Speaker 1: 0:01

The Journey Talks podcast, your favorite podcast to reconnect with gratitude and inspiration. Hosted by Jorge Gonzales. Greetings everybody. This is Jorge Gonzales, your host. With a brief trigger warning before we begin. The following episode briefly addresses mental health issues, panic attacks and the loss and burying of loved ones, pets and family members. Please continue with discretion. If you are struggling with these dynamics, we encourage you to seek professional help. Let's begin. All right, friends. Greetings to everybody, hello and welcome to Journey Talks podcast, your favorite podcast to reconnect with gratitude and inspiration. My name is Jorge Sallago Gonzales and I am your host.

Speaker 1: 0:50

I am convinced that behind every gratitude, there is a powerful story waiting to be told, and I want to create spaces where we can share these stories and inspire one another. As humans, we share one thing in common, and that is the experience of being alive, and so we're all together in this journey we call life, and along the way, we meet people or go through situations that live a footprint in us. Some people stay for a short period of time, while others linger for a little longer. Who are the people? What are the situations that open doors for transformation in our lives and help us to be the person we are today, through this podcast, I will be interviewing people with stories of gratitude, but the stories of the kind of gratitude that come as a result of moments of transformation. And I want to celebrate one thing that we all share in common, and that is our shared humanity. I believe that when we come from this place, we all have access to something very special, and that is the love that we all share from within, this unconditional, beautiful love. So our guest today is someone that I have known for a very long time. We have a shared passion, and that is music, and music brought us together a very, very, very long time.

Speaker 1: 2:19

He was, I think and he will correct me here in a second I think he was probably about 17 years old, maybe 18, when I first met him at Summer Camp, he was a counselor at this conference center in North Carolina called Montrét. This was back in the early 2000s. So shout out to all the good folks at Montrét conference center in North Carolina we love you. Thank you for everything you have done for us. I will dare to say that none of us would be where we are today had it not been for the opportunities and space that the people at Montrét gave us over the years.

Speaker 1: 2:58

You probably don't know this about me, but for a long time I was a music and worship leader at summer conferences and different events for the delimitation that I served the Perpetrian Church, and so remember that when I would go to this conference center, there was this dude, super full of energy, always carrying his guitar, followed by a line of other youth, because he was so energetic, you know, and for some reason he reminded me of me when I was his age, because I would be that guy too, with the guitar, playing songs, coming up with silly stuff to sing. And when I think of my guest, the very first connection, the very early memories that I have of our guest, of my guest on this episode, is that and so he's a husband, he is a father, he's a great friend, he's an amazing musician, and I think I don't. I mean, I've said enough, but I'm going to let him also share a little bit about who he is Without further ado. Sam Bertschild. Sam, welcome to Journey Talks Podcast.

Speaker 2: 4:10

How are you?

Speaker 1: 4:11

Sam.

Speaker 2: 4:12

I'm good. That was such a great intro. Like I'm very honored and it's man. You really had my mind hitting some memories with those Montree descriptions Like wow.

Speaker 1: 4:28

I mean, we were young, I was in my I want to say mid-20s, early 20s.

Speaker 2: 4:34

Yeah, when. When did you do music at Montree? Do you remember my?

Speaker 1: 4:39

first wow, that's a good question. I think my first music I mean when I let music for the first time that was probably 2004,. 2004.

Speaker 2: 4:51

Okay, Through through, when I mean you used to go back.

Speaker 1: 4:56

No, no, no, no, no. So I moved to the United States, 2003. I was already doing music. No, this was 2000, 2002 or something like that. Wow, yeah, yeah. My first conference was a middle school conference in West Point, mississippi. That was a long time ago. And then the following year I did music for Montree. So how, how old were you? Let's say 2002?.

Speaker 2: 5:23

So well. So I remember you. I don't remember which year. I bet I would remember some of your theme songs. We could go back through theme songs if you had to, but I remember you when I was a high schooler, which would have been 2006 to 2010. All right, so in one of those years you were our. This is before I was there as a counselor. I was there as a youth of this conference saying hip, hip, jorge, we were pumped about some Jorge and yeah, man, like. And then 2000,. I went to. I went to college at University of Georgia, which would have been 2010.

Speaker 2: 6:14

And came back during those college summers doing the music for the clubs program. So I was right. So I was doing like a lot of the Montree songs and I was even doing energizers. So I was like I was like a one man band in the barn out there yeah, you're like it's jumping away and then set that down, put some energizers on, like you're getting a cardio workout every couple hours no kidding, yeah. So I was there. I was there, you know, the full summer of those. It would have been, I think, 2011, 12, 13. And then it was like 14, I think, when I came back.

Speaker 2: 6:57

I believe I was there when I was a little bit of a worship leader with Zach. We were kind of, I think, almost like filling in, I think, because Eric, I think, was going to do it, and I think it was a weird situation where they're like let's put these young guys in here that I've never done this before. But yeah, man, I remember, yes, so I remember you from being out in the pews and what a which, again I say, it's very humbling for you to say such kind of things and to be able to be on this podcast and to be able to, even just as a friend, to be able to recall these things and to think of you in any in any way, as a like a colleague, is very same thing with, I think, jeffrey Harper. There was another one that I remember after I bumped into him playing in Nashville once and we realized that we were at both knew each other. We didn't know at first. We were like are you?

Speaker 2: 8:02

He said something about Montrida was wearing a shirt. Like every time you go anywhere, there's somebody with a shirt that says Montrida and but yeah, similarly, it's like, wow, what an honor to to be at a point in my life where I can consider these, these people that I looked up to, quite literally from up to the stage to to be able to speak as colleagues, as friends, you know, as fellow musicians. It's just very, it's a little mind blowing. So I do have a lot of gratitude just to be here. So thank you.

Speaker 1: 8:39

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Okay, sam, so I said wonderful things about you, but the truth is, I want to know from you what's going on with you.

Speaker 2: 8:49

Yeah, I mean I, I like to like, I'll do like a little fast forward, just because we kind of left off like, all right, I'm doing music in my tree. I think that would be kind of a fun little quick journey. So I did music with my good friend Zach Zach Wells, convinced him to move to Atlanta. Shout out to Zach, yeah.

Speaker 1: 9:06

You are Texas, right.

Speaker 2: 9:08

Yeah, he's in Dallas, he's at Dallas. They're I mean, they're I forget which church it is. It the left first press, dallas? I think there's another Dallas church that that he's doing music at. So, all right, shout out to them, yeah. And so, you know, convinced him to move to Atlanta.

Speaker 2: 9:25

We're doing the whole like we're playing house shows, we're doing whatever we can to pay the bills and putting out some records, gradually, eventually meet my lovely wife from doing music and you know, we get married very quickly and we're like, I think 2016, we we kind of met, did some shows and then, end of 2016, I proposed and 2017, we get married had an awesome journey of of early marriage.

Speaker 2: 10:02

We ended up moving into a school bus for a brief period of time to, you know, explore the, the whims of youth I guess I don't know and then, right after we moved into the school bus, find out that we are having a big, big baby boy, which we weren't sure if we could have kids, to be fully honest. So that was a huge blessing, also very unexpected. So we quickly had a crazy chaotic season and eventually settled into North Georgia, which is near her folks, and bought our first home, which is also very mind blowing that we were able to do that. You know a lot of blessings to be able to have that realization and you know, through that journey, that amount of time I've been persistently playing shows, releasing music and as best I can trying to like pursue that and stay true to some sort of artistic I guess compass, and I've been blessed that it has grown enough to justify to continue doing it.

Speaker 1: 11:30

That's that. That in itself is incredible.

Speaker 2: 11:33

But I will say I say this all the time I would throw it away in a heartbeat if I had to. And so there's like there's something beautiful about pursuing your passions, right? But one of my sort of mentors musical mentors growing up, said once do you love talk about music? But I think this applies to most things in life, so do you love it enough to let it go? And I was in high school thinking about if I was going to go to college and I did where I would go. So do you love it enough to let it go?

Speaker 2: 12:13

And I think that's really powerful to think about, like on one level, recognizing where the priorities should fall in your life, which obviously, like I have a wife and a son, so if I can't provide for them doing what I'm doing, I should be willing to instantly drop it. Like it's not that always be an artist and always perform in some capacity and compose in some capacity, but that it's not, it's not that important, and I should remember that daily so that I can live out my life where I'm making time for them, you know, ahead of this career pursuit, even though I'm justifying the career pursuit to provide for them, and there's a lot of truth to that. I think that's like a bit of a daily practice to try to have that ability. And then the other part of loving it enough to let it go, I think is and I talked about this my band recently on one of our weekend runs is like you know, if you do something too much, it loses a little bit of the like, the heart of it.

Speaker 2: 13:26

Sometimes you know and I don't know if you felt this with, even with doing worship music Like, yeah, you, you want to think very, maybe idealistically, that no, it's worship music, it can always be, have that same sort of like, presence and fervor and energy. But I do think, just like anything else, if you do it so much and it becomes a job and it becomes this, you can lose a little bit of the heart of it. So I think something about being willing to let something go, even if it's not permanently letting it go, but like taking a break, stepping away and getting back to like, the heart of what it is and why you're doing it. So, yeah, I think, yeah, again, I've been really blessed to seriously to be able to continue to ponder that like is this okay? Is this right for my family right now? Am?

Speaker 2: 14:27

I able to provide and to continue to do so.

Speaker 2: 14:33

But I don't necessarily, like I believe in myself, you know, so I there's like some confidence or like conviction, I guess, to say that there's I should be doing this.

Speaker 2: 14:45

And then the cool thing about that too is like people like you saying such very, you know, kind kind things and like I have I've had fans say similar like things, things that are more than just hey, you're really great, I liked what you did there, but things that cut.

Speaker 2: 15:04

Like a couple came up to me this weekend and said like hey, we really see, at first we didn't realize it but then we realized there's this spiritual thing in some of your music that like is underneath it that we had to like dig through the lyrics to get to and like those moments give me that conviction that it's not just that I can do this financially and that you know I'm some amount of talent at it or whatever it's that there's. There's like a deeper meaning and purpose on a soul level. If I can stay focused on that which I don't always, I definitely get caught up in all the crap, but I'm like man if I can focus on that and that there's something true in these songs that will resonate with people on a deep level that sometimes you can't even put words to. You know, then, man, I got to keep doing that and yeah. So it's again a bless that I can and that I have.

Speaker 1: 16:17

I think you're challenging something. I think when that happens, we really become instruments. We're channeling a message and energy.

Speaker 1: 16:27

Maybe people connect with the, with all our own vulnerability that is put into words and into melody, right, but I this is one of the reasons why I wanted to have you in the podcast. We share that. We share. We share this gift, this ability, this, I don't know this inclination towards connecting with people or connecting with the craft, or seeing the craft in this particular way, and knowing that that when people are able to see that they're not just connecting with us, they're connecting, like you said, with something deeper, and it's very humbling to be the channel of that. You know, there's one thing that I'm grateful over the years for the way in which I was able to have a music career, even though it was within the church and summer conferences it's that it's just to know that we were given an opportunity to really put people in front of something special and intentional.

Speaker 2: 17:26

And it's not just us.

Speaker 1: 17:27

It's what it's, the energy behind it is the energy that we try to bring in and connect with, and I appreciate how honest you're being about. Well, sometimes you're there and sometimes you're not, because, guess what? That is reality, it's life, and so we all, just we just have to do our best to recognize when we are out of line and try to find our way back, you know, and, on or wherever we are, listen and try to move forward. You know, but this is incredible Go ahead.

Speaker 2: 17:57

Well, I'll say, which is cool, because music does that for us. Like music or art is that way to like get back in line, get back on center, get reconnected to spirit, is it's like so it's. But we need that too as creators. Like you know, you need to also be having being fed in some way to like reconnect. And yeah, I definitely think it's.

Speaker 2: 18:25

It's most certainly like people talk about songwriting and where does the song come from? Whatever you believe, across multiple like religions or like belief systems, like it like an idea, like really it it really does come from somewhere else. I mean, you can't really explain it in many ways, especially like in a moment of true, like flow, states, spontaneous creativity, which some of my best songs, I would say, are those moments which, in a way, they're not my songs because it's clearly coming from somewhere. And, yeah, I think it's. It's so important to like stay humble in that way and not sort of confuse what you're creating with yourself and that ownership which I don't know. I do think the difference with like worship music. I hope sometimes it's easier to not do that because it's sort of obviously defined, although I do think there's a lot of worship leaders that especially like the bigger churches.

Speaker 2: 19:35

A lot of times it becomes a an odd thing where maybe it is sort of mixed into ego. You know this like celebrity of and still some of that in Montreal. I would say like it's hard to actively sort of ground yourself because there's 1000 kids who are like yelling hip, hip, jorge, or whatever, and you're like this is cool. It's also exhausting because I'm like working really hard but then to also like yeah, keep stay humble. And so I think with with what I'm doing now with original music, it's almost more difficult because there's so much branding that goes into like promoting yourself and you know it's very much I am writing these songs at least some bit of my influence with whatever is being inspired from wherever. So yeah, it's that grounding is saying humble is is difficult, but it is definitely coming from some outside of you, which is good to remember.

Speaker 1: 20:43

So what I want? I want us to go back to it, but let me, because there's there's a very important truth, I think, which is the aspect of you who you are as a human being and and trying to channel and perfect the skill set that you will enjoy. And then the other element of like. Well, you know, I'm just happened to also have a platform that allows me to it's a sort of like a symbiotic relationship right, like, you do have to play off a little bit of your ego in order to have certain things. You know the marketing, the image, the identity being appealing for people and whatnot, but also, you know, having the balance of okay, am I still being able to show up with a level of integrity that that? That speaks true to me. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 21:34

So we're going to get back to that here in a second, but let's get started with questions about gratitude, because this episode, this podcast, is all about sharing stories of gratitude, and I have a couple of questions for you that I would love for you to entertain, and I would love for you, if you can open your heart and your mind, to share those stories of gratitude with us. Can we do that?

Speaker 2: 21:54

Yeah, let's do it.

Speaker 1: 21:56

So what is gratitude for you, sam, and what is your relationship with it?

Speaker 2: 22:03

So I would say gratitude is for me presently like being present in a moment and thinking sort of like outside yourself of not like what you owe in an indebted way, but what outside yourself be it people or situations or whatever kind of led you to where you are good or bad in a way.

Speaker 2: 22:39

But but I think the key for me with gratitude is like that presence aspect, because I think I can say I'm grateful for something or like say it in my head, I'm grateful for my family, I'm grateful for my wife and kid, grateful for my home, all that.

Speaker 2: 22:56

But there's like a different thing, almost like a meditative, grateful way of really being grateful. That is about placing your attention on on that that you're grateful for and which it's fitting where we're recording this the week leading up to Thanksgiving, the time of gratitude, that's there you go, and a lot of times it's funny because Thanksgiving can become almost almost empty, because it's a tradition that we don't always, aren't always present with, because it's routine and yeah, that I to be honest, it's something I'm not always good with. I, my brain wants to be filled with anxiety and worry and for some good reason, like I'm in our home right now, there's a million things I could think about that need to be fixed or take care of. But yeah, to have gratitude is for me to presently put my attention and focus on the things that are here that I can be grateful for, and just to like to have a home period and to really sit and think about that, and I just say it is a different kind of posture. That, I guess, is what gratitude is.

Speaker 1: 24:17

Yeah, you know, I couldn't agree more with you be impressive. There's something I'm convinced, that that when we're in a mindset of gratitude, we, your mind, it's a mindset you are in and you're vibing, you're thinking, you're looking at things in a particular, from a particular perspective that, in a way, it helps us to put anxiety, fears, concern and securities all to the side. All of those things, they're not existent Because all of a sudden, you are present in the moment and there's this moment of awe, there's this amazement towards whatever it's happening. You know whether it's a realization of something, an understanding of something. I mean, let's say, for example, you know you wake up in the morning and you see the sunrise. Well, you know, you can, I've seen plenty of sunrises, but have I really seen the sunrises?

Speaker 1: 25:14

You know, am I present enough to realize that I am a spickle of nothingness, right, and I'm witnessing a miracle happening in front of me? You know, am I, am I? You say I'm thankful for my family? Well, you know, okay, you really think why, you think for what's happening, that you're connecting the real and understanding that this circle of people are your tribe and they give meaning, they sort of like, shape who you are. I mean it's incredible being present in the moment allows us to really tune down, or turn down the volume of other voices in our lives that that's sometimes really hindered our opportunity just to receive the gift of life. I believe you know.

Speaker 2: 25:59

No, I think so and in a way it's funny when you actually say it.

Speaker 2: 26:02

I'm almost wondering, like is, could you even even say that being present is gratitude, like almost that they're the same thing, you know, because, like when, what else happens? When you are totally present with something, it's sort of you could almost getting into like weird language stuff with what things mean. But in a way, like when I say I want to be present with you, if I'm talking to my wife, like almost immediately, like gratitude would follow, because if I'm, if I'm frustrated or annoyed or any of these other like emotions, they are outside of like that present moment. And even I see I'm sorry for listeners, this will be a maybe if you have lost a pet recently. This might be a little bit, you know, of a thing to hear, but my neighbor I was telling very this when we hopped on this podcast I helped my neighbor Barry's dog today and I was grateful actually for that moment, even though it was difficult to watch and to see. And we, you know we had and my best description of that moment of me and him, you know, bearing the sweet, the sweet dog and like piling the dirt on like is just that, the weight of presentness and which, again, it's like gratitude, like for him, he's processing this loss and he's grateful for that.

Speaker 2: 27:46

That pet, like thinking about all of the like, focusing on that moment, caused him to like reflect on all these different parts of his life, and we talked about a lot of different things. He's lost other people, he's lost people in his life, and so this was like a brought that back up with him and for me, I'm gosh. I'm thinking about mortality, I'm thinking about the fact that someday I'll be gone and I've got this son, I've got my wife's here. Um, I mean, gosh, it doesn't get much more grateful than being aware and present with death, and like the ultimate version of that is like being aware and present with your own death, like it's what we wrestle with in life.

Speaker 2: 28:33

So much is everything you could. You could say in some way all our motivations, whether it's in denial of that, like we want to have a lot, like build up our castle and our money and stuff so that we can kind of not think about it, or like we want to have all the ways to protect everyone we could possibly protect and like put up as many protections and safeguards as we can. Um, I don't know. I just think, like that present thing. The cool thing about that with gratitude is that it can be found in such, looking from the outside such awful places, like at a funeral, at a losing, like the worst tragedy of your life, being present in them, create King, like pull gratitude out of them, which is amazing.

Speaker 1: 29:19

Yeah, yeah, it is incredible, Definitely facing the finitude of life. It's a great wake up call. I, I, yeah, I think if we can entertain and accept that truth with grace, with love, we have an opportunity to make the best and the most out of every single moment and experience. But the truth is that that it's sometimes that's hard, Sometimes it's hard to. Sometimes, when we face that idea, we're just, you know, anxiety comes in, fear comes in, and so I think the journey is to figure out how we can prepare ourselves to that moment.

Speaker 1: 30:05

But, um, prepare, but, but in such a way that that you are willing to really maximize this journey, maximize who you are and understanding who you are, the friendships that you make along the way, the lessons that you learn about yourself and your and your and your relationship with other people. You know like it's. It is very humbling. So let me ask you this you kind of touch a little bit about it, but I want to. I want to ask you just so we can go deeper what are you most grateful for, Sam, in your life?

Speaker 2: 30:40

Yeah, it had to be my, my wife and my son would come shortly after that, but I think, in order for my son to be to take care of best, like, my wife has to be before, which is like it's a weird thing to think about, you know, like, but but I've, I've even just from, like we did some pre mental counseling and it's almost like you have to make that choice, because if we're not, like on the same page and together and unified and truly loving each other selflessly, my son doesn't witness that, so he's not learning like, like how to be in the future. And if we fall apart, but we're like this weird shell that's trying to raise this kid because we're putting him before each of us like that doesn't work, you know. So, yeah, and yeah, I mean my, my wife, like gosh, I can see that I could get emotional. Summit, it's all good. Yeah, like when I really sit in a present and think about it, it's, it's.

Speaker 2: 31:49

We've had a wild journey in a lot of different ways. Even we met and she was with a really bad partner and so there's all sorts of stuff with that that was made it difficult for her to move forward in life, and then I came in like a very like gung-ho, like, once they split up and I was kind of like, hey, I'm, I think you're great, here I am, here I am. And you know she wasn't ready for that. So you know, we had kind of this fiery up and down, like her working through some of the past trauma and stuff, to the point where we finally was able to propose and and. But even then in our marriage like just yeah, just the, the, the intentional, like difficulties you wade through to grow and to like dig into those darkest places in your life. And man, like it's it really is like seem about being grateful, like she was like this girl or I was like there's no way she would ever be with me and so just the fact that we're together, if I think back to that, those moments, in that version of myself, it's it's like some movie script, it's like some like this would never happen. Think, um, and that's I still get frustrated, all the stupid little things, right, that's when I'm not present, with, like what it means to to be with someone in that way. I I certainly get frustrated and all those things happen.

Speaker 2: 33:34

But, like um, we have pushed each other to grow, spiritually especially so much, uh, over the past, you know, three or four years really, um, we've been married five but like we really stepped into this journey in a more serious way and leading into the pandemic and all that. What a thing. You know, we're dealing with this pandemic, we're dealing with financial stress. Because of that, there's also like the anxiety, physical anxieties and then also, like I said, like sort of the back of my head, there was a season of not sure if we could have kids, um, and even thinking about if we do have kids, can we even support them, like, what, like you got all the stresses of pursuing music and and um, and what that looks like and the ups and downs of that.

Speaker 2: 34:33

And then my wife, like uh, was dealing with a lot of panic attacks and anxiety, written stuff which have so many people um deal with, and that was a big part of that journey too for us of like, how do we, um, man, how do you step through that? How do you, how do you really love somebody? Um, through those sorts of difficult times? That seems so, it seems so helpless when someone's uh, you know, would you say that?

Speaker 1: 35:02

Would you say I mean, I love, love, love that you, first of all, I love the fact that you recognize that you're the place your wife has in your life and, let's be honest, it can be a partner.

Speaker 1: 35:14

Okay, so we're talking about, for audience, is just to have this partner. That is so journey along with you, and I, I, I resonate with you. Like I, I must say that one of the persons that I am most grateful for in my life is is my wife, janine. It's the friendship that we have, is the way that she holds me accountable, is the ways in which I try to show up for her, the, the, the spaces of trust that she creates for me so I can be vulnerable and and confront my insecurities and my fears, and so I. It's, it's so beautiful to hear that another couple gives an exchange, that space for each other. I mean it's, it's lovely. It's lovely to hear that you guys have the space that you guys are trying to figure life out at, which is what everybody's trying to do, you know and and to and to have the courage to show up with for each other, with, I mean, with the good, the bad and the ugly.

Speaker 1: 36:15

That is an amazing realization and it's an amazing opportunity. I feel like you know, and so I love the fact that you're starting with that. I love the fact that you, you realize that without it, your son but I mean will not kit, and we as human beings, we feel energies and we feel what's behind and what's, yeah, the energy in the space and the energy in the environment. And so your son is growing up in an environment full of love. Yeah, your son is growing in an environment where you guys buy your actions and, by the way, you all relate to each other. You're modeling to him how to go about life and kiddos. We know scientifically that that babies up to seven years old, they're absorbing everything around them, and so that beautiful energy of intention and commitment for for each other is really doing something special for him. I'm so excited to hear that.

Speaker 2: 37:10

Well, we're trying and I know it's. You know, I realized it's like it's one of those like cliche answers like, well, the most important is my wife. But it's because, like we talk about these, even like being present and thinking about immortality and like these big kind of like concepts of going through life and like becoming the best version of yourself, like the truest, most realized version, I really think and I don't want to again, I don't want it to be like this, I don't want anyone that's single out there to be really bummed or like that. I think it's like relationships. To me, marriage is the, is the ultimate realization of a relationship. But then all relationships do this where you're, if it's a, if it's a good friend, even like you're pushing on each other to like, if you're going to be truly a good friend to someone, you would tell them if they're doing something that is bad for them or hurts them, or that is even as frustrated, like, hey, when you do this and say this thing, it's a little passive, aggressive, it, it really comes across, does this to me and and pulls you to be a better version of yourself and and, ultimately, to let part of yourself die and to be reborn, which is the ultimate pattern of growth and so an ultimate healthy marriage, which we strive for but we don't always accomplish. But the ultimate healthy marriage is that is that pushing each other to, you know, and encouraging each other to let the pieces die that are those awful bad habits or like these, whatever just bad tendencies that we build up in and calluses, that we build up on other family relationships and dynamics, and to motivate each other to like, grow and and be truer and more of.

Speaker 2: 39:11

I would like to say it's not like you're becoming something outside of yourself, but it's like you're letting more of yourself come out, like like if there's like a, an archeological dig site, and you're dusting off like all the crap that just weighs on top of you. You're getting to this like light that is in you, that is, that is love, that is presence and gratitude, and you just slowly letting more of that out and having someone to see the worst of you, which is marriage, cause you don't always show the worst of you to even your best friends sometimes, right, right, you have that social. You know, I call it merch table talk, which I try to be present at merch tables, but just when I'm doing all this stuff and they like exhausted from just doing a show, like it's hard to be always real. You're like I'll be social and trying to be present and hear people and listen truly.

Speaker 2: 40:12

But yeah, with with my wife, I mean I could come home and just be like, oh, I had like this is what's going on, this is the worst. And she can truly, if we're both at our best, she can like be there to call out the part of me that's that's nonsense, that I need to work on and to encourage the part that's that's good in there. And so that is. You know, when I say I'm grateful for my wife most of all, you could even you could view that in a way of being selfish because she's making me better. It's not, you know, I don't know, I just think it's. It can be a cliche, but that is the reason. Is that truly, for me to be a more and more conscious and realized individual who is truer, I need somebody to be there to push on me and to also like nurture me and lift me up when I need that too.

Speaker 1: 41:14

So you said, you said something that I don't want to miss, because I think we should go back at it, and it's that the highest expression of learning is to die to something and to be reborn. You said something along those lines. I want you to hang on that. Let's put, let's put a pin on it, because, because I think there's something beautiful behind it. You know, and I love the fact that there's this is something that goes across the board. You know, this is not about any particular expression of faith or whatever it's actually it's. It's, it's a reality of life. But let me ask you this Can you think of someone or remember a situation? You've talked about your wife and the growth with your wife, but can you, can, can you think of something or someone that you, or something that you went through, that now, looking back, you, you know yourself better. Because of it, you have grown as a person. Because of it, does anything come, comes up for you?

Speaker 2: 42:18

A lot of things that I think the interesting thing as being an artist is that there's this, a really just the modern culture, the modern world, with all the Facebook and everything, is that there's so much documentation of our past selves, and so, as an artist, I see parts of my journey mapped out in, like my records or thing to these different phases of my life, which are marked by some songs and stuff. I went through a I don't even really like talking about this a ton because it gets highlighted, but I went through a phase where there were like potential record label situations, which is all going on. I had a doc audition for a Mac and Idol, and that was part of it. It wasn't a full story of it, but this is all going on. I was still in college, last semester of college, getting ready to graduate, getting ready to put out my first, my first CD that I had been working on, and when I think back to that phase of myself, I'm aware of how, of all the immaturities you know as a young artist, a little bit of probably like naive pride or confidence. I'm grateful, though, for part of myself that had some bit of like integrity to look at this situation and to weigh it. And I'm especially grateful for the mentors in my life who were around me during that time and I'm grateful that I reached out to them, because sometimes I think we hesitate to seek help and to seek wisdom. And so I remember sending this big email chain to, like you know, a dozen or more people like my parents and different mentors and teachers, and talking about this situation and like, hey, I want to help, I need help to figure out what to do, and here's what I'm weighing and all of this, and I'm sure I just rambled away from the question, but I don't know.

Speaker 2: 44:51

Thinking about to the past and like gratitude and also like, like I said, there's a part of me that's grateful for something that was in myself back then. I'm grateful for that and I'm also now grateful that, like moments like that led me on a on the path that that it did, because there was this naivety, was this pride there was a lot of. I really didn't know myself very well back then and when I look back in those even the moments that led me to that, like doing the American, I was saying, even doing that when I look at myself now, I'm like what was I thinking why would you do that? Why would you do that? You're like you're. You don't love that. You love like writing songs and the artistry Like. That is not, that is not in your path, that is not like this thing, that that you want or the even that you prioritize right, that you, that you're choosing to prioritize and gosh it's like it could have been.

Speaker 2: 45:59

Like I think I was a blessing that I avoided a lot of the things that can really consume young artists in a devouring way, like that fame, fortune, like obsession and everything, and so I, yeah, I guess I'm grateful that moments like that they kind of part of it was my own choice and then part of it like wasn't totally my own choice with that situation. So I'm I'm like grateful that it pushed me down this path of basically after that this is probably about a month or two of me, you know, getting out of that idle thing and then there was this other label thing that fell through. So there's a couple months of my life that everything was up in the air and I just graduated college and right on the other side of that, I had nothing to. I was out of college, I had like a pretty cheap rent, because of where I you know, the college house of like seven guys I was living in. I didn't have any tour dates planned. I had just finished this CD but I didn't like promote it because I wasn't sure what was going to be happening with this whole other situation so like.

Speaker 2: 47:19

But I'm so grateful to have started that way, to started where I'm like, okay, sort of just wide eyed, like here I go. I guess I got to, you know, ask people for help. I guess I got to try to ask friends if I can play at their houses, just to have something to do. I'm rambling, but I don't know. It's like a journey of self, a journey of self realization of like who I am as an artist that took all those little moments.

Speaker 1: 47:48

So let's, let's, let's spend some time with that, because I think it's fascinating. And, of course, one of my questions is what were the things that help you grow and whatnot? And so, rather than asking that, let's just spend some time with this, this conversation that we have right now, which is, you know, you have to learn to know yourself, yes, and, and so what happened, what? What did that look like for you, for example? And I want to, I want to let you talk, because I can't wait to bring something up for this conversation, but I, honestly, I just I'm just curious. What helped you get to know yourself?

Speaker 1: 48:27

For me, similar to you, failure and difficult moments were the ones that put me in a place that I had to really reevaluate myself, and and, and I was able to access that understanding through meditation, through difficult conversations, through moments of just really do some soul searching, and, and I can imagine what it was like for you, because I remember what it was to be 23, 25 year olds, 25 years old, and, and really wanting to pursue something. But I mean, at least in my case, it was fear, and I never gave myself permission to do certain things. However, here you are and you're just, you know, just shooting at different opportunities to see what happens. But there's a lot of uncertainty and and and, and I am convinced that those young years of you know you, know your teenager and not to. I want to say your twenties are for that. Your twenties are just to try to figure out life, because you, in a way, don't have a whole lot to lose, right? You can always get back up again and do it.

Speaker 1: 49:38

The older you get, there's another situation that happens. That makes it a little harder. But here you are, you're trying to figure out the situation with record labels. You are experiencing what many musicians experience, which is, you know, am I likeable, am I accepted? And and that gets into your head and then you start doubting yourself. And then you and so that can get you to a place of of your ego, but in a really negative way, because you're doing things out of insecurity rather than things because you're challenging the creativity and the energy in your heart. I mean, this goes on and on and on. But what helped you, or who were the people right that helped you really figure out and discover San Bertil and what's the essence of Sam?

Speaker 2: 50:23

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean, like I resonate when you're talking about like the. It's the struggle that makes you really realize who you are, and like the adversity which comes in a million different packages, right, like I had a pretty stable upbringing. I was really lucky. My parents sacrificed a lot for that. They, my mom, came from a pretty broken family and I think that motivated her to like do everything she could to to prevent that. And so, yeah, you know, I think that the 20s for me, like the adversity sort of came in this, like I'm throwing myself at this pursuit of music and the career of it and the amount, the amount of failures which and I still, even today it's it's almost like constant failure, because because you're constantly pushing something to be more and every time it's less than your expectations. It's sort of like at least perceives as a failure, like whether it's, I don't know, like the Hatties time to drive 12 hours to play some show, because I'm just again naive and like trying, you know, and there's three people, three people in Chicago, and like, but what a beautiful moment if you're present to think about one, like what am I doing? Why am I doing it? What really matters, and to kind of and that so. So to answer your question, like there's thousands of little moments like that that I feel like at least looking back, I had to go through all of those failures and the struggle of it to look in myself and find more of who I am. And and I go back to my wife here because I, you know, I did bring her up like I think she's one of the people in my life that, from an artistic standpoint, like I was making music and doing this thing and like and trying to find myself who am, who is Sam Brashe. I do all these different sounds. I certainly love to song, write and to think deeply about things and to connect with people, but I don't know, we kind of pushed each other both to like what are we making music for? And I really thought about it and was present and meditative and and kind of got to this.

Speaker 2: 53:26

Well, when I think about what is most important, which is sort of like the ultimate gratitude thing we just mentioned, is the realization of our own mortality. It sounds a little bit morbid, it sounds a little bit like, yeah, right, so it's like the realization of our own mortality, like what that actually does is it keeps you humble, grateful present. And then I think that's also tied into this connection to nature. I was finding that in my songs, naturally like this connection to nature. I thought about that as well. What is nature? What does this mean for me? And there's an element that, like nature is, is like the divine right, it's like it really is this reflection of miracle. And so that connection to our mortality is also like a connection to nature and to each other. Because recognition that we die, we our bodies decompose and the circle of life, right, the Lion King, but like that's like you know the kid version, but it's again buried, my neighbor's dog, and like to see that really, like this animal just died and is in this hole, like that's, it's morbid, it's grotesque and all that, but it's all inspiring, it's, it's if you can really be present with it. I do think it it does something special and I, my wife, was the one that I was looking to make my next record.

Speaker 2: 55:07

This is my record, graveyard flower. It has a big skeleton Holding, holding a like, going up to the heart with the flower, the graveyard flower. Because she was like the reason that record happened, because we're thinking about like what is important, like and I'm like who am I as an artist? I've done this, I've done this.

Speaker 2: 55:25

Sometimes, when I play shows, I don't feel like I'm myself, like I'm, you know, playing these songs that are like people pleasing you know, like I'm. I'm doing all these things, that the motivation back in my head is like oh, I want to be. I jumped through different genres, I did my first album is like there's folk stuff, there's kind of funky, there's some R&B, jazzy stuff, there's, like you know, acoustic music, and I just felt like that this whole time I was trying to be something else. And when she really pushed me on, like what's worth saying as an artist, and that record kind of came together and it's and the cool thing about that is like I believe so much the heart of that music that I can be on stage and perform and sing it, and it's the songs themselves like remind me of who I am.

Speaker 2: 56:29

You know Right, right right and yeah, I don't know like she really was that push to like think about that After all these failures and all these things. And again, I still experienced it as I talked to my good friend, colin, who plays drums with me just the other week, like you know, you have a bad show. You have a bad show where not a lot of people come out, you know, not a lot of money is made, and you're like I'm away from my wife and family, like that thought of, like what am I doing? And then, literally the next night or two nights later was I talked to this couple who said, hey, we really had to. We listened twice, like we listened to your song, and we came back to them. We realized there's this deep spiritual thing underneath it all. We just wanted to say how important that is to us, how much it resonates with us, like it resonates with our family, our kids, like it resonates with them and like to have you know it goes back to back. You're like, wow, I was lost. I hit this adversity, I hit this. Like what am I even doing and why? And then the next night it's like all the motivation, all the goodness, and it again it cuts away.

Speaker 2: 57:51

I think the crap that needs to die because I'm realizing, oh, the part of me that's trying to be a people pleaser and like have a good show.

Speaker 2: 57:59

Even the part of me that's trying to like focus too much on just like the financial, like, oh well, did we make enough money, we get enough tickets? Logistics, logistics, like those things can take a backseat to some degree to this bigger like meaning and purpose and like that pulls that out of me. Like it pulls like, oh yeah, like Sam Burj Fasen artist is not the like people pleaser person that's just trying to like whatever, do different things to make the show fun. It's like there's some deep truth I'm trying to share and communicate. And just like in conversations I love to talk about this kind of stuff, like we're talking about it's what I crave in like normal, just day to day conversations. So like, yeah, as an artist, that's what I want to put out there and that's what's meaningful and true and purposeful. And so, yeah, I don't know, it's just like cutting away that stuff is like, ultimately, the realization of more who I am.

Speaker 1: 59:04

You know, thank you so much for sharing. I love that this episode has stuck with this idea of life and dying, just because if there's one thing so here it is. Sam, you have been part of my journey of dying and being reborn into something new, all right, and so, you know, I think this is the perfect time to share this story. I love, love, love. How you are allowing yourself to be in touch with us, with this reality of life and this realization of the finitude of life is just pushing you. It's pushing you to be present. It's pushing you to be the best artist that you can. It's pushing you to grow financially and as a business person and a visionary. It's pushing you right, and I've heard time and time and time again that from different spiritual traditions that you know, at the end of the day, we're here to learn and our teacher is the journey, you know, and so we have our own lessons to learn and our egos and our identities have their own process that they have to go through to shed certain things in order to discover the beauty that lies within us, right and so accessing that. I've discovered over the years that when I put resistance to it, not only the process and the journey. It's hard and harder, but ultimately I am the one losing. I am missing out on an opportunity to see myself in a new light, to be free from certain things, because we don't realize how beautiful of a feeling it is to freaking, let go of things, to let go of things that we thought that were gonna give us happiness, to let go of things and ideas that were gonna give us identity and sense of meaning, but when we're willing to just realize that perhaps what I was, what we are holding on to, is something that really don't have that much weight. And so here it is. You and Zach represent a moment in my life when I had to learn to die. I had to learn to die to the image that I have embraced. The image, the identity that I felt like gave me an identity over the years, which was the fact that, well, I always wanted to be a musician. I have not been able to figure out how to do it on my own on a regular basis, yet I have this beautiful gift that every summer, I go to this conference center and I'm given the opportunity to channel this gift, this energy, this passion, and for years it became what I live for. You know, I went to seminary, I became a pastor and this and that, but I was looking forward for every summer to go to Montrey and for them to call me and for me to write a theme song and for me to have my five minutes of glory, because it gave me so much energy you said it to have a thousand kids, 2,000 kids, singing songs with you. That was so powerful and, yes, it was an element of me, of my ego, that was inflated. But there's also another aspect of me that was truly. It was truly my passion. And here I am. I've done it. I don't know. The truth is I started doing it in early 2000 and I stopped around 2014 or so. You know that's a long time. You know Many years that this community at Montrey were so affirming and so supportive of me.

Speaker 1: 1:02:51

They gave me a chance when I was still living in Puerto Rico. They flew me and year after year, and then I was living in the States, but they keep bringing me and so we really built my identity and they built my ego. And that's the thing I know. I'm not being called to go back again. I'm seeing this new folks coming into the picture and it was the two of you guys and a part of me was dying. Sam, a part of me felt like I was dying, but guess what? I had to lean in and I remember talking to my wife and saying babe, you know what I'm struggling with this. You know I have this feeling of abandonment. You know, I understand and I always knew what was going on. And, honestly, sam, I was so happy for you guys, because I know what it was like to be for you guys, that I know what it was like to go through the door that were being open for you guys, and so, you know, having the experience of working in the environment that you and I were working, which was an environment that was full of love, full of the mission behind it was to awaken people's hearts and minds. You know what I mean. And so I knew. I knew that I was entering to a stage of life that, you know, things do change and new people have to come in, and it was you guys. And the truth is that I am so thankful.

Speaker 1: 1:04:18

But I wanted to have an opportunity to share this with you because you know you said that you probably looked up to me. I actually look up to both of you. You know, you and Zach have decided to pursue certain things in life, and if there's one thing I have admired in people is when they when there are truths to that inner voice within them that keeps guiding them. But until I, in my case, until I gave myself permission to really accept the fact that this was a moment of transition and that certain things have to die in order for other things to grow and to come anew, I would have missed out on that, you know, and so I wanna share the fact that it was a moment of sadness and of grief, because I was saying goodbye to an aspect that I felt like it was the most important aspect of my identity.

Speaker 1: 1:05:16

You know and I wanna bring back what you said earlier, and I love that you started with that that music is the one thing that you're also willing to let go and just to drop it, because if you love it enough, you're willing to let it go. And I understand when you say that. Now I'm 42 years old, I feel like I can understand that better, because, yes, when you love something and in this case it can be yourself, and there's nothing wrong with being selfish, right, but to love yourself. When you love yourself enough, you know that new things are gonna come up, new opportunities are gonna come up and you have an opportunity to grow into something that you never expected. So I'm thankful for you, and I'm thankful for Zach, and I'm thankful for Montrini. I'm thankful for all the friends that, over the years, gave us opportunities to put ourselves out there and to share our gifts with them. But in this case, I'm thankful for you because you represent for me an acceptance of learning how to let go in order to receive new things. So I want you to know that from me. I wanted to take this time to say it, because I'm thankful for what you've done and I'm so happy to see what you have done. Over the years, I have seen an artist that has grown exponentially.

Speaker 1: 1:06:34

Sam, I've been part of my homework was to listen to all of your records. Okay, cool, yeah, I wanted to be prepared, right. And so, guys, if you have not checked out Sam Birchfield, please do so. Go to Spotify, go to Apple Music, go to what's the other platform I'm blanking out? Hold on title, go to anywhere. Check him out. What he has done over the years is incredible, I must say, sam, my favorite album is the last one.

Speaker 1: 1:07:05

There's something about your sound, there's something I feel like you have landed into an aspect or a momentum in your career that is very true to who you are. I love the sound, I love the lyrics, I love what you're doing with the records and it's powerful to see because for me, I understood that well, maybe I'm not gonna be this rock star kind of thing, right and audience, please don't think I'm crazy, but any creative person longs to receive a few moments of attention and feel like you're challenging something cool. Right. But I can assure you and if you're an artist, you know this is true you rejoice in the growth of your peers and for me there's nothing more beautiful than to see people that I've seen them grow over the years and see how they perfect their skills and then they become a blessing for all the people. And you, sam, embodies that to the team, my friend.

Speaker 1: 1:07:59

Okay, love it, love it, love it, love it. I love the new album, my favorite song Scrounded. What you've done with that song, it's phenomenal. I love the satire, I love the humor, I love the instrumentation, I love the arrangements.

Speaker 2: 1:08:16

Such great things, man, such great things and I really do appreciate it. You know you're really pumped for me, but I don't know. I guess it's like I hope it means a lot for you to say those things, because I'm hoping that I'm always being present, being grateful and in that presence like checking where my compass is pointed.

Speaker 1: 1:08:47

You know what I mean.

Speaker 2: 1:08:48

And so to have friends and people come around and say, hey, I've seen you go from this place to this place and not even like in quote, unquote success or career things, but like in, like I said, yeah, more of who you are, and like for you to say those things that you see that in a journey is really special, because I certainly don't have it figured out and I'm constantly like realizing that and realizing things. I need to, you know, recheck. So I mean this has been an awesome conversation. Just for that, just for the reminder of what I say is my priorities right? Like again, it's like there's a difference between saying things and putting things out there and then, like that day-to-day practice of it's like gosh, well, there's a lot of days I'm not present and I'm not mindful and grateful, and this is such a good reminder to be that and to accept that yeah, there's a lot of changes of life and not a whole bunch of things so tightly.

Speaker 1: 1:10:03

So what do you do in order to connect with yourself? What do you do in order to boom, realign yourself? Is it cooking, is it going for a run? Is it spending? Is it journaling? What do you do in order to find inspiration? What do you do in order to connect with that still small voice within you that becomes your north?

Speaker 2: 1:10:23

I think I definitely discernment dialogue. I don't know, there's something about present conversation One. I yearn for that, I think, because it forces me to really think about things and be present with them and it's sort of that whole. I think there's something about when you really have learned something, you can teach someone else. That's an evidence that you truly learned something. So I think sometimes those conversations are these moments of when you're talking about something real with your friend. They're going through something you might try to have some insight to that. You're going through something they might have some insight. And there's this back and forth thing that if it's done well, you're uncovering this, getting to the root of a truth or something.

Speaker 2: 1:11:16

So, definitely dialogues like that which, again, my wife, a great person to help with that and yeah, very much in the physical way, like getting outside, stepping away from music, honestly, like I've been working on a little building, a studio, like a shed, but like, so, like a separate structure, and I've been going out there and like framed this building out and like put the rafters up, like things I haven't really done much of, but like doing something with my hands. It's almost meditative because I'm setting the work aspect of my life aside for a little bit, like I'm not doing emails and worrying about career, finance and stuff. I'm just in this task Same thing as like going for a hike. We'll do the same thing for me. Where I'm doing something that takes some amount of focus, have to put my next foot forward, but in that focus you almost find freedom, in a meditative way, to be present.

Speaker 2: 1:12:24

So yeah, and I think that's again goes back to that being connected to nature, which connects us to our mortality and our presentness. So like, going on a hike or being outdoors or being outside working on something simple, like does that in a way for me, because I know that the screen we all know this but like the screen time you need to do an emails or me trying to post stuff to promote shows, like I know that does the opposite. I know that it just clouds my head and like distracts me and and all the negative things. So like definitely have to actively prevent that by getting outside and getting deep.

Speaker 1: 1:13:13

Thank you, thank you, I love you know. No, what's interesting is that, yes, we all have different ways to connect with ourselves, right With the true essence of who we are. You know, some spiritual teachers call it the true self, others can call it your true essence, your heart. My goal in having you, I, very selfishly, I wanted to share what I share with you, which is you became a teacher, you and Zach became teachers for me and I'm thankful for that opportunity and I'm thankful that I finally had an opportunity to share that with you personally. The other goal is to share with other people and with our audience who you are, what you get to do, and to share and sort of like pumped them, pumped them about you, because I feel like what you got going on right there it's incredible, but it's. Ultimately, this whole podcast is to create a space to bring people that have been part of my life and that I'm grateful for them and I'm grateful for you. I'm grateful for what you represent in my life.

Speaker 1: 1:14:20

I'm grateful for the things that we shared, even though we don't necessarily have really worked a whole lot music wise, even though we have done music. We don't. We do music, but we don't necessarily have worked together creating music per se. I do know that you have a beautiful energy. I see it, I sense it and I'm grateful. I love to see what's going on with you and your wife and your baby son. It's phenomenal. But I want to ask you something, because I want to bring this to some sort of closing what is a special quote or figure that has inspired you lately and that right now you feel like you know these words can continue to bring true and continue to pop up for you and sort of I give you the push that you need to move forward?

Speaker 2: 1:15:16

One quote that I really pulled from early on let me just bounce off of this and see where my mind wanders which my music business teacher told us. This that his dad told him is don't give yourself a fallback plan or you'll fall back on it, which is can be awful advice in a way. So I think like the spirit of that advice is not go be risky and go don't plan. I think what it meant for me, and what it still means to me today, is if you have a gut feeling and you're not listening to it and you're afraid of it, or you're running from it or whatever number of things are causing you to not adhere to that, and this can go from the smallest moment like this literally ran through my head today I'm taking out the trash. I was like, oh, you take the trash out while you got. I'm like, yep, back the trash up and I am getting ready to go out and the thought comes to me oh, I should go ahead and put the new trash bag in the trash can, so that you know my wife has to do it. She might open the trash can and throw it away and it's not there and it's just a whole thing to deal with and a little part of me said, ah, I'll do that later, like, don't do it right now.

Speaker 2: 1:17:01

But my gut was, I just thought of that I should do that now. If I put that off, you know like why would I put that off? If I'm, this is clearly a good thing to do. So that's like the smallest moment. And then on the big moment is like that thought I had of I should really pursue music, like I really I should really do this, I should really put this record out. There's all the things that are saying yeah, but so this is the way that the quote says don't give yourself a fallback plan or you'll fall back on it. And I think that's almost like don't give yourself an excuse, because I would come up early on with excuses for why I shouldn't do the next thing that I really should do.

Speaker 2: 1:17:44

Like I don't want to put this album out yet because all the song I need to get someone better to record it. I need to go to a fancy studio, like. Like I'm not ready to do that yet. I need to write more songs. I need to do this. And there's something freeing, in the same way that you talk about, like accepting maybe a change, or like taking the next step. There's something freeing in just taking the next step with and like ignoring those excuses and reasons, because then you're in a new moment to be present and to like, you're getting more information now about what the next step should be, whereas if you never take that step and you're sort of observing it from afar, maybe trying to build up all the things, all the securities that we think we need, to make that step or all the excuses to not do that thing, even like taking the trash bag and put it in there.

Speaker 2: 1:18:43

It's like you're never then, in the next present moment, and you, you know whether, if it's a bunch of excuses, you're like you're preventing yourself from discovering more about yourself by stepping into the next thing. And yeah, I don't know that that is something I think. I always bring that quote up because it kicked me in the pants In that moment when he said that I instantly was like wow, there's all these things I'm putting off, and it's not like I had a fallback plan, but it's like I had these reasons to not do it. Like I was like I don't want to create a website yet because you have to pay $10 a month for that and I should wait till I'm have albums out to do that, and but I'm not going to put an album out until I have, you know this many songs written and I'm not going to do this to this. So I'm basically like all right, so I'm just going to stay here. But then, when he said that, I said I was like dang well, let me do whatever I can do now to step into this.

Speaker 2: 1:20:00

That gut feeling that thing of like I'm doing this, you know, so I'm going to, and you know what that that also goes for for, like marriage. I think I see a lot of young people with hesitation and excuses and when I met my wife, I was head over heels and I was just like this needs to happen. And I think a lot of people would take that cautious, like well, let's play it out, let me see if I meet someone over here or this, and something about just stepping into it and not looking back and saying, no, this is who it is. I'm jumping in, like no, turning back, I don't know. I think that that would be what's.

Speaker 1: 1:20:43

It's important. I think you so much. Thank you so much because those that's a wonderful thing to share with our audience and audience. I hope that you heard that you know, don't, don't, don't, just don't, have a fall of black, fall back plan. Just go ahead and do it. Just go ahead and do it. I'm so glad you share that because that's how I feel about this podcast. I can. I've had plenty of excuses over the years of why I should wait or I should. It's just the right moment is going to come. No, just do it.

Speaker 1: 1:21:15

Just do it. Do it and put the content out, allow for people to grow with you. And you know we're all learning and and this podcast is a process for that too and I hope that if you're listening, that you give yourself permission to to love yourself enough to to really believe in yourself. Because whatever that gut feeling like like Sam, like what you're saying that still small voice or gut feeling is there for a reason and chances are that you know what I've learned over the years is that on the other side of fear, there are magical things awaiting for us you know, and and and guess what, if we want to say it in a in a less colloquial way, you have an adventure to tell.

Speaker 1: 1:21:56

You know you have an adventure to tell because you believe in yourself and even if you fail you, you learn something. So, um, I always like to ask our guests who do they think should be a future guest here on the podcast. So now it's your turn to answer that question, sam. Who do you think will be a good, a good guest to join us in this journey? Talks adventure.

Speaker 2: 1:22:18

I think to fill out this story, I think you should have Zach uh light wells now, zach light wells, come on, let's do it. I mean, what a cool to go from our conversations about my treat and then he and I his journey together, and then it splits off and he you know he's worse be there in Dallas. It's a cool, uh, I think, piece of that story and and uh, I'm certainly grateful for him. So if we're going to follow the gratitude train, uh, it might lead to Zach light wells, let's do it.

Speaker 1: 1:22:51

Well, zach, you hear that we're going to. I'm going to invite you to be in this podcast and I look forward to having that conversation. Friends, this has been incredible. Sam, you are incredible. Thank you so much for giving me of your time and for sharing your story with me stories of gratitude. Thank you for opening your heart and your mind about things that have really pushed you and expanded your heart and your consciousness. I hope that you our audience have received an opportunity to do the same. This has been another episode of journey talks podcast and I look forward to seeing you and connecting with you on our next episode. Thank you so much and take care. Thank you for listening. Make sure you like, follow and subscribe to our podcast, share your feedback, hit that notification bell and let's keep the conversation going.