Feb. 3, 2026

Poverty, Perseverance & Purpose: Setbacks into Opportunity -Elevate Côte d’Ivoire

Poverty, Perseverance & Purpose: Setbacks into Opportunity -Elevate Côte d’Ivoire
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Born in Côte d’Ivoire amid civil unrest, Stéphane Akoki shares how a mother’s mindset, faith, and relentless action carried him from a “poverty necessity entrepreneur” to U.S. product manager—and why he founded Elevate Côte d’Ivoire to create opportunity across Africa, training Africans for remote work and higher incomes. A candid talk on gratitude, community, faith, and breaking cycles through action. https://oneelevate.org/home

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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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Stefan, Welcome to the show.

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Thank you very much.

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Hey, I appreciate you being on this show. You have

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such an interesting story and you're doing some amazing things

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for people, and love for you to kind of share

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with the audience just briefly who you are and what

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is it that you're doing now.

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Thank you so much for having me. I'm Stefankoki, I'm

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a founder of Elevitodiva, a nonprofit that empowers Africans through

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education and opportunities. I am a native of Cultivoa in

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West Africa, and I've immigrated the United States about ten

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years ago and I presently leave in a Salt Lake

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City area in Utah, Okay.

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Wonderful, perfect. And so you've you've had a journey in

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your life that is in my mind extraordinary and something

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that really needs to be shared with people, because so

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many of us in our own journeys struggle so deeply

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and wonder whether we can ever overcome. And yet you

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have done that to the point you are now really

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having an inflight on others. Could you share with the

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audience your story.

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Yes, of course. So as I grew up in Courdivois

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and Codivois is in North Africa, for those who don't know,

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a native French country, a French speaking country independent from

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friends since the nineteen sixty so that's the context of

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the country. As as you may know from many African

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country poverty is a big challenge opportunity. We lack opportunities

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will like access to the basic necessities of life, and

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so that has been most of my life. By age twelve,

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we unfortunately had a civil war, and I will say

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about half of my lifetime has been you know, experiencing

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those those challenges. So that has caused a lot of challenges,

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a lot of difficulty being able to access school, being

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able to have an educational opportunity, and just a feeling

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of never feeling safe and I'm being dancing all so

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much suffering and challenge it. You know, you wonder will

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I ever be able to get out of this? Which

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is it's tough, it's a tough feeling. But I went

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taught to keep pushing. And you know again from twelve

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up to like twenty nineteen years there I go to

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Ghana to for for religious service, my for my church.

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And after two years I returned home to go Divoir

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and we had another cycle of a very big cycle

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of the war that led to the damage causing severe

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damage to my university. And so then you call me

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at crash. It was way worse than it was you know,

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even growing up, and I was wondering, okay, well what

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do I do from here? How do I get an education?

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How do we cure opportunities for myself? And after two

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years of struggling, you know, doubling between different things, becoming

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and what I call a necessity entrepreneur, selling anything that

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I can to survive and help my family. I was.

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I was, I was fortunate enough to help with the

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family to go to because essentially they're like, there's nothing

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for you here, there's no opportunity, there's no job. You

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need to find a better place for better education. So

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I end up in China in twenty fourteen, twenty thirteen,

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and again unfortunately the agency that led me there was

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was a scam. So I get to change in China

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in twenty thirteen and no one shows up and I

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speak no words of Chinese besides just nihaw. And then

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I have this long journey of a year in China

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where I essentially survive, learn learn Mandarin, and then finally

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get a scholarship out of China to come to the

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United States to study business and then eventually computers, and

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that led me to a successful career in some of

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the large, large firms in the United States, and then

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then from that in that process also started my nonprofit

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to be able to give back the opportunity that I

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didn't have when I grew up into they.

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Are okay, So it's you presently work full time and

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you also have your nonprofit.

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That's correct, Yes, yes, you know, and you know, go ahead, Yeah,

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I was going to say, I'm I'm a product manager

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in a technology from here in Utah.

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Okay. Wonderful. And so as you talk about that, I'd

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love for you to get a little bit deeper. I'd

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love for you to kind of share some of the

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emotions you were experiencing as you were going through this.

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You know, what was going on with your family and

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just the challenges that you were facing on a regular basis,

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and what was your thought process along that, and then

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what ultimately gave you the strength to move forward? And

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even when you were in China where it was a

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scam and you were dealing with that, what gave you

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the strength to be able to move forward and ultimately

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get over to the United States and get into college.

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Yeah, that's a that's a great question. It is I'll say,

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lots of emotions. And as as you were saying that,

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I was going through my journey in my mind and

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thinking about you know, fear, you know, abandonment or anger

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in a way, and disappointment, and that that was I'll

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say the theme of what what I've experienced, the experience

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growing up. I will say, we have this expression in

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Ivory Coast where we say it life is hard, but

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we're already here. We're already here, as in like what

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are you going to do about it? And not that

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you're here. And that's something that my mom, my mom

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also taught us. You you need to do something. You

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in control of your situation and you have the power

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to change your situation, So what are you going to

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do about it? So from a very early age, she

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she used to say, you know, in life, there's two

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ways to succeed. Usually it's either you're born in a

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rich family or you were born in family politician at list.

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In my country, those are the ones to have the opportunity.

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And she said, well, sorry for you, sorry, like you're

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born in neither. So you have to figure out. You

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have to figure out how to get out, and education

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is a way to do this. So I'll say I

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think those words and those motivations from my mother were

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very essential to that, to that drive and having the

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the the end goal in mind, as in my Foruss family,

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where community culture where the children drive to succeed for

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themselves are more importantly for the family. We wanted to

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help you.

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And I want to interrupt you there for just a minute,

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because you're talking about something that I think is so essential.

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And if I'm getting the impression that although you were living,

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from what I'm understanding in fairly deep poverty, is that correct?

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Uh huh. Yeah, here's your mother.

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It seems like rather than being a victim of all

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of this, she's saying to you and her other children,

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you know what, it's up to you. You can get

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out of this, rather than just being negative and victimized

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by the whole situation. Is that a fair assessment?

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Yeah, yeah, absolutely, because you could to your point, you know,

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you could complain about your situation all day long, and

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that not that we don't you know, it's a human feeling.

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But my principle has always been and I know I'd

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drive my coworkers crazy and I was like, let's complain

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for about thirty minutes, but now what are we going

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to do about it for the last the next thirty

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But yes, that's essentially the mindset that my mom has

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always been teaching us. Yes, there things we can control,

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but for the things that you can control, what are

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you going to do about it.

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Yes, Oh, and I love that. So I just wanted

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to stop there because I thought that was such an

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important part. So okay, so here you are is a

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young child and you know, whatever age that is, and

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you have developed this mentality because of your mother that

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as you say, if I understood it correctly, you know

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what you cannot change, accept but you can change what

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you can change, and so you move forward. So continue on,

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talk a little bit more about what your life journey

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was on that and your experience. Yes.

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Yeah, so you have family, you know, you have matter words.

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You also have faith, strong believer in God and the

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power that it has for those who act upon the

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faith that we have to transform our life. So always

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you know, thinking I'm not alone in this journey. There's

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a family that's supporting me, the friends, but there's a

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higher power and there's the divine that's supporting us. So

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that you know between you know, like the motivation in

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a motivation that you know of wanting better, better life,

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you know, the the the motivation from the mother, my mother,

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and also like my your faith and your belief that

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you know in this journey God is going to do

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miracles and and and you see them every day, and

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and that's a I I do say that I am.

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You know, when I was a child, if you had

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to ask me, was I happy or excited that I

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was born where I was born? I would say absolutely not,

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because you you watch a TV and all the you know,

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you see the world outside and you think, oh, man,

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why don't I have these things? But as an adult

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looking back, I am grateful for the things I've experienced

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because it has shown me the It's given me gratitude

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for the little things. And it's also and I said,

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that's a principle I'll add to the list. And it's

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also showed me that the power of like miracles when

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you act on small things. And then sample of that

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is you know, you know, in the first world, for

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the for the most part, at least from my experience here,

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figuring out what to eat the next day is not

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the biggest thing. You know, if you look at a

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marshal pyramid of needs. Because of development and opportunities, a

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lot of people have moved past that stage. But you know,

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in the developing world and mill mold, a bigger majority

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of people still worry about the day to day and

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in a lot of time for us. I remember those

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days where we had no idea what it is, what's

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gonna happen tomorrow, and but you believe that something will

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come out the next day. And and then you have

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a lot of opportunities to experiment, as in like, well

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tomorrow is no food, but I'm gonna go out and

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I'm gonna figure out. You have no idea where you're going,

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You have maybe one or two things you could sell,

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and you don't know who's gonna buy it, but you

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still go up every day. So it gives you that

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practice of faith and you see the result every day.

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It's like, man, yesterday we thought we were never going

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to make it the next day, but we did. Okay,

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what if we try it again? So you get so

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much practice, and that by the time you get to adulthood,

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you know you essentially your feels. And I think that's

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a preparation. I helped me in China, and despite you know,

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being lost and all the things that were happening, I

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was like, Okay, I have seen firsthand that you believe

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an action, there is always an outcome. It might take

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longer than I expect, by always works, and that that

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I'll say it draw that resilience, and when I want

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to give up, I'll remember those things and be like,

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you got to keep pushing. Something is going to work

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out because you've experissed it over and over again in

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your childhood.

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Well, and you know you mentioned your faith in God. Okay,

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and you know what comes to my mind? A couple

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of things do. But one of the things that comes

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to my mind is so often people blame God for

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their circumstances. You know, why wouldn't He let this happen

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to me? What is you know? Why was I born here?

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And why does He let me do this? It sounds

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like you kind of reversed that a little bit. And

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yet I think in other situations people just totally wait

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for God and don't do anything else. They just keep

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waiting and waiting and waiting, and then he you know,

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he hasn't done anything necessarily. So how how have you

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fit that in to your life? And as you work

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with others helping them to understand that fine line between

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totally relying and not doing anything about it, being angry

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because you know, if he's God, why is he letting

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this happen? How have you put that together so that

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you're able to move forward with such as you say gratitude,

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which I think is great. Appreciate you sharing that.

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Yeah, that's a good question. It is. It is a

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fine balance, and I'll say I have refined it over

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the years for sure, because in French and I recourse,

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we have this saying do you propose the long proposed?

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Do you disposed as in the man proposes, or send

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a proposal to the heavens and the heaven's blessed in

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a way, and that implies that you have to have

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a proposal, you have to have a plan, you have

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to desire something. What do you want for the heaven

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to be able to bless And so I've always operated

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that way, as in like I will pray for guidance,

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and you know, if I don't have a clear guidance,

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I make a plan which I believe is the best plan,

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and I ask for god blessing on the plan. And

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even if sometimes Christians will often say I'm still not

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getting any answer, my next stage is I'm doing it,

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and I'll tell God, hey if I'm if I'm doing wrong,

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please correct me along the journey. But I'm taking the journey,

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and then and then I've seen it work so well

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where you know, it's it's that first step. You know,

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we've seen in the Bible, the scriptures paid with that

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work is in its vain. You take that first step

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and then and then you see the next step open.

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It's it's so incredible to have experienced it so many times.

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Like for example, you know the matter of food, like

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I've mentioned, well, step one is you need to get

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out of the house. I don't know where I'm going,

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but I need to get out of the house. I

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know God wants me to to to be happy. You know,

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he wants me to eat that day. As as basic

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as it sounds, he said, he will provide for me

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like it provides for the you know, the beasts and

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the flowers of the nature. But I own the plan

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and I only act the steps that I take towards it.

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But then once I'm out, then it's like, okay, where

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do I go next? Then you start hearing, you start

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feeling sort of a we get the revolutions or the

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insights from him. Okay, you've shown you've done your part.

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Now I'm going to guide you. And then are you

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acting upon it? And that's another big, big principle here

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and as you act upon it. What I've noticed is

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the more you trust, the more you act upon it,

283
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the more you receive. Yeah.

284
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Well, and and so you know what comes to my

285
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mind also is you know, you talk about the poverty

286
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they're in Africa that you experienced, and I see the

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same thing here in Thailand, and of course they're they're

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very much Buddhists for the most part. And what amazes

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me here is, you know, I see people, for instance,

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if I'm driving, there's always children or teenagers at the

291
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lights selling flowers, selling cookies and so forth. In the

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United States, if we saw that happen immediately, what's our.

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Thought, It's strange, I guess, yeah.

294
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And yet here it's just here's people that are living

295
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in what we would call poverty, and yet they're out there,

296
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as you say, just trying to get food, trying to

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make a little bit of money. And I think here

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the average income is probably if they're lucky to live

299
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on four hundred dollars three hundred, four hundred dollars a month,

300
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they're very fortunate. It amazes me how we look at

301
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the United States and see the poverty, but even moving

302
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up that scale to where you have people that are

303
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definitely not impoverished, but they think they are and they

304
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complain that they are. What how do we change that mentality?

305
00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:59.000
How do we change that culture to help people understand that,

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you know, whatever our circumstances, that you know and in

307
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your case, you grew up in poverty and yet you

308
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have been able to break through on that. How do

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we help people to develop that sense of gratitude that

310
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what they are where they are in their life. Number one,

311
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there needs to be gratitude for that and appreciation and

312
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then also recognizing that potentially they can do something about it.

313
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Oh, that's a that's a good question. And that's something

314
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I think a lot about my experience, and I am

315
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still trying to figure out like the to your points,

316
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like the best way to translate those principles for someone

317
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to someone that hasn't lived it. So that that's why

318
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it's really hard, because it's like I just for example,

319
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here is I. I I last year I went with

320
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my with my board my board members for my organization

321
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and they're from Hawaii. They've been great help to elevate

322
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and all the nonprofit work we do, and I we've

323
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talked about a lot of things we had a lot

324
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of chat about poverty and you know, culture and challenges,

325
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and they have their own experiences in Hawaii and stuff,

326
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but there's also so much that was such an eye opener.

327
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When they went by themselves and I questioned that, I

328
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was like, is the answer that people need to go

329
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and see? But how can they still have lived those

330
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values without seeing? Like I keep debating that myself, so

331
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all to say, like, I don't have a great answer,

332
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but I could share some insights. But to your point,

333
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when I came here, it was interesting. That was the

334
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first thing that I've observed. I remember I was given

335
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a campus store and they they we saw a parking

336
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lot and I made the comment that, my goodness, there's

337
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a lot of professors here. And they were like, what

338
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do you mean And I was like, well, I mean

339
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there's a lot of cars. I would assume only professors

340
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can afford cars. And they were like, oh, no, this

341
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is student parking. That's not even professor parking. I was like, wait,

342
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there's that many students with cars? Like how And I

343
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was just baffled by, like the opportunities, the access and

344
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obviously I learned later that this credit system and all that,

345
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but it was interesting to me that things that sounded

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to me like unachievable, as in like my dad worked

347
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thirty forty years, he had a decent job. But then

348
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like getting a car was like, oh, my goodness, that's

349
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like the retirements when you retire, you're close to you've

350
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saved for then twenty thirty years, having folks that were

351
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younger than me driving cars, I was like, my goodness,

352
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there's so many opportunities here. But it made it so

353
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because of that contrast, it was so much easier for

354
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me to get, you know, the most feed up car

355
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and being like the happiest kid. I had them first

356
00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:04.359
nineteen eighty nine Toyota Body for three hundred dollars and

357
00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:06.519
I just love that car. My friend thought I was

358
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crazy because they grew up in the system where it

359
00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:11.880
is expected that you have a car, and I grew

360
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up in a system where it is a lux even

361
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if you know it barely works. So I ad think

362
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in conversation by sharing those stories, it's helped some people

363
00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:27.319
seeing it from a different perspective, but still trying to know,

364
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like how do you is it enough to share the stories?

365
00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:33.400
Do they have to travel there? But all to say

366
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this country is so blessed. I remember the first day

367
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I landed he I called my mom and I said, Mom,

368
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we're never going to be poured. She was like, what

369
00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:46.000
did you see? I was like, just looking at Washington,

370
00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:49.359
d C. From the plane, there was just a feeling

371
00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:51.599
that was so unique to this place. There is so

372
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much wealth, so much opportunities, but you could only see

373
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it from the lens. It's so much easier to see

374
00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:02.759
it when you've come with a different lens, and then

375
00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:06.440
if you have grown up with this lens. And I

376
00:22:06.440 --> 00:22:10.359
can empathize with that perspective too, because as even as

377
00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:14.200
I noticed, the longer you stay your lens start changing.

378
00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:17.599
You start expecting those things instead of being grateful for it.

379
00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.359
And for me, what has helped me to stay grounded

380
00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:26.880
is always my Gratitude journal and remembering those small moments.

381
00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:29.799
For me, the first time where I had a full

382
00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:32.720
glass of milk milk is very expensive where I grew up.

383
00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:34.799
First time I have my full glass was here and

384
00:22:34.839 --> 00:22:37.440
I was like, this is that dusting in the world.

385
00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:41.119
And I remember too, my adoptive family laughing, and I

386
00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:43.519
thought it was super funny that I got excited about

387
00:22:43.559 --> 00:22:46.759
so many little things and I look back and I'm thinking, man,

388
00:22:46.839 --> 00:22:49.559
I don't get excited excited as I did when I

389
00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:52.000
got here, when I was eating grapes and drinking milk,

390
00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:55.279
because now it's almost like it's normal. But once in

391
00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:58.119
a while I try to get to remember this is

392
00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:00.799
not a given, it is a privilege. And I think

393
00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:04.400
constantly remembering that has helped me a ton, and traveling back,

394
00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:06.880
it's helped me so much. Now I'm seeing it from

395
00:23:06.920 --> 00:23:11.480
a very unique perspective. I was there, I left, I've

396
00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:13.880
seen what the world can be. And I went back

397
00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:16.799
and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is this is

398
00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:21.079
this is incredible. Makes me feel even more grateful, and

399
00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:23.519
I draw on the energy of the people down there.

400
00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:26.240
It is so amazing to see. And I'm going to

401
00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:29.480
end with this one example here how grateful people are.

402
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.519
And the story one story where I went with a

403
00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:36.119
friend and from the east from Vegas and he yeah,

404
00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:38.680
and then I just saw context here. I've been gone

405
00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:41.119
for ten years. I haven't seen home in ten years.

406
00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:45.000
I'll go back and I'm reverse culture shock. And that's

407
00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:48.759
the whole story is to share. But we had a

408
00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:52.480
dollar bill. This driver taxi GUYE drove us around and

409
00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:56.119
we say, hey, here's a we pay them. The local camecy,

410
00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:58.480
but we gave me a dollar people and he was like,

411
00:23:58.680 --> 00:24:02.200
oh my goodness, Oh my goodness, this is this dollar.

412
00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:04.440
Bill is the coolest I'll ever be to the United

413
00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:07.039
States of America. You have no idea how much you

414
00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:10.200
bless my life. And I was like, it's just a dollar.

415
00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:13.200
I mean, I have homeless people here and I get

416
00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:16.200
mad at me for giving them a dollar. Then here's

417
00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:19.240
this guy that's gotten the dollar and he is like,

418
00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:21.480
I'm never spending this. This is gonna be my good

419
00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:24.920
luck bill and this is the best. And that kind

420
00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:27.599
of energy every time I go back, tells me, man,

421
00:24:27.720 --> 00:24:29.839
I feel so grateful for everything that I have.

422
00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:32.960
Well, and you know that that's so fascinating. You know

423
00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:35.480
what comes to my mind if if you were to

424
00:24:35.559 --> 00:24:40.720
compare the poverty that is there in Africa where you

425
00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:45.960
grew up and look at the United States, who would

426
00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:49.440
you fit what? What group of people would you fit

427
00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:54.519
in the US into that poverty level in Africa?

428
00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:59.400
What group? As in sorry, I'm trying to understand better.

429
00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:03.400
Well, so so you know here they are in poverty

430
00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:07.000
looking for their next meal. Can you compare that to

431
00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:09.839
the homeless or is there a level above the homeless

432
00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:13.599
in the United States that are experiencing that?

433
00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:18.599
It is? It is it's hard because I feel like

434
00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:23.400
what I've learned from my travel is also poverty is

435
00:25:23.400 --> 00:25:27.759
also a very relative turn, as in, like I've asked

436
00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:30.240
a lot of a lot of my friends I've gone

437
00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:32.839
to college with will say, oh, yeah, we were very

438
00:25:32.839 --> 00:25:35.880
poor growing up, and then I will I'll go to

439
00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:41.119
the home and realize, my goodness, your version of But

440
00:25:41.400 --> 00:25:43.960
why with it they thought they were poor was because

441
00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:47.480
they're comparing themselves to the house on top of the hill,

442
00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:51.240
because to them that is perhaps middle class, and maybe

443
00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:55.559
the house higher is like it is rich. So it

444
00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:00.319
is quite interesting to see that that that prince people.

445
00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:03.480
But if I were to say comparing like when it

446
00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:08.000
comes to basic necessity and having access to those, I

447
00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:12.599
would say, the best majority of people here have access

448
00:26:12.599 --> 00:26:16.319
to those things. And I would say in the United States,

449
00:26:16.440 --> 00:26:19.400
like and and the reason that is is I like

450
00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:23.160
to say, there's a lot of social nets here that

451
00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:26.039
can you know, where catch you when you fall down?

452
00:26:27.240 --> 00:26:30.440
You know, the in the in society as in like

453
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:36.440
if if I'm if I'm hungry. Here the church activities,

454
00:26:36.480 --> 00:26:38.799
whether it's my church or my not my church, I

455
00:26:38.839 --> 00:26:43.599
could go there. There are food banks, their their donations,

456
00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:46.839
they for the homeless, the homeless shelters. There's very and

457
00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:49.759
then that's not even including all the other nonprofit that

458
00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:54.359
work in the space of hunger. There's so many places

459
00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:57.880
to draw from. Plus, you know, there's if if you

460
00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:02.440
are social social security, social benefits that you can get

461
00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:06.079
the problem. In our commune country, due to the nature

462
00:27:06.119 --> 00:27:08.759
of the poverty and the system, there's none of that.

463
00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:13.559
So if you if you are nothing, you are in

464
00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:18.359
big trouble and you cannot go to the hospital. Well,

465
00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:22.119
I means you could, but the the likelihood that you

466
00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:26.279
survive it's very low. You can't. There's no food bank.

467
00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:28.839
I mean they can't even run food bank because imagine

468
00:27:28.920 --> 00:27:32.039
the millions of people that will be overwhelming the food banks.

469
00:27:32.359 --> 00:27:36.160
So what you do is really community and the way

470
00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:38.799
it works is, you know, I go to my neighbor,

471
00:27:38.839 --> 00:27:42.079
Hey you have some tomatoes, take a tomato there, Hey

472
00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:45.079
you have a piece of fish, take a fish. Hey,

473
00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:47.720
you have this and that, and then here's your steal.

474
00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:49.880
And then you hope you can get some rising between

475
00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:53.559
that's how people live in a daily day there. But

476
00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:55.960
like the idea that I could go to a place

477
00:27:56.079 --> 00:27:59.240
and I'll say even like the could describe it as

478
00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:03.799
the poverty opportunity poverty, and and again like there's the

479
00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:06.799
job element to there's an abundance of job. I mean,

480
00:28:06.839 --> 00:28:11.039
we're talking four to six percent unemployment rate. We're talking

481
00:28:11.079 --> 00:28:14.839
forty to fifty percent in agricas so tenex that. So

482
00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:18.319
even if let's say if you're able, you're physically able

483
00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:22.400
to work, you're not sick, you know, mentally physically, there

484
00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:27.079
is an opportunity here to earn. It may not be

485
00:28:27.160 --> 00:28:30.839
a lot over there. We have PhDs. I think someone

486
00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:34.319
was saying two thousand or three thousand PhD that ire unemployed.

487
00:28:34.599 --> 00:28:39.079
We have PhD that can't even get jobs in like

488
00:28:39.160 --> 00:28:41.880
fast food. I mean, so they end up selling on

489
00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:44.640
the street. That's how bad it is. So let alone

490
00:28:44.680 --> 00:28:47.759
the high school kid or the bachelor degree kid or

491
00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:51.440
the associate. So I think that's the biggest challenge. That's

492
00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:54.039
what Elevt is trying to solve, like the fact that

493
00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:57.519
one there's no social net and two even if you

494
00:28:57.559 --> 00:29:00.720
wanted them, you're able to work, where do you and

495
00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:03.720
the United States has done a fantastic job with both

496
00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:05.519
of those things. There's so much more we can do,

497
00:29:05.640 --> 00:29:09.319
I mean socially here. No it's not perfect, but there's

498
00:29:09.359 --> 00:29:12.000
a lot of incredible opportunities here for those who were

499
00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:13.400
willing to take advantage of that.

500
00:29:13.880 --> 00:29:16.880
Well, and you know, you said something and I'm curious

501
00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:19.799
whether that's real or not. You know, you're talking about

502
00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:25.880
your experience there in Africa and the poverty, and yet

503
00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:31.680
the community. Was there really a culture of community where

504
00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:35.319
if if you went to a neighbor, if they had it,

505
00:29:35.960 --> 00:29:40.279
they would share with you. Was was that actually part

506
00:29:40.359 --> 00:29:42.279
of the culture there that you grew up in?

507
00:29:42.680 --> 00:29:46.559
Yes? Yes, And I would say I don't know how

508
00:29:46.640 --> 00:29:50.480
we would have survived if we didn't have that. Yes,

509
00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:53.960
it is. And it was quite a culture shock moving here.

510
00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:56.279
Do you know that I just couldn't go knock and

511
00:29:56.400 --> 00:29:59.640
ask for you know, any any random thing that I

512
00:29:59.720 --> 00:30:01.480
need my neighbors. In fact, I mean I didn't know

513
00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:04.759
most of my neighbors for years because you know, you

514
00:30:04.880 --> 00:30:09.319
have the garage door opener that was a novelty to me,

515
00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:12.160
where you push that button and you drive in, you

516
00:30:12.279 --> 00:30:15.599
drive out, and you don't really see each other versus

517
00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:18.240
you know, where I grew up, it is, you know, morning,

518
00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:20.640
good morning to all the neighbors on the way to work,

519
00:30:20.920 --> 00:30:22.440
and then good evening to all the neighbors on the

520
00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:24.160
way to work, and then you sit outside and you

521
00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:27.839
chat and you talk about your day. So that's that's

522
00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:30.440
kind of what I was used to. So it made

523
00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:36.079
it a lot more seamless to to to to talk, integrate, share,

524
00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:39.319
but like, yeah, I mean, and I like to share

525
00:30:39.400 --> 00:30:43.319
funny stories of you know, we we have about sixty

526
00:30:43.480 --> 00:30:47.720
plus tribes and each tribe has different culture. They also

527
00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:50.920
have different type of food, and so I was bought

528
00:30:51.319 --> 00:30:54.279
the I knew the tribes of my neighbors. I knew

529
00:30:54.319 --> 00:30:56.000
the kind of food that they like to cook the home.

530
00:30:56.079 --> 00:30:57.799
So if I didn't like what my mom cooked, I'll

531
00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:02.880
go to the other tribe whatever whatever food they made,

532
00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:05.279
because I knew that was my favorite, and I knew

533
00:31:05.279 --> 00:31:07.480
my mom strived in like that food that much. So

534
00:31:08.440 --> 00:31:11.200
I really enjoyed. That's something I really missed about about tackle.

535
00:31:11.319 --> 00:31:14.440
And it's just beautiful that you know, they most of

536
00:31:14.440 --> 00:31:17.480
that have a time, but it was always this you've

537
00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:21.000
got to keep enough food and for the tended visitor,

538
00:31:21.160 --> 00:31:23.640
because you never know who might who might need it well.

539
00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:27.640
And so two things come into my mind. One community, uh,

540
00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:31.039
and how somewhere along the line we lost that in

541
00:31:31.079 --> 00:31:35.599
the United States to a large degree. But but secondarily,

542
00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:39.160
you know, you talk about your path of here you

543
00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:41.880
are in the United States, You've grown up in poverty,

544
00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:46.480
You've struggled and yet overcome, and now all of a sudden,

545
00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:51.920
what was a blessing of great import in your life

546
00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:56.680
is not just to be expected. And how how do

547
00:31:56.720 --> 00:32:02.799
you help people to develop that sense of gratitude rather

548
00:32:02.920 --> 00:32:07.839
than the egoic or the ego longing or expecting this

549
00:32:08.039 --> 00:32:10.799
to be a part of their life. And as you

550
00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:14.640
see that, how does that affect an individual's life if

551
00:32:14.680 --> 00:32:18.640
they can get to the point of being grateful for

552
00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:22.359
what they have rather than just expecting that that's how

553
00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:22.960
it should be.

554
00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:28.480
Yeah, yeah, that's a fantastic, great question. And I'll say

555
00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:32.880
I think you ought to think about it from you know,

556
00:32:33.319 --> 00:32:35.880
maybe bring a little bit of my computer thinking here.

557
00:32:36.279 --> 00:32:40.599
I think about a process that goes into the things

558
00:32:40.640 --> 00:32:44.359
you do every day. So you know, the first step

559
00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:48.480
being you get up. How many people did not get

560
00:32:48.559 --> 00:32:51.839
up that morning? It's all uncommon that people dynasty. I

561
00:32:51.839 --> 00:32:54.400
have a few friends at it. That's step one. And

562
00:32:54.920 --> 00:32:58.279
people say, well, you get up so often that you've

563
00:32:58.319 --> 00:33:03.400
assumed that it's a out. But think about that first step.

564
00:33:03.400 --> 00:33:06.359
You know, every day, so being grateful in the morning

565
00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:09.519
every day that I'm up and I am able to function,

566
00:33:09.720 --> 00:33:12.240
that is a That's that's it. That's a big thing.

567
00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:15.000
Then from there usually move on to you know, get

568
00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:20.359
breakfast in food. That food will served to you because

569
00:33:20.440 --> 00:33:23.119
of the collective work of a lot of people, from farmers,

570
00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:27.680
distributors and all. So being thankful that our wool was

571
00:33:27.720 --> 00:33:30.759
given to you. And if you're religious, then you thank God.

572
00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:34.200
But in reality, any of the things that you provided

573
00:33:34.279 --> 00:33:37.200
to you, starting with food, is because of someone's self,

574
00:33:37.240 --> 00:33:39.599
someone else labor. You're going to get on the internet

575
00:33:39.640 --> 00:33:41.599
to work, You're going to get on social media, check

576
00:33:41.640 --> 00:33:45.359
out memes, whatever you do, all of the infrastructure that

577
00:33:45.400 --> 00:33:48.839
I was meant for that and I perhaps I think

578
00:33:48.880 --> 00:33:51.039
a lot about those details. But I wonder if people

579
00:33:51.079 --> 00:33:54.519
do like it is literally somebody else keeping up, keeping

580
00:33:54.599 --> 00:33:56.759
up the light, and I think COVID it cannot help

581
00:33:56.920 --> 00:34:01.359
us remind us, reminded us of that with central workers. Oh,

582
00:34:01.400 --> 00:34:04.400
my gosh, there have people, millions of people that we

583
00:34:04.759 --> 00:34:06.759
can to ignore because there seem to be in a

584
00:34:06.799 --> 00:34:10.079
background that are working to make something possible. When when

585
00:34:10.079 --> 00:34:13.119
those people aren't able to work. We all saw what

586
00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:17.039
happened on supermarkets. We saw happened to you know, a

587
00:34:17.639 --> 00:34:20.920
supply chain system. So I think thinking about the step

588
00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:24.440
that we take every single day and be thankful for

589
00:34:25.079 --> 00:34:29.559
each of that is a big step towards like living

590
00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:33.159
a life of gratitude. And in terms of how does

591
00:34:33.159 --> 00:34:36.239
that impact your life, Oh, I think it's a huge impact.

592
00:34:36.519 --> 00:34:42.199
I mean, I honestly feel like and I maybe misremembering

593
00:34:42.239 --> 00:34:46.519
my memory religion classes, but in Buddhism they taught us

594
00:34:46.559 --> 00:34:51.119
that the you know, Buddha has found out that the greatest,

595
00:34:51.760 --> 00:34:54.719
the greatest reason that the biggest reasons for unhappiness is

596
00:34:54.920 --> 00:34:58.719
people is expectations, high expectation and outcome to things that

597
00:34:58.760 --> 00:35:01.440
you do. And and that was that was an important

598
00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:03.800
lesson for me When I learned that, I was like, yeah, like,

599
00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:08.159
people are very unhappy because they feel like to be happy,

600
00:35:08.280 --> 00:35:10.840
they they need to have this thing, they need to

601
00:35:10.840 --> 00:35:13.280
have that thing, and that causes a lot of suffering.

602
00:35:13.960 --> 00:35:19.039
And I've seen that that distinction in the US versus

603
00:35:19.039 --> 00:35:23.760
in Africa, like it is so it's it's it's it's

604
00:35:23.920 --> 00:35:28.360
wild to me that to to interact with my own

605
00:35:28.440 --> 00:35:33.119
phil Africans are variance Wifrico, specifically to see that they

606
00:35:33.119 --> 00:35:36.199
are happier than a lot of people I know here

607
00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:39.239
just and we hear that in principle, but it is true.

608
00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:41.719
Having lived in both places, I know so many more

609
00:35:41.719 --> 00:35:44.639
people that are happier. And I've asked myself the same question,

610
00:35:44.760 --> 00:35:47.519
was it's different. I mean these people again, like this

611
00:35:47.719 --> 00:35:52.239
is your living in the harsh reality of corruption, lack

612
00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:57.079
of opportunity and all. And they're not pretending to be happy.

613
00:35:57.599 --> 00:35:59.400
In fact, I like to say when you if you

614
00:35:59.440 --> 00:36:01.880
ask someone on the street back home, how are you doing,

615
00:36:02.039 --> 00:36:04.880
They'll probably tell you, you know, I just had I got

616
00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:09.800
this stinking malaria annoying, but I'm alive, so I'm grateful.

617
00:36:10.079 --> 00:36:12.239
How you doing? And you know, you hear that for

618
00:36:12.280 --> 00:36:14.719
the first time, you're thinking, wait, what you ever die?

619
00:36:14.960 --> 00:36:18.880
It's like this is serious, but they are. They acknowledge

620
00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:22.159
the pain because being grateful doesn't mean everything is fine.

621
00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:24.960
They acknowledge that no, things are not good right now,

622
00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.599
but they will be better. And it's that that I've tried.

623
00:36:29.639 --> 00:36:31.320
So I've been trying to like how do I teach

624
00:36:31.400 --> 00:36:34.039
that to my friends here because it's like it's so beautiful,

625
00:36:35.159 --> 00:36:41.599
but like knowing having not having those expectations and just

626
00:36:41.639 --> 00:36:45.760
being grateful for the fundamentals of life and keeping life

627
00:36:45.800 --> 00:36:49.599
really simple. Talking to people there is like and I

628
00:36:50.039 --> 00:36:51.920
want to be able to spend time with my neighbors,

629
00:36:52.199 --> 00:36:55.719
I want to have food every days to sleep, and

630
00:36:55.800 --> 00:36:59.400
time with family and friends. And it's it's not necessarily

631
00:36:59.400 --> 00:37:03.119
a lack of them. It's more of a what matters

632
00:37:03.119 --> 00:37:05.480
the most? And I said, that's another principle here, like

633
00:37:05.880 --> 00:37:09.559
they prioritize what matters the most? Do I? You know,

634
00:37:09.639 --> 00:37:12.239
I went to business school. Like when you business school,

635
00:37:12.239 --> 00:37:14.800
it's all because when are you gonna make the six figures?

636
00:37:16.079 --> 00:37:18.239
When are you gonna get to this title and your

637
00:37:18.239 --> 00:37:20.519
company and all this? And you end up in this

638
00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:23.599
rat race, which many of us are familiar with, where

639
00:37:23.719 --> 00:37:27.519
you start identifying those success success in your life as

640
00:37:28.039 --> 00:37:30.719
needs to be successful if you hit those things, when

641
00:37:30.719 --> 00:37:32.960
you're gonna buy the house, American dream and what are

642
00:37:33.000 --> 00:37:35.199
you gonna do this? You're gonna do that? And for

643
00:37:35.239 --> 00:37:38.079
a lot of people down where I'm from, which again

644
00:37:38.159 --> 00:37:39.960
they teach me so much every time I go back.

645
00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:44.480
It is keeping it very simple and you know, being

646
00:37:44.519 --> 00:37:49.360
grateful for the simple thing and realizing that I already

647
00:37:49.400 --> 00:37:53.039
have so much already and I'm happy for I have.

648
00:37:53.519 --> 00:37:57.079
I'm striving for more, but I'm not basing my happiness

649
00:37:57.119 --> 00:37:59.400
as a if whether or not I hit that target.

650
00:37:59.400 --> 00:38:01.400
And I see a lot of people doing that, and

651
00:38:01.440 --> 00:38:02.920
it causes the love and happiness.

652
00:38:03.320 --> 00:38:06.599
Yeah. And you know, it's interesting a scripture that comes

653
00:38:06.599 --> 00:38:10.000
to my mind, Blessed are the poor, for they showing

654
00:38:10.039 --> 00:38:13.760
hair at the kingdom? And what is it? I mean,

655
00:38:13.800 --> 00:38:17.360
as you look at the culture of poverty where you

656
00:38:17.440 --> 00:38:20.599
grew up, and I see the same thing here in Thailand.

657
00:38:21.239 --> 00:38:25.000
They're happy, They're grateful for anything that comes their way.

658
00:38:26.760 --> 00:38:30.719
It's amazing that somehow we have lost that culture in

659
00:38:30.719 --> 00:38:34.280
the United States, and wouldn't it be wonderful if we

660
00:38:34.320 --> 00:38:40.400
could get back to it rather than the victim mode

661
00:38:40.599 --> 00:38:44.039
that everyone seems to be in. So, just as we

662
00:38:44.119 --> 00:38:46.079
have a short amount of time left, I want you

663
00:38:46.159 --> 00:38:49.880
to share with the audience what you're doing for those

664
00:38:49.920 --> 00:38:52.760
people in Africa, what your nonprofit is all about.

665
00:38:53.239 --> 00:38:57.519
Yeah, absolutely, thank you for the opportunity. Again. So when

666
00:38:57.559 --> 00:39:00.960
I came here in the United State in twenty fourteen

667
00:39:01.000 --> 00:39:05.519
after a year in China, my thought I first I

668
00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:08.480
was like, oh, my goodness, Like I mentioned, this is,

669
00:39:08.800 --> 00:39:12.880
this is so incredible. I went from a college with

670
00:39:13.000 --> 00:39:17.039
no computers where I was learning out program on paper

671
00:39:17.519 --> 00:39:21.760
to multiple computer labs. You know, I went from a

672
00:39:21.840 --> 00:39:25.719
college with no no our professors won't show up because

673
00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:28.880
they weren't getting paid, you know, to being you know,

674
00:39:29.360 --> 00:39:32.960
in labs and you know, office hours with professors and

675
00:39:33.039 --> 00:39:36.039
knowing them by first name and all that too. And

676
00:39:36.079 --> 00:39:38.280
that made me think right there when I got here,

677
00:39:38.719 --> 00:39:42.559
I'm like, man, I wish my brothers and sisters back

678
00:39:42.719 --> 00:39:48.880
in Africa I could have those opportunities. Unfortunately, most of

679
00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:51.719
us will never make it here. It just it's so

680
00:39:51.880 --> 00:39:54.960
hard to come here. So my thoughts were, how do

681
00:39:55.039 --> 00:39:58.599
I bring those opportunities back the most the best I

682
00:39:58.639 --> 00:40:01.079
can so they don't like they have to make their

683
00:40:01.119 --> 00:40:04.719
treasures journey to come here. So what that's all all

684
00:40:04.760 --> 00:40:08.960
of it is about. So we're about bringing education, We're

685
00:40:09.000 --> 00:40:13.440
about bringing opportunities to to African countries. And we started

686
00:40:13.440 --> 00:40:18.159
in Godiwam Home and we're expanded to four different countries Ghana, Nigeria,

687
00:40:19.199 --> 00:40:23.639
and Botswana to to provide out those opportunities. So we

688
00:40:23.760 --> 00:40:28.360
train people locally through remote remote training, and then we

689
00:40:28.440 --> 00:40:32.039
find them jobs here in the United States as virtual assistant.

690
00:40:32.360 --> 00:40:35.199
I know in Asia that's also as a popular popular business.

691
00:40:35.199 --> 00:40:38.840
Africa's live behind those opportunities, so we're trying to push

692
00:40:38.920 --> 00:40:45.639
for more African talent in a global workforce so then

693
00:40:45.679 --> 00:40:47.920
they could earn you know, you mentioned I think three

694
00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:51.320
or four hundred dollars the good good income in Thailand.

695
00:40:51.880 --> 00:40:54.760
More in my side, people live usually around the one

696
00:40:54.840 --> 00:40:57.519
hundred and two hundred dollars one hundred on average people earn,

697
00:40:57.960 --> 00:41:00.119
so we try to push that income to to five

698
00:41:00.159 --> 00:41:03.039
hundred and for some places we try to even ten

699
00:41:03.280 --> 00:41:07.360
x some countries the income by having them earning American

700
00:41:07.440 --> 00:41:11.880
dollars and then working remotely from from the place. That's

701
00:41:11.880 --> 00:41:12.440
what that's what.

702
00:41:12.400 --> 00:41:16.599
We do, okay. And And how do people find your

703
00:41:16.880 --> 00:41:19.599
What is your website where they can learn more about

704
00:41:19.679 --> 00:41:22.400
it and potentially become a part of that.

705
00:41:22.960 --> 00:41:26.440
Yes, thank you so one Elevate dot org is our

706
00:41:26.480 --> 00:41:29.679
website and there you will learn about all the initiatives

707
00:41:29.719 --> 00:41:33.360
that we're doing both from the education and the virtual

708
00:41:33.360 --> 00:41:36.719
assistant side. If you are looking for virtual assistant, we

709
00:41:36.800 --> 00:41:39.320
serve all sorts of businesses. We have a lot of

710
00:41:39.320 --> 00:41:44.800
experience with real estate businesses, fitness businesses, social media businesses,

711
00:41:45.880 --> 00:41:49.599
and we have we do bookkeep from between bookkeeping, social

712
00:41:49.639 --> 00:41:52.800
media and also of general assistant type of job or

713
00:41:52.800 --> 00:41:57.280
web web website creation and go to Elevate Virtual Assistant

714
00:41:57.360 --> 00:41:59.920
dot com. That's where you could book one of our

715
00:42:00.119 --> 00:42:01.519
well not virtual assistance.

716
00:42:01.760 --> 00:42:06.679
Okay, so one elevate dot org as O n E elevate.

717
00:42:06.639 --> 00:42:13.719
N E elevator door. Yes, yes, an elevator. Yeah. Excited.

718
00:42:14.639 --> 00:42:17.880
What what would be that final message you want to

719
00:42:17.920 --> 00:42:19.800
share with folks, It's been a pleasure.

720
00:42:19.920 --> 00:42:23.039
Thank you so much for having me here. In reflecting

721
00:42:23.039 --> 00:42:26.679
on what we've talked about today, I'll say, uh, gratitude,

722
00:42:26.880 --> 00:42:29.920
full of gratitude for all the blessings that I've received

723
00:42:29.920 --> 00:42:32.519
personally in my life and for all the things that

724
00:42:32.559 --> 00:42:35.360
I was able to achieve. But wanting to also share

725
00:42:35.400 --> 00:42:39.079
the audience there is happiness in gratitude, and there's also

726
00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:42.079
happiness at the end of the journey. If you do

727
00:42:42.159 --> 00:42:45.199
not give up, it might it will be hard. It

728
00:42:45.239 --> 00:42:47.719
will be challenging, but I promise you that if you

729
00:42:47.880 --> 00:42:52.400
keep pushing, if you keep doing one little step every

730
00:42:52.440 --> 00:42:55.679
single day, at the end, you can create the life

731
00:42:55.719 --> 00:42:58.119
that you dream more. And to my friend, I always

732
00:42:58.119 --> 00:43:01.880
tell when they say how you're doing, Stefan, my answer is,

733
00:43:01.960 --> 00:43:04.199
I am living the dream and now I'm not even joking.

734
00:43:04.239 --> 00:43:06.719
I'm living the absolute dream. And I believe you can too.

735
00:43:07.000 --> 00:43:10.679
Oh wonderful, Stefan, Thank you so much. Is this has

736
00:43:10.760 --> 00:43:15.079
really been enlightening for me. I mean, you know, it's

737
00:43:15.239 --> 00:43:19.559
fascinating how you know, here you are, having grown up

738
00:43:19.559 --> 00:43:23.239
in poverty, but having a mother that taught you rather

739
00:43:23.320 --> 00:43:27.320
than becoming a victim, taking charge of your life and

740
00:43:27.360 --> 00:43:30.760
doing something about it, and having that faith that you

741
00:43:30.920 --> 00:43:35.239
have in God, and then yet moving forward and doing

742
00:43:35.280 --> 00:43:39.639
what you have to do and achieving where you are now,

743
00:43:39.679 --> 00:43:42.719
I think is just an incredible example. But the most

744
00:43:42.719 --> 00:43:46.360
important thing is that now you're going back and you're

745
00:43:46.400 --> 00:43:49.840
seeking to lift the lives of those from where you came.

746
00:43:50.320 --> 00:43:54.000
And to me, that's the blessing of the experiences that

747
00:43:54.039 --> 00:43:56.480
we have in our lives wherever we happen to be.

748
00:43:57.079 --> 00:44:00.800
If we look at those experiences and the difficulty overcoming

749
00:44:00.880 --> 00:44:04.239
and then realize that that has given us the ability

750
00:44:04.320 --> 00:44:07.920
now to reach out and to touch someone else's life

751
00:44:08.000 --> 00:44:10.440
in a positive way. So thank you.

752
00:44:10.440 --> 00:44:12.679
So much, Thank you so much for having me.

753
00:44:13.400 --> 00:44:17.039
Really appreciate it. And folks, thanks for listening. I hope

754
00:44:17.079 --> 00:44:19.519
you really got something out of this because this is

755
00:44:19.960 --> 00:44:22.000
this has been very inspiring for me, and I hope

756
00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:25.159
it has been inspiring for you. So meanwhile, hope you'll

757
00:44:25.199 --> 00:44:28.519
join us again soon. This is doctor Doug saying no

758
00:44:28.679 --> 00:44:29.079
mistay