Personal Bets
Small and Medium Businesses are the backbone of America. I interview those that chose to bet on themselves, and America is better because of them.
Personal Bets
#11 - Why You Should Talk To Strangers, From Someone That Talks To Strangers For A Living
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I never liked talking to my barbers, but then I ended up at the new @Floyds99Barbershop in Maitland Florida. I used to sit down, get my haircut and leave without saying much.
Then, three years ago, a stylist told me she wasn’t comfortable doing the fade I wanted and moved me into someone else’s chair. I didn’t know it at the time, but the stranger standing behind that chair would eventually become one of my best friends.
In this episode, I talked to one of my best friends ( @shearbrilliance ) about why conversations with strangers matter, the “good bricks” people can add to our lives and how one unexpected interaction can turn into something much bigger. We also get into anxiety, brotherhood, business, faith and the importance of having people around you who will walk with you through difficult seasons.
**In this episode:**
→ Why I normally avoided talking to my barbers
→ The unexpected chair change that started our friendship
→ What we can learn from the strangers around us
→ The “good bricks” the right people add to our lives
→ Why we can’t allow anxiety to control our decisions
→ The importance of brotherhood during difficult seasons
→ How faith became part of our everyday conversations
ABOUT PERSONAL BETS
Person Bets is a podcast for the people actually running the business, not the investors, not the board, not the consultants on the sideline. Hosted by Chance Sweat, business broker at FitzGibbon Alexander, Inc. and founder of Sweat Equity Advisors.
🔗 Personal Site: chancesweat.com
🔗 Brokerage Site: fitzgibbonalexander.com
🔗 Coaching Site: sweatequityadvisors.com
🔗 Follow Chance: @itschancesweat
How A Haircut Made A Friend
SPEAKER_03Three years ago, I walked to the shop trying to get a high fade, and the stylist said that he wasn't comfortable with that, but there was a new guy and that he was great at it. And so she literally made me move chairs. And that's how I met one of my best friends. Dude, where's the rest of my friend? You're looking good, man. Where's the rest of my friend?
SPEAKER_01So what are we doing? What do you got in my are we looking skin tight? Like usual?
SPEAKER_03Let's do skin tight.
SPEAKER_01You want to go high fade still? I do. Okay. Alright. Let's do that.
SPEAKER_03So the vibe I've got for this is uh I've been writing with this idea of like talking to strangers. Okay. And how everyone's got a little bit of a connection.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So uh, because you know, I wasn't supposed to be in your chair, what was it, almost three years ago?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you were supposed to be in my coworker Rhonda's chair. I actually remembered that the other day.
SPEAKER_03And I said, hey, I want to do a high fade, basically what we're doing today. And she was like, you know, there's this new guy who's kind of really good at them, and then she like didn't give me the option. She's like, you need to go sit over here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Uh she was uncomfortable with skin fades, that's why.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Is that what it is?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's what it was.
SPEAKER_03Uh so this idea of a skill mismatch put me into your uh your seat. And dude, I I think I've told you this, but I don't I've never liked talking with my barber or like the guy cutting my.
SPEAKER_01I was like, cool, I think.
SPEAKER_03How long had you been at the shop then?
SPEAKER_01Here?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I've been here for we checked it out the other day. I'm here, I've been here for two years, almost three years to be exact, but two two two years and seven months basically.
SPEAKER_03So when I came in, you were like fresh in from uh up north. From Michigan, yeah. Yeah. What made also we talked you and I know why you moved here, but uh what makes you talk to people, man? Like, why would you just talk to strangers? Is it just is it too awkward not to?
SPEAKER_01I it's so funny. So when I first started doing hair,
Learning To Talk In The Chair
SPEAKER_01I was quiet. I was too shy. I got out of my I got out of my comfort shell. Um, I think because I'm I don't know, just got out of my comfort shell just realizing like I need to change something different about what I'm doing when I'm doing hair. But I also took like a two-year hiatus from hair.
SPEAKER_03No, that's right. Weren't you like construction or something like that?
SPEAKER_01I did so that was before I did hair.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_01I did um I ran my dad's business. He had a convenience store. So I took two years from a break from cutting hair because I wasn't sure if I really loved doing hair. And uh after taking two-year break, I was like, man, screw this, I don't want to do convenience store business ever again. I'm good. That's just like you're you could be had the best day ever. That one client that comes in ruins your whole day. That whole day. You could give them the shot, whatever, you know, they're they get shots or cigarettes or whatever it is. They could just ruin your whole day. And it just like you don't even want to be there anymore.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So what made you choose to go into you know hair? Yeah, yeah, like an actual like this isn't I wouldn't I don't know, would you I wouldn't consider this a trade, but it's also like It is technically in a way. It is technically a trade, right? Right. What made you choose to do this, man?
Family Business And Immigrant Paths
SPEAKER_01Wild, I uh I don't think my dad was like, hey, you should look into doing hair. My dad used to do be a barber in Michigan for I don't I mean not in Michigan, in Syria for I don't know, until he was like 25, and then he came to the US and he wanted to do hair there or here in the US, but he had to go back to school. But my dad doesn't know English, so he's like, what's the point of doing that? So my dad did the next best thing most Middle Eastern people do is convenience stores. They do. I'm not being stereotypical, but they do. Whether it's uh convenience store, gas station slash um uh what is it called? The gas station, convenience store and 7-Elevens in a lot of whatever. Yeah. But they do that, but a lot of it is just not being able to speak English, so what do you know, try to do something easy or a mechanic or something simple, you know?
SPEAKER_03Well, you know what we see on the business broker side too. Uh a lot of uh people who are immigrating to the US, they go into those businesses because they're cheap to buy. Yeah. Right? You can get into uh a convenience store for you know anywhere from you know 75 to 200,000, maybe, right? And so it allows you to get you know usually your YouTube visa or you know some other thing. Obviously, I'm not an attorney, but there's opportunities there that are uh lower barrier to entry, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. There so Middle Eastern people is like, oh I can say this only because like I that's how our family ran. They're all about like own your own business, work, you know, work, you don't have to work, don't work too hard for the next like like corporate company, you don't want to do that, you want to own your own business, you want to own your own land. But like that mindset changed as my generation came in. They realized they don't want to own their business, they don't want to. They would rather work for a company that way it just pays them, takes out the taxes. They don't have to worry about it. There's nothing wrong with owning a business or owning the land or owning any of that. If you have the right business mind structure, different story. Own your own land, own your own business, nothing wrong with that. What I know now compared to what I know then is completely different. Now I know what to do for next time when I get ready to do my own thing one day, but not now,
Peace In A Shop With Structure
SPEAKER_01you know. Cause you did your own thing for a while. Yeah. For 15 years.
SPEAKER_03And so I mean I feel you can have kind of a mix of that now, right? You're still doing your own thing, you gotta build your own client base, you gotta get people to want to come back and re-book with you, but you're in a a franchise location here.
SPEAKER_01Yes. I I like it more, honestly. I just have more peace with it. Eventually down the road, maybe I'll think about doing something again. Now that I like I said, again, it goes back to now that I know what to use to open a business. Yeah, I mean, like I learned a lot from owning a business, but now that I w have worked for such a you know really cool company and understand like more logistics behind it, I'm like, oh, that's why we have different structures put in place. Yeah. My dad taught me a little bit, but he could teach me so far, right? Our parents can only teach us what they have learned, and if they're not educated or whatever, like they only teach up to a certain degree, then schooling comes into place, and then you learn from them, or you learn from friends, yeah, and how they ran a business and what they did differently, and then you're like, Alright, it's I almost look at it like this. I take the good bricks you give me and place it in my um business I'm building or my number I'm building, my brand. So, like, whatever good bricks that you give me, I'm like, I want to put that on my foundation. But there are some bricks that I would not want that you know, you could keep it. I don't want I don't need it, you know. But like I know there are certain bricks I can take from you and be like, oh, I can use this in my tool belt. Just like how like when you go to counseling, we have they give us tools to put on our tool belt and know how to react when anxiety comes, right? Or when something comes to attack us, we know how to pray over us, right? So same thing, like that good brick that you gave me, just put it in my pile, you know. Like, alright, I'm gonna build this on my foundation or my business or my house or whatever. Does that make sense? That's the way I look at it.
Good Bricks From Hard Seasons
SPEAKER_03What kind of uh good bricks have you taken from strangers? Strangers?
SPEAKER_01So, I mean, everyone who sits down in your chair is a stranger at first. There's always a story behind every client. I think my favorite part about cutting hair is I get to see a glimpse of their window in their life and what they're doing. Does that make sense? Um, there's a lot of bricks, man. It just depends on what we're going through. Like, someone told me something really cool a long time ago. He's like, don't let I was going through anxiety. He's like, don't let anxiety paralyze you. And it paralyzes a lot of people. It like anxiety can really ruin ruin your day. And you know, or like let's say you want to go on, you're getting ready to go hang out, let's say I'm gonna go hang out with you, and anxiety at that time would tell me no, or the enemy would tell me no. And instead, I was like, I can't let let it paralyze me anymore. That's also when I got into church again, pushed myself through it, the Lord helped me through it, um, lots of prayer, but also got me out of it where I'm like, oh, that's a good break. I don't need it to let it paralyze me. As soon as I let it paralyze me, there goes that chance I could have had with, you know, A, B, and C, but I didn't. That's a really good brick.
SPEAKER_03You ever gotten some pretty bad bricks? And you're like, you're like, thanks, but I'm gonna put that one over here to the side.
SPEAKER_01I think happened. It's so funny that you say that. So the bad bricks I think happened when I was younger. And like bad relationships and bad friendships. You start to realize who's for you and who's not for you. I want people that want to pour into me. I don't need people that are gonna me pour into them and they never pour back. You know what I mean? Like, it's I don't know, I've it's kinda like, you know how you know how in the Bible when they knew that the bride was coming or Jesus went coming and they had like oil in their lamps ready, yes, and the two, like I think two girls that didn't have their oil in their lamps ready because they went and poured some out and poured some out and the other ones were ready. Like, I'd rather have people that are gonna pour into me and vice versa, I'm gonna pour it into them. Yeah. Just prepared. Yes, be both of us all to be prepared. Because I don't want nobody, for example, I I don't want no one to go to hell. But there are people that are going to go into it, you know. But I have to prepare, you know, like be I want that good break all the time, or that poor oil that poured into you, like you poured into me, I want to pour it back into you if I can, you know. Now obviously if I can't, I just I might not have the right words for you. But that's where I feel like personally, but like not gonna go off subject, but I feel like that's personally where like brotherhood comes in the process. That's why it's good iron sharpens iron, that's why it's important to have guy friends to talk about things like this. Sometimes we might let's say I might be going through something that you and Taylor have already gone through where I have you know how to get me through it, you know what I mean?
Brotherhood In The Valleys
SPEAKER_01Yeah, dude.
SPEAKER_03I talk about that all the time when Taylor went through her breast cancer diagnosis. I had no close guy friends.
SPEAKER_01I mean I had one or two, but like But it's not the same when you have a group, yeah.
SPEAKER_03And even still, like none of them had been through uh you know a medical crisis like that. So, you know, the best you get is like, oh well, don't worry, it's gonna be okay, or you know, I'm thinking about you, thoughts of prayers, and it's like, hey, I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01Thoughts of prayers is one thing, but someone to be here's the thing, like the one thing I have learned in life, interrupt you for a second, but like the one thing I learned in life, if you don't have those core guy friends that would be in the mud with you, yeah, it's very hard going through the valleys, right? So, like when we're going through the valleys, we want those good core friends to remind us, hey, it's gonna be okay. God is with you, trust me, He is. Or like when I was going through my moments in life, same thing. Like, you need those core guy friends, you know? Yeah, go ahead.
SPEAKER_03That's my favorite thing about the book of Job, right? Is that uh everything was fine. Literally, well, I shouldn't say everything fine. Job's life fell apart. But uh, when his friends showed up, tore their clothes, covered themselves in dust, and just sat with him in silence, that everything was okay. It's when they opened their mouths that they were not. They were against them, yeah. They were against them. And uh that's where I think you know, the thoughts and prayers, I will always accept thoughts and prayers on on my behalf. Um, but like, you know, we've had a good friend, unfortunately, diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year, and uh, you know, Taylor got to sit down with her and and tell her all the bad stuff that's about to happen, right? The the difficult pieces that are gonna come with the the procedures and everything else, and how to prepare for it, what worked for her, what didn't. And you know, I think that friendship is stronger because Taylor had been through that and could give her those good bricks that were gonna come through. Whereas if she was just like, Well, I'll be thinking about you, can I bring you dinner? Like, those are sweet things, those are great things, but people need to hear what's about to happen from someone that's been through it.
SPEAKER_01100%. It gives you more of that closure. Not only that, it brings you closer. Because now you're like, Oh, they've been through this already and they can help me through it. When my dad went through kidney uh can you failure, I felt like I was alone. I felt like I was being torn in pieces. Like I didn't know what to do. I just know my mom couldn't handle it because anxiety. Yeah, my brother was in Chicago, my sister is I think just freshly married at or getting ready to get married, freshly married at that point. She just met her fiance. And I I just knew when my dad got sick, I had to like I was I was dating someone at that time, my ex. And I just knew at that time, like I had to be with my dad. I just felt like all of a sudden, like, Lord's like, you need to be there more than there. And that was hard, but like no one understands until you go through it. And actually that's what brought Jazz and I together closer. It was no one like when she told me when we first got to talk to talking about family and everything, it was literally the first time I met this girl, and she was telling me about like what her dad's gone through and what her dad is doing and everything, and I was like, My dad's going through the same thing. What are the odds? That's the Lord, that's what are the odds. But no, that's what brings you closer to push you through it. But going back to good bricks and bad bricks, that's what it is right there. Just like Taylor and your and your guy's friend, that's a good brick. Taylor gave her a good brick, even though it's hard news to hear, it's good because now she can be like, oh, I know what to prepare for, I know what to get ready for, even though it's the worst thing possible, you know?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's like the like the shopping list, like the things you're gonna wish you had post mastectomy. Right. And it's like, oh, well, you know, the doctors give you a list of like these things, and it's like half the stuff you don't even use. It's just been accumulated on this list for years. And it's like, hey, what you actually want is like one of those weighted blankets. And it's like, well, that's really kind of rare, right? And it's like, oh, you want one of these um, you know, cushion things to sit on the sofa with, and you want to get one of those uh, you know, little uh, you know, desktop. You see those like desktop uh workbenches almost like you can sit on your sofa and work on your laptop? Like you want one of those so you don't have to bend over to eat your you know to eat or grab your drink, and it's like would never have thought of that, right? It's a tiny brick, but it's still a brick.
SPEAKER_01It's still a good brick to have. That is like fancy. I know, isn't that wild? Look how it's a little blow dryer, man. Isn't that wild? JRL. I thought it's a JBL and I was like, man, they make speakers.
SPEAKER_02They make the fortress.
SPEAKER_01Oh man, I think that's where good breaks come into place, but that's where you need those like hardcore friends that are with you, ride or die type of friends. Um and then they're always gonna be there for you, always gonna pray for you. I have a best friend back in Michigan. He doesn't believe, but he's always like goodbyes, man. And and like I talked to him about God no matter what. And he knows I'm not gonna budge. He tries to like, hey, what about this? I'll always be back to God with him. But no matter what, he's like, one time I accidentally texted him like this code, and I meant to text my wife to remember, and he like looked it up and did all this homework, everything. And he was like, Chuck, are uh like I he calls me like three times that day, like not knowing what the heck's happening. I my phone wasn't on me, I just like left it down. I call him like, hey bro, is everything okay? He's like, Hey, like, I read that code, are you okay? It came up like some kind of immigration thing. I was like, bro, I'm a US citizen, you got the wrong thing. But it goes back to saying, like, those are the good bricks. You want to keep the good bricks close. There's a song in the Arabic. You know how when you sift uh sift flour or you sift uh powdered sugar, yeah, and you sift it and like the big granules are on top, those are your close friends. All the friends that have sifted are on the bottom. Like, that makes sense. Those are your acquaintances, yeah. People that know you, connections, you know. I was like, that's a good way to look at it. Do you look you know like thick my hair is very thick? Better than no hair. That's true. Would you want a horseshoe haircut? Yeah.
SPEAKER_03You've seen the dude, I've seen the uh there's been these guys who have lost like their fantasy leagues and they have to get like the Martin Luther monk cut.
SPEAKER_01You know, I have not seen that.
SPEAKER_03So you literally shave the sides and you shave the top, but you leave this ring.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's brutal.
SPEAKER_03The Martin Luther cut. That's brutal. Yeah, that'd be pretty rough. That would be rough.
SPEAKER_01That's funny. No, I don't know, thank you. Have you seen the spin the reel on TikTok where the kids come in and spin the reel for 100 bucks? I can't do TikTok. Worst Eric ever.
SPEAKER_03I can't do TikTok. I got rid of it. I deleted it.
SPEAKER_01I deleted it.
SPEAKER_03Did you know what I've done recently? I've removed all social from my phone. Everything. Reddit, Twitter, not even really on Twitter, but like Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, and I put it on my iPad. And Taylor says that I look like an old man because I get in bed at night and like pick up my iPad and I'm on like Instagram or Facebook. And you know, it's a big old tablet. I'm like doing this to but dude, it it's so inconvenient that it keeps me from uh like I get just enough Instagram fix, just enough dopamine uh at the end of the day to like get through the next day without jumping on there.
SPEAKER_01My scream time has dropped a lot ridiculous
Cutting Distractions And Screen Time
SPEAKER_01amount.
SPEAKER_03But I do feel like an old man.
SPEAKER_01That's alright. You sound like um remember back in the day the phones that were like a brick, punching the number like this, that's what you're doing.
SPEAKER_03Dude, I remember the uh the ones with the cord, uh like a long cord, right? So your mom would be like walking through the kitchen or like you know in the living room, and like she's got everything all wired up because she's you know on the house phone. Yes, yes. Gone of the way of house phones, man.
SPEAKER_01Yes. So oh so, anyways, going back to what you said, we get sidetracked.
Faith That Shows Up Out Loud
SPEAKER_01Um, but going back to what you said, um I took a little break from hair after I told you there's good breaks. Took a little break from hair, and I came back to it and I fell in love with doing hair. Uh, then I realized like I like being social. And I like always considered myself introvert. I'm an introvert when it's like trying to read the room, and then I'll like start talking and getting to know people. But when it comes to like, let's say I'm at a church group or it comes to talking about Jesus, no problem speaking up at all.
SPEAKER_03That was actually gonna be my next question, man, because I think probably my f it was my first time sitting in your chair, and you're just talking about God. And uh previous to that, I a shame isn't the right word that that carries a lot of weight, but it wasn't something I'm going around with people I met on the first time to talk about. And you know, now I'll I'll have a listing appointment and I'll find out that you know the my seller is you know selling because of a family issue or a medical issue, and you know, I'll ask him if I can pray for him, or like the co-working space where I have an office. Like I met a guy the other day and he was telling about his uh thyroid cancer diagnosis, and like I've met the guy twice and asked if I could pray for him in like business, you know, space.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_03Totally different than I was three years ago. But and honestly, that's to credit you, so give you the props for that. But what uh were you always that way?
SPEAKER_01I was not actually that way at all. I would always say thank God, that's it. Um not until about five, maybe seven years ago when I started going to church um full time. I was going to church off and on and then started going to church full-time.
SPEAKER_03Like an Easter Christmas kind of guy, or more a little more?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, just every so often type of person. Um not I wasn't a creaser and I wasn't a um uh just a Christmas fill-up guest type of person. I was I was just here and there. I just wasn't 100% sure. I didn't really truly know Jesus until like maybe 10 years ago. I fell in love with the man Jesus. Um I was never that way, man. I was always afraid to tell people that. Then I just realized I'm like, what do I got to lose?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01If anything, he says even in the Bible, I always put this close to me when someone hates me, I always put um I always say this, I always say he they hate me or no they hate me only because they hated him first. Always Remind myself that because not everyone's gonna like you, not everyone's gonna enjoy what you're saying. The best way to put it is I can take every denomination in the Catholic and Christian, let me re rephrase that Catholic, Christian, non-denominational churches, put them all in one house. For example, they'll agree on only one thing, and which is that he died on the cross, rose on the third day, and they'll all agree to that. But then when you take anything else in the Bible, everyone's gonna argue to the T, right? But ever I feel like when you read scripture over and over and over and over again, it could be like be the light on Matthew 5, 14 through 16. That was like my verse nonstop. But once you read that over and over, you could read it six times, and you'll be like, oh, this is what I understand from it. And then I could read it six times and we put them both together, like, oh, that makes sense. You could read it 30 years from now and still get the same thing, right? So I used to never talk about God until I got to know the man Jesus. Honestly, I think the best way to put it is I mourn for the ones that don't know him, and I mourn for the ones that don't want to know him. Because how sad is that they're not going to heaven? Like, think about that. That's like I'm gonna start crying, but like that's a hard thing to swallow. Like, think about like even your family, let alone anyone. Our own family, our own blood family, like our wife and our kids and then stuff like that, it's one thing. But like, think about like your your if you have sister or brother or cousin or whoever it is, or your friends, like the ones that truly don't know him. That breaks my heart, man. So if me by just talking about Jesus to every client, even if they don't want to listen, it's okay. I've learned that discernment will tell you, Holy Spirit will tell you that the words will flow through you and me. And if it doesn't, it's okay. I'm gonna soul thank God every day, no matter what. It doesn't matter who sits in my chair, I'm gonna always talk about Jesus, no matter what. But I have learned to that where Holy Spirit will correct you, your heart is postured correctly, and if they don't like it, it's okay, but I still believe it that way.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know, no matter what, I still believe it that way. You don't have to, but I believe it that way. But I just don't I don't want no one to go to hell. I don't. I that's the last thing on my mind. And if I could save that one more person or lead that one more person to the Lord, uh no, if I could let me rephrase my words. If I can show that one more person, the Lord, and lead that person to the Lord, and they could be saved, heck yeah, I'm gonna talk about Jesus every single day. Doesn't I'm not gonna stop. Only because think about it. Have you seen that video where when we say Yahweh, it's a breath?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yahweh. So like, why not? He gave breath to you.
SPEAKER_03Well, I think um, you know, Penn and Teller, the magicians, yeah. Big the big guy and the one guy who never talks. I can't remember which one it is, but one of them uh was giving a talk, and the guy asked him, you know, do you believe in God or whatever? And you know, they got on this topic of Christianity, and he was like, you know, uh, if you truly believe this, right, then wouldn't you be telling everyone about it? Right? If if you truly believe that you get to go and live forever in heaven, and heaven is the perfect place, wouldn't you be talking about this thing nonstop? The good news, yeah. Spread the good news. And um, and the whole topic came up in a recent Bible study we did at the Citrus Club, where you know, Christians really can be the worst case for Christ because we'll say we're Christians and then we'll never talk about it in public. And it's like then you know, that's the the whole fruit of the spirit thing, right? The fruit of your transformation is do you actually believe this? Is that true faith? If you're not willing to talk about it with people who don't know?
SPEAKER_01That's that's that's that to answer your question. The reason why I talk about Jesus so much is because I met the man Jesus. I met the man loves you with all his heart. It doesn't matter who you are and what you've done, he still loves you. And like I want people to experience that love that he has showed me. I thought I was worthless, man. I was ready to be done with life. I was just over it. I went through some hard things with my ex, and like she just basically told me I'm never gonna meet people that love the Lord as much as I do or love my family as much as I do. And I still I pray for her, and I love I I pray for her every day, and I hope she finds the Lord, and hopefully she did. I don't know. But I will always pray for her and her friends, and anyone that doesn't believe, I will still pray for them. But when you feel that worthless, and then then you meet the people with the good brick that will pour into you and just remind you that you're worthy. Remind you that Jesus loves you no matter what. He died for us, man. Like, think about that. He literally shed blood on the cross for us. That's why I always plead, always pray and I plead the blood over my family and friends just to protect them. Because I want them to know who he is. I will the ones that don't know who he is. I this is my prayer, and you can even ask Jazz. I pray this every single time. I was like, run them down until they got nowhere to go. Run them down because I want them to know Jesus, this man Jesus, and know that the Holy Spirit will guide them, know that the Lord will guide them. God answers our prayers, right? You have to be in the room of three of us and we'll pray, and there's he'll answer it. It's just you gotta be willing to just bend your knees and pray to the King of Kings, man, the Alpha and the Omega. It's it's wild to think he's omnipresent, like, right? He's like everywhere we go, he's right there. But we gotta be willing to just reach for him.
SPEAKER_03You know what blew my mind recently? Listening to uh this podcast, and they're talking about prayer. And uh one of the questions I think from one of the viewers was like, Do you think uh God ever gets bored, or not bored, but like, man, you you've been praying that prayer, you know. Basically, the question was like, you know, reading some of these old Puritan prayers, do you think he gets bored with some of these prayers? And the pastor, I want to say it was Pastor Mike Price from Grace Church, uh, shout out Pastor Mike, but he um he was like, Well, you know, God lives outside of time and space, right? So he's hearing your prayer right now, the same as you know someone on the Mayflower, you know, 400 years ago or whatever it was, at the same time. He's receiving our prayers and the prayers of our past at the same time. So, one, how cool is that? And two, how amazing to receive the same prayer that's lasted thousands of years from someone in modern times and someone in antiquity.
SPEAKER_01That's no, that's so true, man. Think about the prayer that he gave us, our father, right? Yeah, so like you know how many times I've said that, or everyone said that around the world? He's I don't think he's he just gave us that instruction to pray like that when everyone says it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I went to Catholic school and that was a prayer that was like repeated constantly, every single day. I never understood it at that time. I just was doing school, you know, not thinking anything of it. I was like, man, I can't wait to get out of here. That was my thought, you know. But now that I under like I said, it goes back to now that I understand the man Jesus, no problem. I'll say it every single day rest of my life.
SPEAKER_03So back to the
Why Talking To Strangers Matters
SPEAKER_03topic, man. Why should people talk to strangers?
SPEAKER_01You never know what they're going through. You never know what someone is going through. You have no idea. They could be going through something so bad, but you're able to pour into their life. It could be talking about something so good and you get to pour it into their life. You don't know. I have some clients that are just quiet and it's okay. I'd I'm I'm okay with that if they're quiet. It doesn't it doesn't hurt my feelings. It's it's okay. There are times that like Holy Spirit will tell me to when I I'm cutting their hair or about to shampoo their head. Like, Lord's like, you need to pray. I'm like, alright, and then just do it. If you want to spread that good news, what are you afraid of? Yeah. You know?
SPEAKER_03It's always my problem spot, Nash. Like those first few hairs just want to lay flat in the front.
SPEAKER_01But just you got um your collar goes that way, that's why. That's uh that's God keeping you on your toes.
SPEAKER_03So if you had to do anything else, let's say you couldn't cut hair, man, what would you do?
Dream Jobs And Balcony Gardening
SPEAKER_01I don't know, I've thought about this a lot. Like a lot more than you realize. Dancer. Not too true. Yeah, literally. I don't I don't know. I would I would probably get into gardening. I would be in a greenhouse and get into gardening. Like, um how many plants do you have on your balcony at your apartment? Way too many. Way too many. I have like a little, maybe like this little square space of plants. I have a dwarf banana tree, a kumquat tree, a three fig trees. I mean, mind you, they're babies, so fig trees. Um a strawberry plant, mint, rosemary, um, an olive tree, uh pineapple. I have I have too many. My wife will tell you like I need to get rid of everything so we actually have a porch to sit on. You can only fit one seat on our porch. It's just like a little jungle. Huh?
SPEAKER_03A little jungle space.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, a little jungle space.
SPEAKER_03Get yourself a rain machine and just sit up there.
SPEAKER_01Literally, literally. That's all you need in my on there. And if it were up to me, like that would be like I would probably put a screen up and like add a couple canaries to the little little goat.
SPEAKER_03Dude, we had a parrot growing up. Canaries? We had like a legit parrot, I guess. Well, I guess uh it was technically son coneur. I think they're in the parrot family, a little orange guy. Yeah. But dude, he would talk, he would whistle.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Uh we had a bunch of we had two dogs, so like he would bark, like he learned to bark.
SPEAKER_01Because that's all he hears all day long. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And um, I remember we went through the you know, the last couple years we had him before he got re-homed to a friend of my mom's, was uh as soon as the sun would come up, he would just start screaming. Like screaming. So he had to live under like a bed sheet, like over his his uh cage, because if it was you know, until like eight o'clock in the morning, because otherwise he would just wake up and just start screaming. Yeah. I don't know what that was about, but those things live like 20, 30 years, man.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they live forever. They live forever. I ended up giving my parakeets away. Like, no way. They live forever. And then luckily a couple of them just died, but you know.
SPEAKER_03Luckily. Luckily. What do you hear about those um what are they, like the people who have like tortoises?
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01They live forever. Like 80 to 100 years or something ridiculous.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean I saw one of those uh it was like a it was like an Easter post from like a animal rescue, and it was like, you know, bunny rabbits are you know, they live for X amount of years, so it's not just a you know, couple year commitment or whatever. And uh some other animal rescue like posted a picture of like some of the one of those Galapagos tortoises and was like, these are a 200-year 250-year commitment. Are you ready or something like that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there's no way. Turtles sound fun until you realize how long they live for. And I'm like, I'm good.
unknownOh man.
SPEAKER_01I love if uh jazz would let me have a lizard, I probably would have had a lizard out there, but yeah, no reptiles in my house.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, dude. Run off topic, I'll cut this out of the the clip.
Florida Wildlife And Fear Factor
SPEAKER_03But um, we had a rat, told you about this, the rat that swam up the line in our house.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_03So then Taylor gets to get chick- We have chickens now. And uh Taylor goes out there and I hear from inside the house, I hear an expletive scream, and I'm like, Oh, that's scary. And then I see I get an alert on my phone that the security camera detected someone on the pool deck, and I look out the window and I see Taylor sprinting across the backyard, and uh we had a roof rat. They they they're not like you know, they're all over the place, but they live in palm trees. Okay, and um, so we have a palm tree in our backyard, and because we got the chickens, he was feeding on the feed. Yeah, and so I had to get the you know mouse traps in the backyard, and I ended up catching uh one of those black racers by accident.
SPEAKER_01I've seen that on one of the videos.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so I go to release the black racer, and he's still alive, so I yelled an expletive and ran. Because I don't do reptiles at all. So I got him released, which was good, and then I did catch the the roof rat. Uh so he's he's gone.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I don't do I I don't do like wild snakes here because uh everything can kill you here. So that's what scares me. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Dude, you know what scares me? These pygmy rattlesnakes. Huh? Pygmy rattlesnakes.
SPEAKER_01What are those?
SPEAKER_03Dude, they're like that long, okay, and they look like a rattlesnake.
SPEAKER_01Oh thank you.
SPEAKER_03And they've got a little rattler that you can't even hear because it's so tiny.
SPEAKER_01No thanks.
SPEAKER_03And uh Can can they hurt you? Yeah. No thanks. They're rattlesnakes. No, I'll pass. We um we went and had family photos done uh out in Lake Louisa or whatever that is out in Claremont.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_03And the uh photographer almost stepped on one. And that little thing was just rattling like crazy, but you couldn't even hear it over like the cicadas.
SPEAKER_00No, thank you.
SPEAKER_03And um, yeah, so I guess they're the number I don't know if they're the number one uh like bite in Florida. Or like I think for like dogs and stuff, but like they're so tight.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I think for like grown adults, like you're gonna have a really rough like sickness almost? Yeah, like a couple days. Definitely a hospital visit. Um, but like for kids and dogs, they're very dangerous because they just you know they pump you know you full of venom.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. No things.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I don't any kind of snake. Water moccasins, uh good.
SPEAKER_01Did you know this? This is back to almost like back to what we were talking about. Did you know the serpent in the Bible doesn't mean the snake? Did you know that?
SPEAKER_03I feel like I listened to a podcast recently when they were breaking this down.
SPEAKER_01Serpent, I think, was a more like of a dragon type of thing. Not like uh dinosaur, I guess was dragons. But like it was more of a dragon, not a serpent, as in what we think is a snake.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I was like, I didn't know that. I was like, okay, I like snakes now. No, I'm still like them.
SPEAKER_03Still like them. Still don't like them. Don't like alligators. Don't like dude. We took the boys to Gatorland. You been to Gatorland yet?
SPEAKER_01No, not yet. We still need to go.
SPEAKER_03You and Jazz need to go to Gatorland. That'll make you true Floridians. Yeah. It is the most dangerous anxiety riddle theme park. Dude, you you walk next to this enclosure with like a thousand alligators in it, and the like the only thing keeping you out is a little fence about the size of this bench here. And like I could just I just picture like a kid falling over, like in my head.
SPEAKER_01I'm like, man, that thing would just I'm sure it's probably happened before. That's scary, no thinking. Yeah, I don't want to think about that. Uh but anyway, man. Anyways.
Safe Strangers And Gut Instincts
SPEAKER_03So, moral of the story. Talk to strangers. Talk to strangers. Safe strangers, don't just walk up to random people.
SPEAKER_01Well, obviously. I feel like he tells you, Lord forgive me for saying that, but I feel like that's when he tells you, like, hey, like, it's safe, it's okay. Yeah. Or there are moments that are that he like you can you just you're alert and the Lord's like, hey, be careful. You know what I mean? Like there are moments in life that you just know that, or there are times like you just need to rebuke it in the name of Jesus, you know, it's just straight up how it is. I think that's the beauty of Holy Spirit. It's like our that like sensor, like, oh, you're getting too close to the wall, be careful, you know.
SPEAKER_03Well, I think it's the way we're designed, right? We have this innate feeling with certain people. You feel comfortable around certain people and you don't feel comfortable around others. And usually that gut instinct is right.
SPEAKER_01That happened to me when I had my shop in Michigan. Are we doing product or shampoo, by the way? Nah, it's not good on camera. All right. That's funny. So that happened to me actually in Michigan.
When Something Feels Truly Off
SPEAKER_01I had a client. You want to do the shoulder massage thing at least? No, it's not. Okay. So I back to what I was saying um three times already. That was my fault, my ADHD. Um, no, one of my client, I had a client in my chair one time, and it was so weird. Like, I and I remember this like clear as day. And I had him in a chair, we're getting I'm cutting his hair, we talk. He rarely talks to begin with, but I knew something was wrong instantly. Like you felt this like almost like whatever it was he was going through clicked in his brain, and that was it. And and I think it was more like a of a more of a demonic spirit that entered him. More that I want to rephrase my words. I feel like it was a demonic spirit that entered him. Well, long story short, the next day I found out he was on the news for murdering his wife and taking like taking his child, kidnapping his child, and they ended up finding him. He went to prison for it. But like, I feel like that's where where Holy Spirit does come into play where he's like, hey, this is something's off this person, or you can feel right off the bat, like, they're carrying something dark. There's um there's a book, uh Dark Side of the Supernatural. I don't know if you've read it yet, but it's really good. But it kind of shows you in the spiritual realm because some people can see in the spiritual realm, some people can feel in the spiritual realm. So, like, the more we are in our Bible, the more we're um meditating on the Lord, the more that we're we've constantly walked in by faith, he starts to show you things, and there are things that you'll be able to see in just that moment, he'll show you good and bad, and then there's things that it'll be like you'll feel it right off the bat that something's wrong. I don't know if you've ever seen some Christians where like uh I think Bryce on YouTube does this a lot. He'll walk up to someone, he's like, Hey, this is gonna be so random, but do you have like a pain in your back? And he'll be like, Yeah, how do you know that? I was like, Holy Spirit told me that. And like he'll pray over that person. I don't know if you ever ever experienced that, but like I have. And I thought at first, I'm like, there's just no way. And sure enough, it can be real.
SPEAKER_03There are books there's just so many of those charlatans and you know that they pick up on certain things or like C. S.
SPEAKER_01Lewis, like C. S. Lewis, if have you read any of his books? I love his stuff. Okay, C. S. Lewis is a great example. There's um one of his books, I can't remember which one he was talking about, seeing in the supernatural, but then he also talks about like uh healing right then and there. Like, as long as your heart is postured correctly, the Lord will heal it right then and there. And so even him seeing the supernatural is just like even the book of Daniel, let alone him, like look at the book of Daniel, he was seeing the supernatural in that spiritual realm. So, like, but anyways, back to what I was saying, like sometimes, sorry, re-let in again, but back to what I was saying, like sometimes I'll have a client in my chair, and you're like, Nope, something's off here, and that's where I'm like, Lord, don't let it attach to me. That's where you carry the armor of God. You're like, Lord, you pray that over yourself, or like the biggest one is like by the end of the day, I'm like, Lord, take it away, wipe it off right away. Because like some people carry things that are not for you, and it's not for you to do, you know. They have not met yet Jesus yet. That's
Gratitude And A Real Goodbye
SPEAKER_01it. Man, I appreciate you. I think we can talk forever.
SPEAKER_03We could, and that's why sometimes I have to book two uh sessions back around. But I appreciate you and your willingness to talk to a stranger three years ago, man.
SPEAKER_01Well, no, of course, man. God bless you, man. Well, I love you, man. Of course. I'm never gonna stop.