Season 2 Episode 5- Jerimy

Episode Title

Life Goes On

Episode Description

In this episode, E chats with Jerimy, a world traveler and educator. Though they’ve never met in person, their conversations have spanned multiple continents.

 The 21 moves through travel, perspective, pet peeves, and the small things that reveal how someone sees the world.

Then comes The One.

What has travel taught you?

The conversation shifts into perspective. Not just where you’ve been, but how it’s shaped how you think, how you move, and how you see people.

Because at some point, it stops being about the destination.

The conversation shifts into identity, growth, and how experience shapes the way we move through the world. Because sometimes it’s not just about where you go… it’s about who you become along the way.

What You’ll Hear

• How travel shifts your perspective on people and life
• The idea that your environment can shape your value
• A conversation about becoming the next generation of elders
• What freedom actually looks like beyond the surface
• A more holistic view of self-care
• Why “life goes on” can be a mindset, not just a statement

Season 2 Format

21 Questions
Light, thoughtful prompts designed to reveal perspective, some laughs and insight

The One
A deeper conversation sparked by what naturally comes up.

No scripts. No prep. Just presence.

Join the Conversation

After listening, ask yourself one question:

What has your life experience taught you about who you are?

Then send this episode to someone who’s helped shape your perspective.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Welcome to a refreshing conversation of podcasts of real people, genuine moments, and conversation that's always refreshing. This is season two, episode five. If there was a contest for the world's most interesting man that is down to earth, though he is constantly in the air traveling somewhere and has the most soothing voice, today's guest would be in the top two, and he made number two. When I decided to finally start recording podcast episodes again, he was one of the first people that came to mind to have as a guest because he lives an interesting life. But more than that, he's good people. So a little background. Today's guest and I have never met in person. So we have been in communication for maybe four or five years or so. Either he has been in the country and has left prior to me arriving, or vice versa, or on the fortuitous occasion that we have been in somewhat close proximity, schedules cannot align. So until that happens, I'm grateful for this moment and for him making time to be on the pod. So let's have a refreshing conversation with Jeremy. Welcome, Jeremy.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

All right. Well, thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

No worries. I appreciate you being here. Thank you. Do you want to tell the people anything about yourself or do you want to get started with the 21?

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Well, I guess uh a little bit about myself. I'm originally from Texas, born and raised in Houston, Texas. Went to school outside of Dallas and pretty much just stayed in Dallas for a while and I began working in education, and and that's what I do now, still in education, just in a remote sense now. So I'm able to work virtually.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

That's a beautiful thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

All right. So with that, let's get started with the 21. So the 21 are 21 questions slash non-questions that are lighthearted, thoughtful, and nothing heavy. Are you ready?

SPEAKER_03 2:12

I'm ready.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Okay. Number one, let me give you an example. I am, but I don't like. Example is I am American, but I don't like apple pie. So for you, you what are you, but you don't like? That's normally something that's attributed to what you are.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Okay. Let's see, let's see. That's a good one.

SPEAKER_00 2:34

You want another example?

SPEAKER_01 2:37

No, no, I mean that that's it's uh you're gonna give me one more example. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:42

This format is a little bit different, but it's the same principle. I like, but I don't like. I like the beach, but I don't like sand.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

Okay. I guess one thing about me, I guess, is that I I guess I I I I like to travel. Yeah, I love traveling. I love traveling constantly. But I don't like being in those in enclosed spaces with people for a long time. So I guess, you know, uh, because normally, you know, the flights that we take are are longer than just you know domestic flights. So I'm I'm on a plane longer than two or three hours. And so as much as I love the experience, I love being on a plane, I love being on a bus, I love being in an Uber. Uh it's just that um once somebody sits by me and that experience, I'm like, uh, I'm ready.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

How many hours we got left? You know. You know what's the worst?

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Like when you think you got a whole row to yourself, and here come that person, it's like, man.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

I'm telling you, I can't stand it. And the best thing is when is when the flight is taking off and it starts moving and nobody is set by you, and you start sliding over a little bit, putting you know, yeah, that's that's yeah, that's that's when it's like, oh, I'm winning.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

I'm winning now. I got 10 hours by myself. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 4:08

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

All right. So let's go to number two. My petty pet peeve is. Let me know if you need an example.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Okay. My petty pet peeve. You know, I think maybe as I get older now, over explanation. I feel like that's my pet peeve. I feel like uh once I say I got you, I got you. You know, and and maybe it's just when you travel, it's it's it's even more because people want to make sure that you understand. You know. And so they they keep saying, you know. I mean, I can think of so many examples even earlier today with the guy when I was at the beach just chilling. He just g you know, and just to just get some some background on that, you know, I was at the beach earlier today when I just got into East London, South Africa, just found a beach and just was I had to and finally been off the road for a bit. So, you know, just chilling in my car, just enjoying the waves. And a brother came from the car next next over and knocked on my window. I didn't see him come over, he just knocked on my window, so it kind of shocked me a bit. And he said, you know, you know, hey, I'm your neighbor, I'm in the car next door, I'm your neighbor, I'm in the car next door. And I said, Okay, okay. And then he said it like two more times. And that's I was like, all right, I got you, bruh. You were and I already I already remember yes you in the car. But, you know, it was it was a good experience, though. He was just, you know, knocking on the window to check on me. He said that I, you know, he saw me with my head down for a bit and I was on my phone, but he didn't know. He said my head was down, he just wanted to check sure, make sure I was okay. You know, if I was sad going through something and he he didn't want me to be in a position where I felt like I was, you know, like um I guess contemplating contemplating suicide, you know. So I mean it was a it was a it was a good experience to be able to receive, you know, that kind of uh warmth. Yeah, you know, just pulling into the community. But like I was saying, I'm your neighbor, I'm your you know, I got you, bro. But that's just the example I could think of most recently, but yeah, that's it.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

So number three, what is something that you're uh what is a weird jealousy that you have?

SPEAKER_01 6:28

A weird jealousy? Um wow, I've never thought of myself as a jealous person. Um not saying that you're jealous, but like what is something you're like, oh I'm kinda you know, right now my passion is exploring different places that are hidden gems and places that are not popular, and just and so I guess when I if I'm online or I see somebody, like maybe uh a content creator that I follow, maybe YouTube or uh Instagram, whatever, and I see them at a d a new place discovery or something, and I you know, I I'm not well, I want to go there from my list and I haven't made it yet, or something like that. That's like ah when I have those moments, like, ah man. I don't want to see that. I wanted to, you know. But other than that, that's all I can really think of that, you know, it puts me in that state, like, ah I wanted to be there first, so I wanted to, you know, be the first person that I knew.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

Gotcha. Okay, so let's go to number four. What is a book, song, or movie that you wish you would have written and why?

SPEAKER_01 7:53

I would say maybe The Alchemist is a book I wish I would have written. Um just because you know, the journey that was undertaken and the and and I guess the the mental focus, the ability, perseverance that it takes on a journey like that when so many other things maybe maybe things you might see as a distraction or things that further delay your purpose. And so that's something I can I can really r uh relate to. So that's one that that that I hold dearly that I always try to suggest if somebody's, you know, is looking for something in that in that realm. I'm sure you're familiar with it too, huh?

SPEAKER_00 8:35

I am, I have it, but I haven't I think I started it, but I I didn't finish it. And I don't know why. So maybe, you know, it's time to give it a second look since you're you're bringing it up and after, like I said, I literally have the book, but I just I don't know, maybe you know, at certain points in your life you have to be receptive to certain things. And maybe at that point in life, life was lifing, or maybe I wasn't in the space to fully receive it and to have the the rich takeaway that you have from that book. So I'm intrigued if now being literally in a different place in my life, would it ring and would it hit the way that you're describing it? So yeah, I'm definitely gonna have to pick it up and check.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

Most definitely, most definitely. Other than that one, it was another one I read maybe I guess it was about a year ago in Bali. It's unf your brain or unf your yourself.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

I've heard of that one.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

Okay, yeah. And that kind of makes makes you aware of your thinking pattern where it's rooted from, certain ways to get out of that mindset when it's not beneficial. So that's a good one to kind of start with if you're, you know, looking at area as well, too. But yeah, those are I guess those two are the ones that stand out the most. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

I like it. All right, so let's go to number five. This is called give, steal, or destroy. Well, and destroy. So you have to give away one thing that you treasure, has to be something tangible. You can steal anything in the entire world and you would never get caught. You could have it on display, you could wear it or whatever it is, it would be as if it has always been yours. And what is one thing that you would destroy? So give, steal, destroy.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Okay, what would I give?

SPEAKER_00 10:25

And they'll take back to anybody or just so you can't give it to like your kids so that you can still have access to it. You literally have to give it away. No loopholes. You can't get the item back, you can't go visit said item. It is fully given away.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

All right. I would I would give away, ooh, what would I give away? Uh all right, let's get that one. Steal, I come back to that one. All right, steal, what would I steal? And just and and nobody would know, and just, oh man.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

I mean, it'd be yours. So it let's say uh use example, like a chain. Um no, that's not your thing. But let's say it's like this really fly chain that you saw, you're like, oh my god, I really want that chain. You could steal it and it would be yours, and you would still be able to walk around with it. It wouldn't be like people were like, hey, stop that guy type of thing. It would legitimately be yours. You could be free to display whatever it is, rock whatever it is, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Okay. I I probably would steal like the patent to the internet.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

Okay. Is there a patent to the internet?

SPEAKER_01 11:32

The patent to the iPhone. Let me do that with Okay, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:37

I don't know if I will. It might be. I gotta Google it.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

I know Al Gore was somehow in the mix of it, and I remember taking a class on the creation of the internet, but I don't think I don't it's been a minute, but I don't think there's one person. Type patent type. Yeah, but who knows? But okay, so you're going with the iPhone?

SPEAKER_01 11:55

Yeah. Yeah, I see I I would st I would still the patent to the iPhone. Okay. And see, what I would give away, I would give away I would give away certain minerals. I would probably give away the minerals maybe in, let's say, in the Congo, you know, just so they would lose value. You know, I think that would I think that could that could alter some things and change some things for some people. You know, we we we place value on some things so much that it I don't think we're aware aware of how it hinders others living, you know. Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

Let's talk about that though, because if you gave if there was no longer value, how does soci I mean their society because the level of poverty in Congo is crazy. But a lot of the people that are working, especially even children, I believe they work in the mines to to harvest the minerals. So if they didn't even have that as an option, oof.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

If they didn't have if they didn't have that as an option, then I feel like you know, you wouldn't have so many people there trying to pillage. And if you're not in a state of stress, then you have time to develop your country. You know. And so, yes, they might not be s selling minerals anymore, but now, okay, let's focus on different forms. I mean, if you look at Ibrahim and Burkina Faso, yeah, and all the things that he's you know creating right now, so many avenues. I saw some recently as far as it was like it was so many mangoes and certain areas that just fall on the ground going bad, and now he's created a processing plan for that. And so, you know, the West we the West is looking for certain different material, I mean different uh resources right now. I mean, of course they're gonna take whatever they can get, but priority to them is, you know, minerals and oil and other things like that. So this is the avenue to can to create a pathway where I feel like it could be more freedom for people in the country once they can see other avenues other than okay, this is the minerals. And so it's just it's I mean, sh I mean, I I mean I don't know what could be because I don't honestly I don't I don't know Congo like that. I haven't been to Congo, I haven't done a lot of research. I'm not sure if the land is this and that or whatever. I do know that at one point it was a volcano that erupted maybe a few years ago, maybe two or three years ago. And so that I mean right after that, they were selling land really cheap in uh I can't think of stuff to the G. But yeah, they were really promoting that land. It was really, really cheap. And from what I understand, after a volcano erupts, then I guess after a certain period of time, I I don't I don't, you know, I think doesn't it have some kind of effect on the soil where it enriches it and through the ash or uh you know what it might.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

I mean it's it definitely would change the the chemical makeup to a certain extent of the soil and probably fortify it in some way. But the hmm, it depends because at a certain point, I mean in the proximity from the the lava flow or the eruption to the volcano the volcano, that area might not be habitable or it might not be usable. Because like you think of the islands of Hawaii, there a lot of that obviously is made up from volcanic rock and volcanic material, but you can't actually live on it. So I don't know if it's because it's too dense or if it's not fertile land. So it might be some kind of you know, not it might be some specific specificity that is determined or designated for it in order to be fruital fruit uh fruitful for both humans and our vegetation. So I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

You're right. Maybe I was I probably was being too optimistic, but but I'm sure it's other avenues that you know once that you know that will pop up once we you know move that that that value and that I mean even you know, just I mean, it's just or what about all throughout Africa.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

What about this? What if you gave Congo an industry in addition to mining or a better mining industry? Because they're getting not even pennies on the dollar, they're getting, I'm thinking about the actual workers, they're getting dot, dot, dot, dot, dot of a penny on a dollar when you think of the actual with the end product results, because that goes to your your iPhone. You know, the a lot of the, not a lot of, but some of the materials used in iPhones, it's harvest from various parts of Africa, possibly Congo. Like I don't remember the exact minerals that that Congo produces, but I know definitely on the continent of Africa, there are components that are from natural resources that are found on the continent that are used in iPhone, not just iPhones, but cell phones and other things that we depend on daily. So with actual people boots on ground, they're not getting, they're not, they're not even scratching the surface on the wealth that is generated off of their backs. So maybe giving them living wages or giving them industry that provides a living wage and better living working conditions. It ain't for punks, you know what I'm saying? It is not an easy way to make a living at all. You know, so you know, not to tell you what to do with your give, steal or destroy, but it's kind of sounds like you definitely want to make a difference in their lives, which is beautiful at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

You're right. I think uh I'm gonna have to change the game. Okay, so I'm I'm giving that away. I definitely would give that. But now I gotta steal something else. Let me see what I would steal. I would um give, steal, and the last one was destroy. Destroy.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Maybe I should have destroyed that uh industry. But what I would destroy is I guess media that that um that demonizes darker people. Yeah, I'm I think you know, being in the education system, you know, I'm seeing how how it affects, you know, the children. You know, they you know, we got students who can't who can't read. And some of them, you know, have disabilities. Um I'm not saying that's that's not the case, but a lot of them can't can't read and won't read, but they know all the lyrics to a song, all the dances, fashion, all the dances, you know. And so and I and and it's putting us in a in last place in a lot of a lot of arenas. And and I know and it looks good and media's, you know, pumping it up and and we enjoy the likes and and and certain things, but uh I mean it's destroying us. If you listen to what the radio, what the radio's saying, if you the new television shows, I saw something the other day that they explained the Huxtable effect. Are you familiar with the Huxtable Huxtable effect?

SPEAKER_00 19:09

I think I am, but please explain.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

Okay. And this is from what I understand that when when uh a different world came on. Well uh and they were talking about college and applying to Howard and Morehouse, it it's yes, statistics show that at that time applications and enrollments in universities skyrocketed. You know, I think it's it went up to maybe like, you know, I don't want to lie, but it it it went up pretty high. And then it said that after that, you know, it was thorn. And then they compared to like they call it the Little Wayne system error or whatever, and it shows that since 2000, those ha everything's been on a decline. And mm-hmm. And I I think that you know the music plays a major role in it. I think the music does, I think the entertainment. And I'm not saying that everybody doesn't, you know, partake, because everybody, you know, is watching watching this, and and and we've all known, you know, white people buy more hip hop and this type of music than us in the States, a lot of times. But also, but the problem is that we I think that we're just overly, overly consuming it. And it's different if you listen to a little bit of this, maybe a little bit of that, and you know, you diverse. You know, growing up, I it wasn't a lot of this type of rap out, but I listen, I knew, I knew a little bit of the Tupac, I knew a little bit of local stuff in Houston, I knew I knew Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, you know, so these are different things I'm hearing on the radio constantly, you know, in in the mix. But now it's like they'll they'll play, you know, Lorilla or the your name, sexy red back to back. Yeah, you know, they'll play it back to back, and if it's not sad, it's something else that's you know I feel is detrimental, and you know, if that's all you can sell, man. And so that's what I would yeah, steal.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

That would you destroy?

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Yeah, steal. Destroy. Destroy.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

Right on. Okay. So let's go to number six. If you could be part of any TV show, what TV show would it be? And extra points if you know the character you would play, or if you would create a new character for the sh on the show for you to play.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

Okay. I would uh a show that I would do would probably be like a survivor or naked and afraid. So I guess let's just say survivor. Okay. And you know, it's every season's a different, a different different cast, but I guess I would be the black guy because it's probably never really more than one black guy.

SPEAKER_02 21:44

I'd be the black guy on uh on my season.

SPEAKER_00 21:47

You know, now that you mention it, 'cause I I I I have gotten it more into Sabora these past few years and I I can't recall uh that you mentioned it. I'm gonna have to go go go do some research. Okay, let's go to number seven. What is a compliment that you love to receive?

SPEAKER_01 22:08

You know, I'm not really big on compliments. I just, yeah, I just I I I I like being appreciated, and that's that's enough for me. I uh when somebody says they appreciate it and I can see it, they really appreciate it, you know, whatever it was.

SPEAKER_03 22:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:25

Yeah, that's that's all that's that's all I need.

SPEAKER_00 22:28

Okay. Let's go to number eight. What is your non-super superpower?

SPEAKER_01 22:36

My non-super superpower? Like you say non.

SPEAKER_00 22:41

So, like Superman, his superpowers, he can fly, he can do all the things. Those are superpowers, right? What is your non-superpower? Like, what is something that you can do? Like, like you have this uncanny ability to do dot dot dot. And it's something that you know that is a superpower, but it's not like able to leave buildings in a single bound superpower. If you want, I can give you a specific example.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

Okay, so for me, my non-super superpower is the ability to wake up whenever there's a meal being served on the plane. Like literally, before we even take off, I'm probably asleep. But for whatever reason, when it's time for that cart to come rolling it. And not that they're making a lot of noise, but it's just something like my spider senses start tingling. I'll wake up and it's running. That attendant will be like maybe two or three rows ahead. And I'll be like, yes. I don't have because your girl ain't missing no meals, so especially not on the plane. So that's my non-super superpower.

SPEAKER_01 23:43

Okay, okay. Let's see. I guess I'm aware. I'm super aware. When and so I I'm aware of potential threat. And I I guess I I think I am. I guess today was probably I probably was wrong today when the guy walked over my window. But uh normally I I'm I'm you know, I'm thinking two steps ahead in everything I do, you know, as I'm traveling, as I'm walking down the street, as as I'm driving, thinking about the car in front of the car in front of me. You know. And I but I will say on the plane, I I do have this, I I don't know if it if it's just the way that the the the plane just changes its its acceleration or not, but it's like right before they say it's time to, you know, click the seat belts and get ready for uh the landing. I always tend to wake up right before that. Right before they say that, put your chairs up and all that. I you know, a meal's not coming. I guess it's just that I, you know, I'm you know, listening somewhat to know I'm ready to, you know, land spoke.

SPEAKER_02 24:45

That is cool.

SPEAKER_00 24:49

All right, let's go to number nine. If you had a soundtrack or a theme song, what would it be?

SPEAKER_01 24:57

Okay. Uh maybe Lovely Day by who sings Lovely Day.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

I know his name is like right on I don't want to Google it, but I know his name.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

He sings Grandma's Hand and um Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:09

It's not oh, it's not Otis Brandon. Oh gosh, my name. Bill Withers.

unknown 25:16

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 25:17

Bill Withers. Uh-huh. Yeah. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 25:19

Okay, that's a good one. All right. So it's still in the following with the music thing. Number 10. What would your radio DJ name be? And what would the name of your show be?

SPEAKER_01 25:32

Okay. Radio DJ, okay. Name my show would be the the shh you want to hear.

SPEAKER_03 25:40

That's what it would be. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

That's what it would be. That's what it would be. Yeah, I'd abbreviated T S Y uh, all the letters. And uh my DJ name would be uh DJ Mix It Up.

SPEAKER_00 25:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

DJ Mix It Up.

SPEAKER_00 25:54

DJ Mix It Up with the You Wanna Hear. Is it a morning show? Evening show, after hours.

SPEAKER_01 26:02

Uh tell me. I don't want to wake folks up with that. I can respect that. Can't wake folks, wake folks up with that. Probably, you know, in the evening. Probably in morning even.

SPEAKER_00 26:13

Okay. All right, okay. Let's go to number 11. So we're over halfway there. If you won the lottery, you might not tell anyone, but there would be signs. What would one sign be that you won the lottery?

SPEAKER_01 26:26

Oh, we'd probably completely be off the internet. All that social media stuff. The nigga needs to leave. Go, ghost.

SPEAKER_02 26:35

Go, ghost, oops. All that. Yeah. You ain't got to worry what happened to me. You already exactly. Exactly. The new name, new passport, all that stuff. I might forget English. I'll be somewhere.

SPEAKER_03 26:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

Let's go to number 12. If you could pick your name, what would you have wanted your name to be? And you can't keep your existing name, so you have to do something totally different. If you it were to have another name, you might might be good practice for you because when you look when the lottery sounds like you're starting all over fresh. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:16

You know, I'm a lottery. I'm gonna have my name completely. It might be all day, but it might not be nothing if you don't.

SPEAKER_00 27:33

All of a sudden, your your your Swahili will be perfect, you know, because we'll be practicing all these days. I'm telling you. I was gonna hit you with some Swahili in the intro, but I was like, you know, let me let me dial it back. But yes.

SPEAKER_02 27:49

Oh yeah, it's been a minute. It's been a minute. You know, I'm I'm a different country every month. Every month I gotta remember where I'm at. I'll I'll be in Africa talking Spanish, and I'm like, no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_01 28:04

Speaking French and East Africa. I like no, it's not it. Yeah, uh huh. But yeah, well, yeah, I guess I I don't know what I I would change my name too, but uh um it would uh you know, I like the fact that other cultures have names that mean something, you know. Like, you know, even if we look at the Native Americans, you know, certain names, this means this, this means that. I would like my name to have some, you know, a meaning. I don't I'm not sure if Jeremy has one, but and I'm saying that to say that I don't I don't know what different meanings, you know, but I would I would probably have to search and something, but uh going off what I know right now, I would say Mufasa. Say it again.

unknown 28:59

All right.

SPEAKER_00 28:59

Oh Mufasa Okay, all right, let's go to number 13. This is about your dream concert lineup and location. You get five acts. They can be groups or solo, they can be dead or alive, and they're all performing at their peak performance level, and then you have access to the entire catalog. Who would your five people be and where would the concert be held? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

Let's see. The concert would be held on my plot of land, okay, coastal plot of land, I'm about to secure. I would do it there.

SPEAKER_00 29:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 29:39

The first act up would be Stevie Wonder.

SPEAKER_00 29:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 29:42

Uh, we have Stevie on stage. But next up, we probably have Earth Wind and Fire. And then and I say, oh yeah, I gotta have it. And after Earth, Wind and Fire, I'd probably do something like and this was an underground rapper, you might not know his Big Pokey. That's yeah, Big Pokey is one of my I am not familiar. Okay. Oh he's a he's a Houston artist. Yeah, he's uh a Houston artist. But yeah, that's one person I I would love to see before he passed. And two more. Uh let's see, let's see if he. Ooh, Black Street. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 30:24

Oh, hold on, hold on. Which lineup of Black Street? Because you know they had different configurations.

SPEAKER_02 30:30

Oh, with Chauncey. Okay. Uh Chauncey, yeah, uh-huh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:34

You're going with the original configuration.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

Yeah. The original one, yeah. Okay, cool. Yeah, uh-huh. Uh, that's Black Street. And the last one would be I gotta go unique. Uh putting on a good performance. Oh, Michael Jackson.

SPEAKER_00 30:50

Okay. So you got some heavy hitters. Who's the headliner? Who's who's closing down your your concert on your ocean front plot of land?

SPEAKER_01 31:00

Oh, Mike Jack. Yeah, Mike Jack, yeah, because good, because after seeing all everything, you know, folks are gonna be tired. They're gonna feel like they've seen everything after seeing Stevie and after seeing Earth Wind and Fire, it's gonna be folks ready to, ooh, I'm good to go home. And and then once Mike comes on there, then it's then it's uh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:20

The party starts back up again.

SPEAKER_01 31:22

Actually, I'd probably bring the whole Jackson 5 out, and then, you know, that way Michael can see it. Then the brothers would go in the back, and then Michael would put on his leather jacket and yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:31

I love a good wardrobe change.

SPEAKER_01 31:36

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 31:37

I'd expect nothing less. Okay, so let's go to number 14. If a day in your life had a voiceover, whose voice would it be? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:47

Uh probably um oh what's the daddy from uh uh from uh Coming to America?

SPEAKER_00 31:55

Oh, James Earl Jones.

SPEAKER_01 31:57

James Earl Jones.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

Oh, there's you Mufasa again, because when he Mufasa in the original line. James I'm noticing a pattern with you.

SPEAKER_02 32:06

You are, you see. I think I watched Lion King too many times. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

All right on. Okay, so number 15. This is about superpowers. You're gonna give me two, but one is gonna be a selfish superpower, so only you can benefit from it. And then the second one, a superpower that is for the greater good.

SPEAKER_01 32:28

Okay. I guess to for my first one would be to teleport. Okay. Uh to be any in any any place, any time, any time zone, anytime, you know.

SPEAKER_03 32:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:42

I like history, you know, I I love history. But as somebody who constantly consumes different history, you you always have to kind of question and be aware of other things to kind of fact check, make sure this is right. You have to check your source, you know, kind of like is this true or is this because, you know, and so to be able to go back in time and see things actually happen and maybe just be a fly on the wall in certain rooms where conversation uh conversations are being had. That you know, just I would love to that that that's yeah, that would be that would be my number one, and that would be for me. And then for superpower for everybody else, I think it would be it'd be a cool superpower for for people to be able to maybe meditate or go into some kind of trends and be able to know their lines, lineage. You know? You know, like kind of like in, you know, just to have a a you know, like like in uh Wakanda, you know, when when he would drink the purple juice and then he would pass out and he would, you know, he could talk to his ancestors and and get certain you know, get certain alignment like that. And and I think that would, you know, that that would be really cool. And yeah, I just keep people on a certain, you know, trajectory if that's what they, you know, want to do, fulfill, you know, ancestral goals and you know, whatever whatever it is, but just be able to say, okay, you know, I I tapped in, I'm at a good place now. Uh I I tapped in, I talked to my grandmother at the at the at the tree and you know, and and and to be able to to yeah, to tap in with yeah, with our ancestral lineage and just to know where you come from, you know.

SPEAKER_03 34:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:29

Coming, you know, and coming from the states and I know pe a lot of people all over diaspora all over. I feel like we're cheated because well at least for us, you know, I can speak for us as a slave trade, different things like that, being told different things. We don't, you know. It it's hard to be able to say, you know, this is where I come from, and to and a lot of times we just have to just accept the fact that we, you know, we don't know. But uh I feel like that that would be so power empowering to to even to have that that skill or that super superpower.

SPEAKER_00 35:03

Yeah, that's beautiful, actually. I like that one. That's super unique.

unknown 35:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

Number 16.

SPEAKER_01 35:12

You didn't like my other. You didn't like you didn't like my other one.

SPEAKER_00 35:14

No, no, no, no. I wasn't I wasn't trying to attenuate that at all, but it that one just really got me thinking. Because I mean like the ripple effects of that, because I like as you mentioned, as being black Americans, we we don't necessarily have that that reach back. You know, we don't have our lineage traits like you know, other Africans they can eat or even Europeans have, oh yeah, my my family is from this town. We've been here for hundreds of years and da-da-da-da-da-da. You know, whereas black folk, we're like, I can maybe get you as far back as my great-grandmother. You know, of course, there are some people who can trace easily trace before the collective on a whole. A lot of us are just stuck at maybe two or three generations. So I like I genuinely think that that superpower is beautiful. So it was it was no shade to your other answers, but it just really got me thinking, like, wow, that's just it's just beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 36:01

And I because I think about, you know, when I look at the old videos and I see how conservative we were, you know, in the new Negro movement, you know, following that when we were aligned, you know. And I'm sure everybody didn't agree with certain things. I'm sure people had different ideas religiously, and some people probably didn't like Martin, some people like whatever it was, you know. But it's still that image was still conservative. It was things that weren't being put out on mainstream media because we were conservative people. And uh and now, you know, we've kind of been enabled to just say anything and and do whatever and and and not even recognize consequences, the long-term consequences and the short-term consequences of just putting everything out there. You know. So just a minute to to sit back and talk to, you know, somebody who just maybe got a piece of land or or whatever and say, hey, you know, you know, the goal is this is this. This is what we're this is what we're doing. This is and just to kind of realign the focus. You know, it's not enough elders really well, I mean, but I I know the elders are a lot of the elders are confused, don't know what don't know what's going on, don't know how to, you know, know, and it's it's just it's just a lot, it's just a lot that we have to deal with.

SPEAKER_00 37:25

Speaking of elders, you know, not that either one of us is old right now or, you know, ready to necessarily carry the mantle of elders, but X amount of decades, we are the new elders, right? So what do we do? What do we do now if we if we aren't already doing? And this is just a a freestyle question off the top of my head. So I'm trying to I'm formulating as I go, but like how do we prepare ourselves to be the new elders and give back? You know what I'm saying? So because if you say that the current elders don't know, how do we position ourselves to know?

SPEAKER_01 38:02

I think um what I'm doing is is is in a certain sense is is that by teaching. I think we have to educate. But uh I think the old education system was a whole lot of talk tell. And I think that what we have to do is show. And so like um for me, uh, you know, prior to to education, I was a personal trainer for a long time, even when I'm you know at when I was teaching. And before I would tell the client to do something, try something that was unique, something that, you know, is not as popular, I would have done it. I would and now and I can tell you, okay, this is what it's done for me, these are my results, this is what it is. And so I think as the new elders, we have to not be afraid to take those risks. We have to we have to try new things, we have to experiment, we have to say, okay, just you know, we have to test the fire again, you know, see if it's still hot, things have changed, you know, the climate everywhere has changed. And so we have to get back out there, explore. We have to f we have to create curiosity and then spread that to the youth. I don't think the kids are curious these days, you know, because everything you know, what what it used to be fun to learn, at least for me. And you know, and maybe I mean I was gifted and talented, not to you know, toot my own horn.

SPEAKER_02 39:25

I was in smart, but you know what the things that I was curious the things that I was curious about were things that are out were being that I could learn outside of traditional schooling.

SPEAKER_01 39:38

So I was, you know, being outside, even when now when I reflect on, you know, how I travel now, as a kid, I would take my bike and just go. You know, I would try to go to the farthest neighborhood I can go and then be back home in a certain amount of time. You know, just curious. I wanted to see what was there, I wanted to experience it, I wanted to uh just know it existed. And so I think in all areas of life we have to we have to we have to show that. So if we're saying, okay, well, the youth are getting too much weight, they need to do this, they need to da-da-da-da. Okay, well, we need to get out there and show them what it looks like. And so, you know, that's why I have to find my own motivation. So I I you know on social media, a lot of what I see in my feed was being fed to me, because my algorithm is a lot of seniors who are 70, 80 years old who are working out, running maritimes, things like that. Things that I would have, you know, couldn't even imagine, you know, 10 years ago. But seeing this now, I'm like, okay, this is this is from me as possible. I don't have 80 doesn't have to be an old 80, you know, it can be an active 80.

SPEAKER_03 40:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:46

It's Dr. Ari Lennox. He he's an older gentleman. Are you familiar with him? He's he's he's in Costa Rica. He has like he has a long white beard, kind of, you know. Uh does CB have but he has that kind of energy like CB. He speaks about eating a certain way, and and how and he's an example. It's like, okay, well, he's healthy. You watch him, he'll get up, he'll squat down, he can do anything that he can do anything that I could probably do, you know. He might be able to run some miles too. Ain't no telling. But I think he's in his 80s. And but he's showing by example that, hey, I got this, you know, it might seem a little extreme, you know, all he eats is fruits and you know, raw fruits. I'm not sure if he does vegetables, but but I'm seeing, I can, you know, I can say, oh, that's crazy, because I'm seeing the results of it. And so I think for the youth, we just have to be, as seniors, you know, in this society, or elders, and I said seniors, you know, as the upcoming elders, we have to not be afraid to take these risks and then show the results of them. You know, I went this way, it didn't work out for me. And if and and not take and not be embarrassed when it doesn't work out. You know, hey, I did this, it didn't work out, did this, this did work out. You know, and then also not be afraid to challenge the status quo. It's a new time, it's a new age. It's a lot of people who want to be married and things like that. That's great, you know. And that was the image, the American dream. That was the dream that we that I've always seen. But as I travel now, as I'm seeing things, you can be happy alone, you can explore, you can travel alone, you can do a lot of different things. So I think we just gotta be an example, show things and and show how to be happy.

SPEAKER_00 42:27

Those are all valid points. I'm gonna have to look at that doctor that you mentioned. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 42:32

Oh, Dr. Ari Lennox, uh I see.

SPEAKER_00 42:36

Okay, number 16. If you could have a dinner party, the dinner party of your dreams, who all gonna be there? You get five people max. What's the cuisine? Uh and are you cooking? Okay. You don't have to have all five people. You can just do a party of one or party of two, but you get up to five people.

SPEAKER_01 42:56

Okay. Uh well, I got I'm gonna invite some folks. Um all right, so if we gonna let me see, what will we eat? We would oh man, uh I'm not even a foodie, but I gotta think about what other folks like.

SPEAKER_00 43:15

They automatically gonna like what you like, so don't let that put put you in a box. So even if they're vegan, it'll it'll somehow be vegan options for them. So just what's the overall cuisine?

SPEAKER_01 43:25

Okay, it would be a a blend of Tex Mex and seafood. Okay. And so, uh, and so maybe something like a crab queso, crab meat queso, a little bit of lobster tails in there. Sure. Something like that. Let me see. You'd have you'd have your shrimp tacos, of course you have your beef and all that stuff, but you'd also have maybe some uh mahi, you think a mahi mahi mahi? Yeah, mahi mahi tacos.

SPEAKER_03 43:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:53

Am I saying that right?

SPEAKER_03 43:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:54

And yeah, something like that. You'd have um yeah, so that's how I would do that. And then you know you'd have the drinks too you had you know exactly like I have like a Mexican bartender hooking it all up. And let me see, as far as my five guests, I would say uh I would have my parents.

unknown 44:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 44:16

So that's that's two. Is five including me or not including me?

SPEAKER_00 44:19

Not including you. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 44:22

Uh I have my parents there. And then I would have and these five guests can be dead or alive.

SPEAKER_00 44:29

Mm-hmm. From any point in time, whether you know them or not.

SPEAKER_01 44:32

Oh. Ooh, okay. So my parents, Marcus Garvey.

SPEAKER_00 44:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 44:38

Let's see, two more. I would right now, maybe JSK. Right by now, I think JSK would would be at the uh at the dinner table. You know, he he he'd be invited to the cookout. And he can't bring the you know the the uh potato salad with the rains and none of that. But he can come to the cookout.

SPEAKER_02 44:59

He can come to the cookout. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 45:02

And let me see. And ooh, and Mansomosa.

SPEAKER_00 45:12

Wow. Okay, yeah, that's a good lineup. Okay, so I know you said it's gonna be Tex Mex with seafood. Are you cooking or are you having you know it catered?

SPEAKER_01 45:25

Uh I I'd probably do a little bit of both. I'd have it catered, but I'd be in the kitchen so I could learn.

unknown 45:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 45:31

All right, on. Okay, so let's go to number 17. Excluding your current occupation, what would your dream occupation be? So even if it's something you've never been trained on or took a class on, like what is something you've been always like, man, it'd be cool to be dot dot dot.

SPEAKER_01 45:49

Day trader.

SPEAKER_00 45:50

Hmm, okay.

SPEAKER_01 45:52

Yeah. That's probably the folks that you say, you know, jealous. Yeah, that's probably, yeah, that's probably where I where I I would find a little bit of jealousy or you know, something in that regard, just because I admire that skill and I haven't been consistent with my training. But if if I could just jump in the game and and do that, yeah, that's what I would do.

SPEAKER_00 46:20

Right on. Okay, number 18. What is the guilty slash non-guilty simple pleasure of yours? Ooh.

SPEAKER_01 46:30

I I like buffets. I like I like I'm not made at a good buffet. Yeah, I I you know and a lot of people don't see a lot of a lot of people, yeah, and then especially a lot a lot of women, a lot of sisters, uh they they they don't like, I guess they feel like the food's been picked over, or maybe it's just not not a good place to take a date. I don't know. But uh I like a good buffet, you know. Yeah, that's and and and I gonna and the the fact that what makes it a guilty pleasure is that I'm not like a one-play kind of guy, you know. As you shouldn't be.

SPEAKER_00 47:08

It's a buffet. I mean, why would you why would you be a one-play guy?

SPEAKER_02 47:13

Yeah, yeah, I can shut down the bus. Oh yeah, it's it's a place in uh they got your picture up behind the cash register Exactly. They know me. They know me.

SPEAKER_01 47:31

That's a place that I uh I've been going to the last maybe three weeks in Cape Town. And it's called Village Buffet. You know, shout out Village Village Buffet, you know. But yeah, I go in there and they do these primes, these butterfly, uh, grilled puns, and uh oh yeah. And sometimes they'll have it out there with just a spoon in there. You go ahead and get get as much as you want, just coop them on your plate. But uh once I you know, once I do that once or twice, then I go back and there's somebody that'll serve me.

SPEAKER_02 48:09

And I'd be like, can I get a little bit more? And then they come back.

SPEAKER_00 48:13

The first two is stuff itself until they realize you open the third round and they get to put somebody to watch it.

SPEAKER_02 48:18

Exactly. Uh they watch it up. When I move, you move. Just like that. Just like that. Yeah. So shout out to Village Bow Fair. Okay, Village Both.

SPEAKER_00 48:36

With the good prize.

SPEAKER_02 48:37

Okay. With the good prize.

SPEAKER_00 48:42

Oh my goodness. Okay. I'm gonna have to check them out. All right. So number 19. What would the name of your signature scent slash cologne be called?

SPEAKER_01 48:56

Ooh, earth. I would call it earth.

SPEAKER_03 49:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 49:02

Something strong, something solid. I like uh it's it's a woman in in Kenya who makes her products. She makes all you know, colognes, lotions. Let me not say colognes, she makes like this uh whipped shea butter, coconut stuff where she puts essential oils in them. And she does every little bit of everything in that makes can make soap too. But what I get from her is like a coconut shea mix with sandalwood in it. And I like how it has that strong earthy kind of uh masculine aroma. Yeah, and so when I'm thinking exactly, yeah. And I w I was gonna say man, manly has it. But I was like, let me see. I don't want to name my uh my my aroma that my my scent that, but earth.

SPEAKER_00 49:54

Wow. I like that. Okay. So number twenty, what is your definition of self-care?

SPEAKER_01 50:04

Okay. Self-care is uh I guess um it's holistically, it's I guess it's holistic upkeep. So, you know, just understanding how everything affects everything. You know, if you got a if you're if you come to a dirty house, then it's a good chance that other areas of your life have cluttered. So understanding that, yeah. I I would say, you know, that holistic approach as far as uh, you know, how I take care of myself every day. Like it's it's if if I'm not putting on clean clothes, if I'm you know, have a lethargic type behavior, then it affects everything else and it including income. You know. Did I stray? I'm sorry, what was your question? Did I stray a little bit?

SPEAKER_00 50:47

I'm I mean it's it's it's it's no right answer. It's your definition. So the question was, what is your definition of self-care?

SPEAKER_01 50:55

Oh yeah, so I guess self-care is holistic upkeep. Like, and like and just kind of just being aware. Like, like right now, like I noticed that I noticed like I was out, you know, I've been in the sun a bit, I've been at the at the beach, I've been just going, going, going. And so I see like my skin and my face looking kind of dry, a little, you know, in certain areas. And so just you know, just going to get maybe a facial. And I've never got a facial before now. I'm thinking I'm gonna get a facial. This one thing more recent. I'm thinking I'm gonna get a facial. You know, just you know, just it's I can afford it. I take care of myself. That's my presentation. And these are things that I've you know, I would never done before. I you know, I'm I ain't getting no facial. You know, I'm a man, I'm not getting a facial. I'm not sure. I smell like earth.

SPEAKER_02 51:44

But yeah, I'm earthy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm supposed to look ugly. Yeah. You know.

SPEAKER_01 51:49

And so, but now I'm like, you know, i I've I I've I've earned I've earned the right to take care of myself. I've I've done what I need to do to be in this place to to be able to be in a place where I can get a five dollar facial, a seven dollar massage. I can I can do these things. And so all of that plays a role in in and and even and when I say holistically, it definitely I the mentality, the mental state, all of that is is just as uh important, you know.

SPEAKER_00 52:26

That is true.

SPEAKER_01 52:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:28

All right. We have reached the 21. And that question is what would the title of your autobiography be?

SPEAKER_01 52:40

Life goes on.

SPEAKER_00 52:43

Okay. I like that.

SPEAKER_01 52:45

Life goes on.

SPEAKER_00 52:46

If there was uh audio, well, would you have an audio book version of your book? And if so, who would be the narrator?

SPEAKER_01 52:55

Oh yeah, I would uh you know, uh maybe Samuel L. Jackson. I like Samuel L. Jackson, make it a little more, you know, earthy. So I I would have Samuel L. Jackson, I'd have him talking just like Samuel L. Jackson talks too.

SPEAKER_00 53:17

That is cool.

SPEAKER_01 53:18

You know. Well yeah. But it definitely, life goes on, it would I definitely would, you know, highlight certain things that create the most change uh in my thinking and then behavior and the way I move. I mean, I've tried a lot of different I've had I've had a lot of different careers. You know, my main, you know, I've my main what I've done the longest is fitness, personal training, and you know, managing gyms, all that stuff, and education. But besides that, in between that time, before that, I've I've done a little bit of everything. I've uh been in, you know, I've traveled, I've lived in different cities, but I've never got to a point where I'm just I feel stuck. You know. I think at one point I did feel like that. I I was I remember uh this was like 200 and 2013, and I was working in Dallas, Texas at a cost, it was like a mortgage company, and I was working escrow. And I was coming in all the time. I would come in, just sit in my little cubicle, do the work, and just I was in a bad place, uh, stuff going on with the kids and their mom, their mom, and all this other stuff. I just kind of was feeling down on myself and just kind of allowed myself to be in that in that funky place, you know. And I remember I had this manager, we, and he came over. He wasn't my direct manager, he just worked at a company. Uh a big, big white guy, red haired, just jolly guy, you know, uh just always smiling and ah and cool with everybody, you know, and come over there, dab you up, that kind of guy. And then so he he he asked me to come in his office and talk to him. He was like, you know, what's wrong with you? Uh, you know, are you looking kind of, I guess, down or whatever? And I and at this time, you know, people say, you know, how you doing? How's it going? It's it's going, it's going, you know, how people get in that kind of mindset and respond with that. And so I was in that in that zone. And he said, Well, the only person that's responsible for your happiness is you. And he said, Happiness is your decision. And and it was, and I can't, and it was, it might not be those exact words, but he said pretty much that. I mean, it wasn't much he said, and I don't know if it was just coming from him and he was in a sally state or whatever, but that that sat on my on my mind. And and at that point, I guess maybe a day later, just sitting on that, I was like, he's right, like, you know, despite whatever might be going on with whatever it is, like, nobody's gonna insure that I'm happy, you know, because that's not their priority, you know. You know, it's it's nice if somebody can check on you and say, Yeah, I'm I'm concerned, but they got their own life to live. And so from that, from that point on, I was okay, I'm gonna be happy. And with that, I started making decisions for myself. I didn't I didn't I didn't have to go with what was popular, what somebody else was telling me. And and then the more I I began to trust my myself, I realized that I don't need to ask other people because most of them aren't living the life I want to live, aren't doing what I want to do. You know, how can I get advice from somebody who's complaining all the time? And so with that word of advice right there, just just just uh just launch me. And and after that, I I guess certain things, I I I don't hold on to certain things too hard. If I'm going through something that's you know seems kind of difficult, it might bother me, whatever, even if it's somewhat you know serious, I try to put boundary on that emotional state. And so I think it's a 24-hour rule. So I can only be down for 24 hours. And I know you know certain situations are more extreme and things like that, but as far as some me losing a job or you know, a car accident, or lose a little bit of money, or you know, somebody stole your phone, something like that, yeah, I might be in a bad mood, but after the 24th hour, you know, I gotta keep moving and life goes on.

SPEAKER_00 57:31

Okay. I like it. That's a that's a good philosophy. All right. So that was the 21. 21 questions slash non-questions. Okay, so we're gonna go into the one, which is one question, one moment, and one real refreshing conversation. So um, we're gonna pause for a little bit and then we will come back. All right, y'all, let's get into it. So it's now time for the one. So one question, one moment, one real refreshing conversation. So a lot of time, well, the majority of the times when I do the episodes, I don't kind of pre-game the question that I want to use for the one, but on this episode, I did. So with you being a world traveler, and how many countries have you gone to?

SPEAKER_01 58:22

Win four, maybe a 25. Uh right on.

SPEAKER_00 58:29

So the the one that I have for you is what has travel taught you?

SPEAKER_01 58:34

People of people.

SPEAKER_00 58:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 58:38

People of people. We I feel like uh we're stimulated by the same things. Social interactions, peace of mind, no financial burdens, good food. Yeah, I think I think that those things are significant in all of our lives, and and really, if when we have those things, it's easy to be happy. It it can be easy to be happy. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I guess that's what I I learned.

SPEAKER_00 59:07

Uh for me, what travel has taught me is it's a lot of things, but confidence is one. It's one thing to say you're going to get on a plane and go to the other side of the world, but it's quite another to actually, you know, pack your bag, get on that plane and do it, especially as a solo traveler. So that confidence to navigate the world as a traveler, and but then on top of that, as a solo traveler, it has ripple effects. It's like, well, man, if I get on a plane and travel for 18, 24 hours and get to Thailand, don't speak the language, and I'm still navigating and still living my best life, meeting great people and all the rest of these things, what can I not do? You know, some other some other obstacle or something that comes up in life. It's like, girl, remember when you did XYZ? Or like, for example, um, I went to Namibia and I went to, I'm not, I'm not gonna try to jack up the name because I will, but I went to where the sand dunes are and they're amazing, and I've seen pictures of them for years. It's quite another thing when you when you stand up close to that and you actually climb in those sand dunes, and it is such a physical undertaking. So it's like when other things come into my life. It's like, well, you know that time you did that and you wanted to quit, but you didn't quit. So that that's something that travel has brought me. I'd also say privilege. I didn't, I didn't realize the privilege that I had. I think being a black American, when you're when you're in America, it's constantly reinforced and shown to you that you're less than, that you're not, you're not not worthy or that you're not deserving, you're not deserving of good things. Whereas when you leave that and you go to places where people are really struggling and people are looking at you as though you have it all figured out or you have the best of blah, blah, blah, it's humbling. And then also made me realize the privilege that I have. And then to that extent, making things, it's the thing whenever you go to the beach, it's leave things better than what you found up, not from like a savior complex, like, oh, I know it all because I'm from America or I know it all because I'm woman and that. No, no, it's like having one-on-one talks with people, like if I've meet other business owners, like, hey, have you tried this? And it's stuff that they hadn't thought about. Or it's like, oh, I meant, I remember when I was in South Africa last year, around this time actually, I came across these amazing people. I was like, hey, you know, there's scholarships and there's these, and they're like, oh my God, I didn't know about that. So that's what I mean by making things better and not necessarily thinking trying to impose my will on other people, but like what skill set or what resources that I have that I can, you know, tell somebody else about that could somehow change their whole trajectory. So that's that's what travel has has shown me.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:48

Yeah, what you say in that, it makes me think too. I I've also learned, you know, my value. Um just thinking of some differ different examples. I it's been when I when I travel, I like to go to you know go to the schools if I can, especially if it's a school working with students with disabilities, autism, that's that's my that's my niche. And so, you know, I I've been like in Ethiopia. I I'll give a prime example. This is maybe a year or two ago. I went to, you know, just happen for schools, see maybe something that can contribute, volunteer, whatever, just to you know, see what their program looks like. How how are they servicing students with um certain disabilities or or whatever, you know. And so I went up there and I was like, okay, I'm trying to think what I can teach the kids. I'm like, okay, I don't know. Some of them know English, you know, all of them don't. Well, you know, how can I help? And and the and the director was like, whatever you want to teach, whatever you want to bring, you know, not bring, you know, finding you know, materialistic, but whatever you want to bring to the students, which wanna share anything is a value. And I heard the same thing in Tanzania as well, too. And I think pretty much, I think anywhere I've gone and because I've I've I did schools pretty much everywhere. And and so from what I'm thinking as far as okay, in let's say in another place, I might in the States, I might, okay, I'm not as valuable as a school, but maybe I don't have enough ex as experienced as this person, or I don't have my master's or whatever it is, you know. But I'm seeing that my experiences in America, my my life in America is valuable. My insight, my the knowledge that I do have, you know. I might not be a a math uh, you know, a mathematician or, you know, a scholar, you know, in certain areas, but what I do possess is still a value. And it makes me think of uh it was something I heard a while ago, and it was like the same bottle of water that's a dollar, you know, at the corner store or maybe fifty cent on the street, some some young boys selling water on the street is you know eight dollars in the airport. You know, and so you know, if if you're not satisfied or you don't feel like you're receiving the value that you should, you know, go elsewhere. You know, and so and I'm seeing that you know a lot of people are finding that value elsewhere, finding happiness, finding finding love, finding, you know, peace. Wherever, you know, sometimes you gotta change your environment.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:09

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:11

Okay. Well, awesome. Well, that was uh the one. So thank you so much for being part of the podcast. Like I said, I was really hyped when you say yes, because I just wanted to have this conversation with you. I knew you'd you'd bring some some amazing insight, what you did. So I thank you for that.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:31

Well, thank you. Thank you. Uh I I appreciate you. And well, yeah, yeah, I like what you're doing. I think uh providing information for other folks is super important, and this is what we should be doing as the upcoming eldest. You know, so I commend you.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:46

Thank you so much. All right, y'all. So that was the pod. Thanks for listening. I hope you got some good laughs, some good vibes, and some insight, because it's always something to talk about when you have a refreshing conversation. Until next time.