WEBVTT
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This program is designed to provide general information with regards
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to the subject matters covered. This information is given with
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the understanding that neither the hosts, guests, sponsors, or station
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are engaged in rendering any specific and personal medical, financial,
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legal counseling, professional service, or any advice. You should seek
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the services of competent professionals before applying or trying any
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suggested ideas.
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At the end of the day, it's not about what
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you have or even what you've accomplished. It's about what
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you've done with those accomplishments. It's about who you've lifted up,
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who you've made better. It's about what you've given back.
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Thanzel Washington, Welcome to inspire Vision. Our sole purpose is
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to elevate the lives of others and to inspire you to.
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Do the same.
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Omer Jesse, how are you doing fantastic?
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Ler doing excellent. Thank you so much for having us,
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doctor Doug.
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Rt to have you on the podcast. And obviously you
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have your own podcast.
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Yes, we do the ASQ podcast.
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Yeah, Yeah, I'm gonna have to listen to that one. Yeah, definitely,
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I think we talk about a lot of similar.
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Things we do.
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Definitely, definitely.
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So what I'd love for you to do is I
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really would love for you to kind of share how
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you got to this point because it's always so fascinating.
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I know you've had other careers and all of that
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type of stuff, and what what happened in your life
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you bring you to the point where you're doing what
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you're doing now.
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Absolutely, you want to take that over first.
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I know, I think you should take it on first.
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This is sort of his baby.
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So about four years ago, after a career youth development
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and management, middle management, I kind of like hit a
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point in which the organization that I was with, our
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values no longer aligned, you know, that were going through
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a change in which I felt that the heart of
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the organization was going away and it was being changed
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by this methodical way of thinking and this way of
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not really living from it within. It was more process
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and outcomes and things of that nature, which although those
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things are important, they were taken away from the real
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job and the mission of what we were doing in
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my opinion, and it was a it was a tough
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break breakup. It's one of the soul crushing things because
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you dedicate your early stage in life to find that
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thing that career that's going to define your your life,
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and when that dissolution comes, it takes you to for
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for a whirlwind because your identity is no longer tied
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to what you are doing. So for me, it was
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soul shaking. Yeah, it was devastating, and that led to
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a source quest and a source quest. The premise behind it,
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it goes right into what you talked about. It's a
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combination of ideas from psychology, philosophy, heavily influenced by mythology,
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in particularly the hero's journey, because we come to a
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point in which we're departing from what we're accustomed to do,
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going into something that is new, and that is super scary,
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very threatening because it goes at the foundation of identity
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and when you lose that or will you perceive that
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you lose that identity, two things happen. One do you
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either withdraw into depression or darkness because it is so
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much easier to identify with the pain, or two you
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go out there in the world then go into a
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quest to redefine who you are and find out what
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you're going to do in the hero now, So that
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was the foundation of what we started with a source
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quest that idea that life doesn't stop life. It's a
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series of transitions, a series of crisises that we face
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when we're not aware that everything in the universe is
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a cycle beginning an end. So that, in a nutshell,
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is what the catalyst to creating a solid quest.
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Well and Jesse, how do you fit into this whole thing?
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Actually my story is a little bit funnier than his.
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I don't want to take away from his experience because
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it was It was a lot for him at that time,
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but for me it was I like to tell people
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that I was very much living in the matrix. I
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was normal for all intents and purposes. I was an
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empty nester at this point. You know, kids are grown now.
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I was working in higher education at that time. I
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was probably there about eleven or twelve years.
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You know.
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I saw myself in like a capacity as a as
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an instructor, a faculty member, you know. I I just
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had my whole life planned out for me. I'm going
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to retire when i'm you know, sixty two or whatever
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the age is, and just going to enjoy retirement. I'm
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doing great. I, you know, worked hard on my education.
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I earned a terminal degree, you know, when I became
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a doctor, I was like, oh my gosh, I've I'm
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I'm a doctor. And unfortunately, it wasn't the same experience
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that people think that they're going to have.
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You know, you go through being a really good.
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Employee, being loyal, dedicated, doing everything right for family, meeting
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all the expectations, being a good wife, a good you know, mother,
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a good all these things. So I was very much
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living that role, and I started to see little glimpses
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of like doors closing on me. And so even after
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achieving these high achievements, right, I mean, you're getting a doctorate,
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you're you're working in higher education, you're just you're you're
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feeling like you're successful, your kids doing fantastic, you know,
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I felt a little bit of an empty nest, like
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not empty nest, empty miss so yeah, an empty nest.
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So what happened for me is Omar was going through
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his thing and we're doing this thing at the same time,
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and out of nowhere, he's like, I'm going to start
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a podcast and you're going to be the host. And
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I was like, wait, what time out? I know, I
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don't like to be on camera. I don't want to
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be on a camera. I don't want to do this.
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At first, I thought it was just going to be audio.
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I'm like, oh okay, and he's like, no, it's video too,
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and I'm like, oh god. And so we started this
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whole thing and I still wasn't one hundred percent in.
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I had one foot in, one foot out, because I
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was for all intents.
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And purposes, is fine.
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And so just recently, literally just recently, I had a
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lot of negative experiences with toxic work environments and a
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lot of toxicity from you know, people that I worked
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with or for, and it was really starting this.
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Little these little holes were starting to get bigger and bigger,
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and it.
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Was like coming literally like coming out of the matrix
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the same way that Neo comes out of it is
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the same way that I felt. I felt vulnerable and
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I was just questioning everything in my life. And it
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was disheartening and it was sad, and it was a
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very traumatic experience for me because you have to go
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it alone, you know. And I had support, right, I
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had support from Omar because he had already gone through
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this process or was going through it. But you can't
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that experience. You have to do it alone. That call
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to the adventure is a solo journey. It's very lonely,
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and so that's basically what happened for me. I mean,
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I'm saying it very lightly, but basically, I now understand
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what a soul's quest is about. And I am one
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hundred percent committed to helping other people guide other people
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through this experience because it is an experience.
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It's a beautiful experience, you know.
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Well you know, and what's interesting And as you were
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talking about your story, it reminds me of my daughter's story,
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only a little bit different. She was getting a degree
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in sociology and she was doing so well that they
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were fast tracking her to her doctorate, and so she
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went through that. I think it was three years undergrad
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then she was moving into the graduate was getting her
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master's degree, and all of a sudden, she called me
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up one day and she said, Dad, I'm not sure I.
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Want to go get my doctorate.
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And I'm going, well, why not, sweetie, because you know
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I went to yours. I went so many years to
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get my doctor's degree. And she said, because as I'm
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now observing, because you're really close to the people and
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they were good to her is but I'm observing what
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they're going through and what they have to do on a.
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Daily basis, and that's not me.
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And you know, because of my past experiences and so forth,
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we've done all these personality profiling and behavioral analyzes and
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so forth.
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And she's very much left her and right.
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Brain, so she's very strong, well, but she's very much
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right brain and loves to be with people and so forth.
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And she said, Dad, they have no time for anybody.
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They're so busy at a doctor level, trying to do
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this and trying to do that. And so ultimately, bless her,
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she made the decision to stop at her you know,
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her message degree and then went off and got a
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job that she's loving right now that has nothing to
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do with her degree, although they have prepared.
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Her for it.
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But you know, it's interesting how people. It's interesting how
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people move forward in their lives and try to achieve
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certain things because in some respects they're told that this
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is what is good for us.
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Too, exactly.
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And did you kind of feel that way as you
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were going towards your doctorate, that this was just absolutely
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that you needed to do in order to Oh, yeah.
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Able, yes, I feel like I'm so glad I do
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ask that question. That's a great question, because what happens
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with us is that we're so conditioned and it's almost
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like we've received this to do list, this checklist of
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things that you need to do in order to be
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an accomplished individual, right in order to have arrived.
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And we all know that we never arrive. Right.
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That in and of itself is a contradiction, because you
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just don't arrive. You're always transitioning, you're always doing, You're
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always going through what.
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I like to call a metamorphosis. Right.
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And so for me, yeah, I was like, I'm working
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in higher education. Clearly I need to get a master's degree.
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And then when I got my master's degree, I was like, no,
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I'm not going to go out, you know, I'm not
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going to do this. But then I was like, but
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I want to be like all these other people that
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have PhDs, and I'm passionate about leadership and toxic work environments.
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I could write my dissertation on this. This is great,
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and then I will have arrived and they'll see me
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and they'll give me a raise and a promotion and
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they're gonna just love me an a dormy and I'm
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just gonna be.
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Everything's gonna be perfect. That didn't happen. That didn't happen
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at all.
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Yeah, it's so interesting.
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I came from My dad actually taught Northwestern University there
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in Chicago, Okay, and he was a passical voice teacher.
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So but anyway, you know, I have four brothers. There's
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five boys in the family and one one girl. She's
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the youngest. And it was interesting because my dad basically
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said to us, all you will get a higher degree,
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and you're gonna pay for yourselves because I'm not paying.
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For it, which is what happened.
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So, yeah, I've got a brother that got got his
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message of great at Harvard, and I've got two brothers
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that are attorneys and one one brother decided not to
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go to college. And my dad was so unhappy with that.
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And as I talked to my brother, Now, of course
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my dad's passed away, but as I talked to my brother,
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he really received some very unfortunate comments from dad during
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that time.
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Now, guess who's the one in the family that owns
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the jet?
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And yeah, you So it's interesting how we can be
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so programmed, you know, as you shared to achieve whatever
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this happens to be in our lives rather than as
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you talk about.
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Soul quest, I love I love that that terminology. So
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as as you started to go through that process, what
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what were some of the challenges you faced, What were
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some of the steps you realized you had to take
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in order to number want to overcome that loss, overcome
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the fear of I don't know what's going to happen next,
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and then transition, as you say, with that journey to
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reach a point where you're back on target, but now
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you're doing something that you really love to do and
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are making a difference.