Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Coming up on the Warrior Kings podcast, there was no plan B. And that's how we operate in all areas of our life. Like, it'll be down to the wire for things all the time and we just believe that it's going to work out and then it always does, that I'm going to push it to the next level and then that's going to cover everything. And without that extreme, sometimes I wouldn't be pushed to go to that next level. If everything's just working out and lining up for you, you know that that's like you're aligned with what you're supposed to be doing.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: Yeah. Your purpose.
[00:00:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:00:27] Speaker B: We as humans, like, it's natural for us to think to put a cap on our lives and say, like, I can only make it this far. I can only reach this. And I'm good with that because it's comfortable and safe and I have enough. But like, just that if you just like let go and let God take off with your life, just imagine the things he could do.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: Most people would call it delusional belief, but we have these really, really big dreams now and we're like, of course it's going to come true. Like, anything's possible. Like, if all that's possible, anything's possible.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: So it's not an if, it's a when.
[00:00:56] Speaker A: Yeah. Most people aren't willing to step outside the conventional checklist of life in order to do extraordinary things. But what if you realize that you don't have to do all the things that they told you you're supposed to do and you decided to go against the norm and create the life of your dreams? That's what me and my wife Carly are talking about today on the Warrior Kings podcast. If it's your first time here, my name is Michael Riggs. I'm a full time author, entrepreneur, men's personal development and marriage, mentor, husband and father of six and teach men all over the world how to live fully optimized, leveled up lives. So if that's something you're into, definitely subscribe to this podcast, subscribe to this YouTube channel, wherever you're getting this, because that's what we do here every week. Stick around. Hello and welcome to the Warrior Kings podcast. I'm your host, Michael Riggs, here to assist you on your journey to living a fully optimized, leveled up life as a man. Oh, hey.
[00:01:49] Speaker B: Hey.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: How's it going?
[00:01:51] Speaker B: It's good.
[00:01:52] Speaker A: Don't see you very much anymore.
[00:01:54] Speaker B: I know it's been a while.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: I mean, you're here But I don't see you very much anymore because there's so many children and distractions. Yeah, well, I wouldn't call them distractions.
[00:02:03] Speaker B: I wasn't calling them distractions.
I wasn't calling the children distractions. I said, and distractions.
[00:02:11] Speaker A: Just kidding.
[00:02:12] Speaker B: I love them. All seven of them.
[00:02:14] Speaker A: All seven of them. Funny story. I went to the bank when we were buying a car because we had to get. Is it called a cashier's check.
And I was basically pretty much having an anxiety attack because I had never gotten that much money out all at once before, or a check for. It was just. It was like a whole new experience for me. And so I'm basically pooping my pants at the teller, and they're asking me questions about my life and just, you know, trying to be friendly and stuff and everything. I told them I got it completely wrong. I was like, I have seven children.
And I was so. I said it so confidently, too. I was like, I have seven. Seven kids. I'm like, oh, my gosh. And then the lady said, all their ages. And I said yes.
Later on, I realized that she was asking what all their ages are, and I just said yes because I thought she said all ages.
[00:03:09] Speaker B: I was like, yes, but that's pretty accurate. They're all ages. Yes, they are all the ages.
[00:03:16] Speaker A: And there's six of them, not seven.
But anyway, I thought I'd do something special this time here on the Warrior Kings podcast and have a hot girl on.
Just a surprise for everybody. I'm just kidding if you don't know. This is my wife, Carly. Carly Riggs. Her name's. Her name's just Carly Riggs. It's not Carly. Carly Riggs. And it's been two years since you've been on the podcast.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: I was thinking about that earlier, and I think I was pregnant, too. So I looked like I was trying.
[00:03:44] Speaker A: Out a thing called Weekly Check in, and it was basically where me and her would sit down and go over some of the topics that we discussed on the episodes and things like that. And if you go way back, like I said, about two years ago, we did a couple full episodes together. Right?
Super fun. But she hasn't been on in a while.
[00:04:01] Speaker B: Because of the seven children.
[00:04:02] Speaker A: Yes, all seven of them. All the ages.
And basically what I wanted to talk about with you today is how we've always been dreamers and how both of us, even before we were together, never really wanted to live an average life. And we're always, I guess you would say, unconventional, like we always Seek a life that's unconventional or outside of the norm. And that's one of the things that brought us together is having extraordinary dreams, big visions for the future.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: Yeah, like, like you said, we kind of, even before we got together, were dreamers too. I remember I would have conversations with my older sister, with Jen, say, wouldn't it be cool if I could do this? Or I wouldn't be this when I'm older. And she would be like, carly, life is not butterflies and rainbows. Be realistic. And she was always telling me, be realistic, just in her older sister way. No harm. But.
[00:04:54] Speaker A: Well, that's what everybody says is be realistic.
[00:04:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: Follow the checklist that you're supposed to.
[00:05:00] Speaker B: Follow because it's safe. Yeah, but I still. But I still kept dreaming. Not to be cheesy, but, like, I feel like I always wanted, like, something outside of the box. And I always was drawn towards different types of living and alternative lifestyle.
[00:05:16] Speaker A: Yeah. And that's one of the things that brought us together too, in the very beginning was we were both really into tiny living. Well, first, when we first started seeing each other, I wanted to live in a sailboat, turn a sailboat into a really tiny home and live in that. And then as we were seeing each other more, it evolved into being interested in the. The tiny. The tiny home buses, the schoolies, as they call them.
[00:05:38] Speaker B: They went to the festival.
[00:05:40] Speaker A: Yeah, we went to a schoolie festival and got to tour a bunch of people's school bus. Tiny homes. But our love for tiny living and minimalism and things like that, we really bonded over that. And that was always a huge dream of ours, was to get a school bus and convert it into a tiny home. But also, looking back, I think it's really interesting how our. Our goals and dreams and our visions for the future has evolved and changed over the years because we did accomplish the school bus life. We lived in a school bus for a year that we converted ourselves. And then now, like in the new chapter of life with all the kids and all the things, it's like a whole new life. Like, we have a completely. Like, things that we would have hated back then are now the new dream and the new vision. Like having a house in a neighborhood like suburbia.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: Like, I was repulsed by suburbia when I was younger and I did not want to live in a cookie cutter house. I wanted to live in something completely different, like a school bus. But, yeah, since we did that, and it's funny that our. We talked about how both of our dreams, our visions for the future, Changed, but at the same time, together without us talking about it.
[00:06:48] Speaker A: Yeah, that was a thing like. Like, our thought. Our thought process about it was evolving together. Even though you literally just.
[00:06:56] Speaker B: Yeah. Like, without one of us trying to convince the other one. It was just.
[00:07:00] Speaker A: It wasn't like, what do you think about living in a house, in a neighborhood, in a nice community? It was like, I've been thinking about that too. You know, that was really interesting. There's something mysterious about when you're really, really close with someone that you're, like, on the same spiritual wavelength or something. Like there's some sort of brain connection there. I've always wanted to try that game, the Mind again.
[00:07:23] Speaker B: I know, because it's been years.
[00:07:24] Speaker A: There's this game, the mind, where you have to guess the. You have to try to put. So you have cards. I'm butchering this. But you have cards and they're numbered. And you're supposed to, one at a time, put cards down and get them in the right order, like, least to greatest, without communicating a single word to each other. And the first time we played it was, like, years ago, and we haven't tried it again, but I bet we would be better at it now.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: So. Good, because we even have thoughts like, I'll come home after a day and I'll, like, say something to you, and you'll be like, I've been thinking about that all day. But it.
[00:07:57] Speaker A: We weren't talking about earlier. I was shopping for that. Or we were shopping for the same thing or whatever.
[00:08:01] Speaker B: It's kind of crazy. Like, the planners.
[00:08:03] Speaker A: But as far as, like, being unconventional, even our wedding was unconventional. It was like us versus the world. And we were like, in our own La La Land dream world, I guess. Well, we still kind of are, but we were like, we don't want anybody there.
I just want it to be me and you and the. Is it called an officiant and nobody else.
[00:08:21] Speaker B: It was magical. In the rain, in a park.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: Well, it wasn't just us in the end.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: I know.
[00:08:26] Speaker A: It was us moms and her sister. Because we needed somebody to take pictures, and her sister is good at taking pictures. And how did our moms being there come about?
[00:08:37] Speaker B: Or you don't want to talk because there are moms.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: Because there are moms. Nobody was dramatic about it. It just had to be there that we just invited them.
[00:08:48] Speaker B: Right.
[00:08:48] Speaker A: I guess I won't get too in depth about the beginning years, but it was very much a us against the world type of vibe. And we had a lot of pushback for being together on multiple levels and multiple sides. We're so alike in so many ways, so aligned in so many things in so many ways that. And this is going to sound cheesy as heck, but I honestly feel like my whole life has been leading up to being with you.
Because one thing I don't know if I ever mentioned before is we worked together at Starbucks way, way back in.
[00:09:22] Speaker B: The day, over 10 years ago.
[00:09:24] Speaker A: And we were really good friends then. And then I guess basically what I'm trying to say is like I was being prepared over the years to be with you because if I had like been with you back then, I would have messed it up and butchered it. I wasn't like the man who was ready for you yet, but I was always meant to be with you, if that makes any sense.
[00:09:42] Speaker B: Yeah, and we, we knew it. We talked about how we, we felt that like, connection when we first met and when we were friends, even though it wasn't the right time.
[00:09:52] Speaker A: Yeah, there was something like mysterious about it. I'm not going to get too woo woo or spiritual about it, but there was like a soul connection to where like usually when you first start talking to someone or hanging out with someone and being friends, there's like an awkward stage and you like got to warm up before you show your real self. And it was like I had known you forever or something. It was just like right off the bat was like completely comfor.
I don't know what that means.
[00:10:15] Speaker B: And I'm never like that with anybody.
[00:10:16] Speaker A: I've never been like that with anybody else before. And then we ended up being together and having seven children, but I can't remember any of their birthdays. That's another thing I can't. I don't know what it is. It's like a brain thing. I can't remember birthdays. I have to ask my sisters all the time, like our other family members. Birthdays. My brain does not retain birthdays. I don't know what's up with that.
[00:10:35] Speaker B: Except mine, right?
[00:10:37] Speaker A: I don't know your birthday.
I'm just kidding.
It's January 22nd.
Yes, it's not. So back to following dreams and stepping outside of the checklist of life, as I call it, the unconvention. Like I wanted to talk about bus life for sure. I have it right here in my notes. If anybody's wondering what I'm looking down at on my phone the whole time, Bus life, that was our dream from the very beginning, was getting a school bus, converting it, and living in it as our home. And actually, we did that with two children.
That's another layer to that lake. And they were really, really little. Asher and Corin. So it was like family bus life. And my two daughters would stay with us every other weekend on the bus, too. It's kind of another cool detail, but another thing that I wanted to talk about here is unconventional living or unconventional things in general. And when we were going to convert the bus and we were going to live in it, how people didn't get it and how people don't get unconventional things in general.
[00:11:35] Speaker B: They. Yeah, generally people don't understand that at all. But, like, with the unconventional living or just any unconventional decision in life, we always talk about how it takes a leap of faith. So, like, especially with the bus, we were living.
We were staying with my mom. Cause we left our apartment right when we had our second child.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, just to fill in a quick detail, there is when all of a sudden, house housing prices in Florida just skyrocketed for absolutely no reason. And we were basically driven out of our apartment because it increased, like, one and a half times what we were paying. So temporarily, we moved in with your mom.
[00:12:15] Speaker B: Yeah. So thinking about the next step, like, where did we want to go? What did we want to live in? The bus was still always in the back of our mind. And then I remember you scrolling on Facebook. We were kind of at our wit's end. Remember? We're like, what are we going to do?
[00:12:28] Speaker A: I don't know what else to do.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: Yeah. And you were scrolling on Facebook Marketplace and saw a bus that's a little bit, like, beat up, needed some work. Yeah. They were already in the middle of.
[00:12:38] Speaker A: Converting, so it had so much in it.
[00:12:40] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's like.
[00:12:41] Speaker A: Which was a huge bonus.
[00:12:42] Speaker B: Yeah. Gutted and, like, half converted. And you. I feel like you said it not in a completely serious way, but you're like, hey, what about this? What if you check it out? And I was like, yes. Like, let's do it. And then the next day, we went and looked at it.
[00:12:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:57] Speaker B: And then the day after that, like, bought it. It was like, two days.
[00:13:00] Speaker A: It. It seemed like they had the windows down for months, and it was just sitting in their yard. Like, it was a project that they stood, started and then never finished. And it was full of spiders. Once I started doing demo inside and started, like, laying out what I actually wanted to do, I realized that it was absolutely infested with spiders. Like, hundreds, if not thousands of spiders.
[00:13:19] Speaker B: It needed some work.
[00:13:20] Speaker A: Yeah. And. But I wonder if I can pull up some clips while we're talking about this of us converting it. Yeah. People didn't get it. They didn't understand. They're like, you're gonna live in a bus. Like, you're gonna be homeless.
You know what I mean?
[00:13:32] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I feel like because we were living with my mom, we, for whatever reason, felt the need to, like, explain or play into them.
[00:13:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:40] Speaker B: So remember, we sat them down and we showed them the bus, and we're like, this is what we're gonna do with it. And they acted excited about it. I think they were, like, being supportive.
[00:13:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:49] Speaker B: But, you know, in the back of their mind, they're like, are you sure.
[00:13:52] Speaker A: That people have that. Like, you can tell that they think you're crazy.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:56] Speaker A: And there were a lot of backhanded comments from a lot of other people, too.
[00:13:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:59] Speaker A: I'm not gonna, like, name anybody or call anybody out or anything, but when you have an unconventional dream or you go after something that's outside of the norm, like that checklist that everybody follows, like, people, like, glitch out. They don't understand it. They don't get it. And that goes for everything. And a lot of people let that get to them. And then they don't go after their dreams. They don't do unconventional things that people talk them out of it, even though those people have never done anything extraordinary or unconventional themselves because they're afraid to. They'll. They'll, like, convince them not to go after that thing. And I think that's really sad because there's so much life to be lived in, so many dreams that can come true if you just believe in it and. And don't care what anybody thinks and step outside of the societal checklist and norms.
[00:14:42] Speaker B: Yeah. I was literally going to say that. Like, people we've told, like, I'll say, like, we lived in a bus for a year. We converted it. They'll think it's, like, super cool, but they'll be like, I could never do that. Yeah. They'll, like, be really interested in it, but say they can never see themselves doing it. But I think it's a comfort thing and, like, a fear thing that they're afraid to step out of that checkbox and out of the norm. Like, they can't get the house and the car and they, like, in the neighborhood.
[00:15:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:15:09] Speaker B: Even if it's something that they'd really love to do, they'd have a hard time imagining themselves doing it.
[00:15:14] Speaker A: And, like, what if it doesn't work? Out. What if I crash and burn and fail? Well, what if?
[00:15:19] Speaker B: Right?
[00:15:19] Speaker A: And then what happens? Like, nothing. Like, let's say that you fail at the dream. Let's say it doesn't. Like, it's a. It's a terrible mistake. Well, then you just go back to living life. It's not like your whole life is over, you know, at least say that you went and did the thing and don't live in future regrets someday and be like, oh, it would have been so nice if I did that. I wish I would have done that when I was younger.
[00:15:40] Speaker B: Yeah. So many people say, like, I have a friend who I worked with for about two years, and she decided to leave what we were doing to start her own thing. But the weeks leading up to it, she kept saying, like, what if. What if it doesn't work out? What if I don't get these numbers that I'm aiming for? What if I can't reach my goal? What if I can't get the funding? Like, what if? What if, what if? And so many times I had to just look at her and say, yeah, what if, like, you're miserable here and you have this dream, like, growing inside of you, but, like, you got to do it, and if you fail, you fail. You just go back to something else.
[00:16:17] Speaker A: Or what you're doing, and what if it works?
[00:16:19] Speaker B: What if it works?
[00:16:21] Speaker A: What if it all works out and completely changes my life?
[00:16:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:25] Speaker A: There's so many what ifs. Nobody asks, what if this dream comes true.
[00:16:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:30] Speaker A: You know, another thing is how believing in a dream made it a reality, because we kept that in our minds for so long. We were watching YouTube videos, we were researching. We were picking out things that we liked, and. And believing in that dream made it a reality. And it's almost like we were pushed to that extreme of, like, we don't know what else to do for God to make that dream a reality, if that makes any sense. Like, we wouldn't. We might not have done it otherwise if we had no other option, because we got to the point where, like, we have no other option. And then we were like, should we go after this dream and actually do this thing? And like she said, we were looking on Facebook, Marketplace one night, and I found the bus and. And all that. And maybe we had to be pushed to that absolute extreme limit to be like, there's no other option other than to dive in and make this dream come true. And then that dream came true. Does that make any sense?
[00:17:17] Speaker B: Yeah. Because if you're in a comfortable situation, you don't feel the need to jump. You don't feel the need to go after something big if you're comfortable and everything is working and everything is fine. So I feel like maybe a lesson to be learned from that is don't let yourself be comfortable, because then you don't grow and you don't go after things.
[00:17:37] Speaker A: Yeah. And sometimes God brings you really low to get you to the next level. I've seen that over and over again in my life too. Like, everything will be crazy. And I'm like, what are. What am I going to do? What are we going to do? This and that. And I'm like, well, I have an idea that I'm going to push it to the next level, and then that's going to cover everything. And I wouldn't. Without that extreme sometimes I wouldn't be pushed to go to that next level if makes any sense. But, yeah, believing for the dream, keeping it ever present in your mind, definitely makes the dream a reality for sure.
And another thing that I want to talk about is supernatural faith, as I call it, and stepping into the perilous unknown, believing that it will work out, which a lot of people are not willing to do because it's scary. Yeah.
[00:18:22] Speaker B: But it's worth it.
[00:18:24] Speaker A: So, for example, supernatural faith, when we sold the bus, we had. We were like, down to the wire, and we had. I think it was one week until we had to move. We basically signed everything with the people who owned the house that we were going to be moving into. And we needed the money from the bus to pay for that house. Super, super. Down to the wire. And we just believed that it's going to sell. Even a week before we needed the money to pay the people. We were just like, it's going to sell. It has to sell.
And it was about a week before that it did sell. The family came with their daughter who wanted to do the schooly life thing. And the bus sold and we got the money to move into the house. Just like, right on time, right at the last second.
[00:19:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:06] Speaker A: That's having supernatural faith. Like, most people would be in their pants, like, what are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? And, like, be making plans for failure. We never made a plan for failure. There was no plan. There was no. No. We didn't have a backup plan B backup plan. Right.
[00:19:20] Speaker B: I remember people saying that to us, like, what are you going to do if that doesn't work out? You can always come and live with us. Like, what is your backup plan? And we're like, no, we don't have one. It's going to work out. It's going to sell.
[00:19:30] Speaker A: Of course it is.
[00:19:31] Speaker B: But they remember, they asked us, like, every day, what are you guys going to do? What are you going to do?
[00:19:36] Speaker A: Yeah. There was no plan B. And that's how we operate in all areas of our life. Like, it'll be down to the wire for things all the time. And we just believe that it's going to work out. And then it always does.
[00:19:46] Speaker B: I feel like our family kind of got used to us operating that way too. Because now they don't, like, hound us about it. They don't. They're just like, okay, they got it.
[00:19:55] Speaker A: Yeah. But that's what having supernatural faith and belief is. Is basically having delusional optimism. Because most people would think that we're crazy by the way that we operate and do life. I also call it rapid fire life. Like, we've gone through so many chapters just in the last few few years.
It's rapid fire life. Like, we went from living in an apartment with one. Just me and you and. Yeah. And Asher. And then just a few years later, we have four kids. We've already lived in a bus and like, we've lived in the country. Yeah. We lived the middle of nowhere life. And now we're back in the city. Like, just. It's rapid fire life. That's what I call it. What are some things that you learned from bus life? When we were doing that, I really.
[00:20:38] Speaker B: Learned how to slow down and really look at things. That sounds so cheesy, like stop and smell the coffee. But I did. I had to be so intentional about everything because the space was so small and because I really wanted to still, like, cook full meals and. And be, you know, like, do all the things with the toddlers and like, do crafts and all that stuff. So I had to be very intentional with, like, every movement that I made, everything that I cooked, every. Every inch of space. Space that I used, every bit of time that I used. Because it took a little bit more time to like, go through life in the bus. Like, to.
[00:21:16] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:17] Speaker B: To shower, to cook, to clean everything. It took more time because there was no space.
[00:21:22] Speaker A: And it was like one shade away from like, off grid living.
[00:21:27] Speaker B: Yeah, like.
[00:21:28] Speaker A: Like hillbilly off grid living, you know?
[00:21:30] Speaker B: Yeah. But it was such an experience. So everything I learned how to just be so intentional with every movement and every decision.
And then I really loved just making a whole lifesty style out of it. Like, I had the container garden outside and I used that to like, make stuff inside. We really appreciated every little thing and just made like, what do you call them? Core memories out of, like, everything. Like, we had the projector screen.
So like every single night we would climb up in our loft bed and watch movies.
[00:21:59] Speaker A: Like, oh, my gosh, I missed just.
[00:22:01] Speaker B: So many core movies.
[00:22:02] Speaker A: It was so cozy in that bed. I. We almost didn't watch any movies because we would climb up in. Into the loft bed. It was like tiny, tucked away into the back like our own little cubby. And we would get in there and turn a movie on and just like, wake up the next morning, be like, when? What? Yeah, when did we fall asleep? It was just so comfortable. Sometimes moist. That's one word. Sometimes it was moist because of.
[00:22:24] Speaker B: I think it was because we were on the river too. That added a lot to it. Another lesson learned from living in the bus is to not. I learned to not take everything for granted. Like hot water, the amount of water you have available.
[00:22:39] Speaker A: Our water space didn't work. That was my bad. I was sure that. I mean, the water heater came with the bus and I was sure. I'm like, it works. And of course, this hooked it all up, moved in, didn't work.
[00:22:48] Speaker B: We tried a few different things to try to get it to work too.
[00:22:50] Speaker A: But that's like the heating element. And it was done, but we just.
[00:22:53] Speaker B: Accepted it and really just leaned into that pioneer life. I boiled water, boiled water to make.
[00:22:59] Speaker A: The bath warm for the children. And that's what, one shade away from off grid.
[00:23:06] Speaker B: They're so fun. I wouldn't change anything about it.
[00:23:09] Speaker A: I would say one is resourcefulness.
[00:23:11] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:23:12] Speaker A: So, like, you did cook full meals, like real amazing, delicious meals. And it was on a plug in hot plate. Like a budget plug in hot plate too. It wasn't even expensive one. It was one that we got off of Amazon. But I would say definitely resourcefulness, for sure.
[00:23:28] Speaker B: Yeah. Because you had to be creative with every space. Like, we had, like the spice jars that twisted into a shelf that doubled as, like, you could put stuff on top. So, like, everything had to have multi purposes. And.
[00:23:40] Speaker A: And we learned so much from YouTube. If you ever want to do like an unconventional living situation, research it on YouTube. There's somebody doing it and they have amazing ideas. We got so many ideas. What's. What's another? What's another? Another cool thing is we would be watching YouTube videos while we were converting the bus. Like, in the evenings, we would still be watching those videos to get ideas and we would see something that we liked. And then I would go and dig through the stuff that came with the bus where the people were converting it, and I would find the materials that we would need to do that thing. I'm like, how is that possible?
[00:24:13] Speaker B: Such random stuff too. Like, you want to do the concrete on the bathroom wall?
[00:24:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:18] Speaker B: Just so random. And it happened to be the feather finish, right? Yes, it happened to be in the bathroom.
[00:24:22] Speaker A: It was just in there to make a feather finish shower. I didn't even have to go buy it. It was like it was all meant to be. Very supernatural. Weird situation, but I feel like we.
[00:24:31] Speaker B: Kind of look for those moments too, to whether this is right or wrong, to kind of validate our decision.
This must be what we're supposed to do if this happened.
[00:24:41] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, when it. When it's all working out, it's like, dang, yeah, this is what. This is what I'm supposed to be doing.
[00:24:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:48] Speaker A: I could relate that to my business too, because I tried so many things before.
I had so many dreams and actually, like, pursued so many different things. And then I wrote Warrior King.
I'm like, it's actually selling a bunch of copies. I'm like, okay, this is all working out. I started the Warrior King podcast, which is now the Warrior Kings podcast. Getting tons and tons of plays. People are thanking me for my episodes, and I'm like, huh, that's really working out. Nothing worked out before. If everything's just working out and lining up for you, you know that. That's like you're aligned with what you're supposed to be doing, your purpose. Yeah. Same thing with the bus, right. That was supposed to work out or else it wouldn't have worked out.
[00:25:26] Speaker B: And then selling it was supposed to work out in that timing.
[00:25:29] Speaker A: Crazy. Yeah, crazy stuff. Another thing that I wanted to talk about, and it's kind of a mantra of ours that we've been living by, is short term sacrifices for long term gains. This is a concept that a lot of people don't get and aren't willing to. Aren't even willing to get. What does short term sacrifices for long term gains mean to you?
[00:25:49] Speaker B: Looking to the future and. And what your goal is and what your idea for the future is and willing to cut back on on certain things or sacrifice certain things in order to get there. So I guess just. Just living for what you're building instead of just having it right now the way that you need it. Because the. Because the future and what you're building is better.
[00:26:11] Speaker A: Yeah. And you know, where you're going in it and what that's going to look like. So it's okay for now to be like, I can have less of this thing or less of that thing to get to where I need to be going, which is going to be so much greater.
[00:26:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:24] Speaker A: And a lot of people don't get that. Especially, like, family members and stuff like that. Like, they. They really don't get it. I've had so many people be like, you mean you don't have a job? I mean, I do. I work from home. You know, I'm building a business.
[00:26:38] Speaker B: Yeah, well, it goes back to being unconventional. Like, they don't see the amount that you do. They don't see. They don't even see, like, what's coming out of it.
So they think that.
[00:26:49] Speaker A: They probably think that I just lay around and watch TV all day and play video games or something. What they don't see is that I work like 60 to 80 hours per week building the thing. You know, it's just the lazy guy who stays at home and doesn't work. But, for example, like, we don't. We don't have a mortgage for a house. We don't have all these things that. That are on the conventional checklist of life. We live in a small apartment right now because we're building a thing and believing for the future of, you know, something that's much greater than the checklist would be if we were following it, like going into debt and all these things. Like, that future that we're building, we. We know where we're going, and it's so much greater that we're willing to sacrifice those conventional things in the short term to get to the ultimate goals. Yeah, right.
[00:27:35] Speaker B: Yeah. I was going to say the same thing. Like, we could have that. That typical checklist life right now, but we're choosing something better. It's just not how it's going to be in the future. And we can see that. So that's why we're willing to sacrifice looking like everybody else right now, because we know what we want is great.
[00:27:56] Speaker A: And willing for everybody to think that we're crazy most of the time.
[00:27:59] Speaker B: We've been okay with that for a long time.
[00:28:02] Speaker A: Not keeping up with the Joneses as.
[00:28:03] Speaker B: Yeah. You know who's always gotten it?
[00:28:06] Speaker A: Who?
[00:28:06] Speaker B: My grandmother. Really just thinks you're amazing and doing amazing things. And every time I talk to you.
[00:28:14] Speaker A: I think she's amazing.
[00:28:15] Speaker B: Thank you, Nana, for always believing.
[00:28:17] Speaker A: I know she buys all my books.
[00:28:18] Speaker B: She does.
[00:28:19] Speaker A: Like, she'll get the emails or whatever. It Must be that when I release a new one, because she read all of my fiction books. And then we found out that she had read Warrior King and nobody had ever told her about it. Like, we weren't talking about that with anyone. And she's like, yeah, I read his book about the man stuff.
[00:28:37] Speaker B: Remember, he's got some good points in there.
[00:28:38] Speaker A: She said she just got it on her own accord. Like, nobody prompted her to get it. So that's super cool.
[00:28:43] Speaker B: She's a little bit unconventional too, so I feel like she gets that.
[00:28:46] Speaker A: The point being that if you have a dream, if you have a calling, if you want to do something unconventional, like to really go for a thing, don't be afraid to make sacrifices in the short term for the belief of the long term gain.
[00:29:00] Speaker B: It reminds me of that verse that we love. Like, he's going to do exceedingly, abundantly, more than you can ever even imagine. Because we as humans, like, it's natural for us to think to put a cap on our lives and say, like, I can only make it this far. I can only reach this. And I'm good with that because it's comfortable and safe and I have enough.
[00:29:19] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:20] Speaker B: But like, just that if you just like let go and let God take off with your life, just imagine the things he could do if you're willing to just like, wait in his timing.
[00:29:29] Speaker A: And so many dreams have come true for us. The bus being the main example and so so many other things that it's now it's like most people would call it delusional belief, but we have these really, really big dreams now and we're like, of course it's going to come true. Like anything spot. Like if all that's possible. Anything's possible.
[00:29:45] Speaker B: So it's not an if, it's a when.
[00:29:47] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. And another thing is me going after these unconventional dreams and things like that and you supporting me the whole time is absolutely crazy. And I think that that's one of the elements of having a healthy, happy, thriving relationship is belief in each other and in each other's dreams. Like, you have genuinely believed in me the entire time.
[00:30:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:06] Speaker A: Otherwise I don't think we would be having this conversation and be like, you're ruining my life or something like that. But you really have just believed in every idea I've had. Like, I'll come to you with crazy ideas and be like, I. I think I'm going to do this thing. And you're. And I'm kind of nervous to tell you about it. And you're like, absolutely. That's awesome. You should do that right now.
[00:30:26] Speaker B: And it's real. I really do. Like, I just.
I really believe in you. I think you can do, like, amazing things.
[00:30:32] Speaker A: You try and convince me. No, I'm just trying to convince you, like, it's real. I really do believe in it.
[00:30:37] Speaker B: You're saying it like you can't believe it. So I'm just telling you because most.
[00:30:41] Speaker A: People, like the things that I have pursued and gone after. Most people would be like, I don't know. I don't know what most people be like. I feel like there would be a discussion. Be like, hey, you need. That's. Let's be realistic here again. Realistic. To be like, we need to be realistic about this.
[00:30:55] Speaker B: Well, that just goes back to how we're meant to be together, because we have that same, like, dream mindset. There was a movie one time we watched, and it was. They were saying, like, you can't have two dreamers in a relationship because you'll end up homeless. Remember?
[00:31:11] Speaker A: I don't remember who said that or what.
[00:31:13] Speaker B: What that was on, but we're proving them wrong.
[00:31:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:15] Speaker B: Because they're both dreamers.
[00:31:16] Speaker A: You gotta have one grounded person and one that's a dreamer. If you have two dreamers, you'll end.
[00:31:20] Speaker B: Up homeless or you'll end up in the sky, which is where we're going.
[00:31:25] Speaker A: Dead.
[00:31:25] Speaker B: No, in the sky, among the stars.
[00:31:30] Speaker A: Oh, I get it.
[00:31:32] Speaker B: You know, like, higher than.
[00:31:33] Speaker A: But you meant, like, you won't end up homeless. You'll end up dead.
I think that's super important. Supporting each other and doing life together.
[00:31:43] Speaker B: Yeah. And we do everything together because we're like, best friends.
[00:31:46] Speaker A: Yeah, we are best friends.
[00:31:48] Speaker B: We talk about everything. We like to hang out. We don't. I feel like we don't have. This is just our relationship, though. Like, we don't have, like, things we have to do separate, like, oh, I need me time. I feel like. I don't know if. I don't know if that's wrong or not. But, like, I feel like we just.
[00:32:02] Speaker A: Like being together, so talk about this all the time. Because there's so many people that are like, God, I can't wait until I have some time away from my husband or some time away from my wife or whatever. I'm like, why did you get married?
[00:32:13] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:14] Speaker A: If you can't stand being around the person, if you need some time apart from them just so you can breathe, why did you commit to spending the rest of your life with them? Maybe you shouldn't have, you know, check in a box. They think it's what they're supposed to do. But. But what's it like being married to an entrepreneur?
[00:32:29] Speaker B: Well, like we just said, just believe it's exciting because I believe in like every idea you tell me about. So I'm like, what's he gonna come up with next?
And seeing it take off and really happen lately is amazing and it's really exciting and it's, it's opened my mind up a lot into like, what are the possibilities now? Like, what can we, what could we do? What could I bring into this now? So I'm, I've. I've been talking a lot lately about like things I could do too, to like join you or like just like add to it or even like bring some of my own thing into it.
[00:33:06] Speaker A: Yeah, look, we're already doing that, right?
[00:33:08] Speaker B: Yeah. So like it's, it's exciting and like it's cool now. Like, I feel like we could like put our ideas together and like expand it even more.
[00:33:14] Speaker A: But is there like, sweet's waking up? You might have to get over a pacifier really quick.
One thing that you just said recently was that, and I kind of feel the same way this year. Like, it with the start of this year, for some reason you said that you just fully realized that this is actually a thing. You know, I feel the same way, especially after getting the Spotify wrapped and all that. Like, I had kind of an idea that it was a thing, but then like now we're at the full realization that this is the thing.
[00:33:53] Speaker B: Yeah, right. I have in the past, like few weeks because we're still in January. So yeah, it is in this new year. Like I always believed that it will be a thing and it could be a thing, but recently I'm like, oh, this is a thing. Like now it's like happening and it's exciting.
And I like you asked what it's like to be married to an entrepreneur. I love like not knowing exactly what it's going to look like in five years. I love like the, it's exciting to think about what it could be and how it can. Everything can change. And like, I like the mystery of it and I like the gamble. I guess it's exciting. It is.
[00:34:34] Speaker A: So like on the Spotify wrapped, for example, it said that the growth was 999% from the previous year, which is just a humongous gets jump. So like, I'm looking at like now we're in 2026. I'm like, well, we reached 2027. What is that going to look like? Like, consider 999 increase more would be an astronomical amount of followers and listeners and things like that.
[00:34:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:59] Speaker A: So we'll see if that happens. Maybe that's the delusional optimism again. But. But, yeah, it is exciting to see a thing grow. And I'm very grateful to be reaching men all over the world with my messages because. Because it's not like I'm not an entertainer. Like, I'm trying to teach guys in this world that tries to teach them the exact opposite. How to be good, righteous men, good husbands, good fathers. I could dive more into the father thing. I want to do that as soon as I figure that one out for myself. Parenting is confusing, but just to be good men in a world that's telling them that all the wrong things are right. It's like upside down land. Especially, you know, since COVID like, we're living in topsy turvy upside down land where nothing makes any sense. So I'm just trying to reach as many men as possible to tell them, like, hey, don't follow the world. You can be a. You can be a good guy. That's basically the message.
[00:35:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:35:49] Speaker A: Especially being good husbands, because nobody's teaching anybody that, you know, our fathers don't even teach us that. I was growing up, which is crazy. Just super thankful and grateful for the opportunity to be doing that, you know, as my job now. Yeah, that's crazy. But what would you say our goals and dreams are moving forward? Like, so many dreams have come true. We have four beautiful children together. Or is it seven?
[00:36:14] Speaker B: Four. Seven.
[00:36:16] Speaker A: I mean, just so many miraculous, amazing things happen. Like, where do you see us going? Like, what. What's the. What's the dream?
[00:36:23] Speaker B: What's the dream? Well, we have. We have an area of the city that we really want to live in.
[00:36:29] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:30] Speaker B: Close to our church. I really. I think the next step. Dream for me is to get that child home for, like, for our kids. Like, where we could put roots down a little bit.
[00:36:41] Speaker A: Like, like their childhood.
[00:36:42] Speaker B: Their childhood home. Like, put. Put their height marks on the.
[00:36:45] Speaker A: A community.
[00:36:46] Speaker B: To be a part of a community. Yeah.
[00:36:48] Speaker A: Closer to the church. So we could be more involved in that.
[00:36:50] Speaker B: Yeah. So because now that, like, Asher's at, like, kid age, not baby anymore. I'm like, maybe we need to, like, get him into. We need to find family friends that have, like, kids the same age so we can just grow in. In community, too. Like, I feel like we've grown so much together, and as a family, My next step is I see us like growing in the community more for sure. And then.
And then kind of want to go, I don't know, after one of my interests too. Like, I feel like I've. I get wrapped up a lot in like my work. I get like, just like in like the grind of it. But like, what, what if I did something I actually like? I love teaching. I do. I love the kids and of the actual art of teaching. But what if I did that or did something that really just made me happy instead of like, you know, working for somebody else? So what if I did like you did? I guess that's my next dream.
[00:37:43] Speaker A: I definitely want this to be. And it is my full time thing, but I mean, like, it's covering everything. Like we're good and I'm able to be super generous and all these things and I want to be able to hire people. Yeah, that's like a huge dream for me is to be able to provide somebody else's life.
Doing this thing with me and growing.
[00:38:03] Speaker B: With the thing in a studio space.
[00:38:05] Speaker A: Yeah, studio space. Which would come with the house because I want to have kind of like a converted double car garage or something. Studio. But I think about this all the time, that I miss having friends. Like when I was younger and I was growing up, if I had a crazy idea, because I've always had crazy ideas and always was pursuing something like music, whatever it was. And there were people that would just come along with me and they would be a part of it because they believed in the thing.
And I was like, basically talking about them like, this is going to be big, man. But they would just come along with me and there's nobody that I'm like, I know this guy who edits videos really well and he believes in the dream as much as I do. So we're going to build this thing together until the day where I can pay him.
You know what I'm saying? Because he's believing for that too. There's nothing like that. You know, I can't have a team until I'm paying people, but I am looking forward to doing that.
It's going to be super awesome.
[00:38:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:38:58] Speaker A: Give somebody a job.
[00:39:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:00] Speaker A: For the Warrior Kings podcast or my brand or whatever it is like a media guy and things like that. Really looking forward to that. That's a huge goal.
[00:39:09] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:09] Speaker A: But the point that I really wanted to make today in this episode is have the bravery, have the courage to step outside of the norm, outside of the convention, to do something extraordinary with your Life to do something exciting. I mean, you got one life to live. Don't waste it being mundane and boring. Like, do something interesting, even if. Even if it's for a little while. Like, we lived in that school bus for one year. We didn't build the bus and say, this is our forever home and now we're stuck in it. We followed our dream. We made that dream a reality, and now we have new dreams, we have new goals. Like, and like we said before, if it doesn't work out, just go back to living, you know, and there's nothing wrong with that. Like, definitely don't be afraid to step outside of the conventional norms to do something extraordinary with your life.
[00:39:54] Speaker B: And that's a really good point. I think people are afraid to do those things because they think every decision is deciding the rest of their life.
[00:40:02] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:40:03] Speaker B: There's like, so many phases to your life. You can make a decision and that's only your next six months or that's only your next two years. It's not your entire rest of your life.
[00:40:13] Speaker A: Yeah. And believe for the thing. Don't say all of your what ifs should be like, what if. Yeah, like, we were just talking about our. Our new goals and dreams. It's like, well, what if. What if this podcast doesn't work out? And we. I stopped getting listeners and I stopped selling books. What if, what if? You know, it's like the only what ifs are like, what if? It's even better than we imagine, you know?
[00:40:36] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:37] Speaker A: That's really the only what if that exists anymore.
[00:40:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:40] Speaker A: Because of that supernatural faith and kind of a delusional belief.
[00:40:45] Speaker B: But all the greats had delusional belief.
[00:40:48] Speaker A: Absolutely. And that's what anything great.
[00:40:50] Speaker B: Yeah. People thought they were all crazy, but look at them now.
[00:40:53] Speaker A: Yeah, look at me now.
Everything has always worked out for us in a weird way. A supernatural way. Number one, because of God. Also, this isn't me boasting. I'm just saying this is possible for you. This is possible for anyone. It's because of faith. No matter what. Believing, even when it gets down to the last minute, the last down to the wire and you don't know what you're going to do, still believe that it's going to work out. That's why everything works out for us in the end. Sometimes, to be honest, it's like we are at those moments, like, what are we going to do? Never stop believing. And it all works out in the end.
[00:41:27] Speaker B: Yeah. We always follow our what are we going to do with. But something will work out. We can't. We always say, even if we cannot see that solution right now, we know there is a solution and God's going to pull something from somewhere that we didn't see coming and always does it. Always.
[00:41:42] Speaker A: And do you have anything else that you'd like to add today before we close this thing out?
[00:41:46] Speaker B: No, I think just the motto of. Of our. Of this talk is just to dream and believe.
[00:41:52] Speaker A: Dream and believe and be.
[00:41:53] Speaker B: Be delusional and be risk takers and be wacky. Wacky.
[00:41:58] Speaker A: Be wacky. That's the title of the episode, Be wacky. And we'll have T shirts out soon that say be wacky on it. Maybe some hats.
What are those little. You remember the rubber bracelet?
[00:42:10] Speaker B: Yes. Be wacky.
[00:42:12] Speaker A: And it'll say be wacky on it. So keep an eye out for that. What a wild ride we've had.
[00:42:17] Speaker B: And what is. What is to come?
[00:42:19] Speaker A: What is to come?
[00:42:20] Speaker B: Who knows?
[00:42:21] Speaker A: Well, you know what I just realized? We're coming up on Valentine's Day. We did a couple's episode. Oh.
Oh, that's so sweet. This is our Valentine's episode.
[00:42:28] Speaker B: Happy Valentine's Day.
[00:42:29] Speaker A: Happy Valentine's day.
[00:42:30] Speaker B: We should eat a chocolate heart after this.
[00:42:33] Speaker A: We do have Reese's chocolate hearts that I bought today because I have no self control.
[00:42:36] Speaker B: But it's Valentine's day.
[00:42:37] Speaker A: Thank you guys so much for watching and listening today. If you want to know more about me, what I do, there's links in the description of this episode. There's a link tree on there with all my stuff, my books, all that stuff is on there. So definitely go check that out. All my social medias if that's something you're into. My YouTube, all that. Definitely get subscribed to the YouTube channel. I love you. I'm proud of you. Have a great week and I'll catch you on the next one. Thanks, guys. Bye.
