Aug. 13, 2025

Camper Confessions: Finding Faith at the Fair

Camper Confessions: Finding Faith at the Fair

Sometimes the hardest moments reveal our greatest blessings. From the comfort of my wife's camper instead of the school bus I planned to sleep in, this episode takes you on the raw, unfiltered journey of a small business owner fighting for survival at the Skowhegan State Fair. What does it feel like to open your booth in 95-degree heat, wait five hours for your first sale, and end a 10-hour day with just $120 in your pocket? I'm holding nothing back as I share the mental battle between the d...

Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Spotify podcast player icon Castro podcast player icon RSS Feed podcast player icon

Sometimes the hardest moments reveal our greatest blessings. From the comfort of my wife's camper instead of the school bus I planned to sleep in, this episode takes you on the raw, unfiltered journey of a small business owner fighting for survival at the Skowhegan State Fair.

What does it feel like to open your booth in 95-degree heat, wait five hours for your first sale, and end a 10-hour day with just $120 in your pocket? I'm holding nothing back as I share the mental battle between the demon whispering "give up" and the angel reminding me why I started. Every entrepreneur knows this struggle—watching your savings dwindle while bills pile up and wondering if you're crazy for believing in your dream.

But amidst this struggle, unexpected blessings emerge. Friends driving hours to transport my camper without being asked. My 18-year-old new friend Isaiah working the night shift at a dairy farm, then volunteering at my booth during the day. When a young man with a severe cut stumbles through the fairgrounds, Isaiah's EMT training proves more valuable than the actual first responders who arrive late and unhelpful.

This episode evolved in real-time over two recording sessions, allowing you to hear my optimism in the morning transform into raw vulnerability by day's end. It's the most transparent I've ever been about my faith, my fears, and the divine timing that keeps me going when logic says quit.

If you're facing your own seemingly impossible challenge, or if you've ever wondered what keeps a small business owner fighting when the numbers don't add up, this conversation might be exactly what you need to hear today. Sometimes the village that supports your dream becomes the greatest blessing of all.

If you found value in today's show please return the favor and leave a positive review and share it with someone important to you! https://www.sharethestrugglepodcast.com/reviews/new/
Find all you need to know about the show https://www.sharethestrugglepodcast.com/
Official Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077724159859

Join the 2% of Americans that Buy American and support American Together we can bring back American Manufacturing https://www.loudproudamerican.shop/
Loud Proud American Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Loudproudamerican
Loud Proud American Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loud_proud_american/
Loud Proud American TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@loud_proud_american
Loud Proud American YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmYQtOt6KVURuySWYQ2GWtw

Thank you for Supporting My American Dream!

00:00 - Welcome to the Camper Recording

08:57 - Finding Support in Unexpected Places

16:09 - The Village That Keeps Dreams Alive

29:43 - Fair Struggles in Extreme Heat

44:27 - Meeting Isaiah: Hope in the Next Generation

54:06 - Medical Emergency and Failed Response

01:08:48 - The Financial Reality of Small Business

01:15:48 - Finding Faith When Everything Seems Lost

WEBVTT

00:00:00.881 --> 00:00:19.211
This week's episode of Share the Struggle Podcast is another Camper Studio episode, because this week I am recording live well, I guess it's pre-recorded for all of you, but I'm live doing it, which I'm an idiot.

00:00:19.211 --> 00:00:29.432
Basically, what I'm trying to say here, folks, is I am at the Skowhegan State Fair and I am recording this week's episode of the podcast from the Wifey's New Camper.

00:00:29.432 --> 00:00:37.531
So this week's show is how did we get here, how's it going and why we must keep counting our blessings?

00:00:37.531 --> 00:00:40.886
Let me tell you something Everybody struggles.

00:00:40.886 --> 00:00:46.371
The difference is some people choose to go through it and some choose to grow through it.

00:00:46.371 --> 00:00:48.768
The choice is completely yours.

00:00:48.768 --> 00:00:54.713
Which one you choose will have a very profound effect on the way you live your life.

00:00:54.713 --> 00:01:02.393
If you find strength in the struggle, then this podcast is for you.

00:01:02.393 --> 00:01:04.944
This podcast is for you.

00:01:04.965 --> 00:01:09.332
You have a relationship that is comfortable with uncomfortable conversations.

00:01:09.332 --> 00:01:19.700
Uncomfortable conversations challenge you, humble you and they build you.

00:01:19.700 --> 00:01:23.314
When you sprinkle a little time and distance on it, it all makes sense.

00:01:23.314 --> 00:01:26.504
Most disagreements, they stem from our own insecurities.

00:01:26.504 --> 00:01:33.088
You are right where you need to be Back on time.

00:01:33.088 --> 00:01:39.088
We can fight for our rights the whole day gone.

00:01:39.088 --> 00:01:44.849
We'll be fine Too fast and the waves will be slow.

00:01:44.849 --> 00:01:46.492
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

00:01:46.492 --> 00:01:50.510
What it do, what it do, what it hot Do-do-do-do.

00:01:50.510 --> 00:01:55.328
Good Lord Almighty, am I so excited to be back with you?

00:01:55.328 --> 00:01:58.867
Oh, it is true, it is damn true.

00:01:58.867 --> 00:02:00.185
Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm.

00:02:00.185 --> 00:02:02.507
How do you do, baby boo?

00:02:03.099 --> 00:02:06.367
Welcome to another camper recording session.

00:02:06.367 --> 00:02:10.685
This is the first recording in the new camper.

00:02:10.685 --> 00:02:14.092
I'm trying to recall the name the wife came up with.

00:02:14.092 --> 00:02:16.764
I think it's like Nalia or something.

00:02:16.764 --> 00:02:17.245
I don't know.

00:02:17.245 --> 00:02:21.093
We name all of our campers, so we had Tallulah Matilda.

00:02:21.093 --> 00:02:23.943
I think this is Nalia.

00:02:23.943 --> 00:02:26.610
It's an Indian spirit name of some sort.

00:02:26.610 --> 00:02:27.512
I'll have her explain it.

00:02:27.512 --> 00:02:27.973
I don't know.

00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:35.867
But anyways, I'm recording this episode of the podcast from the camp and I know some of you listening right now are asking yourself.

00:02:35.867 --> 00:02:39.926
You're saying to yourself self, didn't this some of a bitch?

00:02:39.926 --> 00:02:42.293
Tell me he was going to be living in a school bus?

00:02:42.293 --> 00:02:45.168
Well, it pays to have good friends.

00:02:45.168 --> 00:02:48.264
Okay, it pays to have great friends.

00:02:48.264 --> 00:03:00.569
I shall say it's also a key ingredient to have a loving wife who thinks things out and decides that old boy's going to suffer.

00:03:00.569 --> 00:03:05.467
And yeah, maybe I should help figure out a way to make this happen.

00:03:05.467 --> 00:03:11.230
And I know he's not going to ask for help, so I'll do it, because that's just how I'm wound.

00:03:11.230 --> 00:03:14.784
All right, I don't really tend to ask for help.

00:03:14.784 --> 00:03:17.631
I guess that's a guilty fault of mine.

00:03:17.631 --> 00:03:20.282
Full confessional Get the Cabela's catalog.

00:03:20.282 --> 00:03:24.992
Put the old left hand on the Cabela's catalog, beady little eyes to the sky.

00:03:24.992 --> 00:03:26.402
Truth from the sky.

00:03:26.402 --> 00:03:28.610
I don't ask for help.

00:03:29.271 --> 00:03:30.054
So here's the scenario.

00:03:30.054 --> 00:03:41.823
The plan was I was going to stay in the old Hulabas because our tow vehicle situation hasn't gone the way we thought it would go.

00:03:41.823 --> 00:03:44.288
So we had to make a little bit of a pivot.

00:03:44.288 --> 00:03:45.390
Nothing crazy.

00:03:45.390 --> 00:03:52.973
We just kind of had to change plans and also get ourselves a vehicle that would be a big family vehicle.

00:03:52.973 --> 00:03:59.602
So I'm going to share some details on this in a further episode because I'm saving this whole conversation.

00:03:59.602 --> 00:04:05.769
But I really just kind of want to give you guys a little understanding as to why I was planning on bringing the school bus.

00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:14.900
So the new vehicle that we have that's going to be the family vehicle and the tow vehicle for the camper isn't quite ready to haul.

00:04:14.900 --> 00:04:30.134
And when I say that, what I mean is when you put the camper on the old girl, she what, what, squats a lot, um, like a, like a hen on an egg.

00:04:30.134 --> 00:04:32.661
Okay, that's, I got nothing.

00:04:32.661 --> 00:04:38.740
It's been a long week, all right, but uh, it squats, the old truck ski a little too much.

00:04:38.740 --> 00:04:42.571
So we're not going to haul the camper two hours under said conditions.

00:04:42.571 --> 00:04:45.259
And, um, it needed to be gone through.

00:04:45.259 --> 00:04:46.321
We just got this vehicle.

00:04:47.382 --> 00:04:54.221
So, again, I'm being very vague for a reason, because someday in the future I'm going to share this story.

00:04:54.221 --> 00:04:56.125
But uh, I have plans for it.

00:04:56.125 --> 00:04:59.351
So you just quit, quit judging me, judy.

00:04:59.351 --> 00:05:01.384
Just let me finish my story, would you?

00:05:01.384 --> 00:05:08.485
Joe brown, god, there's nothing I hate more than being judged on a freaking Tuesday morning in a camper.

00:05:08.485 --> 00:05:11.711
Wow, you know of all the disrespect.

00:05:12.093 --> 00:05:19.151
Anyways, we said this isn't the right time to use this vehicle for this situation.

00:05:19.151 --> 00:05:22.983
I'm just going to take the bus, I'm going to be on my own, I'm going to be solo.

00:05:22.983 --> 00:05:23.826
It is what it is.

00:05:23.826 --> 00:05:25.228
We're going to make it all work.

00:05:25.228 --> 00:05:27.932
I'll put an AC in the bus, I mounted a TV to the wall.

00:05:27.951 --> 00:05:32.324
I did all those things and the wife said no, I'm not going to let this happen.

00:05:32.324 --> 00:05:39.769
So she called one of my great friends, toby Reynolds, and she said hey, tobe, any chance you could pick up our camper.

00:05:39.769 --> 00:05:40.891
And he said done, deal.

00:05:40.891 --> 00:05:44.194
And the next thing I know he's calling me saying hey, I'm picking up your camper tomorrow.

00:05:44.194 --> 00:05:45.074
What time do you want to leave?

00:05:45.074 --> 00:05:51.976
And if you think about this, this is somebody that he's 45 minutes an hour away from me.

00:05:51.976 --> 00:05:55.201
He's going to drive to my house, meet me in the morning, hook onto my camper.

00:05:55.201 --> 00:06:00.288
He's going to drive two hours north, help me set my camper up, and then he's going to drive two hours back home.

00:06:00.288 --> 00:06:09.766
So, going out of his way to help, and it's something that I wouldn't ask somebody for that level of help because I feel bad asking.

00:06:09.766 --> 00:06:11.569
It's a guilty fault of mine.

00:06:11.610 --> 00:06:12.713
We just discussed this.

00:06:12.713 --> 00:06:13.963
I just confessed to you.

00:06:13.963 --> 00:06:15.829
Why are you questioning me about it?

00:06:15.829 --> 00:06:19.761
Okay, so, wow, my phone just keeps going off.

00:06:19.761 --> 00:06:25.891
Sorry, I usually silence my phone, but I'm at the fair.

00:06:25.891 --> 00:06:39.644
This is a new fair for me and I'm supposed to be opening here soon, so I have my phone on in case I need to get down there for some reason, some scenario, someone needs to get a hold of me, so that's the reason for that.

00:06:39.644 --> 00:06:40.307
I apologize.

00:06:40.307 --> 00:06:41.810
What the hell were we talking about?

00:06:41.810 --> 00:06:58.790
Oh, I was confessing about the fact that I'm a loser that doesn't like to ask for help, and I don't want to inconvenience people more than necessary, right, but I learned something, and that's where this is going.

00:06:58.870 --> 00:07:06.295
Hear me say that I'm blessed and we talk about, you know, counting our blessings.

00:07:06.295 --> 00:07:17.411
We had an episode just completely on appreciation, living with gratitude, developing that gratitude attitude, that positive mentality and mindset, and it just continues.

00:07:17.411 --> 00:07:33.165
And this week, when I've had some slow time, some downtime, I sit around and think about how blessed I am by the village of support that I have in my life, each and every one of you that's listening right now, so many of you that have been listening since day one.

00:07:33.165 --> 00:07:39.242
We have five years of episodes, week after week after week, since July 2020.

00:07:39.242 --> 00:07:47.884
Y'all been tuning in my day ones get your ones up All my day ones, my original ones, the ones that have been here since episode one.

00:07:47.884 --> 00:07:54.548
I love you and I appreciate you, and all along the way, we've gathered and gained some loyal ones, some new ones.

00:07:54.548 --> 00:07:55.430
To each and every one of you.

00:07:55.430 --> 00:07:56.963
I thank you and I appreciate you.

00:07:56.963 --> 00:08:03.504
It's because of you that I continue to find the time, to make the time, to dedicate the time to this here podcast, to this here show.

00:08:03.504 --> 00:08:17.480
This is why I'm in my camper right now, with the AC off, when it's 95 degrees out, and I'm building a sweat lodge confessional in here because I'm committed to you, because I love you and you guys are committed to me.

00:08:17.480 --> 00:08:20.511
You're one layer of the appreciation.

00:08:20.511 --> 00:08:33.610
You're one layer of the blessings, the many blessings that I have in my life and I'm realizing that this week as I sit back and I see all the amazing things that are happening for me, around me and so many of those things I'm not even asking for.

00:08:33.610 --> 00:08:48.602
And that's incredible To have one of my best friends show up, hook onto my camper, drive two hours, a four-hour trip, out of his way just to get me set up for an event that my family depends on, that my business depends on.

00:08:48.602 --> 00:08:52.350
He goes out of his way, inconveniences himself and his business.

00:08:52.350 --> 00:09:04.164
He's a business owner, so he puts his things on the back burner to help me, to get me in a position where I can succeed, because he knows that I need it and he knows that I shouldn't be sleeping in the bus when it's 95 degrees out here.

00:09:04.164 --> 00:09:06.140
So he does that.

00:09:06.140 --> 00:09:08.446
That's one layer, that's one step for me.

00:09:08.885 --> 00:09:17.140
Me being at this fair took a tremendous push from friends of mine, from Matt and Sarah Perkins, saying, hey, I think this would be a good thing for you.

00:09:17.140 --> 00:09:27.144
This is a good opportunity for you, matt getting me the contact info to get in my friends, kyle and Julia from Underdog Metal, them being here and Kyle reaching out saying, hey, man, I'm going too.

00:09:27.144 --> 00:09:27.907
You should do this.

00:09:27.907 --> 00:09:29.701
At least you'll know somebody else that's there.

00:09:29.701 --> 00:09:30.302
You should be there.

00:09:30.302 --> 00:09:40.192
So there's all these layers of pushing and these layers of people in my life that care about me and my family and our success and our health and our well-being.

00:09:40.192 --> 00:09:46.552
So when you're sitting back and you're slow and you start thinking about those things and you realize, man, I am blessed.

00:09:46.552 --> 00:09:48.436
I am so incredibly blessed.

00:09:49.057 --> 00:09:56.743
So as I'm sitting back and I'm thinking about these things, I also think about my wife and my mother and them changing their schedules around for me to be here.

00:09:56.743 --> 00:09:59.331
I usually bring my mom to and from work.

00:09:59.331 --> 00:10:04.625
Now one of my mom's co-workers is doing that, replacing me from those duties.

00:10:04.625 --> 00:10:15.482
My wife has one of her great friends, allie, watching Paisley On the days that my mom's not home.

00:10:15.482 --> 00:10:19.797
My wife's leaving early, grabbing the baby working from home, all these moving parts, all this effort that goes into me being here.

00:10:19.797 --> 00:10:25.567
And then, as I talk to you about the new family vehicle that we have for a future episode.

00:10:25.567 --> 00:10:26.488
I'm going to share the details later.

00:10:27.649 --> 00:10:37.990
We talk about that, my friends and family, that and I say friends and family For the people that are listening on day one, this is your new episode for you.

00:10:37.990 --> 00:10:51.649
I want you to understand that my friends become my family when we break bread and shed tears together and we go through trials and tribulations together, highs and lows together, ups and downs together.

00:10:51.649 --> 00:10:58.087
When you go around this world together and you are loyal to each other, you become family.

00:10:58.087 --> 00:11:12.513
The truth is to me is it doesn't take blood to be related to me, because when the truth comes from me, most people that are blood to me no longer love me or appreciate me.

00:11:12.513 --> 00:11:22.370
So it's the friends and family out there that I've made along the way that prove to be loyal, that prove to be dedicated, that prove to be genuine right.

00:11:22.370 --> 00:11:23.432
That's family to me.

00:11:23.980 --> 00:11:30.769
When you often hear me say you know one of my best friends, my brother, my sister, like these people, are my family.

00:11:30.769 --> 00:11:33.943
Y'all listening you become my family, you're a part of my family.

00:11:33.943 --> 00:11:38.803
If you listen week to week, you know more about me than my blood knows about me.

00:11:38.803 --> 00:11:40.289
You understand what I'm saying so.

00:11:40.289 --> 00:11:41.977
I have a big, extended family.

00:11:41.977 --> 00:11:50.330
One of the biggest blessings in my life is knowing that my little girl is going to grow up with a million aunts and uncles, and when she goes to school, kids are going to be like how big is your family?

00:11:50.330 --> 00:11:52.066
How many aunts and uncles do you have?

00:11:52.066 --> 00:11:55.919
That's because loyalty is thicker than blood, if you ask me so.

00:11:55.919 --> 00:11:59.621
I am super blessed and I am super fortunate.

00:11:59.942 --> 00:12:30.335
So when I talk about my family over to the garage Chris and Noah when I'm talking about them which I'm going to share more details on a future episode what's incredible to me is I'm here, starting out at a fair and like opening day or opening setup type of scenario, and Chris and Noah go to my house, pick up our vehicle, bring it to their place and start working on it, and then I'm getting the updates on this is what we're doing, this is what we have.

00:12:30.335 --> 00:12:36.096
Then they're bringing the vehicle back to my house, hooking it up to a horse trailer, checking on it, bringing it back home.

00:12:36.096 --> 00:12:38.778
I'm getting constant messages, constant updates.

00:12:38.778 --> 00:12:55.264
All these things are happening without me moving, without me asking these people in my life, this family that I've developed along the way, is the greatest blessing that I could ever possibly imagine and I'm thankful for them each and every day.

00:12:56.028 --> 00:12:56.769
Think about it, folks.

00:12:56.769 --> 00:13:19.841
When you're sitting back and sweating in a tent in a field 95 degrees you're slightly delususional, you're on the cusp of blacking out, you haven't made sales in some time, but you see like your security camera go off and a friend of yours is bringing your vehicle home or to the garage and you didn't ask or you didn't know about it.

00:13:19.841 --> 00:13:33.549
When you know a friend is coming to your eyes calling you I'll be at your house at 7 in the morning to haul the camper for you and you didn't ask for it it's overwhelmingly amazing.

00:13:33.549 --> 00:13:54.875
And to sit back and think about the blessings that I have and to sit back and think about how many people and how much effort it takes to build a business, to build a brand, to try to overtake this task at hand right, it's bigger than me.

00:13:54.875 --> 00:13:59.211
This business and this mission is bigger than me.

00:13:59.211 --> 00:14:07.263
Loud Proud American doesn't exist without these blessings, these family members that are pulling and pushing and trying for me.

00:14:07.263 --> 00:14:08.644
It doesn't happen.

00:14:08.644 --> 00:14:11.530
Without them, I am DOA.

00:14:11.530 --> 00:14:13.234
Without them, it doesn't happen.

00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:16.606
This podcast doesn't continue without each and every one of you.

00:14:16.606 --> 00:14:22.847
So, when you stop and think about it, the people that are listening right now that I've mentioned your name.

00:14:22.847 --> 00:14:24.410
You've kept me in business.

00:14:24.410 --> 00:14:25.813
You've kept me alive.

00:14:25.813 --> 00:14:27.626
You've kept my dream alive.

00:14:27.626 --> 00:14:30.809
You've kept the future for my family alive.

00:14:30.809 --> 00:14:32.567
That's not lost on me.

00:14:32.567 --> 00:14:34.868
I appreciate you more than you possibly know.

00:14:34.868 --> 00:14:37.691
Each and every one of you listening to this podcast right now.

00:14:37.691 --> 00:14:39.779
You've kept this dream alive.

00:14:39.779 --> 00:14:45.613
We continue to strive because you continue to come back, week after week after week.

00:14:45.613 --> 00:15:00.327
When I'm sitting back and I'm having another challenging week, a big old, sweaty ass week, it's not lost on me that this opportunity wouldn't be here for me if it wasn't for each and every one of you.

00:15:01.721 --> 00:15:04.769
Now, the key to this is I start to peel back the onion and core out.

00:15:04.769 --> 00:15:19.291
The center of this little scenario is that it makes it impossible for a boy like me to give up on a dream like this because of each and every one of you that puts us as a priority in your life.

00:15:19.291 --> 00:15:26.011
It's special, it's overwhelming, it can be hard to understand, but, lord, do I appreciate it?

00:15:26.011 --> 00:15:47.662
Man, I could literally sit back and just outline all the people that have reached out, that have made an impact, that have made a difference in this week for me to be here and for us to have this opportunity, and that seems to happen week after week after week.

00:15:47.662 --> 00:15:54.057
So the old saying that it takes a village it's the absolute truth, man.

00:15:54.057 --> 00:15:56.585
We wouldn't be in business without this village.

00:15:56.585 --> 00:16:31.042
I wouldn't be living the life I live without this village and I am steadfast, determined and committed to the fact that this business will work, this brand will work, and when I get to where we need to be, it will not be lost on me that I didn't get there without each and every one of you pulling me, pushing me and encouraging me to get there, me to get there.

00:16:31.042 --> 00:16:31.705
I love y'all oh so friggin much.

00:16:31.705 --> 00:16:32.226
It is the truth, y'all.

00:16:32.226 --> 00:16:40.721
So that's the long-winded scenario for each and every one of you, to understand why I'm actually getting the benefits of air conditioning and a fully furnished camper, as opposed to living in a school bus in the middle of the field.

00:16:40.721 --> 00:16:45.225
All right, not saying I couldn't do it, but I didn't have to do it because of each and every one of you.

00:16:45.866 --> 00:16:54.000
So, with that aside, let's set the scene on this little rendezvous fair.

00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:54.942
How do you do so?

00:16:54.942 --> 00:16:56.586
I'm excited to be here.

00:16:56.586 --> 00:16:58.090
It's got a nice layout here.

00:16:58.090 --> 00:17:01.203
There's a lot of potential here.

00:17:01.826 --> 00:17:08.205
I'm not entirely stoked about my location Shocker, right, I seem to be the trend every time I go somewhere for the first time.

00:17:08.205 --> 00:17:29.769
Most importantly, the reason why I'm not so stoked about this one's location is I'm on like reclaim and gravel and sand, and it's one of the hottest weeks of the year, so it's incredibly dusty and there's a racetrack behind me, a horse track, so it gets pretty damn dusty when they're dragging the track.

00:17:29.769 --> 00:17:47.002
I got to shut my doors and I have to constantly, um, try to either water my dirt front frontage or, uh, I've gone over to the Walmart and stuff around here trying to find outdoor rugs and I haven't found any that were the right size or the right price here.

00:17:47.002 --> 00:17:56.857
But occasionally I get water and water down the dirt inside my booth because I don't want the dust to come up and ruin all the garments.

00:17:56.857 --> 00:17:58.141
So that's been a challenge.

00:17:58.141 --> 00:17:59.584
Okay, that's been a challenge.

00:17:59.584 --> 00:18:02.147
The temperature has been a challenge.

00:18:02.147 --> 00:18:05.473
We are on a stretch of 90 degrees here.

00:18:05.473 --> 00:18:17.451
When you just have like a big-ass open field with no shade and you're inside of a tent a primarily black, red, white and blue tent it gets a little hot.

00:18:17.451 --> 00:18:19.446
Okay, so we're running a couple of fans.

00:18:19.446 --> 00:18:23.425
It's making it steamy, I will say because of the temperatures.

00:18:23.948 --> 00:18:30.647
I feel like the fair has been not as well attended as we would have hoped for.

00:18:30.647 --> 00:18:38.308
I guess it's common that this week tends to be hot in general, but a lot of people just aren't coming out during the day.

00:18:38.308 --> 00:18:46.622
When it cools down at night they'll show up and the nighttimes have been beautiful, as miserable as the day is when it's 95, 100 degrees.

00:18:46.622 --> 00:18:49.207
At night it's like 75 and perfect.

00:18:49.207 --> 00:18:53.515
But I will say we rolled in here on Wednesday.

00:18:53.619 --> 00:19:00.021
Me and Toby set the camper up and then I went over and started building my shell for the vendor display.

00:19:00.021 --> 00:19:15.967
I started building at about 10 30 am and I was done at probably about 9 pm, took a few breaks for heat exhaustion and lunch, but it was a long setup to build a 20 by 20 by yourself and it was super hot.

00:19:15.967 --> 00:19:18.028
It was miserable, right, let's be honest.

00:19:18.028 --> 00:19:26.588
And the next day we open up for the fair and I went five hours without my first sale.

00:19:26.588 --> 00:19:32.576
Oh boy, what a doozy that was.

00:19:36.461 --> 00:19:52.262
Think about it, when you spend like 10 hours building a tent the day before, plus all the lead up time that goes to the fair right, the things you're making, the load time like the travel time, a couple hours, the putting the camper and all that stuff.

00:19:52.262 --> 00:19:56.865
You start to think about all the time you have in and then you open the doors and you're all excited.

00:19:56.865 --> 00:20:09.035
You're like Jojo, the Indian circus boy with a shiny new pet, and five hours goes by before your first sale and your first big sale is $15 off your clearance rack.

00:20:09.035 --> 00:20:14.230
That folks will kick you in the motivational clusters, I'll tell you the truth.

00:20:14.230 --> 00:20:18.609
But we must remain positive and vigilant.

00:20:18.609 --> 00:20:24.912
You understand, by the end of the night I had a remarkably encouraging first day.

00:20:24.912 --> 00:20:29.911
I said well, for a Thursday, this actually is not bad at all.

00:20:29.911 --> 00:20:30.593
This is pretty good.

00:20:30.593 --> 00:20:32.948
Maybe night times is my time.

00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:40.203
So then on Friday I came into Friday incredibly encouraged, ready to rock and roll, and we did okay Friday.

00:20:40.203 --> 00:20:45.034
But it fell far short of what I expected for a Friday.

00:20:45.034 --> 00:20:58.324
Traffic was pretty light and I'll also say one other observation that I had made is it actually took me six sales on Friday to reach $100.

00:20:58.324 --> 00:21:11.161
That's almost impossible to do in my tent, but it showed me that people are conserving money this week and that people were coming in and buying $5 koozies, they were buying stickers, they were buying items off the clearance rack.

00:21:11.161 --> 00:21:16.852
When it takes six sales to equal $100, it's challenging to get there.

00:21:16.852 --> 00:21:18.682
It's hard to come up with that number combination.

00:21:18.682 --> 00:21:24.390
So it showed me that people were conserving money and you know that can be concerning.

00:21:24.390 --> 00:21:31.387
But I do think the end week of the fair is always the better part of the fair, so I didn't let it beat me up.

00:21:31.387 --> 00:21:33.092
Friday was an okay day.

00:21:33.092 --> 00:21:39.569
I expected Saturday to double my Friday and it didn't.

00:21:39.569 --> 00:21:43.060
It actually fell a few bucks short of my Friday.

00:21:43.060 --> 00:21:48.432
So an overwhelmingly disappointing Saturday at a fair in the state of Maine.

00:21:48.432 --> 00:21:49.664
So that's a bummer.

00:21:49.664 --> 00:21:55.393
And on Sunday it was so slow that the fair actually closed two hours early.

00:21:56.320 --> 00:21:58.929
Now we're just going to analyze the facts.

00:21:58.929 --> 00:22:03.622
Okay, we are not doing as well as we hoped for.

00:22:03.622 --> 00:22:17.991
We are not doing as well as we hoped for, and I think that I've got a reputation this year of over forecasting and getting over excited about events until I get there and then them not fulfilling my prophecy or my hopes, dreams or aspirations.

00:22:17.991 --> 00:22:20.834
So maybe partially this is my fault.

00:22:20.834 --> 00:22:27.157
Okay, but for a fair of this size there's no way we shouldn't be doing better.

00:22:33.900 --> 00:22:36.667
Now I will say it seems to be everybody around me, with the exception of one, that is having this same struggle.

00:22:36.667 --> 00:22:37.470
So that is what it is.

00:22:37.470 --> 00:22:48.233
The unfortunate thing for me is the one exception that's doing well is in the same business as me and that's been a hard pill to swallow.

00:22:48.233 --> 00:22:59.038
But the difference is that their claim is that proceeds go to these veteran causes, so people feel like they're giving back.

00:22:59.038 --> 00:23:10.988
So I think that that is kind of the difference, because their quality and their designs, I know, aren't better than what we are providing and their pricing is higher.

00:23:10.988 --> 00:23:13.621
But it's still a hard pill to swallow, right.

00:23:13.621 --> 00:23:19.031
So you're dealing with that other kick to the confidence clusters right there.

00:23:19.031 --> 00:23:22.064
But overall, everybody's feeling down.

00:23:22.064 --> 00:23:27.761
Overall, everybody that's been here before is telling me hey, um, this isn't, this isn't normal.

00:23:27.761 --> 00:23:38.119
So I'm hopeful by the end of the week, when, hopefully, temperatures cool a little bit, people get some money in their pockets and they want to come out and spend at the end of the week.

00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:39.201
It's all going to work out.

00:23:39.942 --> 00:23:57.599
Oftentimes, when you do these fairs, the days that you expect to be busy, they can be affected by heat, they can be affected by rain, they can be infected by a bunch of random things and you might surprise yourself by having a random weekday be ultra successful.

00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:07.263
So you never really know if a fair is really worth it or not until the end of the fair and you kind of divide it all up, count the money and figure things out.

00:24:07.263 --> 00:24:23.385
With all that said, through the trials, tribulations, ups and downs, I will still come out and say next year I will put this fair back on my schedule and I will return to this fair because I feel encouraged about the potential and the possibility that's here at this fair.

00:24:23.385 --> 00:24:32.231
So that tells me I've already put two events on my schedule this year that will remain on my schedule for next year.

00:24:32.231 --> 00:24:39.321
I've tried a multitude of events this year that are new, but I can't guarantee I'm going to keep all of them, but this is one of them.

00:24:39.321 --> 00:24:46.555
So I'm encouraged by that right, and I do think that things are going to get better, that this is going to get better.

00:24:46.555 --> 00:24:48.026
This too shall pass.

00:24:48.901 --> 00:24:50.989
I feel like tonight's going to be a good night.

00:24:50.989 --> 00:24:52.385
That's Demolition Derby tonight.

00:24:52.385 --> 00:24:56.048
I feel like that's going to be good, but there's definite challenges here.

00:24:56.048 --> 00:24:57.605
Right, it's beyond hot.

00:24:57.605 --> 00:24:59.787
I'm the new guy in town.

00:24:59.787 --> 00:25:02.663
I've got the old dusty location on the edge of town.

00:25:02.663 --> 00:25:03.644
I don't know that.

00:25:03.644 --> 00:25:05.204
All just kind of sounded good.

00:25:05.806 --> 00:25:07.587
The schedule here is kind of different too.

00:25:07.587 --> 00:25:14.815
We open at 1 o'clock in the afternoon and we close at 11 pm, which is late, especially when it's slow.

00:25:14.815 --> 00:25:15.655
It's real late.

00:25:15.655 --> 00:25:19.621
Now.

00:25:19.621 --> 00:25:22.569
I could go out there and open a little bit early, which I'm pushing noontime on Monday as I'm recording this.

00:25:22.569 --> 00:25:26.170
So I've got to wrap up and get back out there.

00:25:26.170 --> 00:25:32.311
But it's 100 degrees, bro, and when I get out there and I just start sweating, I'm going to hurry up and sweat, to hurry up and wait.

00:25:32.311 --> 00:25:33.705
I'm going to sit around and do nothing.

00:25:33.705 --> 00:25:36.960
So it's the old catch-22.

00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:46.490
Do you try to get out there and hope to get an extra sale, or are you just going to sweat your ass off for an extra hour or two for no reason?

00:25:46.490 --> 00:25:48.053
It's a battle, it's a dilemma.

00:25:48.053 --> 00:25:53.972
Okay, it's a tough one, but here we are fighting that good fight.

00:25:53.972 --> 00:25:58.306
So that's been the struggle, I will say, the first couple of days I was here.

00:25:58.527 --> 00:25:59.871
Another struggle was sleeping.

00:25:59.871 --> 00:26:19.776
If you are closing at 11 o'clock and then you come back and you're super tired and you're ready for bed, um, right next to me there's one kind of run-down raggedy camper of some I don't know carnival workers or other vendors that come rolling in late night and make a bunch of noise.

00:26:19.776 --> 00:26:30.727
The first night they were unpacking their groceries at midnight and setting off the horn, locking the doors, smashing doors, so that was kind of tough to sleep.

00:26:30.727 --> 00:26:35.423
And then I woke up in the morning to six tents being set up right outside my camper.

00:26:35.423 --> 00:26:40.221
I had a real tent city out there and them folks liked to party all night.

00:26:40.221 --> 00:26:44.333
So you crank the AC up, turn the TV up and try to sleep.

00:26:45.134 --> 00:26:59.685
But oftentimes you get done working at 11, you walk back and maybe have a light snack, you try to settle in and then you're wide ass awake laying in bed just thinking about what you got to do, what you didn't do, what your family's doing, what your baby's up to, what your wifey's doing.

00:26:59.685 --> 00:27:03.928
All these things start rolling in your head and you look around and you go son of a bitch, it's 2 in the morning.

00:27:03.928 --> 00:27:04.691
I got to sleep.

00:27:04.691 --> 00:27:06.980
So that's been a challenge.

00:27:06.980 --> 00:27:12.564
Okay, it's been a challenge, but I think I'm starting to settle in with the routine here.

00:27:12.564 --> 00:27:18.167
I think we're going to kick it into high gear here and things are going to happen.

00:27:18.167 --> 00:27:18.807
I can feel it.

00:27:18.807 --> 00:27:22.830
I can feel positivity about to happen.

00:27:23.750 --> 00:27:32.876
Another interesting, fun, cool thing has happened this week is I made a friend out here, okay, which, when you're on the road you make a bunch of friends, right?

00:27:32.876 --> 00:27:34.837
That's just what you're supposed to do, man.

00:27:34.837 --> 00:27:49.842
If you're being true to you and your brand and your cause and you're just provoking conversation and having positive conversation, you're gonna meet like-minded people along the way, you're gonna form connections and, hopefully, friendships and eventually you add them folks to your family, right?

00:27:49.842 --> 00:28:03.993
Well, this week I met a couple of young bucks, a couple of 18-year-old dudes that are floating around here, you know, looking for their next girlfriend, so to speak, and I met a real nice young fella named Isaiah.

00:28:03.993 --> 00:28:24.689
He's 18 years old, he's a real hardworking kid and we just kind of hit it off having conversation and like the next day he came over to the tent and he was eating some lunch or something and he had a couple of Red Bulls with him and I was by myself and the tent was slow.

00:28:24.689 --> 00:28:26.185
So I said, hey, man, have a seat if you want.

00:28:26.185 --> 00:28:54.843
So he came on back and sat down and started having some snacks and I put his drink in the fridge and then we just started chatting and getting to know each other and then the next thing you know he's there till about close and as I'm talking to him, real awesome young man, right, and he gives a positive beacon of hope for this generation, because we're talking about an 18 year old kid who's done his EMT training, that's done his fire one and two training.

00:28:55.163 --> 00:29:06.403
He works with a fire department and he works on a dairy farm and he works on a dairy farm that his grandmother's worked on for 25 years and he often gets to work with his grandmother at the same time.

00:29:06.403 --> 00:29:12.826
So now this young fellow is with me on a Saturday night and he leaves.

00:29:12.826 --> 00:29:16.923
We close at 11, 11 and he leaves, I don't know, right around 10, 11 o'clock, something like that.

00:29:16.923 --> 00:29:53.265
He goes home, gets a quick nap, gets up for one in the morning to go to work at the dairy farm, to get out at nine, to then take a quick nap and before you know it he's reporting to duty at the Lound, proud American booth, coming in and with his cowboy hat on and a couple of Red Bulls, and he comes in and pops a squat and hangs out and greets people and talks to people and helps me put shirts on the shelf and he just kind of covers the booth when I go to the bathroom and we just kind of hang out and swap life stories and just kind of hang out and we've spent a couple of days together and I've learned about Isaiah.

00:29:53.285 --> 00:30:07.136
I've learned a little bit about his life and his upbringing and just his roots and his personality, his motivation, and I'm just going to say it's encouraging.

00:30:07.136 --> 00:30:18.851
It's rather encouraging to meet an 18-year-old man trying to find his way, trying to learn his way, and I know a lot of you heard me say 18-year-old man and you're saying, at 18, he's not a man.

00:30:18.851 --> 00:30:20.943
And I'm telling you, this young man is.

00:30:20.943 --> 00:30:30.826
He has the right mindset, he's focused, he's motivated, he has a plan, he has direction.

00:30:30.826 --> 00:30:42.667
It is refreshing, it is encouraging, it is hopeful to meet a young man this committed, this focused, this prideful.

00:30:42.667 --> 00:31:00.769
How many 18-year-olds do you know that'll spend all day at a fair, that'll sleep for a half an hour, that'll get their ass up and go to work at one in the morning at a dairy farm, bust their ass for eight, nine hours and come back and do it all over again?

00:31:00.769 --> 00:31:02.472
Not too many.

00:31:02.472 --> 00:31:17.471
So as I'm having these conversations with him, I'm encouraged, I'm hopeful that there's more kids like him out there that can save this country and this generation, because we know it takes our youth to fix this country.

00:31:17.531 --> 00:31:35.051
And when you see some of the things going on in this country, when you see the socialist could-be governor in New York and you see some of these freeloading people that don't want to work for nothing, that expect everything to be given to them that can ruin this country, you get hopeful, you get encouraged.

00:31:35.051 --> 00:31:38.279
When you meet an Isaiah, you know there's promise.

00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:50.923
When you meet an Isaiah, there's a lot of things going on right now where, like my wife was telling me, if you go on TikTok right now and you search EBT, there's people freaking out that their EBT benefits are getting cut.

00:31:50.923 --> 00:31:55.573
There's people freaking out that the government's not paying for their groceries anymore.

00:31:55.573 --> 00:31:58.430
There's people freaking out that they have to go to work if they want benefits.

00:31:58.430 --> 00:31:59.726
That's the way it should be.

00:31:59.726 --> 00:32:02.127
A handout isn't something for you to live on.

00:32:02.127 --> 00:32:04.868
A handout is something to help you get back on your feet.

00:32:05.880 --> 00:32:16.113
Now the difference is and the trickle-down effect for all of us small businesses is those people that are used to getting their groceries for free no longer have the disposable income to buy t-shirts from me.

00:32:16.113 --> 00:32:23.461
So I understand that that is part of what I have to deal with, part of the growing pains that I have to go through, that I have to grow through.

00:32:23.461 --> 00:32:32.909
But those people that are dependent on those benefits they need to learn and they need to try better for themselves.

00:32:32.909 --> 00:32:36.374
They can't depend on us to try harder for them than they try for themselves.

00:32:36.374 --> 00:32:42.315
So I'm in agreement with all these directions, but they're all cause and effect for my business as well.

00:32:43.278 --> 00:32:59.111
But it's interesting to me to see these people that could be 20, 30, 40 years old complaining, able-bodied, working individuals, complaining about not getting benefits when they could be getting benefits but they don't want to work.

00:32:59.111 --> 00:33:16.241
And then I have an 18-year-old young man in my tent, shooting this shit with me, that's going to work at one in the morning to bust his ass to provide for himself, who is living on his own, who is doing all things for himself with a goal and a direction in mind.

00:33:16.241 --> 00:33:21.532
What a polarizing difference that is, but what an encouraging difference that is.

00:33:21.532 --> 00:33:31.071
Lord, I hope and pray there's more Isaiahs out there than there are people with their hands out there, because America needs more Isaiahs.

00:33:31.071 --> 00:33:34.462
America needs more young kids that are committed, like you and me.

00:33:34.462 --> 00:33:41.625
America needs more people that want to work, like you and me, that are motivated, that are driven, that are prideful like you and me.

00:33:41.625 --> 00:33:46.434
America needs Loud Proud Americans.

00:33:46.434 --> 00:33:54.854
If you ask me, gotcha, me, gotcha.

00:33:54.854 --> 00:34:08.494
Loud Proud American is a lifestyle brand, dedicated and determined to represent the American spirit, with an unrelenting commitment to provide made-in-the-USA products.

00:34:08.494 --> 00:34:19.574
If you would like to join the 2% of Americans that buy American and support American, head on over to wwwlalproudamericanshop.

00:34:19.574 --> 00:34:24.811
Together, we can bring back American manufacturing.

00:34:24.811 --> 00:34:28.429
All right, all right, all right.

00:34:28.429 --> 00:34:32.967
Y'all might hear some difference in my voice.

00:34:32.967 --> 00:34:42.608
Y'all might experience a little slowness, a little doneness, a little overdone in my voice.

00:34:43.170 --> 00:34:46.235
I decided to do something a little bit different.

00:34:46.235 --> 00:35:02.032
Okay, we ended the last segment, I went into a beautiful little gut check and then I walked my sweet little ass on down to the fairgrounds and I opened up and I had me a self another day.

00:35:02.032 --> 00:35:12.364
Okay, I did this because, well, two reasons I was running late and then, uh, number two most importantly, I thought this was a great idea.

00:35:12.364 --> 00:35:16.152
I wanted you to experience the roller coaster of a fair.

00:35:16.152 --> 00:35:22.304
Okay, and, in all honesty, I had full intentions of doing this for the entire episode.

00:35:23.206 --> 00:35:28.202
I wanted to record a little bit on Wednesday when I started to set up.

00:35:28.202 --> 00:35:56.204
I wanted to record a little bit on a Thursday when I was opening for the first time, you know, on a Friday I wanted to just do like a daily thing and you guys could literally learn and understand the manic chaos that goes through the mindset of a small business owner at a fair, because it's crazy, the ups and the downs and the turnarounds that goes through your little brain is maddening.

00:35:56.204 --> 00:35:59.871
But I've been way too tired to do that every freaking night.

00:35:59.871 --> 00:36:01.340
So I apologize, that's a.

00:36:01.340 --> 00:36:02.302
You know, that's on me.

00:36:02.302 --> 00:36:03.846
Okay, I'm going to own it.

00:36:03.846 --> 00:36:05.409
Cinderella, I own it.

00:36:05.409 --> 00:36:06.393
It's my fault, all right.

00:36:06.393 --> 00:36:11.228
But yesterday I said, well, we can do, we can do it at least once.

00:36:11.228 --> 00:36:13.333
Right, we can swing it once.

00:36:13.333 --> 00:36:17.943
You can force yourself into this conversation At the end of the night.

00:36:18.083 --> 00:36:29.512
Last night I sat at my kitchen table with the microphone and I was ready to record, but my brain was toast and I couldn't give to y'all the energy that it deserved.

00:36:29.512 --> 00:36:31.708
So I said I'll do it in the morning.

00:36:31.708 --> 00:36:34.820
And right now I'll do it in the morning and I, right now I regret that choice.

00:36:34.820 --> 00:36:40.552
I'm working on the shittiest cup of coffee I've ever made.

00:36:40.552 --> 00:36:46.668
Hang on, oh God, it's disgusting, but I need it.

00:36:46.668 --> 00:36:48.152
Yeah, you ever do that.

00:36:48.152 --> 00:36:54.050
Wow Gotta get it in my bloodstreamstream, regardless of how bad it is.

00:36:55.414 --> 00:37:07.527
Anyhow, I'm struggling a big time today and I and I think it's because it's the first night I got real sleep we actually closed early yet again, not a good sign.

00:37:07.527 --> 00:37:14.038
Um, was a little bit early last night and we're not going to open till later today, and I'm about to tell you why in a little bit early last night and we're not going to open until later today.

00:37:14.038 --> 00:37:15.378
And I'm about to tell you why in a little bit.

00:37:15.378 --> 00:37:25.210
So, with that said, I actually got some sleep and then I woke up at a normal hour and I forced myself to take a little cat nap and that was a bad choice.

00:37:25.210 --> 00:37:27.003
Okay, I'm just going to put that out there.

00:37:27.003 --> 00:37:27.726
That was a bad choice.

00:37:27.726 --> 00:37:32.387
But here's the thing we now have the ability for you to ride the dragon.

00:37:32.387 --> 00:37:40.534
That is the fair circuit, and we can connect last segment with this segment with a couple of fun stories.

00:37:40.534 --> 00:37:42.440
All right, first things first.

00:37:43.481 --> 00:37:54.231
I actually saw on the news that adults quote unquote air quote adults are buying pacifiers.

00:37:54.231 --> 00:37:55.994
Have you all seen this?

00:37:55.994 --> 00:37:58.637
This is, this is not a joke.

00:37:58.637 --> 00:38:03.106
People have taken fidget spinners to a whole new level.

00:38:03.106 --> 00:38:13.793
People are now buying pacifiers, and people who claim to be consider themselves to be adults are buying adult pacifiers.

00:38:13.793 --> 00:38:16.389
They range from $1 to like $150.

00:38:16.389 --> 00:38:30.273
And they say, when they're feeling stressed or overworked at the job site, at the job place, they will pop in a binky and it reminds them of their childhood and they can calm the fuck down.

00:38:30.273 --> 00:38:37.251
I share this with you because, number one, this shouldn't be true.

00:38:37.251 --> 00:38:44.766
Right, like, I limit the amount of exposure that Paisley has to a binky because I don't want her to be addicted to it.

00:38:44.766 --> 00:38:48.909
And we have adults buying binkies.

00:38:49.701 --> 00:38:55.800
If you worked for me and you were tugging on a binky, I'd slap the shit out of you.

00:38:55.800 --> 00:39:00.282
That's going to be why I work for myself now, because I wouldn't let myself have a binky.

00:39:00.282 --> 00:39:03.284
No, because I would slap the shit out of an employee.

00:39:03.284 --> 00:39:06.786
I'm not fit for human consumption anymore.

00:39:06.786 --> 00:39:13.630
Okay, I've served my time of running and managing groups of people.

00:39:13.630 --> 00:39:14.851
Not anymore.

00:39:14.851 --> 00:39:16.231
Man, I can't be trusted.

00:39:16.231 --> 00:39:19.413
I'm not allowed to have a crew of employees.

00:39:19.413 --> 00:39:28.438
Not anymore, because clearly I couldn't contain my true feelings and that would get me into some trouble.

00:39:28.438 --> 00:39:35.661
So I want to put things into perspective.

00:39:35.661 --> 00:39:51.373
We have so-called adults out there buying binkies to get through the workday, laying around at home tugging on a binky, scrolling on their phone, and then we have my young friend, isaiah, out there working his ass off.

00:39:51.373 --> 00:39:58.362
Friend Isaiah out there working his ass off.

00:39:58.362 --> 00:39:59.184
And here is a great Isaiah story for you.

00:39:59.204 --> 00:40:02.731
Yesterday I go down and I open the tent at 12 o'clock, about an hour early.

00:40:02.731 --> 00:40:16.184
I open the tent it is sweltering, it is over 90 degrees, feels like 2 million.

00:40:16.184 --> 00:40:18.610
Okay, we might as well be selling t-shirts in afghanistan, because it is insanely hot and incredibly dusty.

00:40:18.610 --> 00:40:24.563
Now, about one o'clock ish, I want to say isaiah reports for duty, comes into the uh tent to hang out.

00:40:24.563 --> 00:40:39.521
He's got his cowboy hat on and his emt bag with him, drops the emt bag in the corner and, um, you know, he goes out and is chatting people up and walking around and hanging out and um, mind you, he just worked from one in the morning till nine in the morning.

00:40:39.521 --> 00:40:47.704
And um, next thing, you know, he comes into the tent and a family comes into the tent and there's a young boy with him.

00:40:47.704 --> 00:40:49.949
Maybe, I don't know, five or six or so.

00:40:49.949 --> 00:40:51.012
I'm still not good with age.

00:40:51.012 --> 00:40:58.014
Maybe I don't know five or six or so I'm still not good with age and he's got blood running all down his arm and apparently the guy had a good size scab.

00:40:58.014 --> 00:41:00.081
He ripped it off and he was bleeding everywhere.

00:41:00.081 --> 00:41:02.045
But the kid was in a panic like he thought he was dying.

00:41:02.045 --> 00:41:12.590
Isaiah brought him into the tent, took out the EMT bag, put on the rubber gloves, cleaned the little guy up, talked him through it, bandaged him up and sent him on his way.

00:41:12.590 --> 00:41:21.112
So he was outside talking to some other vendors, saw the kid go by and took care of the situation.

00:41:21.112 --> 00:41:28.242
Don't really expect that from an 18-year-old kid these days, not when I tell you a story about kids sucking on bankies, am I right?

00:41:28.983 --> 00:41:32.791
Well, fast forward to the end of the night and this is when things get interesting.

00:41:32.791 --> 00:41:44.079
Sun's going down, demolition derby's happening behind the tent starts at seven o'clock.

00:41:44.079 --> 00:41:54.014
I'm over at Underdog Metal's tent talking to Julia and we're all kind of in this little corral where we can see each other's booths so we help each other out.

00:41:54.014 --> 00:42:04.740
I'm over there talking to her and I see this boyfriend-girlfriend scenario Skinny kid coming across the lot, probably late teens, early 20s looks white as a ghost and he's holding his hand.

00:42:04.740 --> 00:42:07.750
He has his hand balled up and she's keeping him balanced.

00:42:07.750 --> 00:42:12.344
And I look and he's got blood running out of the bottom of his hand.

00:42:12.344 --> 00:42:13.608
I could tell he definitely cut himself.

00:42:13.608 --> 00:42:19.329
I can't tell at this point how bad the scenario is, but judging by the look on his face, it actually looks pretty damn bad.

00:42:19.980 --> 00:42:28.809
So Isaiah's over at the pretzel, stand down the way and I see this couple coming towards me and they're trying to find somebody and they're in a panic.

00:42:28.809 --> 00:42:36.565
And I said that fellow right there in the red t-shirt and the cowboy hat can help you.

00:42:36.565 --> 00:42:38.809
And then I can assess how frightened this couple is.

00:42:38.809 --> 00:42:45.215
So I yell across the fairgrounds, Isaiah, and he looks over at me and I was like need to help this fellow.

00:42:45.215 --> 00:42:56.608
And he comes running over to the guy and then sees the amount of blood loss and the massive gash in his hand and he runs to the tent to grab the EMT bag.

00:42:56.608 --> 00:43:04.186
And we have a quick conversation in passing that results in yeah, I need to go get somebody.

00:43:04.186 --> 00:43:10.791
Like I need to find a medic as well, because this is going to go beyond what he needs to handle right now.

00:43:10.791 --> 00:43:19.652
So he grabs the bag, he runs over to take care of him and I said I'm going to go find one of these sheriffs.

00:43:21.163 --> 00:43:27.025
Now I say I'm going to go find one of these sheriffs because there's multiple sheriffs walking around here during the course of the day.

00:43:27.025 --> 00:43:28.525
That's one of the best things about this fair.

00:43:28.525 --> 00:43:30.608
You can clearly see that they're prepared.

00:43:30.608 --> 00:43:33.548
There is multiple sheriffs.

00:43:33.548 --> 00:43:41.246
I'm willing to bet and I say 17 or so as an exaggeration but I feel like at all times there's six or eight sheriffs that are working.

00:43:41.246 --> 00:43:42.831
They're always traveling in groups of two.

00:43:42.831 --> 00:43:53.329
I've seen multiple different sheriffs on duty, so I assume that there's a very high likelihood as soon as I turn the corner, I'm going to run into one.

00:43:53.480 --> 00:43:57.489
The fair is not that big and I see them like all day long.

00:43:57.489 --> 00:44:07.469
So my thought process is I'm going to run over and find a sheriff, get them to respond to this and they can call an ambulance if they need to.

00:44:07.469 --> 00:44:15.313
They can handle the scenario, but let's get them on scene assisting Isaiah and get this taken care of.

00:44:15.313 --> 00:44:29.403
And uh, at this point my assumption is like my phone's in my tent, I'm not at my vendor tent and, um, I feel like it's going to be quicker for me to literally just go find a sheriff than it is for me to make any kind of phone call.

00:44:29.403 --> 00:44:39.411
So I go off in one direction and Julia goes over to help Isaiah and then apparently she takes off in another direction to find some sheriffs.

00:44:39.411 --> 00:44:48.643
When she encounters sheriffs, they argue with her about finding an ambulance, which I mean not helpful, am I right?

00:44:49.264 --> 00:44:57.385
So I start walking or jogging, I guess you shall say, and I'm looking and I can't find a sheriff, and I can't believe it.

00:44:57.385 --> 00:44:58.971
Like, how is there no sheriff over here?

00:44:58.971 --> 00:45:00.222
Because I need to find one.

00:45:00.222 --> 00:45:04.804
And I keep going and going and going, and then I said to myself self they'll be at the beer tent.

00:45:04.804 --> 00:45:07.230
So I run over to the beer tent area.

00:45:07.230 --> 00:45:09.240
I look nobody there, no cops there.

00:45:09.240 --> 00:45:17.331
I remember Kyle telling me that there was cops down on the other end of the grandstands, which is at the very end of the fairgrounds.

00:45:17.331 --> 00:45:21.510
I start huffing over there, thinking they got to be over there, maybe patrolling for the derby.

00:45:22.400 --> 00:45:24.688
Then, at the very end of the fair, I see an ambulance.

00:45:24.688 --> 00:45:26.362
So I start running.

00:45:26.362 --> 00:45:28.065
Did you hear me?

00:45:28.065 --> 00:45:29.648
I'm running?

00:45:29.648 --> 00:45:32.273
Okay, not cool bro.

00:45:32.273 --> 00:45:37.481
Hear me, I'm running.

00:45:37.481 --> 00:45:38.161
Okay, not cool bro.

00:45:38.161 --> 00:45:40.005
I just painted a picture of Afghanistan and here I am running.

00:45:40.005 --> 00:45:40.467
This isn't safe.

00:45:40.467 --> 00:45:46.065
Not safe for me, not safe for civilians, in my way, okay, we don't need two medical emergencies here.

00:45:46.065 --> 00:45:52.422
I run up to the ambulance, get to the doorway and this individual is coming out First off.

00:45:52.422 --> 00:45:54.079
When you see a 300 plus pound man running up to the ambulance, get to the doorway and this individual is coming out First off.

00:45:54.079 --> 00:46:04.130
When you see a 300 plus pound man running up to the ambulance and tells you there's an emergency, that someone has been cut, they've lost a lot of blood and they've passed out, you should take that serious.

00:46:04.130 --> 00:46:15.844
Okay, that wasn't really the case and I'm going to say something controversial here, but it's factual here and when I say this I'm going to try to be as PC as possible about this.

00:46:16.907 --> 00:46:30.188
A transgender individual was the person in the emergency truck, okay, and I just honestly thought it was a guy.

00:46:30.188 --> 00:46:33.373
I thought this person was a guy, honestly thought it was a guy.

00:46:33.373 --> 00:46:34.775
I thought this person was a guy.

00:46:34.775 --> 00:46:48.976
And then I you know, throughout this entire process, I noticed that maybe some hormonal things had been taken and I noticed that the name of said individual was Sophia and then I kind of made the connection.

00:46:48.976 --> 00:46:51.503
I didn't really make this full connection until the end.

00:46:51.503 --> 00:47:13.286
But I guess you could say maybe this doesn't have any importance on the story, but I kind of feel like it does, because this was a very piss-poor, embarrassing interaction with first responders and I'm frustrated by it.

00:47:13.286 --> 00:47:20.291
I'm still frustrated by it because I go to the truck and I tell them what's going on and this person is not taking me serious.

00:47:20.291 --> 00:47:24.170
They're just looking around for stuff and I was like I'm sorry, what happened?

00:47:24.170 --> 00:47:52.083
There's maybe a late teenage individual cut himself, he has lost a lot of blood and he's down here at the other end of the fairgrounds and he passed out, okay, and they're looking around and I said you know, I had a friend with me who is EMT certified and or has EMT training and he had an emergency kit with him and he's helping him right now.

00:47:52.083 --> 00:47:54.786
But this young fellow needs help.

00:47:54.786 --> 00:47:55.789
He definitely needs help.

00:47:56.811 --> 00:48:00.382
This person procrastinates and takes so long looking around for things.

00:48:00.382 --> 00:48:08.108
I was running, okay, I was running, and we are a long ways away and I literally said to them it's a pretty good distance away.

00:48:08.108 --> 00:48:14.742
You might want to drive there, you might want to hurry up and get down there and nope, not the case, right?

00:48:14.742 --> 00:48:25.813
So this individual I believe it was Sophia was the name comes out of the truck, starts walking with me and then goes, oh, I should get my gloves, yep, you might want those.

00:48:25.813 --> 00:48:33.659
Goes back to the truck, gets gloves, then comes out and we start walking further and then says, oh, I should grab a radio.

00:48:33.659 --> 00:48:44.188
And then turns around, gets a radio, like has to go back to the ambulance to get the radio and then explain to um their boss what's going on.

00:48:44.188 --> 00:48:50.226
And I assume it's their boss, because this person is reporting back to them and that one seems to be carrying on like they have a clue.

00:48:50.226 --> 00:48:56.440
And this individual says to them like this is what's going on.

00:48:56.440 --> 00:49:03.561
And I said, yeah, he's got a pretty deep cut, he's losing a lot of blood and passed out.

00:49:03.561 --> 00:49:05.226
I'm sorry what he's passed out?

00:49:05.226 --> 00:49:06.648
Yes, he's passed out.

00:49:06.648 --> 00:49:08.481
How many times do I have to say this?

00:49:08.481 --> 00:49:16.163
So we start going and then this person starts questioning me Okay, so was the individual responsive when you left?

00:49:16.163 --> 00:49:18.989
No, no, he wasn't.

00:49:18.989 --> 00:49:21.512
My friend is helping him right now.

00:49:21.512 --> 00:49:22.702
Was he responsive?

00:49:22.702 --> 00:49:24.626
No, his eyeballs were behind his head.

00:49:24.626 --> 00:49:27.652
I looked back at him and he was out cold.

00:49:28.960 --> 00:49:32.610
Then they start to pick up the pace, or Sophia starts to pick up the pace slightly.

00:49:32.610 --> 00:49:35.809
I'm still miles ahead and I'm slowing down Like come on, let's go.

00:49:35.809 --> 00:49:39.840
At this point Sophia begins to counsel me.

00:49:39.840 --> 00:49:44.789
So for future reference, it would be better if you just called 911.

00:49:44.789 --> 00:49:57.710
Listen, I'm at a fair and I'm not near my phone and I honestly thought it'd be quicker for me to find one of the 17 sheriffs or one of the multiple ambulances that are always at this fair.

00:49:57.710 --> 00:50:11.208
I just assumed that'd be quicker than me trying to call 911 and then them trying to dispatch me over to somebody to just explain to them where I am, for me to say pretzel stand, listen, I just thought it'd be a lot quicker.

00:50:11.208 --> 00:50:13.083
It's not my fault, I couldn't find a sheriff.

00:50:13.083 --> 00:50:13.885
And it's the Derby.

00:50:13.885 --> 00:50:17.751
There's always ambulances over here, so get off of me.

00:50:17.831 --> 00:50:21.465
First off, why are you counseling me?

00:50:21.465 --> 00:50:23.771
Why are you trying to talk down to me?

00:50:23.771 --> 00:50:25.981
Instead you should be like hey, thanks for coming to get us.

00:50:25.981 --> 00:50:29.588
My apologies for not taking this serious.

00:50:29.588 --> 00:50:41.141
As we're going, there is other fair goers, other patrons that are saying to the EMT down here on the corner, down here on the corner, over here on the right, just a little bit further.

00:50:41.141 --> 00:50:43.244
They all knew this was serious.

00:50:43.244 --> 00:50:46.791
So as we get up to the scene.

00:50:47.632 --> 00:50:52.672
I go directly to the scene where Isaiah is and I look and Sophia is heading in the other way and I'm like over here.

00:50:52.672 --> 00:50:58.360
Go directly to the scene where Isaiah is and I look and Sophia is heading in the other way and I'm like over here.

00:50:58.360 --> 00:51:00.585
Oh no, no, this person's on the radio trying to make sure that the ambulance can make it through.

00:51:00.585 --> 00:51:04.641
How about you go over to the actual person that is unconscious in the dirt at the fair?

00:51:04.641 --> 00:51:14.039
Well, when I get over to the scene, this young fella is alert and Isaiah has his wound cleaned up to the best of his ability.

00:51:14.039 --> 00:51:22.268
He has the bleeding stopped and his hand is wrapped in gauze and he's keeping him alert and having conversations with him.

00:51:22.268 --> 00:51:27.465
I guess I didn't need to go anywhere because he handled it right.

00:51:27.465 --> 00:51:32.239
This EMT first responder.

00:51:33.664 --> 00:51:43.375
Not only did they try to discipline me for doing what I assumed to be the right thing, they now go into lecturing the kid on the ground.

00:51:43.375 --> 00:51:45.922
Well, first off, it's like what did you do?

00:51:45.922 --> 00:51:48.228
And he's, you know, telling them.

00:51:48.228 --> 00:51:50.172
And they're being sarcastic to the sense of like.

00:51:50.172 --> 00:51:53.403
Telling him, and they're being sarcastic to the sense of like.

00:51:53.403 --> 00:51:54.565
Well, I guess I'll just take this off and see.

00:51:54.585 --> 00:52:00.101
And they begin to question and discipline the dude that was unconscious on the ground.

00:52:00.101 --> 00:52:01.985
Sofia says what happened?

00:52:01.985 --> 00:52:04.391
This happened in the derby, yep, happened with my derby car.

00:52:04.391 --> 00:52:08.588
You do know there's an ambulance inside the, inside the.

00:52:08.588 --> 00:52:18.030
You know fairgrounds over there by the, by the derby, and why would you lecture somebody that was just unconscious and didn't know where he was?

00:52:18.030 --> 00:52:26.780
He apparently wakes up, you know, in that question and she's like grilling him about it and he says I was on this side of the track, I was over here.

00:52:26.780 --> 00:52:34.081
I later found out from another vendor he was actually passed out laying on the ground, out from another vendor.

00:52:34.081 --> 00:52:38.673
He was actually passed out laying on the ground, basically behind my tent, and they got up and walked to the closest area that had people that had population.

00:52:39.239 --> 00:52:54.632
Why would an EMT literally talk down to and discipline somebody that has a major cut, a major wound, so much blood loss and pain that they passed out two times?

00:52:54.632 --> 00:52:57.344
Come on, do better, be better.

00:52:57.344 --> 00:53:01.233
Don't try to educate me when I'm trying to help.

00:53:01.233 --> 00:53:17.047
Don't try to educate somebody that was a first responder doing your job, helping out, and then don't try to talk down to and educate an individual that just woke up from being unconscious that's laying in the dirt.

00:53:17.047 --> 00:53:19.070
Unbelievable.

00:53:19.070 --> 00:53:20.153
Unbelievable.

00:53:20.153 --> 00:53:40.119
Julia was holding his feet up, isaiah was wrapping him up and your boy was running around the fairgrounds, only for a sorry excuse of a first responder to talk down to discipline, to lecture and to overall just make people feel like crap Unbelievable.

00:53:40.119 --> 00:53:56.010
I think maybe in this Little scenario, sophia should invest in a pacifier to sit in the ambulance with and calm her debts, because this was just ridiculous.

00:53:56.010 --> 00:53:59.364
The individual ended up leaving in the ambulance.

00:54:01.076 --> 00:54:09.690
But I'm just sharing this story with you because this is another day in the life and times of somebody at a fairground, as a small business owner at the fair.

00:54:09.690 --> 00:54:28.552
But again it paints a real contrasting picture between me watching the news and hearing about full grown ass adults buying pacifiers to remind themselves of their childhood, to wash away their anxiety.

00:54:28.552 --> 00:54:59.862
And then I have an 18-year-old young man that literally jumps in the face of fear at this point, because we have this young man that is completely freaked out and scared and he's passed out and he's bleeding everywhere, and Isaiah jumps into action and helps this young man out, does more than the first responders do, and then we have these first responders that are treating people like shit for trying to help.

00:54:59.862 --> 00:55:02.829
That's the contrasting world in which we live in.

00:55:02.829 --> 00:55:06.181
That's the nonsense in which we deal with.

00:55:06.181 --> 00:55:10.570
I had to share that story with y'all.

00:55:10.570 --> 00:55:15.159
I had to connect the dots between the first segment and the second one.

00:55:15.159 --> 00:55:19.076
That story was too good not to share, so I had to get it out there.

00:55:19.757 --> 00:55:27.577
But I've wanted to take you guys on the roller coaster ride that is a small business owner on the fair.

00:55:27.577 --> 00:55:36.782
Because if you listen to the enthusiasm and the excitement of me in the first part of the show talking about, hey, tonight's going to be a good night.

00:55:36.782 --> 00:55:40.277
There's a demolition derby, I think today's going to be a really good day for me.

00:55:40.277 --> 00:55:46.318
Hearing that excitement in my voice, me also telling you hey, I'm definitely going to be back here next year.

00:55:46.318 --> 00:55:49.967
You're riding that positive wave with your boy.

00:55:50.407 --> 00:56:06.965
Okay, I run down to the fair, I open an hour early and I sit there for four and a half hours before I make my first sale, four and a half hours before I make my first sale.

00:56:06.965 --> 00:56:09.201
We closed a little bit early.

00:56:09.201 --> 00:56:24.086
We closed at, I want to say, 10-ish, maybe 10.30 by the time I started closing and coming back, which is about a half an hour early, but the fair actually shut down, maybe even an hour early.

00:56:24.086 --> 00:56:31.501
But I just kind of sat around hoping that people would walk from um, like whatever they were doing, to the cars out the exit.

00:56:31.501 --> 00:56:36.456
Maybe they would stop and buy for me, and that, uh, didn't really happen.

00:56:36.456 --> 00:56:41.581
So you know, there's that, yeah.

00:56:41.581 --> 00:56:47.108
So, um, let's just say this I opened at 12.

00:56:47.108 --> 00:56:50.672
I was closed around 10, 10.30.

00:56:50.672 --> 00:56:59.800
So let's say, you know, nice 10-hour workday and I made $120.

00:56:59.800 --> 00:57:07.371
Yeah, $120.

00:57:08.235 --> 00:57:16.045
While we're chatting, I'm actually going to open my phone here and I'm going to check my business app and I can actually see the course of my day.

00:57:16.045 --> 00:57:25.842
My first sale didn't happen until 4.21 in the afternoon after opening up at 12, right.

00:57:25.842 --> 00:57:33.840
I then didn't have another sale until almost 8 o'clock, so another three hours.

00:57:33.840 --> 00:57:45.974
So you go four plus hours first sale, another three hours before your next sale, and then I had a sale 30 minutes later and then one 40 minutes later.

00:57:45.974 --> 00:57:49.244
My last sale was at 9 o'clock at night.

00:57:49.244 --> 00:57:57.929
I had four sales over the course of the entire friggin' day for $120 effin' dollars.

00:58:02.697 --> 00:58:08.141
That's not good, as I just state the obvious.

00:58:08.141 --> 00:58:24.260
That's certainly not good when you really start to add everything up, right, and you look at the fact that my little, beautiful, amazing 11-month-old baby girl is at home without her daddy.

00:58:24.260 --> 00:58:28.434
I'm inconveniencing all these family and friends.

00:58:28.434 --> 00:58:35.427
If you listen to the first segment, we talk about all the people that went out of their way to do something to help me be here.

00:58:35.427 --> 00:58:37.659
All those people are being inconvenienced.

00:58:37.659 --> 00:58:48.989
All those people are doing what they can to help me and my family for me to be here and I'm rewarding them by making $120 and 10 plus hours of work.

00:58:48.989 --> 00:59:00.981
I leave my wife and my baby and my mother and I inconvenience them and my friends and my family to make $120.

00:59:00.981 --> 00:59:08.014
Not good, not good, not good.

00:59:08.014 --> 00:59:15.235
It Not good.

00:59:15.255 --> 00:59:17.039
I've been open for five days and when I add those five days up I pull them all together.

00:59:17.039 --> 00:59:24.617
What I've done here in five days I expected to do in just one Saturday here.

00:59:24.617 --> 00:59:29.288
The last fair I did was a tiny little hometown fair.

00:59:29.288 --> 00:59:31.592
That means a lot to me.

00:59:31.592 --> 00:59:35.463
It's because it's the fair that I grew up going to as a kid Osprey Valley Fair.

00:59:35.463 --> 00:59:39.056
It is a small fair, like a really small fair.

00:59:39.056 --> 00:59:45.782
I don't know the expected attendance at that fair maybe 8,000, 10,000 people.

00:59:45.782 --> 00:59:57.318
I do believe this fair that I'm at expects like 60,000 people In four days at that little town fair.

00:59:57.318 --> 01:00:05.938
I've whooped the ass of me being here for five days now In five days.

01:00:05.938 --> 01:00:09.347
Here I'm not even close to what I did there in four days.

01:00:09.347 --> 01:00:12.965
This is an incredible disappointment.

01:00:12.965 --> 01:00:15.159
I'm not giving up.

01:00:15.159 --> 01:00:16.063
I'm not giving up.

01:00:16.063 --> 01:00:20.320
It's hot as all get out.

01:00:20.782 --> 01:00:26.795
As I've explained multiple times over and over and over, I'm going to consider that part of the problem.

01:00:26.795 --> 01:00:28.577
I'm not going to say that's the only problem over.

01:00:28.577 --> 01:00:29.521
I'm going to consider that part of the problem.

01:00:29.521 --> 01:00:30.505
I'm not going to say that's the only problem.

01:00:30.505 --> 01:00:33.775
And you have to sit back and analyze what you have and what you're doing and how you're doing it.

01:00:33.835 --> 01:00:37.706
And you look around at everything else and, as a business owner, you beat yourself up.

01:00:37.706 --> 01:00:39.320
But you work yourself through it right.

01:00:39.320 --> 01:00:42.958
You go through it, you grow through it, you try to figure it out and you try to pull yourself through it.

01:00:42.958 --> 01:00:59.726
So that whole learning process, everything's happening right and I'm observing and I'm doing everything I possibly can and I'm brainstorming and I'm working things out and I'm trying to talk myself into remaining positive, because if you're sitting around like a bump on a log and you're negative, you're only going to get negative results.

01:00:59.726 --> 01:01:02.338
So I'm trying to remain positive.

01:01:02.358 --> 01:01:05.286
And I'm looking at it and I understand that today's going to be a challenge.

01:01:05.286 --> 01:01:06.956
It's mid-90s today.

01:01:06.956 --> 01:01:07.717
Today's going to be a challenge.

01:01:07.717 --> 01:01:08.358
It's mid-90s today.

01:01:08.358 --> 01:01:13.289
Today's going to be a challenge, tomorrow's going to be a challenge, but maybe by Thursday things really start to change.

01:01:13.289 --> 01:01:20.081
Maybe Friday night demo derby we hit things in a major fashion.

01:01:20.081 --> 01:01:22.030
Maybe on Saturday, the last day of the fair, we really capitalize.

01:01:23.396 --> 01:01:31.208
Maybe this somehow gets blown out of the water by a couple amazing days, somehow gets blown out of the water by a couple of amazing days.

01:01:31.208 --> 01:01:36.286
But if those amazing days do not come, then this was all for nothing.

01:01:36.286 --> 01:01:40.320
That's the challenge.

01:01:40.320 --> 01:01:56.400
That's the struggle of a small business owner that is living and dying by attendance at a fair, that is living and dying by the dependence on people opening their wallets.

01:01:56.400 --> 01:02:03.777
This is not easy for anybody out there that says, yeah, I can do that, give it a shot.

01:02:03.777 --> 01:02:07.463
A lot of you can, a lot of people can't.

01:02:07.463 --> 01:02:11.126
It's not easy.

01:02:11.126 --> 01:02:17.507
It is not easy to remain positive and I am glad that I recorded this podcast the way I did that.

01:02:17.507 --> 01:02:19.413
I took a break and I came back.

01:02:19.413 --> 01:02:22.099
Number one we gained an amazing story out of it.

01:02:22.099 --> 01:02:28.382
But number two, you get to experience the highs and the lows that goes into doing what I do.

01:02:28.382 --> 01:02:37.268
You get full experience of, like the mental gymnastics that goes into what's going on for me as a business owner.

01:02:37.849 --> 01:02:48.079
Now, I'm not one to end shows on negative notes, so I want to put one positive spin on this and to do that really quickly.

01:02:48.079 --> 01:03:03.248
I'm going to outline some of the difficulty that went into me being here and the difficulty that plays out for what's ahead of me real quick, without getting into too much details, for me to be here at this fair.

01:03:03.248 --> 01:03:06.663
I'm going to be honest.

01:03:06.663 --> 01:03:08.309
I borrowed money to be here.

01:03:08.309 --> 01:03:22.047
I borrowed money from my mother to actually pay my fees to get here and I need to give her that money back and that's not something that's easy to say for a grown ass man that's trying to fight for his business to stay alive.

01:03:22.047 --> 01:03:31.556
The next thing I'm going to tell you is I needed to make certain amounts of money each day to make payments that were coming due.

01:03:32.617 --> 01:03:58.489
The next thing is by Tuesday, which is when I'm finishing this recording, I need to have X amount of money to actually order designs that I've made or that I need to restock, so I actually have enough designs to replenish stock to go to windsor fair, which is one of my bigger events of the year.

01:03:58.489 --> 01:04:04.815
That needs to happen today, that needs to go through today, or that they won't be at my house in time.

01:04:04.815 --> 01:04:17.315
The next part of this equation is I need to make enough money by, let's say, thursday, to order the apparel that goes with those designs for those things to be at my doorstep when I get home.

01:04:17.315 --> 01:04:39.018
Because when I leave here on a Sunday, by Monday I need to be working on stock for the Windsor Fair, because then I need to be reporting to Windsor Wednesday or Thursday to start building my display for the next fair and from there I need to have enough inventory to capitalize on that fair.

01:04:39.018 --> 01:04:43.317
And right now I'm not sitting on the right mix of things that I need for that fair.

01:04:43.317 --> 01:04:47.456
I'm low on sweatshirts and stuff and when it's this hot out that's not that big of a deal.

01:04:47.456 --> 01:04:49.260
But you know, in a couple of weeks it will be.

01:04:49.260 --> 01:04:53.579
That's how things work in Maine and I need those things because they're some of my my biggest sellers.

01:04:53.579 --> 01:04:56.628
So I have all these moving parts that are going on.

01:04:57.356 --> 01:05:06.501
I also have large amounts of money that needs to be dished out for me to go to my largest event of the year.

01:05:06.501 --> 01:05:15.608
I need to purchase another tent, another display, which is going to run me another 2,500 bucks or so my entry fee into that fair.

01:05:15.608 --> 01:05:18.657
I still have thousands of dollars to pay towards that.

01:05:18.657 --> 01:05:20.541
It should have been paid by now.

01:05:20.541 --> 01:05:23.916
All these things go in the back of my mind, right?

01:05:23.916 --> 01:05:42.188
And when you're thinking about those things and you're saying, okay, I need this amount of thousands of dollars to be ready for this next event and I would roll out of that event in a couple of days and then go back to New York and then I would be home for a couple of weeks trying to get ready for my biggest event, which is going to require $20,000 more of product.

01:05:42.188 --> 01:05:49.286
I need $5,000 or $6,000 just for fees and display stuff.

01:05:49.286 --> 01:05:54.364
You start thinking about all these things and in the middle of that you're like $1,500 for this.

01:05:54.364 --> 01:06:00.887
You know I need $1,500 for my mortgage, I need this much for my tractor, this much for this, this much for that insurance.

01:06:00.887 --> 01:06:01.675
Yada, yada, yada, yada.

01:06:01.675 --> 01:06:14.286
You start thinking, you start laying all these things out and you sit around and you wait five hours with no sales and then you spend 10 hours and you make $120.

01:06:15.215 --> 01:06:25.047
The mental discipline it takes to not lose your ever-loving mind is one of the most challenging things I've ever had to experience.

01:06:25.047 --> 01:06:32.490
I know some of you right now are listening and you're saying to yourself I thought this son of a bitch said he was going to end on a positive note.

01:06:32.490 --> 01:06:33.815
None of this sounds positive.

01:06:33.815 --> 01:06:35.920
It sounds rather depressing.

01:06:35.920 --> 01:06:40.186
What I can tell you that is positive.

01:06:40.186 --> 01:06:44.800
What I can tell you that is a miracle.

01:06:44.800 --> 01:06:49.429
What I can tell you that is a plan, that is all part of the plan.

01:06:50.876 --> 01:07:09.048
As I was in my camper getting ready to go to work and I had the news on and when the news stopped it went into a church service and the church service started playing as I was putting the last, finishing, you know things together to get ready to go to work.

01:07:09.048 --> 01:07:27.541
I sat down for a minute and I was watching this part of the service and my phone goes off and I looked down at my watch because my phone's across the room and I saw the email populate on my watch and I clicked on it.

01:07:27.541 --> 01:07:46.293
Phones across the room and I saw the email populate on my watch and I clicked on it and it was my credit card processing company telling me, bing, you have a loan offer.

01:07:46.293 --> 01:08:02.168
I often take loans against my credit card processing company and what happens is, when you're selling things on credit cards, it takes a bigger percentage of them to pay the loan back, and I've used it to get through some tough times, but I still have an open, active loan with them.

01:08:02.168 --> 01:08:04.963
I'm still paying some back to them.

01:08:04.963 --> 01:08:07.568
I've paid almost 80% back.

01:08:07.568 --> 01:08:10.695
So I'm back to them.

01:08:10.695 --> 01:08:17.158
I've paid almost 80% back, and they ding me and tell me here's some more money Now.

01:08:17.158 --> 01:08:26.751
I waited, thinking that I could make even more credit card sales, maybe my loan would increase, but that didn't happen.

01:08:30.114 --> 01:08:40.207
But what I'm here to say is there's enough in there for me to get ready to go to the next fair, to pull me through these dark times, to get me through another time of great struggle.

01:08:40.207 --> 01:08:48.764
Can you all understand that?

01:08:48.764 --> 01:08:54.387
Can you feel that?

01:08:54.387 --> 01:08:55.432
Can you process that?

01:08:55.432 --> 01:09:00.680
I just painted you a very small picture of what's going on in my world.

01:09:00.680 --> 01:09:03.185
I just painted you a very small picture of the struggle in my life.

01:09:03.185 --> 01:09:16.868
I'm blessed by the people in my life that have come out of nowhere to help me, to pull me through, to drag me through, to push me through.

01:09:16.868 --> 01:09:17.811
I have many more stories I can share.

01:09:17.811 --> 01:09:22.457
It takes more than a village to get there.

01:09:22.457 --> 01:09:26.185
I painted you a small picture of the struggle in my life, of the worry in my heart.

01:09:26.206 --> 01:09:31.878
If you start connecting episode after episode after episode, you've heard me say weeks ago give it to God.

01:09:31.878 --> 01:09:35.728
You get to a point in life where you just have to give it to God.

01:09:35.728 --> 01:09:41.266
And I know there's people listening right now that maybe they don't believe.

01:09:41.266 --> 01:09:46.055
There's people listening right now that said, keith man, I come here for practical advice.

01:09:46.055 --> 01:09:47.719
I don't come here for spiritual wisdom.

01:09:47.719 --> 01:10:06.824
And I tell you give it to God, man, even when you have the most doubt, when you feel the most challenged, when you feel the most down and out, give it to God.

01:10:06.824 --> 01:10:13.877
You have to, you have to, you have to In this world.

01:10:13.917 --> 01:10:17.762
If you don't have belief, then it makes this world almost impossible to complete.

01:10:17.762 --> 01:10:24.488
And the divine timing is not lost on me.

01:10:24.488 --> 01:10:27.542
I'm at my wit's end.

01:10:27.542 --> 01:10:31.645
Y'all can imagine what's going through my head.

01:10:31.645 --> 01:10:37.238
Right, I am thousands upon thousands of dollars in debt.

01:10:37.238 --> 01:10:44.676
I've created a crazy amount of debt for my business and for my personal life.

01:10:44.676 --> 01:10:49.988
Because I believe in what I'm doing, because I see where this is going to go.

01:10:49.988 --> 01:11:02.307
I am in the middle of the greatest challenge my business has ever had and I continue to convince myself, on the other side of this, great challenge is great triumph.

01:11:02.307 --> 01:11:11.877
I continue to convince myself that this is a test for myself to see if I'm determined, to find out how committed I am to my cause.

01:11:11.877 --> 01:11:14.523
These are challenges, these are obstacles.

01:11:14.523 --> 01:11:20.604
These are placed in front of me to challenge me, to question me, to ask me how bad do you want it?

01:11:20.604 --> 01:11:22.087
Are you serious about it?

01:11:22.087 --> 01:11:34.032
But please understand the great difficulty that comes with being by yourself on the road away from your beautiful baby girl and your beautiful wife and your mother and your family and your friends.

01:11:34.032 --> 01:11:36.259
And you're failing and you're failing.

01:11:36.259 --> 01:11:41.225
And you're waking up every single day and you're brushing your teeth and you're looking at yourself in the mirror and you're saying today is the day.

01:11:41.225 --> 01:11:42.954
God help me today.

01:11:42.954 --> 01:11:47.529
Today shall be the day I will get to where I need to be today.

01:11:48.051 --> 01:12:00.103
And you go out there and it's a hundred degrees and you sit there in the blistering sun and you sweat your ass off and you fight, and you fight and you fight and you try to remain as positive as you possibly can be for each person that comes in that tent because that might be your only opportunity.

01:12:00.103 --> 01:12:11.511
And at the end of the day you make a hundred dollars and you go back to your camper and you dust yourself off and you wake up and you try again.

01:12:11.511 --> 01:12:18.608
And every day you battle the demon in your head that tells you just give up.

01:12:18.608 --> 01:12:25.667
You battle that demon that says just give up, be the responsible person for your family.

01:12:25.667 --> 01:12:31.561
And on the other side of that is the prideful son of a bitch that says don't you dare turn back now.

01:12:31.561 --> 01:12:33.402
You've invested your life in this.

01:12:33.402 --> 01:12:38.998
You know what this is going to provide to your family and where this is going for your family.

01:12:38.998 --> 01:12:39.962
Don't you dare give up.

01:12:39.962 --> 01:12:45.838
So when you fight those demons and those angels and you say, god, I don't know what else to do.

01:12:45.838 --> 01:12:54.520
I need help, I need a sign from you.

01:12:54.520 --> 01:13:18.222
And you're watching Fox News and it flips over to church and you sit your ass down Just in time for your watch to tell you here's a loan, keep on going.

01:13:25.296 --> 01:13:29.555
I've run the risk of making my show too spiritual.

01:13:29.555 --> 01:13:47.756
I've hidden from talking about God too much on this show, but I've got to the point in my life where it's all that's left.

01:13:47.756 --> 01:14:19.854
We don't know what we are capable of in this life until we put ourselves in positions of great challenge, and I have certainly done that and I am certainly learning what I am capable of.

01:14:19.854 --> 01:14:26.581
But it is not lost on me that I am not capable of any of this Without my Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.

01:14:26.581 --> 01:14:29.003
God, I thank you for granting me this day.

01:14:29.003 --> 01:14:30.626
I thank you for granting me this day, god.

01:14:30.626 --> 01:14:33.710
I thank you for granting me this opportunity.

01:14:33.710 --> 01:14:47.600
God, I thank you each and every day for my beautiful family and I will not give up and I will give all glory to you.

01:14:47.600 --> 01:14:54.519
Today, I hope and pray that each and every one of you take time to have a relationship with God.

01:14:54.519 --> 01:15:02.180
I hope and pray that today, each and every one of you take your hardships and your difficulties and you give them to God.

01:15:02.180 --> 01:15:08.750
I understand this might not be the best look for me.

01:15:08.750 --> 01:15:28.234
I understand that me sharing my pain, my fear, my failures, being in a camp or having a breakdown is probably not the best look for me.

01:15:28.234 --> 01:15:50.447
But I do this and I share this Because there's one thing I want from this I want anybody listening right now that has never had a conversation with God to understand the power that comes from that conversation, the power and the strength that comes from that belief and that conversation.

01:15:56.015 --> 01:15:57.658
I did not plan for tears today.

01:15:57.658 --> 01:16:03.676
I did not think in any way, shape or form, that my episode of this podcast would result in this ending.

01:16:03.676 --> 01:16:05.658
But this just isn't me talking today.

01:16:05.658 --> 01:16:36.180
It is my duty and my purpose today to reach and connect and touch somebody else today, because a favor was done for me and I need to repay it by giving the greatest favor to one of you that's listening right now, that's going through it, that's dragging yourself through it, that's pulling yourself through it, that's struggling.

01:16:36.180 --> 01:16:39.787
I need you to know that today you need to talk to God.

01:16:39.787 --> 01:16:46.435
Make today your day.

01:16:47.015 --> 01:17:02.109
Wow, this is as transparent and possibly as embarrassing as it can be for a 42-year-old man, but I hope you feel the absolute best of intentions from me.

01:17:02.109 --> 01:17:04.171
I love each and every one of you.

01:17:04.171 --> 01:17:10.300
Thank you for supporting my podcast.

01:17:10.300 --> 01:17:12.164
That's it and that's all.

01:17:12.164 --> 01:17:12.987
Biggie Smalls.

01:17:27.475 --> 01:17:39.509
If you're a loud, proud American and you find yourself just wanting more, find me on YouTube and Facebook at loud, proud American, or the face page, as my mama calls it.

01:17:39.509 --> 01:17:46.841
If you're a fan of the Graham Cracker, want to find me on Instagram or all the kids by tickety-talking on the TikTok.

01:17:46.841 --> 01:18:03.850
You can find me on both of those at loud underscore, proud underscore, american.

01:18:03.850 --> 01:18:10.426
A big old thank you to the boys from the Gut Truckers for the background beats and the theme song for this year's podcast.

01:18:10.426 --> 01:18:15.067
If you are enjoying what you're hearing, you can track down the Gut Truckers on Facebook.

01:18:15.067 --> 01:18:16.640
Just search Gut Truckers.

01:18:16.640 --> 01:18:18.060
Give them motherfuckers.

01:18:18.060 --> 01:18:19.045
A like too.

01:18:19.045 --> 01:18:20.270
I feel the pain.

01:18:20.270 --> 01:18:22.439
Make it bleed.

01:18:22.439 --> 01:18:36.085
I hate to say I told you so.

01:18:36.085 --> 01:18:37.787
I feel the pain.

01:18:37.787 --> 01:18:39.328
Make it bleed.

01:18:39.328 --> 01:18:42.190
I truly thank you for supporting my American dream.

01:18:42.190 --> 01:18:47.582
Now go wash your fucking hands, you filthy savage.