For Steppers Only: Raw, Uncut, and Unedited
Welcome to the For Steppers Only podcast—the spot where real ones from all walks of life link up to chop it up about everything under the sun. We’re talking relationships, careers, education, sports, the supernatural, sexuality, personal growth, entrepreneurship, family vibes—you name it. With a mix of laughs, raw conversations, and deep dives, this podcast is all about learning, leveling up, and hearing voices you might not come across every day. Pull up and vibe with us as we break it all down and celebrate the journey of life from every angle. Let’s step into something real together.
For Steppers Only: Raw, Uncut, and Unedited
You did WHAT for a DOLLAR ?!?!
Struggling with the highs and lows of single fatherhood? Join me, Jack, alongside Young Felipe (My Oldest Son) and Dude (My Youngest Son), as we unravel the intricate dance of parenting with love, patience, and a dash of humor. We share our personal stories and motivations, aiming to inspire fathers everywhere to be better than they were yesterday. Through reflections on stubborn personalities and evolving parent-child dynamics, we discuss the importance of growth and learning from both our mistakes and our kids. With Felipe on the brink of high school graduation, we also consider the exciting yet challenging transition into the workforce.
Ever thought those starter jobs were just a necessary evil? We take a deeper look into these so-called "bullshit jobs" and the hidden value they offer. From learning the ropes of discipline and perseverance to the art of climbing the career ladder, our conversation highlights the significance of positive attitudes and building meaningful workplace relationships. It's all about resilience and never settling for mediocrity, as we share our experiences of rapid career progression and the long-term benefits that come with it.
In the world of customer service, humor often becomes a shield against the unpredictability of human interaction. We explore the camaraderie found among colleagues, even when faced with feelings of being overworked and underappreciated. Reflecting on the challenges faced in less-than-ideal jobs, we emphasize perseverance and the importance of carefully evaluating career moves. Every job has its set of hurdles, but with the right mindset and humor, even the toughest situations can teach invaluable lessons.
hey, you heard him sit down and watch a step-by-step here on four step. Only I'm here with me, jack and young felipe hey, you heard the little man. Hey, that's dude. If y'all didn't know, that's my little man. Hey, he on four, step on it. Hey, young felipe, what's happening? Not much young jack, how you doing I'm doing amazing on this cold ass day, man. It's amazing to be alive, ain't?
Speaker 1:it, yeah, it is. Wake up to see a new day. Wake up to chase some paper oh, hey, you heard him.
Speaker 2:Hey, you might be. I hear people complain about it all the time. Man, man, how you doing today? Man, I'm alive. Nah, motherfucker, you breathing. It's a new day. It's a new day to go chase a bag. It's a new day to be better than the last day. It's a new day. It's a new day to go chase a bag. It's a new day to be better than the last day. It's a new day to just develop a new skill or just make yourself even better for your family, because if y'all didn't know shit, hey, who are you dude?
Speaker 1:Micah.
Speaker 2:Who am I to you?
Speaker 1:Micah daddy, hey, you hear that. And who am I to you? Um, my good daddy, hey, you hear that hey, yo felipe.
Speaker 2:Who are you? Yo, it's young jack son and who are you to me, man?
Speaker 1:you know his oldest son out of the bunch, yeah it's a bunch of them.
Speaker 2:I ain't gonna hold you, but that's what I try to tell people a lot of times. A lot of days I don't even get up for myself. I get up knowing I got to provide for them and be a good example for them, because, even though I got some chinks in my arm, I did some shit in my past that I'm not too proud of. It's to make myself a better person in the eyes of them and showing the progression and they can see me grow as a person and us learn together, because I ain't gonna hold you, me and y'all, felipe here. Boy, boy, boy, boy. Do we get along all the time?
Speaker 1:I ain't gonna lie, we don't. If you got two stubborn, just clashing is really hard to get along. I'm not going to lie, but we make it work somehow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we do. I ain't even going to hold you Like I was telling somebody. I tell people all the time. I might not even tell him, but a lot of people that know me and I see the progression my son has made from jet high to now. I tell people all the time I'm proud of my son because it's it's it's hard being a high school student, um about to graduate, um hey, you ain't anything.
Speaker 1:You don't get to this point, dude nah, I ain't gonna lie, that joint came up fast.
Speaker 2:But it's, hey, it feels good though, don't it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, finally gonna be out of there, out of the same wall over and over again.
Speaker 2:But, like y'all might not know like it's to be a single father is probably the hardest thing that you'll ever, ever do. So I gotta give my salutes to these women out here, honestly, Because it's hard. I ain't even going to hold you, I ain't even think it was going to be this hard. I mean shoot, you just got to figure out some stuff. You just got to figure out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're going to learn along the way. Ain't going to lie, because off the jump you most definitely ain't going to know what to do.
Speaker 2:Boy shit. Hey, you're going to have to keep it a book. Did I know what I was doing off the jump?
Speaker 1:No, you most definitely got to adapt and change.
Speaker 2:So from when we first started living together to now, have you not seen change in our relationship?
Speaker 2:No, I living together to now have you not see change in our, in our relationship now? It's most definitely changed, boy shit, because I was a tyrant. I ain't gonna hold y'all, boy. I came in, but that's how I said, that's how I feel like that's the way I was sounding every day when I look back and people ask me what made you change. I had to think about it, because do I like somebody yelling at me? Is it productive to yell at somebody? I understand we get frustrated and we feel like somebody's not listening to us, but was it counterproductive? Did it help you? Did it help me? Hell, nah, the only thing it did was push us further apart. Um, because, like, if you like me and him have conversations about entrepreneurship and future and risk versus reward, over and over, and over and over and over again.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's crazy because, like I tell him, he can teach me, and I can teach him stuff, because the way I tell people all the time is, when you put me in a casket or you put me in a box or I'm closed-minded, that means it's time for me to die. So every day I look forward to learning. I can learn from dude or you, or I can learn from somebody's grandparent. You get what I'm saying do you feel like?
Speaker 1:you learn in every aspect of your day yeah, it don't matter if I'm learning something small or big. Every day, I feel like I'm learning something regardless.
Speaker 2:So I'm sorry y'all, micah, micah wants to be a dog right now. Um, but what? You saying it? Okay, how would? How were you feeling when you first got your first job? Or you knew that you were having to get a job? When I got my first job before that and I told you you had before, oh, before, when I had to get a job.
Speaker 1:I'm not gonna lie, it felt like I was just forced into something I ain't know nothing about. But over time I realized, even though the means to get me there wasn't what like I would agree with, it's still something that I most definitely appreciate when I look back on it now, because my mindset was completely different back then than what it is now. And if you was to ask me back then what I thought about a job and what you ask me now, I'll give you two completely different responses. Like now I do anything before I lose my job, but back then I wasn't even trying to get a job or I didn't care about having a job. I really advise you against getting one back then. But now I tell you, get it to get the work experience in so you can know what you're jumping into as you're going into an adult to an adult, okay.
Speaker 2:So there's. There's a funny term that me and I have and and that I use a lot. Some might call it a starter job, right, but what? Do I call it? A bs job, right? Yeah, and a lot of people like, why do you call it a bullshit job? The reason why I call it a bullshit job is because this is your introductory into the bullshit, into the workforce, to where you're starting to get your feet wet and to get acquainted what the mindset that it is to have a job, to get there on time, to do everything you're supposed to do, to put yourself in a better position and not become stagnant. Because, zai, how many positions have you had at your job now?
Speaker 1:I've been there for a year and almost a half, so I don't have three different positions.
Speaker 2:So basically, I got a raise within the first five months of being there and do you feel like that was a like every time that I told you keep it up, keep striving for more, keep striving for more, keep striving. If they offer it, take it. If they offer it, take it. If they offer it, take it. Do you feel like that advice was good or do you feel like that advice was bad?
Speaker 1:Oh, most definitely good, because it opened me up to be able to spend more and to be able to afford more, because if you just want to stay at the same level, you most definitely not going to be able to grow and when you look back and see where you came from, you'll be able to acknowledge how much you overcame and how much you was able to struggle through and get through to get to the point where you want to be at. So anytime a point come up where I'm like this point, like I what am I going to do this point so hard? I look back and think about what all I overcame and said if I can get through that, I can get through this with ease, and that's all it is.
Speaker 2:I mean that's. But, to be honest, what you just said is every aspect of life you going to get. You going to get like I tell people all the time you throw shit at a wall, you won't see what sticks. And Like, if you don't get the experience, you don't get the growth, you don't strive for more. You're going to forever be hit a ceiling and say, oh, this is good enough for me. And if you're not pushed to get more, it's like bro, you can do more, you can do more.
Speaker 2:You're not gonna go for you, you ain't gonna like, like we say all the time, like me, like you hear me say it um, aim for the stars, land on the moon. So you're, you're, you're, you're steady, climbing that ladder, trying to reach a star. That's what your dream is. You might just you might tomorrow reach the moon and you realize you got so much further to go. That means you'll never have a ceiling, and that's why they come up with the saying to infinity and beyond. Yeah, this is beyond, but I got infinity to go. Um, because how many times do we see people that are stagnant but they complain every fucking day?
Speaker 1:oh, I see it every day, but I'm like it was millions of people who would pay to have your position or have a chance to go back and redo the decisions they made in their career and what job choices they did. But if you go somewhere and you complain about it every day, you're just making it worse on yourself. Whatever you do, try to make the best out of any predicament. You win, no matter what the cause is. Like people at my job they complain every day and it's like what are you complaining for? Honestly, I go in there and I just try to like you, try to make as many friends as you can, and it's not even the fact where you want to have friends. It's the fact that they make the time go by faster than what it could be.
Speaker 2:Do you think there's one person that looks forward to seeing you there?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can name a few people Because, like, when there's people there at your job, it's people you look forward to seeing, even if you don't talk to them outside of your job. They make your job 10 times easier and 10 times better than what it could be, because if you constantly sit there not talking, not doing none of that, honestly that's making your job 10 times worse and boring. And who wants to have a boring job, even if you got an office job or anything? Try to make connections wherever you go, cause you don't know what type of opportunities they can open up for you to have something better in your life.
Speaker 2:Hell, I can tell you I can get them, beg you back on it what happens if you get fired?
Speaker 1:If I get fired.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no, check this out if you get fired and he asks you hey, do you have a reference? And I know, I know old boy at the job, shit, I fought with him yeah he gonna got down. Hey, bro, I need you to gotten on. Do, do, do, do for me, and that helps out a lot. I know one person that looks Did you work? Who, bro? Hey, can I have your number? Oh?
Speaker 1:we can't, we ain't talking about him. But you know he said he saw me outside of school walking one day Stop playing. I'm dead serious.
Speaker 2:Boy, he better hit you with that, mr Hubert. You know what Mr Hubert is, don't you?
Speaker 1:I don't know what that is. Herbert the pervert, bro, oh whoa.
Speaker 2:I got some popsicles in the basement. Come on over, god, darn you strong-arm paper boy, you coming over to tell me the good news why he finna hit you with that.
Speaker 1:He gonna think so I'm definitely not going for that though.
Speaker 2:But you know what's crazy though? Yeah, it's crazy how, when you brought it to me and I ran you to play and you, you were sitting like are you you? You right, he is trying to get me. And the crazy part about it is, remember we told uncle, will me the same way? This shit happens. This shit happens Because I mean, but like no cap, this shit didn't happen to me too, but it's like the weirdest things happen to you at work.
Speaker 2:Like I'll do you a funny instance. I was working at a job man. I know this is going to sound fucked up, but you know I'm a little bit jaded. Anyway, somebody comes and gets my attention. Hey, can you come over here for a second? I'm thinking they need help with something. This lady in a wheelchair, bro, and I ain't talking about, like she had her legs and all right, but she, I was like, okay, but it looked like something was fucked up about her. So I was like, okay, she probably needs some help or something. You know, because I'm in a job of customer service. So I mean, what's up? How you got help? The lady tried to ask me for my number, bro. I didn't know what to say, so I walked away.
Speaker 1:You walked away, you didn't say nothing, you didn't get it. Oh, say so, I walked away.
Speaker 2:You walked, you didn't say nothing, you didn't get it. Oh, I'm sorry y'all, I got a fucked up sense of humor.
Speaker 1:I'm fucked up, I ain't gonna lie to y'all I'm messed up, I'm, I'm.
Speaker 2:I got a messed up sense of humor. I ain't gonna lie to y'all bro.
Speaker 2:I was sitting there feeling bad, like at least she's dry, but she ain't trying hard enough you let me know when you get that joke, okay oh yeah, I got it as soon as you have, yeah but I mean, stuff happens all the time, like we were dealing with somebody one time and the person I'm like ma'am, you gotta take your medicine, you gotta take your medicine. I said you just put it in your mouth and swallow. She told me a song. She looked me dead in my face. I'll swallow anything for you. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I ain't know what to say. I've even had a dude. He's sitting there handcuffs and you know we real close to atlanta yeah you get what I'm saying he real close to atlanta.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, real what I'm saying he we're real close, yeah, yeah yeah, real close.
Speaker 2:I'm talking about had his nails painted and everything. All right. If that's your lifestyle, that's up to you. I don't give a um. But they tell us hey, he's been tased three times. We had to fight him to get him in handcuffs. We just need a clearance. Cool, no problem. He looks me dead in my face when I got these handcuffs. I'm going to fuck you. Whoa, I'm thinking in my head.
Speaker 1:Please don't let this motherfucker out of these goddamn handcuffs, what the hell.
Speaker 2:The only thing I thought about was Cat Williams and Damon in the bathroom. I'm like man, I'm telling people. I said I don't know what the fuck I said. I think they pick on me because I'm the smallest one out of the bunch. But do these motherfuckers know I'm the worst one to mess with? But anyway, risk versus reward we talk about that all the time. Sometimes you gotta Truck through the bullshit To get to the end. You gotta take those risks To get to the reward. Sometimes it's not about monetary, it's about the reward could be, because I ain't even gonna hold you. 90% of these damn jobs out here Ain't gonna tell you. When you doing something good, they're not gonna congratulate. When you do something right, they're not even gonna tell you. They're proud of you, they appreciate you, and none of that bullshit. At one time a year, when it comes around For employee appreciation, they gonna give you some bullshit.
Speaker 1:Employee appreciation. That's a date.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they get, like they got um at some companies and corporations they actually give you employee appreciation days um to where they give you a gift, they feed you and stuff like that um, but a lot of times they be feeding you like they'll feed you some stuff like the food be decent, I ain't gonna hold you, or they'll get it catered or something like that. And sometimes, like, I've been some places where, bro, they give you some nice shit. I've been in some places like, and they give you got doing it. You feel like, bro, this is really what y'all give me, as much as I bust my ass around here. This is what y'all give me. This is how y'all show y'all give me as much as I bust my ass around here. This is what y'all give me. This is how y'all show y'all appreciate me.
Speaker 2:But compared to another department, bro, they going all out. These motherfuckers got shrimp and grits. This motherfucker got lobsters. These motherfuckers got steaks. Bro, we over here eating salmon patties and goddamn beanie weenies. But long story short a lot of times we don't do it for that. A lot of times it's us going to work just to see certain people and laugh with certain people, because they do make our nights go by better. They do make things better. But back to risk versus reward. Um, I've realized by working in the workforce a lot of times you do get the shit in the stick because a lot of times people will shit on you and short change you and not treat you what you're worth. You get what I'm saying and it's fucked up that you even gotta even tell people I'm worth more. Like I was talking to my mother the other day, I said shit, we in modern day slavery still we're in perceived slavery. Do you know why I say that?
Speaker 1:Because we still get work just as much. They just give us enough to come back the next day.
Speaker 2:Boy, you do listen to me, huh, somewhat. You do listen to me, huh.
Speaker 1:Somewhat.
Speaker 2:You do listen to me. Artificial crab meat, huh.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm. Artificial crab meat.
Speaker 2:But what he's hitting on is they pay you wages, you pay for somewhere to stay, but they don't give you enough to be able to be like shit. I'm sick, I'm good, I'm comfortable. They to be able to be like shit. I'm sick, I'm good, I'm comfortable they give you enough to where man shit, everything's going up in price. I can't afford this. I can't afford that shit. I need more. So I'm forced to work overtime, I'm forced to do extra, I'm forced to pull long hours. Hell, I might even be forced to go get another fucking job. Hell, I might be forced to goddamn go on Feet Finder.
Speaker 2:I might be forced to goddamn start an OnlyFans.
Speaker 1:I don't know if I'm going to get there for it, though, but some folks do reach that point though.
Speaker 2:But you got to understand if your back's against the wall, can you say what you will and won't do.
Speaker 1:Honestly, if I get to that point, I don't know. I'm just letting you know I ain't going to no damn Diddy Park.
Speaker 2:How much you paying, though I don't know the way. They said that room was looking goddamn. They said that motherfucker had what 750 dildos in a room, brodamn. They said that motherfucker had what 750 dildos in a room, bro. I bet you that motherfucker had big ones, small ones, long ones, big ones, thick ones. Woah, you really wanna take that check. Nah, I ain't gonna Nah, cause there's a reason why that motherfucker's up there drinking Cambodian breast milk and talking about some take that. Take that what.
Speaker 2:You ain't seen, the clips I ain't seen the clips when he was out there on the road and he up there doing a Harlem shake Like uh, uh, uh, take that, take that I ain't seen no clips.
Speaker 1:How many times you think you done told a? Nigga take that I don't know, had to be over $100,000 though.
Speaker 2:How much money you think he paid them folks.
Speaker 1:He a billionaire, right yeah, almost definitely a meal each.
Speaker 2:Bro shoot. I guarantee the crazy part about it is he probably did NDAs out the ass. But that goes back to tell you risk versus reward. How much does your moral compass and what you stand on and what you feel like is too much or too little are you willing to go for? Is?
Speaker 1:there a price. I feel like there's some things that you stand on that you most definitely know that you're not going for really. Yeah, but people say if the price is right bro, let me tell you something.
Speaker 2:that's like when people hit you with that weird ass comment like saying, oh, would you, we're going to go left field. Okay, I'm sorry, would you suck a dick for a million dollars? Nah, but hey, but you got some people out here. If you put that like you say that now they put a million dollars cash in front of you and that piece of paper saying you just got to Cut down and kiss the tip Bruh, I guarantee you some folks Will be there like be sitting there Just thinking, rethinking life.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, most definitely. Some folks will do it for cheaper than that.
Speaker 2:Some folks out here doing it for a happy meal bro.
Speaker 1:Oh no.
Speaker 2:Bro, some people Just saying, just doing it, just to say they did I ain't never heard nobody say that. Bro, shit, what Bro?
Speaker 1:what, what, bro? I ain't never heard nobody say that.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you something. Some folks will tell you one thing. That's like, since we was real close to Atlanta, bro, I don't know how this became this type of episode. Right, like we real close to Atlanta.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:How many people do you think got children, wives, everything? Who you calling she's asleep, she's asleep. Well, who you calling she sleep? But back to the story. I'm sorry y'all, that's how you can tell this joint live.
Speaker 1:It's a did you just check your watch?
Speaker 2:yeah, I know I ain't got one on it's alright, but this is what it says, though, with us realizing the day and age that we live in, why is it that we have people that sneak around and sneak and geek, that do those things because they want to, but they're scared, they're afraid to come out the closet and to reveal to their loved ones because they're afraid to be judged. So how do you know what they all didn't start off with? Boy shit, I give you $50 for the X, y and Z they might need gas to get home. Boy shit, you said your rent need to be paid. It's either you do this and I'm gonna go ahead and kick, kick real shit to you. There's females that will, that are out there that will beat you. In the same way, they'll say shit ain't, nobody gotta know.
Speaker 2:Shit, I. I give you a little six hundred dollars a month. You just got to give Shit. I give you a little $600 a month. You just got to give me some appointments. But we talking about some Google Bulls, oh, I don't know. We talking about some Jeepers, creepers. You say that now. You say that now. I do say that now I'm going to sit down and throw at you. Well, the only thing I do is come over and spend the night one time.
Speaker 1:But a lot of it can happen in that one time though no listen to me.
Speaker 2:That's eight hours. The only thing I do is come over and spend the night with me. One time I give you $3,000.
Speaker 1:$3,000?. Just spend the night, that's it.
Speaker 2:I ain't say what that entails.
Speaker 1:Oh Well, just spend the night, that's it. I ain't say what else entails.
Speaker 2:um well, $3,000 do sound night, but I don't know but, like I said, look, you see what you over there thinking yeah, cause I ain't gonna lie, it's different when you talking about a dude. That sound completely different it's the same thing for a job risk versus reward. When you're talking about a dude, that's something completely different. It's the same thing for a job.
Speaker 1:Risk versus reward.
Speaker 2:Can you put your moral compass out the window to do that?
Speaker 1:I mean honestly. Some folks do throw their moral compass out the window when it comes to providing for their families or a loved one, though so like, at the end of the day, it's most definitely folks who do so there's a risk we're not saying what the definitive reward is, but there's always a risk with the decisions that you make.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no matter how big, how small, how egregious that choice is, you still making a. Is you still making a choice?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You still making a decision, so is that saying it's just? Is that saying it's right? Because when you took this job, they told you how much you were going to be making an hour right?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Did they tell you everything you were going to be?
Speaker 1:doing. No, when I first started they did, they did, yeah, they told you everything to the finest degree. Oh no, they, they said the bare minimum they said the bare minimum yeah that what they just to get you to accept yeah, but they most definitely got you doing some extra stuff they didn't have in the fine print.
Speaker 2:Of course that says all duties and tasks that are assigned to you in the fine print, right? So how many times in your head said boy, shoot, I don't get paid enough for this. How many times have you said that?
Speaker 1:Oh, I ain't never said that.
Speaker 2:You don't say shoot. I know I did.
Speaker 1:My first job was working at a Kmart, bro, nah man, I was like All I tell myself is I'm getting paid for it either way, so I'm just gonna have to get through it and deal with it.
Speaker 2:So that's like we be telling people all the time Suck it up, deal with it. Now Just get through it, cause if you complain at the beginning of it, it's just get through it, because if you complain with it, complain at the beginning of it it's just going to draw it on to where it lasts so much longer, to where you're sitting there like, bro, what the hell? This, this ain't worth it, because some people get to that point where they want to quit and it's. It's funny, because you, you don't never know what that breaking point is, because that's why people will look for another job. Do you agree?
Speaker 1:yeah, especially if it's a seen as an opportunity for them to do more. But with that being said, you ain't gonna never know what's in the next fine print or what's out the next fine print. The grass might look greener on the other side, but down there it's always fertilized.
Speaker 2:Ooh or fertilized with my bullshit. Yeah, hey thank y'all for joining us for Fold.
Speaker 1:Step Us Only.
Speaker 2:We out.
Speaker 1:Peace, thank you, peace.
