God Was Preparing Me: The Growth I Never Planned

Last week, we talked about development—being the container and nourishing yourself so that one day you can sprout.

This week, I’m sharing how I realized I was living that message.

I never set out to become a speaker. I started by writing down thoughts that challenged me to become a better man. Those thoughts became a book. The book led to a podcast. The podcast grew into a brand, merchandise, and now an opportunity to speak on stage.

Looking back, I realize I wasn’t just building something—I was being prepared.

Sometimes we’re so focused on where we’re trying to go that we miss what God is doing in us right now. Every step, every lesson, every season of consistency is preparing us for an opportunity we can’t yet see.

If you’ve ever questioned your progress, your purpose, or wondered if your efforts are making a difference, this episode is for you.

Keep nourishing your gift. Stay faithful. Stay disciplined. Your preparation today may become tomorrow’s opportunity.

“While I was nourishing the gift, God was preparing the opportunity.”

Prayers & Blessings: The Podcast
Where Faith • Flavor • Focus feed the soul.

🎙️ Follow Prayers & Blessings: The Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio.

📱 Follow @PrayersAndBlessings for daily motivation, encouragement, and inspiration.

“Discipline obtains excellence. Stay faithful. Stay focused. Stay developing.”  

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up with the What's Ups? Welcome back to another episode of Prayers and Blessings the Podcast, the Faith, Flavor, and Focus Feeds the Soul. I'm your host, Mark Tyson. Before we start, let's bless the stage. Heavenly Father, we thank you for another day, another opportunity for my voice to be heard. Lord, I ask that you monitor my tongue. Anoint the microphone. Anoint the ears and the hearts and the words that's coming out of my mouth. May I speak directly to someone that's need in need of this word today. Thank you for the opportunity, the breath in my lungs, and the blood in my veins, and the courage and the strength to say some words that's well needed. In your namesake we pray. Amen. Yo, what's up? What's up with the wash-ups? So we're back with another episode of Prayers and Blessings Podcast. And uh last week we were speaking about development. You know, I told a story about the bamboo tree and how the bamboo tree takes five years, but after 90 days of nourishment and watering and the proper sunlight, it grows to be 90 feet tall. What greater way to start this segment off, right? Than to show proof, to show an example of myself of what that nourishment looked like. So when I first created Prayers and Blesses the Podcast, prior to creating Prayers and Blesses the Podcast, I was just getting up every morning, preparing myself for work, and I would say, What's up with the WhatsApps? And I would say something positive. It was about me just changing the trajectory of what I was seeing on, you know, the social media platforms. I wanted to say something, you know, positive, motivational, inspiring. It was pretty much angled and directed towards the youth due to the fact that I felt like I was a lost youth when I was growing up. I was just going which way of the way the wind blew. You know, um, there was no direction in a positive in a positive perspective for me to look at, for me to gravitate to. Everything was just going down one way. So I figured, let me say something motivational. I was changing the way I was thinking. I was watching different things on TV. I was nourishing who I was, I was feeding myself different things. Um, that was going, that bus that had been going on for about a year. Just, you know, saying something positive. Then out of that, I said, you know what? How about I start making some shirts, some hats, some things. And I wasn't even selling these on the webs, on the on social media. Then the light bulb clicked. Yo, your kids are gonna get um social media one day. They're gonna get a phone, they're gonna get, you know, something, they're gonna indulge into this atmosphere. So I looked at it from another perspective of, you know, you're doing something that's gonna show your children growth within you. Because they look at my beginning of my my IG, it was all the old mark, the old lifestyle I was living. And then I switched it over. You know what I'm saying? Because I just it just got played out to me. You know, smoking got played out to me, drinking got played out to me. I was doing it for so long, it got old, you know what I mean? It wasn't that it wasn't cool. It got, I mean, it wasn't cool to me. I'm not saying it because I'm trying, I'm not judging nobody else. It wasn't just cool to me. So I changed, I I chose that the life I was living, it was just it was just old. I wanted to switch it up, try something, I want to do something else for myself. I didn't want to keep moving like everybody else, right? So as I as I began to change the things that I was saying on my on my social media, things started changing with me. The way I looked at things, the way I received things. Then uh I got the opportunity to go speak and tell a portion of my testimony and the things that I was doing with myself on the land alive. Right? Now mind you, this none of this was in my plan. This was none of this was in the beginning. This was just me pressing the start button, the record button, and shooting. This was God nourishing me. This was God watering me. This was me getting something that I prayed for. Because I asked God, yo, turn take my life and turn it around. 360 degrees. You know what I'm saying? I don't want I don't like the way I'm living. I don't like the I don't like the drinking, I don't like the way I feel after I drink. I can't get away from this craving. I keep drinking and drinking and drinking, and then once I get it in my system, I don't even like how I feel. Then I fell off, fell back on. So slowly but surely, God started watering me and nourishing me. You know what I'm saying? And it took a long time. So after the um, after the Atlanta Live, a few months later, he opened up the door for me to go do a radio uh radio station. So I'm saying all this to say we were speaking about development last week. You have to develop, right? And in the process of being a develop and developing, you gotta be a container, your container. So I was a container and God was developing me. You know what I'm saying? And I'm telling you this because I'm piggybacking off of the development to let you know that this is this ain't something I'm not just teaching and reaching and speaking on theory. I'm teaching, I'm reaching, I'm speaking off experience. I'm walking this, I'm talking this. You know what I'm saying? Real life. This is this is this is me, this is this is real talking to flesh. This is prayers and blessings in real life. So now the podcast comes upon. And I'm like, what I'm gonna name the podcast. I say prayers and blessings. I go to, I go to, I go to work. You know, I'm about to start a podcast called Prayers and Blessings. Nah, I don't name it prayers and blessings. The first person that said, nah, I don't name it prayers and blessings, you know what that did to me? That was a stamp of approval that name it prayers and blessings. You know me, I like that. I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm pushing back. You tell me it ain't right, I'm like, yo, I'm I like it. You know what I'm saying? Because I'm I'm into being me. I gotta do me. I gotta, I gotta, I gotta develop into a perspective of, you know what? If it feels right, it sounds right to me, and I and it stand for something. See, I can see if I came up with a random name and it ain't stand for nothing. Prayers and blessings was here before the beginning of time. They've been praying forever. We've been getting blessed forever. Those who don't believe been getting prayed for. Somebody praying for you when you ain't praying for yourself. You receiving blessings each and every day. Sometimes we overlook our blessings. Sometimes we don't be thankful and grateful for our blessings, but you still receive them. So what what what what better? What's the greater foundation than prayers and blessings? You can't shake that. It don't get old. It's never gonna get played out. Prayers and blessings are gonna be here for eternity. So it's good, I can honestly say that my legacy will live on. Every time you turn around, no matter what your background is, your nationality is, somebody on their knees somewhere praying to somebody for something, somehow, some way. And we all reaching for the end goal to see that beautiful side on paradise. You know what I mean? For them gates to open up for you. So that's just God nourishing me and developing me to be the person that I am and seeing things differently, right? Okay, let me rewind back a little farther. Let me go back a little bit further than that, right? It was this um, I can't recall the actual name of it, but it was this guy on Instagram, uh, speak or something, right? I sent them uh, I sent them $1,500 for their course. After I sent them $1,500, I realized that you sent them the bread, but you ain't even watching the course, you ain't doing none of that. So sending them that money without no actions, you just wasted the money. Then I also knew that I'm sort of a slickster. You know what I'm saying? I'm sort of a I'm sort of somebody to pay attention. So I'm like, you sent them the money when all you really has to do is just watch them on their Instagram and their social medias, and you're gonna get all the information you need because they're gonna keep telling you. They're gonna take a little bit of this, they're gonna take a little bit of that, they're gonna take a little bit of this, to try to get you to spend the bread. So this is a this is a little gem to all of those out there who want to take classes and courses, and you don't have the money, wanna take those real estate classes, you wanna take those speaker classes, just follow them. You keep saying you don't want to, you can't get it right now because they're gonna give you the information you need for free. All you gotta do is keep following them and keep listening. Slowly but surely it's gonna add up. Take notes, do some research. Do some research. Follow the blueprint. I'm giving you the blueprint right now. I'm giving you the blueprint right now. The blueprint is what makes the world go around just as much. So after I gave them my money and I didn't follow it, but I still had the knack in my mind that I want to become a speaker. I want to speak. You know what I'm saying? I feel like that not just my testimony, but I also can relate to those that are lost out there. I also can relate to those who need to hear something. You know what I'm saying? I also can talk to somebody who don't need to be yelled at and deliver a proper message so that they can, you know, receive something if it's only this much. You know how much, you know how much mess, you know how much information this right here, this much information that gets you far if it, if it's if it sticks. What stuck with me out of little bit of information I ever got, when you listen to somebody, take what you need and leave the rest. Sometimes somebody'll be blabbing, blabbing, blabbing, blabbing, blabbing. You be listening. And he'd be it'll be driving you crazy. And then they'll say one thing that stuck with you. That was meant for you. Take that, let me get this up off you. Go ahead with the rest. I'll see you next conversation. I get a little bit more. Then I get a little bit more. And before you know it, I got this much information and I'm pushing forward. So fast forward, we're gonna be speeding up now. Um now I got a speaking engagement, right? Where they asked me to come speak. So off off out of all the time, all the ripping and running the streets, all the keeping me free, all the car accidents, shootouts, stabbings, almost got my neck slight slip right here. You know what I'm saying? God was taking me through that, I was coming through that dirt, but I was being nourished. I was pushing through. You know what I'm saying? I was coming through so I could be at this, so I could come through that soil and be here today. I it wasn't in my plan. But what was in my plan through the whole time was prayer. See, some people get prayers and blessings mixed up and think this is a this is gonna be uh a religious preaching podcast. Prayers and blessings is proof. Prayers and blessings just mean it's proof that prayers and blessings go together. I prayed so much that God would turn my life around, and He did. Here's the blessing. Four beautiful kids, a wife, you know what I'm saying? Nice, good job, good running vehicles outside. Coming from Raggedy Little Young Boy outside in the streets, not knowing which way to go, selling, robbing, breaking windows, doing all kinds of nonsense, just loss. Just going any which way the wind blew me. Throwing rocks at the penitentiary, like, let me in, let me in. Just keep throwing rocks. You keep on throwing these rocks up at this penitentiary, they will let you in. But through prayer and action, so you gotta understand this, right? I had somebody ask me um about a week ago. He was like, Mark, um, I noticed by the way you talk and the way that you do certain things, that you wasn't always like this. How did you change your? He said, What did you do to change yourself? You know what I'm saying? What what what what was it something that you were doing that made you changed? Did you have a traumatic experience? And I was like, nah. I was just like, I was just pretty much fed up because I seen a lot of my friends go away. I seen a lot of my friends die. You know what I mean? Um, and then I had people in my life like my mom, my uncle, um the kids, my little cousins. I didn't want them to see that happen to me after they already was looking at me in a certain light. You know what I'm saying? I ain't wanted to be the cool cousin that got locked up because I was doing things that I thought was cool and it wasn't cool. I didn't want to keep pushing the envelope. I didn't want them to be missing me. I didn't want to be seen on the other side of that coin. Because on the other side of that coin, you lose all your thorough points. You was no longer, you was no longer the thorough individual. And I knew that from being in those places, from from experiencing inside of them them them places I'm I was throwing them rocks at in the prisons. It wasn't cool. Wasn't nothing thorough about being in there. I didn't want to become one of these dudes who was cool in here arguing over the TV, thinking that was thorough. I was like, that's ain't this ain't that's a place for a boy like me. This ain't that's I ain't this ain't cut for me. I can't never get comfortable in here. So I was like, yo, I don't want to, so I'm gonna pray that I could change my life, that I ain't never gotta come back, that I could do something different, because I don't want to see this again. This ain't this ain't the life for me. I've been in good jobs that I prayed for, that I was like, God, this ain't for me. This ain't the ending. My this ain't how our chapter is gonna end. And if we get whatever we gotta do, we're gonna change it. So I'm praying. And guess what he did? He let me stay there. I was working at the public's warehouse. I was making like $27, $28 an hour in the freezer, and then he was getting like $30 overtime. In the first six months, due to the fact I was doing other things, I had at least 10, 15 racks, and I still was like, I don't want none of this. And that was just in my bank account to go with what I already had, but I ain't want no parts of it. So I prayed, like, God, we got to get up out of here. I went to my locker, I got my stuff out, and I told the lady, she said, it's lunchtime. Where are you going? I said, I'm gonna put this stuff in my car, I'll be right back. And they still waiting for me to come back. I left and I went and bought some cribs because I told God I'm not doing this, and I prayed on it. So I'm just saying that developing, out this time I've been developing, I've been developing, I've been developing to become someone who can honestly say that I walked through certain things, I prayed through certain things, and it's happening for me, it has happened for me. You know what I'm saying? Development. You gotta, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta pray, right? And then you gotta act. So as I was saying, a young man was asking me, what do I do? And what's part of my blueprint? My blueprint to my to to me changing my life was prayer and action. Prayer and action. I prayed on certain things and then I act on it. I prayed on certain things and then I act on it. God, I want to read some different books. I want to I want to start watching some different things on TV that could benefit me, they can help me see life from a different perspective. When I got up, go to YouTube, don't watch any next video. Um I don't care about what they got going on. What can I watch that's gonna benefit me? I don't I don't even like, I got my uncle right now. He be sending me videos inside my TikTok all day long about things that don't benefit me. But do I I don't call him and say, stop sending me that? If that's what cool, if that's what, if that's what you'd like to send me, you send it. I don't have to watch it though. He be sending me a gang of this comedy stuff, what's going on? I just as soon as I see it, and it don't, it ain't nothing about motivation, it ain't nothing inspirational, it ain't no recipe for nothing good, it ain't got nothing that I can pour into myself. I don't even watch it. I don't even call him back and say, Don't send me that. Because that might be what he's cool with. That might be that might what makes his day. I'm gonna send my nephew this. But if it ain't beneficial to the kid right here, I'm not indulging in that. It might sound selfish, but self-preservation is first prayer and action. What are you nourishing yourself? What are you what are you feeding yourself? You gotta ask yourself this. What am I feeding myself every day when I get up? We never gonna be perfect. Praise and blessings are not a perfect podcast. That's not what it's about. It's about becoming. You know what I'm saying? It's about becoming the person that you want to be and that God created you to be. And I'm just giving you a different, my perspective on on my view of things, right? I'm letting you know that it's possible. I'm letting you know that the steps that I took. See, some people will give you the blueprint, right? They'll give you the information, and then you'll take it and go write down whatever you want to put down on a piece of paper. You know what I'm saying? If they didn't give you the answers to the test, and then you blame the teacher. All I can do is give you my info, what I use, and how it worked for me. And if you want to say, you know what, okay, let me try Mark's way. Let me get on my knees and pray. And then when I get up, I'm gonna do the action to the things that I pray for and watch these things come to fruition. Because he ain't speaking in theory. He's speaking in actual experience. It's just what you what is what are you feeding yourself? What you pouring into yourself. If you pour, I guarantee you, if you pour anger into yourself, anger gonna be the results. If you sit around and be lazy, lazy gonna be the results. If you feeding yourself excuses, excuses are gonna be your results. You're gonna become the master of excuses. You're gonna be extraordinary on wiggling your way out of why you shouldn't do things to grow. You're gonna be superb and getting away with things in life. Then you're gonna wonder why you stuck. See, I I love the fact that I'm I'm in the process of mastering leveling up. When I sit down and I think and I chill, I try to master ways that I can continue to level up. Because I know that if that's what I think about and that's what I pour into myself and that's what I'm indulging with, I'm only gonna get back what I'm putting out here in the universe. I'm only gonna feed my, I'm only gonna get back what I'm feeding myself. If I sit down and I tell you, you know what? I'm gonna start outsigning these other chefs in here. So all I'm gonna do is focus on nothing but recipes, reading, different ways to do things, and I'm gonna be superb at that. How he figured that out? Because that's what he's feeding himself. That's what he's nourishing himself with. You have to under, I mean, I'm a chef by tree. I'm a speaker by gift, and I'm determined by design. I'm determined to be, I'm I'm determined to keep changing the trajectory of my life so that I can change the trajectory of somebody else's life. That's the way I'm designing myself. Because that's what I like. I like, I like, and I like to feel good about the person I am. I like to, I like to walk into anyone's establishment, right? And feel like a multimillionaire. I like to I like I like to I like to go in there with the mental with the mental state. Because in my mind, right, if I can afford anything in this store that I want in matter how much money I got in this my in my account, I'm a multimillionaire because it ain't nothing in here I can't have. So I walk in there happy in the stand that I'm in. I'm going there feeling good about the person that I am. You know what I'm saying? I feel good about walking my five, six miles a day, putting good stuff inside my system. You know what I'm saying? I feel good about that. You know what I mean? I don't go sit in my car no more and be looking at the bottle like, damn, I keep drinking this sh. Then I sleep in the car all day, wake up mad at myself because I'm in a car parking lot somewhere to sleep. Kind of drunk this nonsense that's holding me back. Do you know how good it feels to be able to just get out of my car and be like, yo damn it feels it feels good to be sober. Feels good to go downstairs and eat me a silent with chicken and sit back on the couch, watch TV and be chilling. You know what I mean? Just in a whole different space with myself. Yo, stop hitting your brother man. Leave him alone. Yo, chill you know what I'm saying? Yo, my uncle, right? May he rest in peace, man, that's my best friend. It seemed to me that at some time in life I used to get I used to get mad because he never worried I'd be like yo this boy don't worry about nothing. But the later as the more I was around him the more I started to understand. You know what I'm saying? The more he talked the more I started understanding. I'm like man this boy bills need to be paid he ain't he ain't tripping about nothing. He'd come in the crib he'd be he'd be I call him spazzing about some nonsense. He'd be like man chill man so calm he'd be like manything I'm worried about right now is we got any cookies in the house. I'd be like huh? Man only thing I'm worried about right now is we got any cookies in the house peaceful peaceful if he if he was stressing you would never know it peaceful come in the crib eating some cookies watching a mob movie come to talk to me I jump on him I'm a grown man jumping on him like yo like like I'm five but it was like everything about him started rubbing off. You know what I'm saying? Mark change the way you think you ain't thinking right and I used to be like what you mean I ain't thinking right you see how much bread I got what you mean I ain't thinking right you see I ain't want for nothing but it was I wasn't it wasn't it wasn't right in here. You know what I'm saying? There's some people down here right they go work out right you go to the gym you pumping all this iron you know what I'm saying they looking good on the outside they ain't got no stomach muscle bound like this but they pouring all this nonsense into their system so you looking like a Bentley on the outside you're looking like a Lambo on the outside but your insect your inside got the you got the you got the you got the Chavette engine you got the engine that's gonna conk out any minute now and you know it you know that you ain't happy with what you got under that hood you know what you putting in that gas tank you know you're putting that cheap gas in there you know you go home and you cry at night because you ain't happy with the person you walk but you won't change it. You know you settling you know you letting no girl walk away from you but you scared to walk away because you think you can't get nothing better than that. You know she you know you nourishing a nonsense lifestyle but you don't want to change because you scared to change you gotta move out and live for you. You don't get one life bro sisna do things but you keep saying I'ma wait I'm gonna put it on the back brand I'm gonna do it next week why what's going on next week that I don't know about what's going on next week that you don't know about next week ain't even here yet why you ain't doing that now who said you're gonna see next week tomorrow ain't promise and the rest of this day right here ain't guaranteed bars I'm just saying development ask yourself this right what is it that you're nourishing what is you no what are you what are you nourishing? I'm gonna put that out there right now what are you nourishing? Because development it happens beneath the surface development but happens beneath beneath the surface but the let me get it together let me get it together development happens beneath the surface and then it grows and then it grows and then it grows and then it shows above ground so are you nourishing discipline are you nourishing your faith are you nourishing your health are you nourishing your purpose or are you nourishing this negativity and this purpose and this person that you're not happy with that pause right there is for you to that pause right there is for you to catch it for you to sit on that for you to for you to hold on to that that's why I pause right there so you can ask yourself damn what am I nourishing? So you can see man what what what is it that I'm nourishing? Am I nourishing my happiness? Am I nourishing these nicotine cigarettes that I'm smoking that I keep saying I can't quit yo mom dukes was on drugs one of the strongest drugs out there she's been clean almost going on 20 something years. So she can get over that everybody can get over whatever it is they want to get over reposition yourself. Put yourself in a new environment think different move different respond different don't let this world dictate your presence don't let this world dictate your being don't let this world dictate where you're coming and where you're going and how you live and how you receive things you got control over everything. Don't let nobody tell you nothing different don't you think nothing differently don't think no less than yourself that you can't do anything y'all wanna y'all y'all better come out July 25th and con is and watch me speak. Because I'm gonna tell y'all about this blueprint it's out there follow the blueprint follow the blueprint it's not finding the blueprint is not the problem following it is I'm gonna elaborate that on stage but right now I'm just trying to give y'all the understanding that development is it's all about you and what you want to do with yourself and I'm proof you you just seen me you just heard me tell you the story how I went from point A to point B to now I'm about to be on one of the biggest stages speaking because I chose to develop who I was I chose to pour into myself I chose to nourish myself not just for me though it started with me because I wanted to change the person I was for me right but guess what hold up who if you uh if you nourish right I think I gotta sneeze but look let's say you nourishing and you watering this beautiful plant right your homegirl or homeboy or somebody you went over their house and they got this nice beautiful plant or whatever on it on the on their living room table right you went in there with your wife and um with your kids and they always admiring this plant. It's like oh that's a nice plant right there that's dope I like that how you do she give you the blueprint how you how to nourish it so you can get this so you can get the same results. You go home and you follow the you you follow the blueprint to the T. Do exactly what she said. Now you got this beautiful plant at your crib you won. You got it now your husband or your wife come in and they looking at this beautiful plant. Your kids they like yo we got one now too they got one down the street we got one now too so true indeed you got the plant because you wanted to nourish it and you wanted one of those and you did it because you wanted that for yourself. But look at the other people in your house that benefit from what you've done look at the other people in your house that gets to admire and enjoy the beauty of that plant because you took the time out to nourish it and follow the blueprint to what it said do. So when you go to nourishing yourself and changing the way that you think and changing the way that you live and changing the way that you are inside now like I said before this when I say change the way that you live I'm not saying you're gonna be walking around town with a Bible in your hand under your arms talking about you just changing your trajectory of life because you you want to be more healthy you know I'm saying you want to feel good about yourself you want to you want to respond differently you might be somebody who always flying off the handle when somebody says something to you you quick to take things wrong way you quick to you quick to respond or you're not quick to move on impulse of your dreams and things and your aspirations that you want to achieve so changing your trajectory and thinking differently just helps you attain these things of a life that you want to obtain that's when I say you know think differently and move differently and pouring into yourself. I'm not saying that you're gonna go outside and become this great rendition spiritual being now if that's what you're praying for and you acting on that that's what you're gonna receive because that's what you want. But prayers and blessings is just saying that whatever you pray on and you act on it you will be blessed with it and I am proof now when you praying and you nourishing yourself you're gonna win but your children get the win man your husband or your wife winning because they watching you be happy they looking at you like yo I like who this person he becoming or she becoming they happy for you because you know what happened it rubs off on them man. The same way you do some negative nonsense rubbing off on them it's gonna rub off on them when you're doing something beautiful man happy people make happy people man if you sitting in the crib drinking 40s all day don't be upset when you wind up and see your kids drinking four they still drink 40s drinking liquor all day you blowing it down smoke all in the air don't be looking crazy when your kids drove and they weed smokers potheads can't move want to sleep all day well I know some people who don't who don't who who don't smoke and their kids still fell you know me victim to that nonsense. It's nonsense to me because I don't get down no more. So it's gonna be nonsense. I ain't judging nobody else it's nonsense to me. You know I mean you do what you do what you do and that's what you do. I used to do it too but I don't do it no more because I just choose to I just was like yeah how how you trying to be cup I always tell this story right when I was in the when I was in the program and the boy was like it's like Mark you smoke? I said yeah man I smoke man say how often you smoke I said I smoke every day he said you smoke as soon as you get up I smoke as soon as I get up smoke I brush my teeth from smoking I gotta smoke when I take a smash when I get out the shower after I eat he said you you always high I'm always high damn sad because you gotta be high just to kick it with you you don't even know what it feels like to be with you sober. That last time you've been with yourself sober I don't know see like I said I take somebody sell me certain I take a little bit of that everything else he probably said to me probably went out the window but that right there for some reason that made sense to me like damn I do smoke a lot and then when I do smoke my mental make me think that everything sounds different tastes better feel better see things differently and it just got played out like man I've been smoking three since I was what? Nine 1011 straight man good bro I need I need to do something else you know I mean I'm straight then I then after I left it alone for so long that when I did smoke it I started getting paranoid I thought then we tell you what the what was the icing on the cake that really made me start smoking right I was in Philly visiting my homies right we sitting in the car smoking and as we sitting in the car smoking I'm look I look out the I look out the the uh the window I'm thinking I see my pops walking up the street towards us I'm like yo put that down look at my pops pops been dead about 10 years I was like oh yeah I can't smoke this no more cuz I was like yeah I can't smoke this no more cuz I'm done I'm done yo I'm done I'm done but um yeah man just this this this brings me back to discipline and development I'm here for you each and every week I'm bringing you some new topic you know I mean prayers and blessings to podcast with faith flavor and focus feeds your soul I'm gonna keep the faith coming I'ma stay focused to help you stay focused and I'm gonna continue to feed your soul you know I mean humorous stories you know I mean real live experiences no reaching theories and uh I'm glad that I could have the courage to come talk to somebody out here who needs this information it's somebody out there who just as lost as I was man because I know I know like um I be I I used to ask myself like if I had a different if I had um someone to honestly pull my coat and sit me down and and explain to me you know about life and what I possibly could do with my life and how to do things and how to change you know certain things and like I said this is luxury motivation right because I sit and I talk and I get an information out because everybody don't need to be yelled at and I think that okay when I was a kid it was it was like don't hang out there with them boys what you doing you keep hanging over there right it I heard you keep hanging over there but it was no other direction you understand what I'm saying you you wasn't shown I wasn't shown nothing else I wasn't shown that you could be doing this instead of doing this I just kept hearing don't do this but that was what I was doing over there was showing me the most love and was more inviting you know what I'm saying I wasn't shown another lane that this over here is working you know I'm saying this right here will keep you free this right here will make you money this right here is what makes you a man this right here what grooms you to become a better person I just kept hearing don't run with them don't hang with them but them and running with them was the only love I was getting that was the only lane I seen so I'm here now to try to tell the youth or anyone that needs that you know a a motivational spark some guidance that number one today don't have to be your last day of of of of of of trying to figure it out you don't have to drown in your sorrows you know I'm saying as long as you got breath in your lungs and blood in your veins you can change the trajectory of your life you could become somebody different you know I mean just just change your perspective and what you're feeding yourself and what you what you're nourishing you know I mean sometimes it it only take it'd take one conversation for you to start reaching and find some more information because like I said I was watching motivational speakers you know what I'm saying and I only wasn't I watching it because I wanted to learn how to um speak differently but the things they were saying were helping me you know like damn I could do it you know saying don't you you you laying in the bed all day which what you getting out of that you keep putting things off I was like you know what I ain't putting nothing off to tomorrow you know what I'm saying I started hearing things and then I started applying it to my life you know I mean and I was always heavy in prayer you know I mean and then when I prayed so much and I seen that God was revealing that he was saving me and keeping me safe and once I looked at all the things that I've been through it was only right that since I couldn't honestly shake his hand and say thank you let me change the way I'm living to say that was that's my thank you to God. You know what I'm saying? You didn't save me from shootouts, stabbings, knives, car accidents, bad drugs, you know I'm saying uh robberies you feel me uh facing a lot of time and away and I was like you know what the only way I could tell God thank you is if I changed the way I'm living He saved me too many times for me not to for me to just keep living the way I'm living thinking that I'm gonna just keep he's gonna just keep you know I mean sparing me and then it just became a domino effect you know what I'm saying I started changing what I watch I mean I still watch a good mob movie any I still watch sports I still hoop and holler and yell like I said this is not a perfect podcast but you know I mean I just move differently because I know my kids is watching me my kids is looking up to me you know I mean they still be making me do push-ups because I be cursing like I'm saying I'm not a perfect human being I've just been through some things that made me better than what I was last year and I know that I have something that I could pass on to somebody else to make them become better than what they was to help them to help them get over the hurdle. You know what I'm saying? To help them tune in and tap into their inner being so they can feel good about the person that they are you know how many people they be shining and smiling on the outside would be hurting in the inside because they ain't happy with the person they are but they walk past you you happy with what you see but but they ain't happy with what they see they ain't happy with how they feel all you gotta do is start putting something different into your system man all you gotta do is start looking at things differently. Be open-minded you know what I'm saying take accountability yeah I messed up right there I'm gonna fix it you know what I mean ain't nothing wrong with telling yourself damn I messed up you know what I'm saying we ain't always right we can always have opportunity to get it right because it starts with you you know what I'm saying it starts with you until next time prayers and bless the podcast with faith flavor and focus feeds the soul I'm Mark Tyson a chef by trade speaker by gift and I'm determined by design remember hug somebody and tell them you love them. They just might hug you back and tell you they love you I'm just saying I like your boys prayers and blessings