In this episode of the Karol Markowicz Show, Lisa De Pasquale shares her powerful Gen X transformation story, from major weight loss to overcoming financial hardship and redefining life in her 40s and 50s. She breaks down the real challenges facing Generation X, including retirement fears, sandwich generation stress, and the struggle for independence. Lisa also explains why embracing discomfort is the key to personal growth and weighs in on how artificial intelligence could reshape society’s future. The Karol Markowicz Show is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network - new episodes debut every Wednesday & Friday.
Follow Clay & Buck on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuck
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hi, Welcome back to the Carol Markowitz Show on iHeartRadio.
My guest today is Lisa Dipasqually. Lisa's author of the
gen X Handbook for Middle Age, writer and substacker at
get bright dot subseac dot com, and the former director
of CEPAC.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hi, Lisa is so nice to have you on.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Hi, Carol, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
So the gen X Handbook for Middle Age.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I guess this is it. We're middle aged. This is
a fact.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
I mean, we shoure lucky, right right, I guess we're
also true.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yeah, what made you write the gen X Handbook?
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Well, basically for me, at like age forty one, I
found myself single, unemployed, over three hundred pounds and basically,
oh and in about fifty thousand dollars in credit card debt.
This is all like post c pack wow, and basically
(01:05):
just spending too much time working for political nonprofits.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
I started with with weight loss to just get my
health back on track. There was a Bible verse that
I had read from Moses, I have put before you
light and dark, therefore choose or life and death. Light
(01:31):
and dark, therefore choose life.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
And that's kind of when I went from the mindset of.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Rather than you know, kind of pretend to lose weight
so that when something happened to me and my family
would think, you know, she did all she could do.
It was like, no, I'm actually going to choose to
have a better life. And that was kind of the
beginning of you know, for me losing one hundred and
seventy pounds and just the catalyst for yeah, you know,
(02:00):
through good things in my life. I you know, obviously
found a job. I became debt free by twenty twenty one.
By twenty twenty two, I left a blue state like
you to find.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Smart, yeah, better life.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Where'd you go?
Speaker 3 (02:16):
I'm in Texas, okay, but I left to eat the.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
Northern Virginia for Texas in twenty twenty two, you know,
right after they're kind of in the midst of COVID
and and all of that. I don't have kids, but
it was just an overall you know, bfe also to
be with the love of my life, all.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Right, So a lot of things weren't right.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Like I said for the book, then, is just that
you know, we hear so often that you know, you
can't teach old dog new tricks.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
And like one day it just sort of came to me.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
Wait a minute, I did all of these things, you know,
particularly for women, you know, in my forties, and my
love of pop culture and particularly gen X pop culture,
which just a way to have fun with the subject
and you know, shoehorn all of my you know, favorite hues,
(03:09):
movies and quotes and things like that.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
So gen X is kind of unique where I think
that we aren't as obvious what our problems are. Like
I can tell you what millennials problems are or what
gen Z. For sure, I can tell you what the
boomers issues were, but gen X were sort of the
forgotten generation, and I don't think that our problems have
been explored.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
As much as the other generations. So what would you
say is our biggest issue?
Speaker 4 (03:38):
From what I see from a lot of people, it's
that they're kind of worried about retirement. And we kind
of grew up thinking that we were not going to
see social security.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
You know, we're going to.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
The last retirees. But it's all, you know, kind of
on us. I mean, the good thing about it is
that I think we're well equipped for that. And then
the other thing that I here from other people it's
just being the Sandwich generation and that they're finding themselves
taking care of their parents, right and then also navigating
taking care care of, you know, of their their kids.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Absolutely, I think that that's you know, that's just where
the age is at right now.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
But like, you know, I feel like with.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Millennials, they're kind of thought as as people pleasers and
then Gen z's like the lazy the boomers won't let go.
Do we have something like that that makes us a
problem for other people?
Speaker 4 (04:34):
I think it's like it's like with a lot of things,
you know, like if we were in a job interview
and you asked me for my biggest weakness, you know,
I would kind of tell you how it was also
my strength.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
It's perfectionist, of course.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
And I think for Gen X it's probably our independence.
So like, on one.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Hand, yeah, that's a good one.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Yeah, you know, I read this statistic the other day
that was something like twenty percent of kids that are
sixteen are getting their driver's license or have an interest
in getting a driver's license, And I that was just
like crazy.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Now, we couldn't wait to be free.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
Yeah, And so you wanted to have your own space,
you wanted to be out of the freedom just to
even you know, go a couple streets over. You wanted
to be able to get a job so that you
could have the independence of your own money. And I
think on the negative side, our independence is probably not
asking for help, like you said, you know when in
the places where we needed I mean, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
We want to do it all ourselves.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
It's apologizing for asking people, oh, do you want to
talk about my book?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Right, yes, that is one of our issues for sure,
asking for help when you lost the weight and you
got yourself out of debt and all of that. Is
it hard to talk about and to go back to
a place where you were in a dark place, right,
I mean you couldn't have been happy?
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Then?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Is that hard to discuss with the public?
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Like I saw you on Michael Malice's show, for example,
and I was like, she is brave talking about this
talking about weight loss, and he is, you know, Malice
asks some uh some real pointed questions.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
So I thought of you was very brave for doing that.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
Yeah, I'm hopefully I'm going to get my third chance,
or actually I think it's my fourth episode with him,
and so this will now be after my loose skin
removal surgery, and so you know, hopefully we'll get into
the issues of the book. But also I'm kind of
looking forward to not having to go back to the past.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
But I write, right, yeah, helps.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Is I think at the very least, you know, it
sounds kind of cliche to say that I do want
to help people that you know might be in in
my situation and come at it from an honest way.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
I mean, if I didn't talk.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
About, say my weight at all, that the actual number,
like being my highest three hundred twenty pounds at five
to four, you know, someone who might be slightly over
slightly under all of that, they kind of wouldn't know
where I was, you know, coming from as far as
you know, having that same you know, he'll he'll to
(07:16):
go up. The other thing that I think made it
kind of easier for me is being in politics for.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
For so long.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
You know, some of my most public moments were at
that you know, highest weight.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
I mean when I was the director of.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
Sea Pack, I uh introduced Rush Limbaugh in two thousand
and nine when he was on stage and we basically
looked like the same size.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
We were both wearing very slimming.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
And then in twenty eleven, I invited Donald Trump top
get Seapack.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
For his you know, first ever political speech.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
And you know that that picture of me and him
at Seapack is on his Wikipedia for like forever. I
think he will probably be forever because he looks really angry,
because I think he'll probably keep it.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
And they love that. Yeah, uh huh.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
And so I mean, if I get anything out of
this experience, I just want like another picture taken with.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
With for sure.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah, and he's looking svelt. Also, he's like lost weight
and yeah. It's also it's funny because you know, they's
even commenting on waight right like I I you know,
I don't love when people are like, oh my god,
you lost weight, like I'm often I haven't. Like it's
just my makeup's a little bit better that day. I
like conterered out the chin a little bit better. And
(08:41):
so then you have to be like, no, actually, I
haven't lost any weight. I don't really know what you're talking,
you know, just like there's like the running commentary on
stuff like that. I don't know, and then you and
then you're talking so openly about it.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
Yeah, And I think what helped is being like slightly better,
you know at certain times. But then you know there
are times, you know, like the first interview I did
with with Michael Malice.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
I did have, you know, regrets. I hope.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
I don't know if he'll I'll hear this, and you know,
this is negative against him because he's a good friend.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
But I thought, based on.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
The comments, you know, I did this too soon because
I was kind of expecting kind of to get credit
for what I had done so far, and there was
really any.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Really that's too badly.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Jokes not from him, although of course.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Not from him.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
I mean, yeah, yeah, he did have How much had
you lost by that point?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Maybe around one hundred pounds?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Yeah, but I was still I was over two hundred.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Just people on the internet.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
You can't you know what I mean, Like, it's just
you can't take them seriously. You got to just imagine
that they are like four hundred pounds and in their basements.
And Matt mad at you for for fixing yourself, for
like trying to be better, for you know, making positive changes.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
What was the hardest kind of adjustment?
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Was it the way?
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Was it the you know, getting out of debt?
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Was it?
Speaker 1 (10:15):
I mean, was it leaving the blue state, Like, what
was the toughest change for you?
Speaker 4 (10:21):
Oh, my gosh it, I think probably as far as
getting out of my comfort zone. I mean, this is
such a good time to talk about it with after
you know, the election.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
We're recording this the day after the election where mom
Donnie becomes the socialist mayor of New York City and
Virginia and New Jersey unsurprisingly really but they stay blue.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
I think that's important to remember, is like blue states
remain blue.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah, so.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
Blue Mother's th blue. It might have been leaving that
comfort zone of warhead I had been for the last
you know, twenty some years.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
I mean prior to that, I grew up in Florida.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
So I left Florida at twenty one and then left
Virginia at forty five.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
So I lived in slightly wow, Yeah, northern Virginia. So
like the blue Virginia.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Yeah, the real blue Virginia.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
And you know, coming to a state, you know, working
remote and it's kind of like and I'm not in
a big city.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
I'm between Waco and Austin.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
So you know, my my plan A is to be
a writer on substacks sell books. I don't know what
job opportunities are here when yeah, it happens there. I
mean I can obviously commute to Austin or or move,
but I think it was a really big chance.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
On top of that, you know.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
Movie it does shift Yeah for a relationship, right, I
mean that's also from yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Did you guys meet online or was it like not.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
In a dating way.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
He had read some of my stuff on I'm Brightbard
and asked, you know in Arizona. I let him know,
and as it happened, I was going to be there
the next week. This was in twenty fourteen. And then
we were just you know, friends for years and years,
and then one day we're kind of just like, wait
a minute, you're my person, You're I love you.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
I didn't tell my husband and me. Also, we're best
friends for like a decade.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
That's great. That's the way to do it.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
I recommend it to everybody. Go find a best friend,
wait a little while, and then marry them.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
Well, and I should mention he's you know, I'm a writer.
He's a very talented artist. He was with DC and
Marble for.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Twenty plus years. He did my book for he did
the graphic novel edition of Clinton Cash. So we fit
very very well together.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
We're going to take a quick break and be right
back on the Carol Marco wid Show.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
What are you most proud of in your life?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Geez, I think probably starting that weight loss journey, even
though it did lead to lots of other bigger, better things,
because I had been overweight most of my life. The
last time I was at a normal weight was probably
when I was born, and that was because I was
a preemi. So I mean, I think, you know, I
(13:37):
don't want to pat myself on the back too much,
but I think it takes a lot of courage to
it in when I've failed a million times and just.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Still r right.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yeah, I fail at losing ten pounds very often all
the time. Actually, I fail at least once or twice
a year, if not more.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Yeah, it's funny because it never gets easier because I
would like to lose about ten more and I have
the same amount of anxiety as like when I yeah,
one hundred.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
So what was the total? How much did you lose?
In total?
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I've lost one hundred and seventy pounds.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Wow, Wow, it's amazing.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
Yeah, So that's the thing is, it's it's such a
weird number. I mean I remember having different goals like, oh,
I would just like to be in the two hundreds,
or would be cool if I could, you know, say
I've lost a hundred pounds.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah, you know you do you feel like a different person?
Like do you feel like a different human?
Speaker 3 (14:40):
I mean?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Or or are you the same just in a different body?
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (14:44):
I mean I definitely have been able to do things
I did and think I could do. But I also
find myself not thinking I can do certain things, Like
I have a personal trainer.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
And there'll be times when she'll.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
Have me do something and you know, I'll like a
something as simple as a burpie.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah, and I feel.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Myself hesitating because I don't think I can I can
do it, right.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
I only know what a burpie is because my twelve
year old son has gotten into working out, so.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
He does burpy's.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
I don't like them.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
I just I don't think anybody likes them.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
I get tripped up on my feet.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Yeah, give us a five year out prediction, and it
could be about anything, the world, the country, you know,
or anything.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
So I was listening to your last podcast and as
it turned out, I have the same one but the
opposite prediction.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
This is airing in a few weeks. So who was
the last podcast?
Speaker 4 (15:48):
I'm blanking on the name, but the gender biologists scientists
Colin Wright, huh is the AI bubble? I think it
won't make as much a difference, picularly when it comes
to art and culture. I think it's very easy to
tell the difference. I think the sourcing is smarter. I mean,
(16:09):
there's an ad that just came out from Coca Cola
where they kind of boasted that they fired people and
they did it all AI within five minutes. You know,
the internet is pointing out that the truck is a
different truck in every single right. I think without that
soul there, people will crave, you know, writing in art
(16:30):
and movies more.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
I mean, Essin Bateman's been really good about that.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
I think it might still be good for you know,
healthcare and data sourcing and all of that, But when
it comes to art, it's a giant bubble, and it's
just a parlor trick. Like look at this silly dancing
dog I made.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Yeah, it's funny.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
AI has become the answer, like for this question and
just you know, for other for advice questions that I ask.
People are very focused on AI for positive and negative.
Some people just like it's going to ruin society. We're
all going to lose our jobs.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
You know.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
My fifteen year old daughter was like, I don't know,
I could see the future being communism where the government
just pays us not to work because AI does everything.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
And it's like that is.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Terrifying actually, But then I love to hear that people
think it might be a bubble because we've been through bubbles.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I know how to handle a bubble. I don't know
how to handle.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Nobody working and nobody uh having to work because AI
does everything.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Yeah, I mean, I.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Don't know if it'll be you know as I think
it'll have like some some usage. I mean, I think
healthcare is probably the biggest place where.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
I mean I love.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Running my stats through AI to get the healthcare Like
what do you think this is?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
And it's like nothing, You're fine.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Well, also just uploading like.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
You know, X rays and things like that, you know,
faster and across not just what a particular say oncologist
really or radiology it's the scene, but with like every
radiologist I.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Don't know economically how that works.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Are we going to just have fewer doctors or you know,
fewer people reading charts?
Speaker 2 (18:10):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
But if it leads to healthier people and people, you know,
having things found that wouldn't be found.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Otherwise, it's hard to complain about.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Yeah, I mean hopefully lead.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
To less of that you know, computer or burnout work
that doctors complain about. You adding back the human connection,
I mean, similar to why I think it will fail
with art.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Yeah. People want the humanity, they want the soul.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
Yeah, I mean generally, like when you hear physicians talking
about burnout.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
I mean they're not saying, you know, I.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Have to talk to people so much time and the
patient you're talking about, you know, inputting.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Stuff right right, Yeah, you're you're absolutely right.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Well.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
I have loved this conversation.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
I can't wait to read your gen X handbook because
I feel it's it's written specifically for me. Leave us
here with your best tip for my listeners on how
they can improve their lives.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
I think it's to do uncomfortable things. I mean for me,
it was kind of everything weight loss. For you, maybe
leaving your home state, you know, it might be having
kids before you're you're ready or financially ready.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I think generally we need.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
To be more tuned to doing uncomfortable things because that
can you know, lead to you know, a better life.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Yeah, all right, finally, so I'll do the burpees okay.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
She is the author of gen X Handbook for Middle Age.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Check out her substack at get bright dot substack dot com.
Lisa Dipasqually, thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Thanks Carol,
Hi, Welcome back to the Carol Markowitz Show on iHeartRadio.
My guest today is Lisa Dipasqually. Lisa's author of the
gen X Handbook for Middle Age, writer and substacker at
get bright dot subseac dot com, and the former director
of CEPAC.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hi, Lisa is so nice to have you on.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Hi, Carol, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
So the gen X Handbook for Middle Age.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I guess this is it. We're middle aged. This is
a fact.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
I mean, we shoure lucky, right right, I guess we're
also true.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yeah, what made you write the gen X Handbook?
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Well, basically for me, at like age forty one, I
found myself single, unemployed, over three hundred pounds and basically,
oh and in about fifty thousand dollars in credit card debt.
This is all like post c pack wow, and basically
(01:05):
just spending too much time working for political nonprofits.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
I started with with weight loss to just get my
health back on track. There was a Bible verse that
I had read from Moses, I have put before you
light and dark, therefore choose or life and death. Light
(01:31):
and dark, therefore choose life.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
And that's kind of when I went from the mindset of.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Rather than you know, kind of pretend to lose weight
so that when something happened to me and my family
would think, you know, she did all she could do.
It was like, no, I'm actually going to choose to
have a better life. And that was kind of the
beginning of you know, for me losing one hundred and
seventy pounds and just the catalyst for yeah, you know,
(02:00):
through good things in my life. I you know, obviously
found a job. I became debt free by twenty twenty one.
By twenty twenty two, I left a blue state like
you to find.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Smart, yeah, better life.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Where'd you go?
Speaker 3 (02:16):
I'm in Texas, okay, but I left to eat the.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
Northern Virginia for Texas in twenty twenty two, you know,
right after they're kind of in the midst of COVID
and and all of that. I don't have kids, but
it was just an overall you know, bfe also to
be with the love of my life, all.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Right, So a lot of things weren't right.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Like I said for the book, then, is just that
you know, we hear so often that you know, you
can't teach old dog new tricks.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
And like one day it just sort of came to me.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
Wait a minute, I did all of these things, you know,
particularly for women, you know, in my forties, and my
love of pop culture and particularly gen X pop culture,
which just a way to have fun with the subject
and you know, shoehorn all of my you know, favorite hues,
(03:09):
movies and quotes and things like that.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
So gen X is kind of unique where I think
that we aren't as obvious what our problems are. Like
I can tell you what millennials problems are or what
gen Z. For sure, I can tell you what the
boomers issues were, but gen X were sort of the
forgotten generation, and I don't think that our problems have
been explored.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
As much as the other generations. So what would you
say is our biggest issue?
Speaker 4 (03:38):
From what I see from a lot of people, it's
that they're kind of worried about retirement. And we kind
of grew up thinking that we were not going to
see social security.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
You know, we're going to.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
The last retirees. But it's all, you know, kind of
on us. I mean, the good thing about it is
that I think we're well equipped for that. And then
the other thing that I here from other people it's
just being the Sandwich generation and that they're finding themselves
taking care of their parents, right and then also navigating
taking care care of, you know, of their their kids.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Absolutely, I think that that's you know, that's just where
the age is at right now.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
But like, you know, I feel like with.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Millennials, they're kind of thought as as people pleasers and
then Gen z's like the lazy the boomers won't let go.
Do we have something like that that makes us a
problem for other people?
Speaker 4 (04:34):
I think it's like it's like with a lot of things,
you know, like if we were in a job interview
and you asked me for my biggest weakness, you know,
I would kind of tell you how it was also
my strength.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
It's perfectionist, of course.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
And I think for Gen X it's probably our independence.
So like, on one.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Hand, yeah, that's a good one.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Yeah, you know, I read this statistic the other day
that was something like twenty percent of kids that are
sixteen are getting their driver's license or have an interest
in getting a driver's license, And I that was just
like crazy.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Now, we couldn't wait to be free.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
Yeah, And so you wanted to have your own space,
you wanted to be out of the freedom just to
even you know, go a couple streets over. You wanted
to be able to get a job so that you
could have the independence of your own money. And I
think on the negative side, our independence is probably not
asking for help, like you said, you know when in
the places where we needed I mean, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
We want to do it all ourselves.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
It's apologizing for asking people, oh, do you want to
talk about my book?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Right, yes, that is one of our issues for sure,
asking for help when you lost the weight and you
got yourself out of debt and all of that. Is
it hard to talk about and to go back to
a place where you were in a dark place, right,
I mean you couldn't have been happy?
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Then?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Is that hard to discuss with the public?
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Like I saw you on Michael Malice's show, for example,
and I was like, she is brave talking about this
talking about weight loss, and he is, you know, Malice
asks some uh some real pointed questions.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
So I thought of you was very brave for doing that.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
Yeah, I'm hopefully I'm going to get my third chance,
or actually I think it's my fourth episode with him,
and so this will now be after my loose skin
removal surgery, and so you know, hopefully we'll get into
the issues of the book. But also I'm kind of
looking forward to not having to go back to the past.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
But I write, right, yeah, helps.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Is I think at the very least, you know, it
sounds kind of cliche to say that I do want
to help people that you know might be in in
my situation and come at it from an honest way.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
I mean, if I didn't talk.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
About, say my weight at all, that the actual number,
like being my highest three hundred twenty pounds at five
to four, you know, someone who might be slightly over
slightly under all of that, they kind of wouldn't know
where I was, you know, coming from as far as
you know, having that same you know, he'll he'll to
(07:16):
go up. The other thing that I think made it
kind of easier for me is being in politics for.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
For so long.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
You know, some of my most public moments were at
that you know, highest weight.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
I mean when I was the director of.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
Sea Pack, I uh introduced Rush Limbaugh in two thousand
and nine when he was on stage and we basically
looked like the same size.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
We were both wearing very slimming.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
And then in twenty eleven, I invited Donald Trump top
get Seapack.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
For his you know, first ever political speech.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
And you know that that picture of me and him
at Seapack is on his Wikipedia for like forever. I
think he will probably be forever because he looks really angry,
because I think he'll probably keep it.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
And they love that. Yeah, uh huh.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
And so I mean, if I get anything out of
this experience, I just want like another picture taken with.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
With for sure.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah, and he's looking svelt. Also, he's like lost weight
and yeah. It's also it's funny because you know, they's
even commenting on waight right like I I you know,
I don't love when people are like, oh my god,
you lost weight, like I'm often I haven't. Like it's
just my makeup's a little bit better that day. I
like conterered out the chin a little bit better. And
(08:41):
so then you have to be like, no, actually, I
haven't lost any weight. I don't really know what you're talking,
you know, just like there's like the running commentary on
stuff like that. I don't know, and then you and
then you're talking so openly about it.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
Yeah, And I think what helped is being like slightly better,
you know at certain times. But then you know there
are times, you know, like the first interview I did
with with Michael Malice.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
I did have, you know, regrets. I hope.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
I don't know if he'll I'll hear this, and you know,
this is negative against him because he's a good friend.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
But I thought, based on.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
The comments, you know, I did this too soon because
I was kind of expecting kind of to get credit
for what I had done so far, and there was
really any.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Really that's too badly.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Jokes not from him, although of course.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Not from him.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
I mean, yeah, yeah, he did have How much had
you lost by that point?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Maybe around one hundred pounds?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Yeah, but I was still I was over two hundred.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Just people on the internet.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
You can't you know what I mean, Like, it's just
you can't take them seriously. You got to just imagine
that they are like four hundred pounds and in their basements.
And Matt mad at you for for fixing yourself, for
like trying to be better, for you know, making positive changes.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
What was the hardest kind of adjustment?
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Was it the way?
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Was it the you know, getting out of debt?
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Was it?
Speaker 1 (10:15):
I mean, was it leaving the blue state, Like, what
was the toughest change for you?
Speaker 4 (10:21):
Oh, my gosh it, I think probably as far as
getting out of my comfort zone. I mean, this is
such a good time to talk about it with after
you know, the election.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
We're recording this the day after the election where mom
Donnie becomes the socialist mayor of New York City and
Virginia and New Jersey unsurprisingly really but they stay blue.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
I think that's important to remember, is like blue states
remain blue.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah, so.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
Blue Mother's th blue. It might have been leaving that
comfort zone of warhead I had been for the last
you know, twenty some years.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
I mean prior to that, I grew up in Florida.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
So I left Florida at twenty one and then left
Virginia at forty five.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
So I lived in slightly wow, Yeah, northern Virginia. So
like the blue Virginia.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Yeah, the real blue Virginia.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
And you know, coming to a state, you know, working
remote and it's kind of like and I'm not in
a big city.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
I'm between Waco and Austin.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
So you know, my my plan A is to be
a writer on substacks sell books. I don't know what
job opportunities are here when yeah, it happens there. I
mean I can obviously commute to Austin or or move,
but I think it was a really big chance.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
On top of that, you know.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
Movie it does shift Yeah for a relationship, right, I
mean that's also from yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Did you guys meet online or was it like not.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
In a dating way.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
He had read some of my stuff on I'm Brightbard
and asked, you know in Arizona. I let him know,
and as it happened, I was going to be there
the next week. This was in twenty fourteen. And then
we were just you know, friends for years and years,
and then one day we're kind of just like, wait
a minute, you're my person, You're I love you.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
I didn't tell my husband and me. Also, we're best
friends for like a decade.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
That's great. That's the way to do it.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
I recommend it to everybody. Go find a best friend,
wait a little while, and then marry them.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
Well, and I should mention he's you know, I'm a writer.
He's a very talented artist. He was with DC and
Marble for.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Twenty plus years. He did my book for he did
the graphic novel edition of Clinton Cash. So we fit
very very well together.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
We're going to take a quick break and be right
back on the Carol Marco wid Show.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
What are you most proud of in your life?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Geez, I think probably starting that weight loss journey, even
though it did lead to lots of other bigger, better things,
because I had been overweight most of my life. The
last time I was at a normal weight was probably
when I was born, and that was because I was
a preemi. So I mean, I think, you know, I
(13:37):
don't want to pat myself on the back too much,
but I think it takes a lot of courage to
it in when I've failed a million times and just.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Still r right.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yeah, I fail at losing ten pounds very often all
the time. Actually, I fail at least once or twice
a year, if not more.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Yeah, it's funny because it never gets easier because I
would like to lose about ten more and I have
the same amount of anxiety as like when I yeah,
one hundred.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
So what was the total? How much did you lose?
In total?
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I've lost one hundred and seventy pounds.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Wow, Wow, it's amazing.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
Yeah, So that's the thing is, it's it's such a
weird number. I mean I remember having different goals like, oh,
I would just like to be in the two hundreds,
or would be cool if I could, you know, say
I've lost a hundred pounds.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah, you know you do you feel like a different person?
Like do you feel like a different human?
Speaker 3 (14:40):
I mean?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Or or are you the same just in a different body?
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (14:44):
I mean I definitely have been able to do things
I did and think I could do. But I also
find myself not thinking I can do certain things, Like
I have a personal trainer.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
And there'll be times when she'll.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
Have me do something and you know, I'll like a
something as simple as a burpie.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah, and I feel.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Myself hesitating because I don't think I can I can
do it, right.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
I only know what a burpie is because my twelve
year old son has gotten into working out, so.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
He does burpy's.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
I don't like them.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
I just I don't think anybody likes them.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
I get tripped up on my feet.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Yeah, give us a five year out prediction, and it
could be about anything, the world, the country, you know,
or anything.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
So I was listening to your last podcast and as
it turned out, I have the same one but the
opposite prediction.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
This is airing in a few weeks. So who was
the last podcast?
Speaker 4 (15:48):
I'm blanking on the name, but the gender biologists scientists
Colin Wright, huh is the AI bubble? I think it
won't make as much a difference, picularly when it comes
to art and culture. I think it's very easy to
tell the difference. I think the sourcing is smarter. I mean,
(16:09):
there's an ad that just came out from Coca Cola
where they kind of boasted that they fired people and
they did it all AI within five minutes. You know,
the internet is pointing out that the truck is a
different truck in every single right. I think without that
soul there, people will crave, you know, writing in art
(16:30):
and movies more.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
I mean, Essin Bateman's been really good about that.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
I think it might still be good for you know,
healthcare and data sourcing and all of that, But when
it comes to art, it's a giant bubble, and it's
just a parlor trick. Like look at this silly dancing
dog I made.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Yeah, it's funny.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
AI has become the answer, like for this question and
just you know, for other for advice questions that I ask.
People are very focused on AI for positive and negative.
Some people just like it's going to ruin society. We're
all going to lose our jobs.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
You know.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
My fifteen year old daughter was like, I don't know,
I could see the future being communism where the government
just pays us not to work because AI does everything.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
And it's like that is.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Terrifying actually, But then I love to hear that people
think it might be a bubble because we've been through bubbles.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I know how to handle a bubble. I don't know
how to handle.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Nobody working and nobody uh having to work because AI
does everything.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Yeah, I mean, I.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Don't know if it'll be you know as I think
it'll have like some some usage. I mean, I think
healthcare is probably the biggest place where.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
I mean I love.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Running my stats through AI to get the healthcare Like
what do you think this is?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
And it's like nothing, You're fine.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Well, also just uploading like.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
You know, X rays and things like that, you know,
faster and across not just what a particular say oncologist
really or radiology it's the scene, but with like every
radiologist I.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Don't know economically how that works.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Are we going to just have fewer doctors or you know,
fewer people reading charts?
Speaker 2 (18:10):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
But if it leads to healthier people and people, you know,
having things found that wouldn't be found.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Otherwise, it's hard to complain about.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Yeah, I mean hopefully lead.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
To less of that you know, computer or burnout work
that doctors complain about. You adding back the human connection,
I mean, similar to why I think it will fail
with art.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Yeah. People want the humanity, they want the soul.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
Yeah, I mean generally, like when you hear physicians talking
about burnout.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
I mean they're not saying, you know, I.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Have to talk to people so much time and the
patient you're talking about, you know, inputting.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Stuff right right, Yeah, you're you're absolutely right.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Well.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
I have loved this conversation.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
I can't wait to read your gen X handbook because
I feel it's it's written specifically for me. Leave us
here with your best tip for my listeners on how
they can improve their lives.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
I think it's to do uncomfortable things. I mean for me,
it was kind of everything weight loss. For you, maybe
leaving your home state, you know, it might be having
kids before you're you're ready or financially ready.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I think generally we need.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
To be more tuned to doing uncomfortable things because that
can you know, lead to you know, a better life.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Yeah, all right, finally, so I'll do the burpees okay.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
She is the author of gen X Handbook for Middle Age.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Check out her substack at get bright dot substack dot com.
Lisa Dipasqually, thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Thanks Carol,
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show News
Hosts And Creators
Clay Travis
Buck Sexton
Show Links
WebsiteNewsletterPopular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.