The Rabbit's Revenge

Man, Listen | Episode 9: The Rabbit's Revenge – Stepping Into Your Golden Era

Let's get one thing straight before we dive in: we are not talking about literal guns or violence. This is a metaphor — and a powerful one.

Think about the traditional power dynamic. The hunter has the gun. The rabbit runs. The expected outcome? Hunter wins. Rabbit loses. But what happens when the rabbit has the gun? Everything changes. The hunted becomes the hunter. The powerless claim power. The underestimated dictate the terms.

That's what this episode is about.

In Episode 9, host [Your Name] breaks down what he calls "The Rabbit's Revenge" — the moment an underdog stops running and starts stepping fully into their power. We're tired of the same recycled success stories: billionaires on yachts, trust fund kids preaching hustle culture, leadership panels full of people who inherited their seat at the table. Those aren't our stories. Most of us started as the rabbit — with no safety net, no generational wealth, no connections — just speed, grit, and the will to survive.

This episode covers the full journey: from survival mode and being hunted by systems that weren't built for you, to learning the game while dodging bullets, to the pivotal moment you realize you don't have to keep running. You can pick up the gun. Not as an act of violence — but as an act of sovereignty.

[Your Name] shares his own rabbit story — building a fitness studio from nothing, surviving COVID shutdowns, navigating an MS diagnosis after being dismissed by doctors, and launching this podcast at 55 — unapologetically, on his own terms. He also spotlights other rabbit stories: Barack Obama, his brother (Philly's best DJ), the single mother who built a six-figure business, the 50-year-old who reinvented himself after a layoff, and the artist who kept creating despite a thousand rejections.

Your golden era isn't behind you. It's right now — with all your wisdom, your battle scars, and your hard-earned power. This episode will challenge you to identify where you've been shrinking, name what "the gun" looks like in your life, and take one bold action this week to claim it.

Stop asking permission. Start shining unapologetically.

It's time for the rabbit's revenge

***Music credit: Melt by Jay808; Jaylewis302@gmail.com

                                                         @Jay80eight on Instagram

Asana by BeatbyShahed; beatbyshahed@gmail.com

                    Youtube channel: Beatbyshahed 

Man, Listen is written and recorded by host Jamey Mixson, Fitness Professional, entrepreneur, and your everyday awesome guy who is living as proof that 55 can be your strongest, clearest, most powerful decade yet. 

New Episodes Weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and other podcast streaming services.

Contact: Instagram @theJamey, Facebook @Jameymixson, Email: mixsonfj@gmail.com 

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Transcript

Speaker 0:00

Before we get into today's episode, let me be very clear about something. We are not here to harm rabbits. We are not advocating gun violence in any way. This is a metaphor, powerful one, but a metaphor nonetheless. Now that we got that out the way, let me ask you something. Have you ever been in a room where somebody underestimated you, looked right through you like you weren't even a factor, treated you like you were there to survive the moment, not own it. Yeah, me too. Here's the deal. We've all played the rabbit at some point. Running, dodging, just trying to make it out clean. For a long time, that was enough. Now that we're older, wiser, seasoned in this game, the rabbit gets the gun. When that happens, everything, and I do mean, everything changes. This isn't a story about revenge in the way you're thinking. It's bigger than that. This is about sovereignty, about what happens when the person, people, count it out, count themselves in. Oh yeah, we came to collect. Yo, what's up, team? Welcome to Man Listen. This is Jamie. Today we're talking about the rabbit's revenge. Now I want you to think about traditional power dynamics, right? The hunter has the gun. The rabbit is on the run. The expected outcome? Hunter bags the rabbit. Now what happens when that rabbit has the gun? Everything, and I do mean everything changes. Let me explain. The hunted becomes the hunter. The powerless play the power. Be underestimated, learn to dictate the terms. The outlook, shine. It's different when the rabbit has the gun. And that's what this episode is about. Alright, friends, so before we jump into this, I want you to hit pause, go grab yourself a cocktail at some point, water the wine, do whatever's best for you, maybe a notebook, because we're going to reflect on what we did and how we'll do better today. So it's about the underdog repositioning themselves towards success. It's about stepping into your golden air. It's about believing within and shining unapologetically. It's about being exhausted by the same old winners, at times undeserved, but winners. And let me know if this speaks to you because we are tired of stock footage of the rich and the wealthy. We're tired of leadership that inherited their power. We are tired of high performers who started on third base acting like they hit a triple. Let me interject something. I'm not one of those let's eat the rich kind of people. I am also not offended by somebody else's success. I just know that the playing field has been slant for far too long, and we rabbits now have the gun. You see, we want stories of people who actually fought their way up. People who were the rabbit running, hunted, underestimated until the day they picked up that gun. So I hope you get it. This is what we're talking about today. This is the story, not just my story, but maybe your story, and millions of others who've been counted out and came back strong. So if you're ready, I'm ready. Let's go. Let me start by acknowledging something we all feel, but don't always say out loud. We're tired of the same success stories. The stock footage winners, you know, the ones I'm talking about. So I'm a business guy, right? I mean, I've been doing this for many years. And when the podcast technology came into my ecosystem, I just I jumped right in. All the business and, you know, bootstrap your way to success. And I listened to a lot of people's stories, and they got to be super frustrating. Uh, it's a lady that's also in fitness that now owns over a hundred facilities, was like, oh, I never did this for the money. Girl, shut all the way up. Now I can't be sure, but maybe you've seen some of these types of motivational videos with billionaires on yacht, LinkedIn posts with the trust fund kids, preaching hustle harder, leaderships panels full of people who inherited their companies, their wealth. Or check this out self-help gurus who never even did the thing you're trying to do. You see, a lot of people started life with a gun already in their hand. And don't get me wrong, success is success. I'm not here hating on anybody who achieved anything. Those stories don't resonate, not anymore. So the deal is most of us didn't start with the gun. We started as the rabbit. I don't know about you, but speaking for myself, society sells us lies. They'll tell us that everyone has equal opportunity. Just work hard and you'll make it. No, not really. The slant is some people start with generational wealth, family connections, access to elite education, networks that just open the door, safety nets that catch them if they fall. They get to play a different game by different rules. And the slap in the face a lot of times is when they win, they act like they did this grand thing on their own, as if they're grit and determination. I'm not saying all people, but some people just celebrate things that they did not earn. At the exact same time, Mr. Maybe Miss Rabbit or dodging bullets in machine gun rounds just to survive. You know, it's really exhausting. They don't reflect a reality, not our reality. A person who was fortunate enough to inherit multi-million dollars in assets cannot come and tell me to just believe in myself. They don't acknowledge the obstacles: racism, sexism, ageism, classism, systemic barriers. The rabbit doesn't need to be faster. The rabbit needs to be flawless. Can we even imagine how bad it is for that little rabbit who's been running, jumping, skipping, doing everything possible to get ahead? They make one mistake. I'm just talking about one mistake, and they get judged to damnation. More often we see people who made it without roadblocks or a struggle, and you start thinking, what's wrong with me? Why have I not achieved those types of goals? Let me give you this one, friends. But the truth is, you're not starting from the same place. You're the rabbit, they had the gun. The difference is what we really need. We need stories, we need anecdotals about people starting with nothing that face the obstacles. I'm talking about real obstacles that got knocked down, but were strong enough to get back up. Built something despite many, many odds. We need rabbit stories. I'm sorry to say it, it's not because we don't care, but we don't care for more hunter stories. That's not relatable, that's not inspiring, that's not really what most people are living. Let me walk you through what a rabbit's journey actually has looked like. This is the story of anyone ever underestimated, overlooked, or counted out. You. The rabbit are running. You're always running. In the beginning, it's a learned survival mode. No power, no resources, no privilege. Just speed laced with fear. It's all an instinct to survive. Visualize this. Growing up without wealth or even more basic financial stability teaches people to struggle in life, which normalizes working jobs to just eat and pay their cell phone bill. College, many live in fear of student loans with having to pay them back for decades. So it's worth noting, being black man in America, oh, it's tough. You're navigating systems that weren't built to support you. There are dismissive corporate and healthcare systems that do not care. We're constantly underestimated in business in a global society that's constantly criminalizing us. And now rolling into midlife, being told you're past your prime. That's ageism. Society thinks you're invisible now. Your best years are behind you. Step aside. So we know some corporations exist on you're too old, do this, that, and the other. But it's funny that our great nation is run by very old people. I mean, what's up with that? But as rabbits, many of us start businesses with no funding, no network, no safety net. Just you, that vision, and an insane amount of grit and a little bit of crazy. Within every one of these scenarios, you're the rabbit. The entire world is hunting for you. Here's what most people don't understand about that rabbit. The rabbit gets very good at survival. You learn to free danger before it arrives. Move faster than anyone expects you to. Adapt to the environment that aren't designed for you. Build strength on the margin, and you develop skills that the hunter will never have. And the hunter never had. So here's where I overshare about my own situation. I've navigated a few things. Being underestimated for a long time by a lot of people, I can't say my entire life because I'm a big boy. In that time, I've built out a fitness studio from nothing. Let's not forget to talk about COVID-19, which shut my business down. I had the fire chief come to my place and just say, hey, you gotta go. Then at the same time, I'm dealing with an MS diagnosis, which was very scary, but I made it through it. I've learned to operate with finesse on that monopoly board. That friends, that's the rabbit's education. At some point, something shifts. We've been surviving long enough, built enough, learned enough. Whereas the realization, what am I running for? I can handle a gun. What does the gun even represent? We must ask ourselves first. Not with violence, not with a trip to Gaza, not even vengeful in a literal sense. For me, the gun represents agency, power and influence to make your own choices. Your voice spoken with strength, not fear, expertise, knowledge that can never be taken away from you. Resources, financial, social, intellectual capital you've built over time, and your refusal, your decision to stop shrinking, apologizing, or asking for permission. The power stands for the gun. The gun stands for the power. The moment you pick it up, everything, and I do mean everything changes. Again, friends, I want to be clear: this is not about hurting anyone. It's about refusing to be diminished. It's about using your voice unapologetically, standing on your expertise, again, without apologizing, building your empire on your terms, shining without dimming your light for anyone, and winning in a system or systems that try to either destroy you or are destroying you. That's the rabbit's revenge. None of this is intended as violence. This is sovereignty. Alright, let me articulate what this looks like playing out in real time. Barack Obama, the ultimate rabbit with the gun. Let's think about it. Raised by a single mom, father was absent, no generational wealth, no political dynasty. He was the rabbit. Every step of the way, people doubted this man, underestimated this man, told him it was impossible. But guess what? He became the president of the United States. Not because he asked for permission, not because the system, well, we know the system did not invite him. He picked up the gun, and I do mean metaphorically, and his expertise and his presence, a refusal to play small ball. He had a good jump shot too. That's the rabbit, it's revenge. Alright, real quick, let me tell you about this other guy I know intimately. Started hosting boot camp classes in a park for free. They grew, so I started charging for them. From that, I built a boutique fitness studio from nothing. And when I mean nothing, I mean no investors, no loans, no safety net whatsoever. Just a bunch of dumbbells and a lot of self-glee. After that, the business exploded because this was in the height of let's start a studio. Classes were packed, I was crushing. Like many, COVID-19 was a gut punch. Many gyms and fitness studios shut down permanently. In-person gym culture took a major hit. Side note, a fitness facility may have been one of the smartest places to spend your time for your health at that time. Then my body punched me in the gut as well. Mystery pains. Doctors dismissed me. No drug addiction, no cancer, no HIV. Just a sad assumption that I was something I was not in this healthcare system. MS, I told you that already. I was diagnosed in the spring of 2018. And then I was told there's a chance you could lose the ability to walk. Oh boy, I was the rabbit being hunted by circumstance I couldn't control. Here's what happened: I didn't accept all the heady, heavy medication. I backed off, found my own path. I at that point reopened my fitness studio on my terms. I launched this podcast at 55 using my voice, sharing my heart with people willing to hear me out or needing to hear what I gotta say. Who has the gun? I have the gun. No violence there. Agency, choice, power. That friends is the rabbit's revenge. Now imagine the average single mom, maybe a single dad, trying to build a business. They're trading their time for dollars, working around the clock. No time, no money, no support, and little quality sleep. This is the rabbit. Gets into hustle culture, skills getting polished, builds a client base. Good for them. Five years later, they're running a solid and reputable business. Kids are thriving, financial future looks swoosh. Hands on the gun. Can you tell me what that is? That's the rabbit's revenge. Okay, I got one more. I got one more. This talks about us this point in life. Let's talk about the man who reinvents himself at 50. Imagine getting laid off after 25 years at the same company. This guy thought he was set. Nice house, green lawn, a week every year, Myrtle Beach, you know, that kind of life. Now society tells him, You're too old, you cost us too much money, you're obsolete. He is the rabbit. Quickly pulling himself together, he realized I know what I know. Folding his expertise into building a consulting practice. Now competing with the same company that let him go. He's still working, but with the empathy and compassion for others. Unlike the big dinosaur company he worked for. Now, what did he do different? He didn't spiral with some angry internet troll making noise about how the man did him wrong. He picked up the gun, kids. What's that called? The Rabbit's Revenge. Now I hope you're paying attention. I hope you're noticing the pattern. In every case, all started powerless, underestimated, built skill in survival mode, reached a point where they refused to keep running. Harness that power, winning on their terms. This is what we, at least I call the rabbits revenge. Here's what I want you to understand. Your golden era is not behind you. It's right now. What your golden era actually is, it's not about your youth. It's not about physical piqueness. It's not about being the fastest or the strongest. The golden era is when you step into your power. And at that point, you know who you are, know what your worth is. Refuse to keep shrinking. It's time you claim your agency using that big voice of yours and shine, and I do mean shine unapologetically. That, friends, that is your golden era. And most people, that doesn't happen at 25. It doesn't happen at 35. Most of us find that place about 50, 55, 60. That's when it happens. That's when a rabbit is in full bloom. This concept of the rabbit's revenge starts with belief. You're not invincible, it's self-belief. That belief is that you've survived this long for a reason. You've built skills the hunter don't have. You have something valuable to offer. You deserve to take up space. You don't need permission anymore. Believing within is the first step to picking up the gun. Modern society tells the rabbit to stay small, to stay quiet, to stay in the shadows. Screw all of that. You've earned your shine, your expertise, the time to share it. Your story, tell it. Your voice, use it. Your light, man, don't you ever dim it. This is your golden air. With all your wisdom, all your battle scars, all your hard-earned power. This is when you shine brightest. The exhaustion ends when you decide. When you decide. Remember when I said we're exhausted by the same winners. The exhaustion ends when you become the story, when you step into your power and show others what is possible. When you refuse to be the rabbit on the run, you become the rabbit with the gun. This is when the narrative changes, not when someone tells you it does, when you do. All right, y'all. So we've talked about the concept. Now let's talk about how. How do you actually pick up that gun? How do you claim your power? First and foremost, we have to define what the gun means for you. For me, it means my expertise in running a fitness studio. My voice, this podcast, my agency, choosing my own path of health and practition for managing MS. My refusal to shrink, not taking requests. What is it for you? Maybe it's you finally starting your own business. Maybe it's using your voice on social media. Maybe it's time that you set some boundaries at work. Maybe it's leaving toxic situations. Maybe it's time for you to create beautiful art without asking permission. Maybe it's time that you charge what you're worth. The gun is whatever gives you power in your situations. Rabbits ask for permission because the rabbit is afraid. You ain't that kind of rabbit anymore. Stop asking. If it's okay, do you think I should? Am I allowed to? Today, we're outside. Just do it. For too long, you've been quiet, fearful of making waves. Not now, not anymore. Afraid to offend, afraid to be too much, afraid to take up space. That ends now. Speak your truth, share your expertise, tell your story. Not everybody's gonna like it. And guess what? Good. You're not here to be liked by anybody anyway. Sean, go ahead. Blind and non-believers. That's what we do. Friends, we've talked about this in previous episodes, but it bears repeating. Boundaries are the gun. Saying no, refuse to be disrespected. Walk away from what does not serve you. That is power. The rabbit with a gun doesn't negotiate boundaries. You set them, you enforce them. End of every story. So, whatever you're building, a business, a career, a life, bonsai tree, build it your way. Not the way society says you should, not the way your family expects you should, not the way your competition does it, your way. You are not following anybody else's blueprint anymore. You are writing your own story. The world will always try to make you smaller. Too loud, too ambitious, too this, too much of that. Let them say what they want to say. You're the rabbit with the gun now. For me, I'm like, come at me, bro. You don't shrink anything anymore for anyone. Alright, kids, here's the challenge. Pick up your gun this week. I'm not talking about a real gun. I'm talking about your power. Step one, identify where you've been playing the rabbit. Where are you running? Where are you hiding? Where are you shrinking? Number two, name what the gun is for you. What power have you been afraid to claim? And number three, take one action this week that claims that power. Maybe it's speaking up at a meeting, setting boundaries, starting that project, using your voice, charging what you're worth. Maybe just say no. Just one action. Step four, shine unapologetically. Do not dim the light. Matter of fact, make it brighter. Don't apologize for taking up space. This is your golden era. I need, you need. Let's step into it. So listen, friends, the rabbit's revenge isn't about violence, it's about sovereignty. It's about refusing to be hunted anymore. It's about stepping into your power and saying, I've run long enough. Now I dedicate the terms. See, friends, I was the rabbit, a black man in a system that wasn't built to or for my needs. An entrepreneur with zero safety net. MS patient told I'd never walk again. And I picked up the gun. My expertise, my voice, my agency, my refusal to shrink. That's my rabbit. That's his revenge. Whatever you survived, whatever you've overcome, whatever you've built despite all the odds, that's your power. Don't wait for permission to use it. Pick up that gun. Step into your golden era. Shine, friends. The world is exhausted by the same winners. It's time for the rabbit's revenge. Alright, friends, made it to another episode, trying to share some gems of how to be the most awesome you, you, and you. I can't tell you how much I enjoy doing this. So on our next episode, episode 10, by the way, it's called Each One Teach One. We have to look at ourselves and ask ourselves, what lessons do we learn from our friends? That's a big hmm, right? So, anyway, thanks for being here. Thanks for enjoying yourselves. Thanks for shining, man. Listen, it's Jamey, and I'm out.