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Aug. 14, 2024

Are you ready? Parenthood and Professional Life 214

Are you ready? Parenthood and Professional Life 214
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Ever wondered if you're truly ready for the monumental changes life throws at you? Come along with me as I unpack this very question in our latest episode of the Share the Struggle podcast. As a 42-year-old soon-to-be dad, I face the daunting balance of family and business responsibilities head-on. Through personal stories and candid reflections, we explore how growing through struggles, rather than just enduring them, fosters genuine growth and understanding. You'll hear all about my recurring doubts, the importance of collective strength, and how open, sometimes uncomfortable conversations can lead to breakthroughs.

Picture this: Triple H looks you in the eye and asks, "Are you ready?" This mental shift can change everything! We discuss perception's powerful role in shaping our reality and how adaptability can be our greatest strength. I share my journey through soul-searching as I prepare for fatherhood, balancing my roles in business and family life. The insights gained from open and honest conversations guide us through life's unpredictable paths, providing invaluable perspectives that can help anyone facing similar challenges.

The weight of responsibility is no small matter, especially when juggling personal and professional duties. From unexpected family obligations to tight financial constraints, we delve into what it takes to be ready for both business and parenthood. I share my experiences on managing time, handling inventory, and making crucial financial decisions. Amidst common anxieties and doubts, this episode reassures future dads that their worries are a natural part of the journey. Join us as we embrace the fears and preparations surrounding fatherhood, and discover how being informed and involved can make all the difference.

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Chapters

00:01 - Am I Ready?

12:27 - Perception Shapes Reality

22:34 - The Weight of Responsibility

31:24 - Journey to Parenthood

41:01 - Embracing Parenthood, Despite Doubt

52:04 - Fatherhood Fear and Preparation

01:00:23 - Ready to Be a Dad

Transcript
WEBVTT

00:00:01.923 --> 00:00:08.330
recently, one major question has dominated my life Am I ready?

00:00:08.330 --> 00:00:19.442
As I find myself and my business on the brink of life-altering events, I spend a lot of time speaking positive thoughts into a hopeful existence.

00:00:19.442 --> 00:00:28.425
Join me today on Share the Struggle podcast as I work through the life-changing question am I ready?

00:00:28.425 --> 00:00:31.111
Let me tell you something Everybody struggles.

00:00:31.111 --> 00:00:36.615
The difference is some people choose to go through it and some choose to grow through it.

00:00:36.615 --> 00:00:39.008
The choice is completely yours.

00:00:39.008 --> 00:00:44.950
Which one you choose will have a very profound effect on the way you live your life.

00:00:44.950 --> 00:00:52.689
If you find strength in the struggle, then this podcast is for you.

00:00:54.774 --> 00:00:59.543
Do you have a relationship that is comfortable with uncomfortable conversations?

00:00:59.543 --> 00:01:05.254
Uncomfortable conversations challenge you, humble you and they build you.

00:01:05.254 --> 00:01:10.271
When you sprinkle a little time and distance on it, it all makes sense.

00:01:10.271 --> 00:01:15.412
Most disagreements, they stem from our own insecurities.

00:01:15.412 --> 00:01:22.153
You are right where you need to be Back on time.

00:01:22.153 --> 00:01:32.799
We can fight for this the whole day.

00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:33.280
Gone, we'll be fine.

00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:35.688
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

00:01:35.688 --> 00:01:37.165
Hot diggity, damn.

00:01:37.165 --> 00:01:42.750
Am I so excited to be back with you?

00:01:42.750 --> 00:01:44.012
Mm, mm, mm.

00:01:44.012 --> 00:01:54.579
It's true, it's damn true.

00:01:54.579 --> 00:01:55.760
I missed you, episode 214.

00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:56.981
So you know that means we back with more Hot Diggity Damn.

00:01:56.981 --> 00:02:00.004
214 episodes in the can.

00:02:00.004 --> 00:02:00.725
Can you believe it?

00:02:00.725 --> 00:02:05.870
And what a task at hand we have today.

00:02:05.870 --> 00:02:18.325
Y'all, today, we are going to dive into my major struggle at the moment, as y'all know, y'all already know whether you're a day one.

00:02:18.325 --> 00:02:19.106
Get your ones up.

00:02:19.106 --> 00:02:26.867
You, my loyal listener, been here since since ride or die, episode one, or this is your first one, and we're about to get them all done.

00:02:26.867 --> 00:02:28.932
I appreciate you, I welcome you.

00:02:29.741 --> 00:02:39.008
This podcast is named Share the Struggle because I truly feel like there is strength in everybody, in anybody's struggle.

00:02:39.008 --> 00:02:44.340
The key to the struggle is you have to be willing to grow through that current struggle.

00:02:44.340 --> 00:03:02.651
And you have to be willing to grow through that current struggle and you have to be willing to share that shit, because if you keep it inside, if you bottle it up, if you suppress it, you will regret it and there's nothing to be learned from the lessons and the time that is earned unless we are willing to be transparent and to share our shit.

00:03:02.651 --> 00:03:03.655
America, we're here to share our shit.

00:03:03.655 --> 00:03:05.299
America, we're here to share stuff.

00:03:05.299 --> 00:03:08.442
Yeah, uh-huh, we share stuff.

00:03:08.442 --> 00:03:20.100
That's what we do, and if I share those things with you, I hope that something positive comes to you and a lot of these conversations that we get manifesting here.

00:03:20.100 --> 00:03:28.406
We get things just blossoming up, blowing up, bubbling up, and it just turns into a reciprocal little positive event here.

00:03:28.406 --> 00:03:34.741
So that's the probably shittiest description I've ever given for the podcast.

00:03:36.025 --> 00:03:37.367
Oh man, I don't know where I was headed.

00:03:37.367 --> 00:03:46.762
I was trying to say that it's important to talk, okay, and the idea, the premise, the concept behind this podcast is that we need to talk about our stuff.

00:03:46.762 --> 00:03:54.328
Right, because if we sit on those things, we bottle up those things, then they stay inside of us and they eat us from the inside out.

00:03:54.328 --> 00:04:15.943
And if we're willing to share those thoughts, those innermost thoughts, if we can be vulnerable and transparent, then it gives other people strength and safety, because there's safety in numbers and the strength in knowing that there's somebody else out there that's doubting themselves, that's going through something, that's hopefully growing through something, and by sharing that something we all find strength.

00:04:15.943 --> 00:04:17.528
Is that a little better?

00:04:17.528 --> 00:04:18.410
Did I do any better?

00:04:18.410 --> 00:04:25.365
Our normal host would go back and delete that, but I think there's some comedic gold in there, so I'm going to leave it.

00:04:25.365 --> 00:04:27.529
That's just how I operate.

00:04:28.391 --> 00:04:41.682
So what we're going to get onto today is a little question that's been taking up the bulk of my thought process over the past few weeks and it's just a simple, simple little question.

00:04:41.682 --> 00:04:42.682
Okay, just a simple little question.

00:04:42.682 --> 00:04:44.283
Just a simple, simple little question.

00:04:44.283 --> 00:04:45.925
Okay, just a simple little question.

00:04:45.925 --> 00:04:48.086
Three-word little question Okay, just a three-word.

00:04:48.086 --> 00:04:52.810
It's not huge, it's not really really huge, just a little question.

00:04:52.810 --> 00:04:55.250
Am I ready?

00:04:55.250 --> 00:04:56.932
Am I ready?

00:04:56.932 --> 00:05:14.341
Now, the most obvious portion of this, the bulk of this, the elephant in the room when it comes to this is am I ready to be a dad?

00:05:14.341 --> 00:05:14.882
Am I ready to be a dad?

00:05:14.882 --> 00:05:15.463
Am I ready for all of this?

00:05:15.463 --> 00:05:20.091
That question repeats and replays itself in the back of my mind 967,000 freaking times.

00:05:20.091 --> 00:05:23.142
An ever-loving day okay, that happens.

00:05:24.305 --> 00:05:35.141
When I opened the show, I said to y'all that I spend a lot of time speaking positive thoughts into a hopeful existence, because I'm talking myself through this.

00:05:35.141 --> 00:05:42.504
I'm telling myself you're ready for this, you're prepared for this, or hey, reality is you're not prepared, but nobody really is.

00:05:42.504 --> 00:05:49.524
So chuck it at the wall, bucky, you're old dude, you're old, it's not like you just found out.

00:05:49.524 --> 00:05:51.250
You're going to be a dad and you're 12.

00:05:51.250 --> 00:05:59.276
You're 42, man, if you're not ready now, then Lord have mercy, you're never going to be right.

00:05:59.276 --> 00:06:02.206
Those, that stuff all happens in my mind.

00:06:02.206 --> 00:06:15.992
But what I'm trying to say here is I'm always trying to feed and fuel positive thoughts into my mind about what's about to happen and all the things I'm about to go through and all the things that, collectively, my family is going to grow through.

00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:17.963
But that, am I ready?

00:06:17.963 --> 00:06:21.048
That three little word question here.

00:06:21.048 --> 00:06:25.295
It has really, let's just say, word question here.

00:06:25.295 --> 00:06:29.576
It has really, let's just say, melted its way through every facet of my life.

00:06:29.576 --> 00:06:42.392
So I'm just going to give you a quick little screenshot on some of this and then we're going to focus in on the big agenda, the big mission, the major mission, the childbirth mission, and then we'll connect the dots as we go through.

00:06:42.473 --> 00:06:45.187
So I just want to give you a little bit of insight.

00:06:45.187 --> 00:06:52.329
We're going to peel back the onion, okay, we're going to peel back the onion, and we're going to look into my little pea-sized brain.

00:06:52.329 --> 00:06:58.846
There's a couple of spark plugs in there Just skipping a beat.

00:06:58.846 --> 00:07:02.274
Okay, they're idling A little off beat, all right.

00:07:02.274 --> 00:07:11.810
Back in the way back, there's a corn-fed harvest mouse on a hamster wheel and he's just trying to keep the lights on.

00:07:11.810 --> 00:07:12.353
You know what I mean.

00:07:12.353 --> 00:07:14.641
He's just trying to keep the lights on.

00:07:14.641 --> 00:07:19.012
There's a corn-fed harvest mouse and a hamster wheel going all motel six on your ass.

00:07:19.012 --> 00:07:31.767
He says, hey, daddy-o, we'll leave a light on for While that little corn-fed harvest mouse is peddling his ass off trying to keep them damn lights on and outside here I'm just trying to be one cool seedless cucumber.

00:07:32.048 --> 00:07:34.687
Okay, that's how this is going right now.

00:07:34.687 --> 00:07:38.591
Wow, I can't keep myself on track.

00:07:38.591 --> 00:07:42.286
This is hard for the problem here, and I'm laughing at myself.

00:07:42.286 --> 00:07:44.091
So I don't know really what that means.

00:07:44.091 --> 00:07:44.701
Am I anxious?

00:07:44.701 --> 00:07:45.483
Am I nervous?

00:07:45.483 --> 00:07:46.745
Am I sweating?

00:07:46.745 --> 00:07:47.408
Are you sweating?

00:07:47.408 --> 00:07:48.129
Is it hot in here?

00:07:48.129 --> 00:07:49.572
Wow, I'm hot.

00:07:49.572 --> 00:07:53.026
Oh God, all right, what was I saying?

00:07:53.026 --> 00:07:57.904
Squirrel, yes, the am I ready?

00:07:57.904 --> 00:07:58.627
Conversation.

00:07:58.627 --> 00:08:02.329
It has melted its way through all facets of my life.

00:08:02.329 --> 00:08:04.004
All right, it's an am I ready?

00:08:04.004 --> 00:08:08.146
Lubricant that is just lubricating my mind in all areas of my life.

00:08:08.146 --> 00:08:11.350
It's like the KY of questions.

00:08:11.350 --> 00:08:15.127
Okay, you have to, just, you have to just buckle down right now.

00:08:15.127 --> 00:08:16.665
Look, turn the mic off.

00:08:16.665 --> 00:08:18.728
Turn the mic off.

00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:20.466
This is you, me and the hamster.

00:08:20.466 --> 00:08:22.668
We're having a conversation right now.

00:08:22.668 --> 00:08:23.983
Get yourself together.

00:08:23.983 --> 00:08:30.480
You're about to be a dad, you bastard.

00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:31.922
This is how dads act.

00:08:31.922 --> 00:08:41.346
Oh God, you're trying to have a compelled, personal, enlightened conversation here.

00:08:41.346 --> 00:08:45.758
You are just trailing off, bringing sexual lubricants into a conversation about childbirth.

00:08:45.758 --> 00:08:47.250
What is wrong with you?

00:08:47.250 --> 00:08:49.347
What is wrong with you?

00:08:49.347 --> 00:08:56.293
All right, calm yourself down, be a man.

00:08:56.293 --> 00:09:03.225
In through the nose, out through the mouth, oh shit.

00:09:03.225 --> 00:09:04.207
Nose out through the mouth, oh shit.

00:09:04.207 --> 00:09:05.328
I never stopped the recording.

00:09:05.328 --> 00:09:06.850
Well, you can edit it.

00:09:06.850 --> 00:09:08.553
I'm not kidding, I won't.

00:09:08.553 --> 00:09:10.615
All right, we're back.

00:09:10.615 --> 00:09:15.575
This would be a perfect opportunity for a gut check, but we're going to rock and roll, we're going to run right through this.

00:09:15.596 --> 00:09:20.212
What I'm trying to say to y'all is every single day, multiple times, and opportunities throughout the day.

00:09:20.212 --> 00:09:22.610
Y'all is every single day, multiple times, and opportunities throughout the day.

00:09:22.610 --> 00:09:24.336
I find myself asking myself are you fucking already?

00:09:24.336 --> 00:09:36.859
I just worked myself up into a jacked up state right there because instantly as I was asking the question, I envisioned triple h coming out with a bottle of water in front of a massive sold-out crowd saying are you ready?

00:09:36.859 --> 00:09:39.065
That's a little dramatic.

00:09:39.065 --> 00:09:47.793
But when I hear that I just just learned something From here on out this spoiler alert maybe I want to end the episode right here.

00:09:48.195 --> 00:09:49.317
This might be it.

00:09:49.317 --> 00:09:58.227
Maybe I've unlocked the ever-loving secret, because the next time I find myself asking myself, I say self are you ready to be a dad?

00:09:58.227 --> 00:10:00.273
I'm going to change that to Triple H.

00:10:00.273 --> 00:10:02.217
Are you ready?

00:10:02.217 --> 00:10:10.794
And when I hear that you can't see Triple H and not yell back fucking A, I'm ready, you have to.

00:10:10.794 --> 00:10:12.288
You have to say you're ready.

00:10:12.288 --> 00:10:13.130
That's it.

00:10:13.130 --> 00:10:19.890
Podcast over dude, I unlocked the freaking secret Attention, harvest Mouse.

00:10:19.890 --> 00:10:23.592
From this point on, you have two goals keep the lights on.

00:10:23.592 --> 00:10:28.573
And number two the next time I ask myself if I'm ready, you Q Triple H.

00:10:28.573 --> 00:10:33.472
Because then the answer is always apps are freaking lootly.

00:10:33.472 --> 00:10:36.447
Thank you for supporting my American dream.

00:10:36.447 --> 00:10:38.809
Now go wash your fucking hands, you filthy savage.

00:10:38.809 --> 00:10:40.667
That's it and that's all.

00:10:40.667 --> 00:10:55.931
Biggie Smalls Okay, alright, I'm sorry.

00:10:56.533 --> 00:10:56.953
I'm sorry.

00:10:56.953 --> 00:11:10.798
I hope y'all found that as funny as I did, as badly as I would like to record the shortest episode in the history of Share the Struggle podcast.

00:11:10.798 --> 00:11:13.086
I know y'all didn't come here for that.

00:11:13.086 --> 00:11:16.673
I know you're here for the full Szechuan.

00:11:16.673 --> 00:11:19.619
I know you're here for the full spread, okay.

00:11:19.619 --> 00:11:21.116
I know you're here for a little positive motivation.

00:11:21.116 --> 00:11:25.754
Okay, I know you're here for a little positive motivation, a little inspiration, a little search for inspirado.

00:11:25.754 --> 00:11:27.407
That's what we signed up for week to week.

00:11:27.407 --> 00:11:30.456
That's why we're here, and if you're listening to the show for the first time.

00:11:30.456 --> 00:11:35.355
You 1,000% are questioning what the hell did I just tune into?

00:11:35.355 --> 00:11:41.859
Okay, if this is your first time listening, that's how the show ends.

00:11:41.859 --> 00:11:45.890
Stay tuned for another 45 minutes or so and we'll do that part all over again.

00:11:45.890 --> 00:11:47.735
I promise you Okay For the rest of you.

00:11:47.735 --> 00:11:49.249
Hope you get a kick out of that.

00:11:49.630 --> 00:11:53.885
I owe it to you to struggle through what it is I'm going through today.

00:11:53.885 --> 00:11:55.673
So that's what we shall do today.

00:11:55.673 --> 00:12:18.562
But the key is we might've unlocked a little something there, because I truly feel and I've always said on the history of this podcast, and I don't know when it was in my life that I learned this little tidbit of information, but it stuck with me the entire time and I've just kind of pounded it true from then on whatever you perceive to be true shall be true.

00:12:18.562 --> 00:12:25.205
Whatever people believe to be true, like, whatever image you're putting out there into the world, other people are seeing, reading and reacting.

00:12:25.205 --> 00:12:27.270
They're going to find their own truth in that.

00:12:27.631 --> 00:12:39.679
So when I say perception is reality, to me a little slight change can be the difference in how I react to something, how I interpret something, how I handle something.

00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:48.620
So if I can honestly change in my mind that the next time I start asking myself, am I ready?

00:12:48.620 --> 00:13:06.794
If I can actually physically envision, like just imagine Triple H coming out, me being the wrestling, freaking meathead that I am my entire life, triple H coming out asking me are you ready?

00:13:06.794 --> 00:13:08.696
That's the way Triple H would say it.

00:13:08.696 --> 00:13:13.277
If I can hear him in my mind, that will change my reaction.

00:13:13.277 --> 00:13:22.138
That will change my answer, that will shape my handling of whatever situation lies in front of me.

00:13:22.138 --> 00:13:22.938
I'm serious.

00:13:22.938 --> 00:13:26.174
That little, slight change we unlock that.

00:13:26.174 --> 00:13:27.784
We just stumbled upon that today.

00:13:27.784 --> 00:13:47.076
So that just rambling nonsense that I was having earlier enjoying my time with you because I missed you we only do this once a week Rambling down that road, I unlock something because I guarantee you left hand on that Cabela's catalog, beady little eyes to the sky.

00:13:47.135 --> 00:13:53.669
The truth from me to you, coming straight from this guy, is that those little changes work.

00:13:53.669 --> 00:14:05.850
If you can envision and imagine something to change your perception, you can change your reality by me changing the perception of that question.

00:14:05.850 --> 00:14:13.191
Going from me asking myself 900,000 times a day am I ready to hearing Triple H ask me?

00:14:13.191 --> 00:14:16.625
You damn well know I'm going to answer him different than I'm going to answer myself.

00:14:16.625 --> 00:14:29.692
The same thing happens for you, whether it's, you know, a co worker asking you something, versus your wife asking you something, your kid asking you something, your dad asking you something, a role model asking you something.

00:14:29.692 --> 00:14:37.056
Depending on how that question is asked and who it's coming from, your answer is going to be changed.

00:14:37.056 --> 00:14:38.158
We're chameleons, man.

00:14:38.158 --> 00:14:48.385
We mold and flow and change our colors and our stripes based on the conversation, based off of the room that we're in, based off of the opportunity that we're having.

00:14:48.385 --> 00:14:51.011
You understand, we change ourselves.

00:14:51.011 --> 00:14:55.692
So the answer to the question, based off of who is asking it, might change all the time.

00:14:56.335 --> 00:15:05.293
Me knowing that a role model is asking me that question with that level of intensity, I'm going to answer it with the same level of intensity and that perception can become my reality.

00:15:05.293 --> 00:15:16.057
So that's a little impromptu tidbit that we picked up on today and I'm glad we unlocked that, because I seriously, seriously, am going to use that.

00:15:16.057 --> 00:15:18.413
But that's not what the intention of this was today.

00:15:18.413 --> 00:15:30.274
I'm just happy that that came out today, because that's what happens when we talk things out, guys, we've been saying this when you just push record and have a conversation, when you decide to open up and share those inner thoughts and questions with somebody close to you.

00:15:30.274 --> 00:15:31.900
These things happen, man.

00:15:31.900 --> 00:15:44.212
These thoughts come about because if you just leave them in your mind and you don't talk them out, you never work out what a solution might be, what other obstacles might be there, what other avenues might be there, sometimes just a little little mental change.

00:15:44.212 --> 00:15:46.606
So that's the change that I'm going to make.

00:15:46.907 --> 00:15:51.407
But as I was leading into that change, I was starting to say that question am I ready?

00:15:51.407 --> 00:16:00.610
For me has been over the past few weeks, a multifaceted question, because it's gone into number one, as we talked about me about to be a dad.

00:16:00.610 --> 00:16:04.437
Number two is a big business side of life where we're going to touch on.

00:16:04.437 --> 00:16:13.686
And number three, there's just my role in my family, the to do's in my family.

00:16:13.686 --> 00:16:19.312
Now, to put this all under perspective here, to kind of, you know, put all these little nuts in a little basket here, which I should have said eggs, but I'm a weirdo.

00:16:19.312 --> 00:16:21.436
Put all my nuts in a basket.

00:16:21.436 --> 00:16:25.701
Oh my God, putting my nuts in a basket.

00:16:25.701 --> 00:16:28.509
What's wrong with you, bro?

00:16:28.509 --> 00:16:30.740
You haven't slept much, have you?

00:16:30.740 --> 00:16:34.230
You got up way early and you are in dire need of a nap.

00:16:34.230 --> 00:16:35.153
Get used to it.

00:16:35.153 --> 00:16:36.917
Sleep's not going to happen.

00:16:36.917 --> 00:16:37.597
This is weird.

00:16:37.597 --> 00:16:42.235
I'm talking to myself, but I'm saying it out loud and I'm recording it, so you're hearing it.

00:16:42.235 --> 00:16:42.977
That's awkward, right.

00:16:42.977 --> 00:16:44.630
This is me and the hamster talking.

00:16:45.044 --> 00:16:49.745
Anyhow, over the past few weeks I've done a great level of soul searching.

00:16:49.745 --> 00:16:58.059
Now I understand, at this place and time where I just happen to be and I'm expecting dad to be right.

00:16:58.059 --> 00:17:00.714
We are in that one month range.

00:17:00.714 --> 00:17:11.670
What's funny is last week I was corresponding back and forth an email with an event that I decided I was going to do and I said I'll do this event.

00:17:11.670 --> 00:17:15.193
One major condition I need to be guaranteed a camping spot.

00:17:15.193 --> 00:17:16.669
I need to get there early.

00:17:16.669 --> 00:17:22.194
Here's my schedule, this is when it needs to happen, and if you can make that happen, then I'll do your event.

00:17:22.194 --> 00:17:26.576
And I mentioned in there my wife is eight months pregnant.

00:17:26.576 --> 00:17:30.736
Camping, air conditioning is an absolute necessity.

00:17:30.736 --> 00:17:34.394
Now I got a response back to the email.

00:17:34.394 --> 00:17:39.336
They were overly welcoming and accommodating to my situation and excited, right.

00:17:39.336 --> 00:17:42.772
They said whatever a pregnant woman wants, a pregnant woman gets done.

00:17:42.772 --> 00:17:44.236
Deal, bada, bing, bada, boom.

00:17:44.236 --> 00:17:44.998
Coolest guy in the room.

00:17:46.006 --> 00:17:52.125
I was telling my wife that and her face, like her color, changed okay, and I was like what's the matter?

00:17:52.125 --> 00:17:55.131
And she said eight months pregnant.

00:17:55.131 --> 00:18:05.430
You just said that I was like yeah, and she said that I was like, yeah, and she said I hadn't really thought of that.

00:18:05.430 --> 00:18:09.719
And she's been talking about weeks and months and things, but we've never discussed being eight months pregnant, right?

00:18:09.719 --> 00:18:15.536
So that has a final destination to it, right, the clock is ticking y'all.

00:18:15.536 --> 00:18:18.887
That's a we're getting close to business conversation.

00:18:19.348 --> 00:18:32.136
So, with that being said, I know during this time there's a lot of soul searching that could happen, right, there's tons of soul searching for somebody that's about to be a parent for the very first time.

00:18:32.136 --> 00:18:45.816
Now, in my perspective, for my own personal, specific little basket that I'm dealing with here, over the past few weeks having these conversations, I've put a major microscope on my entire life.

00:18:45.816 --> 00:18:52.415
Now we are approaching the one year timeline of me losing my father.

00:18:52.415 --> 00:19:04.048
So there's some things that are happening right now in my life, like we have some big events that are happening that they're starting to trigger last time memories for me.

00:19:04.048 --> 00:19:18.556
So there's things in my life that are happening, like I'm getting ready to go to the Windsor fair and I'm getting ready for the Freiburg fair, and when I was at the Freiburg fair is when I got the phone call that my dad was being rushed to the hospital.

00:19:18.556 --> 00:19:29.787
That's when I got the phone call that he collapsed and that started my whole world changing.

00:19:29.787 --> 00:19:41.636
So I've been ultra sensitive and cognizant to all the last time things and I had mentioned to you guys, maybe last week or the week before, that I had to work on something and it happened to be a job that me and my dad had done together.

00:19:41.636 --> 00:19:53.817
The last thing we did together was working on grid wall for my business and I had to go do that project and use the same saw and do the same things that me and him did, and it triggered that last time memory for me.

00:19:54.585 --> 00:19:56.067
There's a lot of those right now.

00:19:56.067 --> 00:20:07.817
There's a lot of those because we're getting to that point where, in the next month or so, two months, is when my dad got sick and we stopped doing anything together.

00:20:07.817 --> 00:20:09.127
It's when my world changed.

00:20:09.127 --> 00:20:26.500
It's when I started going to see my dad in the hospital every day and not knowing if I was really going to see my dad or I was going to see somebody that looks like my dad but their mind and body has been taken over by an infection and I'm going to see somebody that looks like my dad, but their mind and body has been taken over by an infection and I'm going to have to process those emotions.

00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:30.933
I'm going to have to deal with my dad not really knowing me or saying awful things to me.

00:20:30.933 --> 00:20:36.132
Or am I going to go there and have my role model and my hero tell me he loves me?

00:20:36.132 --> 00:20:40.388
Or am I going to go in there and him, beg me to get him out of the hospital?

00:20:40.388 --> 00:20:49.230
All those things my whole world changed.

00:20:49.250 --> 00:20:51.799
So right now, all the last time, positive memories that me and my dad did they're approaching right.

00:20:51.799 --> 00:20:55.551
So I'm having all these moments in my life right now where I stop what I'm doing and I go.

00:20:55.551 --> 00:20:57.546
Man, the last time I did this was me and my old man.

00:20:57.546 --> 00:20:59.190
I'm having all these things.

00:20:59.190 --> 00:21:01.034
That is like last year at this time.

00:21:01.034 --> 00:21:15.551
Me and my dad did this, so with my dad not being here and then, as the seasons change, as kids get ready to go back to school and if you're a New Englander, like I am, you start to prepare for the fall and you start to prepare for the winter.

00:21:16.105 --> 00:21:17.932
There's so many things that haven't been done.

00:21:17.932 --> 00:21:22.244
There's so many things that haven't been done.

00:21:22.244 --> 00:21:23.290
There's so many things that my dad used to just do for the sake of the land.

00:21:23.290 --> 00:21:34.305
There's things that my dad did and I feel like a complete failure to my dad, based off of chasing my dreams, that I've let some of my responsibilities lapse.

00:21:34.305 --> 00:21:51.910
The fact that I have a great friend of mine who's a business owner, toby Reynolds, come over with a landscaping crew and try to pick up shit that I've fallen behind on, I feel like it unstamps my man card when that happens.

00:21:51.910 --> 00:21:53.796
I have all these things going on.

00:21:54.818 --> 00:22:03.726
While I'm looking around at all these tasks that are unfilled, that are unchecked, I begin to ask myself the question am I ready?

00:22:03.726 --> 00:22:06.692
Am I ready to be my dad?

00:22:06.692 --> 00:22:11.099
Am I ready to take over all of my dad's responsibilities?

00:22:11.099 --> 00:22:14.797
Because you can do somebody else's tasks.

00:22:14.797 --> 00:22:19.310
You can do somebody else's to-do list for a certain amount of time and feel like you're just filling in.

00:22:19.310 --> 00:22:29.875
You can feel like you're just helping out, but once it starts to hit the point of a year and you begin to realize those tasks are going to become your tasks from this day on, you ask yourself am I ready?

00:22:29.875 --> 00:22:33.892
Am I ready to do all the things that my dad used to do?

00:22:34.452 --> 00:22:38.607
Right now, my old man would have a massive list of all the things he wants to get done.

00:22:38.607 --> 00:22:42.637
All the projects he had planned for the summer need to be done.

00:22:42.637 --> 00:22:48.854
Everything that he wants to get ready for the winter needs to begin Like this is my dad's seasons are changing.

00:22:48.854 --> 00:22:49.997
This is what he's doing right now.

00:22:49.997 --> 00:23:00.076
So to think about all the things at the farm on the land that need to be done, all those things I then have to answer that question with I could do all of those things, but what do I have to answer that question with?

00:23:00.076 --> 00:23:05.454
I could do all of those things, but what do I have to remove from my list?

00:23:05.454 --> 00:23:11.085
What responsibilities must I give up to take on all of his responsibilities?

00:23:11.085 --> 00:23:15.015
Because there's only so much space in the pie plate.

00:23:15.015 --> 00:23:23.094
You understand, you can only put in so much filling before, all of a sudden, that filling is just oozing out in the oven and that ain't doing nobody no favors, right?

00:23:23.094 --> 00:23:27.036
So you can only take on so much responsibility, and I realize that.

00:23:27.204 --> 00:23:29.133
So asking myself am I ready?

00:23:29.133 --> 00:23:31.594
Am I ready for all of my dad's responsibilities?

00:23:31.594 --> 00:23:36.076
Am I ready for all of the things that he has always done for this family?

00:23:36.076 --> 00:23:43.130
That's one of the am I readies, the next one trickles into the business side of it and on the business side it is.

00:23:43.130 --> 00:23:59.830
Am I ready on a multiple layer here, am I ready for the two biggest events on my calendar for this year and am I ready to find another big event to squeeze into this calendar Because this season has not been as financially beneficial as you want it to be?

00:23:59.830 --> 00:24:06.701
And am I ready to change my entire schedule in 2025?

00:24:06.701 --> 00:24:15.717
Because you have come to a point in life where you realize your business will not grow and it will not sustain if you continue to do the exact same things.

00:24:15.717 --> 00:24:23.487
So all these layers of am I ready in my business, it comes down to am I ready for my next two biggest events?

00:24:23.487 --> 00:24:27.778
Am I ready to find a way to add a third large event?

00:24:27.778 --> 00:24:31.405
Am I ready to change my entire calendar?

00:24:31.405 --> 00:24:33.852
Am I ready to jump out of my comfort zone?

00:24:33.852 --> 00:24:40.030
Am I ready to give up the accounts that give me consistent money because I'm chasing bigger money?

00:24:40.030 --> 00:24:51.276
Am I ready to give up on the events on my schedule that are guaranteed that I know I can make money from, that are comfortable, but they are only going to get me the same results in the end.

00:24:51.276 --> 00:24:53.232
Am I ready to leave those behind?

00:24:53.232 --> 00:24:56.845
Am I ready to leave my family and travel on the road?

00:24:56.845 --> 00:25:00.154
How much time can I handle being on the road?

00:25:00.154 --> 00:25:05.473
How far do I need to go on the road and how often do I need to be on the road?

00:25:05.473 --> 00:25:07.069
Are you ready?

00:25:07.069 --> 00:25:08.535
All these layers?

00:25:09.326 --> 00:25:26.323
As I start to peel back this onion, I look at things and say, if you've been listening along here, this season didn't start the way I wanted it to, and the fact that last year's season ended, and abruptly, because of my dad's health, and we didn't supplement the business with any further income.

00:25:26.323 --> 00:25:28.248
It's almost like I went out of business.

00:25:28.248 --> 00:25:31.936
I didn't set myself up for a successful year of business.

00:25:31.936 --> 00:25:46.737
Right now, I should have a nest egg of cash that's paying off debt from last year, trying to put my books from the red into the black, and then I should be doubling down on all my inventory to get ready for my biggest events.

00:25:46.737 --> 00:25:56.570
The truth is, I set myself up absolutely poorly and we've gone from event to event, navigating and balancing the best we can.

00:25:56.570 --> 00:26:04.252
I feel like one of those people in the circus there that are just spinning multiple plates at the same time and you're trying to keep them all spinning.

00:26:04.252 --> 00:26:08.530
That's been me trying to navigate my life and the things that need to happen.

00:26:09.011 --> 00:26:21.965
So, for the business, I go into one event with as much inventory as I can possibly handle to make that event successful and hope you make enough money coming out of that event to finance and fund the next event.

00:26:21.965 --> 00:26:28.318
Now where the challenges lie for me right now is this is when your biggest rents come due.

00:26:28.318 --> 00:26:29.568
Right.

00:26:29.568 --> 00:26:33.824
The cost for me to be at the Freiburg Fair, for example, is about two grand.

00:26:33.824 --> 00:26:45.112
So you're sending that check out and waiting for it to clear and you're thinking about all those expenses like your camping, your travel, your food, your vendor space, all that stuff.

00:26:45.112 --> 00:26:47.752
But then it goes into what your product mix is.

00:26:47.752 --> 00:26:49.230
How much product do you have?

00:26:49.230 --> 00:27:01.095
If you go into an event trying to make X amount of money, you need to have Y amount of inventory and that Y amount of inventory needs to be greater than X by probably three times.

00:27:01.095 --> 00:27:04.950
Okay, so Y is greater than X by a multiple of three.

00:27:04.950 --> 00:27:06.094
Do you understand me?

00:27:06.094 --> 00:27:13.794
Because you need to have way more inventory on the shelves in stock than the goal you want to achieve.

00:27:13.794 --> 00:27:18.671
If you have less inventory than the goal you want to achieve and you're going into it knowing it's not possible.

00:27:18.671 --> 00:27:22.133
But you also need to understand that it takes the right mix and the goal you want to achieve and you're going into it knowing it's not possible.

00:27:22.133 --> 00:27:23.067
But you also need to understand that it takes the right mix and the right amounts.

00:27:23.067 --> 00:27:31.038
And that's an extremely hard thing to balance and it becomes even harder to balance when you don't have any money to help yourself, stock and reload.

00:27:31.038 --> 00:27:33.733
You need to get absolutely creative.

00:27:35.086 --> 00:27:39.057
I'm just telling you guys a little insight as to how things have been working for me.

00:27:39.057 --> 00:27:45.476
The deadline for my vendor space to be paid for for the Freiburg Fair was August 1st.

00:27:45.476 --> 00:27:52.071
I shipped out a check and I tracked that son of a bitch and it arrived on August 1st.

00:27:52.071 --> 00:27:53.615
You understand what I'm saying.

00:27:53.615 --> 00:27:56.347
It's minute by minute, day by day.

00:27:56.347 --> 00:28:01.878
We're flipping that calendar and we're just trying to make it all the way.

00:28:01.878 --> 00:28:03.972
We're being as creative as we possibly can.

00:28:04.384 --> 00:28:12.724
Some of the downfalls here is that I've taken on some custom jobs, that, yes, it's great to have the money, but I also don't have the time.

00:28:12.724 --> 00:28:20.130
So I'm letting people down and by trying to handle their stuff, my stuff is lapsing and there's all these questions.

00:28:20.130 --> 00:28:23.446
So that am I ready when it comes to the business comes down to?

00:28:23.446 --> 00:28:25.193
Am I ready to change my business plan?

00:28:25.193 --> 00:28:27.814
Am I ready to no longer do custom accounts?

00:28:27.814 --> 00:28:30.294
Am I ready to focus solely on my business?

00:28:30.294 --> 00:28:34.151
Am I ready to give up on that guaranteed income from all those custom accounts?

00:28:34.151 --> 00:28:36.573
Those are big questions for you to have right.

00:28:36.573 --> 00:28:42.278
Am I ready for my two biggest events when I don't have enough inventory to be ready for my two biggest events?

00:28:42.278 --> 00:28:44.913
These are massive questions.

00:28:44.913 --> 00:28:47.733
These are business changing questions.

00:28:47.733 --> 00:28:53.292
If you don't answer these correctly, if you don't prepare yourself correctly, you will put yourself out of business.

00:28:53.292 --> 00:29:02.074
I have two opportunities to save my season and they come down to a matter of about 20 days of business.

00:29:03.135 --> 00:29:12.337
With the exciting news, the well overly anticipated arrival of Little Paisley Reign, we've had to lighten up the schedule.

00:29:12.337 --> 00:29:14.348
I've taken a few fares off my list.

00:29:14.348 --> 00:29:17.998
I've moved some things around, making time for things at home.

00:29:17.998 --> 00:29:23.450
By doing those things, as we've already been saying, you can only handle so much responsibility.

00:29:23.450 --> 00:29:25.817
You can only fit so many appointments on your calendar.

00:29:25.817 --> 00:29:29.874
Things had to come off by doing what's necessary, doing what you need to do.

00:29:29.874 --> 00:29:34.694
The unfortunate thing is the business is going to suffer because there's not enough opportunity for the business.

00:29:34.694 --> 00:29:49.261
So the question is am I ready to maximize the two biggest events to make up for not only the success of those events last year but replace the sales from two other events last year because I removed them from my schedule?

00:29:49.261 --> 00:29:52.825
So then am I ready to find another event that I can put on my calendar?

00:29:52.825 --> 00:30:06.712
The problem with finding that other event is, I've identified a few, but if I apply for them and they demand my deposit, I can't fund the check for that deposit until I have the success of these events.

00:30:07.413 --> 00:30:11.286
Am I ready, are you ready for these events?

00:30:11.286 --> 00:30:18.788
You guys understand here's a couple layers of am I ready, right, am I ready to take on my dad's responsibilities?

00:30:18.788 --> 00:30:20.393
Am I ready to grow the business?

00:30:20.393 --> 00:30:21.977
Am I ready to change the business?

00:30:21.977 --> 00:30:24.593
Or should I be ready to close the business?

00:30:25.326 --> 00:30:35.833
And when you're having all these conversations with yourself and you're thinking you are about to be a dad and you are having these conversations, are you ready to be on the road?

00:30:35.833 --> 00:30:37.772
Are you ready to be away from home?

00:30:37.772 --> 00:30:48.567
Well, by the process of elimination here, that doesn't sound all that sensible when you're about to welcome a newborn, when you're bringing home your first child.

00:30:48.567 --> 00:30:54.007
It should not be the time that you were beginning to think about leaving home and being on the road.

00:30:54.007 --> 00:30:58.855
Are you ready to leave your newborn child at home?

00:30:58.855 --> 00:31:03.512
Security questions and difficult answers that's what all of this is about.

00:31:03.512 --> 00:31:19.131
That is why I can't seem to function on so many other layers in my life, because I've really started to prioritize things and say, if that isn't important, then I don't need to think about it, because I have far too many important things that are on my plate.

00:31:19.131 --> 00:31:23.717
And the most important thing on my plate is am I ready to be a dad?

00:31:24.525 --> 00:31:28.215
First and foremost, I think to be a dad, you must first be a parent.

00:31:28.215 --> 00:31:29.865
Am I ready to be a parent?

00:31:29.865 --> 00:31:33.895
And most of you are going to be asking what the fuck is the difference and what does that mean?

00:31:33.895 --> 00:31:37.335
I think that being a parent is being a partner.

00:31:37.335 --> 00:31:41.726
I think being a parent means that you're in a partnership with your wife, right?

00:31:41.726 --> 00:31:47.549
I'm fortunate enough that we're welcoming this child into a loving home and a very happy marriage, right?

00:31:47.549 --> 00:31:49.273
That's a blessing in itself.

00:31:49.273 --> 00:31:51.066
So many people don't have that blessing.

00:31:51.066 --> 00:31:52.911
So first I need to be a parent.

00:31:52.911 --> 00:31:55.276
To be a parent, I need to be a partner.

00:31:55.276 --> 00:32:03.239
So I need to be supportive of my wife, my pregnant wife, my eight-month pregnant wife, who thinks she is Wonder Woman and can absolutely do everything.

00:32:03.704 --> 00:32:12.776
I don't want to get in her way and make her think that like, hey, you don't need to do this, like let me take this from you, because then I feel like I'm taking her independence from her.

00:32:12.776 --> 00:32:21.726
I think I'm taking some of the self-confidence away from her, because you should feel independent, you should feel the ability to take care of yourself.

00:32:21.726 --> 00:32:24.973
I'm not going to stop my wife from doing the things she wants to do.

00:32:24.973 --> 00:32:35.853
I want her to feel her independence, but I also want to be like hey, maybe you're doing a little too much right now, so it's a lot of know your role, right, I got to know my role and shut my hole.

00:32:35.853 --> 00:32:40.840
There's times where she's going to do things and I'm going to shut my hole and I'm going to let her just do her due, right?

00:32:40.840 --> 00:32:44.892
There's other times when I'm going to step in and say you need to take a fucking break right now, right?

00:32:44.892 --> 00:32:47.261
So that's the part about being a good partner.

00:32:47.261 --> 00:32:55.268
There's also so many things that she's going through that no pun intended here she's growing through that are just foreign to us.

00:32:55.268 --> 00:33:00.176
I'm talking to the dads in the room right now or the soon to be someday maybe.

00:33:00.176 --> 00:33:02.907
Dads in the room right, the ones that are in my shoes.

00:33:03.710 --> 00:33:11.137
One of the things that I find most important in all this and all my research, my reading, my listening and the actual responses I get from my wife is being present.

00:33:11.137 --> 00:33:18.217
Part of being a parent is being present, being present in the growth of this child.

00:33:18.217 --> 00:33:21.172
My wife is doing all the heavy lifting right.

00:33:21.172 --> 00:33:25.496
All I'm doing is the mental aerobics right now, nothing else.

00:33:25.496 --> 00:33:32.494
So it's very important and critical for me to show her that I'm present, that I'm here and that I'm willing to learn and I'm willing to listen.

00:33:32.494 --> 00:33:36.547
And I'm also willing to say I don't have a clue what the fuck you're talking about, but I'll listen.

00:33:36.547 --> 00:33:37.928
Maybe by the end of it you're talking about, but I'll listen.

00:33:37.928 --> 00:33:40.289
Maybe by the end of it I can offer some advice.

00:33:40.289 --> 00:33:51.238
But often fellas know your role and shut your hole because there's a lot of things that we don't know about right, and I'm willing to admit that and I am more than open to saying that I don't know.

00:33:51.238 --> 00:34:04.833
I don't know, but I can be supportive and I can check in and make sure that she's okay, show her that I'm concerned and show her that I love her and I'm eager and I'm excited To be a parent.

00:34:05.094 --> 00:34:20.858
You need to be a partner, you need to be present, you need to be proactive, you need to be productive, right, and part of this is being by her side as she's going on this crazy nesting mission, which is something that I just learned about recently.

00:34:20.858 --> 00:34:39.367
The art of getting ready for a child which has your wives or ladies in your life being ultra productive and organized, just running around doing chaotic, crazy things, where you all of a sudden walk in and think you're in a whole different house.

00:34:39.367 --> 00:34:40.690
That happens, okay.

00:34:40.690 --> 00:34:45.068
So we're going through all these things and I make no final decisions.

00:34:45.068 --> 00:34:50.146
I only offer support and my opinions, right, but we need to be prepared.

00:34:50.920 --> 00:34:54.530
Part of the are you ready is are you ready for this child?

00:34:54.530 --> 00:34:59.039
That key ingredient for being ready for this child is being prepared for this child.

00:34:59.039 --> 00:35:03.289
So all those different layers in being prepared is your house ready?

00:35:03.289 --> 00:35:04.733
Do you have the supplies?

00:35:04.733 --> 00:35:05.925
Do you have what you need?

00:35:05.925 --> 00:35:09.449
Do you have the answers to your questions All these things right, are you ready?

00:35:09.449 --> 00:35:11.103
They're all different layers of are you ready?

00:35:11.103 --> 00:35:18.724
And the most frustrating thing for me right now is the answer to all of these am I ready?

00:35:18.724 --> 00:35:25.510
Up until this Triple H revelation has been no, no, I'm not ready to take on all my dad's responsibilities and to fulfill his role.

00:35:25.510 --> 00:35:28.106
I'm not ready to take on all my dad's responsibilities and to fulfill his role.

00:35:28.106 --> 00:35:33.144
I'm not ready for the two biggest events of the year for my business.

00:35:33.144 --> 00:35:35.869
I'm not ready to add another event.

00:35:35.869 --> 00:35:38.849
I'm not ready to change my entire schedule.

00:35:38.849 --> 00:35:52.661
I'm not ready to leave home and I'm clearly not ready for this baby, and I'm clearly not ready for this baby.

00:35:52.681 --> 00:35:55.286
The realization that you answer all those questions and know can be extremely demoralizing.

00:35:55.286 --> 00:36:02.141
Okay, it can be something that just leaves you questioning your entire life.

00:36:02.141 --> 00:36:17.063
And because I know the situation and the surroundings that I'm in entire life, and because I know the situation and the surroundings that I'm in, I find myself saying to myself don't make any rash decisions, just do what you have to do to put one foot in front of each other and get through this.

00:36:17.063 --> 00:36:18.806
This too shall pass.

00:36:18.806 --> 00:36:19.909
Get through it.

00:36:19.909 --> 00:36:23.094
And man trial by fire.

00:36:23.094 --> 00:36:25.726
Right, we rise from the ashes.

00:36:25.726 --> 00:36:27.731
We are hardened by the seas.

00:36:27.731 --> 00:36:31.547
That's really where I'm at.

00:36:32.550 --> 00:36:43.726
I don't want to make any crazy decisions, because when I think about crazy decisions I think about the fact that, hey, man, you know the easiest way for me to take on my dad's responsibilities.

00:36:43.726 --> 00:37:07.574
You know the easiest way for me to be prepared for this child, you know the easiest way for me to be home is to give up on my dream to close my business, to pick up a nine to five where I just punch a clock I get enough money to provide but an opportunity to provide myself and my time to my family, to pick up those tasks and those responsibilities and just be home.

00:37:07.574 --> 00:37:35.081
Because the level of energy and effort and sacrifice that it takes to run your own business as you're trying to build your own brand, while dealing with all these other responsibilities and getting ready to welcome a child, losing your dad, becoming a dad and trying to survive in your business, is the greatest struggle I have ever dealt with in the history of my life.

00:37:35.081 --> 00:37:56.304
I truly feel when I make it through October, when I get through our two biggest events currently, when I have the birth of little Paisley Reign and she's home and we're sitting down, I can evaluate my life then but I can guarantee myself I'm going to be a better man for it when that opportunity comes.

00:37:56.304 --> 00:38:02.545
So until then, I just keep putting one foot in front of the other and marching forward.

00:38:02.545 --> 00:38:08.010
Gotcha, I don't know about the latest kick.

00:38:08.010 --> 00:38:23.664
All right, all right, all right, listen y'all.

00:38:23.664 --> 00:38:24.648
I appreciate you.

00:38:24.648 --> 00:38:34.813
I thank you for listening, for being a part of my little vent sesh right there and giving you a little clarity to my decisions and my thoughts.

00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:42.902
Okay, I mentioned, today's episode is going to be about that never ending question for me Are you ready?

00:38:42.902 --> 00:38:44.105
Are you ready to be a dad?

00:38:44.105 --> 00:38:46.050
Are you ready to take over your dad's responsibilities?

00:38:46.050 --> 00:38:52.643
Are you ready to make all those changes and decisions for your business?

00:38:52.643 --> 00:38:53.365
Are you prepared for your business?

00:38:53.365 --> 00:39:01.793
I want to give you a little insight as to what's going on in my world, what I'm thinking, how I'm trying to respond and the ways that I try to just keep on keeping on.

00:39:01.793 --> 00:39:05.469
But I don't want today's episode to be all about me, just me.

00:39:05.469 --> 00:39:08.724
We want to sprinkle in a little science and a little research.

00:39:08.724 --> 00:39:26.414
So I did a little digging on a powerful little adventure called Dad's Google, which unfortunately is a corrupt little invention that tries to just filter woke information up your assholes, but other than that filter out the wokeness and find yourself some information.

00:39:26.880 --> 00:39:36.284
I was doing some research on being a dad and that never-ending question that we all seem to have are you ready, am I ready to be a dad?

00:39:36.284 --> 00:39:56.342
So I'm going to be talking to a lot of people out there that either are about to be dads, about to be parents, are thinking someday about being parents, or maybe I want to have this conversation with you and you're not even thinking about being a dad and six months from now, two years from now, you're going to find out.

00:39:56.342 --> 00:40:05.369
You're about to be a dad and you're going to say there's a crazy lunatic redneck that had a very inspirational, motivational, eye-opening conversation about being a dad.

00:40:05.369 --> 00:40:08.666
I'm going to go find episode 214 and listen to his dumb ass.

00:40:08.666 --> 00:40:12.782
All over again, he said something about a hamster and a harvest mouse and I don't know.

00:40:12.782 --> 00:40:16.655
I I forgot the rest and you're gonna come back and listen to me.

00:40:16.655 --> 00:40:33.019
Or you're a parent right now, driving around and you just want to reflect on the fears and anxiety that you once had when you were about to be a parent and you just want to sit back and laugh and enjoy your life, realizing that I'm an idiot and I'm stressing to the high heavens.

00:40:33.019 --> 00:40:39.641
But you've been there, you've done that and now you are a true professional with the badge of honor to prove it.

00:40:39.641 --> 00:40:54.427
So I went out there seeking inspiration, digging up research and information, and I found a cool site called dadinfo okay, dadinfo.

00:40:54.427 --> 00:41:00.802
And it gets my attention right out the gate with the opening line in the research in the article.

00:41:01.563 --> 00:41:10.155
At some point the majority of expectant dads have had this thought cross their mind and yet still go on to be great fathers.

00:41:10.155 --> 00:41:21.273
These kinds of thoughts just mean that you are aware of the enormity of it all and, it could be argued, this awareness means you will make a fantastic dad.

00:41:21.273 --> 00:41:29.563
That is some advice and some responses that I've received from people in my life that are close to me that I've had this conversation with.

00:41:29.563 --> 00:41:39.291
It seems like any um dad in my life that I've had a conversation with, where I start um, going down that road of am I ready, man?

00:41:39.291 --> 00:41:46.157
I don't know if I'm ready, I don't, I don't feel ready, I'm excited, but I scared shitless, they all seem to say to me.

00:41:46.398 --> 00:41:47.641
Man, I felt the exact same way.

00:41:47.641 --> 00:41:55.188
Everybody I know has always felt the same way and that's just proof to me that you're going to be a good dad, some form or shape or some way.

00:41:55.188 --> 00:42:17.293
That's basically what gets echoed to me as a response, and a few of them will sprinkle in the fact that, hey, man, just the fact that you're thinking about this, just the fact that you're digging into this, that you're so just caught up and agonizing over this, just proves to me that you're going to be an absolutely great dad, because not every dad just thinks about this the way that you do.

00:42:17.293 --> 00:42:24.827
So I know you're going to be a great dad, and a lot of people that I've worked with in the past have reached out to me and told me how great of a dad I'm going to be.

00:42:24.827 --> 00:42:39.217
And I've said I always feel like my skill set's a little more equipped for adults, right, or I don't know, adolescents, I guess, infants and newborns and little ones.

00:42:39.217 --> 00:42:43.204
They scare the living hell out of me, and when they're newborns, usually they creep me out.

00:42:43.204 --> 00:42:44.726
Okay, that's another confession for you.

00:42:44.726 --> 00:42:45.206
Write that down.

00:42:47.027 --> 00:42:49.472
Anyways, back to our studies, back to our research.

00:42:49.472 --> 00:43:04.445
They key in on a few things that are the most common questions and thoughts, or those agonizing points in that thought process over answering the question are you ready?

00:43:04.445 --> 00:43:09.885
So one big one thankfully I don't have this one and they call it who's the daddy?

00:43:09.885 --> 00:43:20.128
Okay, this is that Jerry Springer, steve Wilkos portion of the show or the Maury Povich portion of the show, and the results say you are not the father.

00:43:20.128 --> 00:43:25.768
Okay, that portion of the show which, ironically, I have some friends that have dealt with that.

00:43:25.768 --> 00:43:29.105
Okay, so maybe I shouldn't laugh so much here.

00:43:29.105 --> 00:43:31.989
You are not the father.

00:43:32.592 --> 00:43:34.320
Anyways, I'm going to read the research here.

00:43:34.320 --> 00:43:45.487
Believe it or not, research has shown up to six out of 10 expectant fathers at some point in a pregnancy will ask themselves the question am I the daddy?

00:43:45.487 --> 00:43:48.132
I put daddy in there because I thought it sounded good.

00:43:48.132 --> 00:43:49.315
Am I the daddy?

00:43:49.315 --> 00:43:59.391
The reason for thinking this in 99% of the cases has absolutely nothing to do with fidelity of our partner.

00:43:59.391 --> 00:44:11.887
The thought actually stems from the perfectly normal fears and anxiety we have about fatherhood, and it manifests itself into asking Are you the daddy?

00:44:11.887 --> 00:44:15.168
Are you the daddy, bobby, bobby, are you the daddy?

00:44:15.168 --> 00:44:19.728
So thankfully I don't have that question, the who's your daddy question.

00:44:19.728 --> 00:44:20.791
Who's your daddy?

00:44:20.791 --> 00:44:23.001
Isn't that a?

00:44:23.001 --> 00:44:27.978
I just got hit with a Toby Keith song on the back of my head who's your daddy?

00:44:27.978 --> 00:44:32.385
Wow, you guys didn't expect that part of the research.

00:44:32.385 --> 00:44:33.088
Did you well?

00:44:33.088 --> 00:44:33.548
Me either.

00:44:33.548 --> 00:44:34.530
But this is how my mind works.

00:44:34.530 --> 00:44:37.764
So, fortunately for me, I don't have that question.

00:44:37.764 --> 00:44:53.601
But for those of you listening that do have that question to ease your mind a little bit, research says 99% of the times that's just your anxiety, man, that's your fears manifesting into these questions, because you're just asking yourself am I freaking ready?

00:44:53.601 --> 00:44:55.045
It's just another way of asking yourself.

00:44:55.045 --> 00:45:00.983
So the next one they have is money, money, money, money, money.

00:45:00.983 --> 00:45:05.706
I didn't expect to sing the rest of the research, but it just feels right.

00:45:07.927 --> 00:45:13.271
It is also common to wonder if we are really ready on the financial front.

00:45:13.271 --> 00:45:14.672
Have we saved enough?

00:45:14.672 --> 00:45:15.733
Do we earn enough?

00:45:15.733 --> 00:45:18.195
That question right there, man.

00:45:18.195 --> 00:45:20.697
I'm just going to drill in on this a little bit for myself real quick.

00:45:20.697 --> 00:45:25.967
That was one of the biggest things that always held me back, and for two different levels here.

00:45:25.967 --> 00:45:26.869
Let's just kind of explain them.

00:45:28.481 --> 00:45:34.132
I spent the bulk of my life not thinking that I had the financial wherewithal to be ready.

00:45:34.132 --> 00:45:37.985
I was making poor decisions, didn't have the finances.

00:45:37.985 --> 00:45:45.965
Also didn't have the person in my life that I decided I would want to actually consider being a dad, right, that I wanted to parent with.

00:45:45.965 --> 00:45:49.199
I decided I would want to actually consider being a dad right that I wanted to parent with.

00:45:49.199 --> 00:46:08.041
When I met my wife and I started having those conversations and those thoughts about being a parent because I was somebody that never really grew up wanting to be a dad I actually finally got to a point and a place in my life where I was successful enough that I financially knew without the shadow of a doubt, I can afford to be a parent.

00:46:08.041 --> 00:46:10.929
The question now is do I want to be a parent?

00:46:10.929 --> 00:46:12.813
I can afford it, do I want to be?

00:46:13.360 --> 00:46:33.414
And when you start having the questions about, or the conversations I should say about, wanting to be a parent, the answer for my wife ended up being if we brought a child into this world right now, if we brought a child into this world right now, I would basically feel like a single mom, because you work so damn much you are never home that I'd be doing this all on my own.

00:46:33.414 --> 00:46:53.521
We were at a place in our lives where financially, I could afford it, but the downfall to this would have been that my wife would have given up on her dreams and been somebody to be a stay-at-home mom at that point and that I wouldn't be as involved in my child's life as I want to be.

00:46:53.521 --> 00:46:56.449
So that was the for me.

00:46:56.449 --> 00:46:58.894
The money was right, but the time wasn't right.

00:46:58.894 --> 00:47:09.565
And one other blessing in that portion of my life closing as I now feel like I have the opportunity and the time in my life to be a dad.

00:47:10.266 --> 00:47:16.403
But the unfortunate thing is this is the least financial security that I've ever had in my life.

00:47:16.403 --> 00:47:20.512
I mean, I'm making things work right, nobody's coming for anything.

00:47:20.512 --> 00:47:31.507
But the point is is that the last time I went from event to event, paycheck to paycheck, balancing things, figuring things out, I was.

00:47:31.507 --> 00:47:33.711
It was half my life ago.

00:47:33.711 --> 00:47:36.646
Right, I was, you know, early 20s.

00:47:36.646 --> 00:47:37.811
I'm about to be 42.

00:47:37.811 --> 00:47:42.159
So it's been a long time since I've been this financially unstable.

00:47:42.159 --> 00:47:43.224
So that's a scary thing.

00:47:43.880 --> 00:47:49.932
But getting back to the information here, I love these next few lines and I saved these and printed these out.

00:47:49.932 --> 00:47:52.923
There is never a right time.

00:47:52.923 --> 00:48:00.382
Whatever your situation, you will find a way to manage that information right there.

00:48:00.382 --> 00:48:13.353
Like I said earlier to start this off, when I mentioned that anytime I tell somebody I'm not sure if I'm ready, the dads in the room always echo the feeling that, man, I didn't feel like I was ready, either.

00:48:13.353 --> 00:48:18.048
You're going to be a great dad, it just happens, you just manage it.

00:48:18.048 --> 00:48:22.505
And they say the same thing about the finances and the timing and the situation.

00:48:22.505 --> 00:48:35.110
And that's something that I was told way back when I started talking to my parents about getting married, about asking Allie to marry me, and I was having those conversations with my mom, or having the conversations with my dad about building a house.

00:48:35.110 --> 00:48:36.802
You just manage it, dude.

00:48:36.802 --> 00:48:39.528
You just put yourself out there and you just manage it.

00:48:39.528 --> 00:49:05.139
If we spend all of our lives just sitting in the kiddie pool, then we never learned to swim which is a shitty, shitty analogy here, because I actually don't know how to swim, but we've said this many times If you spend your life in your comfort zone sitting on your couch eating Fritos, finding junior mints under your thigh rolls, then, man, that's the life you're going to live, right?

00:49:05.139 --> 00:49:07.407
You're not going to get out there and experience things unless you challenge yourself.

00:49:07.407 --> 00:49:10.784
So sometimes you just have to jump in and that's what it comes down to.

00:49:11.385 --> 00:49:22.219
There's another quote in here that they use from a Hugh Laurie that said it's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready.

00:49:22.219 --> 00:49:27.512
I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything.

00:49:27.512 --> 00:49:30.869
There is almost no such thing as ready.

00:49:30.869 --> 00:49:35.126
There is only now, and you may as well do it now.

00:49:35.126 --> 00:49:39.260
Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.

00:49:39.260 --> 00:49:43.384
I absolutely love every freaking word in this.

00:49:43.384 --> 00:49:48.637
It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready.

00:49:48.637 --> 00:49:53.436
I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything.

00:49:53.436 --> 00:49:56.233
There's almost no such thing as ready.

00:49:56.233 --> 00:49:59.891
There is only now, and you may as well do it now.

00:49:59.891 --> 00:50:05.271
Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any man.

00:50:05.271 --> 00:50:06.324
We are never ready.

00:50:06.324 --> 00:50:09.976
There is only now, and now is as good a time as any.

00:50:09.976 --> 00:50:15.092
I'm going to bring that one to the labor room, just saying.

00:50:15.092 --> 00:50:18.695
The next one is Two Becomes Three.

00:50:18.695 --> 00:50:26.396
And to continue my musical theme here, I'm going to go with two of a cow working on the full house.

00:50:26.396 --> 00:50:33.251
A little Goth Brooks for you, and that was horribly sung and poorly done, but I'm going to make that the last time I sing today.

00:50:33.351 --> 00:50:38.974
I promise Once your baby has been born you will find that your life has changed forever.

00:50:38.974 --> 00:50:41.199
Those lines right there.

00:50:41.199 --> 00:50:43.887
That scares the bejesus out of me, right?

00:50:43.887 --> 00:50:44.728
But I know it's true.

00:50:44.728 --> 00:50:46.291
I absolutely know it's true.

00:50:46.291 --> 00:50:52.369
Once your baby has been born, you will find that your life has changed forever.

00:50:52.369 --> 00:50:55.494
Life has changed and you will adjust.

00:50:55.494 --> 00:51:02.878
One day you will look back and won't be able to imagine your life before little Paisley.

00:51:02.878 --> 00:51:05.586
And I know that to absolutely be true.

00:51:06.469 --> 00:51:20.056
And as they key in on, the two becomes three, they really focus in on communication, and that goes back to what I was saying earlier about being a dad starts with being a parent, and being a parent starts with being present and being a team and communicating.

00:51:20.056 --> 00:51:30.713
And I don't think that you have a successful relationship with anybody in life without communication, whether it's a family member, it's a coworker, it's a friend or it's a loved one.

00:51:30.713 --> 00:51:32.197
You need to communicate.

00:51:32.197 --> 00:51:48.855
And I feel like having a child welcoming your first baby into this world is going to put a whole new level and emphasis on communication for Allie and myself that we really have to strengthen our communication to make sure that we're always on the same page, to make sure that we're checking in with each other, that we're going to be there for each other.

00:51:48.855 --> 00:51:50.797
When one is down, the other's around.

00:51:50.797 --> 00:51:56.260
You understand it's all about picking each other up, pulling you up and getting it done, buttercup.

00:51:56.260 --> 00:51:58.166
So communication is key.

00:51:58.166 --> 00:52:02.215
The next thing they drill in on the are you ready?

00:52:02.215 --> 00:52:03.739
Is the birth.

00:52:04.340 --> 00:52:12.485
Some of us are petrified or very uncomfortable at the thought of being present for the birth and they go into some details there.

00:52:12.485 --> 00:52:27.378
Some people are absolutely uncomfortable and scared and nervous about the actual day, about D-Day, about the birthday, and for me I can actually say that I'm not afraid of that.

00:52:27.378 --> 00:52:32.675
Maybe I will be when the time comes, maybe I'll shit my pants right there, I don't know.

00:52:32.675 --> 00:52:36.074
But leading up to it, I'm confident and I'm excited.

00:52:37.266 --> 00:52:39.574
A week or so ago we took a birthing class.

00:52:39.574 --> 00:52:45.257
It was a one-on-one birthing class with Rachel over at Southern Maine Hospital and she was great.

00:52:45.257 --> 00:52:47.751
The whole class was great.

00:52:47.751 --> 00:52:55.885
It was like a two-hour situation and it was just Allie, myself and Rachel and it was just extremely personal.

00:52:55.885 --> 00:53:06.394
But it's really put me at ease just knowing what to expect, knowing where to go, understanding the fallback options.

00:53:06.394 --> 00:53:08.431
Like, hey, what's your game plan?

00:53:08.431 --> 00:53:10.326
What do you guys want to see happen?

00:53:10.326 --> 00:53:12.471
Okay, perfect, now I understand that.

00:53:12.471 --> 00:53:14.597
If that doesn't work, what's next?

00:53:14.597 --> 00:53:20.797
And understanding those steps and knowing those fallback options, those game plans.

00:53:20.797 --> 00:53:32.375
It was comforting, I feel like when you go someplace, when you've been someplace, when you've experienced someplace, you get this familiar comfort that kicks in right.

00:53:32.375 --> 00:53:35.375
That just eases your fears and your frustrations.

00:53:36.005 --> 00:53:47.418
Even if I'm going to an event as a business for the first time, there's a whole fear of the unknown Going into something like not knowing how to get there, not knowing where to park, not knowing where to set up.

00:53:47.418 --> 00:53:48.731
What's my space going to be like?

00:53:48.731 --> 00:53:50.088
What are my neighbors going to be like?

00:53:50.088 --> 00:53:51.713
What's the crowd going to be like?

00:53:51.713 --> 00:53:55.132
All those anticipations, all those expectations.

00:53:55.132 --> 00:53:57.481
There's an uneasy feeling just for that.

00:53:57.481 --> 00:54:11.958
So to think about welcoming a child into this world and not knowing where I'm going, not knowing where to park, what to do and who to see, that would just ramp up that uneasy fear.

00:54:11.958 --> 00:54:16.525
So to anybody listening that's about to do this stuff for the first time, I recommend touring the hospital.

00:54:16.525 --> 00:54:21.668
I recommend taking the class at the hospital, getting comfortable with the hospital, getting familiar with the hospital.

00:54:21.788 --> 00:54:29.235
The only downfall to all of this is the greatest fear in the birth little loop here for me is what if I'm not home?

00:54:29.235 --> 00:54:33.454
That changes everything because we are prepared for our local hospital.

00:54:33.454 --> 00:54:38.614
We're prepared, we know the local people, we know the local options and scenarios.

00:54:38.614 --> 00:54:41.673
The difficult thing is what if we are on the road?

00:54:41.673 --> 00:54:47.690
What if we are at one of our biggest events of the year and then something happens when we don't even know where the hospital is.

00:54:47.690 --> 00:54:49.735
That changes everything?

00:54:49.735 --> 00:54:51.688
I can't have a plan B for everything.

00:54:51.688 --> 00:54:55.987
I do our best to have a plan A, b and C, but I can't have D, e and F.

00:54:55.987 --> 00:54:57.190
It's just not possible.

00:54:57.190 --> 00:54:59.554
So that's that level of fear.

00:54:59.635 --> 00:55:03.469
The fear for me when it comes to the day of birth is being present for the birth.

00:55:03.469 --> 00:55:04.891
It's being home for the birth.

00:55:04.891 --> 00:55:08.237
We have a very tight window here between our events.

00:55:08.237 --> 00:55:15.034
We literally need to not have Paisley show up very early or very late.

00:55:15.034 --> 00:55:19.751
Right, you come on your due date or you know a few days or so before.

00:55:19.751 --> 00:55:21.255
Okay, that's what we're working with here.

00:55:21.255 --> 00:55:30.539
The fear of the unknown for me, the fear of the actual birth for me, is not the act of being there and going through everything.

00:55:30.539 --> 00:55:36.141
It's the act of how do I respond if I'm not home for everything, like that's?

00:55:36.141 --> 00:55:46.570
That's the scary element that I really hope and pray that we don't have to go through, because I don't really want that to be something that I have to experience.

00:55:46.570 --> 00:55:51.239
The last one in here is something we kind of talked about a little bit, but it says get involved.

00:55:51.960 --> 00:55:57.632
It is common to feel unprepared to be a dad because we are not used to being around babies.

00:55:57.632 --> 00:56:09.978
We might never have really held one before and so can be a little anxious about how to handle the baby Worrying will be a bit heavy-handed, or just simply not know what to do.

00:56:09.978 --> 00:56:11.246
That's me, man.

00:56:11.246 --> 00:56:12.391
Babies scare me.

00:56:12.391 --> 00:56:17.405
Okay, to be honest, newborns have creeped me out ever since birth.

00:56:17.626 --> 00:56:35.538
Okay, I'm going to tell 99% of the population out there your baby, newborn, fresh out the oven, popping, fresh out the kitchen, not good looking, no, no, not good looking Resembles more of a purplish alien than it does.

00:56:35.538 --> 00:56:44.028
A beautiful baby Just going to be honest, okay, just shooting you straight In a couple hours might be a beautiful kid, in the moment not so much.

00:56:44.028 --> 00:56:47.797
And there's a lot of babies out there that I mean.

00:56:47.797 --> 00:56:53.690
And there's a lot of babies out there that I mean they, they might never be good looking.

00:56:53.690 --> 00:56:54.891
Okay, time might do them no favors.

00:56:54.891 --> 00:56:56.034
So that's first on the list.

00:56:56.775 --> 00:57:03.456
But I don't know why, ever since I was a little tyke and um, my family that's mostly disowned me at this point in my life.

00:57:03.456 --> 00:57:05.829
Um is a lot older than me a lot of them.

00:57:05.829 --> 00:57:07.675
So I was an uncle at a very young age.

00:57:07.675 --> 00:57:09.117
I was an uncle, I don't know.

00:57:09.117 --> 00:57:11.632
I was in elementary school when I was an uncle.

00:57:11.632 --> 00:57:14.293
So imagine me being like eight or nine.

00:57:14.293 --> 00:57:16.413
Like, oh, uncle Keith, here's a newborn.

00:57:16.413 --> 00:57:22.315
Get that damn thing off me, man, I'm trying to watch wrestling right now, it, I don't know.

00:57:22.786 --> 00:57:25.487
Everybody wants to give their child to the big guy in the room.

00:57:25.487 --> 00:57:27.030
Oh, child to the big guy in the room.

00:57:27.030 --> 00:57:27.552
Oh, it's so cute.

00:57:27.552 --> 00:57:29.697
Look how small he looks in his big hands.

00:57:29.697 --> 00:57:35.344
It's crazy.

00:57:35.344 --> 00:57:38.070
In the meantime, the big guy's like get the fucking baby away from me because I might drop it.

00:57:38.070 --> 00:57:38.952
I'm used to handling heavier equipment.

00:57:38.952 --> 00:57:41.557
Okay, I'm used to things that I can't break.

00:57:41.557 --> 00:57:43.568
I should barely be trusted with a beer bottle.

00:57:43.688 --> 00:57:49.418
So there is a layer of nervousness for a lot of fellas when it comes to handling a newborn.

00:57:49.418 --> 00:57:51.393
Like I keep thinking of Will Ferrell.

00:57:51.393 --> 00:57:52.829
I don't know what to do with my hands.

00:57:52.829 --> 00:57:53.914
Like, where do I put my hands?

00:57:53.914 --> 00:58:00.057
Like there's an element of fear and anxiety for a lot of dudes.

00:58:00.057 --> 00:58:01.047
I'm confident.

00:58:01.047 --> 00:58:02.934
When it's my own I'm going to feel different about it.

00:58:02.934 --> 00:58:08.094
But it's true, man, women are programmed their whole lives.

00:58:08.094 --> 00:58:09.530
Like it's crazy.

00:58:09.530 --> 00:58:12.074
They come out of the womb wanting to be a mom I don't get it right.

00:58:12.074 --> 00:58:16.449
They got dolls and the dolls have babies, and the whole nine.

00:58:16.449 --> 00:58:27.385
And I've seen more little girls out there just trying to be moms and you know they're carrying their little babies around and when a newborn is around, they want to feed it, they want to change it.

00:58:27.385 --> 00:58:28.586
It's crazy, right?

00:58:28.586 --> 00:58:30.608
Y'all are wired this way, man.

00:58:30.608 --> 00:58:31.510
It is what it is.

00:58:31.510 --> 00:58:37.273
I personally am not, nor have I ever been wired that particular way.

00:58:38.315 --> 00:58:47.621
When I was going through this research and I was reading through this stuff, there was a cool little part in here that, for some reason, just kind of hit home to me a little bit more.

00:58:47.621 --> 00:58:54.396
And it's over these whole questions of am I ready, right, deciding on like, can we afford it?

00:58:54.396 --> 00:59:00.641
Are we ready for it, are we prepared for it, just kind of dealing with all of those, those am I ready?

00:59:00.641 --> 00:59:02.567
Questions, all those fears, all those anxieties.

00:59:02.567 --> 00:59:22.771
The research has this one line that says that is the evolution of our built-in hunter-gatherer instincts kicking in, realizing that this stuff is common, realizing that this stuff is shared fears and emotions and anxieties by just about all the population.

00:59:22.771 --> 00:59:23.253
Right.

00:59:23.253 --> 00:59:29.054
We all share these same fears, these same frustrations, these anxieties.

00:59:29.054 --> 00:59:32.106
It's built into us, it's wired into us.

00:59:32.166 --> 00:59:42.769
When I think about the hunter-gatherer instincts, to me it just feels like this is my wired sense to want to provide and to take care.

00:59:42.769 --> 00:59:47.735
Right, this is my opportunity to be a dad.

00:59:47.735 --> 00:59:53.166
This is me realizing that, fundamentally, I am already wired to be a dad.

00:59:53.166 --> 00:59:59.126
My mind is shifting towards being a dad because I'm spending all my time hunting and gathering.

00:59:59.126 --> 01:00:02.940
I'm getting ready to prepare and provide for my family.

01:00:02.940 --> 01:00:13.617
So when I think about all these questions, it goes back to the answers that I've been getting with so many people close to me Dude, you're going to be fine, it's all going to work out.

01:00:13.617 --> 01:00:15.260
Things just kick in.

01:00:15.260 --> 01:00:17.628
You're wired for this, you're meant for this.

01:00:17.628 --> 01:00:21.858
We already have the fundamental internal instincts.

01:00:21.858 --> 01:00:23.688
We are hunting and gathering.

01:00:23.768 --> 01:00:36.695
When you're out there and you're listening and you find yourself in the position that I'm in right now and you're worried and you're fearful and you're frustrated and you're trying to prepare and you're trying to get ready, you are hunting and gathering.

01:00:36.695 --> 01:00:43.469
You are a man and you are ready to be a dad.

01:00:43.469 --> 01:00:48.018
Now I'm going to go ahead and let Triple H take it from here.

01:00:48.018 --> 01:00:55.731
But right now I just have one thing I want to know Are you ready?

01:00:55.731 --> 01:01:00.731
No, I said, are you ready?

01:01:00.731 --> 01:01:08.068
Paisley, rain, liberty.

01:01:08.068 --> 01:01:13.632
I am ready, just not for a couple more weeks.

01:01:13.632 --> 01:01:19.219
Okay, like three or four, I mean when I get back from the fair Before Freiburg.

01:01:19.219 --> 01:01:22.360
Then you give me enough time to make sure that you're okay Before we head out.

01:01:22.360 --> 01:01:23.304
You know what I'm saying.

01:01:23.304 --> 01:01:26.514
Thank you for supporting our American dream.

01:01:26.514 --> 01:01:31.237
Now go wash your bucket hands, you filthy savage.

01:01:31.237 --> 01:01:33.751
That's it and that's all.

01:01:33.751 --> 01:01:34.574
Biggie Smalls.

01:01:51.744 --> 01:02:01.074
If you're a Loud, proud American and you find yourself just wanting more, find me on YouTube and Facebook at Loud Proud American, or the Face page, as my mama calls it.

01:02:01.074 --> 01:02:04.144
If you're a fan of the Graham Cracker, want to find me on Instagram.

01:02:04.144 --> 01:02:08.277
Or all the kids are tickety-talking on the TikTok.

01:02:08.277 --> 01:02:15.739
You can find me on both of those at loud underscore, proud underscore American.

01:02:15.739 --> 01:02:32.016
A big old thank you to the boys from the Gut Truckers for the background beats and the theme song for this year's podcast.

01:02:32.016 --> 01:02:36.653
If you are enjoying what you're hearing, you can track down the Gut Truckers on Facebook.

01:02:36.653 --> 01:02:38.231
Just search Gut Truckers.

01:02:38.231 --> 01:02:40.579
Give them, motherfuckers, a like too.

01:02:40.579 --> 01:02:46.634
Feel the pain, make it bleed, I hate to say.

01:02:46.634 --> 01:03:00.458
I told you, so Feel the pain.

01:03:00.458 --> 01:03:03.782
I truly thank you for supporting my American dream.

01:03:03.782 --> 01:03:06.568
Now go wash your fucking hands, you filthy savage.