July 23, 2025 • 47 mins
The journey to Syracuse Nationals wasn't just another road trip – it was a testament to resilience in the face of adversity for Loud Proud American. What began with a production nightmare when our custom racing t-shirt design arrived completely wrong quickly cascaded into a series of challenges that would test our limits.
Picture this: six hours on the road in 100-degree heat with a temperamental air conditioner that alternated between cool and hot air every 20 minutes. Our 10-month-old daughter experiencing her longest journey yet in our converted school bus. Then suddenly, a rough patch of Massachusetts highway sends our entire merchandise display crashing down, with clothes and products flying with every bump thereafter. This was just the beginning.
Upon arrival, the hospitality of Paisley's godparents Lance and Jen became our saving grace. Their unwavering support, along with our entire Syracuse family, created moments of joy amidst the chaos. But business challenges continued as powerful winds turned our setup day into a battle against the elements, and our booth location kept us isolated from the main flow of foot traffic at this massive event.
Yet within disappointment lies opportunity. During slower periods, I discovered a vendor using a souvenir trailer that sparked a vision for expanding our business model. Despite not meeting our financial expectations, we still made money, gained invaluable experience, and set ourselves up for greater success next year. Most importantly, we created precious memories with our daughter while pursuing our entrepreneurial dreams.
The hard truth I've learned is that your first attempt at anything in business is often your worst. But rather than being discouraged, I've returned home more determined than ever – already securing another new event opportunity before even recording this podcast. This will be our most uncomfortable year yet, but discomfort breeds growth, and I'm steadfast in my belief that pushing beyond our limits will ultimately lead to breakthrough success.
What challenges are you facing in pursuit of your dreams? Remember, tough times come, but tough times pass. Don't let distractions derail you from your direction.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And just like that, another milestone weekend is in
the books for Loud ProudAmerican.
So today, on Share the StrugglePodcast, we are going to recap
the weekend that was as we setour destination on Syracuse, new
York, home of the SyracuseNationals and, more importantly,
home to some of our favoritepeople on earth.
(00:24):
That and so much more.
On this week's episode of Sharethe Struggle Podcast, let me
tell you something Everybodystruggles.
The difference is some peoplechoose to go through it and some
choose to grow through it.
The choice is completely yours.
Which one you choose will havea very profound effect on the
(00:46):
way you live your life.
If you find strength in thestruggle, then this podcast is
for you.
If you have a relationship thatis comfortable with
uncomfortable conversations.
Uncomfortable conversationschallenge you, humble you and
(01:06):
they build you.
When you sprinkle a little timeand distance on it, it all
makes sense.
Most disagreements, they stemfrom our own insecurities.
You are right where you need tobe Back on time.
We can fight for our dreams.
(01:27):
We hope they come from behind.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
What it do, what it ha Did itdo.
Good Lord, almighty, am I soexcited to be back with you?
Oh, it's true, it is damn true.
(01:51):
I do believe this is episode 263.
That is 263 consecutive weeksof you and me.
That's right.
Boys and girls, chipmunks andsquirrels here we are yet again
reunited and it feels so good.
I think I'm just starting tocome back into my groove.
(02:13):
I'm just starting to feelnormal again after a jam-packed
weekend and a long ride home.
I think I'm finally starting tosettle back into the routine
and get back to life.
And I say that at 7 o'clock pmon a Tuesday night when I got
home Sunday night, so you couldchalk up day one as a loss okay,
(02:36):
of being home, but actually nota total loss.
I mowed the lawn all damn day.
Still have more yard work to do, but it's tough, man, when you
leave and you're all over theplace like we are.
When you get home, your outdoorprojects are staggering.
I spent all day mowing the lawn.
Still have a bunch more to dobecause that thing turned into a
hayfield when I was gone.
And, above and beyond that,while you're on the mower riding
(02:57):
around, you're looking at allthe other things that you
haven't done, that you need todo, that are just sitting around
waiting on you.
That's another downfall, rightthere, folks, full frontal,
confessional downfall of a smallbusiness owner.
The moment you're home, youstart realizing all the things
that you should be doing thatyou just haven't done.
(03:18):
That honey-do list is gotchapters in it okay, chapter 6,
revision 7, line 14, that wholedeal.
It's getting aggressive,getting aggressive.
But y'all ain't here waiting onme to do things that need to be
done.
You are here, dialed in,listening to hear and learn the
(03:39):
recap of just how things went,the things that are already done
, folks.
Let's talk about those.
So last week, when we had thisepisode of the podcast, we were
getting ready to hit the road wewere talking about.
You know, when the episodedropped I'd be on the road
making things happen, headingsouth, and we kind of set the
scene for some of the struggles.
(04:00):
And we've been talking over thepast few weeks as life and
times into a small businessowner and what happens when
you're getting ready to hit theroad and packages go missing and
things don't show up and youjust keep putting one foot in
front of the other and you justkeep just thriving and driving,
fixated on the common goal theend result, pushing out all
worries and doubt.
(04:21):
That's how we do it right.
So, as I was giving you guysthat story and letting you know
this is what's going on and Imentioned to you I'm doing this
AM Szechuan recording and thenI'm going to have some time with
the baby and then I'm going toget in here and it's going to be
production time and I'm goingto make things work.
Well, that's what I set out todo.
I get in the office after a nicefull day with the baby, start
(04:44):
getting ready for that secondshift, right Second into third,
I guess you would say.
So I get in there to startworking, unpack my new design,
start pressing on it because Ipromised you guys I was doing
new designs for each event.
So I start to press a coupleshirts in.
I realize this don't look quiteright, okay.
So as I look at my design, Istart to think about the fact
(05:09):
that I had some communicationback and forth with my graphics
team over the design I createdand they thought I needed a
black outline around my designbecause some of the areas were
like too fine and thin for printand they would wash away or
just not show up.
So I okayed the outline, notrealizing that the outline meant
they were going to fill theentire design.
(05:31):
Now I know this might sound kindof confusing for some, but what
I'm trying to explain to you is, when I design an image for a
t-shirt, I'm trying to make itas wearable and breathable as
possible.
So I remove the color of thet-shirt from the design and I
remove the color of the t-shirtfrom the design and I let that
color of the t-shirt replace thecolor in the design.
That allows it to breathe, notfeel so heavy and it looks a
(05:52):
little more seamless and natural.
So this particular image wasgoing on a black t-shirt.
I removed all black from mydesign.
When they outlined it, they puteverything back into it.
So a full day of work getsreplaced with this outline,
which actually fills the entiredesign, which makes it one solid
print, which can be okay.
(06:13):
But the situation here is thaton a t-shirt that's just going
to be really heavy.
Maybe I could use this forsweatshirts in the future.
But also while doing this,there seemed to have been some
kind of mix-up in the graphicsthemselves.
Because when I make my design,I load it into a template from
my print company, then Idownload it and send that off.
That template somehow loweredthe image quality of my design.
(06:38):
So when my design arrived itwas blurrier than expected, way
heavier than I actually tend towork with, so it was a no bueno.
I pressed a few shirts before Irealized this just ain't right.
I had to follow up with myprint company.
They made it right on their endand said you know, I'll print
the project free of charge, getit back out to you, but it's not
(07:01):
going to make your deadline.
You're not going to be going to, you know, this event with this
design that you've been workingon with this event in mind.
So that's a real mood killerwhen you have been working on
something that you feel likethis design is going to work
everywhere as I go, but it'sreally going to work at you know
, these racing or car showinspired events, because we're
(07:22):
making our own Loud, proudAmerican racing t-shirt.
Now I couldn't afford thisproject going into the Osprey
Valley Fair, where I feel likeit would have sold really well,
would have fit that crowdperfectly.
So then I made the decision hey, I'm going to come out with my
Midnight Hammer t-shirt, atribute to the B2 Bomber mission
(07:42):
in Iran.
And I'm glad that I did,because it was my number one
seller at the Osprey Valley Fairand I told myself we're going
to bring this Loud, proudAmerican racing t-shirt to
Syracuse.
That's going to give me two newt-shirts for two events and I'm
just going to continue to kindof stack up on that momentum and
use it to our advantage.
I'm also putting a lot ofweight into this event working
(08:05):
and being tremendous for mebecause I'm kicking the can and
rolling the dice here.
So as I set the scene for yourealize that that design that I
had in mind for the first twoevents, there are these next two
events.
I couldn't afford it for thefirst event and it showed up
wrong for the second event.
So my intentions for two eventsis now, no bueno, not going to
(08:26):
happen.
The old me when I first startedthis business would have been
devastated.
I would have beat myself upover this, I would have let it
ruin my momentum and ruin my day.
And I have gotten better atpushing that out and realizing
that when you go into thesethings it's never going to be
perfect.
The image in your mind of whatyou're going to look like, what
(08:46):
you're going to be able to sell,what you're going to be able to
offer, is always going to begreater than reality.
The success of the event isoften greater than reality and
that was quite the case for thisweekend.
But in the past I would havelet this derail me.
But again I'm trying to focus onbeing a better me, being
present in the moment,responding to the things that I
(09:08):
can handle.
I can't handle that.
It's out of my control.
My company that makes those isin California and Atlanta.
They're not going to have ithere overnight for me to make it
to New York, it's just notgoing to happen.
So I put that project aside andI move on and I restock and
reload the items that I can thatI feel like will be successful.
(09:28):
The next frustrating layer tothis is the fact that I've come
to agreements, or I've come to arealization and understanding
that this design that I've hadthese intentions of using in
these two events isn't going tohappen.
But the trickle-down effect ofthis is that when I was at my
last event, I moved all thefunds I had possible from that
(09:49):
event into restocking for thisnew event in Syracuse.
I also used all the funds I hadto pay for this racing-inspired
t-shirt and design for this NewYork event.
So if you guys are followingalong here.
I couldn't afford it for oneevent.
I get to that event, I'm gonnamake it right for the next event
(10:09):
and I push all my eggs into thebasket and I order that new
design for the next event and itshows up wrong.
So that's a trickle down effect.
You come to the understandingand you embrace the fact that
it's not going with you.
But the trickle down, thepeeling of the onion, is well,
(10:30):
the finances, the funding thatyou could have used for this
event or for other bills orother finances or other
situations.
You've used it up, banking onhaving this design that you felt
would sell really well at thisevent, and now you don't have
that.
So you spent the money, you putthe money on the line for the
design, but you don't have thedesign to recoup the money.
That's the frustrating part.
But you can't dwell on thatbecause if you dwell on it,
(10:53):
you're going to swell on it.
If you dwell on the negative,you're going to swell like a big
negative fat tick and you'regoing to be sitting around just
feeling sorry for yourself.
So I had to pack up, push on,move on, press on.
You understand what I'm saying.
That's just what I had to do.
We dealt with a few more mishaps, some mechanical failures and
things.
But that's kind of a custom forme and my scenario.
(11:14):
But I worked into the latehours that night getting some
stuff done, getting ourproduction to a point where I
felt comfortable with it, andthen in the morning I had a
haircut and we got the babylocked and loaded and we hit the
road and I will say that LittleMiss Paisley did tremendous
(11:34):
both there and back on the ride.
That's another big challengefor us.
As I started off in thebeginning of the show, I said it
was a milestone weekend yetagain for Loud Proud American
because we are leaping out ofour comfort zone.
Earlier in the year I said itwas a milestone weekend yet
again for Loud Proud Americanbecause we are leaping out of
our comfort zone.
Earlier in the year we headedto Daytona, Florida.
This time around we're headingto Syracuse, new York, about a
six-hour ride away from home.
Nothing too crazy.
(11:56):
But when you sprinkle in alittle beautiful baby, things
can get crazy.
So when you have a 10-month-oldriding in a school bus, first
off I had to install a seat,mount a car seat, do all these
things just to make this tripwork.
And then you're taking thisjourney with her.
You can't travel as far and aslong as you would like to.
(12:17):
You're going by what the babysays is okay when she needs a
break.
You got to take a break.
Traditionally, when we stoppedfor gas, we would get her out
and kind of let her stretch andplay.
And you try to factor in onestop, traditionally around
halfway about that three-hourmark where she can come out and
play for 45 minutes or an hour,because it's just a long time to
(12:38):
be locked into a car seat.
So that's another challenge.
That's another reason why thiswas a milestone moment for us.
This was little Paisley'slongest trip.
This was our longest trip as afamily in the school bus.
So all these things that you'rekind of checking off the list.
When we hit the road, thingswere going beautiful.
The only downfall was it wasprobably pushing 100 degrees
(13:00):
outside and my air conditionercouldn't keep up with it.
No, no, you would have cool ACfor about 20 minutes and then
you would have hot AC aka mightas well be your heater for the
next 20 minutes.
So it would be a vicious cycleof turning the air on, getting
what you can, turning it off,dropping the windows, airing
(13:22):
things out.
The baby's sweating, we'resweating, we're miserable, we're
cranky.
We're dealing with traffic,we're dealing with the road.
We hit a section of road inMassachusetts which
traditionally shocker to all thepeople in Massachusetts.
I hate to disappoint, but Ihate driving through Yalestate.
Okay, I just really do.
And again this rang true for mebecause coming through, uh,
(13:46):
some construction in umMassachusetts on interstate 90,
I hit just a big section of roadthat wasn't there as some bumps
and whatever the hell you wouldcall it, and my entire shelf in
the back of the bus just gavein, just went kaputs.
I have basically a closet rodthat goes the entire length of
(14:08):
the bus basically holding all ofour merchandise, with some
shelvings above it holding moremerchandise, and there's five
metal shelf brackets on therethat decided they had had enough
.
They decided time to tap outthose folded clothes.
Everywhere, boxes flopping down.
Now every bump you hit,something else comes flying off
(14:29):
the shelf.
So Ali's trying to make surenothing's going to hit the baby.
You're dealing with that wholesituation.
So you have a 10 month oldtrying to deal with her.
You know, longest car ride.
By any means, you have really,really no air conditioning, it
is about 100 degrees out and youhave stuff and clothes and
things flying off the shelf theentire time.
(14:51):
That was the first leg of ourtour.
Right there?
Okay, sounds romantic andpeaceful.
Right, anybody would do it, amI right?
The great thing about this tripis we were going to see family
and friends and friends andfamily, so that made it all the
more worth it.
It made it make all the moresense and all the more special
(15:12):
we were arriving at our actuallyPaisley's godparents' place.
So, lance and Jen Barnes, thoseare Paisley's godparents, great
friends of ours, brothers andsisters of ours, those are
Paisley's godparents, greatfriends of ours, brothers and
sisters of ours, and we're goingto be spending the week there
with them and their hospitality,first and foremost, was above
and beyond.
(15:37):
And I just got to say before weeven get going here, because
there's a lot of shout-outs andthank yous I can give along the
way, but before I get anyfurther, I must throw down the
gauntlet, take off the velvetglove and issue, for the first
time in a long time, this week'sWinning Wednesday Weekly
Shoutout To Lance and Jen Barnesfor being the most incredible
(15:59):
hostesses you could ever imagine.
They were such good hostessesthat they're better than the
little hostesses.
Cakes, little dessert cakes youknow what I'm talking about.
It was incredible.
So not only do we have our ownroom, and the baby had her own
bed set up and everything wasgood to go and the baby had
snacks.
They just welcomed us with openarms.
There was dinner made, therewas all this stuff just ready
(16:23):
and set and above and beyondanybody's expectation.
And then they also give my wifethe keys to their brand new
Chevy Tahoe for us to drive backand forth every day.
They just made sure that everysingle aspect of this event was
as easy peasy as possible and asenjoyable as could be, and you
(16:43):
really can't ask for that.
You certainly can't expect that.
So, lance and Jen, y'allalready know we love you, but
you went above and beyond.
I'm not even sure the best waysto say thank you, but I'm just
going to take my Cabela'scatalog right here.
Let me grab it.
Can you hear it?
(17:03):
Oh, that's a heavy one thisweek.
Boys Must be some good deals inthere.
Left hand, beady little eyesplace them towards the sky Full
frontal confessional from thisguy.
I love y'all from the bottom ofmy heart.
I'm truly blessed that ourpaths have crossed and it has
(17:24):
emerged into family.
We've become family that willalways be there for each other
and I can't believe it.
But I can believe it.
It's the type of people thatyou are, but I'm just saying.
It still blows my mind.
But I thank you, I love you andI appreciate you.
None of this would have beenpossible without you.
The none of this would havebeen possible, that none of this
(17:47):
would have been so enjoyable,that none of this would have
been so successful.
Extends to everybody from NewYork the whole Syracuse crew
that embraced us, that helped us, that supported us.
Literally we roll into Lanceand Jen's house.
Kip is there waiting, we'rehaving a couple of beers and
then Kevin and Amy are overhaving drinks with us and
(18:08):
hanging out.
We're just making memories.
Little Paisley running aroundthe Lancerford Inn.
It was just incredible makingthese memories, uh time here and
just say that every single oneof them helped us in so many
ways every single day, soliterally during our setup.
(18:29):
We're having one of the worstsetups of our life.
Lance and Jen come out ofnowhere to save us during all of
the each and every day of theevent.
Somebody, sometimes, some waycame over in their own special
way, checked in, hung out,purchased something, shared
(18:49):
stories, shared memories.
It was incredible.
So I'm so thankful foreverybody.
And then, as I mentioned on theway there, I didn't have air
conditioning.
We had AC on the way homebecause Kip showed up on the
last day of the event andrecharged our AC before we hit
the road.
At the end of the event,everybody, so many of them stuck
(19:09):
around, hung around just topack us up, to get us home Lance
and Jen, kip and Shelly, kevinand Amy they all just formed an
assembly line and it was thequickest, smoothest pack up
process we have ever had.
It was incredible and that'snot everybody the people that we
were able to spend time withMikey and Kim Brown, you know
(19:31):
Frank coming over and hangingout and bringing some freaking
cello with them, and spendingtime with Allie and her baby
Carter, like you know, lance'skids with his grandkids, bo,
like everybody about it, man,everything about it was just
tremendous the just family, thewelcomeness, the embracement.
(19:51):
I don't even think that's aword, but I'm just full of
excitement.
I literally could record themost boring episode of a podcast
ever it's anybody that wasn'tthere by standing here and
listening all the ways.
I say thank you and Iappreciate you, but I'm going to
save those of you that weren'tthere from the trouble of
hearing me just wallow ingratefulness.
(20:12):
But each and every one of you,please know you made a special
impact on us.
We are blessed to have you inour lives.
Thank you, thank you.
Thank you, gut check.
Thank you, thank you, gut check.
Loud Proud American is alifestyle brand, dedicated and
(20:33):
determined to represent theAmerican spirit, with an
unrelenting commitment toprovide made-in-the-USA products
.
If you would like to join the2% of Americans that buy
American and support American,head on over to
wwwlalproudamericanshop.
(20:54):
Together we can bring backAmerican manufacturing.
Now, when I was just swimming ingratitude back there, you did
hear me say that our setup wasone of the worst setup days
we've ever had.
I was so encouraged aboutsetting up because I was like
(21:16):
man, this is going to be asmaller setup, I can crush this
out, no issues.
Bada, bing, bada, boom.
Coolest guy in the room Me andthe wifey going to crush this.
Make this happen.
We got a full day to set up.
I'm not worried about it.
He, he, he, he, he, he, he.
Way to jinx yourself, partner.
Here's the thing.
First off, imagine all yourstorage, all your organization
(21:39):
and all your preparedness goesaway on Interstate 90 on the way
in.
Sharedness goes away oninterstate 90 on the way in,
because when all of our stufffell all over the place.
It makes the setup a lot moredifficult because things are
everywhere, they're mixed ineverywhere items you need you're
finding in totes and randomspots on the floor, right like
where's the hardware for this,where's that?
(22:01):
I don't know.
Dig a hole and find out.
You have that part of it.
The next part of it is, as weopen the tent up, the wind.
The Santa Ana winds that camethrough this parking lot was no
joke.
I spent more time holding ontomy tent praying that it wouldn't
fly off than I did actuallysetting up.
It was so bad.
(22:23):
At one point we're in the tent,allie's standing on weights
holding the tent down becauseshe can't reach the top.
(22:44):
I'm to send a message over toLance and Jen and say I am
completely effed right now.
They came over with about 300pounds of weight and helped hold
the tent down and I was able toget back to setting up.
But I'm just going to telly'all it was the wildest setup I
have ever dealt with.
It was crazy.
So what would have taken us anhour or so took us a full day
(23:06):
and then you have a baby beingcranky, being stressed.
Man, it was a lot.
Y'all it was a lot.
Where was that cool breeze andwind the day before when I was
on the interstate for sevenhours without an air conditioner
?
God, anyways, we made itthrough, got everything all
squared away.
(23:26):
We go back to the Lancer for endfor the evening and Lance and
the boys were planning ongetting up super early and
bringing their hot rods, theirmuscle cars, their awesomeness,
to Syracuse Nationals, gettingin line early to get their
favorite spot.
That required getting up at man, I want to say 1.50 in the
(23:49):
morning.
Let me check.
Yep, pull up my alarm 1.50.
1.50 am and I said I'm a guesthere.
Y'all welcomed me here.
This is my first time here forNationals.
I should be a part of the wholeexperience.
First time here for nationals,I should be a part of the whole
(24:11):
experience.
I volunteer myself to get upwith Lance, jump in the hot rod,
jump into that Chevy pickup andhit the road.
So I got up at 1.50 in themorning, got myself all together
, went downstairs, got me acoffee, jumped in the truck and
we hit the road.
I'm trying to think I think itwas a little bit before 3 am
when we rolled into the gatesand got ourselves in line and
(24:32):
they supposedly don't open thegate until 6 am, but they let us
in a little bit earlier.
I think it was like 5.30 in themorning.
But sitting in the truckwatching the sun come up,
waiting for the gates to open,it was a pretty cool experience.
I was honored to be a part ofit, to be a part of the group
and being out there doing thosethings.
I didn't want to go there andmiss out on that.
I can't say I'd do it again,but I'm thankful to say that I
(24:56):
did it.
So we get in, they get to theirspot, they get set up and I
don't have to open until.
I want to say 8 am, yes, 8 am.
I don't have to be open until 8.
And I'm already inside thestadium at 5.30 in the morning.
So I just do the finishingtouches on all of our display.
Go around, get some breakfast.
(25:17):
I'm feeling incredible aboutour display.
I think it looks great, theentire feel of everything.
I'm just feeling positive.
When we rolled into this placefor the first time, it was
incredible.
It is so massive, I don't know.
It's like three, 400 acres, allthe separate gates.
Then you go to this this bigold um carnival tent to check in
(25:39):
and a guy in a golf cart bringsyou to your spot.
The level of security and themassive size of the place.
I truly felt like I was at anNFL game, like I was checking in
to be a vendor at an NFLstadium.
That's how crazy it was.
When they brought us to ourspot, I felt like it was a great
spot.
I was out in front of the expobuilding and I was inside.
(26:01):
You go past the first lane, yougo inside and to the right I
was one of the first few vendors.
Usually that's a pretty goodhotspot.
I was kind of confused when Iwas setting up because there was
no real vendor setting uparound me and I was like, man,
this thing opens tomorrow.
Why is there really nobodysetting up around me?
I would later find out thatthat clue should have been the
(26:23):
dead giveaway to let me knowthere really isn't going to be
anybody around me.
So as things opened up onopening day, I quickly noticed
that we weren't going to get thetraffic that we thought, and as
the week progressed or theweekend progressed, I should say
, we came to realize that thiswas an anniversary year for the
Syracuse Nationals.
This was an anniversary yearfor the Syracuse Nationals and
(26:45):
the area that I'm in doesn'ttraditionally house vendors, so
I'm kind of a ways away from thetraffic, at least the traffic
of people that would be spendingmoney not just there to look at
vehicles, right, so, not aprime spot, but I'm still
encouraged.
By noontime on opening day I hadan awesome number for a
(27:07):
pre-lunch number and I thoughtwe were going to crush it.
But after lunch until closingtime I never really gained
anything.
It didn't pick up for us.
We usually get a great deal ofsales at night, but literally by
like 6 o'clock everything'sclosed.
People are getting kicked outand that window where we
(27:29):
normally make money which, liketypically when I go somewhere
it's between 5 pm and 10 pm iswhen we really start to make it
rain.
Well, I didn't have thatopportunity because they were
closed.
So we closed up and went outand spent some time with
everybody and we actuallycelebrated.
Lance and Jen's 10 spent sometime with everybody and um, we
actually celebrated lance andjen's 10-year anniversary with
them at dinner, paisley coloredfor the first time.
(27:51):
So we put some, some milestonememories on the table there.
Saturday, we got up and andreally just fully expecting to
absolutely crush the day, butknowing what we were up against
as far as our location, we wentin and we made the best of it,
but in no way, shape or form,did we attain the numbers we
expected.
(28:11):
As you guys know, for me, I gointo every event with an
absolute must have, need to makenumber, to break even.
Then I have a.
You know, this is where weshould at least be.
This is where we need to be.
This is where I'd like to be.
This is where we need to be.
This is where I'd like to be.
We have all these goalsstructured out.
I have the home run this isamazing and I have the
(28:32):
satisfaction number.
Neither one of those wereattainable for us and there was
some time in the day when I wasrather discouraged about it, but
I did the best I could toremain positive.
And everybody, the whole familyfrom New York, they kept coming
in and supporting us, buyingthings from us, probably just
because they felt bad for us,but they were pushing and
(28:53):
shoving and asking everybody tocome in and buy from us.
They were out there promotingus to the best they possibly
could, but we were just upagainst it.
Man, it's not anything that wedid, we just found ourselves in
a tough spot.
But that's the nature of what Ido.
That's what happens when you dothings for the first time.
When you're the new guys on theblock.
You can't make demands.
(29:13):
You are just fortunate to bethere and I know that, based off
of our location, I'm also veryfortunate to have done the
numbers that we did.
We made money, thanks toeverybody that cares about us
and supports us.
And we did.
We made money, thanks toeverybody that cares about us
and supports us and promotes us.
We made money.
We didn't lose money.
There was people next to usthat didn't pay their rent.
So I know the struggle thatgoes into this, especially when
(29:38):
it's a year one vendor.
I am encouraged and stoked andeager to go back, but I will ask
for a better spot when I goback.
When you were trying to get intoan event for the first time and
if you guys have been listeningfor all these weeks, you've
heard me say.
I have this list of events thatI'm really trying to do, but I
can't hear back from any of themand I was pulling all the
(30:00):
strings and connections possibleto get into this actual event.
So by doing that, the oldsaying rings true beggars can't
be choosers, you just need toget your foot in the door.
Sometimes the cost of entry toget your foot in the door is six
hours away.
It is what it is.
I drove way further to Floridato do the same thing.
You just need to get your footin the door.
(30:20):
And as tough as it's made it onmy business, when I'm looking at
things, our net number is up,we're having the best sales year
we've ever had, but we're notfeeling it because we're
sacrificing more to get it.
We're putting out more of arisk, we're taking more
challenges and we're extendingour risks by just adding more
(30:41):
dollars to the bottom line.
So it's a catch 22,.
Right, you're looking at thingsand you're realizing our sales
are up, our finances are down,we don't have nearly as much in
the bank account as we normallywould, we're running on the red
and basically all avenues of ourbusiness, but our sales are up.
(31:03):
It's a real catch-22.
You can't beat yourself upbecause you know that things are
up, but you also realize, man,I've never been at the end of
July and couldn't afford to payrent at my next events.
This has been an incrediblychallenging year.
We are going to set a recordfor sales this year for our
(31:27):
business, I guarantee it.
I'm just hopeful by the time Iset that record we can actually
see daylight, that we put ourbusiness back in the green, or
back in the black, as I shouldsay, because right now it just
ain't there.
But I continue to take chances.
I continue to take risksbecause I'm confirmed in my
(31:47):
beliefs that this will work.
I was having a conversationtoday with one of my best
friends and I just had thisepiphany and I don't know why it
took me this long to have this.
But as I'm having theconversation with him and I'm
telling him the situation and Isaid, you know what I've,
literally since I've been inthis business, realized every
(32:09):
year that you do something forthe first time is the worst time
you're going to do thatsomething, whatever it is,
because you're always going tohave the worst, the shittiest,
the worst location possibleright, the least amount of
traffic and the least amount ofvisibility.
So I said to him I'm doing alot of things for the first time
(32:32):
, but I got to remember that'llbe the worst time, because your
first is always your worst andI've put a lot of stake and
dependency on some of theseevents hitting massively, but
they're all in their first time.
Sometimes you're going to getlucky and one of these days one
of those first time events isreally going to pan out for me.
It's going to pay off for meand it's going to reset the
calendar for me.
(32:52):
But until then I have to justkeep treading water.
I have to just keep fightingfor what it is that I want, for
what it is that I know that isthere for me.
This weekend was yet more proofas to why I want to continue on
this journey, because I made somany amazing memories with my
beautiful baby girl and mybeautiful wife.
(33:13):
None of those things would havebeen possible if it wasn't for
Loud, proud, american and thechances and the risks that we
take.
Without doing those things, thestories, the memories, the
moments from this weekend, theywouldn't exist.
So I know I need to continue onthis road because those
memories and those moments,they're only going to multiply.
(33:34):
I just need to keep my foot onthe gas and keep hammering down.
You understand, a lot of peoplewould come out of this weekend
that I just had and they wouldfeel discouraged, they would
start losing motivation.
That's not me, that's not us.
I'm feeling encouraged.
There was a time during the dayon Saturday when I just wasn't
(33:54):
making any money and I went fora walk and I turned the corner
and all I saw was a sea ofpeople.
I saw literally 10,000 people,probably 15, 20 wide, just
walking down an aisle away and Isaid to myself self, if you
were right here, you would bedoubling, tripling, quadrupling
your money, right friggin'.
(34:16):
Now I'm going to tell you it isa humbling and difficult
experience to be sitting in yourtent talking to one person
every freaking half an hour,when you know there's tens of
thousands of people, literallyjust a couple hundred odds away
from you, but you can't see themand they can't see you.
(34:36):
That, folks is a humbling,difficult task to endure, but
you need to keep tellingyourself if you stay resilient
and you stay steadfast andfocused on your dreams and your
goals and your aspirations andyou make demands next year and
you come back next year.
You will be a piece of thataction and you will crush it.
(34:59):
I found an event.
We found an event that will bean incredible success for Loud
Proud American next year.
We just had to get our foot inthe door and pay the price of
admission, which just happenedto be our rent, and 14, 15 hours
in the bus.
(35:19):
That's it.
You have to look at it that way, but along with feeling
encouraged.
That's it, you have to look atit that way.
But along with feelingencouraged, I had to find a
positive.
I had to walk around and takeadvantage of the slowness.
I had to take advantage of thesituation and seek motivation
and I set my eyes on a new goalfor our business while I was
(35:40):
there because I found anothervendor selling merchandise.
I was there because I foundanother vendor selling
merchandise, selling apparel,that had an old souvenir trailer
from basically like a NASCARtrack, and traditionally, when I
think of those trailers,they're much larger and they're
hauled by a semi like a tractortrailer truck, but this one
could be hauled by probably a2500 pickup and I looked at it
(36:07):
and I realized this could openup all new avenues for me.
I could go to events that areone day events when I just open
the freaking trailer door up.
I could maximize so much withsomething like this and I could
build it and make it lookprofessional and make it grab
people's attention At some ofthese big fairs that I do.
I might not bring that trailer,I might just want to run my
tents because I can have moreproduct in there, or maybe I
(36:28):
want to run that traileralongside some of my tents to
gain visibility.
I'm not sure.
But I set my sights and mysails on affording one of those
trailers for our business.
That will raise the image, thatwill provide credence and value
to our brand, that will take usto new customers, to new places
(36:49):
and elevate our presentation.
I went into something thatshould have totally demotivated
me and in fact I found a way tolet it motivate me.
That's the secret sauce for anysmall business owner me.
That's the secret sauce for anysmall business owner.
(37:09):
That's the secret sauce foranybody that wants to live the
life they want to live.
Tough times come, but toughtimes pass.
They do not stay.
This too shall pass, I know ifI keep applying and I keep
trying and I keep pushing and Icontinue to not be denied.
This will happen.
I know it to be true.
(37:29):
So much so that today, beforerecording this podcast, I picked
up that phone yet again and Ireached out one more time to a
place I've never been.
I put it all on the line, soldmyself, pitched my product, and
I will be waiting to announce toyou yet another event in the
(37:51):
near future for Loud ProudAmerican at a place we've never
been, at an event we've nevertried.
I told myself at the beginningof the year that this needed to
be one of the most uncomfortableyears of my life.
I needed to put myself outthere in more ways than I ever
have.
I need to try new things toreach for all the big things I
(38:15):
knew if I came home from thisevent and I just sat back down
and felt sorry for myself, if Ibegan to dwell and swell and
become that fat ass tick sittingon the couch eating Fritos,
then this would fail.
I would lose momentum.
I would let the hard days winand the hard days shall not win.
(38:36):
I will not dwell and swell.
I will pack up, press on andmove on.
I took another chance, I madeanother sacrifice and I signed
another commitment.
Stay tuned for details onanother event and another
challenge for Loud ProudAmerican.
We are going to go more placesand do more things that we've
(38:57):
never done before in the historyof this business.
Right now, this year for thisbusiness, I'm steadfast, hell
bent and determined on success.
This will happen.
This year will be a success andwhen y'all find out some of the
(39:18):
things the wife and I areworking on in the background,
some of the things that willcome true, that we will revere
to you in the future, it'll blowyour mind to say that boy, boy,
I'll tell you what.
Him and his lady.
They a bit crazy, okay, they abit crazy.
They.
They might be sniffing thecatnip.
Them too, okay.
(39:39):
Those whiskers and friskers,they, they.
They be out to lunch, to lunch,okay, I don't know about them,
but we know about us.
There's big things for us.
There's big things that aremeant for us.
We keep stacking up obstaclesand chopping them down.
This year is, hands down, themost difficult business year of
(40:01):
my life.
It is making the most difficultfinancial year of my life, but
at the end of it I am committedto make it the greatest and most
beneficial of my life, becauseI continue to apply and I
continue to try, and it will payoff, like I've been saying over
(40:23):
the past few weeks.
Pay off, like I've been sayingover the past few weeks.
I take these struggles and Igive them to God, and I know
that my heart is in the rightplace.
I have the best of intentionsand the best of reasons, and
this will come true for me, justlike it can come true for you
too.
Don't give up on your dreams,no matter how big or how small.
(40:44):
You deserve them all.
With all that said, I came homefrom a tremendous weekend with
friends and family and veryquickly was welcomed back to
nonsense and ridiculousness fromfamily that I shouldn't give
(41:04):
any time to.
Yet again, here I am justdelivered a big ball of
negativity, a big ball ofridiculousness, another case of
nonsense.
I shouldn't be surprised by it.
There's a track record of it.
(41:25):
There's a long-term, long-timehistory of it and, as you learn
in life, history has a tendencyof repeating itself.
You should not be surprised bysomeone's immaturity when they
have a history of immaturity.
I had to fight all urges andtendencies to come on here and
express to the world how I feeland how ridiculous a situation
(41:49):
is, how immature certain peopleare.
But I'm not going to give anymore of my time to a situation.
I'm not going to waste myenergy, my positivity, on a
negative situation, on anegative individual.
I'm not going to do it.
Not for me.
(42:09):
Not doing it, I refused todwell and swell.
I'm shining in positivity.
I only say this, I only sharethis, to highlight this for you.
When you are focused on yourgoals, when you have the best of
intentions for you and yourfamily and you're focused on
(42:30):
your direction, don't let anydistraction derail you from your
direction.
Don't let any negativity fromthe sidelines take you from the
game.
You understand what I'm saying.
There's going to be times,there's going to be people,
there's going to be situations,there's going to be these things
that come to you, that come atyou, that try to derail you,
(42:50):
that try to take you from whereyou are headed.
That is the devil on your back.
That distraction is not for you.
You are better than this.
You are greater than this.
You don't have time for this.
So for me and my situations inmy life, I'm focused on my
business.
I'm focused on my family.
I'm focused on our goals.
I truly promise you when yousee big things for you.
(43:13):
There will be people close toyou that will try to derail you.
There will be people close toyou that will try to pull you
down, that'll try to keep youdown.
There will be people close toyou that will distract you,
that'll throw hate at you,that'll pour negativity on you.
You don't have time for them.
Keep on moving away from them.
Let them do them.
(43:34):
Let them figure themselves outand grow up and figure it out.
If they don't want a life ofshine, then leave them behind.
You are going to be too damnbusy and too damn determined
working on yourself and yourgoals to drag somebody else
along with you.
Keep it on, move it along.
You understand what I'm saying.
When you start to have a littlechecklist in life that says
(43:56):
every time I interact with thisperson, I feel a negative way.
Anytime I have to listen tothis person, I feel this way.
Anytime I hear from this person, I get angry about this person.
Leave that person, no matterwho that person is.
You understand what I'm saying.
We talk about this week to weekafter week after week, and I
(44:18):
keep telling you I will continueto cut negativity and my wife
will continue to cut negativityand my mother will cut
negativity.
We my wife will continue to cutnegativity and my mother will
cut negativity.
We've been doing it our wholelives and when you do cut
negativity, you will find biggerand better and more beautiful
on the other side of negativityfor you.
But I continue to repeat andre-say these things to you
because they will always comeback to you Every time you find
(44:41):
a challenge or an obstacle.
Sometimes you succeed andnegativity punches you in the
blinkers.
Sometimes you fail a little bitand you're feeling down or
you're feeling in your feels alittle bit and negativity will
come back to you.
I repeat this to you becauseit'll always come for you.
But I say this to you becausethis is not the life for you you
are built for.
You are destined for bigger andbetter.
(45:03):
Leave the bullshit in the past.
That is my ending rant for theweek.
We had ourselves a littleSyracuse recap.
We had some milestone moments.
We had some setbacks.
We overcame them.
We came out of it positive,checking off milestones, named
(45:25):
them.
We came out of it positive,checking off milestones, setting
more goals, taking more risks.
We dealt with negativity and weflushed that shit out.
That, boys and girls, is awell-rounded episode of Share
the Struggle Podcast.
So thank you, thank you.
(45:45):
Thank you to each and every oneof you supporting our American
dream.
Now go wash your hands andthey'll be savage.
That's it and that's all,biggie Smalls.
(46:09):
If you're a loud, proud Americanand you find yourself just
wanting more, find me on YouTubeand Facebook at Loud, proud
American, or the Face page, asmy mama calls it.
If you're a fan of the GrahamCracker, you want to find me on
Instagram.
Or all the kids aretickety-talking on the, you want
to find me on Instagram.
Or all the kids at TicketyTalkin' on the TikTok, you can
find me on both of those, atloud, underscore, proud,
(46:33):
underscore, american.
A big old thank you to the boysfrom the Gut Truckers for the
background beats and the themesong to this year's podcast.
If you are enjoying what you'rehearing, you can track down the
(46:54):
Gut Truckers on Facebook.
Just search Gut Truckers.
Give them motherfuckers, a liketoo.
I hate to say, but make itbleed, I hate to say, but I told
(47:19):
you so.
I truly thank you forsupporting my American dream.
Now go wash your fucking hands,you filthy, savage.
And just like that, another milestone weekend is in
the books for Loud ProudAmerican.
So today, on Share the StrugglePodcast, we are going to recap
the weekend that was as we setour destination on Syracuse, new
York, home of the SyracuseNationals and, more importantly,
home to some of our favoritepeople on earth.
(00:24):
That and so much more.
On this week's episode of Sharethe Struggle Podcast, let me
tell you something Everybodystruggles.
The difference is some peoplechoose to go through it and some
choose to grow through it.
The choice is completely yours.
Which one you choose will havea very profound effect on the
(00:46):
way you live your life.
If you find strength in thestruggle, then this podcast is
for you.
If you have a relationship thatis comfortable with
uncomfortable conversations.
Uncomfortable conversationschallenge you, humble you and
(01:06):
they build you.
When you sprinkle a little timeand distance on it, it all
makes sense.
Most disagreements, they stemfrom our own insecurities.
You are right where you need tobe Back on time.
We can fight for our dreams.
(01:27):
We hope they come from behind.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
What it do, what it ha Did itdo.
Good Lord, almighty, am I soexcited to be back with you?
Oh, it's true, it is damn true.
(01:51):
I do believe this is episode 263.
That is 263 consecutive weeksof you and me.
That's right.
Boys and girls, chipmunks andsquirrels here we are yet again
reunited and it feels so good.
I think I'm just starting tocome back into my groove.
(02:13):
I'm just starting to feelnormal again after a jam-packed
weekend and a long ride home.
I think I'm finally starting tosettle back into the routine
and get back to life.
And I say that at 7 o'clock pmon a Tuesday night when I got
home Sunday night, so you couldchalk up day one as a loss okay,
(02:36):
of being home, but actually nota total loss.
I mowed the lawn all damn day.
Still have more yard work to do, but it's tough, man, when you
leave and you're all over theplace like we are.
When you get home, your outdoorprojects are staggering.
I spent all day mowing the lawn.
Still have a bunch more to dobecause that thing turned into a
hayfield when I was gone.
And, above and beyond that,while you're on the mower riding
(02:57):
around, you're looking at allthe other things that you
haven't done, that you need todo, that are just sitting around
waiting on you.
That's another downfall, rightthere, folks, full frontal,
confessional downfall of a smallbusiness owner.
The moment you're home, youstart realizing all the things
that you should be doing thatyou just haven't done.
(03:18):
That honey-do list is gotchapters in it okay, chapter 6,
revision 7, line 14, that wholedeal.
It's getting aggressive,getting aggressive.
But y'all ain't here waiting onme to do things that need to be
done.
You are here, dialed in,listening to hear and learn the
(03:39):
recap of just how things went,the things that are already done
, folks.
Let's talk about those.
So last week, when we had thisepisode of the podcast, we were
getting ready to hit the road wewere talking about.
You know, when the episodedropped I'd be on the road
making things happen, headingsouth, and we kind of set the
scene for some of the struggles.
(04:00):
And we've been talking over thepast few weeks as life and
times into a small businessowner and what happens when
you're getting ready to hit theroad and packages go missing and
things don't show up and youjust keep putting one foot in
front of the other and you justkeep just thriving and driving,
fixated on the common goal theend result, pushing out all
worries and doubt.
(04:21):
That's how we do it right.
So, as I was giving you guysthat story and letting you know
this is what's going on and Imentioned to you I'm doing this
AM Szechuan recording and thenI'm going to have some time with
the baby and then I'm going toget in here and it's going to be
production time and I'm goingto make things work.
Well, that's what I set out todo.
I get in the office after a nicefull day with the baby, start
(04:44):
getting ready for that secondshift, right Second into third,
I guess you would say.
So I get in there to startworking, unpack my new design,
start pressing on it because Ipromised you guys I was doing
new designs for each event.
So I start to press a coupleshirts in.
I realize this don't look quiteright, okay.
So as I look at my design, Istart to think about the fact
(05:09):
that I had some communicationback and forth with my graphics
team over the design I createdand they thought I needed a
black outline around my designbecause some of the areas were
like too fine and thin for printand they would wash away or
just not show up.
So I okayed the outline, notrealizing that the outline meant
they were going to fill theentire design.
(05:31):
Now I know this might sound kindof confusing for some, but what
I'm trying to explain to you is, when I design an image for a
t-shirt, I'm trying to make itas wearable and breathable as
possible.
So I remove the color of thet-shirt from the design and I
remove the color of the t-shirtfrom the design and I let that
color of the t-shirt replace thecolor in the design.
That allows it to breathe, notfeel so heavy and it looks a
(05:52):
little more seamless and natural.
So this particular image wasgoing on a black t-shirt.
I removed all black from mydesign.
When they outlined it, they puteverything back into it.
So a full day of work getsreplaced with this outline,
which actually fills the entiredesign, which makes it one solid
print, which can be okay.
(06:13):
But the situation here is thaton a t-shirt that's just going
to be really heavy.
Maybe I could use this forsweatshirts in the future.
But also while doing this,there seemed to have been some
kind of mix-up in the graphicsthemselves.
Because when I make my design,I load it into a template from
my print company, then Idownload it and send that off.
That template somehow loweredthe image quality of my design.
(06:38):
So when my design arrived itwas blurrier than expected, way
heavier than I actually tend towork with, so it was a no bueno.
I pressed a few shirts before Irealized this just ain't right.
I had to follow up with myprint company.
They made it right on their endand said you know, I'll print
the project free of charge, getit back out to you, but it's not
(07:01):
going to make your deadline.
You're not going to be going to, you know, this event with this
design that you've been workingon with this event in mind.
So that's a real mood killerwhen you have been working on
something that you feel likethis design is going to work
everywhere as I go, but it'sreally going to work at you know
, these racing or car showinspired events, because we're
(07:22):
making our own Loud, proudAmerican racing t-shirt.
Now I couldn't afford thisproject going into the Osprey
Valley Fair, where I feel likeit would have sold really well,
would have fit that crowdperfectly.
So then I made the decision hey, I'm going to come out with my
Midnight Hammer t-shirt, atribute to the B2 Bomber mission
(07:42):
in Iran.
And I'm glad that I did,because it was my number one
seller at the Osprey Valley Fairand I told myself we're going
to bring this Loud, proudAmerican racing t-shirt to
Syracuse.
That's going to give me two newt-shirts for two events and I'm
just going to continue to kindof stack up on that momentum and
use it to our advantage.
I'm also putting a lot ofweight into this event working
(08:05):
and being tremendous for mebecause I'm kicking the can and
rolling the dice here.
So as I set the scene for yourealize that that design that I
had in mind for the first twoevents, there are these next two
events.
I couldn't afford it for thefirst event and it showed up
wrong for the second event.
So my intentions for two eventsis now, no bueno, not going to
(08:26):
happen.
The old me when I first startedthis business would have been
devastated.
I would have beat myself upover this, I would have let it
ruin my momentum and ruin my day.
And I have gotten better atpushing that out and realizing
that when you go into thesethings it's never going to be
perfect.
The image in your mind of whatyou're going to look like, what
(08:46):
you're going to be able to sell,what you're going to be able to
offer, is always going to begreater than reality.
The success of the event isoften greater than reality and
that was quite the case for thisweekend.
But in the past I would havelet this derail me.
But again I'm trying to focus onbeing a better me, being
present in the moment,responding to the things that I
(09:08):
can handle.
I can't handle that.
It's out of my control.
My company that makes those isin California and Atlanta.
They're not going to have ithere overnight for me to make it
to New York, it's just notgoing to happen.
So I put that project aside andI move on and I restock and
reload the items that I can thatI feel like will be successful.
(09:28):
The next frustrating layer tothis is the fact that I've come
to agreements, or I've come to arealization and understanding
that this design that I've hadthese intentions of using in
these two events isn't going tohappen.
But the trickle-down effect ofthis is that when I was at my
last event, I moved all thefunds I had possible from that
(09:49):
event into restocking for thisnew event in Syracuse.
I also used all the funds I hadto pay for this racing-inspired
t-shirt and design for this NewYork event.
So if you guys are followingalong here.
I couldn't afford it for oneevent.
I get to that event, I'm gonnamake it right for the next event
(10:09):
and I push all my eggs into thebasket and I order that new
design for the next event and itshows up wrong.
So that's a trickle down effect.
You come to the understandingand you embrace the fact that
it's not going with you.
But the trickle down, thepeeling of the onion, is well,
(10:30):
the finances, the funding thatyou could have used for this
event or for other bills orother finances or other
situations.
You've used it up, banking onhaving this design that you felt
would sell really well at thisevent, and now you don't have
that.
So you spent the money, you putthe money on the line for the
design, but you don't have thedesign to recoup the money.
That's the frustrating part.
But you can't dwell on thatbecause if you dwell on it,
(10:53):
you're going to swell on it.
If you dwell on the negative,you're going to swell like a big
negative fat tick and you'regoing to be sitting around just
feeling sorry for yourself.
So I had to pack up, push on,move on, press on.
You understand what I'm saying.
That's just what I had to do.
We dealt with a few more mishaps, some mechanical failures and
things.
But that's kind of a custom forme and my scenario.
(11:14):
But I worked into the latehours that night getting some
stuff done, getting ourproduction to a point where I
felt comfortable with it, andthen in the morning I had a
haircut and we got the babylocked and loaded and we hit the
road and I will say that LittleMiss Paisley did tremendous
(11:34):
both there and back on the ride.
That's another big challengefor us.
As I started off in thebeginning of the show, I said it
was a milestone weekend yetagain for Loud Proud American
because we are leaping out ofour comfort zone.
Earlier in the year I said itwas a milestone weekend yet
again for Loud Proud Americanbecause we are leaping out of
our comfort zone.
Earlier in the year we headedto Daytona, Florida.
This time around we're headingto Syracuse, new York, about a
six-hour ride away from home.
Nothing too crazy.
(11:56):
But when you sprinkle in alittle beautiful baby, things
can get crazy.
So when you have a 10-month-oldriding in a school bus, first
off I had to install a seat,mount a car seat, do all these
things just to make this tripwork.
And then you're taking thisjourney with her.
You can't travel as far and aslong as you would like to.
(12:17):
You're going by what the babysays is okay when she needs a
break.
You got to take a break.
Traditionally, when we stoppedfor gas, we would get her out
and kind of let her stretch andplay.
And you try to factor in onestop, traditionally around
halfway about that three-hourmark where she can come out and
play for 45 minutes or an hour,because it's just a long time to
(12:38):
be locked into a car seat.
So that's another challenge.
That's another reason why thiswas a milestone moment for us.
This was little Paisley'slongest trip.
This was our longest trip as afamily in the school bus.
So all these things that you'rekind of checking off the list.
When we hit the road, thingswere going beautiful.
The only downfall was it wasprobably pushing 100 degrees
(13:00):
outside and my air conditionercouldn't keep up with it.
No, no, you would have cool ACfor about 20 minutes and then
you would have hot AC aka mightas well be your heater for the
next 20 minutes.
So it would be a vicious cycleof turning the air on, getting
what you can, turning it off,dropping the windows, airing
(13:22):
things out.
The baby's sweating, we'resweating, we're miserable, we're
cranky.
We're dealing with traffic,we're dealing with the road.
We hit a section of road inMassachusetts which
traditionally shocker to all thepeople in Massachusetts.
I hate to disappoint, but Ihate driving through Yalestate.
Okay, I just really do.
And again this rang true for mebecause coming through, uh,
(13:46):
some construction in umMassachusetts on interstate 90,
I hit just a big section of roadthat wasn't there as some bumps
and whatever the hell you wouldcall it, and my entire shelf in
the back of the bus just gavein, just went kaputs.
I have basically a closet rodthat goes the entire length of
(14:08):
the bus basically holding all ofour merchandise, with some
shelvings above it holding moremerchandise, and there's five
metal shelf brackets on therethat decided they had had enough
.
They decided time to tap outthose folded clothes.
Everywhere, boxes flopping down.
Now every bump you hit,something else comes flying off
(14:29):
the shelf.
So Ali's trying to make surenothing's going to hit the baby.
You're dealing with that wholesituation.
So you have a 10 month oldtrying to deal with her.
You know, longest car ride.
By any means, you have really,really no air conditioning, it
is about 100 degrees out and youhave stuff and clothes and
things flying off the shelf theentire time.
(14:51):
That was the first leg of ourtour.
Right there?
Okay, sounds romantic andpeaceful.
Right, anybody would do it, amI right?
The great thing about this tripis we were going to see family
and friends and friends andfamily, so that made it all the
more worth it.
It made it make all the moresense and all the more special
(15:12):
we were arriving at our actuallyPaisley's godparents' place.
So, lance and Jen Barnes, thoseare Paisley's godparents, great
friends of ours, brothers andsisters of ours, those are
Paisley's godparents, greatfriends of ours, brothers and
sisters of ours, and we're goingto be spending the week there
with them and their hospitality,first and foremost, was above
and beyond.
(15:37):
And I just got to say before weeven get going here, because
there's a lot of shout-outs andthank yous I can give along the
way, but before I get anyfurther, I must throw down the
gauntlet, take off the velvetglove and issue, for the first
time in a long time, this week'sWinning Wednesday Weekly
Shoutout To Lance and Jen Barnesfor being the most incredible
(15:59):
hostesses you could ever imagine.
They were such good hostessesthat they're better than the
little hostesses.
Cakes, little dessert cakes youknow what I'm talking about.
It was incredible.
So not only do we have our ownroom, and the baby had her own
bed set up and everything wasgood to go and the baby had
snacks.
They just welcomed us with openarms.
There was dinner made, therewas all this stuff just ready
(16:23):
and set and above and beyondanybody's expectation.
And then they also give my wifethe keys to their brand new
Chevy Tahoe for us to drive backand forth every day.
They just made sure that everysingle aspect of this event was
as easy peasy as possible and asenjoyable as could be, and you
(16:43):
really can't ask for that.
You certainly can't expect that.
So, lance and Jen, y'allalready know we love you, but
you went above and beyond.
I'm not even sure the best waysto say thank you, but I'm just
going to take my Cabela'scatalog right here.
Let me grab it.
Can you hear it?
(17:03):
Oh, that's a heavy one thisweek.
Boys Must be some good deals inthere.
Left hand, beady little eyesplace them towards the sky Full
frontal confessional from thisguy.
I love y'all from the bottom ofmy heart.
I'm truly blessed that ourpaths have crossed and it has
(17:24):
emerged into family.
We've become family that willalways be there for each other
and I can't believe it.
But I can believe it.
It's the type of people thatyou are, but I'm just saying.
It still blows my mind.
But I thank you, I love you andI appreciate you.
None of this would have beenpossible without you.
The none of this would havebeen possible, that none of this
(17:47):
would have been so enjoyable,that none of this would have
been so successful.
Extends to everybody from NewYork the whole Syracuse crew
that embraced us, that helped us, that supported us.
Literally we roll into Lanceand Jen's house.
Kip is there waiting, we'rehaving a couple of beers and
then Kevin and Amy are overhaving drinks with us and
(18:08):
hanging out.
We're just making memories.
Little Paisley running aroundthe Lancerford Inn.
It was just incredible makingthese memories, uh time here and
just say that every single oneof them helped us in so many
ways every single day, soliterally during our setup.
(18:29):
We're having one of the worstsetups of our life.
Lance and Jen come out ofnowhere to save us during all of
the each and every day of theevent.
Somebody, sometimes, some waycame over in their own special
way, checked in, hung out,purchased something, shared
(18:49):
stories, shared memories.
It was incredible.
So I'm so thankful foreverybody.
And then, as I mentioned on theway there, I didn't have air
conditioning.
We had AC on the way homebecause Kip showed up on the
last day of the event andrecharged our AC before we hit
the road.
At the end of the event,everybody, so many of them stuck
(19:09):
around, hung around just topack us up, to get us home Lance
and Jen, kip and Shelly, kevinand Amy they all just formed an
assembly line and it was thequickest, smoothest pack up
process we have ever had.
It was incredible and that'snot everybody the people that we
were able to spend time withMikey and Kim Brown, you know
(19:31):
Frank coming over and hangingout and bringing some freaking
cello with them, and spendingtime with Allie and her baby
Carter, like you know, lance'skids with his grandkids, bo,
like everybody about it, man,everything about it was just
tremendous the just family, thewelcomeness, the embracement.
(19:51):
I don't even think that's aword, but I'm just full of
excitement.
I literally could record themost boring episode of a podcast
ever it's anybody that wasn'tthere by standing here and
listening all the ways.
I say thank you and Iappreciate you, but I'm going to
save those of you that weren'tthere from the trouble of
hearing me just wallow ingratefulness.
(20:12):
But each and every one of you,please know you made a special
impact on us.
We are blessed to have you inour lives.
Thank you, thank you.
Thank you, gut check.
Thank you, thank you, gut check.
Loud Proud American is alifestyle brand, dedicated and
(20:33):
determined to represent theAmerican spirit, with an
unrelenting commitment toprovide made-in-the-USA products
.
If you would like to join the2% of Americans that buy
American and support American,head on over to
wwwlalproudamericanshop.
(20:54):
Together we can bring backAmerican manufacturing.
Now, when I was just swimming ingratitude back there, you did
hear me say that our setup wasone of the worst setup days
we've ever had.
I was so encouraged aboutsetting up because I was like
(21:16):
man, this is going to be asmaller setup, I can crush this
out, no issues.
Bada, bing, bada, boom.
Coolest guy in the room Me andthe wifey going to crush this.
Make this happen.
We got a full day to set up.
I'm not worried about it.
He, he, he, he, he, he, he.
Way to jinx yourself, partner.
Here's the thing.
First off, imagine all yourstorage, all your organization
(21:39):
and all your preparedness goesaway on Interstate 90 on the way
in.
Sharedness goes away oninterstate 90 on the way in,
because when all of our stufffell all over the place.
It makes the setup a lot moredifficult because things are
everywhere, they're mixed ineverywhere items you need you're
finding in totes and randomspots on the floor, right like
where's the hardware for this,where's that?
(22:01):
I don't know.
Dig a hole and find out.
You have that part of it.
The next part of it is, as weopen the tent up, the wind.
The Santa Ana winds that camethrough this parking lot was no
joke.
I spent more time holding ontomy tent praying that it wouldn't
fly off than I did actuallysetting up.
It was so bad.
(22:23):
At one point we're in the tent,allie's standing on weights
holding the tent down becauseshe can't reach the top.
(22:44):
I'm to send a message over toLance and Jen and say I am
completely effed right now.
They came over with about 300pounds of weight and helped hold
the tent down and I was able toget back to setting up.
But I'm just going to telly'all it was the wildest setup I
have ever dealt with.
It was crazy.
So what would have taken us anhour or so took us a full day
(23:06):
and then you have a baby beingcranky, being stressed.
Man, it was a lot.
Y'all it was a lot.
Where was that cool breeze andwind the day before when I was
on the interstate for sevenhours without an air conditioner
?
God, anyways, we made itthrough, got everything all
squared away.
(23:26):
We go back to the Lancer for endfor the evening and Lance and
the boys were planning ongetting up super early and
bringing their hot rods, theirmuscle cars, their awesomeness,
to Syracuse Nationals, gettingin line early to get their
favorite spot.
That required getting up at man, I want to say 1.50 in the
(23:49):
morning.
Let me check.
Yep, pull up my alarm 1.50.
1.50 am and I said I'm a guesthere.
Y'all welcomed me here.
This is my first time here forNationals.
I should be a part of the wholeexperience.
First time here for nationals,I should be a part of the whole
(24:11):
experience.
I volunteer myself to get upwith Lance, jump in the hot rod,
jump into that Chevy pickup andhit the road.
So I got up at 1.50 in themorning, got myself all together
, went downstairs, got me acoffee, jumped in the truck and
we hit the road.
I'm trying to think I think itwas a little bit before 3 am
when we rolled into the gatesand got ourselves in line and
(24:32):
they supposedly don't open thegate until 6 am, but they let us
in a little bit earlier.
I think it was like 5.30 in themorning.
But sitting in the truckwatching the sun come up,
waiting for the gates to open,it was a pretty cool experience.
I was honored to be a part ofit, to be a part of the group
and being out there doing thosethings.
I didn't want to go there andmiss out on that.
I can't say I'd do it again,but I'm thankful to say that I
(24:56):
did it.
So we get in, they get to theirspot, they get set up and I
don't have to open until.
I want to say 8 am, yes, 8 am.
I don't have to be open until 8.
And I'm already inside thestadium at 5.30 in the morning.
So I just do the finishingtouches on all of our display.
Go around, get some breakfast.
(25:17):
I'm feeling incredible aboutour display.
I think it looks great, theentire feel of everything.
I'm just feeling positive.
When we rolled into this placefor the first time, it was
incredible.
It is so massive, I don't know.
It's like three, 400 acres, allthe separate gates.
Then you go to this this bigold um carnival tent to check in
(25:39):
and a guy in a golf cart bringsyou to your spot.
The level of security and themassive size of the place.
I truly felt like I was at anNFL game, like I was checking in
to be a vendor at an NFLstadium.
That's how crazy it was.
When they brought us to ourspot, I felt like it was a great
spot.
I was out in front of the expobuilding and I was inside.
(26:01):
You go past the first lane, yougo inside and to the right I
was one of the first few vendors.
Usually that's a pretty goodhotspot.
I was kind of confused when Iwas setting up because there was
no real vendor setting uparound me and I was like, man,
this thing opens tomorrow.
Why is there really nobodysetting up around me?
I would later find out thatthat clue should have been the
(26:23):
dead giveaway to let me knowthere really isn't going to be
anybody around me.
So as things opened up onopening day, I quickly noticed
that we weren't going to get thetraffic that we thought, and as
the week progressed or theweekend progressed, I should say
, we came to realize that thiswas an anniversary year for the
Syracuse Nationals.
This was an anniversary yearfor the Syracuse Nationals and
(26:45):
the area that I'm in doesn'ttraditionally house vendors, so
I'm kind of a ways away from thetraffic, at least the traffic
of people that would be spendingmoney not just there to look at
vehicles, right, so, not aprime spot, but I'm still
encouraged.
By noontime on opening day I hadan awesome number for a
(27:07):
pre-lunch number and I thoughtwe were going to crush it.
But after lunch until closingtime I never really gained
anything.
It didn't pick up for us.
We usually get a great deal ofsales at night, but literally by
like 6 o'clock everything'sclosed.
People are getting kicked outand that window where we
(27:29):
normally make money which, liketypically when I go somewhere
it's between 5 pm and 10 pm iswhen we really start to make it
rain.
Well, I didn't have thatopportunity because they were
closed.
So we closed up and went outand spent some time with
everybody and we actuallycelebrated.
Lance and Jen's 10 spent sometime with everybody and um, we
actually celebrated lance andjen's 10-year anniversary with
them at dinner, paisley coloredfor the first time.
(27:51):
So we put some, some milestonememories on the table there.
Saturday, we got up and andreally just fully expecting to
absolutely crush the day, butknowing what we were up against
as far as our location, we wentin and we made the best of it,
but in no way, shape or form,did we attain the numbers we
expected.
(28:11):
As you guys know, for me, I gointo every event with an
absolute must have, need to makenumber, to break even.
Then I have a.
You know, this is where weshould at least be.
This is where we need to be.
This is where I'd like to be.
This is where we need to be.
This is where I'd like to be.
We have all these goalsstructured out.
I have the home run this isamazing and I have the
(28:32):
satisfaction number.
Neither one of those wereattainable for us and there was
some time in the day when I wasrather discouraged about it, but
I did the best I could toremain positive.
And everybody, the whole familyfrom New York, they kept coming
in and supporting us, buyingthings from us, probably just
because they felt bad for us,but they were pushing and
(28:53):
shoving and asking everybody tocome in and buy from us.
They were out there promotingus to the best they possibly
could, but we were just upagainst it.
Man, it's not anything that wedid, we just found ourselves in
a tough spot.
But that's the nature of what Ido.
That's what happens when you dothings for the first time.
When you're the new guys on theblock.
You can't make demands.
(29:13):
You are just fortunate to bethere and I know that, based off
of our location, I'm also veryfortunate to have done the
numbers that we did.
We made money, thanks toeverybody that cares about us
and supports us.
And we did.
We made money, thanks toeverybody that cares about us
and supports us and promotes us.
We made money.
We didn't lose money.
There was people next to usthat didn't pay their rent.
So I know the struggle thatgoes into this, especially when
(29:38):
it's a year one vendor.
I am encouraged and stoked andeager to go back, but I will ask
for a better spot when I goback.
When you were trying to get intoan event for the first time and
if you guys have been listeningfor all these weeks, you've
heard me say.
I have this list of events thatI'm really trying to do, but I
can't hear back from any of themand I was pulling all the
(30:00):
strings and connections possibleto get into this actual event.
So by doing that, the oldsaying rings true beggars can't
be choosers, you just need toget your foot in the door.
Sometimes the cost of entry toget your foot in the door is six
hours away.
It is what it is.
I drove way further to Floridato do the same thing.
You just need to get your footin the door.
(30:20):
And as tough as it's made it onmy business, when I'm looking at
things, our net number is up,we're having the best sales year
we've ever had, but we're notfeeling it because we're
sacrificing more to get it.
We're putting out more of arisk, we're taking more
challenges and we're extendingour risks by just adding more
(30:41):
dollars to the bottom line.
So it's a catch 22,.
Right, you're looking at thingsand you're realizing our sales
are up, our finances are down,we don't have nearly as much in
the bank account as we normallywould, we're running on the red
and basically all avenues of ourbusiness, but our sales are up.
(31:03):
It's a real catch-22.
You can't beat yourself upbecause you know that things are
up, but you also realize, man,I've never been at the end of
July and couldn't afford to payrent at my next events.
This has been an incrediblychallenging year.
We are going to set a recordfor sales this year for our
(31:27):
business, I guarantee it.
I'm just hopeful by the time Iset that record we can actually
see daylight, that we put ourbusiness back in the green, or
back in the black, as I shouldsay, because right now it just
ain't there.
But I continue to take chances.
I continue to take risksbecause I'm confirmed in my
(31:47):
beliefs that this will work.
I was having a conversationtoday with one of my best
friends and I just had thisepiphany and I don't know why it
took me this long to have this.
But as I'm having theconversation with him and I'm
telling him the situation and Isaid, you know what I've,
literally since I've been inthis business, realized every
(32:09):
year that you do something forthe first time is the worst time
you're going to do thatsomething, whatever it is,
because you're always going tohave the worst, the shittiest,
the worst location possibleright, the least amount of
traffic and the least amount ofvisibility.
So I said to him I'm doing alot of things for the first time
(32:32):
, but I got to remember that'llbe the worst time, because your
first is always your worst andI've put a lot of stake and
dependency on some of theseevents hitting massively, but
they're all in their first time.
Sometimes you're going to getlucky and one of these days one
of those first time events isreally going to pan out for me.
It's going to pay off for meand it's going to reset the
calendar for me.
(32:52):
But until then I have to justkeep treading water.
I have to just keep fightingfor what it is that I want, for
what it is that I know that isthere for me.
This weekend was yet more proofas to why I want to continue on
this journey, because I made somany amazing memories with my
beautiful baby girl and mybeautiful wife.
(33:13):
None of those things would havebeen possible if it wasn't for
Loud, proud, american and thechances and the risks that we
take.
Without doing those things, thestories, the memories, the
moments from this weekend, theywouldn't exist.
So I know I need to continue onthis road because those
memories and those moments,they're only going to multiply.
(33:34):
I just need to keep my foot onthe gas and keep hammering down.
You understand, a lot of peoplewould come out of this weekend
that I just had and they wouldfeel discouraged, they would
start losing motivation.
That's not me, that's not us.
I'm feeling encouraged.
There was a time during the dayon Saturday when I just wasn't
(33:54):
making any money and I went fora walk and I turned the corner
and all I saw was a sea ofpeople.
I saw literally 10,000 people,probably 15, 20 wide, just
walking down an aisle away and Isaid to myself self, if you
were right here, you would bedoubling, tripling, quadrupling
your money, right friggin'.
(34:16):
Now I'm going to tell you it isa humbling and difficult
experience to be sitting in yourtent talking to one person
every freaking half an hour,when you know there's tens of
thousands of people, literallyjust a couple hundred odds away
from you, but you can't see themand they can't see you.
(34:36):
That, folks is a humbling,difficult task to endure, but
you need to keep tellingyourself if you stay resilient
and you stay steadfast andfocused on your dreams and your
goals and your aspirations andyou make demands next year and
you come back next year.
You will be a piece of thataction and you will crush it.
(34:59):
I found an event.
We found an event that will bean incredible success for Loud
Proud American next year.
We just had to get our foot inthe door and pay the price of
admission, which just happenedto be our rent, and 14, 15 hours
in the bus.
(35:19):
That's it.
You have to look at it that way, but along with feeling
encouraged.
That's it, you have to look atit that way.
But along with feelingencouraged, I had to find a
positive.
I had to walk around and takeadvantage of the slowness.
I had to take advantage of thesituation and seek motivation
and I set my eyes on a new goalfor our business while I was
(35:40):
there because I found anothervendor selling merchandise.
I was there because I foundanother vendor selling
merchandise, selling apparel,that had an old souvenir trailer
from basically like a NASCARtrack, and traditionally, when I
think of those trailers,they're much larger and they're
hauled by a semi like a tractortrailer truck, but this one
could be hauled by probably a2500 pickup and I looked at it
(36:07):
and I realized this could openup all new avenues for me.
I could go to events that areone day events when I just open
the freaking trailer door up.
I could maximize so much withsomething like this and I could
build it and make it lookprofessional and make it grab
people's attention At some ofthese big fairs that I do.
I might not bring that trailer,I might just want to run my
tents because I can have moreproduct in there, or maybe I
(36:28):
want to run that traileralongside some of my tents to
gain visibility.
I'm not sure.
But I set my sights and mysails on affording one of those
trailers for our business.
That will raise the image, thatwill provide credence and value
to our brand, that will take usto new customers, to new places
(36:49):
and elevate our presentation.
I went into something thatshould have totally demotivated
me and in fact I found a way tolet it motivate me.
That's the secret sauce for anysmall business owner me.
That's the secret sauce for anysmall business owner.
(37:09):
That's the secret sauce foranybody that wants to live the
life they want to live.
Tough times come, but toughtimes pass.
They do not stay.
This too shall pass, I know ifI keep applying and I keep
trying and I keep pushing and Icontinue to not be denied.
This will happen.
I know it to be true.
(37:29):
So much so that today, beforerecording this podcast, I picked
up that phone yet again and Ireached out one more time to a
place I've never been.
I put it all on the line, soldmyself, pitched my product, and
I will be waiting to announce toyou yet another event in the
(37:51):
near future for Loud ProudAmerican at a place we've never
been, at an event we've nevertried.
I told myself at the beginningof the year that this needed to
be one of the most uncomfortableyears of my life.
I needed to put myself outthere in more ways than I ever
have.
I need to try new things toreach for all the big things I
(38:15):
knew if I came home from thisevent and I just sat back down
and felt sorry for myself, if Ibegan to dwell and swell and
become that fat ass tick sittingon the couch eating Fritos,
then this would fail.
I would lose momentum.
I would let the hard days winand the hard days shall not win.
(38:36):
I will not dwell and swell.
I will pack up, press on andmove on.
I took another chance, I madeanother sacrifice and I signed
another commitment.
Stay tuned for details onanother event and another
challenge for Loud ProudAmerican.
We are going to go more placesand do more things that we've
(38:57):
never done before in the historyof this business.
Right now, this year for thisbusiness, I'm steadfast, hell
bent and determined on success.
This will happen.
This year will be a success andwhen y'all find out some of the
(39:18):
things the wife and I areworking on in the background,
some of the things that willcome true, that we will revere
to you in the future, it'll blowyour mind to say that boy, boy,
I'll tell you what.
Him and his lady.
They a bit crazy, okay, they abit crazy.
They.
They might be sniffing thecatnip.
Them too, okay.
(39:39):
Those whiskers and friskers,they, they.
They be out to lunch, to lunch,okay, I don't know about them,
but we know about us.
There's big things for us.
There's big things that aremeant for us.
We keep stacking up obstaclesand chopping them down.
This year is, hands down, themost difficult business year of
(40:01):
my life.
It is making the most difficultfinancial year of my life, but
at the end of it I am committedto make it the greatest and most
beneficial of my life, becauseI continue to apply and I
continue to try, and it will payoff, like I've been saying over
(40:23):
the past few weeks.
Pay off, like I've been sayingover the past few weeks.
I take these struggles and Igive them to God, and I know
that my heart is in the rightplace.
I have the best of intentionsand the best of reasons, and
this will come true for me, justlike it can come true for you
too.
Don't give up on your dreams,no matter how big or how small.
(40:44):
You deserve them all.
With all that said, I came homefrom a tremendous weekend with
friends and family and veryquickly was welcomed back to
nonsense and ridiculousness fromfamily that I shouldn't give
(41:04):
any time to.
Yet again, here I am justdelivered a big ball of
negativity, a big ball ofridiculousness, another case of
nonsense.
I shouldn't be surprised by it.
There's a track record of it.
(41:25):
There's a long-term, long-timehistory of it and, as you learn
in life, history has a tendencyof repeating itself.
You should not be surprised bysomeone's immaturity when they
have a history of immaturity.
I had to fight all urges andtendencies to come on here and
express to the world how I feeland how ridiculous a situation
(41:49):
is, how immature certain peopleare.
But I'm not going to give anymore of my time to a situation.
I'm not going to waste myenergy, my positivity, on a
negative situation, on anegative individual.
I'm not going to do it.
Not for me.
(42:09):
Not doing it, I refused todwell and swell.
I'm shining in positivity.
I only say this, I only sharethis, to highlight this for you.
When you are focused on yourgoals, when you have the best of
intentions for you and yourfamily and you're focused on
(42:30):
your direction, don't let anydistraction derail you from your
direction.
Don't let any negativity fromthe sidelines take you from the
game.
You understand what I'm saying.
There's going to be times,there's going to be people,
there's going to be situations,there's going to be these things
that come to you, that come atyou, that try to derail you,
(42:50):
that try to take you from whereyou are headed.
That is the devil on your back.
That distraction is not for you.
You are better than this.
You are greater than this.
You don't have time for this.
So for me and my situations inmy life, I'm focused on my
business.
I'm focused on my family.
I'm focused on our goals.
I truly promise you when yousee big things for you.
(43:13):
There will be people close toyou that will try to derail you.
There will be people close toyou that will try to pull you
down, that'll try to keep youdown.
There will be people close toyou that will distract you,
that'll throw hate at you,that'll pour negativity on you.
You don't have time for them.
Keep on moving away from them.
Let them do them.
(43:34):
Let them figure themselves outand grow up and figure it out.
If they don't want a life ofshine, then leave them behind.
You are going to be too damnbusy and too damn determined
working on yourself and yourgoals to drag somebody else
along with you.
Keep it on, move it along.
You understand what I'm saying.
When you start to have a littlechecklist in life that says
(43:56):
every time I interact with thisperson, I feel a negative way.
Anytime I have to listen tothis person, I feel this way.
Anytime I hear from this person, I get angry about this person.
Leave that person, no matterwho that person is.
You understand what I'm saying.
We talk about this week to weekafter week after week, and I
(44:18):
keep telling you I will continueto cut negativity and my wife
will continue to cut negativityand my mother will cut
negativity.
We my wife will continue to cutnegativity and my mother will
cut negativity.
We've been doing it our wholelives and when you do cut
negativity, you will find biggerand better and more beautiful
on the other side of negativityfor you.
But I continue to repeat andre-say these things to you
because they will always comeback to you Every time you find
(44:41):
a challenge or an obstacle.
Sometimes you succeed andnegativity punches you in the
blinkers.
Sometimes you fail a little bitand you're feeling down or
you're feeling in your feels alittle bit and negativity will
come back to you.
I repeat this to you becauseit'll always come for you.
But I say this to you becausethis is not the life for you you
are built for.
You are destined for bigger andbetter.
(45:03):
Leave the bullshit in the past.
That is my ending rant for theweek.
We had ourselves a littleSyracuse recap.
We had some milestone moments.
We had some setbacks.
We overcame them.
We came out of it positive,checking off milestones, named
(45:25):
them.
We came out of it positive,checking off milestones, setting
more goals, taking more risks.
We dealt with negativity and weflushed that shit out.
That, boys and girls, is awell-rounded episode of Share
the Struggle Podcast.
So thank you, thank you.
(45:45):
Thank you to each and every oneof you supporting our American
dream.
Now go wash your hands andthey'll be savage.
That's it and that's all,biggie Smalls.
(46:09):
If you're a loud, proud Americanand you find yourself just
wanting more, find me on YouTubeand Facebook at Loud, proud
American, or the Face page, asmy mama calls it.
If you're a fan of the GrahamCracker, you want to find me on
Instagram.
Or all the kids aretickety-talking on the, you want
to find me on Instagram.
Or all the kids at TicketyTalkin' on the TikTok, you can
find me on both of those, atloud, underscore, proud,
(46:33):
underscore, american.
A big old thank you to the boysfrom the Gut Truckers for the
background beats and the themesong to this year's podcast.
If you are enjoying what you'rehearing, you can track down the
(46:54):
Gut Truckers on Facebook.
Just search Gut Truckers.
Give them motherfuckers, a liketoo.
I hate to say, but make itbleed, I hate to say, but I told
(47:19):
you so.
I truly thank you forsupporting my American dream.
Now go wash your fucking hands,you filthy, savage.
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