Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
No one could have ever predicted that.
No way I could.
No one could.
When you are in your darkest.
Hours when you feel like you can'tkeep going, when you feel like
there's nothing left in the tank.
Let me tell you something.
There's something around the cornerfor you and there's no way you'll ever
be able to predict it or plan for it.
Kind of replaying all the times thatI've shared that story and I have
(00:22):
not put a spotlight on things thatI'd likely have never shared before.
This episode's gonnabe pretty off the cuff.
I was just praying in my car and feltinspired to come into my office right now
and hit record and just do this and sharesome of the thoughts that I was having.
(00:46):
I was thinking a lot about my journey,uh, my story, my past, you know,
just looking to connect all the dots.
And obviously one really big part is theviral video, the McDonald's commercial.
There were all of the, thestuff that happened at that
point that just completely.
Changed the trajectory of my life.
You know, it's a verypivotal moment for me.
(01:08):
And, you know, I was thinking aboutthat and kind of replaying all the
times that I've shared that story.
And I have not put a spotlighton couple specific things.
Uh, these are things that I'd likelyhave never shared before, or if I have,
it just wasn't very in depth, you know,it was probably just briefly touching on
something, but putting a spotlight on,on really important parts of the story.
(01:32):
That I think need to be shared.
So I'm gonna do that right now.
Uh, obviously with that viral videoexperience and story, a lot of the,
the questions people have are aroundlike, how much money I made, how
many views it got, what networkinghappened, what opportunities
happened, and that's all been great.
You know, it, it really did launch me intothis whole world of business and branding
(01:53):
and entrepreneurship and all these things,self-help, personal development, all that.
Something that doesn't get highlightedenough though is God's role in that.
And the battle, the internalbattle, quite literally that was
happening for me at that time.
(02:14):
Uh, the struggles I was having with mymental health and my mental wellness.
Uh, for the first time in my life,October 4th, 2015, I was having suicidal
ideations and trying to figure outwhether or not I wanted to stick around.
And I was in a really low,dark place and the only thing I
(02:35):
could think of to do was pray.
And I would pray to Heavenly Father,and I want to be clear in saying that
these prayers, while I wouldn't encouragepraying like this, obviously these prayers
were not your, your typical prayers.
They were kind of angry.
I was passionate.
(02:56):
I was angry.
I was like, what the heck?
I am trying, you know, andI'm not getting anything.
What do I freaking do?
You know, it was that kind of,of a mood in these prayers.
And
on October 4th, 2015, I was deep inprayer and I, I feel like my mind was
(03:18):
pulling me towards like the suicidalideations and stuff, but it's almost
like God interceded and took, tookthe, the wheel for a, a little bit,
you know, it took the controls for alittle bit and was steering my thoughts.
To encouragement of sticking around.
There's gotta be something aroundthe corner, you know, just be
on the lookout for answers.
Just, I was getting moregood, good thoughts.
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Like at some point therewas that shift in my prayer.
And then after the prayer I had myfriend Sean, uh, one of my all time
best friends, he called me and heinvited me on a late night McDonald's
run with my friends and roommates and.
At the time, I'd been sayingno to a lot of those kinds of
(04:03):
hangout opportunities and stuff.
I was just in a depressed state,which by the way, I will say wonderful
people around me, wonderful friends,and probably none of them had any idea
that I was going through anything.
That's one of the scariest things aboutsome of these mental concerns, right?
Mental wellness concerns is, uh,we, we can be very performative
and we're good at putting onmasks and people might not know.
(04:26):
That you're struggling, right?
Uh, and if it's one of those things wherea reminder really quick to just check
in on people, even if they seem okay.
'cause you never know.
You never know.
They could be absolutely screamingon the inside, but you wouldn't know
it because they look so put together.
So check in on everyone.
(04:49):
Checking on everyone you love andeven, even strangers in passing.
You know, give 'em a smile, give 'em ahey, you know, give 'em a compliment.
Give 'em that extra littlenudge They need to stick around.
And step into their authenticselves, you know, that encouragement.
Anyway, that was a little side tangent,but great friends and people probably
(05:10):
didn't know what I was going throughon the inside, but in that moment
after the prayer, when my friend Seaninvited me out to McDonald's to go hang
out with my friends and roommates, um.
I felt an internal call, a promptinga, a thought, you know, the way that I
receive promptings is typically in likefeelings and thoughts and I felt prompted
(05:33):
and called to say yes and just go.
It was like midnight, it was reallylate at night, and uh, I went with
them and they encouraged me tobeatbox with the McDonald's cup.
Just kind of, you know, I was goofingoff and having fun being a good friend,
you know, and they were good friendsencouraging me to do the things that
are my talents, you know, and theywere supporting me and having fun,
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uh, everyone recorded it, you know?
And then looking back, everything'sclearer in hindsight, right.
Looking back.
It's like God directly answeredmy prayer through my friend Sean.
'cause as we were leaving the McDonald's,my friend Sean showed me his phone.
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He held it up to me and he was justlike, Hey man, look, this is the video.
And we watched it andhe goes, do you want it?
Do you want to post this?
And I said.
No, absolutely not.
(06:43):
It's trash.
I'm ugly.
I don't like that angle.
It's really bad quality.
I'm trying to go for that more.
10 80 P four, 4K.
You know, I, I had this wholevision of like, that was
just absolute garbage, dude.
I'm going for higher quality.
I looked bad.
That was a bad angle.
It's trash.
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Nobody would want that.
I could have done way better.
I said No,
and he, and this, you know, I'lljust point out again, I believe
that that was God through Seansaying, Hey Parker, here you go.
(07:24):
Here's your answer.
This is gonna change your life forever.
Do you want this?
And I said, no.
Now I believe 100% God is a merciful God.
He is a loving God.
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He is a loving, heavenly Father.
And he knew, he's all knowing.
He knows the plans, right?
Like he knew that that was gonna happen.
And so he had this little planB in place with my friend Sean.
He goes, all right, well, since youdon't want it, I'm gonna post it.
Do you mind if I post it?
(08:05):
And I was just like,whatever dude, go for it.
I don't care.
You know?
And I will say also, if I'm being 100%honest at the time, I'm like, dude.
It is so late at night, thatvideo's gonna go nowhere.
Like it's not gonna get views.
It felt to me like it was fine if heposted it, um, but he posted it and
(08:26):
sure enough, the rest is history, right?
The rest of the story that we usuallytalk about a lot with the viral video, the
views, the opportunities, everything elsethat unfolded after that point happened.
But I wanted to put a spotlighton these other parts of the story
that rarely get talked about.
If at all, this might be the firsttime I've shared some of this,
(08:51):
so it's God's role in my life.
Let me tell you something.
No one could have ever predicted that.
No way I could, no one could.
Nobody wakes up in the morningthinking, gosh, you know what?
I can't wait until I go viral witha beatboxing McDonald's cup video.
No one aspires for that.
(09:12):
No one has that specific of a dream.
No one was planning for that.
I wasn't, you know, noone could have ever.
Predicted that it was totally andcompletely random and something that
God had planned in the backgroundthat I didn't know was coming.
(09:35):
Thus,
probably one of the important, mostimportant lessons I've ever learned
that I would share to anyone and everyone.
When you are in your darkest hours, whenyou feel like you can't keep going, when
(09:57):
you feel like there's nothing left inthe tank, there's no good news around
the corner, let me tell you something.
There's something around the cornerfor you and there's no way you'll ever
be able to predict it or plan for it.
Our role, our duty, is to stay.
(10:18):
To show up to try even imperfectly.
No one's perfect, right?
We are called to show up and tryand try to draw closer to God.
Try to build ourselves, try tostep into our callings, all these
things live right, be good people.
(10:38):
All these things we could, we could,uh, run with that for a while,
but you get the, the point of it.
And.
God has things planned for usthat we are not gonna be able
to know or plan for or predict.
And that was something for mewas that viral video experience.
It was quite the answer.
(10:59):
It was quite the answer.
'cause obviously, you know, when thatwent viral, a lot of people thought,
oh, he is just gonna do beatboxingforever, you know, and clearly.
Not, uh, it's not like I had a YouTubechannel go and get big, and it was
just all exclusive to beatboxing.
No, I got launched into a whole publicspeaking realm and podcasting and
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motivational and purposeful contentand stuff like this right now, because
that experience changed me and changedthe trajectory of my life forever.
It was an extremely pivotal moment for me.
And I would just encourage that nomatter where you are, no matter how hard
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you're struggling, you just hang on andtrust, pray, and know that something's
around the corner and there's no wayyou're gonna be able to piece everything
together until you're looking back inhindsight like I'm doing right now.
Uh, which is something else Iwould encourage people to do
is wherever you are in life.
(12:02):
And as you're prayerfully lookingback to connect dots and pick up
breadcrumbs and figure out likeall these pivotal moments in your
life, you will get a lot of clarity.
You will get a lot of direction,you'll learn a lot about yourself.
Uh, but I just wanted to point outthese things and put a spotlight
on these parts of the story.
You know, God knew whathe had planned for me.
(12:23):
He was working in the background and.
I just wanted to make sure Ipublicly put that out there, that
I am grateful for that experience.
I'm grateful for all theblessings that he gives me.
And I know, and this is somethingmaybe I'm gonna be pulled toward for my
podcast and book and different thingsI have planned, but I know that just
(12:47):
as we all have a unique fingerprint,unique set of fingerprints, right?
We have a unique voice.
We have unique talents, skills, interests.
Let me tell you something.
You've got your interests plantedin you from God for a reason.
You're supposed to beinterested in those things.
You're supposed to, to learn about it.
(13:08):
You're supposed to learn it, masterit, teach it, and that's what
it is with purpose and callingand all these things, right?
People overcomplicate it, and that's beensomething I've been stuck in for years.
Over 10 years at least, of trying tofigure out my purpose and it's, it
doesn't have to be over complicated.
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You have your interests, talents,voices, all of that for a reason.
You're supposed to learn it, masterit, teach it to other people.
Be a tool in his handsto help other people.
And all of it is just a, a journeyof getting ourselves aligned
with him and to grow ourselvespersonally and to help others.
(13:57):
And I hope that, you know, this messagefinds the people it's supposed to.
It was really outta left field.
I, I'm telling you, I was in my carpraying, thinking, pondering, and I felt.
Pulled to just coming in here,hit and record doing an episode.
And I will tell you, I, I did onerun through before this one and
(14:25):
it just didn't quite feelright, not because of, uh.
Like being nitpicky with edits oranything, but more just like I felt
like I was not being authentic.
And in this one I feel a little bitmore authentic and like I'm just
sharing what happened, you know, andputting a focus on, on where the focus
needs to be and getting out the rightmessage that needs to get out there.
(14:48):
Um.
Just to, you know, paint the pictureof where I'm at with this podcast.
It's been a, a number of monthssince I've posted anything.
So that just goes to show you howincredibly random this is and,
uh, I hope that it finds who it'ssupposed to and I hope that it
leads to whatever it's supposed to.
(15:09):
Um,
I would just encourage anyoneand everyone to stick around,
trust God, trust themselves.
And know that if you're looking to see ifsomething is from God, if you're praying
for answers, just know it's gonna be thethings that you're drawn to or pulled
to, and oftentimes they don't make sense
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and it requires you to act.
In faith and just hope that itall works out and God's got stuff
moving in the background that we'renever gonna be able to plan for.
And um, the most important thing is foryou to just show up and try your best
and be a good person and never give up.
(15:58):
I know that sounds cheesy,but that's literally.
It literally what it is.
If you're still here listening.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate you.
I know this podcast has been a littlewonky in messaging and inconsistencies
and uh, I'm just, you know, I offer avery in the trenches perspective 'cause
I never have anything figured out.
I'm always just showing up,trying my best and, uh, hopefully
(16:19):
inspiring people along the way.
But much love to you guys.
Seriously.
I. I hope you know how much it meansto me when, when you drop in here, you
listen, you follow, you, like, comment,subscribe, all the things, wherever
you're seeing these, these videos.
Or these podcast episodes and, uh,it means the world to me and I've
(16:42):
got some good focuses for the future,and I'm excited to get into them.
So, yeah, I will see you in the next one.