Engineered For Success Podcast
EFS podcast, for self starters and those willing to make the most of any situation. Hosted by D Burke w/ co-host Waldo Black
Engineered For Success Podcast
Winners Talk First
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In this episode, D Burke celebrates the New York Knicks advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. He speaks about his connection to the team and his thoughts on if the Knicks have a shot to win it all. From there he pivots to the current state of EFS and the training center + more!
Yo it's big time energy on the way in today. I'm only here for one reason. I'm only here for multiple reasons, but I'm only starting this like this for one motherfucking reason. And if you know the vibes, you know the vibes. We got big energy out to get. You see the gear. You see I got the brought the pat youins back out. You remember the tattooings. You remember the patuings. You remember the Knicks. The old school Knicks. The last time we been to the man, we gonna get onto all that, man. We're gonna get all that later, man. But we're gonna kick this thing off as always with the D-Burks 3P spicy. Listen, I'm telling y'all, big air horns on the way in. I'm gonna lick a shot with a couple air horns, and I'm telling you, if you got kids around, anybody under the age of whatever you don't like your kids to listen to explicit layers, go pack them up, man. Go pack, tell them go somewhere else. This is only for those who feel the energy right now. Big time for the city. Let's get it. Let's go. Cranking this thing to the max today. We're gonna crank this thing to the max today.
SPEAKER_00Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_07Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_09Look here.
SPEAKER_07Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_09One time for the top New York City, let's go.
SPEAKER_07If you only wanna make it, fuck you. Fuck you.
SPEAKER_08And juice, every boy, kick it, fuck you. Only my mad brother's sacred. One time in New York City, wanna make it fuck you.
SPEAKER_10We gon' flip the city upside down if we complete the mystic. Like celebration, but now come along with me.
SPEAKER_09One time let's get it before these spicy.
SPEAKER_07That's why I try to think man's cuts. So I can see them when they comin'. Then I heat they ass up. Cause them niggas that you went to school with. I'll catch you while you in your new whip. Turn your brain to the cool whipping. Niggas that you run around getting up. Word for word, I could go word for word right here. Talk to all kids. Got the nerve to ask kiss why I smoke so much. And how I'm such a young nigga. Big energy one time for the city. I see y'all wildin' out there. Niggas, I was listening, you still pumpin' to nigga. Forces back through visiting. You heard LOX, boys back relax.
SPEAKER_10We on big time energy today. Wanna fuck with me.
SPEAKER_07I used in the rollow, burner under the poke. Lotta y'all might not like me right now, that's okay.
SPEAKER_10Lotta y'all might not like me right now, that's okay. Shout out to the Lana pack y'all niggas up. Shout out to Philly. Smack me, big up a Philly pack y'all up the too. Cracking your ribs, Cleveland.
SPEAKER_09I got that one X out there, Cleveland, but too. I'll pack everybody up, it's about the nicks right now. We don't wanna hit shit.
SPEAKER_07My friend's calls with bigger Z, bigger bracelets with bigger baguettes. All I do is get high and pick the baby in you all. Listen, man.
SPEAKER_10Listen, man, it's big energy. We've been feeling the pain for a long time. We only talking to the real, real next fans today.
SPEAKER_08Come along with us. Learn the ropes, don't rip if you soft. You piss me off. Call me SP and I'll spit on your boss. You could die. We're gon' let it rock for a little bit longer.
SPEAKER_09It's been a while. Stay with me on the street.
SPEAKER_08Spicy three. We rockin' today. Just that be rapping the keys. And the niggas that bug over drug money clappin' the D, Stoop in the breeze, nine in the booth full of trees. One in the morning. One time for LOX, one time for New York City. You won't die for your right hand, man. As well as your left. Niggas work fell in the lap.
SPEAKER_02One time for style. Listen, man, we're gonna keep this thing rolling. Big energy for the city. Talk to them one time for the dip. Low max. Let's do this.
SPEAKER_08We back at it. Come on.
SPEAKER_09One hand in the air for the town. One hand in the air for the New York City next. All y'all love the teams attack y'all up. Let's go.
SPEAKER_08I'm trying to get my act to jump off. I'm trying to get my back the jab on your fire.
SPEAKER_09I'll be the back.
SPEAKER_08No, I ain't stopping yet. No my album ain't turned it in. I know this diplomats. I'm in the midst of a drip.
SPEAKER_02I know Cam had some things to say about the next Cam. We're not feeling your energy right now, big big dog.
SPEAKER_08We're not feeling your energy right now, my boy. Do it now. Welcome to the ground to roll. Tell them it's round two rows. Do it now. Welcome to roll. Tell them it's ground to the road. One town.
SPEAKER_10Big tone for the city.
SPEAKER_09Big tune for the town. I told them all big energy today. Y'all just gotta deal with it.
SPEAKER_10Different time, different place, different era. Same city. One time for New York.
unknownI don't know what I'ma do, and I'ma do it.
SPEAKER_10We gon' do it.
SPEAKER_09I don't know what I'ma do and I'ma do it. We gon' do it.
SPEAKER_05I got money on my head, but I'm wearing in it. Drop, drop, drop, drop, drop, drop, drop, drop.
SPEAKER_09Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Just like JSK. Just look at the pills in my style, my body up. That's why I'm with Nadia. I call my gun Nadia. What you say, hide up. Make it sound like Sadia, Arabia, baby up, take it up. Watch what he stayed up. I to hold my head.
SPEAKER_10If you from the towns, if you from the city, if you're a New York native, wherever you at, wherever you watch it from, wherever you listening from, turn it to the ignite levels. We all big time energy today.
SPEAKER_09Talk to him. Talk to him.
unknownI got money on my hand, but I'm doing it.
SPEAKER_10They gotta deal with us next fancy.
SPEAKER_09They gotta deal with us too.
unknownYeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06Put a toes to that. Yeah, put a toes to that. We gon' let this one rock too. Right here, pull my lap. That's what my supposed I'm back like a fun top. I'm so cool that if I go to hell.
SPEAKER_10All I need is my stun block.
SPEAKER_06Nigga, oh yeah, yeah, I die. One more time for the chorus. I don't give a fuck.
SPEAKER_10Rock with me, y'all. We in that bag. New York is feeling good, real good right now. Wildin all over the place. Let's keep it respectful. Let's not tear up the city until we win that tip. If we win that chip, we flippin' that shit upside down. Zo Rama Dani gon' have to clean that shit up.
unknownI don't know what I'ma do, and I'ma do it. I don't know what I'ma do if I'ma do it.
SPEAKER_09Talk to them.
SPEAKER_05I got money on my hand, but I'm walking in the drop, drop, drop, drop, drop, drop, drop, drop.
SPEAKER_02Chill, chill. We gon' keep this thing going. I got one more record for y'all. I'm feeling so good. We in that bag today. Three-piece spicy, done turned into a four-piece today. Let's get it one time.
SPEAKER_06Oh, box lips.
SPEAKER_10Big time energy for the city day. Memorial day just passed. What a heating up. Let's get this thing going.
SPEAKER_03Me and my niggas got lip shots. Nigga done hip tops. But your niggas can't wait till my stick top. Shoot you like your mama give a lip a pop. Nigga, you don't want my flipping chop, because that means I'm empty. You're full of it. What the bullet bit? Just cause I missed you. I make puts that chill niggas can't fuck with drag. Cut the chain out for the boss of gas. Nigga fuck that. You put a boss back for your nigga ass man with a dust cat. Spirit like a fire. You can't touch black. Oh, you can lose touch back in the reply. We don't need that. I don't care what you're doing. Talk to him, drag. Don't be dragged. Nigga, what a stats. One time with a we then pass.
SPEAKER_10One time we gon' party today, y'all. We gon' party today, y'all.
SPEAKER_03Niggas nigga pickin' go for hoe toe. I mean I broke that. If it's a flame though, toe, don't you know? We can't handle nigga pull me on right, but fight your pull handles.
SPEAKER_10One time for the chorus, you know the word, let's get it. We do. We do.
SPEAKER_02Listen, man. Listen, man. We on big energy today. Sorry we had to come in like that, but you know, we just had to do the do it one time for the occasion. For the occasion. Y'all know what it is. Y'all know the vibes. We're gonna keep this thing going to the regular part in a moment. And as we move toward this thing, man, y'all know what time it is. We get it kicked off. With uh what up, y'all? Back with another audio occasion. It is a podcast with self-starters and those willing to make the most out of any situation. The EFS podcast is back. We're episode number 75 of the joint. We got big energy on the way in today. If you came to the pre-part, thanks for joining me. Got a little sweat going after that one. Big time hype. And we're just gonna keep the same vibes and the same energy up as we move towards our lead-in audio. Where we are, man. Get myself right, get myself together. We yeah, we hear what it left on.
SPEAKER_01I'm just telling you, KC right now. If you play this way, Message and Knicks in the final next fans are going to walk to Oklahoma City and stir shit up. Okay? You know we will. You know we will. You think the Spurs don't like you flopping? You think analysts don't like you? You'll have to answer to the city of New York. And we're crazy.
SPEAKER_02That's the voice.
SPEAKER_01We're absolutely insane. People say, oh my god, next fans are the worst. You bet. Proud of it. I dare you to flop. Shy? We dare you. You'll just Alexander. We dare you. I dare you to absolutely not. If okay, you you are not gonna have to deal with the next player. You're going to have to deal with the fans. And everybody in this city roughly eight million of us. We will You don't want us coming down there. You don't want to be able to do that. The choice is yours. Accordingly. Don't fucking flop around on the ground like a fucking fish. Play basketball. The way men play basketball.
SPEAKER_02You heard that? You heard that? So one time as we get this thing kicked off, Q my theme music, please. Wake your ass up, wherever you're watching, wherever you're listening from. Big time energy on the way in today with the illest small time podcast you ever heard in the land. So as always, we are back. It's your boy, your host, D Burke, the man, the myth, the legend, Mr. EFS. Um, Mr. EFS, you can't even get my shit right. Mr. EFS, Mr. 1%, two times up from the biggest brand you never heard about. EFS, and we are here for another episode of the podcast. Little Rusty had to knock the rust off for a little bit, but we back here with Big Time Energy for a great occasion. It's a great occasion. It's a great time to be alive. And as I let my theme music rock, don't forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe, hit the buttons, hit the bells. We love the love over here at the EFS podcast. But as we move towards the start of our pod, we just gotta take a big deep breath of baked this theme music out. And then we are going to go big, big, big round of applause on the way in for you know what? The guys, the mandem, the boys, the blue and orange boys. Big round of applause for y'all for completing what we would call the the biggest step in a long, long time, man. So as we start this thing off, man, we're just gonna give a round of applause for the New York Knicks. Y'all see I'm blue and oranged out today. Big time support for the gang. A lot of y'all out here feeling like I'm feeling right now. It's a great day to be a Knicks fan. It's a great day to be alive. And I know, you know, all the haters and all the people who's gonna say this and say that. We'll address what y'all gotta say in a little bit, man. But just give us a moment. Give us a moment to bask in the accomplishments of our ball club. Because we're very happy with where we at right now. And if you're not happy with where we're at right now, you must be somebody who don't know the history of this whole thing. So, you know, you might be talking to a different kind of hater, a different kind of person who just has no support for our team. And that's fine too. You like you, you like, but we packed all y'all niggas up on the way to where we at right now. So it's winners talk first, you know? Winners talk first, especially while we're resting. So if you don't live, if you live under a rock, then you don't know that the New York Knicks have uh made their way back to the NBA finals after a how many years drought? 27, I think. 1999 was the last time it was in the finals, and after sweeping, sweeping the key Cleveland Cavaners in four games, we have made our way back to the championship round of the NBA, looking to see who our opponent is gonna be over the next couple, you know, days or so as the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs figure they shit out. Is it gonna be Wemby? Is it gonna be Shea? We don't know, but we sitting pretty right now waiting for them to figure out who's gonna come to compete with us. So right now we're happy. We happy and we gotta live up, live up, live it in the moment. I know you know we get a lot of flack for how we we treat things, uh, as far as not knowing how to win, act like you've been there before. First off, we ain't the the first and only ones to act like this over lesser accomplishments. So let's just you know get that right out the gate. But you know, I don't know why we get as much flack as we do for the way we celebrate. I think I know why, but that's a different point, you know. But either way, we here, we back. We big time, we moved to the championship, we looking to see who we want to play. And I I just want to take a moment to salute the ball club, man. You know, as a New York Snake fan, tried and true, for a long time in my life, this ball club has been something that has been a very uh big inspiration in my own personal life that we'll talk about in a moment, but also a big cause of frustration over a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of years. So once we are finally looking at a team that we can put on the floor to then compete, you know, and really compete to be a potential NBA champion, you know, we gotta salute that. You know, we gotta salute the organization for getting things right. You know, Knicks have been the laughing stopper of the NBA for a lot of years, you know. We've had points of relevancy here and there, but at the end of the day, we we're not like these storied Lakers, the storied Celtics, or any one of those big, you know, organizations that have been around for a long time as a Knicks have, but have a lot more championships than us. Um, so let's do the history first and foremost, as far as you know, the the whole Knicks thing with me. You know. Now, for me, I have a very personal connection to the Knicks just because, and it's not just me, I'm not, you know, it's not exclusive to just me. There's a lot of people that probably feel this way because as New Yorkers, it's been historically a ball team that, you know, we supported. So that said, you know, it's been a it's been a real, real positive thing in my life to be a Knicks fan just because I was giving the the the blue and orange blood early in my life. You know, my mother was Knicks fan, my mother is an ex-fan still, my father's an ex-fan still. And to this day, you know, we share, we share stories about how the Knicks are doing, I share feelings, I share, you know, just frustrations with how the ball club is playing a lot of different times. But, you know, we we've supported the Knicks way a long time. So I was kind of born into this blue and orange shit as a youth, as a young, young kid, you know. Then being born into it and starting to play the game of basketball right around five years old when I started playing, but never really took to it in a in a serious kind of way after my father introduced me to the game, the Knicks fan that I just mentioned. Um, but getting to the point where I was 13 years old in my life, and uh that was the year that we had our last finals appearance. Uh so that team for me is very, you know, sentimental because that team is the one that made me want to play basketball on a level that I even got to, you know. They was the one that really put the the motivation in me to, yo, I want to kind of do this this basketball thing for real, you know, and and try to make something of it and maybe make the league, which you know didn't end up happening that way. But either way, they they they were the one that started the spark for me. That team the Charlie Wards, the Chris Childs, the Alan Houstons, the Lachrell Spreewells, the Marcus Cambies, the Larry Johnson. Like these are the guys that I watched and really idolize as a young kid. And then, you know, in that year, which was a lock in lockout year, we know, but at the end of the day, one team has to make it to the finals from the east, one team has to make it to the final from the west, no matter what year you're playing in. So that year for me, and then all that lockout shit we really didn't understand at that point, anyway. But I'm just supporting my team, watching them go to the finals, and then having the real spark to you know, kind of emulate that within my own life or uh like or look towards a path where I can be that kind of player or you know, on that level potentially. So Knicks for me runs tried and true because they are literally the reason that I wanted to play basketball. Of course, I was, you know, familiar with the NBA, watched Michael Jordan, watched a bunch of greatness, but you know, when I really dove into being a Knicks fan in that playoff run when we was the number eight seed, made it all the way to the finals against the San Antonio Spurs, like that was the year for me that created the spark. So, you know, from from jump, the Knicks have always played and been close to heart for me. And over my time of my own basketball career, I always supported the Knicks as a player, you know. And I I've had teammates of mine in college that played for the Knicks, Steve Novak being one of those. So, you know, that makes it even more sentimental for me because I have people that I care about that actually played for the organization. Um now going forward, another Marquette product. Tyler Kohlig is on the Knicks, so for me that's even more like, you know, it's it's full circle in a lot of different ways in my life. So my connection to the Knicks is very like strong. And you know, we've had a lot of trying years and had years where we weren't really the best team on the court and was one of the worst teams on the court and had to put up with a shitty product, you know. And having that pain, that turmoil, that that be the standard of what your basketball team looks like, it didn't feel good. You couldn't really rep like that, you couldn't really be a person to say it too loudly because everyone's just gonna shit on the Knicks because the Knicks were a shitty product and worthy of being shit on just because we weren't really that good. So I can understand that. But when we now have flipped things to where we are a really a real contender, I would say. And we'll talk about that a little bit more in a minute. You gotta give it up, man. You gotta give it up. So, one more time, I can't say it enough right now. Proud of where the boys is at. I'm not getting too far ahead of myself. I'm a real, I would say a realistic Knicks fan that I'm a person who likes to see the product go out there and prove themselves. And, you know, there's two kind of Knicks fans as I'll as I put them. There's the ones that have really been through the pain right now in their life, and there's the ones who kind of jumped on the bandwagon and it's more so the young crowd, who may be the ones out there that's doing all the crazy shit wilding, jumping on freaking bandit um light posts and a bunch of structures and all that. Like those are the wild Knicks fans, and I salute them. Let the young boys get their shit off as long as they're not hurting nobody, as long as they're not doing anything to you know, put themselves in danger, etc. etc. Like have fun, enjoy the team. But for me as a millennial Knicks fan, having the pain of seeing the the team not be great and then working to where we might have been a little bit great with the with the mellow era and seeing how the Knicks tape kind of took over right around that, you know, 2012, 13, 14 with Amari, Mello, those guys that like that team was a team of support. That was the last time I really felt like we could be, you know, voisterous in our support as a Knicks fan. But obviously they didn't get it done. You know, conference semifinals. Oh no, conference finals uh was the fourth no, sorry, semifinals was one of the years they made it um when the Knicks ended up getting knocked out by the Pacers in the second round. Um and you know, they they didn't get it done. So it is what it is, but also another time where we really felt like the support for the Knicks was super, super real and we had a real shot and real chance, and then it was another drought since then. So now that we are where we are, we can't be too mad at Knicks fans just because what else are you gonna do? Not support your team from the biggest city in the world, the best city in the world by a lot of. People's estimation, you know, that's just where it is. And we the New Yorkers, people don't like that. We are, you know, we do that. We talk our shit and we we stand behind what we stand behind. And even if we get our ass kicked, we right back talking shit again. And I think that's what people don't really like about the Knicks fans. Like I do see it. I see all the you know the quiet hate, you know, and and now having to walk things back a little bit and hearing people say, oh, like, you know, do it for the town. You know, I'll root for you guys and then just so because we smacking y'all and packing y'all up, man. That's the that's the biggest joy of mine at this point in my life. So now that we're here, let's talk about it. How do we get here? I see a lot of hate from people and a lot of back and forth chatter about the next path to the championship uh round that they're they're gonna go into. And you know, how do we get here and not having a strong pathway and just being able to beat up on people and this, this, that, whatever. Like, you play who's put in front of you. Like, all that shit to me is bullshit. Like, you're gonna get mad at the fact that we uh have played teams who maybe aren't quote unquote the best. Or you can also look at it like we might have put them in a position to say, like, yo, yeah, they they trash compared to us. Like, we going out there and smacking shit. Like, we going out there and punching people in the mouth to the tune of 20, 30, 40, 50 points in some of these games. So you can look at it like the strong, there's not that strong, but we're playing actual NBA teams, and the way we're playing ball right now is what we're really happy about and being able to stand behind just because the the the product on the floor looks marvelous. From a person who's a uh a defensive kind of guy, like not to say I wasn't you know an offensive player, but you know, I I believe that great teams are defensively sound, and what we're witnessing right now for the New York Knicks is a defensively sound team. And on top of that, you gotta look at the fashion with which we are going out and playing offensive basketball, like the the point production across our starters and to our bench is something that is is a marvel to see, you know, and it's kind of what we built the roster to do, and it's now great to see that roster coming to fruition in the way that we believe that it should be, uh, just because at a time we didn't really know how this was gonna work out. And I ain't gonna be, you know, I ain't gonna throw rocks and hide my hands. I was one of the people at the beginning of the playoffs when we weren't playing well against Atlanta that said, like, yo, this is some bullshit, gotta call the team out, you know, fire this person, this is that, whatever. But we also have to salute how the team makes adjustments and Mike Brown being the person at the head of the ship who's now getting us over the hump, you know, because our team was built to compete, you know, and and the way we were playing, sometimes within the season, it didn't really look like it, you know, not really showing our best potential. But it's all about peaking at the right time, and we're here at the right time, doing what we got to do and doing it in his historic fashion. We ain't gonna get all the numbers and all that, but we're beating the shit out of people. And I think from my perspective, these teams that everyone thought were so good, we're making them look that the way that they are. Uh, not to say that the East is a is a better conference than the West, but at the same time, if we're that much better than these teams as far as point differential, then what's to make me believe that we aren't able to compete against a team in the West? You know, we got Mike Brown, seasoned, seasoned coach, has been to multiple finals with multiple teams, and we we salute the way he's making adjustments and now open up things. All the analysts have talked about how Cat is now the hub, et cetera, et cetera. Go to somewhere else for that, like you know, that that analytical breakdown, which I can get into. We ain't gonna waste time to do that today. It's already been said, that's late takes. But we here, we see what's happening in front of us, and from my perspective, I really believe we have a chance to compete against whoever it is coming out of the West. One's gonna be a very tall task if we're looking at Wemby. And I would prefer to see, you know, Wemby as a fan of the young man and him as a player. I would love to see him get into the finals and then us, you know, somehow mop them up and bring home the championship. But it'll be a tall task if we get there. We know we're gonna see some staunch competition if we, you know, are going up against the Spurs. OKC's a different story, you know, defending champs, you know, the the young upstarts, if you may, who've now kind of taken over the lead and created maybe a potential next dynasty. But they really got to figure that shit out between them two first because OKC could really go home. And I can see it being the Spurs in the finals. Spurs can also really go home, but we'll see. You know, my call right now is that we'll probably end up playing the Spurs because the the OKC Thunder are kind of beat up. You know, they're missing key players, they really just trying to squeak through games. We're getting let's just say they they got some things to figure out, you know, and I believe the Spurs will end up taking that series, you know, for my own personal reasons that we ain't gonna get into right now because we're not trying to spend that much time on this conversation, even though we spent a lot of time already. But shouts to the Knicks, man. Can't wait to see what the finals ends up looking like. And I'm hoping that we we might be able to get this thing done, you know, and I'm believing more that we might be able to get this thing done because I think the way we match up with either team coming out of the West could put us in position to have a good series, you know, and we're gonna see. We just gonna see. But I'm here, I'm happy, wanted to take a moment to give it up to the organization. Thank you for putting a team on the floor that we can get behind and maybe get behind for years, you know, pause. But we'll see how the next year's behind us comes once we finish up this championship run, potentially. And then if we get the championship, then who knows? The rest of the league is gonna adjust to us because we know the NBA kind of is a copycat league, and that the way people construct teams, they go after the head dogs to see, you know, uh how they want to build out their rosters. But we'll see, man. We got some work to do. I ain't gonna get too far ahead of myself, but I'm very happy with where we're at. We're gonna see what happens in the next coming weeks. We got rest while we figure this thing out again, which also lends in our favor to heading into the championship, the fresher team when this next series could potentially go seven. But that's another story. We'll see. Um, so that said, shout out to the Knicks. Moving forward from there. Uh, wanted to get into the brand real quick, seeing what's going on with EFS recently has been a very uplifting thing in my life personally. Um, and kind of take time to shout out the the slow growth of the community that uh I'm building with the EFS training center, you know. Um officially opened on April 11th to the public, you know, before that, not so much, but that's a whole nother story. Uh, but it's been great, man. So quick update. We are bringing in new people, new members, seeing the business grow has been something that's very beautiful, but also a lot to take on, you know, and and being the one who's the the kind of head of this ship has put me in a position to learn and get smacked in the face, as we talked about all the time on this podcast. Nothing really changes here, but uh but now it's it's beautiful to see the the things that I put so much hard work into coming to coming coming to fruition right in front of my face and and knowing that I got bigger goals ahead of me is a is another thing that I I want to take on and and just kind of uh dive into and just keep going through the experience of staying uncomfortable, you know. Um so now for me, having the opportunity to grow and market the facility and market the things that we're doing uh has been the next curve that I'm trying to learn as we we bring people in the door and show the product that we got. Um, but it's been great, man. It's been great learning, growing, and being my own man as I head towards one year of taking a leap into my next phase of my career, you know, because well, just past Memorial Day just right now, and it just hit me recently like, damn, it's been almost a year since you quit your job and decided to take on this whole project. And you know, I'm very big on looking internally to kind of figure out where I'm at mentally with things and just having a chance to look back over the past year has been one seemed like it went by just like that. Uh, but at the end of the day, all the learning and all the all the growth has been has been beautiful enough to say that I think I'm doing all right one year out of quitting my job. I've seen people maybe do a little bit worse and have to, you know, quickly pivot and learn some other options or or go into something else. But standing 10 toes and try to complete the mission has been something I'm very proud of for myself. And and and and now, almost one year later, quit my job, seeing what the next three, five, ten years could look like is just where you get that that internal motivation and something that again continues to fulfill me as I go through the experience. And as always, if you're someone on an entrepreneurial journey, which you know I'm big on, and you know, something that I've spoken about a lot on this podcast, and you could tap in, then let me know, man, in the comments how you feel after you, you know, you quit your gig and and started something new, like you know, how much time passed before you actually felt like you got your wheel spinning. You know, I would say I'm not doing too bad. I would say I'm not doing too bad. Moving on from there, also kind of relating to my situation, my scenario, wanted again, my quick fit shit segment, uh, to kind of just let you guys know that you know, my next phase in my career also involves some education. Um, and the only reason I really want to touch on this is because I'm a person who's a big into like personal growth and being able to see yourself grow and elevate in whatever field you choose to take on and whatever you know path of life you choose to go on. Um for me it's been this training industry. And you know, EFS for me has always been something that has been a training industry thing uh outside of you know me being a player myself. I started working with young athletes, which was the first thing I've done with EFS, and then moving forward to being someone who trains people, everyday adults as well as athletes now, and seeing the business grow has been something to me that's the next phase of my post-athletic journey and how I can potentially continue to grow within that, you know. And no secret here, you know, work for another company for some years after I finished playing professionally over six years, and got to the point where I learned a lot at that company, but then was kind of like this is the cap where you see yourself at your highest in this setting that where you're at and still looking for growth and potential. Uh, it kind of got to the point when mentally I got stagnant of doing the same thing over and over and over again and learning as much as I could, you know, within that only became like so much that I could, you know. And with that, being a trainer of someone who has credentials and has like, you know, some stamp behind them of some education that they went through, you have to maintain certain continued education credits as a trainer to continue to be able to someone who has that, you know, those those classifications and those certifications. Uh so for me, the next stage of it is kind of you know legitimizing myself with the biggest one that there is out. Um, and that would be DCSCS, uh certified strength and conditioning coach from the National Strength and Condition Association. Um, and this is a textbook for it, which I just got in recently, and you know, it's kind of overwhelming because there's a lot of pages in this thing that I have to go through and study. Um, something I'm looking forward to, but you know, seeing this textbook kind of makes it a little bit more real, uh, just because this will be the next phase of my education, the next phase of my leveling up uh to kind of legitimize myself as someone who has their own facility, but also legitimize myself from an education standpoint because the continued education credits, which I mentioned a little bit ago, um when I was doing them with my company, they were kind of easy with the company I worked for, excuse me, they was kind of easy to attain because they kind of provided the knowledge for you. And you didn't really have to go outside of that unless you wanted to to be able to have your every two years recertified. Um, and again, after feeling like I learned as much as I could from them, not to say I couldn't learn more, but you know, it kind of got boring for me. And not no shade to that company or anybody else that continues to work for that company, but for me, it got boring to where I felt like I wasn't doing much to better myself. Uh, so leaving a then create my own business facility now. It's like, how do I step into the next phase or something to where I challenge myself to where I can grow and then also level myself up to be like, listen, I've now done the hardest thing that they say in your industry to attain uh is that. And why not go for it, man? Strength and conditioning coaches. This is the education that you need to go to go through, excuse me, to be able to obtain a job in the NCAA. Uh, if you want to get a job on the NBA level or, you know, working for some professional organization, or like you definitely ain't getting it without at least this, you know. So it's not to say that what I'm doing is like super amazing, but it is my journey and I'm looking forward to the next phase of it and learning a lot of things that I may not know, and kind of justifying or you know, reinforcing some things that I may know already because I've been a sponge for this shit and looking forward to continue to being a sponge, but it's not like I I I'm going into this that fresh, but you know, putting myself in a position to where I can really legitimize me myself is where I'm at now, and of course, looking to share within y'all on the journey and you know, see how I see how this can help me grow. Um, but that said, man, that's really all I wanted to tap in with y'all of with today. Not too much on the current event side. Like, you don't ask me about the Iceman album. Like, I ain't really feeling like talking about that shit right now. It's cool. I'm still unpacking it, don't really have nobody to bounce with back and forth off it. Don't really have that many foil feelings of my own that I feel like I need to share about it. Y'all enjoy it, have fun, shebang, and all the other shit. But for now, we'll tap out and we'll tap in with y'all the next time around. The EFS podcast number 75 is done. Peace. See ya. We out.