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Hi, welcome back to another episode of Tech Exec Wellness.
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I'm your host, melissa.
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I am Erica.
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Today we are thrilled to have Marcus Peterson.
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Marcus Peterson is a vice president at the firm, where he applies multiple insurance disciplines for his clients.
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That's coordinated across relationships acting as a value complement and extension to existing financial professionals, service providers, businesses and high-network networks.
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Armed with excellent networking skills and a vast connection in sports and business, he leads the firm's client and community outreach programs.
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He's passionate about financial literacy.
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He educates his clients on insurance matters and helps them plan for protection and peace of mind.
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Marcus has a wealth of experience in finance and sports.
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He started his career as a financial representative at Northwestern Mutual, then became a director at Gideon Strategic Partners.
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Before that, he was a wide receiver in the National Football League, playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers.
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He remains active in the NFL community as a treasurer of the NFLPA former players board.
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But wait, there's more.
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Marcus has a global perspective and a strong network in both sports and entertainment.
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He has been featured in several publications.
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These include MSNBC, espn, new York Weekly's 30 Under 30, l Men's Magazine, medium and MarketWatch.
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He holds an MBA in Global Business Finance from the University of Derby, which is in England, and a BA in Human Resources and Marketing at Seton Hill University.
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Marcus is also a dedicated philanthropist who supports my Friends Place, a nonprofit organization that helps youth experience and homelessness move toward wellness, stability and self-sufficiency.
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He has been involved with MFP for over 15 years.
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Marcus, welcome to the show.
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Before we get started, I must know what is your favorite music genre, artists, and if you could share with us your most memorable concert experience.
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Well, first and foremost, I want to say thank you.
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That was a beautiful intro, so thank you for that Well you're welcome.
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To answer your question, my favorite genre is Neo Soul, Nice.
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My favorite artist of all time is Chade.
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My favorite concert experience?
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That's a really good question.
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I would have to say I've been to many concerts, but what was super memorable?
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There's two, actually.
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So one of my favorites is seeing Jill Scott, the Hollywood Bowl, yes, which was insanely insane.
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And then the second one was I was able to see Prince at his last concert.
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I was young but I was at the Forum which is in Inglewood, California.
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So those are the two.
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Wow.
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So I have to say that Jill is one of my favorite artists, as was Prince.
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So when you were at the Prince concert, what was so memorable?
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Like, where were you envisioning yourself when you were in that concert?
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Because obviously you felt a lot of happiness, a lot of joy.
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Can you kind of delve a little deep into what you were feeling when you were at that concert, even though you were very young?
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For me, yeah, obviously his music was very dominant in the 80s 90s.
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So for me to see the genius because my father is a musician and my mother loves music as well so I went with my mom and just to see him live, with all the thoughts and things that I've heard about him and seeing, like you know, on media, but to see it executed in person, like he had an all-fee-mout band.
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I mean he can play every instrument, like from the stage to the.
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What he tried to depict for his audience to see.
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It was just mind-blowing.
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I didn't appreciate it as much, probably till he passed, and then that's when I reminisced like wow, this is what was going on, because, you know, I was a little bit younger than what I am now, obviously, but I can definitely appreciate the art of who he is and what he did.
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That is so amazing.
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I know in one of our first podcast episodes, Eric and I were talking about the legacy of David Bowie and Tina Turner.
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I was fortunate to see both of them and Prince.
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Just, I don't know the logistics of it, but it just didn't happen in this lifetime.
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So I have to say that is incredible that you got to see Prince.
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I still listen to his music but, yeah, music does something for the soul, for sure.
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The only time I'm not listening to music is if I'm sleep, reading or watching something.
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But yeah, music.
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I
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have to have music playing 24-7.
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And something interesting is every day I wake up and a song plays in my head randomly.
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It's not a particular genre, it could be any genre, but something I've made.
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It heard six years ago, yesterday on the radio on a commercial, or 20 years ago, but some new song pops in my head every day and I have to wake up, even before I brush my teeth, play it because it's just going to stick with me and it's going to boat me all day.
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But literally every day I wake up I wake up to a new song.
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Would you say that?
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And, eric, I want to hear from you as well Would you say that there is a certain song that uplifts you in the morning?
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Because I started doing that as my daily.
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One of my rituals is listening to a song like Whitney Houston, for instance, higher Love Remix with Kygo.
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Is there a song that kind of amps you up and gets you started to your day, or do you just kind of go through the playlist?
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No, I just kind of go through a playlist.
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I was in high school because my dad does gospel, so like there are times where I play gospel music in the mornings, but I wouldn't say a specific song or genre.
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It just literally, as I'm waking up it pops in my head like any song.
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It's not the same song either, so it's.
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They're all different songs.
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That's interesting.
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I've told Melissa this before.
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The song Sweet Child of Mine by Guns N' Roses is the song that I listen to before I do a podcast episode or like if I'm preparing for a meeting.
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I like EDM the most and I would have to say that I remember by Cascade is a song that I could listen to in the morning every single day.
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Are you familiar with Cascade?
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I know the group, but I've not heard them yet.
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Okay.
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Excuse me, excuse me.
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Yeah, no, that's okay.
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He's a underground DJ that started in Chicago.
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He did a lot of underground music from Chicago and has just blown up in the EDM world, so that's my favorite genre Nice.
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Have you ever been to an EDM concert?
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I have.
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I was at one in Vegas and then one in LA.
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I'm all about experiences, so it was good to experience, like it was, that music is energy, it's a feeling.
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It's
not necessarily what you hear, but how you feel.
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So it was interesting to be a part of that experience multiple times.
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Perfect.
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I love that, so I would love to hear some more about you.
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Can you walk us through your career journey and the NFL, and how you transition to your current role?
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Interesting.
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I always get this question and my only answer is literally God.
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I don't have any type of formula or express sheet of one through ten.
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It's just literally been blessed to have these opportunities.
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One thing about me even when I was young, I was always not risk averse, meaning I always like taking risks.
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If people were always going left, I'd like to go right.
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So, with that being said, I was born and raised in Los Angeles, california.
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I went to undergrad in Pittsburgh, pennsylvania, and then from there how it works is either you get drafted or you get picked up by the NFL.
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But I didn't really care too much about playing football until like my junior year of college.
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When some NFL players are like, hey, you're pretty good, you can do this, and that's when it clicked for me Well, maybe I should start taking this series.
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But then, like your support group, if everybody's doing the same thing on a positive level, you tend to mentally be in that space as well.
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So fast forwarding.
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Then I went to school in London where I got my MBA in Global Business Finance.
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And it's interesting because my grandma always wanted me to get my MBA.
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So I was like, yeah, I'll just do it, and I really didn't want to get it.
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It was because it was considered a fifth year.
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So in order to play football I had to like do a course and when me just graduated with my undergrad I said you know, it can be beneficial because one I just graduated.
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So I'm still in that mental school space two, three months later.
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So it was a blessing that I was able to do that.
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So I got into Global Business Finance from there.
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That's when I went to Jacksonville and then a year later, you know, playing in Texas and different showcases in Iowa, things that nature.
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I was blessed with the opportunity with Los Angeles Chargers and it was good because it's on the business side, it's in Los Angeles, so it's a huge market and I'm from, born and Raised in Los Angeles, so the business and the marketing and the networking around that and my story really took off with that platform and I knew how to use that.
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And, like I said, going back, like if I would have had that opportunity when I was like 21 or 22, come out of college, I didn't.
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My rookie year I was 25.
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So I had the experience of traveling the world, meeting a lot of new people, discovering who I was as an individual.
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So that's what the whole blessing of disguise was, because my mental space of if and when I get this opportunity, I'm going to know what to do with.
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So as that happened, a lot of doors opened so I knew to take all the candy walls and the candy store.
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I got my MBA in Global Business Finance, so I had a lot of corporate offers but I just knew football was my thing at the time.
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From there, that's when I started with Northwest Submission because my cousin was there as well, and then I developed a habit obviously of the financial advisor and helping individuals with their financial state, with a short term, mid-term, long-term.
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But what I realized that was was that a lot of my clients in Will House did not particularly just need products and insurance based items.
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A lot of things were, like you know, private investments, holistic planning, so just a larger scale of kind of what my net work needed.
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So that's what alluded me to becoming director at an IRA called Gainer's Strategic Partners and then there for about two years and a couple partners and I we started an investment registered advisory firm in Los Angeles and Century City and then we opened a branch here in Boca Raton, florida.
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So it's all been a journey, like I always say, like you can go from one stone to another, but life is just about moving forward.
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So all the things that I've tried led me and alluded me to meeting certain people that can guide me to this part of life.
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So if I never would have tried those things, I would have never met this person.
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So I always look back and I see the opportunities that I did take those opportunities.
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Whether I liked it or they worked or not, there was something in them that was a gem that led me to, obviously, my purpose in where I am in life now.
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That is beautifully said.
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You and I have a lot in common.
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I'd like to ask you this, though when you you give back, can you tell us a little bit about my friend's place, what that organization's about, how you got involved in it?
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Yes,
yes, I remember like it was yesterday.
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I was nine years old, so born and raised with both my parents.
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I remember, oh my God, like Christmas as a kid is like going to heaven, it's insane.
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So I remember sitting in my alarm clock all the time for like six am to wake up to go see Santa Claus or get the presents or whatever.
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And I remember when I was nine, it was like 82 degrees and I was like, and I was getting up to go like rush to the Christmas tree and deliver them, and I was stopped by my parents okay, we're not going to like get the gift yet, we're going to go to this place called my friend's place and give back.
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And I was so angry I mean selfishly pissed that I couldn't really experience that, experience it up and experiencing of opening the gifts and the joy around that.
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And I had an attitude the whole time going there.
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And then when I got, so it's in Hollywood.
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It's a youth center for like individuals from 15 to about 30 or 35, with people who moved to LA wanting to be an actor, actors to start their dream.
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And then you know something happens with you that I like being so expensive in inflation or family issues, but just less fortunate in the Los Angeles community.
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So it's a huge nonprofit organization that I connected with.
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So we were giving back with my church and giving food and toys and things of that nature, and it was from 9 to 12.
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I'll never forget this.
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Being nine years old, I was behind the bench, you know, giving out food and just helping out in any way I could, and to see individuals that look just like me, in my same age and older, that had so much joy the joy I've had, you know, opening gifts and being excited to receiving things.
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And then that's what woke me up and I remember getting back home and I was like you can open your gifts now.
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And that changed my life.
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For since that day, like I really didn't even want to open gifts, I wanted to just give it away.
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So that opened a whole charity thing for me.
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So from that I started giving.
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Every year I was in my friends place Thanksgiving, christmas, and as I got older I connected with them on my own and my own brand.
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That's why I started a sock line.
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Globally we're giving back for the homeless.
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As you know, one of the three things essential things that less fortunate need on a global scale is, you know, either a female products toothpaste, toothbrushes and also socks.
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There's a whole medical thing about how beneficial socks are, especially with climate change, but those are one of the key things that I wanted to give and execute with my brand on a global scale was able to do it, and multiple states in the United States, spain, all throughout Europe and South America, so it was a blessing to do that.
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But it all started when I was nine years old, going to my friends place, so I've been indebted to them and the family that I've established there over the last 20 years, so it was a blessing for them.
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Marcus, you mentioned something about socks and climate change.
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This is new to me.
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Can you shed some insight on how socks are related to climate change?
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I can't give the specific science behind it, but as far as your ears, your hands and your feet, those are the top three controllers of kind of how your body reacts to either being hot or cold.
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So, as you know, being in Denver, if your feet are cold, that means your whole body is going to be cold.
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So whether your feet are cold or wet, it's it really kind of controls how your whole body in the bloodstream flows when it comes to being cold.
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And then, obviously, being cold, your pores are open.
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That opens to.
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You know you're getting a cold or fluid pneumonia.
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So socks are very pivotal to the human body.
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See a lot of individuals walking barefoot.
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There's things on the ground whether socks can help prevent from the concrete or class or things like that nature.
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But there's a multitude of benefits on having socks and a lot of less fortunate don't have socks and shoes that you really don't see on an everyday basis or might not think about.
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But socks are very pivotal and you know you can give food turkeys and all that stuff.
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That's cool, but that's very.
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It's temporary, like in a 15 minute or two hour fulfillment, but to me, as a demure research, socks can last, you know, depending on who you are, what you're doing, for you know, a month or two a year, so I want to do things that were not necessarily temporary but in my power to make it last a little bit longer.
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That's great and thank you so much for your contributions.
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I do some similar things with veterans, being a veteran myself, and bomba socks was an organization, yeah, where you'd buy and they give it to homeless people, so I really like the initiative.
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And that's
where I got my model from.
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Yes, I did my research on if you buy one, then if you buy two, one pair of ghosts or the proceeds go to homeless.
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So that's where I based my model from.
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That's awesome.
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Yeah, I think that's incredible.
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Thank you so much for that.
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With AI and everything, now what are you doing to keep your wellness going, your health journey?
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What type of workouts do you like to do, and are you thinking about incorporating AI into that?
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To answer your question.
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No, in a certain sense I might have to just call it how life goes, but for me, just I like it's interesting, I work out all the time but I really hate working out.
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But as far as like the health around it, as I'm getting older, not playing anymore, I want to kind of keep my metabolism where it is and I just know the benefits of health, water and sleep and exercise.
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So I like to work out in the gym area, outdoors, running, just on the cardio side of things, like still playing football or having those football workouts, just to keep the healthy side and self care on that.
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But I probably work out four times a week, mostly in the gym or outdoors, either doing cardio and just kind of maintaining the health there.
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I understand you want to keep moving.
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I need to do a better job with cardio.
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I was at one point attempting to be a competitive bodybuilder and I competed a couple of times but yeah, I didn't get anywhere big with it, it was just more at the regional level.
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My partner, he's a pro bodybuilder, so we kind of live in that lifestyle and when I can't work out it drives me crazy.
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And I understand the statement of you hate to work out, but you know that it's basically a necessary evil.
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I love to train and let things heavy, but I hate cardio and, as a previous football player, you probably can't live without cardio, right?
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Yeah, so that's what I'm used to because it's like what my position?
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You have to be moving all the time and you have to have that stamina because you can run up and down and feel it, but it's the duration of the forward game is very long, so you have to be in shape.
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And also, on the physique side, like cardio, you lose weight.
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You lose body weight, I mean water weight or things of that nature.
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So my psyche is used to that training just how you kind of see you know Ray Lewis or hockey players
or former basketball players still doing those workouts and things of that nature, because that's just kind of in their minds what they've been doing for a very long time.
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So that's all they kind of know.
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And for me, yeah, I want to say stay healthy.
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I just kind of know the benefits as I get older, how it translates and it helps out long term.
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Yeah, it's good for your heart, so I trust me.
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I know that my doctor tells me all the time, so I do wonder what your thoughts are on the impact of technology and social media and mental well-being and how can we maintain a healthy relationship with it.
00:20:26.067 --> 00:20:32.454
And I think this, before I let you answer this question, is important because of where you've been in your life and where you are today.
00:20:32.454 --> 00:20:33.999
Can you share your thoughts on that?
00:20:34.829 --> 00:20:38.159
Two thoughts, so yes, one.
00:20:38.159 --> 00:20:40.425
So I'm coming on it in both shoes.
00:20:40.425 --> 00:20:42.639
I learned in life to look at things in both shoes.
00:20:42.639 --> 00:20:57.440
I am going to answer this question as not having any children and being single and on the other side of the perspective is if I did have children, how would I view technology and social media and things of that nature?
00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:13.503
So for me, one I think you have to know yourself first, because a lot of like videos and how perceptions of things society might think it should be can alter a lot of people's mental.
00:21:13.830 --> 00:21:18.560
So mental health around social media can be very good or it can be very detrimental.
00:21:18.560 --> 00:21:22.756
It starts with within first, like if you have armadillo skin.
00:21:22.756 --> 00:21:28.996
Me being in business and sports, you know, you get told know a lot, so you kind of get used to that.
00:21:28.996 --> 00:21:32.499
So you have to know and be grounded in who you are as an individual.
00:21:32.499 --> 00:21:47.738
Again, to answer that question in some capacity, I think it's good, especially on the business side, you see a lot of millionaires and billionaires that have gained their wealth and their exposure and their platform via social media or a phone.
00:21:47.738 --> 00:21:53.192
On the other side of things, you have a lot of people who either alter their body, their mindset.
00:21:53.231 --> 00:22:00.538
Keeping up with the Joneses is a phrase, or going into financial debt just to impress people that don't care about them or don't know.
00:22:00.538 --> 00:22:07.129
So I think that's why it all goes from the root of who am I as an individual and what matters to me and my happiness.
00:22:07.129 --> 00:22:21.881
Because you can see a lot of times when people try to do things just for social media or attention, which can be detrimental in the end If you look back and say, man, five years ago I shouldn't have cared that much, but you still have to live with the actions that you've done in the last five years.
00:22:21.881 --> 00:22:25.720
So it's a hot and cold topic with that.
00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:33.278
But I think, like I said, it depends on who you are and if you control it the way you want to control it, then it can be good.
00:22:35.091 --> 00:22:40.261
Marcus, how can we, from your perspective, how can we cultivate healthy relationships?
00:22:40.261 --> 00:22:46.976
Because you mentioned something that really resonated with me keeping up with the Joneses People out there buying things.
00:22:46.976 --> 00:22:48.104
They're on Instagram.
00:22:48.104 --> 00:22:55.481
They look like they're living their best life and, erica, we talked about this before where you don't get to see the peaks and the valleys of these individuals.
00:22:55.481 --> 00:23:10.177
So are you a person I mean, social media is good for branding yourself, but are you more interested in having personal relationships, going out for coffee, being with people, versus scrolling on social media endlessly?
00:23:11.634 --> 00:23:22.201
Yes, I'm both Like I can see social media just to like if I meet somebody on a cruise, just to see how I that's what I do like about social media is like you're always in tune with people.
00:23:22.201 --> 00:23:28.297
If you don't see them for five years, 10 years, or if you went to college with them, like, oh, you kind of see what they're up to, like updates.
00:23:28.297 --> 00:23:31.597
So I do like it in that aspect.
00:23:31.597 --> 00:23:31.931
I do.
00:23:31.931 --> 00:23:33.235
I'm a very in-person person.
00:23:33.235 --> 00:23:40.649
So I like, like you said, going out for coffee, meeting people in person or connecting or keeping up via social media.
00:23:40.649 --> 00:23:57.801
I think social media is definitely a value add tremendously for millions and millions of people here on this planet, because you can connect with someone in China in one second, or you can connect with, you know, the CEO of Mergers and Acquisitions.
00:23:57.801 --> 00:24:05.413
So it's the connections and the rapidness of time of how you can execute things is the positive thing around it.
00:24:05.413 --> 00:24:08.174
That's what I really like about social media.
00:24:08.174 --> 00:24:14.240
Just how we met on social media, so it's like it's amazing how it's developing, to what it's become.
00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:15.894
So I like it in that aspect.
00:24:15.894 --> 00:24:21.572
And just to add one more thing I think I always like to look at things as, as you know I'm like food.
00:24:21.874 --> 00:24:22.696
You think of a diet.
00:24:22.696 --> 00:24:24.957
When you think of a diet, you think of eating healthy.
00:24:24.957 --> 00:24:28.178
You think of, you know, consuming edible foods.
00:24:28.178 --> 00:24:32.441
When I think of diet, when you're speaking on social media, you have to have a diet.
00:24:32.441 -->
00:24:34.798
You have to kind of watch and preserve.
00:24:34.798 --> 00:24:39.396
What is it you see, what is it you hear, what is it your mental contains?
00:24:39.396 --> 00:24:48.299
Because if you don't, like they say, you are what you eat, but then you are what you see, you are what you hear, you are what you consume your brain.
00:24:48.299 --> 00:25:01.195
So if someone has an addiction to something or to social media or whatever, and they see that and they hear that, then that's in their psyche, that's what they think about, that's what is real, that is what's acceptable.
00:25:01.195 --> 00:25:05.919
If you're able to turn it off and think for yourself, then that can.
00:25:05.919 --> 00:25:08.596
You can separate social media versus reality.
00:25:09.190 --> 00:25:12.039
I love that you said that, because you are what you eat.
00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:13.294
You are what you ingest.
00:25:13.294 --> 00:25:16.096
So I'm very mindful about people I talk to.
00:25:16.096 --> 00:25:30.842
If they're negative or whatnot, I I got to cut them out of my life because I'm in a different phase in my life where I want to be around positive people, I want to eat whole foods and I want to digest good social media.
00:25:30.842 --> 00:25:34.460
That's inspirational versus drama or anything like that.
00:25:34.460 --> 00:25:42.436
So I think for the people out there listening, it's very important to not only what you ingest as far as food, but social media, like you said.
00:25:42.957 --> 00:25:43.178
Right.
00:25:43.178 --> 00:25:44.854
Having a diet is so key.
00:25:47.192 --> 00:25:54.263
I've lived with having a diet coach or nutritionist for the longest part of 15 years.
00:25:54.263 --> 00:25:59.954
I wasn't always as healthy as I am today and I have to have that accountability.
00:25:59.954 --> 00:26:08.475
And you do feel better when you eat better and you're following what you would call a meal plan or a diet per se, and I know you understand that as well.
00:26:08.475 --> 00:26:19.094
So can you tell the listeners a little bit about, from your perspective, how you can build resilience and bounce back from a setback or challenge in their wellness journey or your wellness journey?
00:26:20.875 --> 00:26:24.069
Oh man, that's different for different people.
00:26:24.069 --> 00:26:26.499
How about from your perspective?
00:26:26.499 --> 00:26:27.855
How can I answer this question?
00:26:27.855 --> 00:26:29.692
Yes, from my perspective.
00:26:29.711 --> 00:26:36.220
I, when I was younger not even younger, let's say, in high school I was always really cared about what people thought.
00:26:36.220 --> 00:26:41.361
Well, I was very cognizant and wanted to be liked and things of that nature.
00:26:41.361 --> 00:26:55.995
But I had a best friend that I met that he didn't care about anything and obviously, being around that that's where I developed that confidence and just not caring what other people think about me and that's what literally changed my life.
00:26:55.995 --> 00:27:03.356
So you have to come into a mind frame of what makes me happy and not caring about other people's opinions.
00:27:03.356 --> 00:27:06.056
And another thing is my biggest like.
00:27:06.056 --> 00:27:17.099
I don't know if it's because I'm only child or whatnot, or I was in the household being an only child, but my favorite answer is no, like, if it's not benefiting to me, I have absolutely no problem of saying no.
00:27:17.099 --> 00:27:27.441
So if it's opportunity, if it's something you're thinking or whatnot, if it's not of a short term, midterm, long term benefit towards me, I have absolutely no problem saying no.
00:27:27.441 --> 00:27:34.582
And there's so much peace in that that can take you a long, long, long way.
00:27:36.425 --> 00:27:42.538
So I'm not going to say my age, but it's taken me a long time, marcus, to say no to people.
00:27:42.538 --> 00:27:48.738
So was there a little moment where you're just like you know what I am going to say?
00:27:48.738 --> 00:27:53.236
No, I'm going to stand my ground and I'm going to be assertive.
00:27:53.236 --> 00:27:55.451
So what gave you that?
00:27:56.212 --> 00:28:04.302
I was young I don't know if that's a test to like I said, growing up in an old child home.
00:28:04.302 --> 00:28:09.032
It was very selfish, so maybe that's where it came from.
00:28:09.032 --> 00:28:19.503
I didn't really have to share like that, so maybe that's where it came from but just understanding who I was to like if it wasn't beneficial or just kind of.
00:28:19.503 --> 00:28:27.153
And then as you get older you learn like hey, you're helping other people but then you can kind of get like stabbed on the back or those are just life lessons.
00:28:27.153 --> 00:28:30.089
Like you can't say no to it, you can't say yes to everybody.
00:28:30.089 --> 00:28:33.594
But I've man, I developed that at a very early age.
00:28:33.594 --> 00:28:37.296
Like I have no problem with protecting my peace.
00:28:37.296 --> 00:28:43.893
Well, it doesn't matter who it is friends, colleagues, family, it doesn't matter and a lot of people around me understand that.
00:28:43.893 --> 00:28:47.354
So like my peace is number one to me.
00:28:47.354 --> 00:28:52.576
So if it's compromising that, then it doesn't need to be in my world.
00:28:52.576 --> 00:28:56.434
But to answer your question, I was young, very young.
00:28:57.445 --> 00:29:04.219
Well, I think many people out there should listen to this and definitely not be afraid to say no.
00:29:04.219 --> 00:29:21.373
So I'll ask you one last question, and I think it kind of ties into this but what is the importance of self compassion and what advice would you give to those out there, young men and women, especially for having a positive self image?
00:29:21.373 --> 00:29:23.311
And I think we talked about social media earlier.
00:29:23.311 --> 00:29:27.254
So again, you don't see people with their makeup off.
00:29:27.254 --> 00:29:29.993
You don't see
people as their true selves.
00:29:29.993 --> 00:29:37.115
So what can we do as a society ourselves to have a positive self image and be authentic?
00:29:39.424 --> 00:29:46.552
So, going back to, just like my upbringing, I had a lot of alone time, so I became my best friend at a very early age.
00:29:46.552 --> 00:30:00.098
So I think, to answer your question, spending a lot of time alone figuring out who you are, what you like, talking to yourself, figuring out your purpose and being still in the moment.
00:30:00.098 --> 00:30:15.835
A lot of times we kind of have friends and opinions and social media, but a bulk of the time we need to really sit down and be with ourselves, because we can lie on social media, we can lie to other people or have a facade, but you can't lie what's in the mirror.
00:30:15.835 --> 00:30:24.678
So the more time you concept the truth, what's in the mirror, I think that would help tremendously.
00:30:24.678 --> 00:30:25.485
It's a journey.
00:30:26.367 --> 00:30:34.192
Like I said, a lot of people don't figure out who they are or kind of like how to get compassion to their 99 years old.
00:30:34.192 --> 00:30:35.816
You could be seven years old or 99.
00:30:35.816 --> 00:30:42.117
But the earlier you do it within, the better your perception on life will be.
00:30:42.117 --> 00:30:51.186
So I think being still being alone, going into those positive environments, that's another big thing For me.
00:30:51.186 --> 00:30:56.397
I gather my thoughts a lot being in those tropical areas.
00:30:56.704 --> 00:31:09.111
I like beachy areas, I like scenery, I like interior decoration where I can feel creative and feel in the moment and that's where a lot of my thoughts gather.
00:31:09.111 --> 00:31:12.711
So go to a place where you feel the most.
00:31:12.711 --> 00:31:27.317
You can benefit within, whether it's in the rain, whether it's cold, whether it's an atmosphere like EDM or at the beach or swimming, wherever it is that you feel the most comfortable with yourself and gather those thoughts.
00:31:27.317 --> 00:31:43.193
But I think it starts with being alone a lot and turning off the social media and just talking to yourself and figuring out who you are as an individual, and then that will eliminate or kind of decrease opinions and thoughts of society and social media for sure.
00:31:44.496 --> 00:31:45.338
That's a great answer.
00:31:45.338 --> 00:31:48.548
I actually have one more question for you, Marcus Do you meditate?
00:31:49.345 --> 00:31:53.233
I do, and I didn't do it just because of breathing.
00:31:53.233 --> 00:31:59.417
I did it because playing football, I mean, you would wake up feeling like crap.
00:31:59.417 --> 00:32:05.648
So I used to literally have to take yoga before I worked out a practice and after, just to feel good.
00:32:05.648 --> 00:32:15.653
And so doing that for a long time, a couple of years I developed the benefit outside of just like flexibility and things of that nature.
00:32:15.653 -->
00:32:30.807
So it's interesting you said that because I just took an exam, glad to do continuous education for my profession on Monday and right before I did meditation and yoga and it just made me feel so much better with my breathing.
00:32:30.807 --> 00:32:37.086
So, like I said, it was blessing that it came from the physical aspect of what I needed it to be.
00:32:37.086 --> 00:32:41.732
But as I transitioned out of it, I continue to do it for the mental side.
00:32:43.175 --> 00:32:44.038
That's amazing.
00:32:44.038 --> 00:32:49.868
Melissa has been actually leading me down a path of meditation, and, melissa, you can add something here too.
00:32:49.868 --> 00:32:54.854
So that's where the question came from, because she's really the one that has turned me on to that.
00:32:54.854 --> 00:32:56.037
That's good.
00:32:56.037 --> 00:32:56.657
That's good.
00:32:57.986 --> 00:33:06.184
So, marcus, do you do a guided meditation, or are you at the point where you can literally just be still in a room without any guidance?
00:33:07.208 --> 00:33:07.711
No, no, no.
00:33:07.711 --> 00:33:10.673
So all I do is I just turn on YouTube.
00:33:10.673 --> 00:33:13.812
There's a yoga instructor that I really like.
00:33:13.812 --> 00:33:23.155
It says yoga with Adrienne and she has like a multitude of things, whether it's headache or it's anxiety, flexibility, hamstrings, whatever.
00:33:23.155 --> 00:33:34.390
Like I said, I used to always just do it on the physical side my lower back was hurt on my hamstrings or whatever but she has other things about, like if you're dealing with depression, if you're dealing with excitement, whatever it is.
00:33:34.390 --> 00:33:37.312
So I just do it at home by myself.
00:33:37.312 --> 00:33:43.734
I've done it sometimes, I tried to do it with other people, which is hard, like a real yoga instructor.
00:33:43.734 --> 00:33:45.278
Yoga is hard.
00:33:45.278 --> 00:33:46.971
The real yoga is hard.
00:33:46.971 --> 00:33:47.933
It's really hard.
00:33:47.933 --> 00:33:51.581
But I like to kind of just do it in the conveyance of my living room.
00:33:52.488 --> 00:33:54.625
Yeah, I'm with you on doing group yoga.
00:33:54.625 --> 00:33:56.484
It's very hard, especially hot yoga.
00:33:56.484 --> 00:33:57.884
I don't know if you've ever tried it.
00:33:57.904 --> 00:34:01.416
I did it once and then, yeah, that was it, but I mean I can do it.
00:34:01.464 --> 00:34:02.489
Oh, that's the best.
00:34:02.669 --> 00:34:03.271
I can do it again.
00:34:03.271 --> 00:34:06.245
Yeah, it wasn't that it was too hot, it was just.
00:34:06.245 --> 00:34:07.672
I just never went back.
00:34:07.672 --> 00:34:11.070
I don't know why it was so long ago, I just remember doing it.
00:34:11.105 --> 00:34:11.827
They scared you off.
00:34:12.744 --> 00:34:15.972
Maybe, it was really hot and I like to be hot.
00:34:15.972 --> 00:34:24.132
I just want to add the socks comments that you made, that if you don't have socks on your feet, you're cold your whole entire body.
00:34:24.132 --> 00:34:25.454
That's true for me as well.
00:34:25.925 --> 00:34:26.606
Yeah, that socks.
00:34:26.606 --> 00:34:29.813
So your ears, your feet and your hands.
00:34:31.686 --> 00:34:32.308
That's interesting.
00:34:32.308 --> 00:34:34.773
I love everything that you said today.
00:34:34.773 --> 00:34:41.938
You truly are an amazing individual and I want to thank you so much for coming on this episode today.
00:34:41.938 --> 00:34:44.192
Do you have any last thoughts you want to add before we wrap it up?
00:34:45.326 --> 00:34:47.231
No, I just appreciate you guys for having me.
00:34:48.173 --> 00:34:50.288
Not a problem, and again to our listeners.
00:34:50.288 --> 00:34:51.411
Thank you for tuning in.
00:34:51.411 --> 00:35:01.115
Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast on a variety of platforms and check out our website at wwwtechexecwellnesscom.
00:35:01.115 --> 00:35:03.913
Take care, and thanks for tuning in.
00:35:05.018 --> 00:35:07.125
Take care, Thank you guys Bye.