What Happens When the Applause Stops? With Patdro Harris

A lot of people can work hard. Fewer people can stay whole while they do it. We sit down with Patdro Harris, an award-winning director and Broadway choreographer, to talk about what actually sustains a long creative career and a steady inner life when the applause fades, and real life shows up. 

We start with the craft and the culture of dance: counting versus feeling, the “science” underneath the “soul,” and why presence matters as much as steps. From there we get personal about self-talk, rejection, and the belief so many of us fight in silence: I’m unworthy. Patdro shares how he built internal support through mantras and consistency after losing his mother early in his Atlanta chapter, and we connect that resilience to anyone navigating grief, burnout, or a major reinvention. 

Then we zoom out to the big balancing act: left-brain right-brain integration. Patdro breaks down show business as a real business, where creativity needs commerce, research, follow-through, and reliability. We also explore redefining success beyond income, degrees, or standing ovations, and how small victories, gratitude, and giving can shift your mindset fast. If you’re a student, an artist, a parent, or a professional trying to stay aligned with your authentic self, you’ll leave with practical tools you can use today. 

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Connect with Patdro: https://www.patdroharris.com/

Connect with Patdro on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patdro_harris/

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Transcript

Welcome And Meet Padro Harris

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Welcome back to Triple Threat. And today we're so excited to have our guest, Padro Harris, who is an award-winning director, Broadway choreographer, and a writer. Padro has traveled the world performing theater, music, and dance. So he's a true triple threat because as we know, a triple threat is someone who can sing, dance, and act. He has worked with stars like Stevie Wonder and has an amazing career as a Broadway choreographer. And now on to Mr. Harris. Padro.

SPEAKER_03 0:47

Yes. Thank you so much for having me on Ginger. I'm so excited to be on the be on the triple threat.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Right. Well, the reason I claim that name is, as you know, I'm a dancer, but also a psychologist and a lawyer. And I don't know if you knew that about the psychology, but I didn't know. I didn't know about that.

SPEAKER_03 1:05

Something was going on in that brain, and I could understand that, yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Right. Well, speaking of that, so let's talk about how we first met, because these were just a few years ago, in this was just a few years ago in Atlanta, Georgia, uh, when I lived there too, and I found you, and it was like being in the presence of greatness. And I remember I was a little bit afraid that I would say something or put my foot in my mouth as I was taking your dance classes. But I'll never forget the lessons that you taught as a teacher and a fabulous uh dance instructor and choreographer. I would take your class and then go home and practice. I don't know if you knew this, but I would practice all week because you would do a little bit of a combination and then the following week you would add to it.

SPEAKER_03 1:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

So that I was able to keep up in your class. It was so fun. I just remember being in my in the bathroom, in the shower, doing it, running it in my head and just not even, you know, wanting to say anything in your class. Well, obviously, you don't talk in a dance class necessarily, but I just wanted you to like me so much. I so badly wanted you to like me. And uh another thing I remember is that when we were learning a combination as a as a ballet-trained dancer, I would count and you would say it's mm-mm, it's on the mm-chm, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Or whatever. So I learned not everything

How Dance Class Built Confidence

SPEAKER_00 2:30

is one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

So that was my impression of you, Padro. And I learned so much from you, and you encouraged me in my dance career. Uh, you were there when I danced in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, then went on to dancing for the NBA under Jimmy Locust. And uh I can't speak highly enough. And I remember when you got your Tony. So tell us a little bit more about your uh experience with me, and then uh we'll talk about your life.

SPEAKER_03 2:59

Okay, well, great. Well, I'll start with what you ended up talking about uh in class and doing things and uh I just believe I remember this bubbly person coming in. I always believe as an artist, how you say it is how you do it. So if you do it as one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, that's how you know. If you say boom, that's the way it comes out. Like I believe that. So I believe just as a person, not so much as an artist, but as a person, how you say things is very important in doing those things, which we're gonna translate into later on. So how you five, six, seven, eight, yeah, that's the that's the science of it, but the soul of it comes and covers it up. So one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, math works with everybody. No, what you do in life, math always works. So that one's six seven eight is good, you know. But the soul of things is what we're gonna talk about. And I love you being in my class and singing there and having these wonderful people come in, this bubbly person can kick, turn, jump, flop, and shake it up. I was like, yes, who is that person? Right.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Walking across the floor was hard. You had to teach me how to walk on, or like, you know, walking across the floor.

SPEAKER_03 4:03

Get your jazz walk on. Yeah, get your jazz walk on. So it was great, though, but you could do it though. And you you were just such a good group of people coming in, and you people working for the Olympics and us working for the Olympics. That was just super great. So uh I was that's how we met doing the at the Rio Mall. Was it Rio Mall?

SPEAKER_01 4:18

No, but I remember you brought those hula hoops to class one time.

SPEAKER_03 4:21

Oh, right, right, right.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Because of the Olympic rings.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

The Olympic rings, you did hula hoops as the Olympic Ring, which was really smart. I thought that was Rio Ma. Maybe it was Trinity Street. So it was one of those places that we did it. But then but to but to perform and do stuff for the Olympics, you know, that's historic. So that was great to be for us to be a part of it, for you and I to meet doing that process and be able to do that. That was super fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Well, the Olympics are coming to Long Beach. Well, they're coming to LA in two years in 2028, and there are gonna be eight events down the street from my house. Oh walking distance.

SPEAKER_03 4:53

I'll be coming to visit. See, that's simple. Look at that, look at it.

SPEAKER_01 4:56

Absolutely, absolutely. Yes. So, I mean, that was in 1996, so I'm kind of dating myself. Uh, you know, I'm I'm not 39, even though I keep having the birthday 39. So uh okay, so what uh what have we done since? So

Psychology And Law After Performing

SPEAKER_01 5:13

I'll share with you because you didn't know about my psychology background. Um when I after I left Atlanta, I moved to LA. I moved back to LA. I had lived in LA in high school, went to UCLA, danced for UCLA, by the way, Padre. I don't know if you knew that. I danced for the football and the yeah, okay, and uh football and basketball. And then after having lived in Atlanta, I moved back to Los Angeles, got married, and I had three precious children. Um, during that time, I also got my master's in education and became a credentialed school psychologist. And that credential is still current today. And so the training that I received in psychology, both as an undergrad and in my master's program, has helped me with my second, or actually third career. My second career would be the motherhood, right? And the third career is is the law. So uh I sat for the bar exam in 2019 and passed it and in 20 uh in and passed it in 2020, the second time. I didn't pass it the first time. Thank you. And then built a law firm during the middle of the COVID pandemic. And um, I use my psychology background to uh help parents in custody disputes, especially. That's my main focus of concern. And so my practice spans from San Diego to San Francisco, and I work with parents who have been um the targets of rejection in custody disputes, and that's where my heart beats because I care so much about children. I like your your mug. Show us that mug. Let's see. Oh, the exo.

SPEAKER_03 6:42

Eggs and kisses, and love, since you said heart, I thought it would be a perfect time to take a sip.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Well, so tell us a little bit more about you. I'm especially interested in your Stevie Wonder days, and then the all the way to where you are now with the next show that's coming up in Houston, Texas. Tell us a little bit about your past.

SPEAKER_03 7:02

Ooh,

Stevie Wonder And A Ten-Year Plan

SPEAKER_03 7:03

wow, good, a good combination of that was like in school, I had music and theater. I had no dance.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Okay. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 7:09

So I wanted to, when I got out of college, I wanted to get danced. So dance was traveling around the world. I got a chance to come to Atlanta, go to New York, and dance in New York for a few years and come back and dance with Stevie Wonder and all those things like that. So I always wanted, I had a chewing theater company in college called Pop. POP Pop. No matter who we are or what we do, we all are just plain old people.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

Oh, I love that. I love that.

SPEAKER_03 7:32

Yeah, so that was my thought that I wanted to do, but no, but as a professional, and I came out, they said, Are you a dancer? I said, Yes, I am, but I got these other things I want to do. So in my college career, I wrote these things down. I wanted to perform with the message, do something that was mentioned. That was great doing that with Stevie Wonder right over, I mean right off the bat at the very top. And then I want to be able to uh be respected by my peers and some of these awards that I won around the country and doing things really uh for us that I want to be able to uh pay for, uh eat and take care of myself. And those days I would see grits and cheese being from originally from Alabama, that was one of my staples, grits and cheese, you know. Those equipment sugar in it, don't worry about it. Okay, but grits and cheese. Yeah. I want to do those things. So I want to get danced to go with my music in theater. So, but I said I was gonna dance for 10 years, which I did in New York, Atlanta, and other places. Then I added theater to that. When I added theater to that, people said, Well, you know, you're a dancer, you can't just leave this company. I said, Well, I want to do this thing that I always want to do, you know, before I left. And so I get a chance to really do that and direct across the country and do things. Even here in Atlanta, I've won Best Director twice. Well, I won as a choreographer first, and then I run best director for plays and not musical, which was a great. It's called the Susie Bass Awards here in Atlanta. And it was great to win that just for my peers to say what I thought in college. I want my peers to be respected by my peers to respect the art. Not just I can do steps, but I can tell stories. And that's what I want to do my entire life. So I've been doing that for years across the country. Or this year alone, um, I did uh Dream Girls, which is sold out there in Memphis, Tennessee, which is great. I just did on a revised version of Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope, which is really great. And Minnesota we're going on, which is really great. And my next play coming up in Houston is called Get Ready. It's about this group of guys who've had a hit song like in the 60s and 70s, and now they're coming back. It's in the play said in the 90s, and now they hit they want to get back as a group, and they all need to talk to you because they all need therapy. Oh they do whatever. But it's a musical piece, so they finally come together and get to that sense. But sometimes, you know, being

Directing Awards And The New Musical

SPEAKER_03 9:30

addicted to those applause can be really a hard thing to get away from.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

Well, that's a good point, Padre. And we've been talking about using uh people using addiction in this podcast, people using addiction to numb or mask behaviors that are exhibited because a person doesn't want to feel certain emotions. So um the viewer can certainly turn to episode uh three, I believe it is, in the podcast and watch those um helpful hints on how to identify maladaptive behaviors or addictions that are being used, sometimes to mask uh pain or certain emotions. Uh, Pedro, do you remember when you talked about the word, the concept, er? Like er? Absolutely. Okay, well, I was thinking about it. First of all, I'm gonna have you define it and then I'm gonna challenge you about it. What is it? What did you mean when you said er? What is er?

SPEAKER_03 10:21

Er is proper. I'm from Georgia. I'm a director, a choreographer, or it means anything that's very elevated. My wife sings, she sang with um uh Bill, Uncle Bill. We called him Uncle Bill, but he did it, he's an opera singer and he sang uh old man river, think of his name right now, doing uh that part. So he went to an event, he had published the books, and everybody was like, oh, fine, thank you. Good to meet you. Ur, a good dancer.

SPEAKER_00 10:44

E R? Well, does that also what about O R? Does that because look at you, choreographer, teacher.

Addiction To Applause And Masking Pain

SPEAKER_03 10:50

But but but uh but ER is is the er version of it. Very proper. We say, oh, it's very er, and it just fits the word. When you say it, it sounds like what it is.

SPEAKER_01 10:57

It's it's very er. I love it. I love it, I love it. And uh when I invited you to this podcast, we had a phone call and you mentioned it, and it flashed me back to when you used the word er before. Lawyer, right? Which is what I am now.

SPEAKER_03 11:12

Right, direct. Absolutely, whatever you need for it to be. That's the whole point about it. But for me, when I say that word er, it makes me like my shoulders go sideways.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

Oh, yes, and your chin goes in the air. You have nice lines.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

Like in a ballet class, don't sniff that cheese, lower that chin, just a tap here.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

Exactly. Exactly. Well, thank you for sharing about your amazing achievements. And it could not have been easy. So I just briefly want to delve into your self-talk, um, what you said to yourself in order to achieve those wonderful goals. I'll quickly go first. My self-talk was the first day I sat in law school. They said the usual look to your left, look to your right, and those people won't be here. And I made a decision that day that I was gonna finish law school and that I was gonna get a bar card. And I didn't achieve it the first time. As I was saying, I did pass the second time, but I I knew that I would do it. I set the goal and I saw myself doing it. In fact, my passwords had to do with passing the bar exam. Everything I said and did had to do with my goal. And just like uh we've talked about putting things on the mirror and reminding ourselves of who we are and what we can accomplish. So for those people who are watching and listening

Defining “Er” And Elevated Presence

SPEAKER_01 12:25

that wonder if they have what it takes to achieve their goals and their dreams, uh, Pedro, what are some of the things that you said to yourself to overcome the very natural belief that most people have, the belief I'm unworthy. How did you overcome any sort of belief that tried to pop into your mind that you were not going to be able to achieve your goals? What practical steps did you take? Or conversations did you have with yourself?

SPEAKER_03 12:54

Well, it's start, I guess I had to start at home with my mom. My mom owned a family business. So we always did the pros and cons. Like I said earlier, in college I had a chewing theater company. And I went to move to Atlanta to get danced. And I said to my mom, I said, Hey, mom, I think I want to be an artist. I didn't know any professional artist. You know, everybody was educated and they were really wonderful too. You know, Bertrand Moore and Dr. Lyle, they were really wonderful people. But my mom said, So, what if you move to Atlanta and you're not any good? Could you take the booze with the cheers?

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Is that sort of like dealing with rejection?

SPEAKER_03 13:27

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Boo, boo. You're not good, boo, booze and cheers, yeah, yeah. Definitely dealing with rejection. So that was always a foundation. So a foundation of mine was I would do the pros and the cons.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 13:39

So that that's how I started. I grew up in a family big one. And when you ever had to venture outside of yourself, outside the home, was that was difficult. We talked about it at home first before you went to the public.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

Okay, so let's imagine that someone doesn't have the type of family that you have. I shared earlier in a different episode that um my mother was very instrumental in helping me achieve my goals and that there was nothing I could not do. But let's say the viewer doesn't have a support system at home that can help with the pros and cons list. Is that something that a person can uh achieve with a friend or a trusted confidant?

SPEAKER_03 14:16

Absolutely, absolutely no. As this story goes on, that when I moved to Atlanta, my mom passed in the first three months of me being in Atlanta. So she passed a week right before my first professional show. So what I learned in that time after that, that a major component of love is support.

Self-Talk And Beating Unworthiness

SPEAKER_03 14:35

So I had to realize that I had no one to support me doing those things. So I had to tell myself things. So my first mantra that I started with myself was uh I'm a strong black man. And black mean inclusive of me, not exclusive to anybody else, but just to remind myself that I'm strong enough to be able to take it. So that's how I started doing those mantras. And every uh time I turned a corner, I would just try to tell myself. I put an M on my door and say, I'm gonna make it, you know, I'm a man, I'm gonna make money. So I mind things when I forgot myself, I put things around my apartment, my studio apartment, mind you, but it was my first one, but it was good to remind myself of what that was. And I keep that going. Everywhere I go, I always have things that remind me who I am first before I give it to someone else.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

And similar to what happened with you, Padro, my mother died uh six weeks before I sat for the bar exam. And uh it was very difficult. I didn't pass it the first time. I I passed in the multi-states in every state but California, but you can't get a bar card unless you pass in California. It's one of the most difficult states. Uh, but I still had my mother's voice in my head. Um, and so for those people who don't have a primary caregiver, whether they're with us during our achievements or whether their memories are continuing to reverberate in our mind. But let's say the viewer or the um listener has a negative committee in their head. Let's say that there was opposition with their uh family of origin or um their primary caregivers or even their um friends on social media. How does one overcome, in your experience, the negative, what I call the committee in a person's head that can cause doubt or negativity or confusion?

SPEAKER_03 16:20

For me, it starts with the question: why am I listening to these people? You start with the why. Even whenever you want to solve, when you go to the doctor, you have to tell him or her what's going on. But the first thing you have to figure out, well, let's see why that's happening. So you have to have a little bit of um confidence in who you are, looking in very why do I need and be honest with that? Because sometimes you need things from these people. Don't try to make up something. Be very honest. It's just you. No one asked to know about you, but ask yourself, why do I need these people? Because they make me feel safe, they make me feel like my community. But sometimes they're not supporting you, so you have to figure out like what can I do in this time just to support myself? And it starts with small things like writing a note or saying congratulations when you leave out of the thing. Something I do when I first wake up in the morning. For me, my spirituality works with Christ. So when I wake up, I say the Lord's Prayer before I get out of the bed. When I'm next to my wife, she gets up before me, or I get up, whatever. When I realize I'm somebody who I am, I honor who God is. I say something out of my mouth to thank God for this day that

Losing Support And Building Mantras

SPEAKER_03 17:20

I'm gonna use every day, no matter what the day is gonna bring. I don't know what it's gonna bring, but I know I started off being grateful. And I will say the last thing that I would add to that is that find a way to see what you can give away. When you wake up every morning, find something to give. If you want to change your dynamics of where you are, give. Maybe it's just a smile, maybe you don't have a lot of money, maybe it's just you know a piece of gum. You say, you know, you maybe it's a compliment. Oh, you look so wonderful. Oh, Ginger, look at that hair. You look great. I haven't seen you with long hair like this, you know. You can say all those kinds of stuff. So find something to give. Everyone you wake up and say, Well, I'm in a rut. What can I do to get out of it? Find a way to give.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

That's great. I appreciate that. And that's a great message, Padro, because it does help one to be in the service of our fellow human beings. And your spirituality and your belief in God has always permeated everything you've done. I remember watching some of your church productions before you became a Broadway uh choreographer. And so I just have to say that it's such a beauty of you're such a beautiful example of a person who really lives your belief system. So in this in this podcast, we're talking a lot about how to achieve balance in one's lives. And we have a step-by-step way for people to overcome limiting beliefs, to overcome maladaptive behaviors, and one of the balancing efforts is um is biological. It has to do with the brain. And so I would like for you to discuss how you have used your right brain, which the right side of your brain, which is the creative and um intuitive side of the brain, with your left side of your brain, which is analytical and it enables a person to make a living. So are you in the business of the performing arts or are you in a different business? And how do you keep that balance so that you're able to use both your left and right hemisphere to achieve health and well-being?

SPEAKER_03 19:25

Well, I realized early on in the career that no work, no eat.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

So the performing arts is not just performing arts. What kind of business is it? There you go.

SPEAKER_03 19:36

Performing arts. I'm in show business. So that's how I learned it. But but that's a way to set it up. So I realized, like, you know, good creativity goes with commerce. So whatever you do with commerce, and commerce is very the science of it, which I call the science of art. You know, we did you call people back on time? Do you want this job? Is this job for you? Is this something

Quieting The Negative Committee

SPEAKER_03 19:55

you can afford to let live through you as an actor and do whatever? If you can do that, then yes, then come over here and say, Oh, I love this part. I love being, it's about nature, it's something I always want to do, so you can cover it up that way. So you have to find that balance. Um, one of the uh casting directors told me a long time ago, she said, Well, artists, you know, you artists are so flighty, you know, do whatever. So I decided as an artist, I was gonna do two things. I was gonna have the same phone number, which I have now since the 80s, and I would have a the same address, which I have a P.O. box and do whatever. So I could be something that's consistent, so I could practice some sense of being consistent in those things. So you have to find a way that business work, it's so business. So you have to call people back on time, you have to show up on time. When I get a project, after the research, no matter what I feel about, I go back and see what time period it is, who said it to those people, what were those people talking about during that time period? So there's a level of using your left brain that goes with your right brain. But the beauty of that, this is my left brain, this is my right brain. But when it comes in and covers up music, all you see is art, though. This is all you see. But it's right on all this left brain stuff is right here supporting me. But the right brain has all this art that comes out in trees and flowers and birds. Oh my, you know. So it you have to find a combinational way of using those things if you're gonna be successful. You don't you don't get a chance to do one or the other, it's always gonna involve those things that you didn't want to pay attention to in school if you were not so left brain, you but you have to use it and they all work, and you can figure out how to use it in your own manner. You know, I I pick days, you know. For me as an artist, when I go to bed and not I'm an independent artist, not a uh freelance artist, I write a to-do list. So when I wake up, how you wait?

SPEAKER_01 21:30

Let me interrupt you. I apologize. I'm interrupting you. I'm not allowed to interrupt the court, but I'm gonna interrupt you because I think that is very important what you just said. What do you mean when you say you're not a freelance artist, you're an independent artist? Tell us more about the language you're using to describe your career.

SPEAKER_03 21:46

Right. So I don't want I don't want you to think that it's free. You know, I want you to automatically know I'm independent, I'm a I'm I'm self contained. What you're gonna pay for, you're gonna get all my years of experience. So I I just separated that way to make sure that we are aware of that when we come to a Freelancer. No, I'm not a freelancer. I'm an independent artist. I work all over, I don't know at the freelance, and like people want what I have. So I'm an independent artist. And I'll ask you, are you ready for that? And then now we got a good conversation.

SPEAKER_01 22:11

I love it. And yes, I'm ready for that. I'm ready for that, Padro. And as I listen to you, I think about how does that apply to the very left brain legal career? And the answer is if a person who's practicing law or in a left-brain engineering, science, medical type of career and doesn't have a creative outlet, there's burnout. There's burnout, there are health issues, and there are other types of imbalances that occur. There's a dis-ease when a person

Gratitude And Giving As A Reset

SPEAKER_01 22:40

is not exercising their uh divinely created left and bright left and right hemisphere of the brain. And without being too preachy, we're talking about the corpus colossum, which goes offline and stops the connection between the left and the right brain when people go through trauma. And so part of this podcast is to deal with limiting beliefs, limiting behaviors that are the result of trauma or other types of uh activities that have occurred that people have not adapted well to. And so this applies to everyone. If you're not a Broadway choreographer or if you're not a um uh licensed attorney, and if you don't have credentials behind your name, but you're not using your left and your and your right brain, then you're not able to achieve the success, which is defined by the most authentic version of oneself in order to be his highest or best person, right? His or her or there. So um success doesn't mean that a person receives a certain amount of uh income. Success doesn't mean that a person has accolades and uh an entire theater of people standing up and applauding. Padro, although you've achieved those things, what would you say to a person who hasn't uh received those types of accolades in order to define success?

SPEAKER_03 24:00

Well, uh, like I said earlier, you know, no work, no eat. True.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

But if there's a person, but what about a person who doesn't make uh an income? What about a person who's dedicated to maintaining the home, for example?

SPEAKER_03 24:15

Right, right. But but that's still something. That person has to make food. Maybe somebody else may bring it in, but they have to prepare food, they have to make sure they have to balance out how much food to buy, what you need from the store, how do you set up the how what what do the kids go here, they go there, what's the schedule? So all those things that you were talking about, left brain, right brain. We have to do all of those things. So uh some of the best, you know, uh engineers are stay-at-home moms. They know how to manage everything we try to do. It's like we are MS. You know, so uh so that's a great thing to do. It's not lesser. I don't look at jobs as bigger or smaller or category. If you have these same techniques that you use, you manage people. He was talking about the lawyers and doctors earlier about using the left brain, but all of those things the left brain has to go with the right brain because they have to deal with people. People have issues, people need help, people need to find out what's going on. So it's always it's always the forefront. And the people who have the old school, the best bedside manner would come up, and there would there'll be the people who will people want to come. I like being in the presence of the doctor because they make me feel wonderful, they make me feel comfortable, you know, and that's what's about when you're giving things to people, you

Left Brain Meets Right Brain In Show Business

SPEAKER_03 25:20

have to find out a way to make people comfortable. So even no matter what your degrees are, I didn't always, you know, I worked at several universities around the country. Um, sir, I've been a guest uh uh director there and a guest professor at Syracuse University, Howard University twice, Florida State, Northern Colorado, you know, and uh Florida, and so on the state. So going to those places, I have to adapt to what the what the curriculum is, what the students are, what they've been teaching, what I'm coming in. That the teachers that are there are always mom and dad, and they come in, I'm Uncle Padre. So being able to adapt would be the thing that I would be able to say. Don't don't worry, but don't judge, don't look in uh uh yourself in the rearview mirror. Look at the mirror, see see what you have right now, what you can do with what you have at this moment. Sometimes it may be small, but always celebrate those small victories. Don't wait for a big something to happen. Celebrate your small victories, but stop right where you are.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

That's really key, and that's a great message, Padro. Thank you so very much. I think about the children that have been affected by the world and especially um how social media is changing how from COVID to present, social media has changed the esteem of some of our younger viewers. And Pedro, I know that you've um got quite a bit of experience working with all ages. What would you say to a younger viewer that um is looking at an entire lifetime ahead of them in order to help that person snap out of limiting beliefs and maladaptive behavior in order to align with his or her or their true authentic self?

SPEAKER_03 27:02

That that's a just different for everybody. Depends on what cultural background you're in and who you have to. Somebody has to tell you, like when you're a kid, somebody has to say, you know, I'm mom and you're Padre. Somebody has to tell me who I am. My mom said there were certain things you shouldn't say about yourself, other people should say about you, and to encourage you in that manner. So I would say for that young person, find things like uh social media not only works on the downside, but also works on the good side of what you can do. You can look up people who are artists and say, send them an email and say, hey, I'm an artist, I'm I'm 12 or 13, but I do what now if I can reach out to you and say whatever, or watch uh uh content that says positive things about what you want to do. Maybe you want to be an astronaut. So you look at astronauts, you start getting books and things about astronauts and how you travel and what, oh, how do you figure it's oh I need to I need to get better at math. So I need to study more math. So you write down whenever I have an issue, I write that one thing down and I put it in a circle. So I'll put astronaut down. What would I oh space travel? I need to know how to fly, I know how to read, I need to be good with people, I need to be comfortable in a tight space. So you start working on one individual thing to get you to your format. So if you don't have anybody around, but you do have the internet to help you on that side, then ask them. Somebody will chime in. Ask them if you have somebody in your corner, you can ask them one or two questions about that. People are more than apt to say that if you tell them what your story is. Hey, um I'm 14 years old, I would love to be an

Independent Artist Mindset And Consistency

SPEAKER_03 28:25

astronaut now. Could you help me? Any advice? It's all great. Here's me. My mom and dad said it's okay for me to talk, and whoever my guardian is said it's okay for me to be on this chat when blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And make sure it happens that way. But find a way to encourage yourself. Don't, don't let uh things that the world didn't invent anything, they're just perverted things. Things are good. I I believe that if you look for the good, you'll find it. So keep looking for the good.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

That's right. I really appreciate your positive outlook on how to move forward and how to achieve a person's dreams and goals. And I especially appreciate your tying in how our logical brain will help the creative brain. And what was that hand signal that you used?

SPEAKER_03 29:10

You said Yeah, the this one starts, but underneath of it, this is the science of it, but this is the soul of it. You don't see it, but it's always there. Even like this, you know that it's all working together, but underneath they're doing this kind of collaboration.

SPEAKER_01 29:23

Sort of like the egg beater underwater when you're my daughter used to be a water polo player. She but she'd be up way above the water, and she would hurl that ball with her strong arms, but underneath her feet were doing the egg beater underneath the water.

SPEAKER_03 29:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 29:38

It's got to work together. Nothing, nothing, uh, the universe, everything works together. The the sun, the moon, the cold, the hot, everything works together. If you can realize, like, oh, I gotta step out of side of myself and allow something to affect me, and I gotta affect it. So, and you you figure out a way to do it.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

We were talking on a different episode about how once a person is aligned with his, her, or their authentic self, the universe rises up to meet that person. Uh, one final thought, and I don't want to I don't want to be negative, but I have a tendency to, as an attorney, think of the worst case scenario because when I'm preparing for litigation, I think of what the other side's gonna do and how to overcome that. So as I'm listening to you, and you're very positive and you're so encouraging, uh, I wonder about the listener who feels as though they cannot achieve their goals. They don't have the skill, maybe they didn't learn how to dance like you, or maybe they don't have uh the training in school to pass a very difficult bar exam, and they really want it, but they

Redefining Success And Small Victories

SPEAKER_01 30:45

just absolutely cannot achieve that goal. How does a person, because of whatever reason, perhaps there's a physical limitation, there might be a a different type of limitation, how does a person redefine the uh the dream or the goal so that it aligns with their authentic self? If if there's a way to do that, Padro?

SPEAKER_03 31:08

Yeah, sure. I I I just believe in my world, you know, there's when it's either a blessing or a lesson.

SPEAKER_01 31:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 31:15

So you know, yeah, so you have to, you know, you have a lesson. So if you learn something from it, it's never a loss. If I didn't achieve, I want to be this, you know, I'm not good at the garden. My wife is, but I go outside, but I buy some plants sometime and then it does whatever, but I learned something from that. Oh, I watered that too much, you know, whatever. I didn't give that a proper amount of sun. So each time I get better at what I do. I I'm not the top gardener, but man, I'm sure five steps farther than I was the last time I did it. So, you know, the thing is, you know, you don't you don't want to compete with anybody else, you don't want to compare yourself to anybody else. Then you want to want to complain where you are. So you don't want to compete, you don't want to compare, you don't want to complain about where you are. Just keep going forward. Take those things that you don't know as a lesson. What did I learn? I didn't achieve everything, but what did I learn? Oh my God, I know so much more about whatever I'm working on. So just work toward that way. Don't don't judge yourself according to anybody else, only judge yourself according to you.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

That's right. Radical self-love and radical self-acceptance is one of the keys that unlocks those bars that keep us in chains and keep us behind a gilded cage sometimes. Right. So that's very helpful. And my mother used to say, learn something new every day. And uh and that is a win, and that is a mark of success. I don't know if you've heard this expression, but lawyers will say, sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.

SPEAKER_03 32:39

That's true. And that that's very true. We have we have a lot of cliches in our cultures, you know.

SPEAKER_01 32:44

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:44

Wait, a lot of cliches in our cultures that come from someplace that we should just pick up and use.

SPEAKER_01 32:49

Well, some of them. But here's where the skills of the snap out come into play. So we identify

Social Media Mentors And Youth Confidence

SPEAKER_01 32:55

the belief, and that's uh, and and as you um follow Snap Out, you'll see identifying the belief is the step one. So we have and one, and identifying the belief is the first step to uh being able to determine whether we should believe that belief, that thought about ourselves, or whether we should reject it and move toward the thoughts that your mother taught you and that my mother taught me about being worthy. So do you have any final uh admonitions or words of encouragement for the viewers? Because you have done so much in your life and you've achieved such greatness, and you've you've been with people who have achieved greatness. What what final words do you have to say to the audience?

SPEAKER_03 33:45

Be honest to yourself. Be honest to where you are. Don't look forward for our approval. Do it because that's something that you love. And usually, if it's in service to people, it's gonna give some reward to. So when I come every show that I go to, I bow down on one knee and say, Hey, I'm here to serve. And that is the truth. Even though I may appear to be direct like I'm in charge, but I'm really in service to you, you know. Semantics there, you know. But I would say to you as a young person, write down your things, learn everything you can learn, be respectful. You know, I think my things work in three forms: you need education, application, and presentation. Figure out what you want to do. I need to be more educated about that. I need to sit around somebody and learn how to apply what I want to do, or I need to present it more. I need to just go on and do it. Man, I need to just be like Nike, just do it. You know, so figure out where you are along those lines. Do I need to be educated more about it? Do I need to learn how to apply it? It means probably sit down and be quiet, don't listen, don't you just learn from somebody. Then the next thing I need to just go out and do it. No matter what it thinks, I'm gonna be proud of what I've done. So honor yourself, follow your path, it'll be use that left brain and the right brain. Then you know, wherever you go, you can just snap out of it. You're good.

SPEAKER_01 34:57

And snap into one's authentic self. And

Blessing Or Lesson And Final Encouragement

SPEAKER_01 35:05

Padro, if someone wants to reach out to you, for example, because you said that these young people can reach out to the people who has have mentored them or they look up to, what is your email address or what is your website, please?

SPEAKER_03 35:18

Our website is padroharris.com. That's P-A-T-D-S-N-David R O H A R R I S. Padro Harris.com.

SPEAKER_01 35:29

Thank you so much, Padro, for being a part of this podcast. And thank you so much, Alex, for your wonderful producing. And thank you so much to the viewer for coming and tuning in. And we look forward to seeing you next time.

SPEAKER_03 35:41

Yes.