Demetrius Craig on Support Systems & What Makes a Good Life | S2 EP. 11

What does a good life really look like—and who should be around you while building it?

In this episode, Demetrius Craig joins us for a real conversation about support systems, friendships, and the importance of having the right people in your corner. We debate whether it’s better to keep a big group around you or stay focused on a small circle you truly trust.

We also get into perspective on life itself—what defines a “good life,” what people are really chasing, and how different experiences shape the way we view success, happiness, and relationships.

From personal growth to loyalty and everyday challenges, this episode is packed with honest conversation and real insight.

🎙️ Topics we cover:

The importance of a support system
Big friend groups vs small circles
What a good life looks like
Personal growth & perspective
Relationships and everyday challenges

💬 Let us know in the comments—do you prefer a big circle or a small one?

#AtwillPodcast #SupportSystem #Friendship #SelfGrowth #Podcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

What's going on, man? Welcome to At Will Podcast. I'm your co-host Jay Pryor, man. We back in the cup. We back on another episode, man. Got my boys with me. It's your boy the dude. At Will.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

The dude. Here he go. He early in it. Hey, man. I'm here with it, bro. What's up? What's going on, man? I'm ready. Let's do it.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Y'all, we got another special guest for y'all, man. We've been having a lot of special guests lately, man. I got one of my close boys, man. One of my brothers, man. Family.

SPEAKER_04 0:40

Y'all might know him, man. He probably family.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

We got uh Meach in the building, man. Yes, sir, man.

SPEAKER_04 0:44

Let's give it up.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

What's the deal with you, man?

SPEAKER_04 0:49

This is young Meach, not big Meach. You know what I'm saying? Young Meach. What's going on, man?

SPEAKER_01 0:58

How y'all week been, man?

SPEAKER_03 1:00

Man, I had a slow week, bro. I ain't gonna lie. Terrible week. Terrible week. We'll talk about it later. I'll let y'all know. Terrible week, man. I ain't gonna lie.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

My week was I was exhausted this week. I ain't gonna lie. I don't know why. I was exhausted, man. It's kind of a little drag a little bit. It was drag.

SPEAKER_03 1:21

Man, yeah. Exhausted. Exhausted. Exhausted. Man, y'all young man. What y'all exhausted from? Work. That is true. Yeah, some working men. Work in the gym. Some working men. Yeah. In the gym. I had a slow week at the gym this week, man. I don't know. That plate you had on Monday. Man, hey man, listen, beach. Listen. My bad. Lisa, I didn't ask for that plate, man. I wasn't even gonna eat. I was done. Okay. That's okay. It is gonna be off, man. You already know, man. All right. How about you do it? Just because you had it don't mean you had to eat it. You know what? She won't she wanna go let me return it. That plate looked good, though. It did look good, man. Come over. I pulled up had one too.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Shout out to Miss Lee.

SPEAKER_03 2:04

Shout out to Lisa.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

Nah, but uh, my week was alright, man. It was a little busy. It was a little extremely busy. Y'all y'all back on the field? Uh we're doing workouts. I mean, we're doing workouts for the last two months now. Oh, okay. Yeah, so we've been we've been grinding, getting at it. Four person workouts, I should say. The four persons. Yeah. Because we can't we can't do like full team stuff until after Memorial Day. Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah, but we grinding, man. We're getting back at it. I'm excited for this year coming up.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

For sure. How y'all feel about these uh these playoffs, man? BA playoffs, man. Man, you know what?

SPEAKER_00 2:39

I like you. What's going on, man? Even though we lost, we took it L today.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Oh, you rocking with your pistons? For sure.

SPEAKER_03 2:45

Oh day, man. For sure. Yeah, man. They've had me yelling at the TV, man. Come on, man. I'm tired of yelling at K. The worst turnovers, man. The worst.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

He's known for him. Ain't that right?

SPEAKER_03 2:57

Come on, man. The ball at the back of the back. He's known for him.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

Nah, I will say though. He's known for him. Wait, K. That man, the reason why they lost at the end of that game, because he had like four turnovers in a row. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 3:08

So but I mean, Cleveland gotta get one in Cleveland. No, no, like don't get me wrong. Don't get me wrong. It's the NBA two. They gotta get their money, bro. Exactly. No, don't get me wrong, though. They they were up what 17? Yeah. Pistons came back. Yeah. But then the Pistons were looking like they were going to pull away with it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:26

And then Gay started doing K stuff, turning the ball over, not being assertive. You feel me?

SPEAKER_01 3:32

I couldn't even see the game. I see uh Donovan what dropped 32? Yeah, Donovan's. Donovan's that gather. They don't need Harden like that for real. Yeah, you're right.

SPEAKER_03 3:41

There's no wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Harden close the game.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

I ain't see the game.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

What do you do?

SPEAKER_03 3:47

He close the game. Three daggers in a row at the end of the game. Trey balls. He came alive. The trade ball and the butt pull. I still don't got faith in him. Nah. I would not. No. He's gonna have he we you ain't like we Harden just played terrible the entire play.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Nah, pissed. He's got great defense.

SPEAKER_03 4:02

It's the big, it's the big games that he played really terrible at. The games that mean something. Elimination games.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

No, I'm just saying, like Harden the last two games. Y'all right. He has been, yeah, he ain't been doing nothing.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

Ten voice is unacceptable.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

He ain't been doing nothing. He's too much of a veteran for that. You've been in the league. He's 36, man.

SPEAKER_03 4:19

That's fine. It's James Harden. He's 36, though. It's James Harden. The league is younger. It's James Harden. Hey, I got a look, I got a legit question. So we're talking James Harden. Right?

SPEAKER_02 4:32

Is there I think I was talking about we was on a game earlier the other night. They was talking about like, let's say, like, if you was like at that level, people who would be super hard to dribble, not dribble, super hard to guard with more than four dribbles. They said James Harden is the is at the top of that. I believe it. I believe it. Because you know, like a lot of time they do, they do like one-on-one, they get like three dribbles.

SPEAKER_03 4:52

Yeah, they hardly guard with four dribbles? Four more than four dribbles. More than four dribbles. Like you just can't stay in front of him. Yeah. Yeah, because he needs to take a thousand dribbles to get to a shot. Yeah. So like Steve French isn't. He can't just take four dribbles. Nah, yeah. He was killing the Pistons, though. I ain't gonna hold you. Yeah, he's balling. They gonna get one. Now, if the Spurs come out and beat Minnesota. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

What are we doing? Finish that, finish that, finish that, finish that.

SPEAKER_03 5:18

What? If they beat Minnesota, go ahead. If they beat Minnesota, I got Spurs won a championship. Uh it's tough.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

But I will say, you see Wimby dropped 39 last night to win that game.

SPEAKER_03 5:30

He did, they won. They won. That's the goat, man. I'm telling you. He's not the GOAT, man. He's too early. He had GOAT potential. It's only his second year.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

He is a GOAT.

SPEAKER_03 5:38

Third year. You cannot call nobody GOAT only in their second, third year. I mean, how he's acting right now, I mean, you might as well just give him that this. I'm not saying goat. Hey, what was that? Game one or two? He had 12 blocks. He's a threat. He's really a threat.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

He is. Just like we were talking about Shay last week. When y'all sleeping on Shay, he's a threat. He's a problem. Shea's a problem, bro. But Shay is.

SPEAKER_03 6:02

Shay is a problem. He's kind of uh uh NBA's tired of chat. They can't guard him. They starting they starting to show the hair with it. He's starting to get those calls, man. He gets those. What's the player uh group they have with the NBA? When they the player association player association. They about to try to boycott Shay out the league. They about to boycott him out the league. They tired of him. How y'all feel about Draymond Green coming to uh Austin Rivers? Austin eating him right now. Nah, nah, people people been eating up on Austin recently, though. Like, because Austin going back to the oh, I did this in college always six months. I was one of the best high school players. You talking about high school and college, bro? Like, no, bro. If you compare NBA career to NBA career, Draymond is killing him right now. No, he gave Draymond his props. He gave him his props. Yeah, but I'm talking about it. Bro, you about to be 40 talking about high school, bro. Like, come on now. We gotta be realistic too. Draymond is behind two of the greats. And he he's well he said he said it he said it great. He said Draymond is a star player in his role play. He's the best role player. He's not a star player, he's a star role player. He's the greatest role player of all time. And he's just, you know. He is. He just did the best where he was laid at. Yeah, it just benefited him. Yeah. Yeah. Me personally, I watched Austin in high school. Yeah, Austin. In middle school. Austin was a beast. Before I had a little game, I would go watch an Austin Rivers mixtape. Yeah. So Austin Rivers is a beast. He he was valid. He is, you know. Who mixtape? Genius. Yeah. Yeah. Boy's life, all that. So maybe I was like, man, y'all talking basketball. He don't know nothing about no basketball.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

I'm really not into basketball like that for real. I'm not. Nah, I'm just a football. That's just on my mind all the time. I don't know. He can't wait to college season stuff. I can't, I can't I can't wait till August, September. I can't wait for it. Literally, I can't. I can't wait for it. All right, man. Let's dive into what we actually talking about today.

SPEAKER_03 8:04

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

Yeah. Okay, see.

SPEAKER_03 8:08

Okay, see. Repeat. They're not gonna repeat, man. It's either them or the spurs. It's not gonna repeat.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

You're gonna make another bet.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

Oh, we can we can bet.

SPEAKER_03 8:19

I still have to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_01 8:21

You got too many bets going on right now, man.

SPEAKER_03 8:28

I gotta do the ice ice water. I will do the ice bath soon. Very soon. For sure. I can't wait till cap. Hey, that was the bet last year, wasn't it? Oh man. It's from the Michigan Michigan State game, basically. Oh you're you're you're well overdue. You might as well do two of them. You said it's from the Michigan Michigan State game. That's from the ice bath.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

You're talking about around that time?

SPEAKER_03 8:51

That's what I'm just stemmed from. No, it wasn't. Yeah, it was. No, just that stemmed from our weight loss challenge.

SPEAKER_02 8:59

I love it. Now we got filled, baby. That's stuff from our weight loss challenge.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

No, I think that was Michigan Michigan Challenge.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

No, it was the weight loss challenge.

SPEAKER_03 9:07

I remember watching. It wasn't. Hey man, I'm a real supportive. I've been bored at the end.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Nah, bro. That was bro. That was definitely a weight loss challenge. For real? Yes. Dang.

SPEAKER_03 9:19

And that was back when it was still warm outside before it got cold.

unknown 9:23

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_04 9:25

Alright, man. I'm gonna get to it in the next few weeks. Next few weeks. Next two weeks, young series. We're gonna do this ice bath thing.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

We're gonna see. All right, y'all. We're gonna dive in, man. We just having a little small talk, man. We got meach in the cut, man. How you feeling, man? What's been going on, man? Tell the tell them something they don't know, man. Tell them what's going on, man.

SPEAKER_03 9:43

Come on, man. Working in the gym. Every day that's all I do, man.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

Stay in focus.

SPEAKER_03 9:49

Stay in focus. What's all you can do nowadays? What do they need to know about meet? What about me just?

SPEAKER_01 9:55

What's the goals? Tell me some guls.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

I want to run a marathon this summer. That's a goal. Oh, for real? I do. Oh, okay. I'll be going running. Yeah. It's just my endurance. Because you really track a high school. Marathon ain't no joke. I know. I know. Start with a 5K. We want to do 5K first. That's all. Let me help you out. You say you 5K. Let's get to a half marathon before we do a full marathon, bro. It is sounding good.

SPEAKER_02 10:29

Because even even a 5K, bro, that's just three miles. Yeah, it's like just over three miles.

SPEAKER_03 10:35

Three miles in the bag. I can do that.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

That's three miles right now. Just over three miles. Now half marathon, we're talking 13 miles.

SPEAKER_03 10:42

Okay, y'all can't do that. I can't do that. A full marathon is 20. I can do a 5K.

SPEAKER_02 10:51

All right, let's do let's do 10K next, bro. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 10:54

5K, 10K. I really want to catch one of the gunner runs. I ain't gonna lie. I want to do that. Nah, I feel you. I wanted to catch that. That'd be dope. What's the gunner run? Uh gunner. Every time he goes on tour, he do like a run in every city he goes to. Okay, yeah. So you know he came to Detroit. If I want to catch him on one of his one of his runs, that'd be dope. For sure. Well then, that's all I do. I started reading. Reading more. So I'm on my second book of the year. I told myself I'll read 10. It's called Think This Not That. Okay by Josh X. It's pretty good. It's about changing your mindset. Really thinking more positive about yourself. People around you, waking up happy every day instead of mad, stuff like that. Trying to improve my vocabulary too. Yeah, yeah, oh, for sure. People's skills. Yeah, man, got to, man. Put my phone down. Yeah, yeah, man. We gotta get more social, man. Oh man. COVID killed us.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

You feel like it's harder for you to talk to people in person?

SPEAKER_03 11:51

No, I'm a natural talking to people in person. I am a natural friend. Man, I'll make a friend out of anybody.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

I feel like some people feel like that though. It's harder to approach people in person rather than you being on the phone, though.

SPEAKER_03 12:06

But I feel like people are harder to, you know, that are being approached, they're harder to talk to because now they've been, you know, after COVID thing, you know. I think that's me. Yeah, yeah. I think I think I got so in tune just being on my phone all the time and talking to people on the phone. Yep. I just don't have great conversation in person. Not saying I can't, yeah, but I gotta be warmed up first. Because I can't go to a stranger and be like, hey, how you doing? Yeah. See what I mean? I've been doing better though. Yeah. Like walking my head up at work and saying how you doing and stuff like that. That that that helps your confidence and speaking. Oh man, it's it goes. I think that's why I get hired for a lot of management positions. Cause I approach people like that. And people, they be thinking they be like, man, oh, you the you one of the managers around here? Most of the time, I'd be like, no, I've just I've just been here for a minute or I I know how to work in this uh area. I know how the area works, but they be they be thinking I'm I'm the boss because I approach them like but you're right though. That's that's it's definitely a uh um a good trait to have. You know how to talk to people, yeah. You know how to introduce yourself, you could be the on the bottom toe, but the way you talk can have people think you're in the manager. Yeah, yeah. So people think I'm educated, and I ain't go no farther than high school. Barely got out of high school. Hey, yeah, but yeah. So that's really my goals right now. Really speaking up, learning how to communicate better. Yeah, all that. And you was a part of uh Men and Mary, too, wasn't it? Yeah, I was a president.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Yeah, well, yeah, yeah, talk about that. You were the president, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:33

Yeah, president, that was a good program. Uh Men and Mary was probably the best thing that happened to me, man. Yeah, not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_01 13:42

Tell them where it's from. Some people don't know where men and marriage is.

SPEAKER_03 13:45

Justin College. Justin College. I went to graduated in 2019, went right after high school. Um just changed my life. You know, it really just taught me how to be confident. Yeah, um, taught me how to be vocal. Yeah. Really took me out of my comfort zone with public speaking. That's good. Because an MOK dentist went out to get up there, and I was up there shaking. Out there and shaking and sweating. Public speaking is different than it's hard, but it put me in rooms where I was meeting people in Jackson, I ain't never heard of. Yeah. You know, we went to you know, HBCUs, seeing things I never seen before. That's good, man. Yeah, it was just a great. I mean, I brought him along, I brought Jermaine along with me. Wait, you know, you were part of it? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

No, you ain't say nothing about it, though.

SPEAKER_03 14:27

He was there my last semester.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

I went there uh, yeah, as soon as I graduated. I graduated 2019, but it was like towards the end of the year 2019. Yeah, he started with the city. I didn't even mean it. I didn't even mean to drop my graduation day, but yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:46

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

Yeah, I joined. It was it was straight. You know, teach you how to like kind of like when I went to uh Tennessee State University, like teach you like how to have a brotherhood, you know, how to connect with other people in your uh basically in your community, you know, yeah, networking for sure, meeting a whole bunch of people, you know what I mean, and y'all having a common goal and you know what I mean, being able to support each other, you know what I mean. So it was it was definitely dope. They definitely took us on trips, and then it's like something where it's something around school, so where you can, you can, you got like friends, you can hang out with a school, you're not just going to class, going back to your room or something like that. It's like, you know what I mean? It was it was dope. It was dope.

SPEAKER_03 15:27

That's what's up, man. Yeah, yeah. So they need to do something about that out there. They don't have it out there no more. I feel like Jackson needed. I was just about to say, how beneficial do y'all think that will be now for young men today? Oh, yeah, it's big. Yeah, we don't have community. I just feel like it's like that, not that many community engagements that young folks like us or younger can have. Yeah, everything is posted, but it's not put out there like that. Yeah. So Men and Mirror is like, you know, we got to go to places and and have a voice. Yeah. These kids really got a uh mentor or somebody to have a voice for them or to show them what to do. So that's why y'all stand out amongst y'all people y'all age, because like man, y'all, y'all, y'all, that program obviously is vital to y'all definitely growing up like that. And being back in Jackson from moving away for a minute and coming back, and it's not here, it's like, dang, yeah, start my own. Right, right. You know, talk to people to do something like that. Come on, man. You know, gotta be an adult first. This economy is tough. So gotta go, gotta go pay the bills. Man, hey, but there's a ways, man. Gotta find a ticket for sure. That's really what I want to do too, is find a time to do something other than work and go to the gym. Yeah, volunteer, find your purpose to find my purpose, other than slave, I guess. Yeah, but like the terms, but yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:47

No, no, you talking, that's how we talk on here. We've been talking like this for one minute, man.

SPEAKER_03 16:51

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:53

What you got for us, man? You know, you said you got some questions for us, man.

SPEAKER_01 16:55

Yeah, man, I got some questions, man. Since we're talking about basically like the community, and you know, you know, like support, you know what I mean? How the minute married is. I feel like men and marriage, like it, it was it was a lot of people that you don't know. You know what I mean? It's random people you meet in, and these is people that like going back to last episode, you know what I mean, where somebody might support you, you know what I mean, that that don't know you rather than somebody that do know you. These is people that, you know, nine times out of ten, they don't know you, you know what I mean. So, and they they by your side support you, whether it's, you know, uh like academics, you know what I mean, or or sports, you know what I mean, stuff like that, or just in life. But I had a question. Uh basically, uh how y'all feel like with somebody that, like somebody that's got a got a goal, and they don't have like they either have a good support system, what you think the difference is if they have a good support system rather than somebody that got a not a good support system or a small circle, like what do you think that affect on how they move forward?

SPEAKER_03 17:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

How you you think it's positive, negative, like important is the support system? How yeah, how how important you think that is an example type of thing.

SPEAKER_04 18:08

Yeah, that's I think it's very important because basically, like it gives you the confidence that you and the reassurance that you kind of need to fall back on sometimes because you're gonna get, you know what I'm saying, tender sometimes to where you get discouraged, you know.

SPEAKER_03 18:27

Yeah, where you're like, man, is am I really doing the right thing? Is this really the right place I should be, or am I making the right decisions or whatever? But had a support system, like man, I I think man, for sure, everybody needs, you know, we all got good friends in our life, but we need a uh friend that's always gonna be like, hey, yo, uh, nah, nah, that's wrong. Somebody set you straight, you know what I'm saying? Somebody that's not just gonna be your yes man all the time, but all also correct you. You know what I'm saying? And then you have to be receptive to that correction, like, man, yo, all right, yeah. That's that and we gotta look at those people that correct us, like, not that they're trying to hate on us all the time. You know what I'm saying? Sometimes you can tell somebody hating on you or whatever, but if they correct you out of love, like, nah, nah, you shouldn't do this. This like constructive criticism. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A real friend. Yeah, I was like, a yes man. Come on, man. You should never have yes men in your circle. Right, right. They just at this point, either they're a fan or they hate on you. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:25

I mean, yeah, or they're scared to tell you how, you know what I mean, how they really feel about you.

SPEAKER_03 19:31

A real friend is not afraid. Exactly. A real friend is gonna be like, yo, I know you're gonna be mad at me. That's fine. You're gonna stop talking to me for a couple days, but you at the end of the day, I'm confident that you know I'm doing the right thing for you. That's how you really love you too. If you got somebody coming and tell you that you're wrong, yeah. My man, you really care about what I got going on. Yeah, she really gotta care about what I got going on. Yeah. And it's it's great to at least have. I mean, I want all my friends to be that way. I don't want nobody telling me, oh, you know, you good when I'm really not. Yeah, right. You know what I'm saying? That's that's that's something that's everybody gotta have in their life. Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

Yeah, I definitely agree, man. I definitely agree. Support system is huge. I feel like that's huge. I feel like that I wouldn't say it determines if you, you know, fail or you know what I mean, succeed, but it definitely plays a big factor, you know, somebody to push you to the next level, somebody to encourage you when you're down, when you got hiccups going on. Exactly. Uh, somebody talk to, somebody to vent to. Yeah, uh you know what I mean. Just go back to sports then. Somebody supporting you, somebody on the sideline, you know what I mean? Clapping for your summer, somebody coming to your yeah, it's it's big. I feel like that, I feel like it does play a big factor in like succeeding in certain stuff, like life. I do.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

Now, let me comment on your question. Do you think that's uh do you think that's a necessity in the support system? Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um like don't get me wrong, it's a lot of people who make it far by themselves. Yeah, um but when you get to points, let's say, where you may be struggling, right? Let's say you get to a point where you might be struggling and you don't have nobody to lean on, you feel me?

SPEAKER_01 21:14

You might give up.

SPEAKER_03 21:16

Right? Yeah, right. You might feel like not that no one's there for you, you may or may not feel that way, but um just a I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 21:30

It's like it's it's a lot it's a lot harder to not balance your ideas and things and such off of other people, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:37

Um as it is like when you just by yourself doing everything by yourself, because then you might you might come to realize when you're by yourself how many walls you gotta hit or run through just because you don't got somebody right there with you. I'm not even sure if I'm making sense or not, but I will say you can't tell everybody everything. Nah, like you gotta keep some stuff to yourself, right? But then, like you said, like to have that person you can confide in, get advice, everybody needs to be able to do that. And they can, you know, bounce ideas off of. Are you telling 30 people? Then that's not that's not helpful. You could not listen to 30 people opinions. Yeah. That's not that's not good. But you just you need somebody in your in your circle. Yeah. I want to ask you a question, Tomana. So basically, you know, you more seasoned than us and more older. Oh, yeah. More seasoned than us. I like that. Okay. When it comes to like friendships, um do you do you cherish them more as you're older, or do you care less how many people you talk to on a daily basis? Or even on a on a um month-to-month basis. I think uh really you realize when you get older, you don't need as many.

SPEAKER_04 22:49

You know what I'm saying? It's like uh when you're younger, you think, man, oh man, I got all these all my boys, all my all these people like me, you know say, you know, we all been there. Uh I know I was there at one time, you wanted people to like you.

SPEAKER_03 23:03

You know what I'm saying? You want people to be gonna see you as a cool person, you know, see you, you know. But as you get older, you like man, hey.

SPEAKER_04 23:12

When your when your uh when your uh it factor kind of wear off a little bit, and you just people see that you just know more. Oh he just nah man, he ain't got it like that.

SPEAKER_03 23:24

All right, on to the next one. And then you really, you know, you value the friends who who just love like you would love you for you. Right. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 23:34

So I mean, you always should you all always should value friendship, you know what I'm saying? But like I said, you weed out the ones that you don't need as you get older for sure.

SPEAKER_03 23:44

You realize that friendship really means how much it really means, because it's really, it's really it's really, it's really like I don't know, it it really I can't I can't think of the word it it displays of your character, basically.

SPEAKER_04 24:05

So you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 24:06

So I think I think as I'm getting older, yeah, I'm starting to put like all my friends in tears. Yeah. It's like it's the one I talk to a couple times out the month. Yeah, it's the ones I talk to every day. It's the one I asked, I just check in how you and the family doing. Yeah. Because I think I realize like people got lives. Yeah you know? I mean, and we all all our lives are different. So you just gotta check in. Checking in, make sure that you, you know, I'm good. That's that makes me feel like, all right, I did my due diligence. Yep. I did my I did my part. Even if they don't, you know, text back right away, it's like, okay, cool. Then you got my you know, my boys that that I do talk to every day, that I do talk about life.

SPEAKER_04 24:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:42

Every other day. And those the ones you'd be like, okay, I trust them. I mean, I trust all my friends, right? But it's like it's something you gotta, like I said, put in tears. Yeah. Like it's it's almost like when you we all play sports, we all have teammates, remember? Yeah, you got some of those teammates you can hang out with. You know, you go to the party. Yeah, some of you just say I play ball with them.

SPEAKER_04 25:01

That's it. You know what I'm saying? Right. So, yeah, that's the perfect way to put it, man. That's how you should. Yeah, friendship is definitely it is definitely important, man. What do you think?

SPEAKER_00 25:11

You got a lot of friends, yeah. You know, you missed the problem. I ain't gonna lie. You missed the problem. Yeah, I I agree with y'all.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

I feel like it definitely, everybody older, man. You gotta look at it like that. Everybody, like what you said, Twine. You know, when you younger, like I say, back to when I was early, you know, I wouldn't even say that. I wouldn't even say that. I would say probably beginning of yeah, teenager. I'd say beginning of high school, maybe middle school, going into high school. I would say, you know, I was hanging around, I was feeling I was I was hanging around a lot of people, but during that time, you gotta look at it. I didn't have a lot going on. I was just going to school, I was just doing sports, so I was around a lot of them people, majority of my days, you know what I mean. So that's what we had time for. You know, when you get older, you know, people people got other responsibilities, you know. Other people got people to take care of, you know, stuff like that. They trying to get you know you're working a job, you know. If you're working a job, you that's half of your day almost, you know what I mean? So yeah, it's uh people got other responsibilities that they gotta take care of. So I say definitely, like, yeah, just checking in, but now you don't you don't you you ain't gotta be around a whole bunch of people, like you said, you don't have to be around a whole bunch of people. You want to be around the people that really, you know, there for you, you there for them. You know what I mean? Stuff like that, which you know I mean, it's still all love.

SPEAKER_03 26:27

Yeah, just because you don't see somebody all the time or talk to them every day, don't mean she still don't love them and saying exactly.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

Everybody just got their own life, man. Everybody busy, everybody trying to, it's like how I look at it, everybody trying to, everybody trying to get the blueprint to life, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 26:41

Yeah, and everybody's blueprint different.

SPEAKER_01 26:42

Yeah, everybody, everybody, you got a different road. You going down, I got a different road, I'm going down, you know what I mean? Hopefully we meet, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

Your closest friends, you don't see every day, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_03 26:53

Because they like like I said, they got a life too. Yeah, everybody trying to accomplish something. Like, yeah, you see the barbecue. Yeah, yeah, that's it. That's all I want. Or you got something like it's a group audio, do not leave me out, yeah. Or if it's something big that you go into, you may hey, you want to invite me there to it?

SPEAKER_00 27:10

Um I'm there.

SPEAKER_01 27:10

I got it since we're talking about lives and different people going down different roads, man. What is a what does a good life look like to y'all?

SPEAKER_00 27:17

Good question.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

What does a good life look like to y'all? Corey, you can answer this question too if you want to, man. What is a good life? Everybody, everybody got their own different goals and what they feel like they want their life to be. What do you feel like a a good life and I would start off if you want me to, if you want me to answer the question for myself. I got my I'd probably say what a good life look like to me is basically, you know what I mean? I would say definitely being at peace. I would say uh being able to basically do what I want to do whenever I want to do it. You know what I mean? Like, you know what I mean? Freedom, basically, in that sense of like being able to wake up and not like not saying you're worrying about something, but just not having no worries on your mind, being able to wake up and do what you want to do. I feel like that's a great life. You feel me? You waking up and you're not worried about how much the gas prices is. You know what I mean? Even though I'm not worried about that, but like that's just a sense of saying it. Like, I would say, like, oh, I ain't gotta go to work tomorrow. I'm saying I ain't gonna, you know what I mean? Stuff like that. A good life is like you being able to live, go travel, do what you want to do whenever you want to do it. Like, I'd be like, I'm about to wake up tomorrow and I just was thinking I'm about to chill and I just woke up and just I'm about to just go to Mexico or something. You know what I mean? Yeah, I feel like that's a good life. But you it other also the other stuff, you know, having good family around you, good friends, stuff like that.

SPEAKER_03 28:44

Yeah. I would say that. What you think it means? Me, for a long time now, I just say I want to be comfortable. Yeah. That's basically what I mean, comfortable. That was a good word for all areas. That can be, you know, peace with my mental health, um, finances. I don't mind working as long as I get to come home and like I said, have peace. Yeah. Um family, yeah, a good woman in my life. As long as everybody's healthy, I just want to be comfortable. Um I'm simple. Yeah. Really simple. It is simple like that. I think we do kind of make it a little harder. We do about you does. Man, dang, my bad.

SPEAKER_02 29:28

Nah, uh say my life is good. I mean, I'm always I'm always busy. Yeah. Um, but really, right now, I'm really just grinding to where I can get to that point where I feel like I'm, you know, living the good life.

SPEAKER_03 29:42

You know.

SPEAKER_02 29:43

But for me, I don't know, like, you know, back to our conversations we used to have before, talking about like the nine to five stuff.

SPEAKER_03 29:50

Like, me, you feel me? I want to work for myself. Right, yeah. So you know, move how I want to move when I want to do it. Right. Uh, freedom. Nah, for sure, but like I want to do that, you know, feel me. My my like, I tell people all the time, so my only life goal really is just to travel the world, man. So, like, if I'm if I'm comfortable in a in a way, you know, where I'm you know financially stable enough to where I can just go do what I gotta do, like, feel me, just go go wherever and still be able to, you know, work and do all this other stuff. Because, you know, with me doing video and stuff like that, yeah. I can go travel, but then it's like I'm still gonna be able to work and put out stuff while even I'm over there, you know, wherever I'm going. Right.

SPEAKER_02 30:34

So I feel like if I can get to the point where I can just do that and travel, I'm I'm straight. But other than that, like obviously, like financially, like, of course, you want to do that. But like I said, my main thing, I just want to be able to travel.

SPEAKER_03 30:47

Even if it's like just be being able to have the freedom to to do what I want to do. Yeah, I can just get up and go somewhere on the weekend. I don't have to. That's what I'm saying. That's that's not to worry about dang, I gotta pay this bill tomorrow. I can't even go. Yeah, yeah. Something like that.

SPEAKER_02 31:02

Not even having to, I don't have to ask people for my freedom. You feel me? Exactly. Like, I feel like I don't want to feel like I'm tied down to somebody else's permission for my life.

SPEAKER_03 31:11

Putting in that PTO. Oh, you ain't got no more. Dang. Yeah, so yeah, that's that's that's for real.

SPEAKER_01 31:17

That's the worst. There's a lot of people dealing with that right now. There's a lot of people dealing with that right now.

SPEAKER_02 31:23

Nah, but real talk, man. I just I don't know, like if we're talking future wise, you feel me? I obviously want to have a good family, good kids, all that other stuff like that too.

SPEAKER_03 31:32

But for me personally, you know, I just wanna I wanna be able to go explore the world. Right. Yeah. And me being season one. That's right. No, I I I feel y'all, because I'm still I'm still kind of in your same same boat too. I still want I want to experience those same things too. Even though being a person who have been married, you know, saying, and uh who have you know had that life where you kind of had a little bit of financial freedom. I mean, for me, a good life though, I'm gonna say just being just being happy. You know what I'm saying? Where you don't have to you know, because sometimes, you know, people can have all that stuff. Hey, let me correct you real quick. Yeah, being joyful. Joyful. That's a that's a good joyful, okay.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

Just because you feel me, like happy comes comes from the word happen means something has to happen for you to be happy. You're right, you're right, you're right. So joyful, being joyful.

SPEAKER_00 32:29

I like that. I like that. I like that. Y'all got the college education, man. I need that.

SPEAKER_02 32:34

Hey man, joy, joy rooted from within, man. Nothing is good. Right.

SPEAKER_03 32:37

And that's a perfect, that's a perfect way of saying that. I'm glad you said that because sometimes I just wake up like that. You know what I'm saying? I wake up late, and it's just a great day. You know what I'm saying? Ain't nothing happened, ain't nothing. I'm just happy to be alive, you know, the day. No complaints. The bill's still there. Sometimes I'll be like, oh shoot, I gotta go to work today. But it's it's just still, you know, wake up joyful sometimes, like you said. So yeah, I like that. I'm not gonna cut you off though. Yeah, no, no, you good, you know, you you good, you help me out because that's a perfect word for it. That's perfect. That's better than happy. That's I'm sorry. I learned something today. Me too. That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00 33:11

I'm gonna I'm gonna say happy for so long. I'm gonna start. Joyful, joyous, joyful.

SPEAKER_03 33:16

So, I mean, that's a good life to me, though. I think those days when I can wake up and be joyful for just to just to be existing again, you know what I'm saying? All right, so that's kind of just off topic, yeah, based around that, just because my mind went here. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 33:31

Why is it that some people in other countries are more proud and let's say joyful and you know, and just happy to be where they are, even if they have nothing compared to people over here who have everything but feel like they have nothing.

SPEAKER_03 33:50

Man, uh probably because of the thing.

SPEAKER_01 33:53

As you said, as you say in everything, as in what?

SPEAKER_02 33:56

Let's say financially. Finances, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:58

And okay, monetary financial. And usually like, because like I've seen stuff where people in the poorest countries ever, they don't have anything, but they're willing to give you everything that they have.

SPEAKER_01 34:09

I would say, I I would say me, I would say environment, and I would say definitely probably the community, the people. I would say definitely like that.

SPEAKER_03 34:20

Um first thing that came to my mind was uh I mean, first thing you see when you open your phone or turn on the TV is negative news. So I feel like you know people don't people don't see that overseas. They see what they got going on in their country or what, you know. And I will say it's not majority, but majority. Other countries have, you know, one race. So it's like they got already low-key. You know, I feel like nowadays, it's not back then, yeah, but now it's like it's like people against people now. So that's why it's so negative. Yeah. Rich versus poor. Poor versus middle, middle versus rich. So it's like it just we always see the negativity most of the time. Yeah, that's why we gotta be joyful. You're right, man. Yeah, hey, you're right, because it is mainly one race, it's mainly their environment. Sometimes their environment is.

SPEAKER_01 35:21

Okay, so I'm gonna go back to the question we asked before, but I'm gonna ask it again because me is here.

SPEAKER_04 35:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:26

Why do you feel like people are against each other like that in the communities? In poorer communities, why do you feel like people are don't connect with each other basically? Like, why are you?

SPEAKER_03 35:38

I'm I'm gonna say the reason why people are against each other is because it's taught. 100%, Core. That's a loaded, yeah, man. We can talk about that the whole rest of the way.

SPEAKER_02 35:53

Because like, like, don't get me wrong, like people, you are you don't, you're never born with hatred in your heart.

SPEAKER_03 35:59

No, that's taught. They and they they did they did it they did a research on that with kids. Like, man, you know, kids are some of the happiest. They don't they don't know hate. Yeah, they don't know hate. They don't. So, like Corey said that that's what's that's 100 to answer. It's it is a pass down, it's a practice behavior. It is. They be like my mommy said or my daddy said, Yeah. Simple as that. Man, but really competing, competition, yeah, especially with our people. It's like I gotta one up them.

SPEAKER_00 36:29

And we the only races that do that though.

SPEAKER_03 36:32

Yeah, I gotta one up them, or you know, other races, they, you know, they got help together. They don't they don't kick their kids out at 18. Yeah, or you know, I'm against that too. Stuff stuff like that. Yeah. Not saying everybody do it, but that's that that you know that it happens. Yeah, because I feel like that's why everybody be against each other. Yeah, because 18, you really don't, you still a kid. You just you just more mature. You just you just mature to the society. Yeah, right, where you could be charged as a dog. You just out of high school at this point. You ain't got it all there yet. Yeah, that's it, man. I thought I had it all there. Yeah, me too.

SPEAKER_01 37:11

Yeah, I say 18 is the age where you where you think you got everything figured out. You definitely think you got everything you figure out.

SPEAKER_00 37:17

But you can't tell me what to do. And they say, no, I got a car, I'm gonna be out all night. I mean, I went back to my dad so many times. I was like, dang, man, I gotta go back to us dad.

SPEAKER_03 37:29

It's terrible, man. Yeah, 18 is terrible. It's just competition. It's great. Corey's like, where? Durant? It's competition.

SPEAKER_01 37:37

Competition, that's crazy. It's like that, man. But competition can be good sometimes. It can.

SPEAKER_03 37:42

Nah, it it it it definitely can it it it's it's it's all rooted, like where it's coming from. So, like, yeah, you go like friendly competition, of course. Like, of course, like, you know, you going back and forth competing to make each other better, right?

SPEAKER_02 37:55

Right. Or you feel like you gotta be better than this person because you feel like that person's beneath you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:01

So that's bad. I could I can say that competition can be used as motivation too. Yeah, yeah. I can't say, yeah. My boy can see me in the gym, lift something. Yeah, he can work his way to be like, I can lift that too. Yeah, yeah. You know, yeah. He can drop a new car. Yeah, it's not really competing, but it's like motivate, like, hey, my boy, he's working. Yeah, I'm about to go work just like him. Yeah, you're right. Now it's the flip side of that. Yeah. He got that car. I swear I can get that too. Yeah, right. I know I can. You're right. He's weak. I know I can lift that. Watch it. I'm gonna beat him versus, oh man, my boy did that. I can do it too. We're about to motivate each other to do the same thing on the same playing field. Yeah, so it's two ways you can look at it's a good cop, bad cop to that type of situation. Right for sure.

SPEAKER_01 38:42

Do you feel like social media has an effect on that though? I feel like social media has an effect on that. You know what I mean? I feel like, okay, say, because it's coming. I'm speaking into existence. Uh Jay Pryor dropped a track call. I dropped a track card. You feel me? It got a million likes on it. Yeah, somebody else might look at it like I can go drop the newest track card. You feel me? You feel me? Or you know what I mean? What do you do to get that? Or yeah, stuff like that. I feel like it plays a factor. Somebody might want to one up me, or say I get a hellcat or something, somebody get a track clock or something just to one-up me, just because they feel like they are, you know what I mean? So I feel like it's a social media thing. It is, it is. It is nursing is a thief of joy. You want to look some. I feel like it's like that. You know what I mean? Most people is definitely like that. Some people want to because it's it's like a jealousy thing. Yeah. How can you hater? It's a jealousy thing.

SPEAKER_03 39:38

It is, it is. But how can we solve that issue? Because social media is not going away. So it and it's it's obviously it's a tool. I mean, because look at what we're doing right now. We need social media to kind of get out.

SPEAKER_01 39:51

I I don't feel like it's a let me not say that. Let me not say that.

SPEAKER_03 39:56

I feel like I'm gonna let you answer that before I'm gonna I'm gonna I'ma say um it really just depends on how you use social media too. Facts. Um because like my generation, our generation, Corey, is like we went, we didn't have especially startup when we were getting older. Yeah. So as you got older, you know, at first it was just all for play.

SPEAKER_04 40:19

Right, right.

SPEAKER_03 40:20

Oh, we just on there playing around. Yeah. Now it's more so we're on there to show off. Yeah. It's it's a difference. Now your generation, or like my father, like he doesn't use social media. My mother said, don't use social media. Yeah, I feel like they're happy all the time. Man, because they don't worry about it. They're not worried about wanting a new car. One of the things is because when you come without it, you know how to be without it. Right. So, like, they know how to live without being on social media. Like, I mean, kind of the same thing for us. Like, we came up as it was getting started. Yeah, that's on the back end of it. We grew up with touch media. Yeah, we grew up and it was really just getting started. So, like, but we had a life, you know, we had to go outside. We had to get a real childhood childhood. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There you go. We had a real childhood when the sun comes down. Come on, come on.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

Make sure you're back in the crib when the street lights come out.

SPEAKER_00 41:18

Yeah, because y'all was all y'all the back end of that era. Yeah. Yeah. I got the last brother go outside. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:25

Come on, play, play catch with me. Yeah, come on, man. But we can't sometimes we can't blame these kids though, because my teachers, my little brother started preschool on a on a MacBook, on a car. I I could never fathom that. During COVID. Growing up. I'm sitting there like, say hi to the screen, Jeffrey. Yeah. You know?

SPEAKER_00 41:43

Yeah. A computer. We like that's what that's for grown-ups.

SPEAKER_03 41:48

When I grew up, we had test books and go to the back of the book and see somebody's name on there. Yeah. So it's it's it's it's different. Social media is just a like I said, it's just how you use it.

SPEAKER_02 41:59

Yeah, I would say a lot of our kids now are just a product of their environment. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 42:03

Definitely what it is for sure. Everything is improving. So you and then that's what they around. They go into school all day, all their people's got it. So you wanna, you know what I mean? You know how you in school, you wanna you wanna be light, you wanna be, you want to fit in, you wanna have all the, you know what I mean? You want to have all the stuff that you yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:18

And that boys out to the first part of the you know the the podcast is the social skills. Come on, man. Social skills. It's just all about like I take hiatus sometimes from social media, yeah, just because I want to feel like I'm not being a social. I I didn't do it this year, but at the beginning of last year, I took a couple months off. Like, like I I'm working my way to get to a few months. Now I take weeks.

SPEAKER_01 42:46

Talking about on social media, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:47

Not so like when we was doing our uh our fast at the beginning of the year last year, yeah. So social media was one of my things where I was like, I'm getting off social media.

SPEAKER_03 42:55

So I legit logged out of all of my accounts, and like I kept them downloaded, but I was like, I just logged out of all of them and was like, I see y'all when we get back off of it. I gotta get it. Nah, it was it was a struggle at first because obviously, like we we become accustomed to being on our phones a lot and like going to our phone to use different things. Yes, it's like I would all I would constantly catch myself opening my phone, clicking the apps like I've logged out up, got to do it. It's like a little reminder, yeah. So I mean break from it, it's definitely needed. Oh, for sure. Yeah, you're a strong man for keeping it downloaded because I gotta deactivate and delete. Do you do at first? I was like that, but then I got to the point where you know what I'm saying. Out of sight, out of mind for me. Yeah, that's a good, that's a good not for real. That's when I pick up this book, yeah. Really? Because it get bad. Yeah, end of the week on Sunday, see screen time, yeah. I'm like, ooh, yeah, 10 hours. Hey, nah, I'm not gonna lie. My screen time ain't been yelling at me. Oh, for real. No, not because real talk, because like yes, I'm on my phone a lot to do different things, but also like recently I've been keeping my

SPEAKER_02 44:00

Phone where my screen never shuts off, so I fall asleep and it just be Oh it's still open?

SPEAKER_03 44:04

It'd be a lot of a lot of it's alive though.

SPEAKER_01 44:09

Yeah, if you're not closing them out, stuff like that, they still running.

SPEAKER_03 44:12

How many times do you have to charge your phone on the day then? I usually I'll charge it at night and then I probably just do one in the middle of the day. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 44:21

I'll charge my phone.

SPEAKER_02 44:22

No, so like, so like so like real talk. So like I'll tell you, even like I worked this baseball game yesterday.

SPEAKER_04 44:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:27

Took my phone off the charger, and I started charging my phone at like three o'clock. Yeah. Just because I knew I needed to have my phone open because like I'm announcing and stuff, so I had like all the lineups and stuff on my phone versus paper.

SPEAKER_03 44:41

So I just keep my phone open so I don't have to worry about keep turning it on and unlocking it and doing all the other stuff. So I just leave it open.

SPEAKER_04 44:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:48

So that's why I would just charge it, and then I got to like nighttime and my phone be at 90%. So I just be chilling there.

SPEAKER_01 44:56

But I think I definitely got a problem with that too. I ain't gonna lie. Sometimes I catch myself scrolling late night. I look up like I look up like, oh, I was on that, I was just I was just on that app for like two hours.

SPEAKER_03 45:11

Man, TikTok bad. Yeah, TikTok. That's not Instagram for me.

SPEAKER_01 45:15

I ain't got TikTok bad. It's Instagram for me too.

SPEAKER_04 45:19

I'll be on there laughing, yeah. TikTok for you.

SPEAKER_03 45:23

Man, the TikTok fucking all right. Let me let me ask y'all a question. All right. Well, 75% of us in here is uh single men, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 45:33

That's crazy, bro.

SPEAKER_03 45:37

So okay. 50%, 50%. 50%? Oh somebody asked your question.

SPEAKER_00 45:46

Oh, okay, okay. This is this is me. I'm not social media. Uh okay, so with uh with with today, with today's world, we say with the social media stuff, what is the biggest challenge with dating?

SPEAKER_01 46:06

Here we go back today.

SPEAKER_03 46:08

Oh man, expectations. No, no, I'm I'm not talking about what's y'all's biggest challenge. My biggest challenge? We oh yeah, my biggest challenge. You go first, man. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I'll go last. My biggest challenge.

SPEAKER_00 46:25

No, you guessed today. You guessed today. When you come on next time, you got girls go last.

SPEAKER_01 46:32

What is your biggest challenge with say it again? With dating. With dating.

SPEAKER_04 46:36

What is your biggest challenge with dating today?

SPEAKER_01 46:40

It's tough.

SPEAKER_04 46:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:41

I got trust issues. I feel like I got yeah, I'ma say I'ma I'ma keep it 100. I ain't got it. Yeah, I'ma say trust issues. I'ma say probably commitment issues too. Commitment issues? Yeah. Okay. Sometimes it's hard to know when you got the right thing, you know, not hard, but like and then it's a different world we live in. I was heavy on the commitment issues. It's a different, it's a different.

SPEAKER_00 47:08

Yeah, man, because I'm shocked. Because it's it's a it's a bigger responsibility. I'm shocked. Core is the first one in the relationship. Chill out, chill out, chill out, chill out. That's a love, we love that.

SPEAKER_01 47:20

Right now, huh?

SPEAKER_00 47:21

You saying, okay, you're saying, not saying that he wasn't gonna be in a relationship. I'm saying like he's the first.

SPEAKER_02 47:28

No, so I I'll tell you this just based on past experiences. Commitment issues was big because a lot of the time we always compare our current situation to past. You feel me?

SPEAKER_00 47:39

No, no, why did y'all do that? Okay, I'm screwed. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 47:43

Twine, let me answer your let me answer with two words. Social media. Social media. Okay, okay. So literally, yeah. Oh my god. I don't do that, man. I got mine, I'm not gonna lie. What's up? He said, social media. I feel like I can meet somebody, but I'm eating on social media. I feel like I got way too many options when I really don't. Yeah. And then like I like I recently just got out my social media, my guy, all my social media cleans, and it's like really lonely out here. Yeah, right, right. Right. Out of side of mine. Yeah. You know, you don't post a picture, you ain't getting no lights. You know, you go out of the public, you actually gotta go talk to somebody and find somebody. Yeah. But then it's like if you don't find nobody in your public, you think there's no options, so you get back on your phone and trying to find options.

SPEAKER_02 48:25

It's so easy to swipe up and type a couple of things.

SPEAKER_03 48:27

It's so easy to slide up with hey, hard eyes, you cute, you beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 48:33

I like your smile. That was my playful bit. Oh yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02 48:37

Nah, but when you when you especially like you social media, like you all be in office, when you force to actually go and approach somebody and like interact with people, it's so much different. It's so different.

SPEAKER_03 48:48

Yeah, for me, it's definitely just thinking I got too many options that I really don't. Yeah, and I feel like my problem is I am picky. Yeah, I am very picky.

SPEAKER_00 49:00

This is why I say this is why I was shocked that he got a relationship right now. Yeah, I'm gorgeous. He is the pickiest.

SPEAKER_03 49:06

I'm telling you, you gotta, you gotta really compromise as you're older, you gotta compromise. Yes. You gotta compromise. You really can't, you're not gonna get everything you want from somebody, and they're not gonna get everything they want from you.

SPEAKER_02 49:17

And that's why I say people struggle with commitment is because they're always comparing apples to oranges. Yeah, okay, okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:27

So then again, you gotta So when y'all when y'all first talk to a woman, y'all, y'all don't, y'all don't like, I mean I ain't gonna say first talk to her.

SPEAKER_03 49:33

When y'all get to knowing her, you know, talking for a minute, y'all start comparing them to say after y'all talk for a minute. After a minute, you get comfortable with her, you talk to her for a minute. I feel like the longer you're in it, the less you do it. But yeah, facts. But early on, you compare you comparing like right away.

SPEAKER_00 49:56

Yeah, no, no, it's no look.

SPEAKER_02 49:59

All right, put it like this.

SPEAKER_01 50:00

It's just something that's gonna pop up in your head. It's not for real. You're just gonna sit there and think about it. It's just something that's gonna, it's just something that's y'all don't think like this.

SPEAKER_00 50:09

Y'all think hey, oh, she different from uh I like her because she's different.

SPEAKER_01 50:13

Maybe it might not be a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 50:14

It might not be it might even be to that.

SPEAKER_01 50:16

What's name might know how to cook? What's name might not not know how to cook? Like, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 50:19

It might be so you might be like, you know, tell me some words of affirmation in the morning or something, or pray for me. This one might just be like, hey, hope you have a good day. Facts, you know? Okay, okay, okay. Or not even say that. Yeah, it's all about energy when it comes to dating too. If you don't come with the same energy I'm coming in in the beginning, yeah, then I just think you're not there. A lot of people gotta open up. Yeah, it it's it's it's it's tough. It's really tough. It's tough right now. Super tough. Y'all compare it all. Yeah, it's it's it's unintentional, though. It is okay.

SPEAKER_02 50:52

Well, I mean, I'm glad y'all said that because I thought y'all was going in there like no, but then also you start, you know, you you gotta compare it. Like, I'm just speaking from past experiences, obviously. But no, it's like you you especially when you have options and you have to weigh your options, you have to compare them.

SPEAKER_03 51:08

Oh, you gotta compare them. Yeah, no, that's different. You do. But then, but then again, let's say you had something before that was good and it just didn't work out. You know, you got things from that person that you really, you know, liked and want to have in your next person or whatever. But it ain't exactly but I will I will say this. See, listen, I'm not, I'm I'm I'm not there right now, but I'm you feel me. I'm just talking. I'm talking. I'm talking. I will say it's we've been me and Jermaine have been talking about this. I've been I've been bringing it up. Come on. Oh man. We keep going back exposed to what uh Pastor Corey Pryor. Oh, what he said this past week. Palestine woman. You know, for Jermaine, red bone. We keep going back to what what we think is good for us.

SPEAKER_01 52:05

I got some something about a red bone and just do something.

SPEAKER_03 52:13

You know, telling us what we want to hear, and and it's what we're used to, and sometimes we just gotta switch it up. Yeah, and that's why I say it's good to it's good to get out of your comfort zone sometimes and leave your current environment and go somewhere else to see what greater possibilities there may be.

SPEAKER_02 52:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:31

I got something to say to that. Okay. It's like when you grow up in a small city, right? And you know everybody, everybody knows each other. Yeah. Like, how do y'all feel about long distance relationships? I tried to try them and it failed. Yes, they don't work. It don't work, it failed, they don't work, they don't work. And I have this fly girl, she was cool. Yeah, they don't work. We still cool to this day. It don't work, it don't work. It was just the distance, like you can get so close to somebody and then leave them, and then now y'all got that connection. Now you're yearning for her to be around. Yeah, because we're humans at the end of the day, yeah. It's like what if something drastic happens?

SPEAKER_02 53:10

That's yeah, you I'm gonna I'm gonna say it's it's all based on personal preference, yeah. And it's it's it's dependent on both parties in that relationship because if one if say you're both willing to do it, but if you both react differently to the same type of deal, right?

SPEAKER_03 53:26

So, like let's say we go a week, I don't see you in a week. You feel me? One person might just think it's drastic and like the world is angry, like all the other stuff.

SPEAKER_02 53:34

Then the other person's like, that's all right, I'm gonna see you next time.

SPEAKER_03 53:37

It's a build-up, yeah. Anticipation. That's a good word. Anticipation. Yeah, but I hate anticipation. But I'm a I'm a lover, I'm a lover boy, and I I can't, I can't, I can't, man. I'd say I was I was definitely uh at a point a point in my life where I was definitely willing to do it. Yeah, like I wasn't really in a situation where I was like going to, but I was like, if it happened, I would. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I didn't know. Nowadays I have to. I hate to say I do, but I'm not going no longer than two hours. Two hours? That's your distance. That's your I've done five, I've done ten. I can't do that. You ain't do nobody in California? No, that's too far. No, even shoot. Mine was in Milwaukee. I'm not that's five hours. I'm not no more. That's five hours. I can't. So I mean, but then like then again, what'd you do?

SPEAKER_01 54:28

Would you do long distance? I can do it. I've done it before. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, I wouldn't say it's the easiest, but I done done it.

SPEAKER_03 54:34

Nah, you definitely need to have the commitment from both sides. Because one of you gotta move. Somebody gotta move. I might have a great job. Yeah, yeah. What we doing? Compromise. Yeah, yeah. Compromise. See, that's what we covered. I got my family here. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? That's your family. You know what I'm saying? Or we both got our families, or you know, it's just it's it's it's just it's it's tough. It's really tough. It's a lot, especially for the ones that don't have kids, and a lot of these women have facts. That's a big point. Go ahead. Good.

SPEAKER_00 55:13

I don't think you're about to say, man. What do you think I'm about to say? Good. Good, bro.

SPEAKER_03 55:20

Do you have kids yourself? I don't have kids.

SPEAKER_01 55:22

Not biological. So you feel like you how how does it feel going into it when the woman has the kids?

SPEAKER_03 55:30

I feel like you have no choice. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 55:32

I didn't. No, I'm saying, I'm saying, I'm yeah, yeah, yeah. In the past, you know what I mean? Yeah, I married a woman with a kid. Yeah, yeah. So how do you feel going into it though?

SPEAKER_03 55:39

Like, she won me over. Like, I wanted her.

SPEAKER_01 55:43

I'm not saying that situation. I'm saying you going into it. Let's just say that. Hypothetically, you're going into a new one.

SPEAKER_03 55:49

And they got kids.

SPEAKER_01 55:50

And they got kids.

SPEAKER_03 55:51

But this point fly. That kids is grown. You said you're gonna what? She gotta be, she gotta win me over. Hey, nah, but I'm open to it. I'm of course. I'm open least, though. Like, you got the point now, bro. You look, you probably don't have a choice. You don't have a choice. You have a choice. Can I ask uh seasoned man? How old are you?

SPEAKER_00 56:08

Yeah, man, I'm in my 40s, man.

SPEAKER_03 56:09

I know I know you have no choice. He's 41. I'm sorry. You have no choice. Because I make the difference. Do you wait? Do you want your own? Nah, bro. The only and I know a few that don't have some. Nah, nah, but look, Tuan, Tuan, Tuan. Now we're talking about biological. You're right.

SPEAKER_01 56:27

It's definitely women out there that don't have kids at your age. For sure.

SPEAKER_03 56:30

But a lot of them are some of our career pet girls. Yep. Some of them are just just it's.

SPEAKER_02 56:37

But now we now we now we talking about the nature of biology, bro. Like women have a biological clock.

SPEAKER_03 56:43

So if you still you really shouldn't, a woman really shouldn't have kids after that age. That's true. Unless you're really trying to put her on a hospital bed.

SPEAKER_00 56:52

Now I'm challenging.

SPEAKER_03 56:54

I'm challenging dual. But I'm at the point where if I want kids now. You have to go some find someone younger. I know, but I'm saying if I want to have kids now, I'm at the point where I kind of don't Oh you don't. You say you straight, you straight. Yeah. You say you just good. That's a great area. Of your own. I don't want any kids. Period. Yeah. Okay. Okay. See, for me, I feel like I'm leaning towards that. I'm in my late 20s now, so it's like. I gave myself an age. You gotta eat her in there. Yeah, y'all y'all hit her, miss. Huh? Y'all y'all in the 20s. I ain't my I ain't in my high 20s. I'm in my high 20s, so I'm in my high 20s. So it's like you the back end. He almost there. You're 25. I'm big, bro. He's in the middle.

SPEAKER_01 57:40

I'm not on the back end, bro. Your numbers don't get lower from here. I'm not on the back end right now.

SPEAKER_00 57:45

He's in the middle. He's in the middle. I'm not in the back end right now. You're on the back end of your 20s.

SPEAKER_01 57:49

Alright, you at the end then.

SPEAKER_00 57:51

I'm at the beginning of my point.

SPEAKER_01 57:52

Nah, you at the end.

SPEAKER_03 57:55

I think knowledge is really about situation situation. It is. It is. It is. Like, I got a theory. What's up? I got a theory. Let's talk to it. Say, like, if you got a newborn, I I just feel like you still talking to your baby's dad. Oh, hands down. Oh, man. One year old, one year old to three year old. Yeah. But then it's like above, it's like, it just, it just depends. She's still involved. Plus, you can't be a you can't be a um a hypocrite either. Because like I come from a single mom who got a good man, but she had he had kids and she had me. So I can't be like, ain't no good women that don't have. When they got kids, that's not, you know, good for me. That's what happened with me. That's what made me marry my ex-wife. Because I'm like, you can come from a mom who struggled with kids, being a single mom, raising four kids around. Not that she struggled. She had she actually had we had a good situation. You know what I'm saying? Our situation's great. Her baby daddy wasn't no problems. We was actually cool. You know what I'm saying? It's like, man, it's like that situation was so great. But it's just like I have a heart for a single single mother. That's our first our first thing. We want to talk somebody don't have kids with us. I want I want your first to be my first. Yeah, exactly. And then it's like a lot of times, facts. Sometimes you meet that, sometimes we want the kid to be the best one, they just got put in a bad situation. Those those and low key, I'm learning that those are some of the better women. Those are some of the better options. They mature for me. Mature faster too when they have that kid. They don't play no games. Yeah. So they be about their business, right? They really do. They really do. But it's like, ah, I don't got my own. It's hard. Yeah. Yeah. Because I always I always said that for myself personally. I was like, there's there's not anything wrong with a single mom. You feel me? Not at all. Like, but that's just not for me. Yeah. I said, no, if I it would be a whole different story, let's say if I had a kid and they had a kid. Yeah. That'd be completely different than like, you know, me not having any children versus you having, let's say, one, a kid or so. Exactly. And then me stepping into that situation is like, now I'm stepping into a role just because I met you. Now I gotta be a father to a kid. That's scary.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:06

And it'd be easier for y'all to accept each other. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:09

Like, even with my situation, I felt for my ex-wife because I was like, I was a younger man. Yeah. Who I wanted a kid at the time, you know what I'm saying? And she was she had her two kids, you know what I'm saying? She was cool. She was cool. So, you know, that's how I was. It was, it was I I commend her for that too, because you know, we just I've talked to women with a kid, and that'd be the determining factor. Like, that could be the best thing I ever talked to. And it's like, uh I'm not ready to be a stepdad. Yeah. Nah, I'm too good. I'm telling you, it's like I'll be like, dang, this girl is amazing. Even though those lots of kids, you're still a father figure for those kids. Yeah, and they be trying to say, like, they're not gonna be around, you don't gotta do that. That's not a good thing. You get comfortable, it's like they're gonna jump up. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, right. You know, hey Mr. Medrius. I'm like, hey, all you know, yeah, yo, key my little brother eggs.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:10

Okay, like man, so yeah, I get it, man.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:16

Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:20

Okay, yeah, he's quiet over there. Man, come on. I'm high.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:25

You know how I look at the situation? I know you how I look at the situation like what situation the I look at the situation this question is basically like you can't play around with that. I feel like no, you can't play around with like single mom.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:47

I mean oh yeah, as it getting serious, you can't you really can't really play games with that, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:54

Because I look at it I look at it, I look at it and I look at it like myself, like as you know, me growing up, you know what I mean? My mom, you know what I mean, and my mom at a time being single or whatever, you feel me? And me being young, yeah, and yeah, the kid gotta grow up, you know what I mean? That kid is seeing stuff every day, you know what I mean? That you might not he might not know what's going on, but they seeing stuff every day. And you know what I mean? You might be on the phone, and who you on the phone with, mom? You know what I mean? Like, that stuff, you know what I mean? So I feel like you can't play around with that type of stuff because it's it's gonna like if you're gonna take it serious, you gotta take it serious. That's what I'm saying. That's that's all I that's all I'm saying. But I don't think it's any, as me, I don't think it's anything wrong with it.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:40

It's just tough. It's just tough.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:42

It's people that went down different roads. I mean, it depends. It depends.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:46

Everybody because you could be over there over there.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:49

Me personally, like y'all said, I want my first to be her first, obviously. That's what I want, but you know what I mean? That's definitely what I want.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:57

But yeah. What you gonna say, me? I'm saying you can be over their house or something, yeah, and thinking y'all is just y'all two, and they can run it in the in the in a in a room or crying, and she gotta get up. My bad, I'm sorry. You know, it's like man, it's just because you don't got that problem. So it's it's hard. I say, I say with those situations, I think it brings the best out of out of you as a man. It probably matures you. It definitely does. It probably matures. That's what it did with me because it definitely makes you grow up faster. Yeah, for sure. And I there's nothing wrong with it.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:29

That's why I say it's definitely nothing wrong, but I don't knock it at all. Like anybody that's done that, that's that you know I mean I feel I see it as being a real man.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:36

But now, me right now, yeah, nah. I'm accepting my marriage at all. I feel like I'm getting more open to it just because the options that we have around is limited. Yeah, so the ones that do got the, I'm like, she might not be that bad. Let me give it a try. Yeah, but then I psych myself out like, uh, I can go to this next city and try with this one. All right, so let me let me ask you this, all right? Just it's I know it's a couple things in it, right? So is it because you want to, let's say, the reason why we want to have someone who doesn't have a child with us not having kids because we want to have that connection together and grow in that area?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:15

Yes. Okay, now that's one.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:16

That's one. Um we feel like we you don't you're gonna jump into a parental role and you're not ready. Is that another one? Or do you feel like there's a slight possibility that she rekindles with her baby daddy? I'm not worried about the baby daddy part. I think in some situations you should. Some maybe, like I said, if they're young, yeah. If the kid is young, I think that's the first thing you should ask. Like when you first talk to somebody with a kid, is like, what's this what's the situation with? Yeah, yeah. You know, if they be like, oh, we cool, then it's like, all right, right, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me see. If the kid is young, it's like I can't stand that. Okay. Right. Alright, it's a little difference between that. Right. Um, growing a connection, it just depends on the age. Yeah. You know? Because you can get connected to them, but then then again, they could always be with their dad too. Yeah. Or they can not be connected to you. Yeah. So it's like, you gotta go into it, like, I think that was my biggest thing. Like, I don't want to like I talk to somebody with a with a two-year-old, yeah, and it's like I got somebody else's baby in my hand in my hand, playing with them. Just like, man, this this this little joke is kind of cool. Right, right. You know? Then it's like, I'm like, I'll I'm I'm getting I'm getting connected. That's all that's what I say about it where it brings out the best of you, because you look at it. At the time I was like 23. Exactly. I'm like, yeah, this is not my.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:53

All right, now I got another question though. So this based on that, let's say you did actually end up getting with the getting with the woman, right? Okay. And that kid didn't know any other father. The only father figure they know another in their life is you. Would you claim that child, or would you be like, that kid still isn't mine?

SPEAKER_03 1:06:13

I'm a product of that. I'm a product of that, low key. Because my biological father was never in my life. So my mom, my brother next to me. He's like, that's their child together. You know what I'm saying? But you know, it's like, I mean, we can of course meet him, we gotta say mom. But the only father I know is his dad his dad. That's the only dad I grew up with until I became 11. So it's like and I do claim that side of the family for sure. That's my family regardless. I claim more of that side than my biological dad's side. So for me, I have probably the best stepfather in the whole world. Yeah. So he treated me like his own. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I have a great biological dad. He, you know, so I say I got two dads, call one dad, call one pops. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So I feel like my stepdad be in my ear like me, you can't, you can't knock somebody because they got a kid. Yeah. Cause look, I, you know, I treat you like my own. Yeah, right. So I I'm on a fence with that. Yeah, yeah. Like I said, because at the age where we really have choices to not talk to somebody with a kid, but then I feel like it's human nature to not get attached. Yeah. Yeah. Like the kid is cool. It's cool. It's just like having like a little bro, you mentor. Yeah. And they keep coming around and asking about you. You're going to eventually window, come pick him up. That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:41

See, now I say, nah, it's a different story. Kind of, let's say, with you are in this relationship with somebody and then they step outside and have a kid with somebody else. Now that's that's a different bro.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:56

Yeah, yeah, that's that's a that's a changing stuff.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:01

Yeah, nah, nah. That can happen on both sides too, bro. People really stay when it happened. Like, where are you staying? I'm not staying with you. No. I'm not staying. You ain't had a baby by somebody else being together. Yeah, hey, come on, that's over. Not taking care of nobody else's kids in that situation. No. Oh, no. It's too much of that going around here. Yeah, I say us. That's some that's been that's some crazy stuff right there. I ain't gonna say much.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:30

Alright, we're gonna switch the topic up, man. I got to quiet over there, man. I can get quiet. I'm here in y'all. Y'all talking. Y'all excited. I'm excited too.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:39

Great conversation. Great conversation. I'm enjoying it.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:43

I know we was talking about life and different roles down life, man. What do y'all how do I word this, man? How do I word this? What are y'all doing in y'all life right now to like, what's something y'all doing in your life to to basically benefit y'all later on? Basically, something y'all doing good in your life to you something you working on. It could be anything. Hitting the gym. You know what I mean? Something that you working on that you know that's gonna put you in that. I'm gonna go deep. I'm gonna go deep, Mice. I'm working on my selfishness.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:12

Pause. Damn, man. Come on. Wow. Hey, look, y'all see what I got? David got me showing him, man. Hey, that was good.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:26

That's good. No, I'm I'm gonna say mine's selfishness now. I mean, I think after being single for like a couple years, I kind of grown selfish. You know what I'm saying? I like that. I kind of don't like it. I kind of like it, but I don't like it.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:44

You saying being more selfish? I I have become more selfish. You have become more selfish. Okay, mine is different than yours. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:52

In a way, it's a good thing. Because I've uh I definitely been a selfish guy like this ever, but sometimes I don't I'm misusing it too. I realize that too as well. So yeah, I I I want to work on that, and I am working on that like when to use it and when not to use it. Sure, for mine I'm working on, probably not being so hard on myself. In fact, um I think I always think about where I thought I would be, and I just live in the moment. So your plan never works, it's always God's, right? Right. So it's just about you know, you gotta you gotta really soak in where your feet is landed at right now. So that's that's really mine right now. Like I said, that's why I'm reading that book. It really helped me a lot. You know, think this, not that. You know, think the positive route. Just not stress over things I can't control. I can't control it. Now, if I'm putting myself in a situation, okay. But I'll teach myself like, all right, fix it. If you're stressed about something, go out and fix it instead of sitting there and soaking. What's that's gonna do for you? So really just really just that. If I can change it, go change it. No, for real.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:08

I feel like mine is different from yours, Twine. I feel like I want to be more selfish.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:14

You want to be a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:16

Okay, just play it. You know what I mean? I gotta, I I feel like I like giving a lot. Not giving a lot, but like I care about a lot of people a lot, you know what I mean? Spending my time doing that, like instead of investing in myself more. I know exactly what you're talking about. You know what you're like right now.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:33

Right now, you feel like you're giving yourself too much, like giving people too much of yourself accents, too much time, stuff like that, when I could be putting that into myself, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:42

Stuff like that. But yeah, man, that's mine, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:47

I will say, I feel like when I was talking to him about this last week, everybody need a hobby. Everybody need a hobby. Yeah, that's something that you know, find something you can work on yourself. You talking about more like a physical hobby or something to help with mental or just like both. Yeah, okay. I feel like it can be something as like hobbies, I feel like hobbies can be treated such as a couple things. It can be something that you just really enjoy doing, or it can be treated as your escape. Yeah, yeah, stimulate your mind. Yeah, something to calm you, feel me? Like to like your walks or something or something like that. Picking up the book. Yeah, book, yeah, because I mean I I add the gym. My gym is the routine for me. Yeah, that's my therapy outside of therapy. Yeah. So I would say that's my hobby because that's my escape. Get off work, I got a long day at work, I'm irritated by something, I go to the gym. Yeah, I don't have vices. I used to, yeah. So go to the gym and and do that, or I like nature. That's why I love the summertime. So I go out, cascades, and walk, walk up the hill, walk up the hill a couple times. Bro, go to L Sharp, walk. Yeah, you know, go on bike rides, stuff like that. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:58

I like about Lansing. They got so many trails up there, bro. Oh, they do, and you can just walk, ride your bike on.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:03

Jackson got a lot of hidden trails. Yeah, hidden trails, yeah. Yeah, that's really big. You just gotta find something for your mind, man, that's positive. And be around good people. Yep. A good laugh. Yeah. Man, we laughed all day yesterday. Laughter killed. And I feel great.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:18

Yeah, laughter kills everything, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:20

What? Yeah. Good laugh is gonna make make my day.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:23

What about you, CP?

SPEAKER_03 1:13:24

Man, uh, you said a good hobby.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:27

No, some something you're working on. Basically, some you working on to I got you.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:33

Better. Uh I say I'm always constantly trying to work on myself, just pushing yourself, pushing myself to be better in the things that I am doing.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:43

Like, because I'm kind of a perfectionist. I don't like that about myself sometimes. Yeah. But I feel like I can I gotta do it over and over and over until I get it right.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:52

Uh nah, but uh for sure, like obviously, like with me just starting this business stuff, um what turned into a hobby, something that I just really found myself enjoying doing. Now is how I'm hoping to make my living. Um so like I'm constantly working on that. Just things I want to, you know, for myself, communicating better. Um talking in front of people, just how I express myself.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:23

Because sometimes I know like a lot of people think like I'm just super straightforward. I am. You are almost like I I am, I am, I know that. Yeah, right. Nah, yeah, but like some people take it the wrong way. So like how I express myself while I'm talking, yeah, you know, like I'm just a I'm a sarcastic person, so like everything I say comes off as sarcastic, even when I'm like being dead serious.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:44

So just how I communicate. Um but I don't know. I'm I'm I'm as y'all say constantly being self- I'm I'm trying to be more selfish because I feel like I give myself to too many people.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:56

You feel me? Um not in like a terrible way, but then like it's times where I really should be like just locked in and honed in on myself. But then I find myself helping somebody here, helping somebody here, doing this, doing that for other people. Instead of just yeah, focusing on what you got.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:12

I'm gonna make a comment to what you said, Corey. Um, you know, you said like yo, turning your hobby, like you know, photographing the video stuff into your job. You gotta keep it a hobby too. Yeah, you gotta have fun. You turn it to your job and you don't it's gonna stress you out. You don't want that to happen. Gotta have fun. Another thing too, I'm learning. I'm a big, what's that, what you call it when you you you take other people's problems and you like you feel bad, you want them to do bad. Like you take them in. Like like you feel bad for them, but like someone tell you their life problems. I got this bad life becoming a family, and like you just want them to be on top, and you you feel their feelings in a way. I don't know, I forgot what it's but I gotta I gotta stop doing that. Yeah, because like I be feeling bad for people, but then if they continue to do the same things that I'm feeling bad over, it's like what am I doing for myself?

SPEAKER_02 1:16:06

Nah, I I feel you, I'm I'm kind of the opposite. Nah, it's like I'm kind of the opposite.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:13

Like, oh, you going through this, you going through it, like, yes, I'm sorry this happened to you, but at the same time, life moves on, and you gotta move with it, otherwise you're gonna get left behind. Like, that's key. I guess I'll be wanting people like like to bring people along to what I'm talking about. No, for sure. You know, yeah. Uh my mom be telling, like, that's just how that is. You can't have empathy for people. You gotta love them who they are. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:38

That's up to that person.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:41

Either they wanna, you know, pack up and come with you, or that's one of the things where it's like where they say you you can lead somebody to water, but you can't force them to drink to drink, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:50

That's one of them things. I'm giving you the blueprint. My blueprint might not be perfect, but at least I'm showing you that I can do something that you can do. A lot of times, people just you know, everybody's not wired the same. No, you know, you may have a little bit of kinks there and there, but they're not wired the same for real. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:11

So, y'all see how we're doing it, man. Just some of the guys chopping it up, man. We got meach out here, man. We chopping it up. Some of the guys having good talks, man. Right now, we're gonna do the at will at will moment, man. Oh shot at will moment, man. Make it quick, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:23

We'll be doing up will make it make it quick, man. We'll be doing up will this week. I'm not having a bad week, man. Okay. I'm like, hey, I had a bad week for me. Homes, I'm still coming for you, boy. Still coming for you. Oh, time ticket.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:35

We're gonna keep that shirt, but yeah, time ticket.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:37

I'm still gonna win, watch. Come on, time. Where you at so far? Man, I ain't a bad week, man. I don't want to discuss it this week. No, but no, that's what I'm that's that's I'm just focusing on that, man. Okay. Yeah, fitness for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:55

That will moment, like go goal or something, goal or something, or something that you're doing at wheel.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:01

We'll let me go last, bro. What are you doing at wheel this week, Mano?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:07

Uh same thing, man. I'm I'm tired of I ain't trying to be consistent with the same thing. I'm not trying to keep saying the same thing every week, but hey, sometimes it takes that. Just trying to be consistent, man. Money management, man. I got a problem with just splurging out of nowhere, man. You ever just get them itches where you're just like, man, I need some new shoes, I need a new figure. I want to treat myself, you know what I mean? I'm trying to playoffs ain't helping the and then yeah, with that, I got out and jumped on the park legs a little bit. I was chilling. I ain't been gambling at all. I ain't been gambling at all, but I I'm not really too concerned about that. I've been gambling a little bit, man. I ain't really yeah. I've been gambling, I've been gambling. I just said I got a problem, though. I wouldn't throw that in there.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:54

I wouldn't throw that in there. I've I would just say 1800 number.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:01

I haven't said that for sure. But when football season comes around, when football season comes around. I was yeah, that's when I was betting big money. Yeah, but basketball season, I'm I'm I'm okay. Yeah, football season though, I was betting a lot. But yeah, money management, man, and really on my health, man. I wasn't really focused on my health. Like, I feel like it's so much stuff going on in life, like you trying to categorize everything that you need to do. Like basically, if it's health, you need to focus on your health all the all the time, you know what I mean? But if you're trying to, you know, you might be trying to pay off your house or something like that. You want to put it, you know, I'm trying to put everything in order, but you everything in order, you gotta you gotta be hitting that stuff every day.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:42

Yeah, that's it. So it's a lot, it's a lot going on.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:44

So so right now I'm I'm I'm money management and basically my health. I ain't been really in the gym at all, but I'm trying to like eat more healthier, man. I've been eating I be eating brought a lot like sometimes I'm once a day, or yeah, I eat some bag of chips and then I go eat a candy bar after, and then I drink a soda and be like, um.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:04

Well, I don't drink soda no more.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:06

He ain't lying.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:08

No, I'm serious. I haven't had a soda in a minute. Man, we'll talk about that afterwards. Go ahead and do it. When's the last time you see me having soda?

SPEAKER_03 1:20:17

We're not gonna talk about it. I'm not gonna do that. Okay, is it? I'm not go ahead, go ahead, dude. We ain't talking about that. Yeah, man. Uh I wanna be consistent, being consistent. Um, nice. I like the way you said that.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:29

But then at the same time, with that, uh my main, my main goal for this week is rest. Um I feel like I've been on the on the on the go not like just non-stop. Nah, but also with that though, um I will say, um, I've been working. I just I just worked out for the first time again yesterday. Oh, yeah, how'd it go? Yes, I'm sure. Uh but um it felt good. You know, I'm not my strength's not all the way there, but of course I can I can do a lot of this stuff. Yeah uh just trying to grind it out. But consistent being consistent and get some rest. I I am gonna start keep I'm gonna start I'm gonna keep working out, yeah, but just in a lot of my other times where I don't rest, I'm gonna rest.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:21

Do you feel you need the proper therapy for your injury? I'm good now. You sure? You got the okay? From who?

SPEAKER_00 1:21:29

You work with trainers, you work with I don't need the okay from nobody.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:33

You're right, my bad. You claim probably. Yeah, I'm straight, I'm chilling. I'm big chillin'.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:39

Me, swish your head wheel moment, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:41

Um probably for me, probably pick back up for what Jermaine said. Probably eating better. See, my problem is I stress eat. So that's how I'm gonna do it. Just don't splurge when I'm you know feeling away. Yeah. The gym I'll be consistent. It's just my diet, man. I could I can look like a crazy, crazy fit if my diet was just perfect. I'll snack all day at work, yeah, get home and eat a salad and think I'm doing good for the day. Yeah, and think that think that what you snack on ain't gonna yeah. Really that, and it just stay consistent in reading. Yeah, that's what's up, man. It helps. What you reading? I mean, uh, consistent in that. Okay. My Bible, and just that's really it. I ain't gonna hold you, bro. I hate reading.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:28

So I I give you props for that, bro.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:31

I I don't know I don't got enough extra patience. I don't have patience for that. I like audio. But it's not the same thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:38

Now, like I can tell you though, like I have a I have a a distinct mind where I can read something, and if it's like solid that I'm interested in, I can visualize everything that I'm reading.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:50

That's why I like reading.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:51

Um I can do that, but I just don't like reading.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:54

Yeah, I think I get easily distracted for that.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:57

I think it made me feel like I'm read off your phone a lot. Yeah, yeah. I mean, technically, look, we read every day, every on social media. That's true. It just made me feel like I'm doing something different. Yeah, I don't know. Do you feel like you have to have a paperback or a paperback book for you? Yes, because I feel like I'm already on my phone too much. That's how I'm the same way. But audiobooks do help. I remember I was in school, you know. I listened to an audiobook for a class. Oh, yeah, I think that was cool. See, y'all did college, so audio's probably it probably helped out. But it does take a lot to read now because back then we were forced to read. Yeah, it's different when you just pick up a book by yourself. Yeah, it's like I'm accomplished. I already finished one book this year, so it's on my second one already. So for sure. There you have it, man. We have a hey, this is another family member. Y'all gonna see him again for sure. Appreciate y'all for having me, man. Man, hey man, you you coming back, man. Because we got some more segments we gotta talk about. Maybe you'll open up a little bit, right? You was a little nervous. That's why we gotta have them back on, man. Glad you used to this is this is Manos boy. This is Manos, they locked in, man. So yeah, man, y'all know how we do it, man. Hey, always do your purpose.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:09

Do your purpose at will, man. We create, we speak, we live at will. We out of here. Let's go, pistons.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:19

Okay, see. Shay,