Embrace The Great
Great conversation, great guest and great information.
Embrace The Great
From Detroit Vibes to Tech Evolution: Lessons, Leaders & Legacy
In this episode of Embrace the Great, Dominique and Shawn dive into the rich history and energy of Detroit, reflect on nostalgic moments from their past, and explore the evolution of life and technology over the past 20 years. They discuss how inventions have shaped society, share personal “pick six” questions, and reveal the five people they’d love to have conversations with, dead or alive. From leadership lessons to community impact, this episode is packed with insight, inspiration, and a touch of humor.
Welcome to another week's episode of Embrace the Great Podcast with our host Dominique Muldrow and myself Sean Ellerby. As we start off every week, man, what's on your mind? What's on your mind this week?
SPEAKER_03:Still, still battling the heat. Still battling the heat, man, but not a whole lot. Just, you know, different mind, different thinking going on. But when I asked you first, man, how was your trip?
SPEAKER_00:Man, Detroit was awesome, man. I was just saying that I think it's a trip that A lot of people should take. One of the things that kind of highlighted the trip to me was going to see Motown. I felt like David Ruffin on the front steps looking at Hitsville, USA. But it was more important to me, my grandma. She was a big Temptations fan. And that's one of the reasons I wanted to make sure that was a stop in Detroit. But a city that's rich, rich, rich in history, especially black history. A lot of things moving and shaking at the same time. But I would never want to drive in Detroit. I said like that, they make up their own rules up there. But it was definitely a good experience. Something I would definitely do again. Got to meet some family for the first time. Got some cousins that I wish I knew a long time ago. But, you know, things happen how they're supposed to happen. But had an absolutely good time. How about yourself on the weekend?
SPEAKER_03:Oh, just, I stayed inside. Index of 108, whatever the case may be. I'm in the house. But yeah, man, Detroit, one of those cities, man, that I always heard about. I always wanted to go to Uh, the, uh, the hit, what is it? Hit, Hit, Hitville, USA? Yeah, Motown. I always wanted to go there, man, and reenact the David Ruffin scene. Uh, you can't fire me. Y'all are stupid. I always wanted to go. But man, yeah, that's dope, man. But other than that, man, I've been staying out the way. Just, um, just kind of a lot of different things going on in my, on my mind, basically. Um, just thinking about the, how society has evolved through, you know, certain inventions, that sort of thing, man. Um, from things that we don't even remember that were invented within the last 20 years, and it seems like we've had them forever. So that's one of the things that's been going on that I've been thinking about lately.
SPEAKER_00:You talk about the evolution of the cell phone, and I just say that first and foremost, man, because we think about an alarm clock, a calendar, a phone book, everything we used to have a separate thing for. We can just pick up our cell phones now and kind of look at it. Yeah,
SPEAKER_03:I remember, I don't know, this was a while ago, I asked Joe, your son, something. I can't remember what we were doing and looking for a phone number. And I asked, y'all don't have a phone book? And he said, what's a phone book? So that's good. That's crazy that, you know, how far things
SPEAKER_00:have become, you know, through technology. Oh, yeah, they make you feel old, man. And certain stuff you talk about, they have no idea because I think I was talking about something. With my kids, and I don't know if y'all remember the snack Fig Newtons. I don't see them anymore, but they used to be big. No, no, I still
SPEAKER_03:eat them.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so I haven't seen them in a while, but Fig Newtons was something big, right? I
SPEAKER_03:still eat them, yeah. A cookie is just a cookie.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I still eat them. So I asked my daughter something. Y'all, you ain't never heard of a Fig Newton? She was like, I heard of Cam Newton. I ain't never heard of a Fig Newton. So he just let me know how far we come, man, because it's like certain stuff I knew it was a part of my day-to-day growing up, and now they have zero clue of what we talking about, and it's something older now. I think the funniest thing my son asked me one time was, hey, Dad, did y'all have color TV when you was a kid? I'm like, what? Yeah, yeah,
SPEAKER_03:yeah, we in that world. Relax.
SPEAKER_00:Well, how y'all think I am?
SPEAKER_03:But, yeah, man, so I do want to touch into a little bit just the evolution of life, man. But first, before, and some of the questions I'm going to ask, we're going to go straight into it. A lot of things, something that I found out to be fun, man, I'm going to shoot some questions. I'm going to call it my pick six. Okay. It's going to be your pick six, but, you know, my pick six questions. Actually, it's six. Either or, and then I got six that, you know, a question for you to answer. Okay, let's go,
SPEAKER_00:because I got something like that similar, too. We'll finish it up with that. All right, so first,
SPEAKER_03:spring or fall? Fall. Fruit Loops or Apple Jacks? Apple Jacks. Manny Fresh or Swiss Beets? Swiss Beets. Lamar Jackson or Mike Vick? Lamar Jackson. All right. Fresh Prince or Martin? Let me go Martin. All right. Flintstones or Jetsons?
SPEAKER_00:Flintstones.
SPEAKER_03:I'm about the same. I would go with the Fruit Loops over Apple Jacks. That's it. And Manny over Swiss.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. And I can see that. But, man, look, I was a huge DMX fan. Oh, yeah, for sure. That's where it come from. My favorite rapper. But you're
SPEAKER_03:talking about just the producers. I got to go with Manny, man. Manny Fresh, you got to think. He made... the track on every album on Cash Money for a long time.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I feel you. But one of the things, the hardest beats I think I've ever heard, especially when it came out, was Don Bottom with Juvenile and Drag On. Yeah, Juvenile, Drag On, yeah. When that beat came on, it was like, man, that's the sweetest beat production, and that one had me hooked.
SPEAKER_03:Those two, both of those producers, man, when the beat comes on, you know it's their beat. Oh, yeah. That was hard. All right, so my other pick six, I got some questions for you. Might got to think about them a little bit, but, you know, Just based off of you If you could name If you could have named yourself What would it be?
SPEAKER_00:If I could have named myself What would it be? That's a tough one Because I don't think I'm so used to Sean I can't think of nothing My real name is Darius You don't hear
SPEAKER_03:any names out there Like man that's a cool ass name You know from now Or even when you were younger
SPEAKER_00:I can't think of too many, man. I would want to be called. I could say, okay, this is my name. I'm sitting here thinking about it, man. That's a tough one. That's one of the toughest questions I've ever had because if I had to be called something else, what would my name be? I have no clue. You want to get yourself on the spot? Is that what I'm trying to think about? No. I don't want to keep it too simple. I want it to be unique, but not too hard. Yeah, that's how I always was, man. Well,
SPEAKER_03:I always, and while you're thinking about it, I always, even when I was, I think, back to about eight years old, I always thought, and I named my oldest son Cameron. I just always liked that name. I don't know why. So that's why his name is Cameron, you know.
SPEAKER_00:It's the only name my daughter, because the name was in the Bible. My wife named my son, so it's like what I want to be called. In all honesty, Malcolm came to mind. Malcolm. Malcolm. That's the only thing I can think of, Malcolm. You look like a Malcolm, though. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. You know, just the power of Malcolm X, that's what I'm thinking about, but Malcolm. All right. What is your go-to meal? Go-to meal right now? In this day and age, oxtails and rice, man. Oxtails and rice. That's my go-to right now. It's a expensive meal, but it can't beat it. Now, you asked me before, it probably been chicken wings or something like this, but my taste buds ain't got a little, you know, rich. Two words that
SPEAKER_03:no one would ever use to describe you? Two words that I never use? Two words nobody would ever use to describe you? Dumb. And lazy. Dumb and lazy. All right. What was your last impulse buy?
SPEAKER_00:Man, that's a terrible question to ask me because I don't buy nothing, especially off impulse. Man, look, sitting here thinking about it. I think I bought a pair of Jordans about two years ago, and they were just impulse. See, that's what I'm saying. That's my impulse. You mean a pair of socks? A lighter? Nah, I mean, I get socks when I go on trips. I mean, that's an impulse buy, though. No, but see, that's a plan buy. I'm saying impulse, I just go in the store, I got that out
SPEAKER_03:there. Yeah, I'm going to grab this real quick. Bag of sunflower seeds, something? No gum? Some Mamba. Okay. A little Mamba candy. Oh, I just finished a pack of those last night. Yeah, I just bought a pack from the store just now. All right, two
SPEAKER_00:more. What posters did you have on your wall as a kid? Larry Johnson with the Charlotte Hornets. I had one lining up, and that was like the main one. That was the main
SPEAKER_03:one. Okay, and last one. What stranger often comes to your mind?
SPEAKER_00:Stranger that often comes to my mind? That's a tough one, too. I want
SPEAKER_03:you to answer them, too. This is going to lead right into what I want to talk about for the day. A stranger that always comes to my mind are the people that I gave directions. I want to make sure that I gave, you know what I mean? Yeah. Because I remember one time, anybody familiar with Florence? Basically, you know, Palmetto Street is going to take you straight to the beach. And I remember this one time specifically. I was at a gas station on Palmetto Street, and a guy was getting gas. And you know how sometimes you just talk to somebody. And he was like, hey, man, what's the quickest way to get to the beach? And I told him, I said, you see this street right here? Just keep going straight. It's going to take you straight into the water almost. And I sometimes wonder if he followed my direction. And this was way before GPS, I'm talking, when I first started driving.
SPEAKER_00:MapQuest.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. So I wonder if the dude followed my direction. And you know what's crazy? I wonder if he followed those directions until this day. Think about me.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. All right. Man, I ain't got nothing for that one. I don't want to be strangers.
SPEAKER_03:Nobody that, you know, you'd be like, nobody that might have helped you in the store, you know, something like that, or helped you change the tire when you was on the side of
SPEAKER_00:the road. Yeah, man. On that note, I had my car stopped on me. a little while ago, and I was on the way home, you know, from a night out or whatever, and then some stranger, a dude came and helped me push the car out the way, out the road, and then You know, I like that. You know, that's one of the ones I think about. Like, what else are you up to? I'm thankful for it. Something to that magnitude. Okay. Yeah, I couldn't think of nothing else.
SPEAKER_03:Some of those questions, if I had to answer.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I put a nurse that worked in the ER when my grandmother was up there in hospice. So I think about something like that. Yeah, okay. You come around being nice. You wonder what's going on with them. Gotcha, gotcha.
SPEAKER_03:Some of these questions for me. My go-to meal. My go-to meal. If I was on death row, I would ask for some rice, cabbage, stewed beef, macaroni, and cornbread. Yeah, that sounds like a meal. That's my go-to right there. Anybody can cook that for me, holler at me. Two words no one would ever use to describe me. I would say selfish. I'm definitely not selfish. I've been told I need to be more selfish a lot. And something that probably go handy and probably self-centered. I don't, I'm, you know.
SPEAKER_00:And I feel the same way. We're just dumb and lazy.
SPEAKER_03:Somebody call
SPEAKER_00:me dumb, I'm
SPEAKER_03:kind of
SPEAKER_00:looking at him
SPEAKER_03:crazy. Posters I had on the wall. I had a Larry Johnson poster. I remember we went to a basketball game and they, you know, they had a giveaway and it was Larry Johnson. It was the exact size he was and he was eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes. I had that poster, a 6'7 Larry Johnson poster. I had the big three, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen. And I had a poster of Tenny and Lil' Penny. Okay, yeah. Yep. That makes sense. What posters? And the other, oh, I answered the one about the stranger that I often think about. So, yeah, man, that just, you know, just talking about those, man, that just made me have a bunch of nostalgic moments and think about just inventions that, And I'm going to say since we graduated high school in 2001 that have been made. So before I get into that, just seeing if you had anything before we dive into that.
SPEAKER_00:No, it's along the same lines. We'll get to it because it'll give you some time to think about it, man. Yeah, for sure. Just if you had to have a conversation with five people, dead or alive, who would they be? We can come back to that, but it'll just give you something to think about for a
SPEAKER_03:second. Yeah, I got those answers. But... Just back to what I was saying about things that have been invented, and I'm going to just name a few that make you think. Some of these inventions aren't even 20 years old or just turning 20 years old. Just some of them that I do have, Bluetooth. Remember the Bluetooth you used to have in your ear? For those that don't know, sort of like the AirPods now, but it was only one. And it looked like a little, I don't know, It looked like something in your ear that was blinking. The headphones the truckers drive were smaller. Smaller, yeah. Speaking of phones, the camera phone. First camera phone in 2000. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I don't even think. Man, I remember it was a Sprint phone. I remember this because I was in school and one of my homeboys had a Sprint camera phone. I thought it was the craziest thing ever. Yeah. Nah, it's so old-fashioned now compared to what they got now. They can take anything on the phone. Oh, man. So that, the USB
SPEAKER_03:flash drive, that was one of the things. That was invented in 2000 Blu-ray disc I can tell you The last time I seen A Blu-ray disc player For those that don't know What that is Sort of like a CD player Supposed to have I don't I never
SPEAKER_00:It was like a DVD to me
SPEAKER_03:Yeah It was supposed to
SPEAKER_00:have Advanced viewing Or whatever the case may be Advanced graphics I remember getting one For Christmas one year When I was back in college That's what I asked my girl To get me at the time It was a Blu-ray player And she got me one
SPEAKER_04:Yep
SPEAKER_00:But
SPEAKER_03:a few more things I got Something that is Facebook invented 2004 So Facebook is only 21 years old
SPEAKER_00:That's crazy I remember when that started in college You had to have a college email In order to get in Facebook was something serious back then I had to get off back then But I'm happy to open it to the masses Oh
SPEAKER_03:yeah As a As a single man, I can say, yeah, I got caught up a few times on Facebook in college. And then I'm going to say the last thing. Can you guess what's just turning 20 years old this year? What, Twitter? It's not Twitter. I think Twitter came a few years after. It's a widely known, I guess it's a social site. YouTube? YouTube. YouTube came out. 2005. Wow. Wow. And that's one of those things that you feel like it's been around forever.
SPEAKER_00:It's a part of your life, especially the kids. They don't know what life is like without
SPEAKER_03:you two. I was just touching on that, man. I got my 11-year-old in here with me, and I can tell he kind of looked at me crazy when I said a few of those things. But, yeah, those things haven't always been around, man. Yeah. If we look back on it, it feels like we've had those things at our disposal forever, but like I said, some of those things aren't even 20 years
SPEAKER_00:old. Look, I wonder how old Netflix is, because I remember when Netflix first started, they would send you the DVDs to your house, and then now you had to order them, but now they got the streaming platform, and I think that changed the game.
SPEAKER_03:Netflix and Redbox
SPEAKER_00:was something big, too, back
SPEAKER_03:in the day. But some other things, of course, the electric cars, space tourism. Here's one that I didn't realize that has just been developed. Clean meat, like meat grown in a lab, that sort of thing. And that's one of the things that scared me. We'll touch on that a little more. Of course, cryptocurrency, that's something that has come about, I guess I should say more popular as of late. So my question is, with just kind of looking at those things, What do you feel like, I guess, the impact that they've made on the world. And we'll start with positive
SPEAKER_00:impact. The thing is, a lot of things, technology is designed to make life easier, you know, so we can do a lot more things. I think with, like you talk about YouTube, you talk about Facebook, those things being invented, you can reach out to the masses where before, the only thing you know was the people that was local. You get something in the local newspaper, you were happy. Now you can post something on Facebook and go viral and go to everywhere. Quicker, yeah. And not just in the area that you grew up in. So I think, like, exposure is the biggest positive I take from it because we you can do so much more you're aware of so much more so now you can make plans because I mean when I was coming up in high school I never knew anything about college homecomings except South Carolina State because that was the closest college to us right but now social media you can look okay they got a whole homecoming schedule you know everywhere not just here across the country and I think it just makes for better events and more diverse events
SPEAKER_03:and I'll take it a step further man um Remember when we were in high school, Jordans came out on a Tuesday, but we never really knew until like that day before or that weekend before. But now you can look almost a year ahead to see when shoes are coming out or whatever the latest fashion is. So
SPEAKER_00:that definitely
SPEAKER_03:is
SPEAKER_00:a positive. But with that too, you got more consumers. So now they can reach the masses. You got a less chance of getting them versus before.
UNKNOWN:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You know, we might know somebody working in the store that could have put them to the side for us, but not now. Everything, you know, they got the raffle tickets and they sell out online so fast. It's crazy. Ridiculous.
SPEAKER_03:So I know one thing we talked about before, just like you touched on just now, too, with how quick you can get information out, how you can. Those platforms allow you to build your own brand. I know before we talked about like Soulja Boy, how he was probably the first rapper that went viral and came up off just doing content. And even what we're doing right now, man, you know, we're able to reach people all over the world just by doing this type of thing. So those are definitely positive impacts. I feel like the downfall of a lot of this is... Probably the same thing that makes them great. So many people have opinions and things like that. But you got to learn how to sift through the BS and pay attention to what you want to pay attention to and that sort of thing. That definitely is one of the biggest downfalls to me anyway.
SPEAKER_00:I think you can get an education. I always laugh and say YouTube University, but you can find out everything on YouTube. That's true. Again, I changed a thermostat in my car. If you asked me 10 years ago to do that, I wouldn't have had a clue. But now I can just put it up on YouTube, and it'll kind of walk you through step by step. And it goes back to a quote, and it's probably my quote of the day. I first heard it with Linwood Edwards. There are two types of education you get. The one that they give you, which is school, and the one that you give yourself, and that's what you learn in life. And the one that you give yourself is the most important. So a platform like YouTube, if I have no idea what I want to do, I can just be scrolling YouTube and find a video that's interesting, and then you know it can become a career. So that's what I mean. It opens so many more opportunities, but the downfall when you got so many options, it's hard to choose one.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and then one, too, if you're not careful, it can... It can affect your relationship. You know, you got to keep a close eye. A lot of people have access to your kids now. Employment opportunities. You got to kind of monitor it a little more as far as protecting your family. That's one of the biggest downfalls, I think, of all these social media platforms. And a lot of things that have been invented. I know... Picking back to what the pick six question, I remember watching the Jetsons a lot, man, and saying, man, I can't wait to get all that stuff invented. But if we look around, it's here. You got your robots now that can
SPEAKER_00:come clean up for you. Cars that can drive by themselves.
SPEAKER_03:Cars drive by themselves. FaceTime. I think we doing everything but flying in the cars, and I'm sure that's... It
SPEAKER_00:can happen. Yeah, I'm sure it can happen. You got to get the regulation, that's all.
SPEAKER_03:That's all it is, but... That's definitely so. Just to close on that topic and another question I have for you, an invention that you might have in mind that, you know, maybe something you've been sitting on since you was five years old or whatever the case may be. What's something that you think that you want to try to patent or whatever the case may be?
SPEAKER_00:Something I would try to patent. And again, I just think that technology is something to make people lazier in general. For sure. That's like the definition of it.
UNKNOWN:So,
SPEAKER_00:What could I do to make things easier? And two, this is my just political side, probably something where people can vote and not have to go to a certain spot, but a proxy that can have private where they can vote from their home. Yeah. And then two, I think that'll do two things, right? You can get a more accurate count on the census. You can look at the number of votes, you know, being sent to the house or whatever. And But I understand how people can manipulate the system. So that's one thing I have to think about how to prevent that. I
SPEAKER_03:was just going to say, what's the downfall of that, though? You got, you know.
SPEAKER_00:You got people that will manipulate. They say somebody deceased, they'll go vote for them. Or they'll, the age of hackers, they can hack certain stuff and make things a certain way. You know what I'm saying? So that's one thing I'll be kind of wary of. But something to make it easier for people to vote. Because I think a lot of the, even the last couple of presidencies, the popular vote person didn't win the election. And that, to me, makes no sense. And I think anything to change the electoral college to where it's a numbers thing, like, okay, straight up votes. Okay, how many people voted for this person? Cool. But not be broken up into parties and divided by states. Just take the overall vote and go from there. One state holds more weight
SPEAKER_03:than the other. Correct. I never understood that. I think one thing I've been sitting on, and this is mine, so somebody out there listening, trying to take my idea, I'm going to get with you. But you know, so think about whatever day you do your household chores, right? You're washing clothes, which is probably one of the worst things that I hate doing. I've never seen it now, so somebody correct me if I'm wrong. I want something to where you got the stackable washer and dryer. After the clothes finish, they drop straight into the dryer.
UNKNOWN:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And they dry. Now the folding part I ain't got, because that's probably the worst part. But you know that a lot. You just throw your clothes in the wash, go do your thing, come back. You don't forget to leave them in the washer and then have to re-wash them. So something to drop on down, put your little time on, boom, it turn right on. I think that's something that I thought of that probably when I was like 13 years old and... You know, I wash and dry it with downstairs and carry it in a big-ass basket. And then having to go back down there and put them in and dry it and having to go back down there again and get them. You
SPEAKER_00:know what I'm saying? Man, you need to get with Elon Musk, man. I don't know. I need to holler at Elon. Holler at me. Holler at me, Elon. You can
SPEAKER_03:make that happen. He probably got one in his house now, but whatever.
SPEAKER_00:All kind of inventions in the house and sidewalks. One he going to patent and sell.
SPEAKER_03:Yep, yep.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so man, that was some good stuff to talk about, man. And kind of leading on to it, just mindset type thing. If you can talk to five people, dead or alive, who would they be? And most importantly, why? My first two
SPEAKER_03:are real easy. And one of them, my great grandma, and the other, my granddad. Because they were two people that I always went and talked to you know, when I'm feeling some type of way or sometimes I could go over to one of their house, man, and just sit there. I speak or whatever and they'll be doing their thing and just me going over there sitting. That presence. Just me going over there and sitting. And when I leave, I feel better. That presence. So those are definitely two. I've been always interested in Just the philosophy. I know a lot of people study him. One of the first people we learned about in school, Martin Luther King Jr. I've just been always interested in his philosophy, how he moved throughout the world at such a young age and the impact that he had. And you're talking about no social media, barely telephones, you know, dealt with the segregation and being discriminated on just because, you know, he's a black man. So his opportunities were limited. That sort of thing. So just trying to navigate through life. And I think Martin Luther King Jr. was 30? 39 or
SPEAKER_00:something like that. 38, 39. That's longer than the life I live. Right, right. That's shorter than the life I
SPEAKER_03:live. Did I say
SPEAKER_00:that
SPEAKER_03:right? So definitely him. Two more. Two more. I would, and this might sound, you know, I don't get political or religious real quick, but... Jesus was a real man. I would like to have a conversation with him just to kind of see, you know. The
SPEAKER_00:one question I have, and this is going somewhere else, and I know people are probably looking at me crazy, but when you hear the story of Jesus, the one question I had was we heard about Jesus as a baby, and we heard about him as a grown man performing miracles. Who taught him? What was his adolescent ages like?
SPEAKER_03:Right, yeah. Who taught him. Exactly. And that's the reason I want to have a conversation, just about the unknown.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:You know, the things he might have went through and, like you said, certain parts of his life that aren't ever talked about, that sort of thing. So that's four, five, ooh, a fifth. Fifth. You know what? I go with my 12-year-old self. I go with my 12 year old self because that's around the time where you start to your body starts to change you know you start to know what you're into that sort of thing so I think I would talk to my 12 year old self have that conversation as to why the things that I might have thought aren't the way they are now you know what I'm saying so I think that's five That's
SPEAKER_00:a good one, man. And I thought about this because, you know, you hear the question like, man, what would I talk to? And the first person I kind of wrote mine down where I put them in my notes. First person I got is my great grandfather, Eugene Money Ellaby, man. He had 15 children. And just, yeah, yeah. That's 15 married. That's 15 with his wife. And again, I had an aunt say she knows he bought two more. So it's like that's the funny part to me. But, you know, I would like to talk and have those type conversations and see what led to what. And just to hear how growing up at that time, how he maintained having his own in the time of saying he was born in 1890 and died in 1950. You know, so it's like he's 60 years old, but man had a farm. Did Moonshine on the side, his nickname was Money because he was just a straight-up hustler. You hear the stories, and you see different things pop up. I seen one picture of a man, and his hands was huge, but I always like to have that conversation to see what he wants to pass down and how his legacy can be continued. Number two, Barack Obama. I would love to sit down and have a conversation with the first black president to hear perspectives on how things actually operate behind the scenes and knowing what he can control, what he can't control, public perception, everything else, and what was real. Just the marriage to his wife, Michelle, and how he navigated being married, raising kids, and running the world at the same time. I just think that's somebody I want to know, you know, his leadership. Number three for me... LeBron James. And I say that not even on the basketball tip, the off-the-court stuff, to him starting a school, to him helping the people in Akron, making sure they get a free education, to how he navigated his career choices as far as where he go and why he went there and also Raising kids in the spotlight. You know, like you say, how many people talk to his family? And I think nothing but greatness of that man. And he got a great family and no scandals and any of that. But, you know, there's just so many people trying to tear him down. And how does he keep a positive outlook? Who does he surround himself with to stay in his bubble and not pay attention to all the stuff that's
SPEAKER_03:going on? Yeah, I always
SPEAKER_00:wonder how he,
SPEAKER_03:I mean, no matter how high of a status you are, some of that stuff gets to you, man. Because you're a human. So that, and not to cut you off, as one of the people, people like LeBron, man, Derek Jeter, people that always are great people and people try their best to tear them down. I always root for those type of people, man. Even, you know, you look at, and I'm not talking about him as a person, but you look at Floyd Mayweather's boxing career. This man won all 50 of his fights, but yet people still try to diminish his career. Like, how can you do that, man?
SPEAKER_00:People like to nitpick greatness for the life of me, I understand. Well, LeBron James was the third one. And the fourth one. For me, kind of similar to where you are, Martin Luther King, mine was Malcolm X. Okay. And watching the movie and understanding how he changed his perception of Muslims once he went to the motherland, once he saw a difference. He was more open to embracing everything else and everybody else. So, again, I like to hear about that change and what caused it. And the fourth one, believe it or not, the last one, Greg Popovich. And there's a coach who kind of hard knows, but I'm hearing the players that play for him. Excuse me. And all of them had good things to say about him. All of them had good things to say about him, so it's like one of those, I want to pick his brain because he seemed like a realist, and then I think the story that got me was the Robert Orris story. Robert Orris and his daughter was sick, and Greg Poppins got word and told him, don't come back until your daughter's out of the hospital. Daughter came out of the hospital with the money. He came back to practice Wednesday. Like, no, go back. Be with your daughter because family is the most important thing. So when people, as a coach, understanding that the family is the most important thing in the biggest business in the NBA, I kind of just want to pick his brain and see what it is. And, you know, just have somebody different. I like different mindsets to see. And I love leadership. Most of the people I picked out were in some way, shape, or form leadership and how to deal with that kind of stuff being leaders. And, again, I don't know if leaders called or they made, but, you know, in my little area, my little section, I'm a leader in certain things. So it's like I'm always trying to find different ways to become a better leader.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and a lot of those people you touched on, man, I was just thinking that those people– are all leaders. I'm sure your grandfather was a leader in the community. You said he was a hustler. I look at all hustlers as leaders. But I always think that leaders are, I think that's just a calling, man. I don't really think you can create a leader to the maximum extent, I should say. You can teach them how to do things better, qualities of a leader, but just being a flat-out leader, man, I think you just got to have that. But those people, man, all great people, like you said, and I think there'll be some interesting conversations coming out of
SPEAKER_00:those. And leaders are men, not just leaders, but they lead other men, and men follow them. So when you get people like that, like, okay. And I'm one of those people, man, look, I respect almost, I mean, everybody on this earth, a simple level of respect, right? But in certain ones, like, it's an admiration. Like, wow, how do they continue to do this stuff? Okay, what are they doing here? What are they doing here to get where they are? And, you know, I'm inspired. So I always want to be around people who I'm inspired by because when I'm inspired, I want to do better. And not, you know, oh, I'm going to do better than them. No, I just want to be a better me. I don't look at competition. I don't look at who's doing what because, again, I always hear the phrase comparison is a thief of joy. So I never try to compare and I always tell my children what's for you is for you if you want it you work for it if you don't if it's not for you then it won't come your way and you won't have to be um it won't come your way it won't be a part of you but while other people's getting what they get their dress do man, be on the sideline clapping for
SPEAKER_02:them.
SPEAKER_00:I'm always happy for any time anybody around me doing well, man. And I think sometimes my personality may not show that all the time because I like to be laid back and chill and kind of think things through. But on the inside, man, all I want to do is see people win, especially those close to me.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, man, that was, you know, one of the quotes I wanted to end with. But since you brought it up, a quote that I saw today, man, from one of my good friends, Pat Gregg, man, he posted it. Basically said, man, everybody wants to win until they realize how many losses it takes. And that's big, man. That's a quote that is self-explanatory, man. Everybody sees... The greatness. The end result. The end result, but not what it took to get there. How many times you had to fall flat on your face? How many times people probably told you no? How many times you had to deal with rejection, that sort of thing? How many times you got cussed out? How many times you had to wait? Yeah, how many times you been laughed at? Or whatever the case may be. Another thing I want to touch on, man, you talked about Malcolm X, how he changed his perspective. And I remember the movie to where he took that, what the Muslims call a pilgrimage over and And he changed that perspective. Something that I always thought, man. So, of course, everybody knows the story. Malcolm X, Malcolm Little at the time, went to prison. You know, met someone in there who kind of helped convert him over. And when he came out, you know, he became that leader, that Malcolm X that everybody knows. And all that happened here in the United States. But then when he went over to see... a different side of the religion. You know, he saw people of different colors worshiping and doing the same things that he does. How do you think, or what do you think of just that, just relating that to society these days? You know, before we talked about, you know, knowing better, doing better, going outside of your city, your state, and then bringing stuff back, ideas back. Just looking on that type of thing, man. What do you... How do you view that?
SPEAKER_00:But I think you just said it. By going out and seeing something different, you know better and you do better. And for him to leave where he was at and go see the pilgrimage and see the other Muslims doing that, they're like, okay, cool, that can happen. But a lot of times it's just a matter of putting yourself in different situations, different environments, so you can soak up that knowledge, man. Experience is the best teacher. So if you don't experience going somewhere and doing something else, you'll be stuck in your ways. And it's not always bad, but a lot of times you limit yourself. And I think You know, the quote, you limit yourself by the things you won't do, not what you will do. And we got to, as people, sometimes we got to have a big list of, well, I ain't doing that, I ain't doing that, I ain't doing that. And that's just all, when I hear that, it's just a limit. That's how I look at it. You're putting a limit on yourself.
SPEAKER_03:And that's one of the sides Michael makes a lot of people don't talk about. You know, they touch on, I guess I should say, militant side of the things he did and said, which were, a lot of it was right, yeah. But when he... When he went over and saw different things, it was like, hey, a lot of that, I guess I should say hate that he had towards certain organizations, black organizations at that. Those views change because how can I call myself this type of person and I'm hating this thing. But when I come over here with these group of people, I got people that aren't the same color as me. I'm kneeling down praying to him. I know in the movie they said I drank from the same cup of a
SPEAKER_00:white man. And you know. That wouldn't have happened back in the 60s here in America. But then I think it's. at that time, getting out of America, and seeing different cultures outside there, because it's, they can look at us like we are laughing stock, or a bunch of crazies, a bunch of gun-loving killers, or whatever the case may be, but that's the outside perception for people who don't see it. One of the best conversations I think I've ever had in life was with a, one of my college, one of my college peers, a dude named David Njai, from Africa. He's an international business major, studied He was fluent in five languages. But one thing we start talking about was stereotypes. And it was funny because he was like, man, Well, I said, Dave, so tell me about Africa. He said, man, look, where I come from in Africa, we had maids, we had people we eat clean. We did everything else. Everything y'all have in the United States, we have in Africa. We may just get it a day, maybe two days later. He said, but when I came over here and watched National Geographic, I started laughing because that's not Africa. That's like me going to the country's place in South Carolina and saying this is what America represents. And it's not even that. Like he said, that's a very few, but that's not how it is. over there mostly. And what he said was, America need to be ashamed of themselves because over in Africa, all the advertisers like tall, skinny, beautiful women. When he get over there, he's all with big girls. So he was like, man, that's false advertisement. So it was funny how he said it, but it was real. So that was my first... concept of outside of America, how people perceive us, you know what I'm saying? And even within the black community, because, you know, some Africans don't like how African-American males are because they don't feel like they have the same hustle.
SPEAKER_02:And
SPEAKER_00:they're like, okay, well, cool. Like, well, I learned five languages. I do this. I own this business. So they come over here for the hustle. So we laugh at the Africans sometimes here, but they come in with a legit hustle trying to make sure they feed their family.
SPEAKER_03:Right. Yep. And that's a, that's a different thing, man. You know, we, we got to pass down. Everybody has to pass down to our kids, you know, You know, don't look at what the media might show you, that sort of thing, man. Figure it out for yourself. Oh, yeah. And you'll see a different side, man. I've always heard Africa is one, probably the most beautiful country. But, you know, remember when we were little, all we saw was the little infomercials of the kids starving. That's what we thought Africa was, man. Like, damn, why you going to Africa? It ain't got no food over there. But little do we know.
SPEAKER_00:They living like kings, and the property prices are nowhere near what they are here. You can get a great place for not a whole lot of money. I'm actually, that's one of the things on my bucket list is to travel to Africa. I'm just trying to narrow down where I want to go.
SPEAKER_03:One thing I think I can say, because I have a friend, I haven't spoken to him in a while. One thing I will say, and I asked him this question, so whatever, if somebody get offended. Anybody from Africa that come to the United States, men, You do not have to spray the whole bottle of cologne, bro. You ain't got to spray the whole bottle. And that seems to be something that they have in common, man. I'm sorry. What is that beautiful fragrance? You don't have to spray the whole bottle of cologne, bro.
SPEAKER_00:What is that beautiful fragrance? Well, yeah, man. Look, I think, you know, just wanting to get out. Getting out to get out of your comfort zone. I know we talked about that last time, but comfort zone sometimes could be your home, your home state. Like going to Detroit, again, open my eyes. I ain't in the south no more because most of the time, you know, you travel, you're in the southeast, whether it's Atlanta, Florida, Myrtle Beach. Again, areas here, Charlotte, all in the southeast. But getting up there in that Midwest, it was a different feel, different vibe. So it was like, okay, this is one thing I can learn. And if I can take anything from the south there, I'm just going to say it out loud, it should be the food. The food down here is unbelievable. unbelievable compared to what I had in Detroit it wasn't terrible but it wasn't what I was thinking
SPEAKER_03:so what type of food I know what Midwest famous you know what they got the deep
SPEAKER_00:dish pizza
SPEAKER_03:what other food
SPEAKER_00:corn stop at the pizza that's all I got it wasn't bad it was comparable to us it was a little like okay let's say if I think a burger place here is an A it might have been a B there It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my expectation. So I ain't want to try to act like it's just terrible. No, because I'm not doing that, Detroit. I won't do that to y'all. But just understand me. That's
SPEAKER_03:part of the country I've never visited. One thing I do see there, Midwest Italian beef. Like what? I mean.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and that wouldn't have been appealing to me. Like roast beef type of deal? Yeah, but the sandwiches, because I asked, you know, one of the first questions I asked, what's one place I got to eat? They told me about Coney Island, like getting hot dogs. I'm like, I can get hot dogs in Florence. Like, I ain't trying to get a hot dog while I'm
SPEAKER_03:up here. Yeah, well, deep dish pizza, I think that's mainly what they're known for.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's about the best you're going to get. But it wasn't terrible, terrible, but it didn't meet my expectations. Let me say it like that. Let me say it like that. I probably had to go to the outskirts or something, because I was kind of downtown.
SPEAKER_03:Next time you go, man, you might need to holler at Justin. You know, he played up there for, what, three, four years,
SPEAKER_00:something like that. And out of his mind, he said, they're the best fans ever, and I can get it. Being in the city, if I can say anything about Detroit, Detroit loves Detroit. They think that they're on an island in America type thing, but Detroit is a different place. But again, I love the feel. It was a very, very proactive city. They
SPEAKER_03:still pimping strong up there?
SPEAKER_00:I ain't seen too many pimps. I seen some of the clothes out there now, but I ain't seen too many. I think they might be under cover now, they might be running OnlyFans pages or something. That's true. They got digital pimping now and the same thing. Plus, you know, they make it easier now because people just some of these young women just get themselves out here, man. It's hard raising a daughter in this environment because of the expectations of the women and everything else, man. So I look at it a little differently.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, that's I don't need one touch on that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. But we talk on it, but I'm thankful. I'm thankful, thankful, thankful. I have a great relationship with her. And one of the things I heard her say to somebody who was trying to talk to her, and, you know, I think he was coming up with something. I ain't going to say a weak game, but I'm going to say it like that. And she busts out, look, I ain't one of them girls you can talk to like that. I ain't got no daddy issues. And when she said that, man, that just made my heart warm and smile on the inside, and I ain't had to say a word.
SPEAKER_03:That reminds me of an episode of Good Times, and they had the– Thelma was dating the guy he was doing his paper in college or something like that on her about sexual behavior in the ghetto and James found it and you know he thought it was like you know talking dirty and when the guy broke it down to James he basically said you know Thelma's one of my best subjects and Women with a strong father figure and I guess their perspective on sex. And James stopped. And he was like, yeah, read that again.
SPEAKER_00:Proud daddy moment. Yeah. Proud daddy moment, man. Let us soak them up because we get bashed all the time for stuff we don't do. So, man, get them proud daddy moments in when you can. That's right. That's right. So
SPEAKER_03:just moving forward, man, what you got coming up, you know, real soon.
SPEAKER_00:Real soon, man, just a couple of book bag drives. I'm going to Rock Hill this weekend to kind of help with some book bag drives up there and just kind of get settled into the school year, man. Like, I'm kind of looking forward to this school year. I'm going to have one in my house. But taking him to school every day, trying to build that rapport, trying to get him prepared for adult life, I'm looking forward to that more so than anything else. September got a few things, man. I don't know, the Qs, throwing a– a party, an outdoor party on the theme of boots on the ground type thing. So that's going to be September 6th. As well as September 13th, I'll be the change walker. I'm going to keep talking about that because I want all the men, young boys to come step up. I want all the high school teams. I just want a bunch of kids.
SPEAKER_03:I think I got to be out of town, but I'm going to try to make something happen that weekend. I'm going to try to make something happen that weekend. I'm going to get my guys down there.
SPEAKER_00:Good, good. The whole point is to try to create interaction. With the adults in the area, and I say adults, you got your attorneys, you got your police officers, city council people, firemen, people from all walks of life, bankers, coaches. I want everybody talking and walking with our youth so we can make a concerted effort and not, you know, kind of meet them where they are and not where we want them to be, so to speak. That's dope, man. Definitely, I'm looking
SPEAKER_03:forward to those things, man, I think. With myself, man, just... First of all, beating the heat, man. Like you said, school is back. Just trying to get adjusted. Not being able to take my midday daps. And, again, what we got, me and you got, what, two more weeks before we send our boys off to college. I got my new middle schooler here. You know, at the new school, he's– Told me he got a few phone numbers, so we're going to see. We're going to see what.
SPEAKER_00:First week of school, he should be talking about grades. I already talking about phone numbers. That's funny, but that's life, man. That's middle school. Hey, shout out to all the middle school teachers, man. I pray for y'all all the time because I just personally think middle school is probably the kids are at their worst. But they're figuring themselves out, and that's the little bit of freedom they got, and some of them test those limits. Boy, I promise. But, you know, shout out to all the middle school administrators, teachers, and everybody involved. Yes,
SPEAKER_03:sir. Other than that, man, maybe a few things coming up I don't want to say right now. I'm the type that I really don't like to say until the deal's done. But maybe some things coming up for me. Okay. Real soon. Hopefully, we get them closed in the next
SPEAKER_00:few days. Okay. Good vibes that way. Prayers up to a faithful outcome. Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_03:But other than that, man, I have my quote that I've already read, man. Do what it takes to win, man. Everybody wants to win until they realize how many losses you got to take. But, hey, you're going to face losses, man. Everything ain't easy. A phrase I always heard, man, if it was easy, everybody would do it. So take pride, whether it's starting your own business. whether it's trying to buy a house, whether it's going to the gym, getting yourself in shape, man. Go through those trials, man, and just think about the end result.
SPEAKER_00:Yep, that's what I'm on now. The gym is my next thing. my next feat on my list of things to do. Telling you to come on, man. Telling you to come on. I know it, man. Got to get the schedule together, man. Look, I got to make the adjustments. It's on me, so I don't make excuses. I make it happen. In closing, man, look, you already gave the quote. Be great, man. That's all we got for tonight.
SPEAKER_03:Yep, yep.