Rejection, Risk, And The Road To Growth

New Season And New Gratitude

SPEAKER_00 0:00

The season of new continues over here at Lau Proud American. And today on Share the Struggle Podcast, we're gonna dive into more of that new new events, new recaps, new opportunities, and new blessings. Because last week my wife joined me as we shared one of the biggest decisions that we have ever made in our faith, being baptized. And since then, I've experienced some major blessings. Now I'm not saying baptism is some magic formula where good things instantly happen, but what I am saying is that since making that public declaration of faith, I find myself paying closer attention to God's work in my life, and this week I was given a tremendous amount to be thankful for. All that and more on this week's episode of Share the Struggle Podcast. Let me tell you something. Everybody struggles. The difference is some people choose to go through it, and some choose to grow through it. The choice is completely yours. Which one you choose will have a very profound effect on the way you live your life. What it do,

309 Weeks Without Missing

SPEAKER_00 2:00

what it do, what it hot did do. Good Lord Almighty. Am I so excited to be back with you? Oh, it is true. Boys and girls, how do I know it's true? Because I love you. That's how I know it's true. Episode 309, and I am oh, so happy to be back with you. Hmm hmm, mm-hmm. 309, and I'm feeling oh, so fine. And a touch sleepy because I'm up early. Because as my schedule continues to be chaotic, we must rock and roll an ebb and flow to continue on this consecutive streak. Y'all heard me say 309. That means for 309 consecutive weeks, we have gathered here together, not missing yet an episode. Where's the wood? Knock on wood. Don't want to jinx it. Last week the wife and I were recording ultra late. This week I'm recording solo, ultra early. Up at 5 a.m. this morning, brought me mama to work, and now I'm in the old LPA office with a big ass cup of coffee and some sleepy eyes. Coming to you to confess the truth from this guy right here. Okay. I added an S to everything there in case you were wondering.

Why Mainers Say The Walmart

SPEAKER_00 3:27

Which is funny. Me and my wife were having this conversation the other day as to when in life, and maybe this is just a northern thing, maybe this is just New England, maybe this is just Maine. But in Maine, the store Walmart has two things added to it. The and S. Okay? In Maine, when people say, where are you headed? Oh, I'm headed over to the Walmart. There's no the It's not the Walmart. And it's certainly not the Walmarts. But in Maine, that's just kind of how it goes. What you do today? Oh, I headed over to the Walmart. And to get me prescription, um couple quarts of oil, and uh not canola oil, like uh motor oil. You know what I mean? AC5W. And uh yeah, got me some eggs, and um got me a liter of cola. We don't actually say that. And um yeah, I also had to pick me up an air mattress, a ceiling fan, and um two pounds of screws, you know what I mean? But uh oh, and uh some shampoo. Yeah. Over to the Walmart. I don't get it. We do it, we acknowledge it, and we don't even recognize that we're doing it. But why don't I take the time to slow down and acknowledge it? I can't even explain it. We're nuts over here, people. We're nuts. Anyways,

America 250 And Bigger Goals

SPEAKER_00 5:07

I started the show by saying there's a lot of new. There's a lot of new here between me and you, and uh this year our schedule has been um crazy, and a lot of it I would say has been flying by the seat of me britches. Alright? The seat of me britches. Say it in my pants, for those of you that don't speak fancy. Well, you're tired, son. Go back to bed. So um if you've been listening over the past few months, I've made reference to the fact that this year is America 250. And because it's America 250, I wanted to put that feather in my old cap, and I wanted to use that as a selling feature, as a sales pitch for Low Proud American. Because our brand is a patriotic brand, our brand is one that works exclusively with American-made products. Our display when we're at events is a giant American flag tent. We are the ultimate get for America 250. So, with that said, I've applied for a ton of different events, and I've shot high on some of these events, and um it hasn't gone well, okay? Spoiler alert, that hasn't gone well. Now, let me just kind of put this out there. By doing this, I've had to take things off my schedule that are comfortable, that are familiar, and often successful. And if you've been listening, I don't want this message to be on repeat, but I'm just summarizing things for people that are new here. I've taken some events off of my plate that are close to home, that are very affordable if not free to do. I have taken things off of my plate that are often pretty successful. But I've noticed over the past few years they've declined. Maybe some things I don't feel are adequately serving me. Maybe there's some situations that I don't want to put myself back into. There's some things that I've chosen self-respect and valued my business over the bottom dollar. And also, after you know, this being my sixth year on the road for the business, realizing that things are gonna be stagnant if you continue to do the same things. If you live in your comfort zone, you're only gonna get an uncomfortable result, and that is mediocrity. So I've decided to make a lot of changes. Now, I have, as I said, casted my line into some big pawns, and I haven't been getting any bites. So when that happens, I find myself scrambling to fill the void on my schedule. Over the past uh two months, doing this has brought me to some new events that I didn't have forecasted, I should say. Uh, it's created opportunities and things that I never took advantage of before, or I was never open-minded enough to tackle, or I had blinders on and I just didn't see it. Those things are gonna come with mixed results, right? And if you know me, and if you've been following me and my story of launching this brand and taking this brand across this great here land, you've heard me say that oftentimes your first year at doing a particular event is your worst year. You don't get the best of uh placement, and um, you know, you go in there and people don't know who you are, and all these things, man. Location is one of the biggest things in this business. So oftentimes you do things for the first time, it doesn't produce the results that you hope for. And I have a hard time making a final decision on an event based off of one experience. So you run into those challenges, but I have applied for a lot of major things, and up until this point, none of them have come true. I

Getting Turned Down By Festivals

SPEAKER_00 9:24

applied for um Kid Rocks Country Tour. Um, and um, it's like a big pro-America tour, and I actually maybe it's because I'm disappointed that they never get back to me, or maybe it's because I'm tired, but um, I can't remember the name of the tour, but it's uh it's a pro-America, like rock the country type of type of tour. And um I've applied and reached out and I don't hear anything back. And I will say that some of this is because I feel that concerts they don't want to bring in other apparel vendors that are gonna compete with their own brand event merchandise. And that's what I've been telling myself until I saw, you know, these tours going on with other major patriotic brands backing them and selling at them. And then I thought, well, they're letting them there, so why can't I be let in there? Why is Joe Schmoe, the small guy, not getting an opportunity? And then you realize that maybe that brand wrote some massive check to be included in this. Maybe that brand, you know, slid a big bag of funds over so that their name could be in the marketing. Maybe it's an advertising marketing scenario, and then they're allowed in there to sell merch to help pay back some of the the check they had to write. So maybe maybe that's it, right? Maybe that's the scenario. I've applied for country festivals um all over, and I I I would say a bunch of different ones between Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Kentucky, Carolina, um New York, and um none of these have come true. Other fairs as well. Nothing's pulled through. Two weeks ago I got an email from a country festival in my own state. It's only a one day festival or um put on by one of our local country stations and a restaurant. And this festival has a somewhat big headliner coming in, or they used to be a big headliner. One of the acts on the schedule, Travis James Humphreys, actually played my wedding. He was my wedding entertainment. Okay? I feel like we have a connection here. This venue that is gonna be hosting this country festival is a um a military museum where um some some proceeds are gonna go back to the museum. Military museum, country festival, my own state, one of the headliners of the show played my wedding. America 250, patriotic tent, the whole deal. We've been reaching out to these folks with no response, no nothing. Messages to the to the uh radio station, messages to the restaurant, comments on all their social media stuff, and doing things under our business profile and uh not getting anything back. My wife decided, let me leave a comment on one of these social media videos just as myself, and that turned back to a message to my wife that says, Hey Allie, I think we have some room for you at this event. We might have room for one more vendor that we can squeeze you in, send me some information. And uh we sent information and we used even even went as far as using Chat GPT to help structure this in the most polite professional pitch possible. And um, I sent this over, and I'm not gonna open up my email and go word for word as to what the response was, but it came back with I really love what you're doing, but I don't think you're a good fit. This event, we're looking for main businesses, main artisans and crafters that are making their products in Maine. And we're selling some merchandise that goes back to the museum. And I just don't think that you would be a good fit for this event. Now, I wrote back as polite as possible and thanked him for the opportunity and and took responsibility in saying that maybe maybe I skipped over this, but we are a Maine business. We're located here in Maine. We make this apparel here in Maine. And what isn't made in Maine is still made in this country. Everything we do is American Maine. We are a small business for Maine producing these products right here in Maine. Also, referencing the fact that American business, American jobs is what our focus is. And that seems to be a bit hard to believe that a country event America 250 military museum isn't the best fit. But

When Patriotism Feels Controversial

SPEAKER_00 14:56

I understand, you know, if uh something else comes up in the future, but it really is a shame when events are afraid to bring on the patriotic brand. And that's what I've been faced with in this country. We have a brand that loves this country, that supports this country, that puts money back into this country, that isn't allowed to be at certain events because they're afraid of the backlash. They're afraid of any negative that might come from allowing us to be there. My question is What in Sand Hill should somebody complain about about some rednecks making pro-America stuff, selling it at your event? And nobody ever said that I needed to um sell anything political. I didn't need to make anything offensive. This is just American-made goods. That's unbelievable to me. I can't truly tell you how disheartening it is, how disappointing it is to get turned down, to get rejected for a brand that people find offensive when everything about this brand is to be patriotic, to be proud, to be excited, to be the opposite of offensive. I never thought when I started this business that I would be met with so much rejection, so much fear and anxiety over having us at your event. I also never expected that I would be at an event and be how should I put this? Worried about some of the nonsense that you might encounter because of some of the lunatics in this world that all of a sudden think the red, white, and blue is offensive. I don't know. That's disappointing. I don't want to dwell and swell on that too much, but I just kind of wanted to point out that I've been trying to get into all these big gigs till now nothing has come to fruition, right? And in doing so, I've had to read and react and um fill my schedule and try to make things happen. And in doing so, it's brought us to some new places, met new faces, new events. Some things will stick, some things won't, but it's been a fun journey. A

Off Road Events And New Audiences

SPEAKER_00 17:37

few weeks ago, you heard me talk about going to the four by four proving grounds, how much my daughter loved it, how much of a full circle, well-rounded moment it was that I was returning to a place that I went to with my father as a child, and now I'm bringing my child to it, and we were received incredibly well. People were appreciative, thanked us for being there, and um, it had us extremely encouraged about adding more four by four off-road events to our schedule. In doing so, that landed us at the barnyard in Livermore this weekend. And uh, this event's probably I'd say about an hour and a half from our house. And uh, the way that I had to structure this past event, just to kind of give you a little screenshot of things, because we're just here conversating. Thursday, um, I would get up at five, bring my mom to work, come home, work, get things going, get things loaded in the trailer, and uh the wife's working from home, and we're both, you know, taking care of the little one and balancing all that. And then um I would hook on to the trailer, leave here, pick my mom up at work, and then make the hour and a half journey uh north to find our spot and start setting up. So while I'm there, me and my mom build the tent, put the framework in, get everything structured, really encouraged by the by the layout and where we are and all those good things and feeling great. And um we work there, pack up, come home at you know, for dark basically, and uh do the chores, go to bed, get up in the morning, get a few things done, I hop on the truck by myself and head another hour and a half north to um you know go work um on setting up and uh finishing my setup and then opening up, and it was a pretty quiet day. I didn't make my first sale of the day until probably five, five thirty, and I closed at six. So uh first day was it was pretty pretty pretty dull, but it is what it is, it's a move-in day scenario, and then I drive the hour and a half home. So, whatever happens on these days, you have a three-hour round trip scenario. So that in itself can can kind of kind of weigh you down. When I

Bald Eagles As A Sign

SPEAKER_00 19:52

was driving home on that return trip, two two things. And for those of you that have been listening since day one, get your ones up. I acknowledge you, I appreciate you, and I thank you. And you're gonna get this reference. And if you've been listening over the past couple of years, you'll get this reference. If you're new here, you might not. But when I left before I turned on to the major road, it's probably you know 10 or 15 minutes away from the venue. I turn and there's a farm store, and they have this massive metal moving um counterbalanced American bald eagle. Um and it just kind of caught my guard, caught me off guard, and and it caught my eye, and I said, Man, this is my fourth time driving by here, and I've just now seen this. And it's kind of almost impossible to think that I'm just now seeing it. So I acknowledge it and then I and and and I um say thank you, Dad, and um, because for me, if you don't know me, then um that eagle is a sign of my father. Because a couple years ago, when my dad passed, the day after he died, when I was heading to or getting ready to head to the funeral home to plan his service, I was circled by a bald eagle over our farm. And I knew from that moment it was my father. And I've had other things confirm this to me, so I acknowledge my dad and start having a conversation with him and and realize that everything is going to be okay, no matter how bad this day was, it is gonna be okay. And I leave there and uh I'm driving home, and um I have serious exam, and I often listen to Joel Olstein. He has his own channel, and it's um just 24 hours a day of Joel Olstein's um sermons and and events that he's done. And uh I was listening to one, and I'm on the interstate now, and and he's talking about how he lost his father suddenly to a heart attack when I think he was maybe seventy eight, which is seventy seven to seventy nine, right around there, which is also um when I lost. My father. And he talked about how close he was with his dad and how much time he spent with him and that void that it created and how this soul searching had to happen and uh how a new calling for him was revealed to him when this happened. And I'm listening to this conversation, and right as he's talking about this, I go through the Turnpike uh toll booth, and I happen to look up and see the most beautiful, probably biggest bald eagle I've ever seen in my life, just soaring right at my car. And I I mean it is majestic, it is beautiful, it is graceful, and it took my breath away. And uh I'm getting cheered up right now just thinking about it. And I acknowledge that, and um, and I thanked my dad, and I I uh went into prayer for a while, and that provoked an hour's worth of conversation with myself and my dad and God the whole way home. So I come home and I had to go meet a customer with a delivery of um shirts that I I had made for them, so I do that, and then I I off to sleep, back up first thing in the morning, and this time it's the wife, the baby, and me, and we head off to the event, and um you know you work your full day and then you have another hour and a half home. So it's three hours round trip every day, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, again on Sunday. And

Slow Weekend And Merch Limits

SPEAKER_00 23:30

uh Sunday was basically a rain out. I will tell you that pretty disappointing attendance, and I know that was for the venue itself as well. They all felt like it was a pretty poorly attended event, and there was threats of rain all weekend, so I I mean I understand it. What I'm gonna say is um I didn't lose money, I didn't break even, I made a few bucks, right? I made a few bucks, it wasn't a tremendous success, but it wasn't a total failure. We met new people, we experienced uh new things and a new customer base, and we were also uh greeted by some familiar faces that we had made from our last four by four event, and that's really what part of this is about, right? Building that culture, building that um that loyal tribe. So I acknowledge that and I and I appreciate that. And um I uh was kind of disappointed in the final result, but optimistic about the potential. And one of the things that I was optimistic about is they do another event there the end of August, into July called Trucks Gone Wild, and there's over 5,000, maybe 10,000 people that show up and camp for a weekend, and it looks just absolutely mayhem. And I know we'll make a bunch of money for that event. So when I was talking to the owners after I said, Oh, I'll join you for that event, and one of them said, Yeah, absolutely, that sounds great, and the other one said, I'm sorry, man, but you can't. And I was like, Oh, what do you mean? And they said, Well, Trucks Gone Wild, I have a deal with them, they're the only ones that can sell their merchandise. Everything has to be okay to them, it's their their deal. So I suffered through the slow season, hoping for the busiest season, and it sounds like I'm not gonna be granted that opportunity. I might at least tell me I should reach out to Trucks Gone Wild and see what they say, but um, maybe we'll do that. But it's unfortunate that you know you you take the slow event to get you your foot in the door for the busy event and um and to kind of feel things out and prepare so that when things get busy you know what to do to make money. And uh it didn't really work out, so that was disappointing. So there's that part of it. Now, two weeks ago, if I would have forecasted this being the result, I wouldn't have gone. If I knew this was the outcome, I wouldn't have haunted them down for the opportunity without taking the opportunity. I don't have that moment on the interstate, I don't have that memory. I'm not here to share that with you today. And the results of the weekend would have had me in panic mode on Monday, if it wasn't for the blessings I received during the week leading up to that event. I don't know the best way to segue this, and I don't know the best way to explain this, and some of this has to be a little bit a little bit vague, partially for being embarrassed and mostly for protecting reality. But

Financial Pressure Behind The Scenes

SPEAKER_00 26:57

if you've heard me over the past few months, you know that my business and my life is in a very stressful financial situation. Continuing to bet on my brand, continuing to try to take leaps and um bet on myself and to have the faith in myself and this business that it's all gonna work out has put me in some difficult spots. Keeping the doors open, keeping the business rolling. In doing so, I've opened up equity lines and credit lines, and eventually you're swallowed up by minimum payments, and and you're chewed up by high interest, and I found myself in this vicious circle, endlessly just chasing myself in a circle. Going to an event, having an extremely successful event, only to come out of there to make all your minimum payments, find yourself broke again, yet chasing your tail again. It's been hard, and I know it's been hard on the people that are close to me. I've said it before, but I've never been in such a difficult financial position with more real life responsibility in all my life. Broker than I was in my twenties with endless responsibility. It's been tough. And it's been hard to feel yourself, it's been hard to remain optimistic, it's been hard to keep your own light on. But you do your best for your little girl, and for your family, and for your beliefs and your dreams. And I keep telling myself that it's gonna work out, that it's gonna work out. And you keep getting rejection letters. You keep getting those emails that say, you know what, you're just not a fit, or we're not interested in your business. And then over the past weeks I received a couple other letters that I didn't expect in the mail. Certified letters. And if I just went through the weekend that I went through on Monday, I would have been scrambling to find another way to make ends meet, to make it another couple days. But last week I was blessed. If y'all have been listening and you heard last week my wife and I got baptized and how important that was to us. But if I can find some relief and buy some time and refocus myself and not stress so much, then that would tremendously help. Well, I've been looking at all these avenues for a long time, I've been exploring these things for a long time. The very

The Approval That Buys Time

SPEAKER_00 31:11

next day after being baptized, I found myself with an approval. I found myself with hope, I found myself with some relief. After going through all the process and the phone calls and all the things, I didn't think anything of it was was true, that it was just gonna work out, and I received an email that said thank you for your consideration, and I assumed that meant this wasn't going anywhere, and I opened my um profile I had made, and I saw our congratulations letter, and I immediately got on my knees and said thank you. This isn't something that I don't have to pay back, this isn't something that this isn't gonna be difficult, this isn't something that's um saving me tremendously. But it was a major relief. I shouldn't share this much on a podcast, especially when many of you that listen know me personally, and this is embarrassing, but I'm only gonna share this to highlight the good graces of God and to give all glory to Him. I was days away from losing the office that I bought for my business. Without this happening, I would have lost the building that I've been paying on for over a year. And um that's just scratching the surface of some of my my recent difficulties. So this was a major event for me. While I was working through the details and figuring out um how to uh juggle my life and and maximize this amazing gift, I received an email. And that

Erie County Fair Changes Everything

SPEAKER_00 33:35

email was the only acceptance that my business has gotten from all the big fish I applied for. And it was acceptance to the biggest of the events that I applied for. I received a letter from the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, New York, informing me that I have a space in mind for you. I applied for this event over the winter time. This event, this fair, is in August. We're in June. Most fairs, you would you would know well in advance. So you had time to plan, to pay, to prepare. And I know on their on their um application it said that they were gonna, you know, the first thing we do is we work with all of our returning vendors, and then we start going through applications and and seeing who we can welcome, who we can add, and how we can add new vendors. And um April and May, you will be hearing from us. So as May come and went, I assumed it was yet another decline, yet another letdown. And I started making plans accordingly to um fill my schedule around those dates. And um, one fair I took was one I was holding off on because I knew it conflicted with my travel time, and I had an application sitting on my desk for another fair for the exact same time. And I had a good friend reach out to me and invite me to one fair that he was traveling to asking me to accompany him, working on ways to make the uh the rent affordable, and I was really considering that fair until I got this email right here that said, We would like to welcome you to this fair. I'm still a little nervous because I'm waiting on my welcome packet and uh my contract and all that stuff, so I am a little nervous. But I've had multiple correspondence and um I've been selected, and I can't tell you how much this means to me. Now I know a lot of you are listening, and uh you're saying to yourself, hey man, you go to fairs all the time, buddy. What what's the deal here? Why are you so excited about this fair? Why is this such a life-changing scenario? Well, what I need to let you know is up until this moment, right here, up until this email, the largest event period that I have ever done for Loud Prad American is the Freiburg Fair. And every single year, if you listen to this podcast, you hear me discuss the fact that the Freiburg Fair keeps us in business round here. That fair is the one thing that has always kept us in business. I've even had years where I just kick the can all year to get to Freiburg hoping to make it. I was telling my wife it'd be tremendous if this year was the first year that I didn't roll into the Freiburg fair with my business in the red. Every year I've gone to the fair, it's been, I think, five years now, and when that fair starts, right before my direct deposits start, I start getting them overdraft fees, those NFTs, you know what I'm saying? And uh it'd be really tremendous to not have that happen this year. But I'm saying this so that you understand the Freiburg Fair has been the greatest success story for this business. The Freiburg Fair averages about two hundred thousand people in the course of the fair. Two hundred thousand people is the average. I see one hundred eighty, I think maybe the highest might have been two hundred fifty ish or so. So about two hundred thousand Do y'all know what the average is for the Erie County Fair? In the words of Dr. Evil One million people One million You understand this? One million people. Are you kidding me? The greatest event in Lyle Proud American history is being trumped, no pun intended, five times over at the Erie County Fair. Now I'm not gonna go into this fair with the complete assumption that I'm gonna just destroy what I've done at Freiburg because I've worked for years to get to the numbers that I'm at at Freiburg. And I can't guarantee how much inventory I'm gonna have to take with me. I can't guarantee if it's just gonna be me, if I'm gonna have staff, if I'm gonna have help. I can't guarantee how this is all gonna work out. I have no clue what it looks like, what it feels like. I don't know where I'm gonna be, I don't know the location for me. I can't even forecast whether I'll have more traffic than what I have now based technically off of locations. But with five times the people, I should certainly get more traffic. I should certainly have more opportunity. With five times the people, I'm not gonna allow myself to forecast five times the results, but I am gonna set myself with a very high expectation and lofty hopes, dreams, goals, and aspirations. And this one event can change my entire year. This one event can change the trajectory of our business every year around here. Up until now, up until these recent events, up until being baptized, I may have chalked up this acceptance to hard work. I may have chalked up this acceptance into luck, into being fortunate, into the lady luck finally going my way. But the fact that this message came days after being baptized, I know this wasn't my doing. I know what's happened to me over the past week wasn't my doing. I needed to slow down and acknowledge his work, and when I received that email, you can bet your ass. My knees hit the floor, and I thanked him for this opportunity. When I applied for this fair, I made a marketing video on YouTube showing our business, showing our brand, splicing in the best I can some photos of customers and videos of the of the tent, and um I wrote sales speeches and I sent a video and I sent photos and I got recommendations from other fairs and um just people that host events, and I and I wrote my letter and I pleaded my case. I did all of that to get into this fair of hopes, dreams, and aspirations that this would be the one. I've spent over five years trying to find one more Fryberg fair to add to my schedule. I've traveled to Florida two times for this business, not coming close to adding another Fryberg fare to my business. Days after being baptized, this happened for me. I

Surrender, Obedience, And Purpose

SPEAKER_00 42:23

realized and I'm realizing that growth, as I always say, growth comes from getting uncomfortable, from getting out of your comfort zones, but I'm beginning to realize that growth happens on the other side of obedience. I'm realizing that I'm not the one that's in control here. I've tried to sell my way out of everything in my life. Sell things I own, sell things I make, sell whatever it takes. I've always had supreme confidence in my abilities to work myself out of a situation. I truly think No, I know I know for certain that God put me in a place that made me realize nothing in your power can work you out of the situation you're in. This can't be done on your own. This only happens when you surrender to me, when you lean in to me. I needed to get by situation so bad that I realized the supreme ultra confidence I have in myself and my abilities. I needed to get so low and in such a difficult spot that at that point I acknowledged I can't work my way out of this. I can't sell. My way out of this? I can't believe my way out of this. I need you to help me out of this. And he showed up for me. This is a big time confessional for me. This isn't like every other episode that I've done. And I think it's pretty crazy the fact that over 300 plus episodes you guys can can hear and explore my faith on how it's how it's grown, how it's fallen, and then how it's blossomed into where I am today. All those episodes, I don't think there's ever been one like today where I've been vulnerable and transparent with my failures and my mistakes. One where I have said my ability, my hard work, and my supreme confidence is not what got me out of that situation. And I'm not out. But I have hope. And I have opportunity. And without last week, this week would look a heck of a lot different. I am oh so grateful. I am oh so blessed. Today's story, my vulnerability, I hope, is an optimistic tale for anyone listening that finds himself lost. I hope that my story provides strength and courage and optimism for anybody else that's in the struggle. Sometimes we need to realize that us alone isn't enough to get us out of what we happen to be in. Whether it's been in our control or out of our hands. You need to take those difficulties, those struggles, those anxieties, those fears, those depressions, and place them in the hands of our Maker. And trust him that it will work out. And then he has a plan. And I know there's a plan for me. And I know there's a purpose. And I could not be any more encouraged by the fact that I am now working towards living and fulfilling my purpose. This week has certainly reminded me that God is always working, even when we don't see it. Baptism didn't change who God is, it changed my willingness to trust him. And whether these blessings were already on their way or not, I'm choosing to recognize them, be grateful for them, and give him all of the credit. Sometimes the biggest blessings isn't what happens around us. It's having the eyes to see what God has been doing all along. I know that I've worked hard. I know that I've tried and applied myself, but this is not possible without him. And I needed to work myself to a level, to a place at the bottom, where I had nothing left to do but to look up and say, I need you. None of this is possible without you. God gifted me with some supreme confidence in my abilities and a willingness to outwork anyone. With those two attributes, I've always thought I could get myself out of any situation I was placed in. I needed to find myself at the very bottom where I can acknowledge to myself and to the world that I can't do this anymore, that my attributes aren't enough, that my gifts aren't enough, my abilities, my work ethic, my morals, my values aren't enough. I need you, and with you and you only this too shall pass. And with you and you only I can live and fulfill my purpose. Man, this week this week it felt more like a month. Wow. God is good and I am finally bold enough and courageous enough to always share it. That public proclamation of my faith is what I needed to do to take the next steps in my faith, much like a marriage with your wife, what you do in public in front of your friends and family, that commitment that takes your relationship and your commitments and your obligations to another level. My willingness to take that leap in my faith has taken my commitment and acknowledgement of my faith to a new level.

Gratitude, Encouragement, And Thanks

SPEAKER_00 49:42

And I am so blessed by it, and I can only hope that today's episode encourages some of you to do the same. You've heard my stories, you've heard my struggles. This is where I find my strength. I thank each and every single one of you for continuing to be here with me on this journey. I think about over 300 episodes, all that's changed. I think about leaving a career to chase a dream. I think about losing friends, family members, all the heartache, heartbreak, and death that's happened on this podcast, the most difficult days of my life, losing my father, sharing his stories, finding out I was gonna be a dad, the birth of my child, building a business to nearly losing it, to finding my faith. It's all in these 300 plus episodes. Somehow, some way, I hope these stories help you today.

Where To See Us Next

SPEAKER_00 50:51

Thank you for supporting my American Dream. If you would like to find Loud Proud American, you can find us this week at yet another new event. I leave in the morning for the Springfield Fair in Springfield, Maine. I'll be there from Thursday through Sunday. Any of my maniacs that happen to be in the general area, I'd love to see you. I appreciate you. Thank you for supporting my American Dream. Now go wash your hands. That's it, and that's all, Biggie Smalls. If you're a Loud Proud American and you find yourself just wanting more, find me on YouTube and Facebook at Loud Proud American Face Page. If you're fancy Ram Crackett, you want to find me on Instagram, drop it, tickety talking on the TikTok, you can find me on both of those at loud underscore crowd underscore. You are enjoying what you're hearing. I truly thank you for supporting my American dream. Now go wash your fucking hands, you filthy savage.