Latest / The iAlign Podcast with Flint Mitchell / #3 - Dancing for the Dallas Cowboys and Creating Habitual Gratefulness with Michael Saunders

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#3 - Dancing for the Dallas Cowboys and Creating Habitual Gratefulness with Michael Saunders · The iAlign Podcast with Flint Mitchell

0:09
SPEAKER_03: What's up y'all?
0:11
SPEAKER_03: Welcome to Seeking Authenticity.
0:13
SPEAKER_03: My name is Flint Mitchell, and I get absolutely psyched by having conversations with authentic people that I admire about the things they value.
0:21
SPEAKER_03: Their stories and perspectives don't just make me smile, laugh, and think.
0:25
SPEAKER_03: They inspire me to wake up earlier, listen better, focus, and work harder, and help make me a better version of myself.
0:32
SPEAKER_03: And it's my hope that sharing these conversations through this podcast might do the same thing for you.
0:40
SPEAKER_03: In this episode, I talk with Michael Saunders, a sales account executive, former collegiate cheerleader, and professional dancer.
0:47
SPEAKER_03: I'm not sure how to really explain Michael because he's such a legend, but I'll try.
0:52
SPEAKER_03: He's excited about life, grateful for every moment of it, is genuinely invested in the people and work around him, and he kind of makes you want to get out of your chair and go for a run, fix any issue you're having.
1:03
SPEAKER_03: He's a freaking blast to talk to, and in my opinion, kind of a living definition of the word authentic.
1:09
SPEAKER_03: Honestly, he's a stud.
1:10
SPEAKER_03: He had me walking out of this conversation grateful for the smallest things.
1:14
SPEAKER_03: Here, we talk about his progression into dancing.
1:17
SPEAKER_03: In college, he worked his way into an athletic scholarship as a cheerleader with no prior cheerleading experience.
1:23
SPEAKER_03: And then at the end of college, he started from scratch again with dancing, going from having no formal dance instruction to performing in front of crowds of 80 or 90,000 people in just over a year.
1:33
SPEAKER_03: We talk about living with the notion of today as a gift, and about facing the world from a perspective of confidence and appreciation.
1:40
SPEAKER_03: I left this conversation with thoughts of gratefulness in my head for weeks, and I know you will too.
1:46
SPEAKER_03: Enjoy.
2:08
SPEAKER_02: But if I'm unable to recognize that I'm loved, I've just missed this moment.
2:15
SPEAKER_02: I've just missed this opportunity.
2:17
SPEAKER_02: But it's not about the numbers at the end of the day.
2:20
SPEAKER_02: It's just what do I do with this opportunity that I have been given today?
2:26
SPEAKER_02: When negative things happen to me, I genuinely feel like, bro, I have been chosen because I am ready.
2:32
SPEAKER_02: Because I have been equipped to handle this situation with complete gratitude.
2:36
SPEAKER_02: And it is gonna inspire somebody.
2:39
SPEAKER_02: We literally just saw it live.
2:41
SPEAKER_02: That is how the human brain works, bro.
2:43
SPEAKER_02: You find what you are looking for.
2:48
SPEAKER_03: Thanks for doing this with me, man.
2:50
SPEAKER_03: You have always been a guy who stuck out in my in my head, and I think I can attribute that to a couple different reasons.
2:58
SPEAKER_03: One of them might be that you were always doing handstands walking down the hallway of our dorm.
3:04
SPEAKER_03: Yo, forgot about that.
3:06
SPEAKER_03: One could be that it always felt like all of the girls in our dorm were attracted to you.
3:12
SPEAKER_04: What?
3:13
SPEAKER_03: A hundred percent, a hundred percent.
3:14
SPEAKER_03: Maybe you didn't get that.
3:15
SPEAKER_03: I knew that.
3:16
SPEAKER_04: What?
3:16
SPEAKER_03: Interested you.
3:18
SPEAKER_03: And then reflectively now I realize though, it's that you come off as an extremely sincere person.
3:27
SPEAKER_03: That's the vibe you give off.
3:28
SPEAKER_03: And that was a fresh of fresh breath of air in the freshman dorms because let's face it, 19-year-olds can give off a confident vibe, but it usually doesn't come off as genuine.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
3:41
SPEAKER_03: Right?
3:42
SPEAKER_03: And coming from that perspective, that really kind of authentic perspective, there are a lot of things I'd like to hear from you or get your take on.
3:50
SPEAKER_03: But the first one I'm I'm interested in hearing about is your experience dancing for the uh Dallas Cowboys rhythm and blues.
3:57
SPEAKER_03: Could you tell me a little bit about how you got that opportunity and what it was like?
4:01
SPEAKER_02: Bro, a hundred percent.
4:02
SPEAKER_02: So if there's one thing that I want people to take away, just in general from my life, it is that, yo, anything I can do, you can do better.
4:11
SPEAKER_02: If I've done it, I've accomplished it, literally it's possible for you.
4:15
SPEAKER_02: And it's so fascinating because so often in life, people just have these these little barriers, these barriers to entry.
4:22
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I started too late.
4:24
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I didn't have, I wasn't raised in the right environment, or oh, I'm just not athletic.
4:28
SPEAKER_02: You bro, there are very few things in life that you cannot accomplish.
4:33
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
4:34
SPEAKER_02: Like just with with there, there are exceptions, but there are very few things that that you that you can't accomplish.
4:40
SPEAKER_02: And so I say that to say, I started dancing when I was 20, 19, or 20.
4:47
SPEAKER_02: Like, I I never bro, I didn't grow up dancing.
4:51
SPEAKER_02: I literally did not grow up dancing.
4:52
SPEAKER_02: Do you remember the brown bag?
4:54
SPEAKER_02: Do you remember brown bag?
4:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, of course.
4:55
SPEAKER_02: Yes, bro.
4:56
SPEAKER_02: So for those of you listening, brown bag was a production that SMU would put on to allow the students who were not in the dance major or the arts community to see what their friends in the dance division were capable of doing.
5:09
SPEAKER_02: Because we all have dance friends, we don't know what they actually do.
5:11
SPEAKER_02: We just know they're always training, they're always dancing, but we never see them.
5:14
SPEAKER_02: And so SMU has one of the best dance programs in the nation, but students don't really know that or what that actually means.
5:21
SPEAKER_02: And so Brownbag was a way to once a semester showcase the talent within the dance division.
5:29
SPEAKER_02: And so it would be about an hour-long production, and the dancers would choreograph their own pieces, they would then audition those pieces, and then of all of the auditioned pieces, the division would select a couple, and those would be the ones that made it to the brown back.
5:44
SPEAKER_02: And so I would watch that every single year, and I was always like, dude, that's so dope, that's so dope.
5:49
SPEAKER_02: And growing up, I would watch, what is it, like not America's best dance crew, but like America's so you think you can dance?
5:54
SPEAKER_02: So you think you can dance with my family, and I always just used to think, like, oh my gosh, that's so cool, that's so cool.
5:59
SPEAKER_02: But bro, I literally never danced.
6:02
SPEAKER_02: Bro, not even bro, I'm talking about not even in the shower.
6:04
SPEAKER_02: Dog, literally, not even in the shower.
6:06
SPEAKER_02: I bro, I kid you not, I vividly remember being in the shower.
6:09
SPEAKER_02: I must have been in high school, probably like a sophomore junior, being in the shower and thinking to myself, oh well, alone time is probably like the best time to practice, and thinking to myself, I don't know what I'm doing, I feel weird.
6:21
SPEAKER_02: I feel uncomfortable.
6:21
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, I understand.
6:22
SPEAKER_02: I vividly remember thinking that I feel uncomfortable, and so I did not do it, but I'd always wanted to.
6:28
SPEAKER_02: And so getting into dance, it must have been my junior year.
6:34
SPEAKER_02: I was watching Brown Bag, and the final piece that they would always put on like a hip hop number thing for the final piece.
6:40
SPEAKER_02: And I remember watching that and thinking to myself, like I can do that, I can do that.
6:45
SPEAKER_02: And I felt literally like this fire in my chest.
6:47
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if it was spiritual rule, but I literally felt like heat in my chest.
6:50
SPEAKER_02: And it was just this overwhelming sense of like, bro, I can do that.
6:54
SPEAKER_02: I I should I can do that, I should do that.
6:56
SPEAKER_02: And so after Brownbag, I walked down to the dance division.
6:59
SPEAKER_02: This was my junior year, and I didn't know who I was talking to, but I ended up speaking to Heather Guthrie, and I said to her, I don't know anything about dance, but I've coordinated, I'm athletic, and I work hard.
7:10
SPEAKER_02: Can you help me?
7:11
SPEAKER_02: And so they made a spot for me in the beginner ballet class, which always filled up because it was an easy elective.
7:16
SPEAKER_02: So students would just take it, just show up, get an easy A, booster GP, whatever.
7:20
SPEAKER_02: So going into my senior year, they made a spot for me in beginner ballet.
7:25
SPEAKER_03: Are you kidding me?
7:26
SPEAKER_02: Yes, bro.
7:27
SPEAKER_02: And and that was how I got into dance.
7:29
SPEAKER_02: And I knew ballet is not what I want to do, but I knew I just need to take the first step.
7:34
SPEAKER_02: And so I got into that beginner ballet class.
7:36
SPEAKER_02: Deborah Weaver was my professor, and she's she saw that I was hungry, and so she would just give me privates on like Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we would meet separately, and she would help me like learn my feet or like stretch and get more flexible and all these different things.
7:50
SPEAKER_02: And I was just consistent and I tried and I tried really hard.
7:52
SPEAKER_02: And so then they let me sit in on the dance major classes.
7:55
SPEAKER_02: So in between my classes, like my philosophy major classes, I would go back to Meadows and sit in on the dance majors classes and just like learn, just try to absorb as much as possible.
8:05
SPEAKER_02: And that's bro, that was my senior year, was my entrance into dance, and it was ballet, which is not even that's outrageous.
8:11
SPEAKER_03: Dude, what was what was the most difficult part getting into it at 20 years old?
8:15
SPEAKER_02: The most difficult part would have been taking the first step, probably.
8:23
SPEAKER_02: Which I think is true for everybody in life.
8:25
SPEAKER_02: I so often we have this like I saw a really powerful visual not too long ago, and it had like a stair step, stairs, like thousands of steps.
8:35
SPEAKER_02: But the first step, like the gap to take that first step was always bigger.
8:40
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
8:40
SPEAKER_02: The first step is always bigger.
8:42
SPEAKER_02: And so, unless people have a very compelling moment in life, oftentimes they just never take that first step, or they have a dream that's so big they don't know how to take that very first, that very first leap to get the ball rolling.
8:54
SPEAKER_02: And so I think it was really just like it's time, deciding it was time.
8:59
SPEAKER_03: And so once you were in, I mean, it was just like you were uncomfortable dancing alone, and you had all this discomfort in your head, and you just took the leap, talked, talked to the woman in charge, she put you in, and then it was just you felt like you were there, like you're this is this is what I should be doing right now.
9:17
SPEAKER_02: Well, it wasn't so much that because it was still such a foreign world to me.
9:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I actually didn't speak to the woman in charge, but I just spoke to someone.
9:27
SPEAKER_02: And oh here's the thing in life where it's like you just reach out and someone knows someone, or they see that you're hungry, and they reach out to someone who can help.
9:33
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
9:34
SPEAKER_02: It's just you have to start and take that first step.
9:37
SPEAKER_02: And so yeah, I was in that world and I knew ballet's not what I want to do, but I just need to, I do just need to, I just need to try, I need to meet people in this space.
9:44
SPEAKER_02: I gotta get insight from people who are familiar with this world.
9:48
SPEAKER_02: And um, yeah, so to answer your original question about getting onto rhythm and blue, I was on the cheer team at the time, which also was completely random because I never grew like I didn't tell you.
10:00
SPEAKER_03: Did you get into that early into college?
10:03
SPEAKER_02: Or was that also my freshman year?
10:06
SPEAKER_02: YouTube was not, I don't want to say it was like blowing up, but I remember being on YouTube my very first year um at SMU.
10:13
SPEAKER_02: And this was right around the time that parkour was becoming bigger or reaching the 60s in 2010.
10:19
SPEAKER_03: Is that what's cool?
10:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
10:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, exactly.
10:21
SPEAKER_02: So I was getting all these recommended videos of people who were just flipping off walls.
10:25
SPEAKER_02: And once again, that thought I can do that.
10:27
SPEAKER_02: And so I took my laptop to Deadmond Rec Center.
10:30
SPEAKER_02: I went to the Mat room and literally would just like look up tutorials and then teach myself how to run up walls and do all these flips and all these things.
10:37
SPEAKER_02: And so some cheerleaders came in one day and they they said you should join the cheer team.
10:42
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, What?
10:42
SPEAKER_02: No way, why would I do that?
10:44
SPEAKER_02: Literally, why would I do that?
10:46
SPEAKER_02: Because I grew up in the sports world and sports culture, I know it's not politically correct, but it teaches you like if you're a male cheerleader, then you're gay.
10:52
SPEAKER_02: That's literally what you're taught.
10:54
SPEAKER_02: And um, and so I was like, Wait, what?
10:56
SPEAKER_02: Like, why would literally why would I do that?
10:59
SPEAKER_02: Um, but then I thought about it and I was like, dude, I'm here on a leadership scholarship because I was a hunt.
11:04
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, if me joining the team because I'm hungry and I want to learn like more flips, shows even one person on this campus that like you can go against the grain and still be loved and accepted and still like be a leader in your own land in your own light, then 100% it's worth me doing it.
11:20
SPEAKER_01: Go for it.
11:21
SPEAKER_02: And so my sophomore year, I walked uh up to a practice and I joined my sophomore year and from there worked really hard and became a scholarship athlete and all that stuff, but I learned how to flip starting my sophomore year.
11:34
SPEAKER_03: So you let me get this straight.
11:37
SPEAKER_03: You were on YouTube, you saw videos of parkour, you took it to a mat room, yes, learned how to do some flips, met some people on the cheer squad, yes, who said you should join.
11:49
SPEAKER_03: You join, and then you get scholarship for doing that.
11:53
SPEAKER_02: Yes, so the way it works at SMU is you get they're not full ride scholarships.
11:58
SPEAKER_02: Sure, but but but yeah, so it was separated between red team and blue team.
12:01
SPEAKER_02: So blue team was game day cheerleaders, so they they would only cheer games, and then red team was like the elite squad.
12:07
SPEAKER_02: We'd competed at Daytime Beach Nationals, all that stuff, travel, and there were scholarships available, but they were only given to the people who were like elite elite on the team.
12:15
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
12:16
SPEAKER_02: And so I was like, I gotta grind.
12:19
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I gotta grind.
12:20
SPEAKER_02: I have to grind.
12:21
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, bro.
12:22
SPEAKER_02: And so I became a scholarship athlete, and that also helped fund uh my my journey and education at SB because I didn't have parental financial support or anything like that.
12:31
SPEAKER_03: Do you know how many people manifest uh athletic scholarship money out of out of nothing?
12:37
SPEAKER_02: Bro, I would imagine you'd have to show the statistics, bro.
12:42
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:43
SPEAKER_02: It was it was like about yeah, about ten thousand dollars.
12:45
SPEAKER_03: Um that's crazy, man.
12:48
SPEAKER_03: All right, so you're cheering, and then you get into dance.
12:50
SPEAKER_03: So you've already got some like at that point, you've got kind of some experience in because I'd call that some form of dance, or would you?
12:57
SPEAKER_03: I mean, you there's a body coordination with your body.
13:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's it's movement and there's coordination, but dance is something completely different.
13:04
SPEAKER_02: And and cheer was very much like power and stunting and flipping and just generating power as opposed to dance, which is this fine-tuned, intricate understanding of your body on on just a micro level.
13:17
SPEAKER_02: Um, but but yeah, so at SMU there was a cheer team and the palm squad, and they operated together, so we would travel together.
13:25
SPEAKER_02: And so when I was a senior, one of my friends on the palm squad, Melanie Woodward, she Melody Woodward, she reached out and she said, Hey, well, the Dallas Cowboys rhythm and blue are going co-ed.
13:35
SPEAKER_02: So it's right now only a female team.
13:38
SPEAKER_02: It's the first only it's the first only hip hop team in the NFL, and it's gonna be the first and only co-ed hip hop team in the NFL.
13:45
SPEAKER_02: You should go and audition.
13:47
SPEAKER_02: And so for me, go to my senior year, I'm just getting into dance, and I'm like, oh, well, I don't know anything about classes.
13:54
SPEAKER_02: Let me just go to the audition and learn a new move.
13:56
SPEAKER_02: Like, literally, I was thinking like, oh, let me just like learn learn some new dance moves because I didn't know what an audition was.
14:01
SPEAKER_02: Like I didn't, I didn't I didn't I didn't click that like oh, I'm actually auditioning.
14:05
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, in front of judges, and there's free selling and all this stuff because literally I knew nothing.
14:10
SPEAKER_02: Well, like that, yeah, got got opened up with the door, bro.
14:14
SPEAKER_02: And long story short, I was one of five guys making history on the first and only co-ed hip hop team in the NFL, which is the Dallas Cowboys Ruby and the Blue.
14:22
SPEAKER_02: So I was one of the five guys selected.
14:24
SPEAKER_03: Such an outrageously cool story, man.
14:27
SPEAKER_03: So what was it like?
14:28
SPEAKER_03: You you went from not dancing and then a year and a half later, you're dancing in front of Dallas, like oh dude, I felt so fraudulent.
14:35
SPEAKER_02: I felt so fraudulent, bro.
14:37
SPEAKER_02: Like, literally, I felt so unbelievably fraudulent because there's a professional in front of my name.
14:43
SPEAKER_02: Like, literally, I am a professional dancer.
14:47
SPEAKER_02: And I have no clue what I am doing.
14:51
SPEAKER_02: No, bro, no, and and I'm sitting here like, bro, I was at the auditions.
14:56
SPEAKER_02: I was, I should not, off of dance ability alone, I should not have been selected, bro.
15:00
SPEAKER_02: Like, literally, I would have been the last person, period.
15:03
SPEAKER_02: That's not me being humble.
15:05
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
15:05
SPEAKER_02: From dance skill, I should not have been selected.
15:08
SPEAKER_03: Why do you think you got on then?
15:10
SPEAKER_02: I think going back to that sincerity piece that you were talking about, people can feel a hunger, they can feel this contagious energy, they can feel a commitment.
15:20
SPEAKER_02: And so they they could tell from just like all the things that I've been involved in, and then also that I could flip.
15:27
SPEAKER_02: Um, they're like, okay, we can teach him how to dance.
15:29
SPEAKER_02: Like he's gonna put the work and he's gonna put the hours in.
15:32
SPEAKER_02: I think there's so much that goes into the look.
15:34
SPEAKER_02: Look is a huge thing, um, which is fascinating.
15:38
SPEAKER_02: And kind of not appalling, but the entertainment industry is one of the last places where you can actually genuinely discriminate based off of the look.
15:46
SPEAKER_02: We need to What do you mean by look?
15:48
SPEAKER_02: We need an Asian, we need a white person, we need a mixed person, we need a di Mexican, this, that, and the other.
15:53
SPEAKER_02: Oh, by the way, people only want to watch people that are attracted, you know what I'm saying?
15:56
SPEAKER_02: So you don't put people on stage who are by society standards, oh, or you know what I'm saying?
16:02
SPEAKER_02: So you can discriminate based off of that.
16:04
SPEAKER_02: So I think I was just fortunate that I had like the right combination of things, like the hard work, the grit, the ability to speak.
16:11
SPEAKER_02: Because if we're doing TV interviews and appearances, all of these different things, sweet visits at games, we could have 17 people on the team, but if nobody can vocalize the mission of the team and speak to executives of a company, that's a problem.
16:24
SPEAKER_03: Especially when you're the first of your kind correct.
16:27
SPEAKER_03: As a team, yeah.
16:28
SPEAKER_02: Correct, correct.
16:29
SPEAKER_03: You're kind of prove you're trying to validate your existence.
16:33
SPEAKER_02: Exactly, exactly.
16:34
SPEAKER_02: Because within the Cowboys, there are three pieces to the entertainment branch.
16:37
SPEAKER_02: There's the football team, which is part of the entertainment, Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and then DC Rhythm and Blue.
16:44
SPEAKER_02: And so this was kind of like the the new thing, and no we're trying to figure it out, and Jerry Jones and everyone is trying to figure out okay, but from a Dollars perspective, does this even make sense?
16:53
SPEAKER_02: Do fans even like it?
16:54
SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, absolutely.
16:56
SPEAKER_02: It was it was for sure cutting edge, but you needed people who could vocalize who we were and what we stood for.
17:00
SPEAKER_02: And so then also being able to flip on top of that and take performances to the next level.
17:04
SPEAKER_02: I think they're like, okay, we can teach you the dance piece, but he also brings all these other valuable skills.
17:09
SPEAKER_03: That's insane.
17:10
SPEAKER_03: How intense was that pride getting on that team?
17:13
SPEAKER_03: Like getting do you remember that moment getting accepted?
17:16
SPEAKER_02: I do remember it, I do remember.
17:17
SPEAKER_02: And they they tricked us, and so the way it worked was you get accepted to training camp.
17:24
SPEAKER_02: So you don't make the team.
17:26
SPEAKER_02: So you may be one of 20 guys accepted to training camp.
17:30
SPEAKER_02: You go to training camp, and every single day, it's a week-long experience.
17:33
SPEAKER_02: Every single day, you learn choreography, you rehearse it, you practice, boom, boom, you, and then you perform.
17:38
SPEAKER_02: You come back the following day if you're invited back.
17:40
SPEAKER_02: And so you just wait day by day for an email that confirms hey, we'd like to see you at you again.
17:47
SPEAKER_02: And I'm working full time, you know, so like everyone's working, and all day you're like trying to focus on work, but you're also trying to wait for this email.
17:55
SPEAKER_02: So if you don't get invited back, you didn't get an email.
17:59
SPEAKER_02: And so day by day, I don't even say no.
18:03
SPEAKER_02: At the time, I don't I don't I don't think we did.
18:05
SPEAKER_02: I don't think you did.
18:06
SPEAKER_02: Maybe, maybe you did, or maybe there was like a thank you.
18:08
SPEAKER_02: Maybe at the this was like the very first year, so they were still like ironing things up.
18:12
SPEAKER_02: So I can't confirm my cousin never got no.
18:14
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, it was it was just a day-by-day thing.
18:17
SPEAKER_02: And so for me, I just remember praying, like, God, if this is what you have planned for me, just guide my steps.
18:23
SPEAKER_02: If if if this is what you have planned, I'm you've like you've given me today.
18:28
SPEAKER_02: You've given me today, and I'm so grateful.
18:29
SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna assume that I'm being given today because you also have tomorrow promise.
18:34
SPEAKER_02: Help me learn whatever it is that you have planned for me today, yeah.
18:37
SPEAKER_02: And if you have tomorrow, help me stand out to whoever it is that I'm supposed to stand out to, whatever it is that they're looking for.
18:44
SPEAKER_02: Fantastic perspective, man.
18:45
SPEAKER_02: And so then, yeah, what but like on the final day, we were given letters, and I think they positioned it as these are your letters to find out if you are gonna be invited back next week.
18:59
SPEAKER_02: But they were actually letters saying every single person here made it here on the team, and so it was it was crazy, bro.
19:06
SPEAKER_02: It was yeah, it was completely crazy.
19:07
SPEAKER_02: I still uh no, I didn't feel fraudulent in that moment.
19:10
SPEAKER_02: I was just grateful.
19:10
SPEAKER_02: I was like, what does this even mean?
19:12
SPEAKER_03: Like what I like how I like the way you phrase that.
19:16
SPEAKER_03: Is that how I'm all about gratefulness, and I think it overpowers most emotions, and I like how you say that your feelings of appreciation or being grateful overcame your feelings of fraudulence.
19:30
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, in that moment, a hundred percent.
19:33
SPEAKER_02: I knew it was be it's already even put in words, it's because I had a a spirit of humility every single day and a gratitude for today coupled with this God, if you have tomorrow promise, then help me stand out.
19:50
SPEAKER_02: Since that was my posture literally day by day, when I finally received a letter saying, Hey, you're on the team and we want you to be a part of this uh this groundbreaking experience, I knew it was for me.
20:03
SPEAKER_02: I knew it had been given, I knew the opportunity was for me to steward.
20:07
SPEAKER_02: I didn't know why.
20:08
SPEAKER_03: Sure.
20:09
SPEAKER_03: But I knew it was that's about tomorrow.
20:12
SPEAKER_03: Correct.
20:14
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
20:14
SPEAKER_03: So what was it like then?
20:15
SPEAKER_03: I mean, what was the experience like dancing professionally?
20:18
SPEAKER_02: It was for me, it was very the lights, bro.
20:23
SPEAKER_02: Just the lights.
20:23
SPEAKER_02: Like what does that mean?
20:25
SPEAKER_02: The the lights it's hard to even explain.
20:30
SPEAKER_02: It was very stressful, so I will say that first because that's not the end all be all.
20:36
SPEAKER_02: I don't bro, you have to learn how to pick up choreography.
20:38
SPEAKER_02: I have to look like everybody else, from lines, angles, spacing, like everything, the timing, all these things.
20:44
SPEAKER_02: Oh, by the way, I'm flipping three times during every single production, so I'm exhausted, but I'm still expected to dance at the same level of full-outness as everybody else.
20:53
SPEAKER_02: And as soon as I land the flip, I'm still supposed to be so whatever the opposite of disoriented is, so oriented that I can just like be perfectly on beat to the you know, the micro tenths of a second.
21:04
SPEAKER_02: So there was so much learning that I had to do.
21:06
SPEAKER_02: It was it was like drinking from a fire hydrant, but at the same time, man, that experience was unbelievable.
21:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you put on that jersey and you're representing the Dallas Cowboys, bro.
21:17
SPEAKER_02: That is literally a glob.
21:22
SPEAKER_02: Bro, it's a what?
21:25
SPEAKER_02: It sounds like diminishing to even say it's a global franchise.
21:28
SPEAKER_02: It makes literally the most valuable sports franchise in history, you know?
21:34
SPEAKER_03: Oh no, I bet half the world knows who the Dallas Cowboys are.
21:39
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, bro, if you Google it right now, it literally is like the uh probably either the or top three most valuable franchises.
21:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's like Manchester United, Dallas Cowboys, and maybe Real Madrid.
21:51
SPEAKER_02: Or yeah, it's yeah, bro.
21:52
SPEAKER_03: It's incomparable.
21:54
SPEAKER_03: Makes sense, man.
21:55
SPEAKER_02: And so, yeah, bro, like walk into that stadium and like before a game.
22:00
SPEAKER_02: having our locker and name played over my locker full size like image of myself like like not even from a vanity perspective it's just like bro like who is that this is this is my life now bro like a like I have a locker in ATT Stadium oh we just took a private bus oh we have security guards when we walk around I walk through the stadium and everybody wants my autograph they don't even know who I am they want my autograph they want me to sign their child it's like it's bro it's just so mind rattling yeah it's like this is what fame is like this is what it feels like to be famous dude how is can you explain that feeling what does it mean to be famous in your head since you've had a taste of it so once again it felt fake that wasn't real fame and on top of that sure for me personally I don't want fame associated with me for anything less than or different anything out of alignment with who I am and what I stand for.
23:04
SPEAKER_02: And I want to say the Cowboys are not something that I stand for but it's like you want me you want my autograph because of the clothes that I'm wearing because of this jersey.
23:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah yeah they don't actually know who you are correct correct so while it is so sick I'm not so vain or misguided to think that this is it is truly what what it is yeah exactly what fame would be like for me.
23:26
SPEAKER_02: No no no for me fame is like no no no Michael's legacy like his legacy what he wants to leave behind what he's gonna leave behind that is why they want me that is why they want me to to interact with them and their child hey can you can you help change my life you know I'm saying can you teach me how how you did it can you show me the pathway that's different.
23:44
SPEAKER_02: So I think it'll feel a little bit different.
23:46
SPEAKER_02: It was still really really cool trust me like it was really really being flown out to fan bases in New Mexico I perform for two and a half minutes do like a little number and then sign my autograph and I'm getting paid can't talk numbers but getting paid to sign my own face like it's it's like how is this real life?
24:03
SPEAKER_02: Like you literally just flew me to New Mexico I performed for two and a half minutes and then I sat down at a table and signed my own face.
24:10
SPEAKER_03: That's crazy.
24:11
SPEAKER_02: That's crazy is that the wildest memory the that's that that's that's definitely one of them because it was just like a a perspective altering I'm like you flew me out to perform for two and a half minutes I signed my face I got paid to do it and then you flew me back to Dallas.
24:26
SPEAKER_02: Oh me and me and 10 of my friends you know I'm saying like it's just the world it's just different it's a different world it's a different world but but it's a different sense of responsibility for sure.
24:37
SPEAKER_02: What does that mean?
24:40
SPEAKER_02: So what I mean by that is not only do I represent myself but now I also represent an international organization.
24:48
SPEAKER_02: And so if I want to do a performance anywhere House of Blues I can't just do a performance at the House of Blues because the House of Blues may be sponsored by Coke but a sponsor of the Dallas Cowboys is Pepsi.
24:59
SPEAKER_02: And so the Cowboys are legally liable because I am representing you see what I'm saying like it's yeah that's crazy.
25:06
SPEAKER_02: You become aware of so many different things so it's a different set of responsibility and like I can't be seen in a photograph here I can't be caught in a photograph holding a red solo cup because of who I represent because of the organization that I'm associated with so it's it's different.
25:19
SPEAKER_03: It's different it's a different no those are level and those are levels of responsibility like in my head I don't even associate responsibility with those kind of things because I've never experienced them right I just don't even have the perspective so that's a pretty cool kind of eye-opening way to say it and it sounds like you know you came at this attention with a pretty positive perspective which was they're not they appreciate me and it's like sick and I would say you should always enjoy that moment.
25:47
SPEAKER_02: But you said fame is your legacy right this wasn't gonna be your legacy fame specifically is my legacy well yeah but you want my legacy if fame is included in that it's gonna be for character.
25:58
SPEAKER_02: You know I'm saying like character rather than the brand that I built totally no and my point was just that it coming from that kind of perspective it sounds like you didn't really get sucked in no no no because it sounded was there anyone that did do you have no so I what I found to be very incredible was the the the brand the cowboys are so professional.
26:22
SPEAKER_02: I don't know what people's perceptions are but we did not interact ever with the football players ever so people wonder like oh well the cheerleaders and the no no no no baby that does not that does not happen.
26:34
SPEAKER_02: It is prof I learned more about professionalism from being with the cowboys than I did in being in the corporate world and emails and professionalism being on time.
26:43
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
26:43
SPEAKER_02: Once again this perspective if I'm doing an appearance at Great Wolf Lodge or the Gay Lord Texan whatever it is the Cowboys have already been paid however many thousands of dollars for me to be there.
26:56
SPEAKER_02: So if I get held up by a car accident yeah it doesn't matter it literally doesn't matter it is it is simply the fact that I am not there.
27:07
SPEAKER_02: Somebody is legally at fault now so like it really pulled me out of this like it's a wild level of response yes absolutely pulls you out of this like oh I my intentions we're kings and queens in our own mind well I was I was trying and I gave my best no it like it's not how it works.
27:23
SPEAKER_02: That's not how it works.
27:25
SPEAKER_02: So yeah it was it was really incredible but oh yeah something I thought of with your original question or a couple questions ago was go for it um it wasn't so much that I'm walking through the throngs of people thinking oh well you don't know me no no no no no no I was walking through the throngs of people with this like Dawn yeah dawning this this I have an opportunity to literally make somebody's life because right now I am the one wearing this yeah so I will stop it's about opportunity absolutely I will stop and pick up that child I will give them the picture like they don't know me it but it it doesn't matter like I am the one who gets the steward of this exactly yeah exactly that must be so wild actually thank you for bringing that up it's so interesting that because it brings up this aspect of celebrities and celebrity culture and fame in general is that it doesn't actually really matter if a little kid knows who you are you know they're gonna if they you get a picture with them or something you made their day you made their parents' day they probably have that picture on their phone or somewhere for years a thousand percent right bro I'll give you an example so this is gonna sound like perhaps some like a shameless plug whatever I don't care so in November of last year 2019 I don't know if you are familiar with Post Malone but he holds Post E Fest and that's at ATT Stadium.
28:53
SPEAKER_02: So through a series of events whatever I got booked to perform with Pharrell at Post E Fest and so we're on this crazy stage bro like we're 10 yards up the runway is four 40 yards long like it's insane like literally this is a world tour bro it's it's a world this is like world tour this is literally what it means to be on a world tour.
29:14
SPEAKER_02: It's outrageous bro some 10 feet up people are just like looking the stage is a square right so it's like picture a a square connected and then the runway comes and cuts right through that square so the main exactly yeah so you have 18T Stadium that's all around here.
29:32
SPEAKER_02: A runway goes out into the middle of where the 50 yard line would be maybe not that far there is now a square and then the runway continues a little bit further and this is where like the main artist stands.
29:44
SPEAKER_02: Yeah sure now the stage is 10 like 10 feet up yeah so in here is standing room for like all the VIP VIP people everything and then throngs of people all around the stage and then boom you can't even see all the people in the city and you know it's it's eight ninety thousand people so I'm on stage right and Frell is over here and of course you're in the moment and you're performing you're doing your your thing they don't know who I am but when I look down and see a life bro like reach like reaching up like literally reaching up for me I I don't want to say stop what I'm doing but I make eye contact and I acknowledge them because I have just made their life they don't know who I am they don't know my name but it does not matter because I am on stage like I am one of the ones who was on stage with Frell and so I acknowledge them I see you I like I it's like it's all validate your life I you bring them into the show next correct correct but I'm gonna use this platform literally the fact that I'm on stage I'm gonna use this platform to let you know I see you I'm gonna make your life not it could have been anybody it could have been any I see you because I'm up here because I'm the one who's been given the opportunity to be up here dude I see you I love that that's what it's like bro that's what it's like so like that's how that's how I view stardom and entertainment it's like dude you may not an opportunity is an opportunity bro it's because I am standing here sure that I can reach into your world I guess the issue with that then I mean the first thing that comes to mind is that it sounds like it could get overwhelming though.
31:20
SPEAKER_02: No because I don't view it I don't view it as a I don't view it as an obligation if that makes sense.
31:27
SPEAKER_02: Like I don't feel pressured or weighed down like okay well if I do this performance then I have to do this and take all these lives into account while I'm also literally just hanging onto the choreography by thread which I learned literally two hours ago and have been going over for the past two hours praying that I don't forget on national television you know I'm saying with you know I'm saying like it I don't I don't view it like that.
31:47
SPEAKER_02: But you enter this calm this is part of like being a professional dancer like you enter this calm in the chaos and everything is so loud and blah blah that you like you figure it out and then once you get to that that calm like oh it's gonna be all right wait I know what's coming next now I see you I see you I love that dude so that's a that's something you learn then from professionally dancing is bringing calm yes stressful situations or chaotic situations.
32:14
SPEAKER_02: Yes and I you could say the seeds have been planted for all of us whether you grew up playing sports competitively or taking a test and it's timed and there's that pressure we all have had a million opportunities to really reject take that skill yeah reject the chaos and develop that skill but I would say entertainment in dancing professionally live entertainment live entertainment that is for me the most heightened experiences I've had where you have to like your brain is literally screaming bro like it oh my gosh bro to give you perspective I was I was performing at the Mexico versus Croatia halftime with a famous Mexican band called Duelo.
32:57
SPEAKER_02: And it just so happened that oh they put so it was a partner dancing so the band is uh let's say the band is right here yeah the band is right here and partner partner partner partner Michael and his partner so I'm 20 yards out on the field right so everyone can like reference everyone else but I'm looking my partner and ever everyone else is over here so I can't see them as a reference point.
33:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah give you like a level of additional perspective my partners meaning my teammates teammates whatever the people also got books for the job they are dancing based off of the live music that they hear because they're standing next to the band I am dancing off of what is being projected to the fans through the speakers which is a second delayed yeah exactly a second and a half delayed so not only am I trying to remember the choreography and lead my partner I am also trying to not go off of what I hear but go off of what I hear and do a second and a half before every single sound that I hear to be in bro.
34:01
SPEAKER_03: That's out that sounds so stressful.
34:04
SPEAKER_03: It's outrageous bro that's an see all right maybe people have an opportunity chaotic situations but not a lot of people get any sort any form of experience like that.
34:15
SPEAKER_03: Yes bro oh by the way it's live in front of a hundred thousand people oh by the way I'm not Mexican so I in my head I'm like dude I'm culturally appropriating like what if somebody like say it I'm like no straight up bro I was worried about that because I'm like really authentic authenticity and sincerity absolutely I'm like I I don't want to this isn't this isn't even my culture like I wish why am I the one in the front you know I'm saying like I should I should be in the back bro like I want somebody else to represent the culture you know that's interesting was that another so it sounds like another kind of aspect of this like fraudulence right and maybe that just comes with the in dancing or in live is it always has a context right and so you're always I mean every kind of dance has its own culture or or you're performing for a certain type of person and there's only a certain crowd that any w individual is a part of right so right anytime you're dancing for a crowd that's not yours.
35:20
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
35:21
SPEAKER_02: I mean it's not yeah I mean yeah so it's not it's not something that I'm insecure about.
35:28
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
35:28
SPEAKER_02: Like like in general like whatever you know I'm gonna get on stage whatever there can be lots of people from lots of different cultures backgrounds races religions all these things in the audience like it's it's not something like that.
35:37
SPEAKER_02: But it was the nature of that performance specifically it was Mexico versus Croatia and they specifically brought in a very famous Mexican band that nobody else knew except for Mexican culture because it's you know I'm saying and so I'm sitting here and I'm like given the nature of this does it really make sense for me who literally doesn't even speak Spanish and you don't speak Spanish okay well I've studied it I've studied it's gonna be study I studied abroad in Spain all that stuff okay but you can get what I'm saying who literally like didn't grow up with it and doesn't have any Mexican heritage you want me being the staple like the poster for this cultural performance.
36:21
SPEAKER_02: Like how does that make sense?
36:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah yeah yeah I got you that's crazy though was that an ATT stadium that was ATT stadium as well yep like in this these dances aren't through the Cowboys rhythm and blues this is no no this was this was this was past this was yeah past moving on so once I left I I was with the Dallas Cowboys for 2014 through 2015 so literally only one season and then I moved on I really wanted to learn like traditional traditional hip hop popping locking waving all these different things breaking can you tell me actually before we then get into that can you tell me absolutely absolutely why you left what was that transition period like yeah absolutely so the reason the first reason that I left was because I was the only veteran to not be offered a spot back heavy so you would have had to re-audition I did re-audition and I was the only veteran to not be given a spot back and check me out this is this is oh bro it's like this gets me hype so to to go to go back to my process when I made the team I knew for a fact that based off of skill I should not have made the team but I was operating out of a posture of humility and complete gratitude yo god I'm so grateful for today if you have tomorrow promised help me to stand out to whoever it is that I need to stand out to I approached the reauditions the exact same way.
37:48
SPEAKER_02: So year one I made the team and I shouldn't have made the team grinded that entire season bro went above and beyond oh my god like yeah just above and beyond and I believe year two comes around and I felt like I should have made the team based off of skill and talent and the door closed and so I knew for a fact that it was God shutting the door.
38:11
SPEAKER_02: You said you got another you got something else yeah and so door shuts for me and I said you know okay awesome like God I'm so grateful I was I was only supposed to be here for one season and so then I was decided oh well there's this crew this mega crew in Dallas called the neighborhood mega crew mega crew so it's like it was about 38 40 people so world of dance I'm not sure if you've seen the competitions of world of dance there are world of dance competitions all over the United States Dallas Houston Seattle all over and this was one of the crews that represented Dallas.
38:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah absolutely so there was the neighborhood and then renegades I joined or I committed to the neighborhood and I wanted to learn all these more traditional styles popping waving voting all these different things and so I made my commitment to this team my audition and I made the team and then a couple weeks later I was messaged and someone had quit one of the guys said quit the Dosco I was written in blue and I was reached out to by the director and was offered a spot back heavy but it was crazy because for me I was like I've already put my my trust and my faith in God so I know he's closed this door and I've committed to this other thing and it felt like okay I'm supposed to be here but then it was like okay well let me test you let me let me tell let me test your cad let me test your conviction let me let me test your conviction oh we've got a spot the the lights 80 000 people 90 000 people dwell all these things do you want them do you want them back and I I said no I turned it down and so then my dance journey went elsewhere and it's bro it's all love and respect and I'm so grateful for the cowboy bro yeah oh my gosh there's there's there's no bad intentions in your voice whatsoever man yeah no bad blood whatsoever but that was that was look back never looked uh it wasn't yeah if by look back you mean requestion my decision no I never I never questioned my decision no not not at all but look back in fondness absolutely oh my gosh those were those are great times absolutely those are great times sounds like that's probably a pretty big character trait of you then is commit to today I mean you're talking a lot about I'm given today I'm gonna work on today and tomorrow's gonna happen so you're committed to what you're doing and that you don't look back you say I did what I did I mean to re-question or to regret sure sure sure sure I mean do you agree with that it's something you Yeah but the the underlying fuel might be a little bit different than what you're um what you're currently thinking so it's not so much of I'm waking up and it's like okay I've got to live in the present like I'm not being motivated by this phrase like the present the present sure it's when you operate from a place of gratitude you cannot help but be grateful for what you have right now and and thus the present is able to be seen it's able to be stewarded at that point who taught you gratefulness I'm sure it's been an amalgamation of people over the years there was never one single person who was like no attitude no I I yeah of course I'm more so mean maybe who have you role models exemplify gratefulness the best that in your head the ones that come to mind not a single person comes to mind honestly but I I'm sure it's my parents on some level because I grew up in a family where we didn't have a lot financially but we had enough like we had each other you know what I'm saying and so this being raised in an environment where you've never were dependent upon receiving satisfaction or validation from external things like money and toys and this that and the other just teaches you without ever telling you to be grateful.
42:11
SPEAKER_02: Teaches you how to be grateful for what you have and what you don't have.
42:15
SPEAKER_02: Like I I grew up in we could have nothing and we would go outside and we would play with sticks.
42:19
SPEAKER_02: Like we did not it we did not care.
42:21
SPEAKER_03: We lived our best lives with absolutely nothing not to be like we were homeless or poor none of my parents are fucking you know what I'm saying no no no it's it's in I'm not even focused on that it's it's more on this aspect of gratefulness I it's it's really I mean it's the most impactful thing I understand in this life is your ability to be grateful.
42:44
SPEAKER_03: I mean it's if it's a life changing perspective.
42:48
SPEAKER_02: Bro 100% like literally 100% dog like if you want to live an abundant life learn how learn how to be grateful.
42:57
SPEAKER_02: Like learn learn gratitude and gratitude is not something that some people have and others don't bro it's a skill that you develop like you literally learn to be grateful.
43:06
SPEAKER_02: You practice it you train it you know what I'm saying if you let's put this on you if you had nothing except for that that big piece of wood behind you oh you'd be you'd like you'd be good like I could put you on the beach with that piece of wood and life would not matter like li in in a good way like you'd you'd be good.
43:27
SPEAKER_02: Yeah you know what I'm saying you'd you'd I guess my pushback would be I would but not everyone would well of course but everyone has the opportunity to everyone has the potential too everyone has the potential too so if someone is out there listening they're you're you're feeling like oh my gosh like life is weighing on me and life is heavy and these circumstances and this that and the other no no no like the power of gratitude is that dude I'm not I'm not up and down with my circumstances.
43:58
SPEAKER_02: Like life life is gonna happen bro Yes, there are moments that are more stressful.
44:01
SPEAKER_02: Got a flat tire.
44:02
SPEAKER_02: Bro, literally, I get a flat tire, and my thought process is this.
44:06
SPEAKER_02: I have been given this opportunity.
44:09
SPEAKER_02: Like I bro, I have been chosen.
44:11
SPEAKER_02: Like I literally was chosen because I am the one who right now is equipped to handle this situation with such a posture of and great, such a posture of like humility and grace that I can write about this and show people how to be grateful in this moment.
44:24
SPEAKER_02: And it's going to inspire 300 people's days, and they're all going to walk away feeling like more inspired, more fulfilled.
44:32
SPEAKER_02: Like I've been chosen.
44:33
SPEAKER_02: I've been given this situation.
44:35
SPEAKER_02: At least one of them.
44:37
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, exactly.
44:38
SPEAKER_02: It was sure.
44:38
SPEAKER_02: It's not about the numbers.
44:39
SPEAKER_02: But like literally, when negative things happen to me, I genuinely feel like, bro, I have been chosen because I am ready, because I have been equipped to handle this situation with complete gratitude.
44:51
SPEAKER_02: And it is going to inspire somebody.
44:53
SPEAKER_02: It's going to show that it's going to show someone how to do the exact same.
44:56
SPEAKER_03: Like I've been given this.
44:58
SPEAKER_03: It goes back to the energy you talk about when you were talking about auditioning for the Dallas Rhythm and Blues.
45:07
SPEAKER_03: It's an energy you give off, regardless of if it's a negative or a positive situation that comes on to you, you can feel it when a person is just so psyched to be in that moment.
45:18
SPEAKER_03: Like they're so grateful for what's going on.
45:21
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
45:21
SPEAKER_03: It's tangible.
45:23
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
45:23
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
45:24
SPEAKER_00: Bro, 100%.
45:25
SPEAKER_00: But but that is the power of gratitude.
45:28
SPEAKER_02: Like there are not negative things and positive things.
45:33
SPEAKER_02: We ascribe meaning and value to things.
45:37
SPEAKER_02: Like life just happens.
45:38
SPEAKER_02: And whether it's positive or negative is dependent upon my paradigm.
45:42
SPEAKER_02: Like someone could walk into a room and say what one thing, and there will be 12 different interpretations for every single of the 12 people that were in the room.
45:51
SPEAKER_02: The same thing was said, but the perspective, it just separated in 12 different ways.
45:58
SPEAKER_02: Why is that?
45:59
SPEAKER_02: How can I change my per?
46:00
SPEAKER_02: Is it really possible that I could walk out of the room feeling inspired from what was just said as opposed to feeling frustrated?
46:06
SPEAKER_02: 100%.
46:07
SPEAKER_02: But that's on you.
46:07
SPEAKER_02: That's not on the person that walked into the room and said something.
46:10
SPEAKER_03: And that's actually, I would say, a testament to personal responsibility.
46:16
SPEAKER_03: It's that and I've I write about this, which is we keep telling people to be responsible for their actions.
46:25
SPEAKER_03: I think we should be responsible for our perceptions.
46:29
SPEAKER_02: That's powerful.
46:30
SPEAKER_03: Right?
46:31
SPEAKER_03: That's powerful.
46:32
SPEAKER_03: Because the reason why we act is is how we perceive the world.
46:37
SPEAKER_03: And so if you if you can take an objective stance or a relatively objective stance, or balance emotion and objectivity, and see the different perspectives that are possible, that's what dictates your actions.
46:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, bro.
46:52
SPEAKER_02: You got it.
46:53
SPEAKER_02: You hit you hit the nail on the head.
46:54
SPEAKER_02: Like you are in the money.
46:56
SPEAKER_02: You're the one.
46:57
SPEAKER_02: You're the one.
46:57
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna call you the one.
46:58
SPEAKER_02: You're the one.
47:00
SPEAKER_02: You're the one, bro.
47:00
SPEAKER_02: That's sick.
47:01
SPEAKER_02: That's so sick.
47:03
SPEAKER_03: I have a question.
47:06
SPEAKER_03: Because this is such a special topic to me, I can think of dozens of moments in my head.
47:12
SPEAKER_03: They typically happen in nature for me.
47:17
SPEAKER_03: Pretty outdoorsy guy.
47:18
SPEAKER_03: Sunsets, mountain summits, stuff like that.
47:21
SPEAKER_03: Where I am overcome by this feeling of gratefulness.
47:26
SPEAKER_03: Like it stops me in my tracks, and all I can do is stand there and appreciate the moment.
47:32
SPEAKER_03: Does that bring up?
47:33
SPEAKER_03: You're gonna make me tear up.
47:34
SPEAKER_04: You're gonna make me tear up, bro.
47:35
SPEAKER_03: Does that bring up any moments for you?
47:38
SPEAKER_03: There have been.
47:40
SPEAKER_02: Dude, it's almost like there's a flood.
47:44
SPEAKER_03: Choose one.
47:45
SPEAKER_02: There's like there's so many memories that come back.
47:48
SPEAKER_02: Doesn't have to be like it's like every single day, bro.
47:51
SPEAKER_02: I I kind of feel that way.
47:53
SPEAKER_02: Um the the first one.
47:55
SPEAKER_02: The first one that comes to mind.
47:57
SPEAKER_02: Like walking in my parents' home and seeing my dad round the corner asking me, like, hey, how was the trip?
48:04
SPEAKER_02: Or my mom jumping up from the couch.
48:05
SPEAKER_02: Any every single time I come home, bro, seeing my parents like come to greet me.
48:10
SPEAKER_02: And they're not saying, I love you, but their eyes cannot cannot stop shining, bro.
48:16
SPEAKER_02: Like they cannot stop shining.
48:18
SPEAKER_02: It's just this overwhelming, I know I am loved, and I don't have to ask it, I don't have to question it, you don't have to say it.
48:28
SPEAKER_02: You couldn't hide the fact that you're that you're that you're like like flooded with joy to see me.
48:35
SPEAKER_02: That's just like an all-encompassing, just like, bro, uh bro, gratitude, bro, gratitude, bro.
48:42
SPEAKER_03: Like that's a feeling that so many people can empathize with, man.
48:47
SPEAKER_03: Whether or not they take that in, it's that moment of appreciation or respect from someone.
48:54
SPEAKER_03: And you yeah, it's a good point, is being a loved by anyone can bring that on pretty intensely if you let it.
49:06
SPEAKER_02: Yes, exactly.
49:07
SPEAKER_02: If you if you recognize it, like if you're able to recognize it, and and and that's what's that's what's I mean, there are many special things about that moment, but the ability to recognize, like that's so key.
49:20
SPEAKER_02: Because my parents could walk around the corner a thousand times feeling that exact same way, with that exact same shine in their eye.
49:29
SPEAKER_02: But if I'm unable to recognize that I'm loved, I've just missed this moment, I've just missed this opportunity to have this overwhelming, all-encompassing feeling of gratitude.
49:41
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
49:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
49:43
SPEAKER_02: So, how do I clear my mind?
49:46
SPEAKER_02: How do I take the scales off my eyes so that I'm able to, on a daily basis, with my parents driving down the road, checking out at Walmart, getting that fast food, talking to the cashier, that I'm able to recognize the beauty of a moment.
49:59
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
50:00
SPEAKER_03: Like, you actually read my mind because my next question was how how do you shield out some of the negative energy?
50:08
SPEAKER_02: Everywhere.
50:09
SPEAKER_02: So I'm I forget what not paradox it is.
50:13
SPEAKER_02: It might be called the paradox.
50:14
SPEAKER_02: But think of think of have you ever bought a car before?
50:18
SPEAKER_02: I have.
50:19
SPEAKER_02: Wonderful.
50:19
SPEAKER_02: When you bought that car, were you one of those people who started seeing it everywhere?
50:25
SPEAKER_03: I bought a pretty unique car.
50:28
SPEAKER_03: Okay, okay, okay.
50:28
SPEAKER_03: So maybe you're not the best person, but for many people out there, no, I take that back.
50:32
SPEAKER_03: No, I I did start seeing it all over the place.
50:34
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, exactly.
50:35
SPEAKER_03: Even though it was kind of unique.
50:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you're like, wait, what the heck?
50:37
SPEAKER_02: I nobody has this car, and then all of a sudden, yeah, it's it's everywhere.
50:42
SPEAKER_02: That's a very common phenomenon that a lot of people experience.
50:45
SPEAKER_02: Interesting.
50:46
SPEAKER_02: Those other people did not go out and buy the car the exact same day.
50:49
SPEAKER_02: Those cars were already out on the road.
50:51
SPEAKER_02: They didn't, they've bro, they've been there.
50:53
SPEAKER_02: You just did not see it.
50:55
SPEAKER_02: They were there the whole time.
50:56
SPEAKER_02: You just didn't see it.
50:58
SPEAKER_02: But now that you're looking for it, yeah, you start recognizing it elsewhere.
51:03
SPEAKER_02: Bro, I do this, I do this experiment sometime with people who come to me like personally.
51:08
SPEAKER_02: And we don't have to do it right now, but what I have them do is I say, all right, Flint, I'm gonna give you 30 seconds.
51:15
SPEAKER_02: Pulling out my phone right here, right now.
51:17
SPEAKER_04: Let's do it.
51:17
SPEAKER_02: Actually, actually, we're gonna do it.
51:18
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna do it right now.
51:19
SPEAKER_02: I'm pulling out my phone, pulling out my clock, going to stopwatch.
51:22
SPEAKER_02: I don't know what your room looks like, but I'm giving you 30 seconds.
51:28
SPEAKER_02: I'm about to press start.
51:30
SPEAKER_02: Competition.
51:31
SPEAKER_02: I need you to find and count the number of red things in your room.
51:36
SPEAKER_02: Go now.
51:36
SPEAKER_02: Highest, highest, highest number wins.
51:39
SPEAKER_02: If I find more red things than you, I win the game.
51:42
SPEAKER_02: Count every single one.
51:46
SPEAKER_02: Halfway there, 15 seconds.
51:51
SPEAKER_02: Like I'm pretty I'm pretty confident I'm gonna beat you.
51:54
SPEAKER_03: Dude, your room is red.
51:55
SPEAKER_02: Literally.
51:56
SPEAKER_02: Like I'm I got 26 seconds, 27, 28, 29.
52:01
SPEAKER_02: Stop.
52:02
SPEAKER_02: Question for you.
52:03
SPEAKER_02: Stop.
52:03
SPEAKER_02: You found six.
52:04
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so you found you found.
52:05
SPEAKER_02: Don't look, don't, don't add to it.
52:06
SPEAKER_02: How many things did you find?
52:07
SPEAKER_02: You found 16?
52:08
SPEAKER_02: You said 16 red things?
52:09
SPEAKER_02: 16 red things.
52:10
SPEAKER_02: How many blue things did you see?
52:12
SPEAKER_03: Three.
52:13
SPEAKER_02: Don't look.
52:15
SPEAKER_03: Well, I saw zero until I correct.
52:18
SPEAKER_02: You saw zero because you were looking for red.
52:21
SPEAKER_02: And there are probably actually some things that were pink in there that you kind of like pushed into red.
52:27
SPEAKER_02: They were close enough to red.
52:28
SPEAKER_03: But you're always I pushed an orange into red.
52:31
SPEAKER_02: You see what I'm saying?
52:32
SPEAKER_02: You saw an orange thing and you pushed it into red because you were looking for red.
52:36
SPEAKER_02: Let's take this analogy.
52:38
SPEAKER_02: Let's say blue.
52:39
SPEAKER_02: Let's say blue is all the beautiful things in your life.
52:42
SPEAKER_02: And red is all the things that cause you frustration.
52:44
SPEAKER_02: You only saw the things that cause frustration.
52:47
SPEAKER_02: You only found the opportunities where people are trying to spite you.
52:50
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
52:51
SPEAKER_02: To come at you sideways, bro.
52:53
SPEAKER_02: You you did not even.
52:54
SPEAKER_02: There are blue things in your room, bro.
52:55
SPEAKER_02: I bet you could find 20 blue things in your room.
52:58
SPEAKER_02: They're literally right there, but you did not see them because you were looking for red.
53:01
SPEAKER_02: And you're also pushing things in that weren't even red to begin with.
53:05
SPEAKER_02: They're orange, they were neutral.
53:07
SPEAKER_02: That's that's how I view gratitude, bro.
53:10
SPEAKER_02: I search for it, I look for it on a day-to-day basis.
53:14
SPEAKER_02: I make it a habit.
53:16
SPEAKER_02: And now it's subconscious, so I don't have to do it.
53:18
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
53:18
SPEAKER_02: So I just have that exactly, bro.
53:21
SPEAKER_02: It's not a conscious thing.
53:22
SPEAKER_02: I still practice consciously, but but you don't have to once it becomes second nature.
53:25
SPEAKER_02: So when I'm checking out at Walmart and someone smiles at me, bro, I don't miss that.
53:29
SPEAKER_02: I smile back.
53:30
SPEAKER_02: I give them a hug.
53:31
SPEAKER_02: Well, not because COVID, but I don't miss because I'm because I'm looking for red.
53:35
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
53:36
SPEAKER_02: That's what that's what it looks like, bro.
53:38
SPEAKER_03: Dude, I love you, man.
53:39
SPEAKER_03: This is fantastic.
53:40
SPEAKER_02: That's literally what it's like, bro.
53:41
SPEAKER_02: That is human, that's how the human brain works.
53:43
SPEAKER_03: It's a great, great example, a great uh um analogy and and exercise.
53:50
SPEAKER_03: And man, I love that dude.
53:54
SPEAKER_02: Bro, that like we literally just saw it live.
53:56
SPEAKER_02: That is how the human brain works, bro.
53:59
SPEAKER_02: You find what you are looking for.
54:01
SPEAKER_02: It that's that's by that's biology, bro.
54:03
SPEAKER_02: That's science.
54:04
SPEAKER_02: You find what you are looking for.
54:05
SPEAKER_02: So the question is, what am I looking for?
54:08
SPEAKER_02: Because 95% of your day is actually run by subconscious scripts.
54:12
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
54:12
SPEAKER_02: They say on every single day we have 5%, exactly.
54:15
SPEAKER_02: 5% of our day is given towards like actually conscious, what they call creativity.
54:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you say it and you run.
54:21
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
54:22
SPEAKER_02: Wait, so if 95% of my day is actually being run in the background, I personally I don't know about you, bro.
54:28
SPEAKER_02: I want to make sure that the scripts that are running in the back are actually looking for the right thing.
54:33
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
54:35
SPEAKER_03: I guess the question would be, and I it I'll share my perspective on this afterwards.
54:39
SPEAKER_03: Please do.
54:40
SPEAKER_03: How do you decide what the right things are to focus on?
54:45
SPEAKER_03: Like how are you now?
54:46
SPEAKER_03: What are you navigating towards?
54:48
SPEAKER_02: That's a good question.
54:48
SPEAKER_02: That's a good question.
54:49
SPEAKER_03: Gratefulness is clearly one.
54:51
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
54:52
SPEAKER_02: So I think it's important for everyone to figure out where they are going.
55:02
SPEAKER_02: And for me, I know that my life will stand for life.
55:09
SPEAKER_02: Like it's it's gonna stand for life.
55:10
SPEAKER_02: I had this moment in high school, bro, where oh my gosh, so like, dude, it's prior to learning Spanish, my tongue was quick.
55:19
SPEAKER_02: Like, literally, I would say things like and I would say things, and then my brain would catch up.
55:24
SPEAKER_02: And I remember just being amazed, like, oh my gosh, like my tongue, literally almost as if it's its own entity, just perfectly like stitched that sentence together in a witty, clever way, and then my brain caught up.
55:38
SPEAKER_02: And I realized, like, you know, that's actually that's actually that's actually dangerous because if I say something based off of like how I'm feeling, and it just comes out, whoa, okay, okay, okay, with great power comes great responsibility, but like all the okay.
55:51
SPEAKER_02: So I had a moment in high school where somebody said something to me, bro.
55:55
SPEAKER_02: And I don't know if you believe in just like your time compressing or epiphanies, like these, these super maybe even spiritual moments, but somebody said something to me with I don't remember if it was like an attitude that like they were trying to for lack of better, like put me down.
56:10
SPEAKER_02: And I like literally my time compressed, bro.
56:13
SPEAKER_02: Like my time compressed, and I looked at them, and it literally was like slow motion, and I had this all-encompassing understanding I could kill you.
56:24
SPEAKER_02: Like, like not like not figuratively, I could literally kill you.
56:28
SPEAKER_02: Because I've always had this gift of like discernment in the in the church world, they call it discernment, like knowing where people's insecurities are coming from, like knowing they said this, but like just understanding, like the motivating underlying fear of abandonment.
56:42
SPEAKER_03: That's you use this word, but the way you structured that word is because you said it was like to be clear, we're in this context, killing means destroying them in this discussion, no, making them feel really bad.
56:55
SPEAKER_02: No, no, no.
56:56
SPEAKER_02: I literally have this that's like no, I'm I'm being I'm being sense, it's like just I have this overwhelming understanding I could say something right now that would go behind all of your defenses.
57:10
SPEAKER_02: Yes, that's what and it and and in this moment, right now, you just be like, oh whatever, that's lame.
57:15
SPEAKER_02: But at night when you go to sleep, you wouldn't be able to sleep.
57:19
SPEAKER_02: It was literally this all-encompassing understanding I could kill you right now.
57:24
SPEAKER_02: And that sounds so insane.
57:26
SPEAKER_02: But in that moment, like where my time was compressed, I realized like life and death is in the power of the tongue.
57:34
SPEAKER_02: And I had to decide for myself, consciously decide, will I stand for life or will I stand for death?
57:41
SPEAKER_02: Like it was literally like an it was literally a life-altering moment for me where it's like, Michael, you've been given these gifts, but this discernment, this ability to speak, this all these different things.
57:52
SPEAKER_02: If you do not consciously choose to stand for something, then you're gonna stand for death.
57:59
SPEAKER_03: I think it's an important thing to understand.
58:03
SPEAKER_03: Everyone should understand that every human has the opportunity to produce extreme evil.
58:11
SPEAKER_02: Yes, exactly.
58:12
SPEAKER_02: And and and to tie this all together, you ask me, where are you going?
58:17
SPEAKER_02: I have decided my life and legacy will stand for life, and I will empower others and lift them up.
58:23
SPEAKER_02: So that's my compass.
58:25
SPEAKER_02: Like that's my compass.
58:26
SPEAKER_02: But once you decide, hey, that is what I I truly am committed to being remembered for or not remembered for, because maybe people won't even recognize that.
58:35
SPEAKER_02: Once you realize that that's where I'm going, then you can start to orchestrate and put the pieces that are required to make that possible.
58:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'll have to be kind, I'll have to be compassionate, I'll have to be grateful, I'll have to be able to like I'll have to be self-aware, humble, be able to remove my, you know, I'm saying you can start putting the Legos together, but you have to decide where you're going first.
58:56
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and that's also a good point, is that legacy is an interesting one because it doesn't actually matter if anyone remembers who you are, you are going to have an impact on this on this world, and it's gonna be positive, neutral, or negative.
59:17
SPEAKER_03: Sure.
59:18
SPEAKER_03: If you don't bring out the good in you, you're bringing out the average or the the bad.
59:24
SPEAKER_03: Sure.
59:25
SPEAKER_03: And so even if no one rem remembers you, your legacy is a tangible impact on this world.
59:32
SPEAKER_03: You either brought the good in you, the life, or you brought the bad in you.
59:36
SPEAKER_00: And you 100%.
59:38
SPEAKER_00: Go ahead.
59:39
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off.
59:40
SPEAKER_03: No, I just said then you left that shit in the world, and then you'll be gone.
59:44
SPEAKER_03: That's your legacy.
59:44
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, bro.
59:46
SPEAKER_03: The way you changed it.
59:47
SPEAKER_02: Literally, bro, and that and that's the thing.
59:48
SPEAKER_02: Like, people don't understand, they're like, oh, I'm just I'm just here.
59:52
SPEAKER_02: Don't don't don't sell yourself short.
59:54
SPEAKER_02: Like the fact that you're here means you're leaving something behind.
59:58
SPEAKER_02: You're gonna cross a hundred people today.
1:00:00
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
1:00:00
SPEAKER_02: Like a hundred people are gonna see you today, whether you whether you're conscious of it or not.
1:00:05
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
1:00:06
SPEAKER_02: Like, don't sell yourself COVID.
1:00:08
SPEAKER_02: True.
1:00:08
SPEAKER_02: True, true, true.
1:00:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, right.
1:00:12
SPEAKER_02: 100%.
1:00:12
SPEAKER_02: But but people think like, oh well, I you know, I just want to be a homebody.
1:00:17
SPEAKER_02: Okay, but your family, like your wife, your spouse, your child, like they bro, their lives that literally are gonna be touched, whether you're trying to or not.
1:00:25
SPEAKER_02: And I don't view it as necessarily my responsibility.
1:00:31
SPEAKER_02: You you talked about responsibility, like it's my perception is my responsibility, or or our perceptions are our responsibility.
1:00:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's that is a hundred percent.
1:00:41
SPEAKER_02: And I can't control your perception of me.
1:00:44
SPEAKER_02: And so that's something that like I've had to learn.
1:00:46
SPEAKER_02: Like learn how to navigate.
1:00:50
SPEAKER_02: Because of course, I think we all want to be perceived well, but it's actually not it's not your responsibility.
1:00:55
SPEAKER_02: Clint's perception is actually not my responsibility, and maybe I've decided that my life legacy is to be a powerful influence in the world and a voice of reason and good and help people find their own truth and lift up others, but Clint may not see that, and and actually that's okay, and it's not my job to convince Clint of that, you know what I'm saying?
1:01:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's just it's just my it's just my responsibility to continuously walk in that if that makes sense.
1:01:21
SPEAKER_03: No, it does, it makes absolute sense.
1:01:24
SPEAKER_03: It's evident, right, that you've had this perspective for a while, because you know, you see it in a lot of the decisions we've talked about, which is because right now we're in a very kind of deeper place, but in reality, these kind of decisions are not superficial, but they're more like your decision to do parkour, right?
1:01:46
SPEAKER_03: You were like, This interests me.
1:01:48
SPEAKER_03: Yes, I think this is a good thing, yeah, right?
1:01:51
SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna go do this, right?
1:01:53
SPEAKER_03: And then I'm gonna go do like I think that I'm a leader, I have this scholarship, I'm known as a leader.
1:02:01
SPEAKER_03: I think the next step is joining the cheer team.
1:02:04
SPEAKER_03: Because that's a cool thing to do.
1:02:05
SPEAKER_03: That's that's a way I'm gonna bring out the life in me, the good in me, right?
1:02:09
SPEAKER_03: And then you get the opportunity in in in rhythm and blues.
1:02:13
SPEAKER_03: You're like, I'm gonna take this opportunity, this is the right thing to do.
1:02:16
SPEAKER_03: I am being me, I'm expressing myself, right?
1:02:21
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
1:02:22
SPEAKER_02: Uh bro, 100%.
1:02:23
SPEAKER_02: And that's that's the thing, bro.
1:02:24
SPEAKER_02: It could be parkour, it could be a conversation at McDonald's, it could be Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and Blue, it could be on stage with Pharrell.
1:02:32
SPEAKER_02: In my head, none of these things are any greater than the other.
1:02:35
SPEAKER_02: These are literally just opportunities to manifest this, this core fuel that we talked about.
1:02:44
SPEAKER_02: What is this?
1:02:45
SPEAKER_02: What is this?
1:02:46
SPEAKER_02: Once I've decided what this is, bro, it could be talking to my roommate, it could be mowing the lawn and waving at somebody, bro.
1:02:52
SPEAKER_02: Like the the opportunities are infinite, they're everywhere, none is greater than the other.
1:02:58
SPEAKER_02: Like, it's not about the numbers, it's not about the number of lives changed.
1:03:02
SPEAKER_02: Some people I think will be put in positions that cater to larger audiences, but it's not about the numbers at the end of the day.
1:03:09
SPEAKER_02: It's just what do I do with this opportunity that I have been given today?
1:03:14
SPEAKER_02: Whether it's at work, McDonald's, cutting the lawn, whatever.
1:03:18
SPEAKER_02: It doesn't matter.
1:03:19
SPEAKER_02: You're gonna get your chances.
1:03:21
SPEAKER_02: What are you doing with the opportunity, bro?
1:03:23
SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
1:03:24
SPEAKER_03: And you got opportunities every moment of every day.
1:03:26
SPEAKER_02: 100%, bro.
1:03:27
SPEAKER_02: I could literally take I could pick up my phone right now.
1:03:30
SPEAKER_02: I could, if you said pick five people, I could Val, Ali, Lorenzo, my mom, uh, Kali Clint.
1:03:38
SPEAKER_02: I could text all of them right now and say, hey, I appreciate you so much.
1:03:41
SPEAKER_02: You cannot tell me, bro, that it would not be the highlight of their day.
1:03:45
SPEAKER_02: You can't tell me that, bro.
1:03:47
SPEAKER_02: You literally would be lying to me.
1:03:48
SPEAKER_03: Even just saying hello.
1:03:50
SPEAKER_02: Hell bro, bro, I appreciate I was I was sitting here on a podcast talking about gratitude, and your name crossed my mind.
1:03:57
SPEAKER_02: I wanted to let you know, consciously or subconsciously, I'm obviously grateful for you.
1:04:01
SPEAKER_02: You cannot tell me that would not be the highlight of somebody's day, week, month, year.
1:04:06
SPEAKER_02: You can't tell me that, bro.
1:04:07
SPEAKER_02: You'd be lying.
1:04:08
SPEAKER_02: 100% opportunity.
1:04:10
SPEAKER_02: That is.
1:04:11
SPEAKER_02: I didn't even talk about it.
1:04:11
SPEAKER_02: Think about it.
1:04:12
SPEAKER_02: So my call to action is post this podcast.
1:04:14
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna do that for every single person I just mentioned.
1:04:17
SPEAKER_02: It's that simple, bro.
1:04:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, going back to something we touched on earlier, it's the ability to recognize that.
1:04:24
SPEAKER_03: It's the ability to see it, see the moments, see the moments, and it's it's important to note, I think, that it gets easier to see the moments, right?
1:04:37
SPEAKER_03: Because it it is, I think it becomes overwhelming.
1:04:43
SPEAKER_03: Talking with people, the biggest resistance I hear is that living that way sounds exhausting.
1:04:53
SPEAKER_03: And I don't think that I don't think it's true because every time you feel the joy that being that core self brings, like being great, every time you really are grateful or kind or compassionate, it brings you some sense of joy and fulfillment, and it becomes easier after that.
1:05:16
SPEAKER_03: It flows better, and all of your actions start to join in, and you get less and less resistance.
1:05:23
SPEAKER_03: So maybe it sounds exhausting, but it's not because it's really just like a form of satisfaction and fulfillment.
1:05:30
SPEAKER_03: It brings you joy when you're a good person, bro.
1:05:33
SPEAKER_02: 100%.
1:05:35
SPEAKER_02: I think about it in terms of even just walking.
1:05:37
SPEAKER_02: There are there are a couple ways that think about it.
1:05:40
SPEAKER_02: Walking.
1:05:42
SPEAKER_02: You weren't born knowing how to walk.
1:05:45
SPEAKER_02: You learned how to walk.
1:05:47
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
1:05:48
SPEAKER_02: Maybe some of you guys are handicapped, but your life is so beautiful, bro.
1:05:52
SPEAKER_02: What?
1:05:52
SPEAKER_02: You have a beautiful opportunity to speak into somebody else's world and relate to them in a way that I never could.
1:05:56
SPEAKER_02: Like what?
1:05:56
SPEAKER_02: That's your platform.
1:05:57
SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
1:05:58
SPEAKER_02: So I don't view it as a handicap.
1:06:03
SPEAKER_02: Speaking.
1:06:03
SPEAKER_02: You learn how to speak.
1:06:05
SPEAKER_02: You learn how to tie your shoes.
1:06:06
SPEAKER_02: You there's something that you were born and you didn't know how to do and you learn how to do it.
1:06:10
SPEAKER_02: Oh and by the way you developed it it's a muscle.
1:06:12
SPEAKER_02: It's habitual now.
1:06:13
SPEAKER_02: So so miss me was saying like oh I don't know how to do that.
1:06:17
SPEAKER_02: What no like that's that's that's not a thing.
1:06:20
SPEAKER_02: Like it's super super easy and then you'll develop the skill.
1:06:23
SPEAKER_02: And there's another expression that well an expression that comes to mind and I remember hearing that people would say oh well it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile and this was a thought that I had with regards to it being more exhausting.
1:06:39
SPEAKER_02: So that's actually actually incorrect from like a scientific perspective it actually requires more muscles to smile than it does to frown.
1:06:47
SPEAKER_02: However for the majority of humans humans smile more than they frown.
1:06:55
SPEAKER_02: So you develop the muscles that it requires to smile.
1:06:58
SPEAKER_02: So it's far easier and less tiring to smile than it is to frown because without even trying you practice smiling more and so those muscles grow.
1:07:08
SPEAKER_03: They develop it's easier to do so that is a fantastic analogy.
1:07:15
SPEAKER_03: Perfect that's grati bro that's gratitude.
1:07:18
SPEAKER_03: The more you feel the better the easier it is that's gratitude it's you know that positive cycle it just keeps getting better.
1:07:25
SPEAKER_02: Bro 100% 100% so there was a point in my life when like I I felt like okay I'm pretty I'm I'm a pretty grateful person.
1:07:32
SPEAKER_02: But you know what I want to practice conscious gratitude.
1:07:34
SPEAKER_02: And so every single day what I would do this was 2015 2015 I would wake up and I would find 30 things that I was grateful for.
1:07:43
SPEAKER_02: Like the I'm talking about a lot bro correct and some people may need to start small.
1:07:48
SPEAKER_02: For some people um that like I've literally worked with we do five we do 10 and then after a week we bump it to 15.
1:07:55
SPEAKER_02: And it feels repetitive at first but like literally the first thing I do as soon as I am aware that I am conscious is not reach for my phone is to find 30 things for I'm grateful for my life.
1:08:04
SPEAKER_02: I'm grateful that I woke up I'm grateful I have breath in my lungs I'm grateful for my family I'm grateful for my dog I'm grateful I have a bed I'm grateful that I'm not wet I'm grateful that I have a roof over my like lit grass.
1:08:13
SPEAKER_02: I love grass I love the sky I love that I can see I love that I have the ability to even recognize what great for me it's easy.
1:08:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah bro 30 30 things 30 things every single day and then also the next part of the challenge which I wasn't very good at was five minutes in prayer or five minutes in meditation and because I'm still kind of waking up sure you know sometimes I go back to sleep.
1:08:34
SPEAKER_02: But what I noticed bro speaking from literal personal experience what I noticed was after maybe a week like maybe a week bro I'm just going through my day and I'm like I'm grateful that lady smiled at me I'm grateful that the person picked up the call when I was cold calling them I'm like in the background it's just running bro I'm grateful that I can walk right now I'm great like my mind is literally looking for new things to be grateful for because it was tired of saying like oh I'm grateful for my mom every day I'm grateful for my pillow I'm grateful for my toothbrush it's my subconscious mind is searching for new things to be grateful for.
1:09:10
SPEAKER_02: And I would just stop kind of like how you how you mentioned you would just stop and be like oh my gosh I just have to take this moment in I would stop and be like oh my gosh I wasn't in control but whatever was that subconscious script is actually hunting for things to be grateful for.
1:09:29
SPEAKER_02: That is so freaking sick I'm grateful for that I'm grateful that I am growing I'm grateful that my mind is developing I'm grateful that my mind has the capacity to grow I'm grateful that some theory and then bro and it's just that it's this wave bro it's moment dog that's personal experience bro I'm not talking about theory here literally that's what I noticed in my own life.
1:09:48
SPEAKER_03: You created habitual gratefulness a hundred percent bro a hundred percent anybody can anything I can do you can do better anything I can do you can do better bro get up seize the day rise conquer world is yours I want to thank Michael for that conversation this guy is an absolute man of action taking the reins of each day doing his best and then seeing where that takes him listening to people like this who embrace the possibility of failure as an important place for learning is always inspirational for me.
1:10:23
SPEAKER_03: It might be tough or seem embarrassing at first to do something out of the norm, but as Michael shows that is probably the greatest path to showing others your real character and leaving a lasting positive legacy.
1:10:35
SPEAKER_03: And that is something that most people will respect and admire.
1:10:38
SPEAKER_03: I can tell you that firsthand because I would have never gone into cheerleading in college.
1:10:42
SPEAKER_03: Yet I absolutely respect and admire Michael for doing exactly that.
1:10:47
SPEAKER_03: I appreciated his stories of the pressure of performing in front of thousands of people and the opportunities that came with it.
1:10:53
SPEAKER_03: But most of all I just kind of loved his view on life.
1:10:57
SPEAKER_03: Imagine the possibility if every time a difficulty of any size blocks your path you look at it and say I am so grateful for this obstacle I wonder how I can overcome it and learn from it.
1:11:09
SPEAKER_03: Like I said in the introduction, I'm still waking up counting the things that I'm grateful for.
1:11:13
SPEAKER_03: And maybe you will too.
1:11:15
SPEAKER_03: Thanks for listening.
1:11:17
SPEAKER_03: If you like this episode of Seeking Authenticity that's freaking awesome all I want to ask of you the listener in return for the time and effort I put into making it is that you take a deep breath.
1:11:29
SPEAKER_03: I mean really breathe.
1:11:31
SPEAKER_03: Breathe so that it stretches out your shoulders and your back and your chest and pushes out your stomach.
1:11:37
SPEAKER_03: No more of these shallow bullshit breaths they're barely keeping you alive my friend.
1:11:41
SPEAKER_03: And after you exhale go out and soak up today.
1:11:45
SPEAKER_03: Because in the end your actions and the way they interact with the world and the people around you right now are all you have in this life.
1:11:53
SPEAKER_03: So be authentic with them.
1:11:55
SPEAKER_03: Peace