You Are Not Your Conditions, And Today You Decide What Stays And What Goes

0:01 I am recording episode 286 of Share the Snuggle Podcast on the eve of New Year's Eve. And this episode is scheduled to drop on New Year's Eve. And you might find yourself listening to this on New Year's Day. Either way, I want to do something different today. Instead of setting goals, dreams, aspirations, and deadlines, instead of forecasting what's to come in 2026, we're gonna discuss what we absolutely need to leave behind in 2025. Let me tell you something. Everybody's struggled. The difference is some people choose to go through it and some choose to grow through it.

0:44 The choice is completely yours. Which one you choose will have a very profound effect on the way you live your life.

1:58 I just got to spend my New Year's with you. Oh, it's true. It is damn true. Mm-mm. I do not own the copyright to the video playing in the background. Whichever celebrity that was. Maybe there was Ryan Seacrest or something. I don't I don't really know. But I wanted to set the mood. Hap, hap, happy new year, y'all. Mm-mm mm-mm. If you are listening to this here podcast on its weekly rotation, then it is dropping on a winning Wednesday, and it is coming to you on New Year's Eve.

2:40 But I also know a lot of y'all tune in the next day, or the next day, or the next day. So you might already be in 2026. But either way, I'm here with your weekly fix, Share the Struggle Podcast, episode 286, ringing in the new year 2026. I started the show, the little B-roll intro to the show, saying that traditionally, this time of the year, we're having our, let's just say, forecast uh dream setting, goal setting, aspirations, all those good things. We start to think about the upcoming year. We start to make some resolutions.

3:22 We start to think about all the things that we want to achieve. And we ask ourselves as we look back on the previous year, we kind of go back and do that self-evaluation. We give ourselves our own report card. We go back and say, hey man, how do we do? Did we get any closer to our 10-year goals? Did we get any closer to those dreams we want to live? Did we lose the 10 pounds? Did we get organized? Did we pay off the cards? Did we free up some debt? Did we clear ourselves of regret? I'll say I probably failed on most all of those, but we're not here to talk about that. Maybe next week. Traditionally, we had those episodes and we start thinking about forecasting our year.

4:03 Last year, one of the things that we did that we really enjoyed was identifying our words, our like actual mission statement, our power words, our guiding words, the ones that were going to help uh align us with core values and to pull us through and to see us through. Last year, starting off the year, ending the previous year, I was joined by my wife and we played some question games and we ended it with really trying to identify our guiding word for the year or words. And my wife chose dedication and determination, and I chose courage and sacrifice, and we really leaned into all of those throughout the year.

4:48 That's kind of how we did things last year. This year I'm looking at doing things a little bit different. So instead of you know identifying our goals and our hopes and our dreams and establishing, you know, key results and markers and checkpoints and guiding words, all those things might come in the future. But I thought it was rather fitting for those of you that are gonna listen on New Year's Eve. We're gonna give each other the opportunity to leave some baggage behind in 2025. We're gonna grant each other permission to offload, to unload all of this nonsense, all of the things that have been holding us down, weighing us down, keeping us down, pushing us around, all of that.

5:28 We're gonna get it done, we're gonna get it off our backs, and we're gonna watch the ball drop tonight, knowing that as the clock strikes zero, then whatever it is that's holding you back, whatever it is that's that's holding you down, it's behind you, and you ain't gonna look back. And to those of you that are listening on New Year's Day or the next day or the next day, it's not too late. The new year's just getting started, baby. And we are bound and determined to make this year our best year yet. That's the goal each and every year when the calendar turns, when the ball drops, when the new year starts.

6:12 Make this year your best year yet. So that's the plan. Today we are gonna unload and then we're gonna get ready to reload with positivity, with optimism, with a brand new outlook, refocused and recommitted on ourselves, our goals, and our happiness. That is what's on tap today on Share the Struggle Podcast. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. How do you do? Merry Christmas, happy new year. I hope y'all had a tremendous Christmas. I hope everybody got everything that they wanted. If you didn't get what you wanted, don't forget what we said last week. It's gonna ring true to you each and every week. But this week, more so than others, as the new year rings, Lau Proud American is looking to sing.

6:59 We are going to drop down prices and move items out the door that will never come back. Oh no more, no more, no more. Hit the row, Jack. I just don't know what's wrong with me mostly. But we're gonna uh discount and clear out and remove some items because y'all don't realize this. But uh this is six freaking years. November was the six-year mark for Loud, Proud American. It's hard to believe, man. That is That is hard to believe. And I know this is part of my my goals and forecasts and all those things, so I'm not gonna dig too deep into it, but I am gonna celebrate the fact that we've we've hit six years.

7:47 I thought we would be much further along, but I am not going to beat myself up. That's part of what I'm leaving in the past, that's part of the reason we are here. I'm happy, I'm grateful, and I'm blessed for my success. I'm not where I wanted to be, but that's part of the journey for me, and that's part of this episode for both of us. The things that we dwell on, the things that we swell on. And when I say that for me, dwell and swell, that's the stuff that just rattles around my brain that I think about all day long, and then I swell up like a big fat tick. And I know that's a gross analogy, but that's the truth. Because the things that you're thinking about, the things that you're dwelling on, they're gross too.

8:30 So you're gonna swell up just like a big old fat Mississippi tick, okay? Sorry, Mississippi, I don't know why I shouted you out like that, but I love saying Mississippi. I don't know. It is what it is. But the point I'm making here is a lot of times we we overthink it, right? And if we dwell and swell, that's when I think about all the negatives, all the things that I didn't do, and then I swell up with negativity. I swell up with with anxiety, I swell up with depression. Those are the things that I'm asking and begging of each and every one of you to leave back in 2025. Two. You understand what I'm saying? Ain't no more dwelling and swelling on the negativity, ain't no more dwelling and swelling on what we didn't didn't do.

9:11 It's all optimism for me and you. Now, this week's mission and message, the mantra that we're trying to drive home, I'm gonna go about it in a roundabout way. I'm gonna go about it by sharing something that I heard today. We're going to drive this message home. We're going to activate this exercise by sharing a few um quotes and messages and inspirations that I heard today that I think were given to me today, that found their way to me today for a reason. So on my Tuesday mornings, I get up around five in the morning, I bring my mother to work, and then I try to get in the office and just be productive before the family wakes up.

9:57 So I was in the office and I was doing a few things, finalizing a design for somebody, getting that ready to send over. And then I was like, I'm gonna fall asleep. So I just need some busy work. I'm gonna try to clean the office up a little bit, uh, just so I can stay stay productive. And and before I get into like the negativity of the day, right? Before you start just melting your face into social media, before you do the doomsday scroll, before you listen to the news, I try to put on something uh motivational when I'm up that early. And um, this morning I listened to a sermon from uh Elevation Church from Steven Furtick, who is somebody that you've heard me talk about many times on the podcast.

10:39 And I just clicked home on my YouTube page and a bunch of stuff pops up, and it's like, okay, what do I want to listen to right now? And the message or the name of his uh sermon was um God Wants You to Get Up. And I clicked on that episode and I let that play through, and that ran into me listening to a few other um uh videos today from from Steven from Elevation Church and tying some of those things together, and then realizing that I think it was it it came to me at the right time for the right reason, and it connects to the message that I'm drawn to deliver today. As we talk about all the things that we want to leave behind in 2025 because we want to have a clear, open mind in 2026.

11:23 This message is what drove it home for me. And there's a line that he said today that stopped me in my tracks and made me think for the rest of the day. And he was talking about conditions. And sometimes we have these conditions, and before you know it, we allow these conditions to label us. They overcome us, they often overtake us and who we are and even our names, right? There's so many people in your life that um you might think of what ails them, what's wrong with them, what holds them back before you really think about them. Steven talked about these folks that allow their conditions to take them over.

12:05 These people that allow their conditions to label them. Because sometimes you can go through something so long that you forget who you are. That line resonated with me this morning. I listened to that message. Sometimes you can go through something so long that you forget who you are. I listened to that line. He put his hands up, the crowd was cheering, it was a dramatic moment, and I pushed pause on the video, and I immediately walked outside, and it's blistering cold. It's it's cold enough to freeze the hairs off an Eskimo's nut sack, okay?

12:50 It is frigid this morning. I get up, I go outside, and I begin to do the chores, and I'm freezing and I'm getting water and lugging water and hay and grain and all those things, and I just keep thinking about it. Conditions. Sometimes you can go through something for so long that you forget who you are. I just kept repeating it over and over and over. And I realized somehow along the way, I've forgotten who I am. As you continue to get up, as you continue to fight, fight, fight, as you continue to endlessly work towards your your goals, your dreams, your aspirations.

13:39 And as those things seem to feel further and further away, as you don't attain and achieve the things you assume you should have based off of all the work you've put in, there comes a time when you begin to lose some of your fight. There comes a time when you can lose your sight, because you can't see yourself achieving. You when you begin to lose your sight, then you lose your beliefs. So you start to lose your fight. You start to give up a little bit, and you lose your sight because you can't see yourself achieving anymore. And if you can't see it, then you certainly can't believe it. And before you know it, you're losing belief in those dreams.

14:19 So if you don't believe it, and you don't see it, and you ain't got the courage to get up and fight for it to achieve it, then it ain't gonna come to you. It isn't gonna be given to you, it's not going to be granted to you, it's not gonna be showered down upon you. All because if you continue to go through something for so long, you forget who you are. How many times in life have you worked so incredibly hard for something? How many times have you wanted something so so bad you can taste it? But it continues to evade you. It continues to escape you.

15:01 How many times have you then made the label and decision in your mind that it just isn't for you? As I start to think and connect the dots from Stephen's message to the mission at hand, I begin to do so with this in mind. As I think about all the things I fought for, as I think about all the things I've worked for, as I think about all the struggles that I went through this year, 2025 was one of the most difficult years of my life. As I think about this year and all the challenges, all the times that I nearly gave up, when I think about all those things, that struggle that I've been in, the struggle that I've been fighting with, the struggle that's been surrounding me, I ask myself, has that struggle, has that battle, has it gone on so long that I have forgotten who I am?

16:03 As I began to ask myself that question, I began to realize the answer is yes. You have forgotten who you are. You have forgotten how far you've come. Stephen went on to say you can go through a season of depression that is so deep that you can go from saying, I am dealing with depression, to saying I am depressed. One of those is final. You understand? One of those is a diagnosis, one of those is a is a commitment, it's an acceptance. If you've been listening to the podcast throughout the years, you've heard me tell the story about the two two guys, let's say, let's make up two fake people that are that are quitting smoking.

16:51 And one of them takes the adage of, I'm trying to quit smoking. And the other one gives up smoking the same day. They make this this vial, they make this pact with each other. This is our final pact. Matter of fact, we're done with this. No more smoking for each or one each one of us, okay? We're done here. One of them takes the mentality, I'm in, I'm with you, I'm trying to quit too, I'm done. The other one says, I quit smoking. There's a difference there. So as they begin to go about their day and they go their separate ways. Gentleman A finds himself outside. It's break time. This is when he would normally go for the pack of smokes.

17:32 His fellow, you know, co-workers that are out there that are always lining up, lighting up at the same time, ask him, Hey man, are you uh you want to smoke? You forget your smokes? Nah, man, I'm trying to quit. Okay, yeah. And a lot of times, you know, they're probably just gonna get made fun of, right? Throughout the day, he continues to be asked by all of his his habit friends, his habitual friends, the ones that are the good time and go-to smoking buddies. They continue to ask, you want to smoke? You need a smoke? You want to go for a smoke break? Nah, man, I'm trying to quit. I'm trying to quit, I'm trying to quit. Example number two, friend number, he makes a decision to say, I quit smoking.

18:17 So when all those same scenarios begin to happen to him, when all those friends start asking him, hey man, you want to smoke? You got a lighter, did you forget your smokes? No, man, I quit. I quit smoking. I don't smoke anymore. Good for you. Congratulations. There's a different tone, there's a different reaction. When you fast forward a week, two weeks, and to both these individuals' lives, the person that continues to say, I'm trying to quit, just by just by the way it's phrased, by the way it's said, I'm trying to quit, that's giving you latitude to stop.

18:58 That's giving you the ability to give up the fight. That's giving you the out, the easy way out of saying, Well, I tried to quit. When we say we're trying to do something, we're not really committed to doing something. When we say we're trying to quit, then we're gonna give out our best effort to quit. But eventually peer pressure is gonna cave in, and I'm giving myself the grace to give in. To those of us that make the final decision, which comes from the Latin word incision to cut off, final, fatal. You understand? I made the decision to quit.

19:39 I quit smoking, I'm done smoking. That's a life decision. There's a big difference there between trying to quit and I did quit. If you make the decision to quit, you can start counting the days since you quit. You can start looking at the days you've been smoke free. If you're saying you're trying to quit, you're counting the days. Towards the next cigarette. You understand what I'm saying? Whether I'm tracking the days since I've had a smoke or I'm tracking the days towards my next smoke. There's a big difference on that calendar there, folks. So when you go through a season of depression that is so deep, you go from saying, Hey man, I'm just dealing with some depression right now, to saying, I'm depressed.

20:26 There's a big difference there. Because now you're committed. You made the decision. You are depressed. You're in that fight. Stephen made the point to say it's okay to struggle. The problem is when you begin to forget your true nature. Because you are so consumed by what you won't let go. Whether that's addiction, whether that's self-doubt, whether it's anxiety, depression, whatever it is. You are not willing. You have become consumed by what you can't let go.

21:11 When I started to connect all the things, all the messages from Stephen's speech to the mission and the mantra that I want to carry on for us today, I began to connect those things and say to myself, self, it's time for us to let go. I can guarantee there is a struggle for you that you've been holding on to. There is a struggle for you that has had a grip on you in 2025, and I am here to beg of you to empower you to leave that behind. It has consumed you long enough.

21:54 You have forgotten who you are. You have lost sight of your true nature. We don't realize how much of ourselves we give to these struggles, to these devices. If it's addiction, if it's depression, if it's when we say addiction, let me back up a second, because I think addiction and depression go hand in hand. Addiction could be drugs, could be alcohol, could be social media, it could be uh it could be porn, it could be anything that you're addicted to that begins to uh overtake you.

22:34 You spend too much time, uh, you dedicate too much of your time to this part of your life that's not a fulfilling part of your life. That leads to depression. When we start talking about the dwell and swell, that's self-sabotage. When we sit around and think about all we don't have and all we didn't achieve, we begin to dwell on it and swell on it. And that negativity overtakes us and it fills us up. So I'm asking you, with a few hours to go left in 2025, what do you need to let go of? What is not serving you? What is holding you back? What is robbing you of you?

23:16 I know a lot of you are saying to yourself right now, hey man, this is all fun and good, right? This is great. This is great exercise. I'm gonna identify some stuff that held me back this year. The difficulties in my relationship with my spouse, family members, you know, whether it's a work issue I have, it's a financial issue I have, it's a self-sabotaging, self-doubt situation, whatever it is. I'm gonna identify these things and I'm gonna commit to saying that I'm gonna leave those things behind. But what's the difference just because the calendar changed? What's the difference because the ball dropped?

23:58 What you are facing isn't going to be different. But you are. That's the difference, folks. It's a mental shift. It's a decision, it's an indecision, it's final, it's fatal, we cut it off. Those demons, those dark days, those difficulties, they're gonna keep coming. And they ain't gonna change, but you are because you need to hang on to you and who you are. Because when you go through something long enough, you forget who you are.

24:42 And I am here to remind you just who you and who I am. You understand? Stephen had another great message that said, Sometimes you are so worried about what you are walking into that you forget what you are walking in with. So as 2026 opens up and we realize the hopes, dreams, aspirations that also come with little piggybacks of depression and regret and addiction and fear and self-sabotage and anxiety.

25:27 We can worry too much about those little piggybacks that are coming with us. We can worry too much about the next three hundred and sixty-five days of worry and doubt and depression and anxiety. But you forget what you are walking in with. You're walking in with you, your spirit, your light, your nature, your personality, your abilities, your years of overcoming, your track record of succeeding, your qualifications, your attributes, all the glorious things that God gave you is coming with you too.

26:14 As I went off on that little powerful trip right there, as I was getting on my high horse, thinking about 2026 and all that I'm leaving behind and just how bad of an individual I can be, and I think of the same for you as I do for me, I was drawn to you as I had this line from my favorite movie of all time, Tombstone. When towards the end of the movie, when Wyatt Earp decides to fight back, when Wyatt Earp fights back and they've been trying to take out his family, he corners one of them and he leaves his mark as he's going out there and he's he's taking down all these men. He wounds one of them and he sends him back, and he sends him back with a message.

26:56 I'm coming for him, and hell's coming with me. Now I'm not bringing hell with me, but what I'm saying is I'm bringing that intensity with me, and I want you to bring that intensity too. We're coming for him, and hell's coming with us. I'm coming for 2026, and the good glory of God is coming with us, and optimism is coming with us, and hopes and dreams and aspirations is coming with us. All of the struggle that we've been through, we are hardened by, we are strengthened by, we are encouraged by the fact that we too came through, we pulled out. We can leave that doubt. We are off to bigger to better.

27:37 We need to remember just who the heck we are. Now we gotta arm ourselves. We have to arm ourselves with some weapons. We need some tools to pull us through. When we find ourselves, because we just can't tell ourselves, hey man, all's good from here, baby. It's uh all good in the hood. I'm putting the I'm leaving, I'm leaving all the bad in 2025. But before you know it, whether it's one day in, two days in, or just 12 hours in, you're gonna find yourself back in that dark place. You're gonna find yourself back in those dark habits, whether it's addiction, whether it's doom scrolling, whatever that negative activity is for you, you've got to find a way to replace it.

28:20 You need to replace it with a positive habit. Now, I'm not saying the easiest thing to do is to say, oh, look, I found myself on TikTok for 25 minutes. You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna power out 35 squats right now. I'm not saying we should get that hot and heavy into uh finding tools for a tool belt, but find something positive. Find something that can remove you from that negative action because we know where that action leads to. And a lot of times it's just calling out the emotion for you. So for me, it's stopping the negative self-talk, it's taught stopping the doom scrolling um with no real reason for it. You know what I mean?

29:00 I think we all understand doom scrolling where you just find yourself stuck in your phone, surfing social media, reading this, watching that, whatever the hell it is that you're doing. It's distracting you from what you should be doing. It's robbing you from time from your family, it's taking away countless precious time to make memories or opportunities to chase your dreams and your goals. So when you find yourself doing something like that, a lot of times it's just calling yourself out on your bullshit. So I need to be having that wake up, just smack your mama in the face moment that says, Boy, what you be doing talking negative to yourself, and then change it.

29:41 Change the station, change your altitude, fly at a different level. You understand what I'm saying? Identify what it is. For me, I need to get better at when I find myself in one of those habits, then put down the phone, get up off the couch, whatever the situation is, walk towards my baby girl, pick her up, put a smile on my face, and go off to the next thing. A lot of times it's acknowledging that thing. As I lean more and more into my faith, I'm going to ask for help with all of these things. When I find myself having those negative conversations, I need to get better at saying, now is when I need help. God, I'm talking to myself in a way that I shouldn't be talking to myself. So I'm going to talk to you in a way that I need to help myself.

30:24 So those are some of the tools we can put in our tool belt. Also, we got to try to replace these things not only with our self, you know, good habits, but maybe with um with some good positive people around us. Maybe if you find yourself having those negative conversations, then have that go-to. Maybe it is Share of the Struggle Podcast. Maybe it's your favorite church or sermon. Maybe it's the motivational speaker, maybe it's the good book, whatever it is that you can get to, that you can switch over to, that you can listen to that positive in, that positive out. If it's that person that's close to you, that's a positive influence to you, if it's spending time with a loved one, with a little one, whatever it might be, focus on personal growth.

31:12 Find ways to celebrate, find wins for you, find things that you can get done. Because we often let that to-do list just stack up. We often let that honeydew list build up. We often let those hopes, dreams, goals, and aspirations just stack up. And we never check off some of those key obstacles that we need to overcome to achieve those things. Find some of those, defeat some of those, beat some of those, put them behind you, overcome them. Find a way to celebrate some wins, build some confidence. When you start checking off even small things, eventually those small things will be big things. And you're setting yourself up to celebrate those wins.

31:53 Dedicate some me time. Build some resilience. Think about all the shit you've been through and how strong you are for going through it. I looked up some different tips that we can we can go on. Getting back into the the mindset and thought pattern, challenge negative self-talk, reframe from I'm not good enough to I'm doing my best. Practice self-compassion, treat yourself as some some kindness that you would offer a friend. I really like this one because I often think about this one when I think about the way that I speak to myself, and and I'm gonna ask you guys to do the same thing. If you took a moment and thought about some of the conversation you have with yourself, some of the ways that you speak to yourself, and then imagine yourself speaking to your wife that way, to your husband that way, your mother, your father, your sister, your brother, your coworker, your colleague, your best friend.

32:50 If you talk to anybody in your circle, the way you talk to yourself, they'd leave your ass. They'd probably put a restraining order on your ass, and they certainly wouldn't talk to your ass. So think about that for a minute. Practice self-compassion. Treat yourself with the same kindness you'd offer a friend. When a friend comes to you feeling down, struggling, beating themselves up, talking like crap to themselves, what do you do? You take the time to build them up, but you don't do the same thing for you. Embrace imperfection, let go of unrealistic expectations, and accept mistakes as learning opportunities.

33:31 The moment we begin to chalk up our failures as stepping stones towards our goals, the moment we can dismiss those mistakes and mess ups for what they are, learning lessons, we find some true growth. And that's the next thing. Focus on growth. View challenges as a chance to learn and build new skills, not as test of worth. How often do we look at challenges and just ask ourselves if we're just not worthy of something, and that's why it's so difficult to attain? When instead it's an opportunity, it's a chance.

34:11 Cultivate gratitude. Make a list of things you're thankful for. Writing down the blessings in your life, the things that are thankful, that you're thankful for, the accomplishments, the achievements, all those things are all positive things. Actions and habits, mindfulness, take short breaks, to breathe deeply, or notice your surroundings. Here's a big one, and this is one of the ones I'm going to focus on this year, and maybe in some upcoming episodes we'll talk about it. Digital detox, reduce news and social media consumption to avoid negativity and doom scrolling. I actually took nearly a week off from social media as it um turned into Christmas.

34:56 From Christmas Eve to Christmas, I just stopped looking at my phone and I really haven't made a post or participated in social media. I'm sure that's probably not the best thing for my business, but I needed to unplug and remove myself from it. And I only took quick doses of it, but I didn't put anything out there that would provoke conversation, uh, require responses because that's going to take time, right? So that little digital detox. The next tip is to schedule some meet time. Dedicate at least 15 minutes daily for quiet rest or your favorite activity. Connect positively, spend time with supportive people and uh people that share your common feelings, common values.

35:41 Find the good. Look for positives and bad situations, and focus on values-driven actions like volunteering, like the good, you know, the feel-good stuff. Going to church, joining groups, volunteering, pitching in, and celebrate small victories. Well, they said small wins, but I always say victories. So acknowledge and appreciate your progress, no matter how small. Give yourself some grace, man. Give yourself some credit. As we talk about all these things, all these struggles, all the things that we're trying to put behind us with 2025, the struggles that we want to no longer allow to define us.

36:22 We need to realize that if when we go into 2026, those demons, those pitfalls, those distractions, those struggles, those fears and failures, they're not going to be any different. But you are. That's the key, folks. You are the difference maker. You are the difference. Do not let these conditions define you. When you spend an entire year wrapped up in your situation, in your struggles, those struggles, that situation, those conditions, they can become you.

37:05 And you forget who you are. And as we get ready to face a new year, we begin to worry way too much about those demons and those struggles that are going to continue to be there. We begin to worry about what's ahead of us and what we're walking into. We don't give ourselves credit for what we're bringing with us. That battle tested, tried and true version of you. U 2.0. You want to just make the power move when we start talking about writing down blessings and things to be thankful for. At the top of that list, take your name and then write 2.0.

37:49 That's the double U. That's the new version of you. That's the revamped, reworked, tried and true new version of you. Keith MF in Liberty 2.0. If that don't give you a little boost of confidence, I don't know what will. 2026 is version 2.0 of you. The demons, the distractions, they ain't going away. They're not going to be any different. But you are. Today's the day we put this shit behind us. 2025, I'm sure we can find good in what came of 2025.

38:31 If I just take things at face value, I can tell you that the first thing that comes to mind, my business, the greatest sales year, and our six years in business. That's a tremendous success. I'm going to give value and credit to that success. I'm going to list that as something to be thankful for. What I've realized over the course of 2025, I've spent way too much time analyzing what I don't have and doing it for the right reasons. Let me just say this. I spent the year trying to figure out how to get from one event to the next without having enough money to pay to get there, without having enough product to be on the shelf.

39:15 So I had to be creative. I had to find a way to make it all worked out. And I did. It all worked out. But what I've realized along the way is that swell and dwell, even though I needed to do it, even though I needed to swell on it to figure out how I was going to do it, the problem is I swelled up on it. I thought about all the fine details. I thought about all the ingredients so damn much that I couldn't shake it, right? You know, when you give so much credence to something, when you take all of your energy to figure out something, even if you're doing the dwelling for good. Like I'm dwelling for a reason.

39:57 I'm pondering for a reason. I'm pondering for a plan. Damn it. You understand? I have to be creative. I have to find a way to get through the day, to make it work, to see another day. All that. All that's good. I needed to do it. To pull through it. And I did. But the difference is the more time you dedicate to it, it begins to manifest into a bigger deal and a greater ordeal. You understand? Even though I needed to do it, and there was good reasons for doing it, it overtook me. It became me. That struggle started to define me. So even though I was having these great successes along the way, I was using them up the next day to get to the next battle, to get to the next event, to overcome the next the next disappointment.

40:46 And I need to get that behind me. I can't let that define me. I can no longer dwell and swell on those things that I need to accomplish. I understand they're there. I know those difficulties are still there. I know the challenges are always going to be there. But I got to dedicate a shorter amount of time to figuring out the plan and a greater amount of time to executing it and moving on to another task at hand and celebrating it along the way. I let my struggles, my financial worries, I let the difficult decisions for the business, all these just obstacles, I let them define me. They robbed me of me. When you spend too much time just waking up and putting one foot in front of the other and just figuring it out instead of waking up and enjoying being up, instead of waking up and celebrating being up, instead of waking up and enjoying and celebrating and encouraging and relishing all the greatness and all the glory that's in your life, you just get into a rut of one foot in front of the other, one day after another.

41:50 That's no way to live. That's taking my shine, that's dull in my sprinkle, that is taking away my good-hearted, positive nature, and that lets my conditions, my surroundings, my obstacles define me. That allows them to rob me of me, and then that takes me from you. There's a trickle-down effect. If I'm not being me, then I can't be me for you. And if I can't be me for you, then I'm not being me for my wife. I'm not being me for my mother. I'm not being me for my little baby girl. And I need to be me for them and you, because this is my world. In 2026 version 2.0, I ain't gonna dedicate the time to this now mo.

42:35 You understand? Dang! Too hot in the hot tub. I'm getting fired up. You tell 2026 I'm coming for him. And the good grace of God and glory is coming with me. Behold the pale horse. Alright, I'm getting fired up on tombstone lines. I apologize. I'll be your Huckleberry. I tell you what, folks, I hope today's message and mission becomes the mantra for 2026. For those of you listening with a few hours left in 2025, take account for all of the things that you've worked through, that you've gone through, that you've been through, that you've grown through, and decide all that no longer serves you, that is gonna remain in 2025.

43:28 We don't have much time left to make 2025 our best year yet. So think about all that we must forget, all the things that are gonna get left behind and move into 2026, ready, willing, and able to live and fulfill your purpose and your dreams and all your potential. I truly hope and pray that 2026 is the greatest year for all of us. It's the 250th birthday of America. If that doesn't spell the absolute recipe for success for Loud Proud America, then I don't know what does, okay?

44:09 This is a shake it, make it, break it, get it all done kind of fun. I can feel it. It's coming. Whoo! Can you feel that? Can I feel that? Ow! Yeah, whoo! Ha! Damn it, we all feel it. Wow. I got carried away there. Before I go, I gotta say thank you to each and every one of you. 286 episodes of this year podcast. I already said to y'all that at Al Proud American just crossed the six-year mark. We've been in business for over six years. This year podcast started in 2020, July 2020. We are kicking into our six-year putting five years behind us.

44:51 286 weekly episodes. We have never missed a week of this podcast. Knock on wood. Don't want to jinx it. I'm proud of all we've accomplished. I'm thankful for each and every one of you. I continue to hear from so many of you, and it makes it all worth doing. All the time, the dedication, the assets, it's all worth it. I want to shout out a few new locations that I noticed. Clarence, Oklahoma, Dothan, Alabama, and London, England. Hello, Governor.

45:32 I appreciate you. I welcome you to this little positive tribe that we have here, this positive vibe that we be building. Find all things podcast related at www.share the struggle podcast.com. Feel free to leave a review, say how do you do, and also share this show with someone you know. Help it blossom, help it flow. Whew! And if you need something proudly made in the USA to represent your true American spirit and patriotism, get on over to loudproudamerican.shop and treat yourself today. Well, folks, I love you.

46:16 I appreciate you. All my day ones, my loyal ones, the original ones, the OGs. Get your ones up. I acknowledge you and I appreciate you. Thank you for being with me all along this ride. As 2025 comes to an end, I have so much to be thankful for. And one of those things is each and every one of you, my friends. I appreciate you. Thank you for supporting our American dream. Now go wash your filthy hands. That's it, and that's all, Biggie Smalls.

47:04 If you're allowed Proud American, and you find yourself just talking more, find me on YouTube and Facebook at all proud American Facebook. If you're a fan of the Grand Crack, you wanna find me on Instagram for the kiddy tickety talking on the tickety tock. You can find me on all of those underscore crowd underscore America. Big old thank you to the voice of the gun truckers for the background beats on your podcast.

47:47 If you are enjoying what you're hearing, track down the gun truckers, Facebook. Now go wash your fucking hands, you filthy savage.