Dec. 17, 2025

Reflecting And Reclaiming The Season

Reflecting And Reclaiming The Season
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Time moves quietly, until you realize 2016 is somehow a decade behind you. We lean into that jolt and turn it into a practical tool to calm holiday anxiety: look back ten years, then name the next ten with intention. Along the way, we get honest about the economy’s squeeze, the pressure to be merry, and how reflection can ground you when everything feels loud.

We map a real decade—marriage, a home built on family land, a dream job gained and lost, a business born, and the grief that still wakes you at night. That full arc matters. It shows the strength you’ve built, the risks you took, and the love that held you together. With that clarity, we sketch 2036 in real terms. How old will you and your kids be? What will your days feel like? What single action can you take now—send the message, take the trip, start the scary thing—to bend time toward meaning rather than drift?

We also reclaim the season with a simple family pact: create nightly moments that become memories—cookies, lights, photos, hand-written notes. These small rituals outlast stress and give kids wonder they’ll carry forward. And we model another kind of courage: seeking peace through transparency. When rumors and accusations rage, choose a long, honest conversation over performative outrage. In public life or at your own table, clarity builds trust and softens the ground for healing.

If you’re feeling the weight of the holidays, grab a pen. Write your ten-year list, picture your next decade, and choose one action today. Then share this episode with someone who needs hope. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what’s the one memory you’ll create this week?

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/
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00:00 - Welcome And Sponsor Shoutouts

03:10 - Audience Check-In And Holiday Anxiety

08:55 - Economy Pressures And Shared Struggles

15:30 - Church Sunday And Paisley’s Milestone

22:20 - Pastor’s Message On Anxiety

27:40 - The Time Theory: Ten-Year Reflection

36:00 - Marriage, House, And Life Markers

44:00 - Promotions Lost And New Dreams Built

51:30 - Grief, Father’s Passing, And Resilience

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Today on Share the Struggle Podcast, we find peace and transparency, and we overcome anxiety with reflection as we ask ourselves what difference does a decade make?

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All that and more on today's episode of Share the Struggle Podcast.

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Let me tell you something.

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Everybody struggles.

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The difference is some people choose to go through it and some choose to grow through it.

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The choice is completely yours.

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Which one you choose will have a very profound effect on the way you live your life.

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Am I so excited to be back with you?

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Oh, it is true.

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It is damn true.

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Because I love you, Boo.

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Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome back to this year podcast.

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Perfectly, precisely, beautifully named Share the Struggle.

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Mm-hmm.

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Because everybody struggles, boys and girls, children and squirrels, we know it to be true.

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We also know it's true that if you are bold enough, if you are transparent enough, if you were courageous enough to turn on your microphone and share your truth, then there is strength in that story, in that struggle.

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All of our journeys in life, they provide clues.

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They leave little stepping stones to success.

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It provides strength to the rest of us.

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That's why we're here, folks.

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284 consecutive weeks of this podcast.

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Proudly brought to you by the fine folks over the Loud Proud American, aka myself, my wife, my uh my baby, and my mama.

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That'd be my mama and my baby mama and my baby and me.

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And both the mamas.

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You know what I mean?

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This year, beautiful, proudly American-owned, family-owned, and operated Loud Proud American, the only source to provide you the gifts that people want to receive this Christmas.

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The gifts that are proudly made in the US of A.

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Don't lose your chance or your opportunity to take advantage of those gifts today.

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Find all of those beautiful, amazing gifts over to loudproudamerican.shop.

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Go on ahead and get yourself one before they're all gone.

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We're running out of time, folks.

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We are running out of time.

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Christmas is almost here.

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It's crazy.

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It is crazy to think about.

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Uh before I get into the meat and parades of today's show, thinking each and every one of you that have been here since day one.

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Get your ones up.

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I acknowledge you like I always do, week after week.

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I thank you.

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I appreciate you.

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I um certainly just count you as a blessing and say thank you for being here for 284 weeks.

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If this is your first week here, then welcome.

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We're here with loving arms to wrap around you, to support you, to welcome you, to show you, to shower you with positivity.

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That's what we're here to do.

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We got some new cities and states and countries and all those good things tuning in.

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I'm gonna shout out a few new locations.

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If you're listening out there and this is one of your locations, drop me a line and say, hey man, thanks for the time.

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I'm the fella, I'm the lady, I'm the one.

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La Grande Oregon.

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Thank you, La Grande.

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I had to say it that way.

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I don't know why.

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I do not know why.

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Rio Rancho, New Mexico, Riverside, California, Omaha, Nebraska, home of the Omaha Stakes, which I am a massive fan of Omaha Stakes.

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Maybe Omaha Stakes should sponsor the show.

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Hey, to my listener in Omaha, if you are at all affiliated with Omaha Snakes, not snakes.

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No, I don't want any Omaha snakes.

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I don't even know if y'all have snakes in Omaha.

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I said stakes.

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S T.

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Okay.

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Omaha Stakes, if you listening in Omaha, if you happen to be affiliated with Omaha Stakes, you reach out here.

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Okay?

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We love samples and uh we would proudly accept you as a sponsor.

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And here's a fun one for you, folks.

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Sydney, New South Wales.

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There's a small part of me, okay, a large part of me, hoping that this listener here is uh Rhea Ripley.

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Rhea, if this is you, I welcome you and I appreciate you.

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You should reach out and uh be on the show, you know.

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But it's probably not Rhea.

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So if it's not, then whoever you are in Sydney, New South Wales, I love you, I appreciate you, and I welcome you.

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All y'all, how you feeling?

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How's your mama and them?

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How's your mentals?

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How's your dentals?

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I hope everybody is feeling good.

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I'm certain you all are feeling anxious.

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This just happens to be that time of the year, not to be confused with that time of the month, which is also a real Debbie Downer.

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But last week we talked a lot about what this time of year can do to people, right?

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We've talked about seasonal depression, holiday depression, stress, anxiety, the fears of facing people you don't want to face, being reunited with people that you maybe have been running away from, all those different things.

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The weight on your shoulders of trying to afford holidays while also sustaining and affording bills and a household and a family and all those things.

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Everybody, every single person listening, there's some level of anxiety or stress that rolls into this time of the year, which is supposed to be one of the greatest, most joyous times of the year.

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And in all honesty, it's always been one of those times for me.

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But this year I'm feeling just a little bit different.

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And what's really strange to me is I have not encountered anyone yet that is extremely excited about this holiday season, that is uh overgiddy and and just showering themselves and others with the good giving holiday spirit, which is I'm usually I'm usually the flag waver for this movement, okay?

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I am one of the most motivated and um joyous little Christmas elves you can find this side of the nuthouse.

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So for me to be feeling kind of different this year, it's strange, and I'm having a hard time understanding it.

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But as I'm talking to more and more people and realizing that we're all feeling this way, you start to really kind of analyze and think about the things that are going on around us.

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And certainly we are living through a tight economy.

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I think that a lot of us are uh pinching pennies and conserving here and and making uh questionable choices and decisions um towards the future to survive today.

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And I am in tremendously encouraged by the economy and the direction.

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I'm encouraged by the direction of this country.

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I think that um we have been battling inflation and recession and all these things for you know the past four and a half, five years.

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So I think we are turning corners.

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I actually got gas in the old family wagon the other day for uh$284 a gallon.

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So we're headed in the right direction.

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So I feel like things are happening, but you can't spend three, four, or five years trying to conserve many money, trying to kick the can down the road.

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I personally have found myself in a situation where I survived over the past few years by making poor financial decisions that would affect me in the future.

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Here I am in the future.

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I'm sharing my example with you because I've talked to many people that have done the same thing.

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A lot of small business owners saying, hey man, I've just been just been banking on the big break.

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I've been banking on things coming together and happening and then alleviating this debt.

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And all of us are in that same position where we've, you know, unless we're one of the fortunate ones where business is booming, we've made these choices and and now we're paying for them.

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So I feel like the nation, we're all feeling a crunch.

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I will say, I truly believe if we can get through these next few months of these dark days of winter, if we can find a way to survive, I feel like the boom for America is coming.

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We're not gonna have the 250th anniversary of America without it being successful.

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Let's be honest.

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That's what America does, okay?

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Wheaties and championships, that's what we do.

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How do you do?

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You know what I mean?

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Everything's gonna be fine.

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We just gotta get through it.

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I'm sharing this so that y'all listening can say, hey man, I'm not alone.

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I'm not alone here, brother.

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This is this we are united, brothers and sisters.

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We're all feeling a little bit constrained, okay?

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This just seems to be the way of the world right now.

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And I'm not gonna rehash all of last week's episode and make last week's show this week's show.

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No.

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That's not what I'm about to do today.

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But I'm touching on last week's show because it's gonna all come together.

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And I like ending shows and stories and and and learning lessons with a little to-do action, with either uh a moment of reflection, um, a cause and effect direction, certain things that we can do, ask ourselves to do, try to do.

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And this week I've stumbled on to something that I think is gonna help all of us pull through some of this.

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So I want to share that with you.

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I'm excited to share that with you.

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On Sunday, the family found ourselves back at church.

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My wife, little Paisley Rain, myself, and my brother Charlie back at church for another service.

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I'm gonna share a milestone moment for little Paisley Rain.

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This is the first time since going to church that she's made it through the entire service at her little child classroom, daycare, party room scenario.

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This church is awesome, man.

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They have basically it looks like an entire school wing that you go into, you drop your kids off.

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There's a um like a whole security section checkpoint scenario the whole nine, and there's all these little classrooms that partner kids up with their own age group.

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And little Paisley has gone to these uh this classroom every weekend since we started going to church, and she's never made it through the whole time.

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The first time she made it probably halfway through, and then we've we've regressed ever since.

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We've kind of just gone backwards.

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And a couple weeks ago, I think she was only in there for 10 minutes.

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So uh this weekend she actually made it through the entire service.

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So I just want to say, Oh, baby.

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Oh, my little girl.

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Daddy's so proud of you.

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He's so proud of you.

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Oh, look at you making it all the way through, making friends and stuff.

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So proud of you.

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This church is great.

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Um, they basically, if she can't make it through the old textileity, they'll call her, she'll go get her, and then we can assess the situation, where we are at in the service, how she's feeling.

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We always try to bring her back into the service and see if she can make it through with us.

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Sometimes she has.

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Other times she leaves and there's a whole separate room with a fireplace and a flat screen.

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And her and mama will watch some of the service there and then join us when like the worship part of the day returns, and she, you know, makes it through the end of the service, which is another really incredible thing.

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I don't know how many of you uh out there go to church.

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I encourage you to go to church, but I'm not out here forcing you, begging you to go.

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But I don't know how many of you do go, and then of the ones that do, I don't know how many of you, because it's all new to me.

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I don't know how many of you have the whole musical, the worship side of service that we have at our church.

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But if you've ever been to one of those churches, or if you experience it on your own, or if you've seen it on TV, when the bands are playing and the people are singing, you always have the folks that put their hands up in the air and they're trying to open themselves up to God and they got their hands up.

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And uh, I have yet to be comfortable enough to take this position at church, I'll be honest.

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But a few weeks ago, little Paisley was in there with us at the end of the service, and the band's playing, and they're doing uh baptisms right on the side of the stage, and it's just so powerful.

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Like the music's just thumping, you can feel the Holy Spirit in your chest, and there's this big like whirlpool scenario, and they're baptizing people, and folks are lining up to hug that member of their family, and people are crying, and you just become so overcome with emotion.

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And I'm holding my little girl, and I look down, and she's got her hands up, wide open, up to the sky, just praising God.

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And I just broke down.

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I could I didn't even know how to handle it.

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I was like, This little girl's amazing.

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I don't, I don't, I don't get it.

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But this past weekend she made it through the whole service, so I want to congratulate my little girl for for that.

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And I'm not gonna highlight the whole service, but there was something that stuck out to me from this weekend, and when the pastor was speaking, and he said, This is the most anxious time of the year for everyone.

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And he talked about us as a society, us as members of the church, the level of anxiety that we all face, and he really went into outlining a lot of the things that that we just talked about, right?

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Things that we've talked about over the past two weeks now, about you know, just the stresses of of family, of financial, of careers, all these different things, right?

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We we've we've outlined him.

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He's discussing some of these things and saying this, this is the time of the year when we're supposed to be the happiest, the most joyful.

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This is the time of the year when we're celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

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This is the time of year when we should be the most together, the most peaceful, the most forgiveful.

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And instead, it's the most stressful, it's the most difficult.

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And for a church to acknowledge that, to recognize, to speak to that, that resonated with me.

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It set in with me that hey, this is reality, we're all facing this.

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And as he went on to talk about whether your your your stress and is is financial, if it's addiction, whatever it is, he's going through all these things, and I'm thinking, man, we're we're all feeling this.

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And for the church to acknowledge this, when I thought that my assumption from the outside would be that churches would just be, hey, this is the holiest time of the year, this is a great time to be here, and and all is well.

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Instead, it was here's reality, and we're suffering.

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How do we get through?

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What are we supposed to be doing?

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How do we celebrate?

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All those things.

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And it was really eye-opening for that to come up, for those things to really just um be brought to the forefront.

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I was like, man, hey, number one, I'm proud of us for getting out ahead of it.

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We had a conversation last week.

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I was feeling it, and we had that conversation already.

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So kudos to the show, episode 283.

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You were a great one, okay?

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But you're about to be outdone by episode 284, okay?

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Because we're back with more.

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And this time, I get a little actionable food for thought.

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It's gonna sound silly, it's just one question, and it's just a moment of reflection.

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But when you sit down and you start to list the results, I think it's gonna make a difference.

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I think it's gonna make an impact.

00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:36.799
This is kind of crazy, but I was um sitting on the couch this morning, my little baby girl, she was having a bottle and uh watching cartoons, watching Bluey, and snuggling dad, and and I was searching for inspiration, and I was um looking for Christmas ideas.

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Let's be honest, okay?

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That's it's a whole whirlwind of emotions.

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What we're all doing, right?

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I had a friend's post pop up that uh number one, I'm a bad friend.

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I'm gonna acknowledge that right now.

00:16:49.120 --> 00:17:02.639
So I'll take the Cabela's catalog right here and I'll put my left hand on that their catalog, and I'll raise my right hand and direct my beady little eyes to the sky and say, Here's the truth from this guy.

00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:04.319
I don't remember who posted this.

00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:06.240
I'm a bad friend, okay?

00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:13.759
I was so caught up in what the question was that um I just forgot who asked it, okay?

00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:19.920
But here's the thing: I saw this post, it popped up a little cloudy little photo, and I said the time theory.

00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:30.319
In three weeks, it'll be a new year, and somehow, 2016 will be ten years ago.

00:17:31.039 --> 00:17:41.440
You blink and realize how quietly time moves, how many moments became memories without you even noticing.

00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:48.319
Let that sink in for a minute, because this hit me hard and fast right between the blinkers.

00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:55.680
In three weeks, it'll be a new year, and somehow 2016 will be ten years ago.

00:17:56.160 --> 00:17:57.359
Think about it, guys.

00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:10.079
2016, ten years ago, you blink and realize how quietly time moves, and how many moments became memories without you noticing.

00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:12.960
Wow.

00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:20.240
That really hit me, and I began to think about the last decade of my life.

00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:29.599
What has happened to me, what has happened for me, what have I done, what have I overcome in the ten years that have passed since 2016?

00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:47.519
So as we start thinking about the holiday season, and as we start thinking about our stress and our anxiety, I'm asking you right now to ask yourself what happened in the past ten years to you?

00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:50.000
What has your past 10 years been?

00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:53.440
How did this decade affect you?

00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:55.119
What are the changes for you?

00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:57.680
What are the cause and effects for you?

00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:02.640
Take time and reflect on the past ten years.

00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:04.400
I'm gonna challenge you right now.

00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:12.000
I'm gonna take off the velvet glove and I'm gonna whooch slap you in the face with it, and I'm gonna issue you a challenge.

00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:15.200
I challenge you to take a pen and a pad of paper.

00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:16.960
I'm not asking you to do this on your phone.

00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:21.599
I'm asking you to unplug from your phone, from your keyboard, that whole scenario.

00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:39.599
I might ask you to use your phone in a minute, but I want you to take a pad of paper and I want you to take a pen, and I want you to write 2016 and 2026, and I want you to start writing down some of the bigger moments and things that have happened to you in the past 10 years.

00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:46.480
Some of the accomplishments for you, the wins, the losses, the failures, the mess ups, the give ups, all of those things.

00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:49.119
Think about the past 10 years.

00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:51.119
What have you been through?

00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:52.640
What have you overcome?

00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:54.079
What's holding you down?

00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:55.359
What's keeping you down?

00:19:55.519 --> 00:19:57.599
What have you pushed around?

00:19:57.920 --> 00:19:59.759
10 years, 2016.

00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:01.519
To now.

00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:02.799
Think about it, folks.

00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:04.079
A whole decade.

00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:11.920
And the reason why I say I might ask you to take your phone out is if you're like me, you're a real loser and you don't clean up your phone too well.

00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:18.880
So I'm willing to bet that in your photo section, you might actually have some photos from 10 years ago.

00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:24.319
And you can roll back to the beginning of your phone, of that photo section, and start scrolling through.

00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:30.960
And I can tell you, I certainly have photos from 10 years ago at the top of my timeline in my phone.

00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:32.559
You want to know why?

00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:41.920
Because one of the major accomplishments of my life happened in these 10 years, and it happened in the year 2016.

00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:46.319
In the year 2016, I married my best friend.

00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:50.720
Allison became my wife in the year 2016.

00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:52.720
I think about that.

00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:08.079
And 2016 was 10 years ago.

00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:13.839
It hit me right in the fields because I realized, wow, I've been married for 10 years?

00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:15.599
Like when did that happen?

00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:17.359
How has that happened?

00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:19.440
That seems crazy to me.

00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:24.480
I start to think about some of the things that have happened in those 10 years.

00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:29.200
Around that same time, I remember 2016 for me was wild because I did some crazy things.

00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:34.720
I decided to get a puppy, build a house, and get married all in 2016.

00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:38.880
So um we got our little English Bulldog Folsom.

00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:43.680
We built our house, our first house, our only house, our family house.

00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:47.440
We built here on family land and we got married.

00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:54.079
So to really think about 2016, we got a bulldog, we built a house, we got married.

00:21:54.240 --> 00:22:02.160
I started thinking about the fact that that started the beginning of this decade for me.

00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:10.640
So when I think about the fact that the beginning of this, 2016, I got married, I built the house.

00:22:10.799 --> 00:22:16.160
As I sit back now and think, wow, I guess that explains why there's so many things in the house that are already breaking.

00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.680
Like that's kind of crazy.

00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:19.279
Looks like we just moved in here.

00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:31.519
And as I really start to think back to 2016, I remember we were working on the house while planning a wedding, and I remembered we moved into the house, me and Allie on Christmas Eve.

00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:39.279
We went out and got a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, threw it in the house, and I remember having the town do an inspection.

00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:42.480
Might have been the eve of Christmas Eve or on Christmas Eve.

00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:48.000
The town inspector came into my house, walked around, and I already had the TV going in the Christmas tree.

00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:57.680
And me and Allie slept on the floor uh first night, Christmas Eve, 2016.

00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:01.839
We've been in this house for 10 years.

00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:04.880
We've been married for 10 years.

00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:08.799
In the past 10 years, I bought my dream car.

00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:15.759
I bought this car that I, well, for lack of better example, was my dream, okay?

00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:26.160
I've been thinking about it for the longest time, and I remember I actually found a photo of a very similar version of my car, and I made it the screensaver at work.

00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:28.480
And so many people would ask me, like, what's this?

00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:29.119
Whose is this?

00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:29.599
What's this?

00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:32.319
And I would always just say, like, well, it's gonna be mine.

00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:38.720
And I left that screensaver up for the longest time, and it was a motivator for me, it was a reminder for me.

00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:43.759
And then I bought that dream car and I paid that dream car off.

00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:53.440
And now it's actually sitting in the driveway covered in snow and won't start because the battery's dead, and I haven't driven it in a year and a half or so because the car seat doesn't fit in the back.

00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:54.720
Dad problems.

00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:57.279
Never would have thought that would be a situation.

00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:01.759
I also earned the promotion of a lifetime.

00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:06.559
I went from a sales manager to a general manager to an owner.

00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:11.680
I became an owner of a Harley freaking Davidson dealership.

00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:13.759
I was a partner at a dealership.

00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:19.119
I thought my 30-year plan, my 40-year plan, my 50-year plan was set in stone.

00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:22.799
Allie and I were Harley dealership owners.

00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:32.880
I was gonna spend the rest of my life selling Harley Davidson's, being a part of the brand and the family and the lifestyle, traveling all across the world, representing Harley Davidson.

00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:42.319
I was eventually going to buy out the majority owner and then change the damn name to my own name, and we were gonna have our own family dealership.

00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:43.119
That was my plan.

00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:44.640
I received that promotion.

00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:46.880
I was an owner, I was a partner.

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:55.200
Not very long after, I lost that promotion, and I lost that opportunity.

00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:59.680
It wasn't of my choice, it wasn't of my doing, but I did.

00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:12.640
After losing my career, my lifelong dream, I started my own business and began a new dream here for Loud Proud American.

00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:16.000
It's crazy to think.

00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:23.920
I haven't even discussed this, I haven't even highlighted this, but as of last month, we have been in business for six years.

00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:28.880
I started Loud Proud American in November 2019.

00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:37.519
I started a podcast in July of 2020 that now has 284 consecutive weeks.

00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:42.640
We've been doing this little ditty for five long years.

00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:46.960
We all lived through and suffered through a pandemic.

00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:55.759
Through all the social uprising, the craziness, the riots, the looting, the death, the disease.

00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:59.200
We lived through a sci-fi movie.

00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:10.640
In ten years I said goodbye to my grandmother, a brother, Ali's meme, her mother, and my father.

00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:16.799
And countless friends and acquaintances and family members of loyal friends.

00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:24.319
I've lost friends and family members, some by my choice, some by choices of their own.

00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:32.880
And I received the greatest gift of my entire life.

00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:38.799
The birth of the dutiful, amazing Paisley Rain Liberty.

00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:50.559
As of recently, my brother was released from prison, and as a family, we embraced faith and found God.

00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:55.200
What a difference a decade makes.

00:26:56.480 --> 00:27:11.839
As I ponder and reflect on the past ten years, as you sit there with a pad and paper and you begin to write down all the things that you've done for 10 years, when you compile that list and you think about those things, I'm not asking you to get into minute details.

00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:20.720
I'm just asking you to jot down and highlight some things, some shit, some stuff you've been through, some accomplishments, some things you regret, whatever it might be.

00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:44.799
I want you to jot some of those things down, and as you look at them and you really think about all you've accomplished in the past 10 years, all you've been through, all you've grown through, all those moments that became memories, I now want you to close your eyes and start to ask yourself what will your life look like in ten years?

00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:46.640
What will you look like?

00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:48.480
What will life feel like?

00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:52.880
What will it all be like in 2036?

00:27:53.519 --> 00:28:00.319
Because just as we're sitting here now asking ourselves, damn, how was 2016 ten years ago?

00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:03.200
How did that happen oh so quickly?

00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:13.839
In just the blink of an eye, we're gonna be sitting around asking ourselves as we write another damn list, how did 2026 end up being 10 years ago?

00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:24.640
Right off the top for me, the first thing that hits me is I tell myself, I'm gonna be 53 years old with a 12-year-old daughter.

00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:30.480
I can't even envision what that's gonna be like.

00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:39.119
So just uttering it, letting it slip off my lips, writing it on a piece of paper is mind-blowing to me.

00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:41.039
It's absolutely mind-blowing.

00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:57.359
Y'all know that I have this thing where when we get around the new year, we start to forecast our next year, we start to, you know, ponder and reflect on where we've been and where we want to be.

00:28:57.519 --> 00:29:04.880
We start to pull out those journals and notebooks from the previous year and ask ourselves, how close did we come to fulfilling our dreams?

00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:07.680
How many things did we accomplish?

00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:21.519
This year I'm doing it a little bit different, and then and this is a little impromptu scenario that that came up out of nowhere because I'm looking at 10 years' time as I start to reflect and plan my new year.

00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:22.720
What did I accomplish?

00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:24.160
What have I gone through?

00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:26.160
What have I grown through in 10 years?

00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:28.559
And what will come at me in the next 10?

00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:36.160
I went through some shit in the past 10 years that I couldn't envision myself pulling through.

00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:38.000
I went through some stuff.

00:29:38.160 --> 00:30:04.960
I suffered through some moments, some of the worst moments of my life, the darkest days of my life, overcoming the most difficult and darkest days of my life, watching my father slip away, making the decisions for him to be transferred to hospice, knowing the outcome, being in a room holding my father's hand while the doctor tells him you have cancer and you're going to die.

00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:13.920
That moment, that memory, it keeps me up.

00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:20.400
It keeps me awake far too many times than I care to admit.

00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:28.799
Some of the regret that I have, some of the greatest regrets in my life come from the past ten years.

00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:40.720
But the biggest accomplishments and achievements, victories in my life, come from the same ten years.

00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:51.599
Marrying my best friend and welcoming the best thing to ever happen to me, my baby girl, into this world.

00:30:52.720 --> 00:31:03.200
Achieving a dream, to have that dream taken from you, to make another one, and to see it through for six years.

00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:07.920
Now that dream is just getting started, and it's nowhere near where I want to be.

00:31:08.079 --> 00:31:14.160
But if you've been listening along for the past few weeks, you know we are finishing the greatest year we've ever had.

00:31:16.720 --> 00:31:22.000
I dare to dream about what the next ten years are gonna look like for me and my family.

00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:29.680
I know the challenges that will come, but I know the victories that will help us overcome.

00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:34.480
And I pray for that for you too.

00:31:34.640 --> 00:31:39.200
I beg of you to do this exercise, to take on this challenge.

00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:47.680
List out what you've been through in ten years, and then begin to envision where you're going to be in ten years.

00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:50.880
And as we do these things, I want to go back to this post.

00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:54.480
That post that I saw this morning that said the time theory.

00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:56.079
There's two parts to this post.

00:31:56.240 --> 00:32:02.960
The first part, in three weeks it'll be a new year, and somehow, 2016 will be ten years ago.

00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:06.720
You'll blink and realize how quietly time moves.

00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:11.039
How many moments became memories without you noticing?

00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:13.599
It's a reminder.

00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:16.640
Life isn't waiting for you to be ready.

00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:19.440
It's happening right now.

00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:26.880
So take the trip, send the message, chase the thing that scares you.

00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:34.079
Because one day you'll look back on this moment and wish you had started sooner.

00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:47.119
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, in front of you today is a list of the things that you achieved, overcame, failed, and received in ten years.

00:32:49.119 --> 00:32:55.440
There should be another list of all the things you want to achieve in the next ten years.

00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:58.799
Take today and start that list.

00:33:00.559 --> 00:33:03.759
Life isn't waiting for you to be ready.

00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:06.319
It is happening right now.

00:33:07.680 --> 00:33:12.640
Take the trip, send the message, chase the thing that scares you.

00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:18.640
Because one day you'll look back at this moment and wish you had started sooner.

00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:26.799
This folks is a true old-fashioned lesson on what we should be getting from social media.

00:33:26.960 --> 00:33:30.720
This is a firsthand lesson of the good that can come from social media.

00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:46.000
If you take the time to share positives from your life with your life, if you find a positive quote, a positive message like this person, who I'm a bad friend, don't remember their name, posted the time theory on their page.

00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:53.920
It provoked and inspired an entire podcast episode that people all over the country are beginning to listen to.

00:33:54.079 --> 00:33:57.839
My new friend in Sydney, New South Wales is listening to this message today.

00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:08.480
For the folks in Oregon today, in Seattle, Washington, in Alabama, and New York and Connecticut and Rhode Island and right here in Maine and all across this great land, you're listening to this time theory.

00:34:08.800 --> 00:34:16.559
We just got together and built a list of what we've done in the last decade as we begin to envision where we're going to be in the next decade.

00:34:16.719 --> 00:34:26.159
That all happened because somebody decided to be positive enough to put positive out into the world because we know positive multiplied, positive grows.

00:34:26.320 --> 00:34:32.079
When you throw that positive pebble out into the ocean, it makes a positive ripple and it spreads.

00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:33.840
And that ripple becomes a wave.

00:34:33.920 --> 00:34:43.039
And it's because of this and you, this positive vibe and this positive tribe that we come together for each and every week, week after week, for 284 consecutive weeks.

00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:45.679
We unite here and we share something positive.

00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:49.760
That's a positive vibe and a positive tribe that will be multiplied.

00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:55.920
And if you take your time and opportunity to share positivity on your timelines, then this is what comes of it.

00:34:56.079 --> 00:35:06.239
When we begin to continue to spread negativity and violence and looting and nonsense, this world will always be full of violence and looting and nonsense.

00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:07.840
Spread positivity.

00:35:08.079 --> 00:35:09.440
Positivity grows.

00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:11.440
Whatever you put into this world grows.

00:35:11.599 --> 00:35:15.199
Whatever you speak into existence becomes existence.

00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:18.480
Whatever shall be, shall be when you make it be.

00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:20.400
You understand what I'm saying?

00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:43.119
I not only took this message to empower this conversation, I took this message to forecast my goals, to take time to self-reflect on what I've been through, to prepare myself for where I'm going, to set my sails on where I want to be, but I also use this to overcome some holiday anxiety.

00:35:43.440 --> 00:35:55.360
We mentioned to start the show that we were going to find peace in transparency, and we were going to overcome anxiety with reflection as we ask ourselves, what difference does a decade make?

00:35:55.519 --> 00:36:02.320
As we have those conversations and we begin to have that self-reflection, I'm going to use that to overcome some of this anxiety.

00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:03.679
Because you know what I'm going to do?

00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:12.559
I'm using this, this message that we just went over today to plant my feet right where they need to be.

00:36:12.880 --> 00:36:14.800
Life isn't waiting for you to be ready.

00:36:14.880 --> 00:36:16.480
It's happening right now.

00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:23.280
One day you'll look back at this moment and wish you started sooner.

00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:32.000
You'll blink and realize how quietly time moves, how many moments became memories without you noticing.

00:36:32.320 --> 00:36:35.599
There's one thing about the holiday season, folks.

00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:42.719
It is so true that it comes with anxiety and it comes with difficult encounters and opportunities and situations.

00:36:44.719 --> 00:36:54.079
But it also comes with great memories and an opportunity for you to take moments in time and create amazing memories.

00:37:04.400 --> 00:37:10.000
How many times have you lost somebody and that's close to you, a family member or a friend, a loved one?

00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:18.079
And as you get around and you start sharing stories, oftentimes some of the stories that come up are Christmas stories.

00:37:18.159 --> 00:37:19.280
They're holiday stories.

00:37:19.440 --> 00:37:19.760
Why?

00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:21.280
Because we were all together.

00:37:21.440 --> 00:37:23.519
It was one of the times we were all together.

00:37:23.679 --> 00:37:32.320
So a lot of those legends of our family, those legacies, those stories, so many of them come from the holidays.

00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:35.360
So I want to slap y'all into existence.

00:37:35.519 --> 00:37:38.159
I want to push y'all back into reality.

00:37:38.239 --> 00:37:42.480
I want to pour cold water on you right now and tell you that you have an opportunity.

00:37:42.559 --> 00:37:47.440
You have an opportunity to create a moment that becomes a memory for somebody close to you.

00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:50.320
We are on the cusp of Christmas.

00:37:50.559 --> 00:37:56.079
The next time we drop a podcast episode, Christmas will be just a day away.

00:37:57.119 --> 00:37:59.199
You have the opportunity.

00:38:03.920 --> 00:38:06.960
Do something, be something, share something.

00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:11.599
This is when our family history is created.

00:38:11.679 --> 00:38:16.400
This is when a legacy of ourselves is created around the holidays.

00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:21.440
We get together, we share stories, we talk about the people that we love and that we miss and that we can't see no more.

00:38:21.760 --> 00:38:26.320
But we also share hugs and loves and stories of people we don't see often enough.

00:38:26.559 --> 00:38:37.519
And if you can overcome those fears and anxieties, you can find a moment, a moment to share a message, to have a memory that someday, someway, maybe in 10 years, somebody looks back on and says, Man, remember that Christmas?

00:38:37.760 --> 00:38:39.679
That Christmas in 2025?

00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:41.119
You remember?

00:38:41.760 --> 00:38:43.679
This is your opportunity.

00:38:44.719 --> 00:38:58.559
For me, I took some real self-reflection and I had a real self-and-family discussion that said, Listen, folks, we are not as receptive to the holiday season as we need to be.

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:01.519
We're having a family dinner.

00:39:01.599 --> 00:39:05.280
It was my wife and my mother and little Paisley.

00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:10.159
And at the end of that dinner, Paisley was all covered in pasta sauce and having the time of her life.

00:39:10.320 --> 00:39:12.800
And I said, I want to talk about something.

00:39:13.519 --> 00:39:17.280
And I took fault and I accepted blame.

00:39:17.360 --> 00:39:25.119
And I said, I'm genuinely such a positive holiday beacon of light, okay?

00:39:25.360 --> 00:39:26.559
And this year I'm not.

00:39:26.719 --> 00:39:27.760
And I apologize.

00:39:27.920 --> 00:39:29.679
I haven't been in the holiday spirit.

00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:31.280
I've been so worried about me.

00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:32.639
I've been doubting life.

00:39:32.800 --> 00:39:39.599
I've been second-guessing all my decisions, and I'm not the best person to be around in this holiday season.

00:39:39.920 --> 00:39:45.760
And then we all took the opportunity to acknowledge that we're not our joyous selves.

00:39:46.239 --> 00:39:54.400
And upon having that conversation, I said, Listen, this little girl right here, no matter what, is gonna have an amazing Christmas.

00:39:54.480 --> 00:39:56.400
She's having the best time of her life.

00:39:56.559 --> 00:39:59.679
And here's the truth in 10 years, little Paisy ran.

00:40:00.239 --> 00:40:10.320
Is not gonna know, and she's not gonna remember if Daddy and Mama and Mima weren't happy at Christmas time because they were so worried about everything else going on in the world.

00:40:10.400 --> 00:40:12.719
She's not gonna know that, but you know who will?

00:40:13.039 --> 00:40:14.800
Daddy and Mama and Mima.

00:40:15.840 --> 00:40:16.480
We will.

00:40:16.880 --> 00:40:28.960
And when I look at that little pasta face covered, beautiful girl of mine, and I tell myself, it is not fair to her if I am not the joyous, haphapiest bunch of assholes this side of the nut house.

00:40:29.199 --> 00:40:32.320
I need to get back to being myself.

00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:39.440
I need to get back to being the ones that enjoyed the season, that embraced the season, that extend the season.

00:40:39.599 --> 00:40:54.480
So we made a family pack right then and there that said, from this night forward until Christmas, we shall embrace all things Christmas to give this amazing angel the greatest Christmas ever.

00:40:54.639 --> 00:41:01.360
And there's gonna be more Christmases, and every single year, they're gonna be better and better, and we're always gonna think that Christmas is the best Christmas.

00:41:01.440 --> 00:41:05.920
But I'm telling you right now, this is the first Christmas that my little girl is involved in it.

00:41:06.000 --> 00:41:07.440
She's mesmerized by it.

00:41:07.599 --> 00:41:11.599
She asked for the tree to be turned on the moment her eyes open.

00:41:12.719 --> 00:41:19.360
This can be the most joyous, heartwarming, amazing Christmas of all of our lives.

00:41:19.760 --> 00:41:21.199
We owe it to her.

00:41:22.079 --> 00:41:27.840
So the pact that we made is moving forward every single night after work.

00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:47.519
If there's not some obligation, if there's not a late night in the office, if there's not a live sale, if there's not a to-do list project scenario that needs to be done before Christmas, whether it's a Christmas gift or a big project or whatever it is, if there's not something that we're trying to get done, we are not sitting on the couch doing nothing.

00:41:47.760 --> 00:41:49.519
We are embracing this season.

00:41:49.840 --> 00:42:08.960
One night we're gonna be making gingerbread cookies, we're gonna be decorating gingerbread houses, we're gonna be making mimash chocolate chip cookies, we're gonna be baking pies, we're gonna be wrapping gifts, we're gonna be doing tours of um lighted friggin' Christmas displays, we're gonna get Christmas photos with Santa Claus.

00:42:09.360 --> 00:42:23.039
Every single night we will do something to embrace our history, our traditions, and celebrate this season the way it's supposed to be with the most amazing gift that we have received.

00:42:23.360 --> 00:42:30.000
That is the commitment, that is the agreement, that is what we are going to do.

00:42:30.239 --> 00:42:34.239
This time theory only proves it to be that much more true.

00:42:34.480 --> 00:42:52.800
Because when I look at my 10 years and when I get to the year 2036, I'm gonna look back on the Christmas of 2025, the first Christmas where my little girl really experienced Christmas, and I'm gonna say, damn, that was one of the best times of my life.

00:42:54.639 --> 00:43:14.800
Gotcha! Lau Proud American is a lifestyle brand dedicated and determined to represent the American spirit with an unrelenting commitment to provide made and the USA products.

00:43:15.039 --> 00:43:26.559
If you would like to join the 2% of Americans that buy American and support American, head on over to www.looproudamerican.shop.

00:43:26.800 --> 00:43:31.440
Together, we can bring back American manufacturing.

00:43:32.239 --> 00:43:34.559
Alright, alright, alright.

00:43:34.800 --> 00:43:36.000
Welcome back, folks.

00:43:36.159 --> 00:43:42.159
Appreciate y'all letting me get on the old high horse and let that one rip.

00:43:43.039 --> 00:43:45.920
I started today's show with a message.

00:43:46.079 --> 00:43:52.800
That message was today we find peace and transparency, and we overcome anxiety with reflection.

00:43:53.039 --> 00:43:55.599
We just tackled anxiety with reflection.

00:43:55.760 --> 00:44:06.559
We asked ourselves what a difference a decade could make, but I gotta come good on the rest of the promises of the opening credits of today's show.

00:44:06.880 --> 00:44:10.079
And that was to find peace in transparency.

00:44:10.239 --> 00:44:13.679
I'm gonna make this one quick because I know we're getting long in the tooth.

00:44:13.840 --> 00:44:15.519
I don't know why old timers say that.

00:44:15.599 --> 00:44:16.800
It's so weird.

00:44:17.760 --> 00:44:27.679
If you guys have been listening over the past few months, obviously you've heard the episodes that we've had on Charlie Kirk and his memory and the mission here at Loud Proud American.

00:44:28.079 --> 00:44:36.800
You've also heard episodes where I talked about the formation of the next great leader in this country, Miss Erica Kirk.

00:44:37.440 --> 00:44:43.119
And over the past few weeks I've seen Erica be attacked by a lot of people.

00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:49.360
And there's a there's a lot of conspiracy theories out there, and I think that that's just with the formation of the internet.

00:44:49.599 --> 00:44:53.440
I don't think we're ever gonna be free of conspiracy theories.

00:44:53.519 --> 00:45:04.400
There's always gonna be somebody's opinion that now has the opportunity to either turn on a microphone like I'm doing right now and share it, or to type it into existence in a blog, or do whatever they want to do about it.

00:45:05.199 --> 00:45:10.239
So there's um endless platforms for people that believe in conspiracy theories.

00:45:10.480 --> 00:45:30.639
And she's been taking a lot of heat, and she's been taking a lot of death threats, and her team's been taking death threats, and I've seen her do what all good leaders should do, and that is to tackle and handle those conspiracies, those people, those accusations face to face and head on.

00:45:31.760 --> 00:45:56.800
Candace Owens is a very um um popular figure today as well, uh, and she has made some pretty bold accusations and claims about these conspiracies of Erica being involved in the murder of her husband, the fact that turning point was a part of the murdering of her husband.

00:45:56.960 --> 00:46:03.840
I haven't I really can't speak to all the claims because I don't give credence to any of these claims.

00:46:03.920 --> 00:46:04.880
I can see the heartbreak.

00:46:04.960 --> 00:46:08.800
I'm not gonna question somebody, I'm not gonna tell a widow that she murdered her husband.

00:46:08.880 --> 00:46:13.039
I'm not gonna say this organization decided to kill their leader.

00:46:13.440 --> 00:46:13.920
That's not me.

00:46:14.000 --> 00:46:16.480
I'm not gonna look into that, I'm not gonna give any credit to that.

00:46:16.639 --> 00:46:22.880
And and in the past, I've listened to Candace Owens and I've watched and believed and agreed with many of the things she said.

00:46:22.960 --> 00:46:27.519
But when she started saying these things, I just took it as this is I'm not going there.

00:46:27.599 --> 00:46:32.079
And you want to have your opinion, and I think it's disgusting and you shouldn't have it, but who am I?

00:46:32.159 --> 00:46:34.000
And this is the great country that we live in.

00:46:34.079 --> 00:46:41.920
You have that freedom of speech, and you're allowed to feel and think the way you want to feel and think, but I think it's pretty crazy.

00:46:42.159 --> 00:46:50.000
But she's received a lot of publicity over this, and I saw something yesterday on Fox News.

00:46:50.159 --> 00:47:07.280
I was having lunch with Allie, and um we had the news on, and Erica was on there giving an interview, and she said that her and Candace had agreed to sit down face to face and discuss her accusations.

00:47:09.280 --> 00:47:11.440
Are you guys hearing this?

00:47:12.079 --> 00:47:24.880
We have a widow who is mourning the death, the murder of her husband, her best friend, her her her partner, the father of her children.

00:47:27.519 --> 00:47:30.159
He was murdered in front of America.

00:47:30.800 --> 00:47:33.519
She's being accused of being part of this.

00:47:33.920 --> 00:47:35.679
Her team is being accused of this.

00:47:35.840 --> 00:47:39.199
She's receiving death threats, they're receiving death threats.

00:47:41.599 --> 00:48:00.719
The person with the most attention at the center of these accusations, and instead of belittling and going off about her and and making her own accusations, she reached out and asked for a meeting and granted an opportunity for a conversation.

00:48:01.519 --> 00:48:12.639
I want to give a major kudos and acknowledgement and recognition to both women for choosing to have this meeting.

00:48:15.360 --> 00:48:16.000
Both of them.

00:48:16.159 --> 00:48:43.039
If Candice is completely convinced that Erica had something to do with this, so if Charlie is a friend of yours, you're accusing his wife of murdering your friend, and you're gonna sit down face to face and have a conversation and get your feelings and your beliefs off of your chest to listen to them, and on Erica's side, she's gonna have this woman who she thought was a friend, who is now accusing her of the worst things possible.

00:48:43.280 --> 00:48:47.840
She's gonna grant her the time and the opportunity, and they're gonna sit down face to face and have a conversation.

00:48:48.079 --> 00:48:51.440
I thought that in itself was absolutely amazing.

00:48:52.159 --> 00:49:00.960
And I saw today that they both released the fact they had a very productive four and a half hour conversation and meeting.

00:49:01.280 --> 00:49:05.519
Neither one of them are coming out sharing the details on that, and they can or they can't.

00:49:05.599 --> 00:49:06.559
That's up to them.

00:49:06.719 --> 00:49:08.320
That's their own decision.

00:49:10.400 --> 00:49:17.119
But I think this is a tremendous, tremendous lesson in peace and transparency.

00:49:19.119 --> 00:49:38.960
What could be solved in this world if every time there was an accusation, every time there was a conspiracy, every time somebody talked shit behind your back, every time you heard them say those things about you, instead of you saying things back about them, the two of you agreed to sit down and talk for four and a half hours.

00:49:41.039 --> 00:49:59.360
Are political leaders and lack of leaders that want to accuse and and and play the blame game and oftentimes know the truth to be true, but to get out and share lies instead of truth for fear of how they're gonna be perceived in the public eye.

00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:02.239
What if they sat down face to face?

00:50:04.079 --> 00:50:05.679
What could be accomplished then?

00:50:06.480 --> 00:50:17.679
I think in this great country, if we agreed to have this transparency, if people agreed to get together and to have these conversations and to work through differences, we'd be a lot further along.

00:50:18.000 --> 00:50:20.320
Heck, Charlie Kirk might still be here.

00:50:22.159 --> 00:50:23.440
Think about the wars.

00:50:24.159 --> 00:50:26.559
Think about Russia and Ukraine.

00:50:26.880 --> 00:50:29.039
Think about all these things that are happening.

00:50:29.599 --> 00:50:45.280
We can go to the greatest, biggest scale, we can look at Russia and Ukraine, we can look at political violence, we can look at what's going on in this country with our politics, with the separation in this country, with the great divide happening in this country.

00:50:47.119 --> 00:50:49.119
Or we can look into our own families.

00:50:51.840 --> 00:50:55.440
And why Aunt Sally isn't getting the invite to Christmas this year.

00:50:56.960 --> 00:50:58.880
There's peace and transparency.

00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:13.920
And I said over a month ago that Erica Kirk was gonna be one of the next great, amazing leaders in this country in this four and a half hour meeting just proves that to be true.

00:51:16.480 --> 00:51:18.000
Peace and transparency.

00:51:18.320 --> 00:51:20.960
Be honest, have the conversation.

00:51:22.159 --> 00:51:27.280
There's a lot of lessons learned today, a lot of stories told today.

00:51:27.599 --> 00:51:31.039
I'm extremely proud of this episode today.

00:51:31.360 --> 00:51:42.400
I empower and employ each and every one of you to share this show with somebody you know, anybody important to you, share this show with them.

00:51:43.280 --> 00:52:00.639
And challenge them to write their list, to look back at their ten years, to forecast and imagine the next ten years, and maybe the two of you can work through those lists together and turn this into a great holiday conversation and maybe a new tradition as well.

00:52:00.800 --> 00:52:07.280
I thank, thank, thank each and every single one of you for tuning in, for listening, for continue to come back week after week.

00:52:07.440 --> 00:52:14.239
Don't forget to find all things podcast related at www.share the struggle podcast.com.

00:52:14.559 --> 00:52:20.719
Get all the best Christmas gifts you can possibly get at wlowpodamerican.shop.

00:52:21.039 --> 00:52:28.880
I truly, truly hope each and every one of you take this holiday season to make a moment that becomes a memory.

00:52:29.039 --> 00:52:30.880
I love you and I appreciate you.

00:52:31.119 --> 00:52:33.760
Thank you for supporting our American dream.

00:52:39.599 --> 00:52:42.079
That's it, and that's all Biggie Smalls.

00:53:01.920 --> 00:53:06.960
Find me on YouTube and Facebook at Loud Proud American Face page.

00:53:08.320 --> 00:53:22.960
If you're fan of the Ram Crackett, you wanna find me on Instagram for all the kids, like Tickety Talking on the TikTok, you can find me on both of those at loud underscore proud underscore America.

00:53:39.679 --> 00:53:41.280
You are enjoying what you're hearing.

00:54:11.360 --> 00:54:14.239
Now go wash your fucking hands, you filthy savage.