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July 26, 2025 20 mins

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What happens when you achieve everything you've ever wanted only to discover it's cost you what truly matters? The Key to Everything series review takes you behind the scenes of this powerful story about success, presence, and finding your way back to authenticity.

Anthony shares his creative process for developing this unique narrative—one without gods, kings, or magic—focusing instead on real people facing universal challenges. He reveals how the main character's journey from invisibility to success mirrors what many of us experience: the adjustment to recognition, the whirlwind of achievement, and the corrupting belief that everything revolves around us.

At its heart, this is a story about presence. The protagonist doesn't lose Lena through dramatic conflict but through micro-decisions—moments of absence, of prioritizing external validation over genuine connection. The mysterious key, passed through generations of powerful figures, only stays with those brave enough to face their truth. Every element—the café, napkins, silence, bookstore, and bench—symbolizes aspects of the journey toward authenticity.

Perhaps most moving is Anthony's reflection on Lena's character—strong, forthright, and deeply kind. Her departure wasn't abandonment but a profound act of love, creating space for him to rediscover himself. The story reminds us that while we can't always undo our mistakes, we can return to what matters most. True happiness is found not in accolades but in being present for each meaningful moment with those we love.

Ready for more storytelling? Anthony teases upcoming projects including special Halloween series in October and holiday-themed stories throughout November and December. Subscribe now to journey with us through these new worlds of imagination and insight.

"True mastery is found in the details. The way you handle the little things defines the way you handle everything."

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Gentleman's Journey podcast.
My name is Anthony, your host,and today we're just going over,
actually, the series review ofthe Key to Everything.
So if this is your first timelistening to this, I implore you

(00:20):
, please go back and listen tothis whole series.
This series was honestlyamazing.
I'm just so grateful that youguys listened to it and it was
just such a fun thing to do foryou guys.
But I'm just going to go aheadand what we're going to do here

(00:41):
in this review.
I'm going to talk about how Ikind of came up with the concept
, the characters, the plot, allthat kind of you know back end
stuff that you know doesn'treally get talked about very
often, and and then kind of tellyou you know about what to
expect this next couple seriesand you know some other future

(01:03):
things that we're going to bedoing.
So let's go ahead and jump intoit.
So the key to everything when Iwas coming up with this concept
, it was one of those things towhere I wanted to write through
the idea of what happens if youget everything in your life that

(01:27):
you want and you realize it'sit's.
You have to become somebody youdon't like or revere or honor,
you know, like, what does thatlook like?
So, like with obviously I gavehim a nondescript job, because a
lot of us work nondescript jobsand then when he starts to get

(01:51):
accolades, you know, obviouslythe key shows up.
And we don't really describe alot about the key, it's just
it's always there, right?
We don't go into mythos untillater, but obviously he gets the
key.
Things start to change in hislife as you look at him in the
beginning of episode one hehated his job.

(02:12):
It was very, very low level.
No one respected him.
He was invisible.
He was just living day to day,hand to mouth.
There really wasn't anythinggoing on in his life.
You know, the only thing thathe even somewhat enjoyed was

(02:35):
really seeing Lena, thisbeautiful, smart, intelligent,
kind woman who was straight upwith him the whole time.
You know, and and with that youknow, if you know, like in the
first episode we talked abouthow he's scraping together money
just to get coffee, just to seeher, just to see her, and then

(02:57):
how that blossoms, you know,because he gets the key,
obviously, puts the key away andthen you know, over the next
coming days, weeks, months,things start to change in his
life and if you think about it,when he did that, you know he
obviously starts going towardsLena and then their relationship

(03:18):
starts to change.
But just like with everything,right, as relationships change,
when you start to get success inyour life, you know two things.
Actually, three things happen.
The first thing that happens isthere's an adjustment period to

(03:39):
success, right, especiallymassive success, where all of a
sudden people start to know you,they start to call you, you
start to become more busier.
Opportunities happen, they'regiven to you, you start to take
advantage of them, those kind ofthings, right.
So there's an adjustment period.
Then, as you're in the success,you start to understand

(04:01):
everything that comes with bigsuccess the long nights, the
constant rotation of being atplaces where he traveled, all
the time everything was justkind of a blur for him and as
that he thought that everythingwas about him, not that

(04:29):
everything was about him.
And that's where you can saypower or success really corrupts
people, because they think it'severything's about them.
And, yes, it is in thebeginning it is, but it's about
the people around you thatreally give you your true
success, right.
And as he started becoming morewell-known, well, what started
happening?
He wasn't going to.
You know he was still going tothe cafe but he wasn't fully
present.

(04:49):
And you know he built up thatrelationship with Lena and then
kind of and no other way to saykind of took a big old crap all
over it.
You know what I mean?
Because he thought everythingwas about him.
He thought everything was abouthim.
And when you start to thinklike that, when you start to
understand that everything'sabout you and everything evolves

(05:11):
around you, that's whendownfalls always start to happen
.
Right, and you saw that withhim that the success that he
thought he wanted and hereceived it was shallow at best.
Yes, he was making more money,he was very popular, all these

(05:32):
different things.
His word mattered, but itdidn't really matter to him.
And his biggest turning point,if you think about it, was Lena
leaving right, her graduatingand him not even knowing that,

(05:52):
you know, losing track of timebecause she was graduating and
she was gone.
You know, there's things thathappen in our life when we think
we have it all figured out orwhen we think that we are the
most important thing in theworld.
The world tests you with that.

(06:12):
Then you know, the universe,god or whatever you want to say
starts to test you and you startto realize that you are not the
most important thing.
You know, it's the peoplearound you who are you
influencing in a great way, howare you being present in your

(06:36):
relationships?
And to go further now, like aswe're talking through this,
that's what this really was allabout is.
I've seen so many successfulpeople in my life and that I
know that chose careers, chosemoney or something outside of

(07:01):
themselves instead of internalhappiness, and now they're
miserable.
They're going throughboyfriends and girlfriends.
They've been married anddivorced multiple times because
they haven't realized thatwhatever you find is never
outside of you, it's inside ofyou.
And that's what this was.

(07:25):
You know, as I'm talking aboutthis, you know this wasn't a
story, right, because you couldsay like, oh, this was a love
story and there was someelements of that, right, but it
wasn't a story about falling inlove and this can go with
self-love too.
It was about forgetting.

(07:45):
You know why love mattered inthe first place and then
thinking about it, you know,remembering that it was too late
to rewind.
But here's what people neverget.
You know, it's never too lateto return.

(08:05):
Sometimes you can't undo things,but you can always return to
things and that's, honestly thebiggest thing, because if you
look at like the key, you knowthe key quote-unquote it might
have opened some doors for him,gave him power and a voice, a

(08:26):
stage right, but it cost him twoof the biggest things in his
life.
The first was presence right,he was never present anymore in
his life.
The first was presence right,he was never present anymore in
his life or in other people'slife, but it cost him her.

(08:47):
You know that version of herthat waited without asking.
You know who poured coffee forhim and had quotes that she gave
him written by hand.
You know who was going toschool to study people, but not

(09:08):
to understand them, but toessentially remind them of who
they are.
They are, and I think that'sthe whole.
Redemption is that he didn'tlose her in those moments.
Right, he lost her in the microdecisions as a not coming in,

(09:30):
not being present.
Right, he was yesing everybody.
He was more in depth of wantingto be in front of crowds and
and everyone yesing him thanreally being truly present.
And and I think one of thethings about her that I like so
much about her in general is thefact that she didn't.

(09:53):
She didn't leave because, youknow, there was no like big blow
up, there was no anger.
She left.
In truth, you know, and I thinkwhat we have done it like, what
we have to understand about thisguy is he still returned, right

(10:18):
, but a lot of people like, oh,it was to win him back.
No, it was to find himself thatonly ever existed in her
presence.
That's why, if you look at theseries, especially the episodes,
every episode was like a trial.

(10:39):
Well, okay, it was a trial indisguise.
Let's be honest.
Right, it was a test if hisinternal noise was going to win,
or if the external noise wasgoing to win, or, you know, if
love could wait, or his successwas holding a mirror and he was

(11:03):
wearing a mask, and they wereall symbols of journey.
Think about it the cafe, thenapkins, the silence, the
bookstore, his voice, the bench,the key.
It was the first time I waswriting in this series where you
know they're not becoming a god, they're not becoming a king
and they're not waking up.

(11:24):
And it was just something thatI think we all fight is that
we're trying to lead ourselvesto something greater, but,
realistically, what that greaterthing is is something that is
quieter, and I think, when youstart to realize that your truth

(11:49):
is never tucked away, it'sreally written in every ordinary
detail that you ignore.
And he ignored right, because,if you really think about it,
the key wasn't gold, it wasn'tmagical, it was An idea, a

(12:13):
metaphor that kept handingitself down to those who really
forgot who they were, especiallywith all the power and stuff
that they had around them.
You know, I mean, think aboutit.
It came to kings, prodigies,presidents, CEOs, you name it,

(12:41):
but the true thing was it onlystayed with the ones who were
willing to become honest.
And I think that's a big, bigthing that a lot of us don't
understand is that a lot oftimes, we're not ever honest,

(13:01):
truly honest, with ourselves,because once you start to do
that, it's a re.
It can take not to toil on younecessarily, but there's so much
to unpack that it can be very,very overwhelming.
Right Now, as I end this, right,I just I wanted to talk about

(13:31):
Lena.
She, honestly, is probably oneof my favorite characters I've
written so far, just because andI know I say this on every
review, but I just don't write,I can't write weak women, right,
she was strong, she was veryforthcoming with who she was,
she was very comfortable in whoshe was.
But in all of that she hadkindness and warmth and you saw

(13:55):
that when he earned her trustand her love, she gave him that.
She gave him kindness, she gavehim grace.
She gave him unconditional love.
It shows up when they havetheir son, when she reveals what
happens at the end, you knowwhere.

(14:17):
She knew he was who he wassupposed to be and he couldn't.
She couldn't tell him becauseif she did, it would.
It would have ruined him andruin the whole thing, you know.
So she carried that.
She left him.
Think about that.
She left him knowing that.
Think about that.
She left him knowing that.
She took a leap of faith,knowing that her leaving could

(14:42):
destroy him.
But it was the exact thing thathe needed to return to himself
and return to her.
Because, if you think about it,the minute he started returning
to himself, he returned to her.
Look what happened.
He became happier, right, moneywas no longer an issue.

(15:03):
He found love.
They got married.
Nothing was ever over the topand nothing was ever like that
Over the top.
And you know, nothing was everlike that.
They just took their time andwere present in every single
moment Of what they and theneach other's lives, and now

(15:27):
their son.
They're going to be present inhis life and the key did all of
that and to me, that's honestlygoing to be one of the biggest
things I'm going to miss aboutthis series was there's no gods,
there's no kings, there's no.

(15:48):
You know, there's a little bitof mythology, but nothing crazy,
right, there's no magic,there's nothing.
It's just real people who wentthrough pardon my French real
shit and came out at the endbeing honest with each other,

(16:09):
being in love with each other,creating a beautiful life with
each other and then creating abeautiful life as in their son,
dominic, and then how they cannow be present and change his
life right.
And that's, to me, is the thingI'm going to miss.

(16:31):
I mean, yes, I guess I couldcome back and write some future
episodes about them, but that'sprobably not going to happen
with these guys I'm going tomiss.
I mean, yes, I guess I couldcome back and write some future
episodes about them, but that'sprobably not going to happen
with these guys.
I'm going to leave them be, I'mgoing to leave their world
perfect, because that's who theyare.
They became perfect.
So, all right, guys, we're about17 minutes, so I didn't want to
make this too long, but I justwanted to thank you.

(16:53):
I know I say this on everything, but there's a lot of hard work
that goes in creating theseseries and creating this
universe of these people, so Isincerely appreciate you
allowing me to be a part of youruniverse and listening to these

(17:15):
things, and I hope that youenjoy them.
I hope you learn stuff fromthem, and it's just such a
pleasure and honor that I haveyou as a listener, and I can't
tell you how much I'm thankfulfor that.
So I'll end that here, guys.
Again, thank you so very muchagain for listening today.
Again, thank you so very muchagain for listening today.

(17:41):
Oh, before I end this, sorryguys, I just re-recorded this,
um, so there's.
I wanted to.
I said I was going to talkabout this and I didn't, so
there's gonna be some thingscoming up here, um, after this,
I'm actually gonna go through awhole.
We're gonna talk about a lot ofthe other series, so that's
probably going to be about 45minutes to an hour, kind of tell
you, like, how I made theswitch from doing just single

(18:03):
episodes to series, cause we'reactually this is, we just
finished our 14th series, whichis crazy.
We've done over what?
150 episodes this year.
So crazy, crazy, crazy.
When I talk about that, I wantto talk and then I'm going to
talk about actually coming uphere too about some changes that
are going to happen in the falland for the holidays.

(18:26):
So I'll talk about that realquick.
So what's going to happen hereis this is for the fall, so like
around Halloween time, right,the month of October, we're
going to do essentially fourseries.
They're all going to be a weekand they're all just going to be
very short and it's going to bearound the holiday season.

(18:47):
So, yes, it's going to be alittle scary, you know it's,
it's going to be a little crazy,but we're going to do in the
gents journey way, where there'salways going to be things and
learn, and no, it's not going tobe always get in the running
car, I mean.
Yes, those are obvious andthere's, there's going to be
tropes, but you know, just gotto follow me, okay, um, and then
for the holiday season, so likeum, november, december, we're

(19:12):
going to do the same thing.
We're going to have four shortseries for November, four short
series for December.
So each week is going to be anew series, so instead of the
two weeks that we're on rightnow.
So with that, what will happen?
Again, it's going to be justholiday stories, and I'm not
just talking about Christmaseither.

(19:32):
For the holiday season.
So we're going to havedifferent types of Thanksgivings
.
We're going to have differenttypes of Thanksgivings.
We're going to have differenttypes of holiday seasons as well
, too.
So I also wanted to tell youthat as well, and also I will
again remind you of this andalso this next series that's
coming up.
There's a high likelihood thatit's going to be our first
series.
That's going to take a month todo, because there's going to be

(19:55):
a lot of things to unpack.
So be ready for that.
All right, okay, so now, 20minutes in.
Now I will end this episode,okay.
So, guys, thank you again somuch for listening today and

(20:22):
remember this you create yourreality, take care Bye.
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