I can be in this group, or maybe I can be a part of this, this crowd, and fall in here and at at the core, really losing myself, losing who I am, and through years right, it's taken years to get to this point of recognizing, oh, I have a lot more power within than I thought was possible. I have a lot more to offer the world. I actually have a story that matters, a voice that matters, and I have a supportive, a beautiful family with me my wife, my two kids, cousins, aunts. You know the whole deal in the community with me kids, cousins, aunts. You know all the whole deal in the community with me.
Speaker 2:And I think now that's what I do my best to share from the stage is that we're we're never really alone. But we also have to recognize it's okay. It's okay to be alone, but not lonely, right. It's okay to be in solitude and be sovereign, but not in the space of compromising your own values, your own beliefs, to fit in or to bend to somebody else's expectations and in that case I think that is what prevented me from what I call winning in life. I'm a competitive guy. I used to play sports football and boxing and taekwondo so I'm like the competitive drive, like that thing, that inner thing in me, boxing and taekwondo. So I've like the competitive drive, like that thing, that inner thing in me, and I've also been on the side of where I've used that to to harm myself, harm others, and I've used that to now benefit other people and empower people and inspire people. So that's a quick snapshot of who I am and what I'm here to do.
Speaker 1:Wow, you know, you said you were the quiet one and it took me back to school. There was a quiet, quiet boy and now he's a comedian and I was just like you break out of that shell. You know, it's kind of like you know, and I say also, the quiet ones are introverted. If you are, you seem like a free spirit just by talking to you. So, but they are usually very knowledgeable, very smart, they set their goals, they go after it. It's win, win, win. And, as you talked about competitive, yes, and just staying driven and focused on those. That's always great. So, but yeah, I mean your journey of you know, moving to New York. What was that like for you? Because I know I'm a Jersey girl, but I was only there till age six.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you know, I grew up in New York, right, my family was born. I was born in Brooklyn. We moved to Long Island when I was probably four or five, right, really young. So Long Island, brentwood to be specific, has always been my home, and for the past. Now we're recording this 2025. So it's going to be going on eight years since me, my wife and my kids we moved to North Carolina, and the way I like to tell this story is that it took us eight years to figure out how to move in eight weeks.
Speaker 2:So Rewind Time back to 2016,. We are just going through life, right, we're just kind of making it right. Our son just turned one, our daughter is going to be six and there's a lot of craziness happening in our area, specifically where, um, there's there's gang murders, there's assaults, there's a whole lot of chaos around us. Uh, and my wife and I, we knew like we wanted to get out. We, we knew we we weren't gonna be able to afford what we wanted with the way taxes and things like that were and just all that. It felt like everything, like this pressure cooker, everything just going on, just collapsing around us. So, fast forward, 2017, over july weekend, we're like you know, let's go scope out north canada, let's go scout the area, because we've been talking about georgia, we've been talking about florida, talking about all these different states. But for you watching, for you listening, have you ever been there where you just like kind of run your mouth a little bit but like you don't take any action? It is not a judgment, but this is where I'm coming from. Like I want to do this, I want to make this happen and no, no actions taken, nothing, nothing goes on.
Speaker 2:So fourth of july weekend we visit the area and I just gotta say this quick thing, because it's funny to me. I'm thinking it's like new york weather, like new york summer. So I'm in sweatpants, I'm just whatever. I get out of the car, we go to a cracker ball and like I die immediately, like it's so hot. I've never humidity heat like this before in my life. So I'm sweating buckets just from the car parking lot to the front of the building. I look crazy. I must look like I was running track or something like that. I was just buckets.
Speaker 2:Anyway, we visit for the weekend and we fall in love with the area. We were visiting homes and things like that and just getting a feel for the area and then by Labor Day, weekend, kids, dog, everything packed, no jobs, no family support out here, no friends. We knew nobody. We didn't even visit the apartment that we wound up staying in for a year Now. We wound up building this house a year later and we're still here.
Speaker 2:But I share that to hopefully let somebody know like you can make a lot happen in a short amount of time once you make a really powerful decision, once you get very committed, and that's part of what I call like my win formula, like I call like the eye, the intentions right, when you get really laser focused and set on. I'm gonna do this and you can either come with me or get out the way, and that's. That's just how we operate. And we've been here, we've been able to thrive since, we've been able to build a great network with people around here, and there's still more to do in my opinion, but right now we're in a really comfortable spot, we're safe, we're in a, you know, a stable community. So it worked out.
Speaker 1:Sometimes you got to just go all in and play your hand and just do it you're giving me a lot of hope right now because I mean, I think the only thing holding me back is the football for my son here and he really wants to follow the school system. But I have always I just want to get in my car and set a day and a half and see whatever direction I go. That's where I need to end up and try or something. But I was like I just want to get up and move and just have a fresh start and I feel like I want to do that every 10 years or something so I can see the world and try new things. But you just never know. And yeah, I got to do that, but I started one of my goals. Instead of just up and moving, I started writing a book and I'm so excited and I know.
Speaker 2:Tell me about the book Huh. Tell me about the book.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's a spiritual journey and I got, I gotta see. Hopefully the name is not taken, but I've called it darkness. Your hour is over. So, yeah, just different things. I gotta keep it under wraps, it's a hard book actually, right yeah. So I was like man, this better be a bestseller into a movie, because it sure could be.
Speaker 2:But I don't think I would want to watch it because I had to live it out there when I was approached with writing the chapter for Journey of Riches last year, in 2024. And it just came at the right time. I'm named after the author, so Alexandre Dumas, it's in my blood. It's kind of destiny If whoever believes in that. It's predestined for me to be an author. And I love writing in any way and being creative. And I wrestle with a lot of it because I'm thinking to myself all right, well, what do I want to talk about? What am I going to write about? How is self-discovery? Well, how do I discover myself? How do I find myself? And I essentially put my life story into about 5,000 words. And the scary quote, unquote scary part about that is just recognizing that people that I know, people that I grew up with, people that love me, family, right, all that they're going to read, that they're going to see some of the things yes, oh, my God, I didn't know. I didn't know you felt like that. I didn't know you were going through these challenges. And you know, to your earlier comment about me, like, yeah, I'm extroverted, I'm a comedian, I'm extroverted, I'm a comedian, I love to make people laugh, I love to make people smile, I love just that's part of me right.
Speaker 2:But what I shared in the book was that I use that as a mask. I use that as a way to keep people at arm's length because I was so insecure inside I was. So I felt inadequate. I felt like this is the only way that I could get acceptance right. I felt like this is the only way that I could get acceptance right. It's a difference between wanting to entertain and be fun and be lively versus this pressure of having to Like. This is all I am. This is my identity, nadine. Like this is me. If I'm not funny, if I'm not the clown, if I'm not the goofy guy, then what am I? Are people going to like like, see through the mask? Are people gonna recognize oh, this guy's.
Speaker 2:Like we didn't use depressed in the 90s right, that wasn't a word anxiety, these things didn't exist, or at least we didn't have awareness of or as much uh promotion about or knowledge about. So I'm just thinking, well, what's wrong with me? Why am I like this? I should be happy, I have everything on paper, I have everything that you should want two parents, uh, great siblings, stable home, right. No, nothing on the surface you should be like, wow, like you know, you have a great life, like I'm very fortunate, right as a black man, to have these things. But yet inside I'm like what's wrong with me? Why am I not happy? Why is nothing lighting me up? I pour, I give, I share, but then it's like I'm drained, I have nothing left for me so yeah, and I just commend you so back to the writing.
Speaker 2:I just commend you for for putting words to paper like your real thoughts, your real experiences, and sharing your story, because, once again, story matters, your voice matters yeah, being heard in voice and you know I'm learning more about what I went through and the strength I have, which is amazing.
Speaker 1:So it really touches the soul when you write is what I'm learning. But I will wake up. I'm so excited I actually wake up at 4.30 in the morning and get my coffee brewing and because everybody's still asleep and it's nice and quiet in the house and I was like, okay, I got this and. But you know, I will stop around 630, wherever I'm at, because I don't want to have burnout or just quit or anything like that. So I set that as a 2025 goal and the other one is to take a course and learn all these new A-Live stuff out there so I can be on top of my game. So, but it's interesting, you know, I mean kudos to you. I mean you had more than one, correct. So you helped out with other books too, correct?
Speaker 2:Not at the moment. I'm drafting up some eBooks for myself. I'm creating a some ebooks for myself. I'm I'm uh creating a supplement guide for my keynotes, uh. So I literally started getting as we're writing, as we're speaking this out. Right now I'm in the process of just mapping it out and it's really gonna be just about a book of questions, because I have this I you might have heard this expression before.
Speaker 2:It's not something that I created, but it's something that I it's a philosophy that I live by is the quality of your life is determined by the quality of questions you ask yourself. So when we were just having this discussion before, the questions that I asked myself, they weren't bad. Right, this is not a judgment thing. Like Alex, how could you condemn yourself like that thing? Like alex, how could you like condemn yourself like that? But I, just the way I see it now, through through the work that I've done the, the inner work with myself over the last 11, 12 years now, the questions I used to ask myself were why is life like this nadine? Why can't I have that? Uh? Why, why doesn't she like me? Why is it like this? Why I'm right? All these things that I've just kept just ruminating and thinking about, like what's wrong with me? That's really where the core of it came to. It's like what's wrong with me.
Speaker 2:The questions I start to ask myself and have been given to me is like, well, this is the situation I'm in, this is what's happening, what do I want to create from it? Who is available to help me? What's available to me? What resources are there? And that gives me a way out. It gives me a place of strength. It gives me a place of creation of okay, I'm not stuck here. I'm in a situation. I don't like it or it's not favorable for me, but I know I have enough talent, I know I have enough gifts, resources, abilities. I know I have enough gifts, resources, abilities. I know enough support out there that I can find a way through it.
Speaker 2:Right, and it's not to spiritually bypass and not to like dismiss it and like toxic positivity, like everything's all right, nothing's wrong. Yeah, sometimes stuff, stuff is wrong, stuff sucks. Now it's the question of what I want to do about it. Do I want to stay like this or do I want to have something different? And so this ebook is really going to just be an opportunity for people just to ask themselves some more powerful questions, and it's related to that framework I mentioned earlier about when right, about looking at your worth right, your self-worth as the W, the I, your intentions, your commitments and then your end for your network, your community, your support system.
Speaker 2:And I think in my life, when I have succeeded the most, when I've had the most progress, when I've had the most breakthroughs, these elements have shown up right when I've raised the vibration of myself like okay, I deserve to have this, I deserve to have good things happen in my life. You know what, now that I know who I am, I know that I value myself. I'm a madman going after this goal. I'm going to get it, I'm going to make it happen, no matter what. And the major question is like all right, who's going to help me do that? Because I could do it on my own and take all the credit and be super Alex superhero.
Speaker 2:But why wouldn't I make? Why wouldn't I not make this simple? Why would I not have other people with me celebrate, right, when we just had the Super Bowl here a couple weeks ago? Imagine if it was just Jalen Hurts on the field and all the confetti. It'd feel good, but you kind of get bored after a minute. But if you have a whole team with you staff coaches we're jumping, we're celebrating, we're hugging, we're crying, we're laughing. But you don't forget that if you're the only person in the room with the champagne and the confetti, then it gets kind of lame.
Speaker 1:Exactly, and I am a huge Eagles fan.
Speaker 2:I'm not I'm a Giants fan, so it was painful for me to even acknowledge so good bringing it up Was that hard to say, it's painful, but you know what? At least it wasn't a cowboy, so I'll.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, Amen to that. You know I'm in Texas, but definitely going through that in the keynotes. I mean, do you go out and you're doing guest speaking to professional speakers? So I guess is that coming from the books or is it different topics that you've come up with?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's. I think it's all related because I think part of my story ties into, like the teaching points. So the keynote that I'm working on, I'm building out right now it's called Speak Up, stand Out, build Unshakable Confidence to Amplify your Voice and Impact, and I sprinkle in that wind framework in there and also a bit of my life story, and I think the key for myself as a speaker and for any speaker or anybody aspiring to be a speaker out there is really focusing on what's the audience going to get out of this? How is this going to benefit them? Because when I would was first started out a couple years ago, I put a lot of pressure on myself, like all right, I gotta perform right. I kind of went back into like little alex mode of like all right, gotta make sure they like me, like it's not about that. What's the transformation for them? How is how will what my words say? How will they hear it? And then how will they internalize it, how will they use it and apply it? And that's what, over these last couple of years now, I've been really focused on and that's where I've been seeing a lot of better results.
Speaker 2:Because when we're focusing on them, when we're. When I'm taking someone on a journey of supporting them and serving them, right, it gets me off of the soapbox like, all right, just alex the impressive. Like let me tell you, nadine, how awesome I am and I'm doing so great. And you know I do this. I'm a best-selling author, you know I do this. I'm a pastoral author, you know it. You know what I mean. It's like uh, yeah, you're, you're awesome, but how does this help me in my life? Right, because we all have that radio station.
Speaker 2:What's it in for me, like? What is? How is this serving me? And I I I say with the book. It helped me clarify and and validate for myself. This story is actually useful here, right?
Speaker 2:This story of going through substance use as a kid, of having suicidal thoughts, of feeling like I was invisible as a kid, and then finding love, finding people around me to support me, finding strength through some crazy adversity, with my mom passing almost 10 years ago, losing a job, having a newborn, all of us in a 90-day span, crashing and burning in a business and then, like a phoenix, rising back up where I found the world of coaching. I found professional speaking. So all these things, as crappy as they were, as much as I didn't want to experience them, they were all necessary, they were all building blocks, and I think that's one of the things I want to help people take away is that nothing's wasted, right. Nothing that's ever happened to you or for you. Nothing's wasted.
Speaker 2:If you decide that this is just how it is, this is how it's always going to be, then it does become a waste because it's a default setting. And I'm a man of faith. I believe in God, I believe in Jesus. I believe that we're cut from the cloth of the master creator, so I have an opportunity to design my life how I want it, not by how you say it or how she says it or how they say it Like it's my.
Speaker 2:This is me Because, at the end of the day, I'm the only one who can. I'm the one breathing the air. I'm the one thinking the thoughts, I'm the one moving my body, I'm the one taking the actions. No one's out there like man. Alex is really great, like I wish I could be, like, be yourself, like I'm taken, like I'm a one-on-one. So are you, be you, serve powerfully and make a difference.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is so true.
Speaker 2:Sorry for the rant. I got in the pasta mode for a second.
Speaker 1:No, that is great because I mean, this is so encouraging and so helpful because you know, I look at it in life. We get challenges and it feels like the map goes up and down, up and down, but things do happen for a reason and we learn from it and everything. But you know, one of the steps I did in December I always had Keep Hope for Alive and to me I feel like I'm serving like this is helping other people in the world be heard. And I remember at my church there's this sweet lady that sits in front of me all the time and she has a life group and I always felt that she asked me to come and join and I go, well, my son's in Sunday school and then right after that we go home. But I am serving in my own kind of way because I have this podcast and I explained it to her.
Speaker 1:Still, she still asks and one day I started to think about it because I love singing and doing karaoke. I loved watching the choir up there. I loved watching the choir up there and I remember before when I went to another church when I moved out in Little Elm area. I tried to go but my son was not having it at that Sunday school so I canceled that. But I did join the worship team at my current church and I love it and it's so powerful and it gives me that just more in that week.
Speaker 1:Week. It's like the practice of music comes natural and like when I say in life either I'm running my photography business or working on the podcast, it comes natural, just like the singing does. It's like, why does it happen that way? But if I go to karaoke at a bar and they hear somebody oh, your voice is good, can you sing this song like Barracuda? I heard the song but I can't do Barracuda, I just can't. Well, I try maybe, but I think everybody has to kind of match what it is they like in life, how can they make it grow and what is their passion and go right after it. So, all right, I want to know about a journey of riches. Can you give us a little insight more on that?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah for sure. So this is a an anthology book, a multi-author book, so I'm one of 10 11 other authors on in this, in this book, and it's 11 different stories of people on their different journeys, of the different walks of life, and there's some some strong content in there. You know, you know for people and unfortunately, as humanity goes, sometimes we can be our own worst enemy and we have people who who harm us, who do terror to us, and the beautiful thing through these stories is that you get to see people in their thinking process of how to overcome it and how they've seen themselves, how they're walking through and getting out of that storm. And I shared a little bit, just through my walk right, of being a young kid struggling with my own identity, struggling with my own confidence, not feeling as if I could be myself. And part of that was in these different buckets of where I, where I was collecting evidence of not feeling like I belonged right, whether it was in my home. I mentioned my parents, immigrants from haiti, haitian creole. French is our native language. I never really understood, I never got it and it wasn't necessarily uh, what's the word? I can't think of it right now. It wasn't really impressed on us to speak here. They were really focused on us learning English and being American citizens. I kind of lost that.
Speaker 2:I didn't get that full experience then at home, I mean at schools where my parents had us go to predominantly white schools, institutions, catholic schools I'm one of the few faces of color in the room. Like it's that's weird to grow up in. It's like it just. I had some good friends, I had good times, but there was also a lot of like these undertones of like you don't really belong here, like what are you doing here? Like it was just, it was that right. And then in my own community where I came from a diverse neighborhood, right, uh, long island, this place of you know black families, spanish families, asian families, white families, but a lot of my friends went to like the local public school. So I'm like here, my like blazer right preppy kid and my friends have tims on and jordans and sneakers and like they're kind of clowning me. So I didn't really feel like I was like you know what I mean, like I just wasn't quite in like they. They liked me, but like they didn't really fully accept me enough. And you know, dude, when you have like that as a foundation of, well, I don't belong anywhere, I'm not important, I don't exist, I'm not really here.
Speaker 2:And even with my own family right, I'm the youngest of four. The closest sibling in age to me is six years apart, so I'm always out of sync with them. Right, I'm going to middle school, they're in high school. I'm going to high school, they're in college. I'm going to high school, they're in college, I'm going to college. They're already out of the house. So we're never quite in the same place at the same time, maybe for a few months of the year, a couple of seasons here or there, but nothing really consistent. So I kind of felt like, even though I'm the youngest, I was a single kid, a single child. Because who am I? Hey, I'm like, hey, let's go play action figures. They're like we want to go talk to girls. I'm like, yeah, I don't care about girls at this point. Yeah, girls have cooties.
Speaker 1:I think that's a sports thing too, with Liam, my son, playing football and stuff. He's like I'd rather focus on school, not girls. I was giving him a hard time for Valentine's Day. I was just like, okay, I know last year he had a little girlfriend and stuff and he's like girls are too much trouble and I was like it's funny to me. But I want to back up really quick.
Speaker 1:You touched on a topic that I noticed is real and it's hard to talk about and I haven't really talked about it. But eat the evil talk about, and I haven't really talked about it. But eat the evil. When we come up higher, why is it that people will try to hurt us? I mean, I know I had a gentleman try to hurt me really bad, really, really bad, just because I did a podcast and it's something I thought at the time of what he did that I could just quickly get over, but it still lingers to this day and I'm just like why would somebody do that? And then, right after it happened, two weeks later, I got roofied and the topic was oh, I've always wanted to talk to a podcaster. Are you feeling it yet? Feeling what? I was perfectly fine. Nope, he slept me a sleep aid.
Speaker 2:Oh good, that's tough.
Speaker 1:So you talk about why, like people will try to hurt you, and I guess it's a real thing, like that's what I'm seeing. Yeah, you know, I kind what I'm seeing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, I kind of boil it down to this like and this is this is mean for mankind, not just for men as a gender, right, but I always had this thought of like a man's natural enemy is another man. I see that person as a threat or them taken. If I'm coming from a place of, of lack of scarcity, right, this is where when I, when I speak, I really help people. I really want to make people understand their worth, their value. Because if I'm coming from a place of abundance and and prosperity whether it's shown up financially or whatever, just spiritually, right. If I'm my energy right, the high vibration right, this is going to be for any people who are like, oh my god, now woo, woo, stuff, like it's real stuff, just listen. But yeah, just table your thoughts for a minute, just hear what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:If my energy is at a high frequency, I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna allow, allow petty things to bother me or to upset me or disturb my peace. But if I'm coming from a place of man, life sucks. Nobody's looking out for me. People are out to always get me. This always happens to me. You know what I see, nadine, she's smiling, she's joy. I don't want her to have joy. I want to take that from you, right, cause I want you here, right, you've heard the crabs in the bucket mentality and that's a real thing because, even thinking about it right now, super Bowl just happened.
Speaker 2:Whatever side of the fence you are, whether you're like, hey, I'm Team Kendrick, I love what he did, and you're like, oh, he sucks Worst halftime show ever we both could be right, but for the person who's like he sucks, I don't like his music, I don't like what he stood for. Now your whole deal is on your phone. Well, he sucks. And you're looking for all these things. You're looking for people who are like I love what you do. I'm going to go on your thread.
Speaker 2:I don't like that, or this person who's in office, or this administration. I don't like them. I hate them. I do love them and they're the best. So when we are coming from that place right, it's not a place that we're going to. I think this is really a place that we're coming from. If I'm coming from a place of, I love my kids. I want to see them smile, love them when they're happy. I love them when they play. And if I have a day where I'm not as loving, maybe I'm a little bit sleepy, I'm tired, I'm grumpy, I'm frustrated, I'm annoyed. Now, that thing that used to be so cute and make me smile and I'm like can you just shut up for a minute? Can you just like stop, like you don't need to hurt him.
Speaker 2:But you're like it's me. I'm in my head thinking about how your joy is interrupting my frustration and that sounds crazy.
Speaker 1:But that's what we are.
Speaker 2:We're crazy people.
Speaker 1:Exactly. You never know what we're going to get. So, hey, just really quick mid-break. I do have to tell you about our other sponsor, really quick Snap Bands, which you guys probably see on Facebook all the time. Mine right here says hope and it's one of the mantra words they use. Each of these bracelets will have a different mantra word peace, love, hope, fearless. You name it. On the backside of it it has a. It's like almost like a rubber band and you pull it out and you let it thump right against the wrist and what it does.
Speaker 1:It helps with any anxiety, depression and I say PTSD. I know I use mine and I'm a good example. I was at for a CAT scan yesterday and I know I'm the hardest stick when I have to get an IV. It's just a no-brainer. It's been like that since I was age nine, so usually some people will take eight sticks to find it and it hurts. My hands all swollen today but it's okay because you know what the girl I had. She was amazing, amazing. So, but definitely going in there and I will pray, I hope and pray and I have faith in this person that they'll be able to get me on the first try, you know. So that's what I use for mine.
Speaker 1:But with all proceeds of these wonderful bracelets, snap bands, it will go to different charities and organizations that help out with behavioral and depression, you know, to help people out. So they do come in all different colors. They're made out of I think it's called vegan leather, and I've had mine for almost two years now and I love it. Now they added a new mantra word I'm so excited and it's faith. And if you do want one that says faith, on their website the code is K-H-A keep hope alive and you can get the word faith. So, but definitely check them out on their website and I'm going to spell it out too. But it's wwwsnapbandscom and that's S-N-A-P-P-B-A-N-D-Zcom. So well, okay, so I was just so intrigued with everything that you were doing. I mean, you've got the book. Now you have a podcast too, correct?
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, I host two separate podcasts. So one is for my own daily love and pleasure. It's called Love, serve, care. It's a daily three-minute podcast that I've been doing now since November 2020. And, honestly, at this point it's a part of me, it's my audio diary, but it's also my way to to give back. This is my, my ministry, to a degree where I just share these different thoughts and I and inspirations that come to me and and just look at how I can relate that to building businesses as a mindset of an entrepreneur and different challenges that we go through. So that's that podcast. And then for a community that I co-founded called the BIPOC Coach Collective so that stands for Black Indigenous People of Color Our monthly show is called Elevate and Celebrate and that's the opportunity for me to interview amazing coaches, business leaders, get their story right.
Speaker 2:Coming back to the story matters, your voice matters and just give them a chance to tell their narrative, tell their story and find out their journey and provide some more inspiration for young, up-and-coming entrepreneurs, or even those who are seasoned, who are maybe going through a point of life like why am I doing this? Oh, there, there's a bigger purpose, there's a bigger vision, a bigger mission out there for me to do what I'm doing and serve how I serve. So these are my two, my two babies.
Speaker 1:Exactly, and that's so important. And you know how I do TikTok as my baby, little mini one, and I'll just be, you know. Hey, we're going to have fun. It's a little bit different than what I do on the podcast, but I want people to see that side of me, the fun outgoing side. And then, um, also, you know, the one thing I love is that on the website for Keep Hope Alive, there is a feature that you can leave a message now. So if anybody ever had an idea of what they wanted to do in life and maybe it's a topic I know I heard somebody over say I wish that I knew how to quit smoking. Okay, well, my head's going a mile a minute. Let's bring on a coach to help you. I'll interview them how to break that nicotine habit. But you know there's so many different things and topics out there to be heard and everything like that. So what you're doing is amazing with the two podcasts. Is there any other new things coming up for 2025, going into 26?
Speaker 2:Yeah, a couple of different things. Like I mentioned, I'm building out this talk, this speak up standout. So if anyone has, if anyone would love a guest speaker for association conference, hello, ring, ring, ring.
Speaker 1:I'm a number.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I'm just excited about that With my group, that I mentioned the Bipod Coach Collective. We're celebrating our Ring, ring, ring. I'm a number up, but yeah, I'm just excited about that With my group, that I mentioned the Bipod Coach Collective. We're celebrating our two-year anniversary as a membership space. We've been around since July 2020, but in February 2023, we converted this into a subscription model for coaches to get some additional support helping them grow their businesses and get some more resources and access to things. So at the end of this month, literally in 10 days, the 28th we're celebrating a two-year anniversary, virtually. So if you know any coaches of color out there in your community, then they want a fun place to go to. It's a free event, free, virtual one hour, 12 to one, eastern. Hang out with myself, my team, my people, my family, hang out with us champions and we just have some fun. We're going to celebrate what we've accomplished in these two years, also kind of set the tone for where we're going moving forward and what we're going to be doing. So I'm excited about that. Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2:And speaking that's the focus, right, speaking. Going to events I'm going to be anybody who's in North Carolina in May. I'm going to be at the Toastmasters annual conference. I'm going to be leading a workshop on the 17th that's a Saturday so Saturday morning, come stop by. We're going to help you speak up and stand out. It's going to be a fun, interactive experience, because I'm not here to lecture and talk at you. Talk with you, communicate, collaborate and put that into practice. And anything else that comes up I'm excited for and I'll keep you uh and I haven't told him yet.
Speaker 1:We started a VIP membership Facebook group and it's for the subscribers and everything. But you get added on there because I interviewed you which is really cool.
Speaker 1:So any of these events that you have or you know maybe the book is on sale you can put that information for everybody who has joined so they can see that and go to your events and everything. So it makes it a lot of fun and you know, just interacting with people. So that is great. But I am so glad to hear that, yay, and you know what was? I had another question for you. It slipped, I think it's part. Another question for you. It slipped, I think it's part of me getting older, my goodness.
Speaker 2:So we're not getting old, we're getting better, we're just. You know some things.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're getting wiser. Maybe I need more caffeine, who knows. But yeah, oh, I remember Guys, of course he has a book, so it's already uploaded to the storefront so you can go and get his book right away today. So watch the podcast, get the book. I think the book is already up on the VIP site. I got to double check, but I will see that to be on there soon too.
Speaker 1:So but yeah, definitely, and I mean as far as as. Okay, you got three cap here the books, the speak in um, the podcast. Are we missing any other thing on you?
Speaker 2:um, well, actually for for your folks, for people. I'm like, which side is it qr code back there, right?
Speaker 2:yes, so I I'm a I'm a creative guy. I like to do things outside of the box, unconventional to a degree. So if you type in that code there, when, if you've got some insights from this episode, if you found yourself like hey, feeling inspired, you like what I've had to say, you thought maybe there's some things that you can apply in your life, I'd love to hear about it, like I'd love for you to share some feedback, because I also have a gift for you. Right, it's a fair exchange. What I decided to do was.
Speaker 2:I read the, the, the chapter that I contributed. So the chapter that I wrote is called everybody wins, including me expanding global influence through communication. So I read that chapter. And also there's some additional commentary because, like I said, it's hard to put my life into 5,000 words. So the commentary kind of is an additional podcast. It's just giving some context to some of the stories and some of the things that I shared in there, and it's backed by an instrumental track that I make because I I love to make music too. That's part of my deal. That's another way for me to express myself.
Speaker 2:So, for anybody who would love access to that. They can have that, just whatever. Go to that code scan on your phone, get that code win and it's yours.
Speaker 1:I got to say impressive logo too. I like that. Yes too, I like that.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's really cool yeah, and with the logo, let me give a quick shout out to my guy, ricky newell. He, he, he created that for me last year and it wasn't something that I actually asked for and let me share with this. So I put out a post on facebook. It had my old logo and my background and stuff like that. I was like you know, nice, nice photo, I was looking good, I was in the suit and all this stuff, and he was so inspired by what I shared. He's like I made this logo for you, like you can have it, it's yours. And this is. He kind of gave me a quick story about it, like with the A, like pointing up like this is your north star, finding your, your confidence and all this like I love this so much.
Speaker 2:Like you know what. That's my look, like you. You gave it to me, right, thank you. So I just want to give him a quick acknowledgement, and and for anyone watching, that this is the power of just sharing who you are authentically and that that's why, with this talk right, I want to build unshakable confidence. I want to amplify your voice and impact what I shared. I didn't do that to get anything, I just shared it to share it in the world, just put it out there, and it moved somebody so much that they were like I want to design, I want to create something specifically for you. So this is where you have the opportunity of looking at what is it that I'm sharing out there in the world? Am I sharing something that's going to help somebody or hurt somebody? And it's something I talk to my kids about all the time, about. Hey, are your words helping or hurting? Because they matter.
Speaker 2:Our words literally create, like right now. You mean, adine, someone had to create a camera and a computer for us to speak through. At some point this didn't exist right. At some point we wouldn't be able to have this conversation north carolina, texas but someone had an idea hey, wouldn't it be great if we could put together a software that would broadcast one person from this side of the world to another part of the world? And that's all it took was like that, what if? Right? It sounds corny, but like, hey, what if we could do that? And then all of a sudden, well, this would actually have to happen and we need to do this. And then who are the engineers that can do this? Who are the designers? Who are the developers? And all of a sudden, zoom or whatever tech you're using, it exists. So I say all that to say that your words matter. Your words can build somebody, they can lift somebody up, or they can crush them and condemn them. So choose wisely yeah, choose wisely.
Speaker 1:And then it's always important to be heard too, so stories matter. I love that about you, know, keep a hope. So everybody has a story. I've heard over a hundred and I'm almost on my. I think you might be my 200th show, what. I think I'm that close Maybe.
Speaker 2:Hold on, am I?
Speaker 1:go off and I'll have to put a Facebook announcement.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I was climbing up the oh look at the hearts, and I'm in the balloons too, so celebrate.
Speaker 1:But I was just, like you know, for a year and a half and being active and doing that it is one thing. So with Keep Hope Alive, you know it was just that initiative. I knew I wanted to do it, but still I needed to have a full-time job. And then, as I worked, the podcast kind of went down and I was only doing one or two a week instead of like almost six or seven. But now that I left that job, we've picked up again and I'm excited because it's my passion. So I got to, you know, choosing a job. I got to make sure that I keep hope afloat, which is important to me.
Speaker 1:So, um, but definitely I want to say thank you for coming on and sharing your story, and your motivational speaking is amazing. I would definitely want to go out there and hear you speak one day and everything. So that is really cool, um. So I want to tell you guests, wherever you find your podcast, you will be able to find us. You can visit our website at wwwkeephopealivepodcastcom.
Speaker 1:Like I said, you can leave a message if you would like to talk to Alex and have questions. I will send those questions to him right away and maybe we'll just do a quick little follow-up and everything like that. Yeah, it is so worth it. You know I love this feature and then also, like I said, you can subscribe to the membership, become a member on our platform and see what you know Alex is up to what events he's putting out there up to what events he's putting out there, but we have so many interviewers that I interviewed that are going to be on this and sharing their platforms too, so it is well worth it. Other than that, once again I hear my dog's going crazy too. But yeah, I'm just so happy and any new information I would love to have you back within a year. I'm going to tell you that because I love this interview is amazing. So maybe I have to wait to the 400, but I'll salute you for that.
Speaker 2:Right it's, it's so. I've been podcasting since 2018, so I'm gonna give you a quick journey. My wife and I, we had a podcast together. So when you say six, seven episodes a week, I'm like, oh my god, because I used to do two a week. That's how it started off was one episode of me and her just kind of going back and forth, you know, discussing things, and then I would interview somebody. So mondays our episode would come out, thursdays the interview would come out. And this is how like insane I was.
Speaker 2:It would take me probably two, three hours to edit a 20 minute episode, because I was cutting out all the ums, all the ahs. I was like I don't want to hear any like background noise. I was trying to make it like really polished and perfect. Then, of course, nothing ever really is, and then it will. It started going down to like once a week. Then I started letting go of the interviews and then we just kind of fell out of it and we just both, organically, were like we're tired of this, but always had like the itch to continue podcasts. And so that's when I created love serve care in november 2020 and I made it simple for myself three minutes. I made a, an instrumental beat for that. So every episode is like got some like background vibes to it and yeah, it's just simple.
Speaker 2:I record that done, I move on.
Speaker 1:My life is complete, yeah you see, like for me it's not much. Like I tell all my guests, life is not edited. If we say um, it makes me think of Judge Judy, Hint, hint. Yes, I was on Judge Judy and I won my case.
Speaker 1:But I always heard her say um is not a word to my ex and I was like you know what we slip up? We slip up, you know, but I, you know it's, once I get this, I've put it out there into the world Because, let's say, we were at a public speaking event. We can't hit rewind if we messed up. I mean sure we go, oh, I messed up what I said, and da-da-da-da, and then we go back and we rephrase it. But as far as a video, you don't want to keep going back and saying we need to redo this and we need to redo that. That makes it a little bit harder.
Speaker 1:But I know, with the way I laid up my podcast and people are going to think I'm nuts, but I also dish this out everywhere, so it becomes a short reel. It goes to all social platforms that I know of and some are new, like Blue Sky, matron I think it's how you say, matron there's Threads, that is out. So I'm learning a lot. But I take my podcast like it was my company and just wanted to see it everywhere, to get those numbers and put it out there. So people find it, they find it, they listen to this story and they would be like Alex was really good. He really really helped me. I mean, that's what we want to hear from the show.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yeah, it's all about the transformation.
Speaker 1:Yes, it is Well. Thank you so so much. I loved every minute of talking with you and it sounds like you have that great, solid base of doing the shows and everything, and I wish you so much good luck in the future and everything, with everything. And I want to check back with you.
Speaker 2:I'll be available.
Speaker 1:You know where to find me. I know where to. Yeah, I was like I know where to find you, okay. Well, thank you guys, until our next show. Love and light, bye-bye, stay blessed.
