The Mic'd Up & Motivated Podcast
The Mic'd Up & Motivated Podcast features insightful and intriguing interviews with passionate professionals from around the globe who empower young people, impact lives, and create positive change in schools, organizations, and communities. Hosted by international youth motivational speaker Jason A. Dixon, the Podcast dives deeper into current affairs and contemporary topics affecting today's young people while sparking meaningful conversations and providing practical advice, strategies, and valuable insights to help grow your ability to engage young people and the adults in their lives more effectively. Join us each month for a new episode full of candor, authentic back-and-forths, and moments of honesty. Get ready to be educated, entertained, and equipped to keep moving forward, making a difference, and elevating yourself personally and professionally.
The Mic'd Up & Motivated Podcast
Redefining Success: Tony Branch on Mentorship, Emotional Vulnerability, and Inspiring Change
Discover the transformative insights of Tony Branch, a distinguished author and motivational speaker from New York City, who joins us to illuminate the challenges and triumphs of his journey. Tony's narrative explores the shifting landscape of motivational speaking, particularly for young Black men, and the pressing societal expectations they navigate. Through his anecdotes, Tony inspires us to rethink success, urging everyone to pursue excellence in their unique paths and set positive examples for the next generation while redefining what success means beyond wealth.
Tony and I engage in a heartfelt conversation about the importance of emotional vulnerability, especially for men who have been taught to perceive it as a weakness. We stress the necessity of owning one's story and embracing genuine emotional expression as a powerful tool for connection and prevention. Drawing on personal experiences, Tony highlights the life-changing impact of mentorship and emotional openness, advocating for a cultural shift that values men's emotional lives and fosters a legacy of inspiration and mentorship.
Our dialogue also takes a reflective turn as we explore Tony's journey from the streets of New York City to a successful career in the military and beyond. His commitment to service—whether through helping orphanages in the Philippines or mentoring young athletes—demonstrates the profound impact of giving back to the community. As we wrap up, Tony shares lessons learned from influential mentors, the power of gratitude, and the importance of leaving a lasting legacy. This episode promises to challenge your perceptions and motivate you to recognize your potential to inspire change within your community.
Only one Michael Jordan. You know you can try to be like Mike, but it's only one. Be the best that you can and become a trendsetter and hopefully you inspire younger people to. I always tell my young people, even tell my daughters. I was just in Virginia Beach a few days ago. Virginia Beach, virginia, in Norfolk, at the SEAL team base and seeing some old military friends of mine, I would just say, yo man, I'm just trying to do the best I can. I said I don't know what I'm going to be when I grow up and I just turned 64, so I used that as a metaphor and a joke. I just tell them that you know, be the best that you can and do something positive, because karma will come back around. You will reap what you sow.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Mic'd Up and Motivated Podcast, where we interview passionate professionals who empower young people, impact lives and create positive change in schools, organizations and communities.
Speaker 3:Everybody in here has a talent and you have a gift and you were given that gift so that you can go change the world. Giving that gift so that you can go change the world. Welcome to the Mic'd Up and Motivated podcast. I'm your host, jason A Dixon, and I'm excited for today's episode. We have a special guest, mr Tony Branch, who is an author and motivational speaker who hails from Manhattan, new York, and was born or raised in the Bronx, new York City. Coach, tony, it's a pleasure to have you. How are you doing today, sir?
Speaker 1:I'm doing great, brother Jason, it's great to be a part of your podcast, man. Trust me, I'm a fan from a distance, man, and I really like anyone who do what you do, man. So thank you for having me, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3:I know we as the case with a lot of people. I bring on a podcast. I've been a fan and an admirer of yours through social media, just following you and watching you do certain things, and I don't know if a lot of people know, but when you're in the public speaking space or you're doing any type of coaching or mentorship, it's a small circle. I know it kind of seems saturated, but it really is a small circle when you grab hold to certain people and you see what they're doing and you're following them and I just want to commend you on all the work that you've been doing and all the things that you. I really have learned a lot from you in passing, so I just want to appreciate and say thank you for all you're doing right now.
Speaker 1:Oh, thank you man. That's very humbling man. I'm kind of glad that people see me and I have a voice, because when we was younger and just being not to make it a racial type thing being young black men in America, sometimes people don't want to hear what we got to say.
Speaker 3:That's the reality of it. I love that. You said that let's start right there, right now. So you've been in the game for a while, you know and talk a little bit about what you're doing now and how you've seen the landscape change over the years that you've been in the game.
Speaker 1:Well, brother Jason, of course I'm glad you said that, because things change. I notice things change every five to ten years. Just like clothes, something that's in fashion then goes out of fashion. But just like a great renaissance, a lot of things come back. A great renaissance A lot of things come back. I just think our young men have lost their way because they got caught up into the status quo of what they think society expects of them. Everybody think us as men again, since we're both Black men. I'm going to focus on that because it's easy to speak what I know and I live.
Speaker 1:If you're a certain size, they expect you to play sports, to get out the hood or to take care of your family, but it's very rarely. Everybody want to go to the league, whatever that league is NBA, nfl, major League, baseball but how many times you see anybody like you? Know what? I want to be the best doctor. I want to be the best gym teacher. I want to be the best.
Speaker 1:I just tell young people, or people in general be the best that you can. It's only one Michael Jordan. You know you can try to be like Mike, but it's only one. Be the best that you can and become a trendsetter and hopefully you inspire younger people to. I always tell my young people and even tell my daughters. I was just in Virginia beach a few days ago Virginia beach, virginia and Norfolk at the SEAL team base and seeing some old military friends of mine, I would just say young man, I'm just trying to do the best I can. I said I don't know what I'm going to be when I grow up and I just turned 64. So I use that as a metaphor and a joke. I just tell them that you know, be the best that you can and do something positive, because karma will come back around. You will reap what you sow. If you sow negativity, negativity will come back to you and vice versa with positivity.
Speaker 3:Right yeah.
Speaker 3:I love that. I love that People say this to me and again I see it in you. When the moment people are in my presence and they feel my energy, they're like man. You are so inspiring and so motivational and I I says the same thing from you. That's the inspiration and the motivation is just dropping jewels and I love it. And I love what you said about how it's almost this predetermined path that in our community, in our Black community, where it feels like especially our young men, they can only make it if they can bounce a ball, throw a ball, sing a song, rap a lyric. So that resonated with me. Where do you think that comes from?
Speaker 1:I just think we get. Now. This is my own. Like I said, I always tell people when they say, well, you're an expert. No, I talk to a lot of kids and remember we used to be kids and because I came from a single mother, no man in the house so I have a different perspective. I wish I had a father. I wish my mother didn't even ever see me play high school football, even though I was all in the papers in New York City and the Bronx. But I just see that society and sometimes we put it on ourselves. Everybody wanted to be something and everybody assumes something.
Speaker 1:Being me meaning rich and rich does not always have to be monetarily. I'm rich with health. I'm rich with friends. You make me rich. Me being on the show makes me rich because it gives me another platform and it gives me another. It's just like an octopus. I can my tentacles, I can spread them right.
Speaker 1:I tell people stop thinking that you have to be wealthy and have to have a name to be rich. Now watch this when people meet you and when I first saw you before, we became parents of each other on these social websites. When I first saw you before, we became a parent to each other on these social websites. When I watched you on one of your videos, I think, on LinkedIn, I'm like man, this guy's powerful, and I was watching how you interact with the kids and I always tell people in the first minute you make an impression, right, whether it's positive or negative.
Speaker 1:They're going to say, oh my god, that dude, jason is something else positive or he called a negative one. God damn, here come jason again. I don't want him to talk to me about that positive stuff, right? So what I tried to do or hope that we we tried to do, because we both doing the same thing, for lack of a better term is we grabbed them, we touched their souls, we made them think Because, like you said, I ain't never met a drug dealer who had a retirement plan. Only two things are going to happen to a drug dealer You're going to get killed or you're going to do 25 to life in prison. So I get why they look at Michael Jordan stuff because they see the glitz and the glamour, the fancy cars, the sneaker deals, the Giorgio Armani $10,000, $5,000 suits.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But you know what, If I put on a $300 suit and I coordinate it right, I look just as good as them. Now I may not have the fame or fortune, but you got to understand I can affect my community because my community sees me. Michael Jordan unless you went back in the day you went to a ball games or, like me, I was blessed to hang out with him in Vegas for like two days at an event that only people can go to if they paid $50,000. At an event that only people can go to if they paid $50,000. I was blessed with that event by the secret millionaire that the show was on, Mr James Malachick. But again, that's like a pipe dream. A lot of people is not going to meet Michael Jordan. A lot of people are not going to meet Michael Jordan. But guess what? They could be Jason A Dixon. They could be Coach Tony Branch, Because what primetime say at the University of Colorado, we ain't hard to find.
Speaker 3:All right, yeah, I love that. I love that, and that's so true because I tell a lot of people like you don't ever take for granted the power and presence that you have in somebody else's life. You may be their Michael Jordan or their LeBron James or that superstar that they aspire to be or look up to. You may be that person for them, and so I always encourage people, especially our young men, to be that person that you know, the person that you're mentoring is looking up to or aspiring to be, because you have the same power and presence and, like you said, you may not have the platform, you may not be on TV, you may not be a millionaire, but you still have influence, and I think what you're saying speaks to that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we all have influence.
Speaker 1:We all have influence. Someone looks up to us. Like I say, if you was a teacher and you're my favorite teacher, oh my God man, I love doing my recess, going to hang out with Teacher Dixon in his class you know he served lunch and then when you meet him in the community, like I said once, I was blessed to have this platform. I guess I got the gift of gab. People say I don't know, but they always say it's people from New York City. We kind of talk it in and stuff like that. But I just like engaging people. They make me better because I can't engage them unless I find out something about them. And how can I do that? In the simplest form, it's called communication. We've got to talk. We've got to go back and forth? Yeah, Cause I can assume. But you know what they say about assuming you make it out of you and me.
Speaker 1:My thing is this, cause I've met a lot of people that I didn't think I was going to vibe with. Man, we text, we call each other at least three, four times a month, or three, 12 times a year, like you, or be tough times. Yeah, like you. Now that I'm connecting with you and I'm vibing with you. Like you said, I'm getting that positive vibe from you. Yo, you are my Rolodex brother.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that's how it's supposed to work, man. It's building healthy relationships. You know I love that. I got something for you, coach Tony. I love to take phrases or words, acronyms, and flip it around. So right, you said you have the gift of gab. Right? I've been told the same thing, and sometimes that has a negative connotation, right? So when we take that, the gift of gab G-A-A-B right, the gift of going above and beyond, the gift of gab is the gift of going above and beyond, right. So no longer is it just us having the ability to just blow hot air or just speak and talk and talk and talk, it's really a gift, it's an inherent gift that we have an ability to go above and beyond. Right, and we do that, we do that. It's, it's exemplified in all the work that we do. I'm sure I can go to places where you've spoken and you've impacted thousands of kids, of young people, teachers, adults, and in that situation I'm sure you had to go above and beyond to make that impact. To that, what do you say?
Speaker 1:I kind of agree with you because I see you like me. You're humble. I don't like when people talk about me because I'm like, oh, I'm not all that, but I guess I am all that. But for us to reach the people that we want to reach, we have to stay grounded, right? I think when I was on a show and when I was at a million-dollar party that ABC threw in Hollywood at the Hollywood Hilton, I got asked they said if you had a million dollars, what would you do? I said probably give it away. I'd probably buy me a newer car, stuff like that, because money don't make me or money don't define me.
Speaker 1:Money is just a means of getting more stuff. Okay, and like I say, you know I can play with the acronym or the spelling of stuff, but my thing is this I've known, or I know a lot of people is doing well financially, but they're not happy. They're not happy, brother, but like what Biggie Smalls say more money, more problems. Yeah, we love to have the material, the fancy cars, the yachts and private G20 jets and stuff like that Golf streams but do we really want their problems? Right? I tell people, no. I've been around people and I've seen people who got five lawyers. They're being sued because everybody think when you got a name or money, your money grab. Like, oh, if you bump me in the car I'll set my neck hurt. I ain't got no one on my neck, I just know Jason got some money and he's going to settle this out of court. So I always tell people you got to watch and you got to look at fame and fortune as relative. It's relative to your lifestyle. If you're all about money, then that's what it's about. I just think me and you are deeper than that and people that do what we do are serious about it. Because there's some speakers out there I hate to say they're money grabbers, they're into having a picture everywhere.
Speaker 1:Yes, we all use these social websites to get our platform out there and I was advised to do it because I used to hate it a couple of years ago. Now I find myself excuse me posting at least one or two times a day, but there's always something positive or something I want to make you think. Yeah, I always send stuff out there to make people think, but I just think that our gift should be shared. Anything, it ain't a gift unless you share it with someone. And I've got one motivational speaker I listen to and one I met said the same thing. He said anyone who has a gift, we must give it away. Right, we have to give it away, brother, because before you know it, where did you learn that from? Well, you know what?
Speaker 1:I was sitting in middle school one day and they brought in a speaker, mr Jason A Dixon, and I learned this from him. Just like I don't remember their name, but they'll remember you whether they remember your name. They can close their eyes like this. I can remember Ms Banks telling me when I was at DeWitt Clinton High School as a freshman I was a freshman in 1975. So I don't even know if he was born yet.
Speaker 1:So certain things people tell you that's going to touch your heart or touch your soul. You're going to remember and I'm a big reader of Shakespeare Baldwin, james Baldwin and I went to the same high school. I love that that. I'm an alumni with him, ernest High School in the Bronx. But I just think that we just have to. There's more than life just working, making money and then dying, right, who can we affect or effect, or affect in a positive way, and then that way, when me and you are long gone see our little disciples going out there teaching what we taught them years ago. Because even when we're gone, if we touch 100 kids out of every thousand that we talk to is when they touch 100 kids out of every thousand they talk to.
Speaker 3:Even though me and you long gone, see how our spirit, our journey kind of continue on because we sowed the seed, yeah, yeah, and left a legacy, yes, sir, and that's what it's all about, and I love that and I love how you and I just want to say this to anyone who's listening this is our first time actually speaking right, our first time actually talking.
Speaker 3:What I love about this, this work that we get to do, it's like you get to meet people and it's like it's the kindred spirit. You realize off the bat that, man, there's people out here who are doing the same thing that I'm doing and it rejuvenates you, it restores your hope. You know what I'm saying and this is something I see when it comes to our young people, especially our young boys, our boys and our young men. It's this hard, rough exterior, it's this anger, it's this bitterness, resentment toward the world that really stops them from being vulnerable and opening up like we are, and developing those relationships and embracing their fellow brother, their fellow man. How can we change that narrative? How can we break through that?
Speaker 1:Well, for one, we got to stop letting someone write our narrative. We have to write our own narrative Because in society, especially in America or, you know, in the hoods, whether it's in a good neighborhood or bad neighborhood being sensitive or conscious of self they think is weak. Conscious of self, they think is weak. So if they think is weak and remember especially a black man or man in general no one wants to be assumed to be weak, because weak means you would try to take advantage of me. So then you have that hardened exterior. Hardened exterior. But watch this Even the hardest criminal that's locked up somewhere, that's got life or possibly sitting on death row, they care about their mother. We all care about something, even though society try to say hardened criminals are sociopaths. But you know, the sociopaths got a mother and a grandmother that he loves. Now he may not like none of us, but he does have something. So we have to touch, we have to get them here in their chest. We got to get that heart. And it's okay to be vulnerable.
Speaker 1:I tell people I read this book one time. It's okay for men to cry in the dark or something. I may have messed up the title or something like that man remember? Uh, I used to be one of them. Guys, nobody gonna see me cry, man, when I see stuff, man, tear my eyes and stuff like that, because I've learned over the years that it's okay to not be okay yeah, okay emotionally or physically, but once we dry our eyes and then dust stuff off, how can I now because we're all going to give ourselves a pity party for at least five or ten minutes hopefully no more than a day but how do I get up and dust my stuff off and keep going forward? How do I keep marching? How do I just keep marching forward, and sometimes I ain't going to lie, I've been blessed to do it. I fell forward a lot of times.
Speaker 1:When people fail back and when people fall back and fail back, they don't know how to get up and then they get into that pity party phase and they just can't get themselves out of it. They start drinking, they start smoking, they start doing illegal drugs or they just give up on give up on life. I, just us guys, we got to let our young men know it's kind of hard to talk to someone in their 40s and 50s now, but even though we try, it's going to be hard to change them. We have to get them before they get 60 years old. Just because you cry in front of your friends, that don't make you a punk, that don't make you soft, that just make you human. You got emotions, it just makes us human, man. Yeah, we just got to let them know it's okay, it's okay and come from a sincere place with it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because they can tell. They can tell if it's real or fake. Oh, absolutely, they can tell if you're fake. Yeah, absolutely, I call it. I call it. I coined this term too late.
Speaker 1:tears For us men as men, too late tears for us men as men, too late tears and you know what I'm talking about.
Speaker 3:That, and I'll just share a personal example. The first time I ever saw my dad cry was at my grandmother's funeral his, his mom's funeral right. And so in our society, especially when it comes to us as men, like you said, we're not encouraged to encourage, encouraged to share emotion, to be vulnerable, right, but, like you said, we're all human and we're going to break down at some point. And too often we're encouraged to cry the too late tears, after the person has already died, after the judge has already sentenced the brother to 25 years in prison, after, after you're already in the handcuffs, in the backseat of the car.
Speaker 3:Right now, it's okay to cry those two late tears, right? We? We got to encourage our, our boys and our young men to cry before the, the trauma, before the drama happens, before before the tragedyvesty has taken place. Like, don't cry after the fact, cry before, because and I tell parents this all the time if their kids are out there gangbanging, doing drugs, not following instructions, coming home too late, I tell the parents, like, let them see you cry, because when they're laying there in that casket and you're crying over their dead body, they're not going to be able to see the impact Right. Those are too late tears. I tell parents all the time let your kids see you cry, because those tears can save their lives.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm going to quote you on that, if you don't mind. On my next post, which is going to be sometime tonight. My thing is this brother, you, man, you got me thinking up here, bro, you're right. Wow, that's deep, too late tears, man. But you're right, man, they're hard and this, that, but, like you said, when they're getting sentenced and they get thrown in the back of the police car, you're right.
Speaker 3:That's when the emotions come to us, yeah.
Speaker 1:We kind of man, desensitized to, yeah, to stuff. But again society got us thinking any man who's like me and you, we can sit there, shit, I can cry in front of you. I have no problem if something touches me that deeply, but that's the key thing. It has to touch them again, like I said, we got to, got to get that little organism, that little thing that's in the middle of their chest. We've got to touch their heart because if we feed into that misnomer or that fake, false sense of security, then they're going down that negative path. And you're right, they're going to probably be in somebody's cemetery or they're going to be in somebody's jail cell, probably doing 25 to life. So I totally agree. So I applaud you on that one.
Speaker 3:And too late tears my brother yeah.
Speaker 3:You're welcome. And, again, this is a collaborative effort, right, because you're going to have access to people that I'll never be able to reach in my life, you know. That's why I'm a big believer in teamwork and building others up and developing those, those connections, that network, you know, because, again, coach Tony is going to want to be able to reach people that I'll never ever have access to in my life, you know. And so when we, when we connect, when we're in each other's presence, how can we edify each other, how can we build each other up, how can we learn from each other? Right, so we can take that information and and pass it on to to our, like you said, our disciples are our crowd, our, our, uh, our people, you know yeah, I.
Speaker 1:I just like you said, we all have a. I'm going to put this like pitchers we two pitchers. You may throw a split-finger fastball and I swing at it and miss it all day, but my thing is trying to throw you off with curves and stuff like that Right right.
Speaker 1:The message, what is the mission or what is the message? To strike out the batter Right, you just use your form or expertise or what you do best, and I do this, but the message is still the same Right, we just use different. You throw the split finger.
Speaker 3:I throw the curve ball. Yeah, no, I love that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but our job is to get them out at the plate and don't give up no runs To try to hopefully secure a win for our team. I love it, yeah. So again, I love what you do, man. The next time I do something out here with some young people, man, like I said, when we go for a break we're going to talk. I may have you come out this way, man, and show you some love, bro, and let you bring that O-H-I-O here to the state of Indiana.
Speaker 1:Don't say that too loud, we big ten foes.
Speaker 3:Right, right, big ten foes.
Speaker 1:But yeah, let you bring your love, bring that brother Dixon, love out this way.
Speaker 3:I love that and you know, like I said I've been saying, this is a collaborative effort and the feeling is mutual and I love that. And, again, this has been a great first half and we're going to take a break and you're listening to the Mic'd Up and Motivated podcast and we'll be right back.
Speaker 2:You are listening to the Mic'd Up and Motivated podcast presented by Inspire to Reach Higher.
Speaker 3:Welcome back to the Mic'd Up and Motivated podcast. I'm your host, jason A Dixon, and we have been talking to a very special guest, coach Tony Branch, author and motivational speaker, for many, many years. And we have been talking to a very special guest, coach Tony Branch, author and motivational speaker, for many, many years, and we've been having a great conversation. Coach Tony, again, like I said before, I love our conversation and I really appreciate you just taking the time to be on this episode. Now I want to talk a little bit about your humble beginnings and how you overcame what you overcame to get where you are right now. So take us back, coach, and talk a little bit about, uh, your humble beginnings and how you overcame what you overcame to get where you are right now. So take us back, coach, and talk a little bit about that well, you know, growing up in new york city.
Speaker 1:You know I'm a child of the 60s and 70s. You know where um, things wasn't always as nice. You know, because of civil rights, and you know being called the n-word and uh, you know, because of civil rights, and you know being called the N-word, and you know I come from poverty, not dirt poor, but poor. You know, like I said, we was talking off camera during the break. You know I was a child of food stamps what you call EBT cards now and I just knew certain things and I'm watching my mother struggle EBT cards now and I just knew certain things and I watched my mother struggle. My mother was from the South and she actually dropped out of high school a couple of weeks into her freshman year and moved to New York City and lived at the YWCA and worked at the Garment District at basically 14, 14, 15 years old, so basically, uh, almost slave labor. They got paid not by the hour but by the parts that passed, so she did some sewing. My mother and uh and my family are excellent sowers and stuff like that. So I've grown up, watched, watching her struggle and I just knew certain things I was going to do and, like I said, when I finished playing high school football, I did with Clinton High School. Actually, when I was a senior, I think Tracy Morgan was a freshman the comedian so we went to the same school at the same time.
Speaker 1:I just knew that, getting out the city, I used to work with young people and I knew, because I didn't have a higher education, meaning a college education, I was going to go so far.
Speaker 1:So I ended up quitting my job and, believe it or not, I was on 125th Street near the Apollo Theater and I walked past the recruiting station. And I walked past the recruit station and I was talking to an Air Force guy because he kind of got my attention, because I wanted to talk to a Navy guy. But then again, you know, he's trying to recruit me, he's trying to do his job. And then when he had me come back to see him, he wasn't there and the Navy guy just swooped in and took me and I said you know what? I really wanted to talk to you in the first place? Yeah, the air force guy, but my math ass math scores wasn't that great to do what I wanted to do. I really wanted to be a sonar tech. I'm going to track some stuff, subs and stuff like that which, lo and behold, years ago I was in a p3 squadron, uh, for a year, uh, with stanley kurt burrell y'all know him as mc hammer we used to be the same squadron together, wow andron together.
Speaker 1:But over the years prior to that, before getting to that squadron, I'm a structural mechanic and started F4Js and stuff like that. But again, I just knew that I had to get out the city to grow, because living in a city and you got and it's sad that you got generations of people who never really had a job and I just think my mom let society beat her up and she stopped trying to get better. My mom got blind in one eye. I kind of knew later in life when my sister said you know, when mom talked to you she always got it. You know, mom is blind in one eye and I just, as a young kid, your mom is, your mom Right, and I just. But as I got older I noticed one of her eyes would drift and I'm like, oh my God, my sister Kim was right, but that just propelled me to just want more out of life. I didn't know how I was going to do it, brother Jason, I just knew, if I just keep chugging and chugging forward and just try to be a good person, I ain't going to lie.
Speaker 1:I was underage, drinking and, you know, doing stuff that people in the city do Never really was into drugs. You know I smoked a joint once or twice in my life but I was like, ah, you know, that wasn't my vice, I was an athlete. So I was always playing ball, football and stuff like that, and I did that in the military and the middle squad and also was able to also play by our air wing and our ship. And then, of course, I signed up playing in a league with the French pros over in France. Yeah, then you know, my career in the military just kind of took off a little bit and I decided you know what I got 9-10 years in. If I make it to 12, make it to 15, I might as well stay to 20 and that's how it went.
Speaker 1:But along the way, you know, I helped at orphanages. I was, you know, especially in the Philippines. The boat or the chaplain would always grab some of us and say, hey, man, let's go to these orphanages and do something to help build stuff. And you know they loved American candy, mr Goodboss. Our candies to them are sweet compared to today's stuff. Until I got to french yeah, french, and uh, you know it was kind of uh different. They sweetness, uh, uh, how they eat and stuff like that, uh, it's a little bit different. They palette is different, right. And then when I you know, when I got out, I just I just kept doing it, donating time and money, and and then, like you're saying, uh, abc was doing a show secret me, and then and uh, they got a hold of what I was doing by whatever channels and, um, and it was prompted very unique that I was kind of like, um, coach carter with girls remember the movie with yeah yeah, samuel jackson classic yeah and um, they decided to feature me on the show uh, again with mr james malachick.
Speaker 1:I owe him everything you know and he had me come out to vegas and meet some people, had me meet michael jordan and a couple other people and abc, did you know had me go to a meet. I never went to a millionaire party. I was tipping people. They said, no, don't, don't tip me, this is all. I was wondering why the guy keep bringing beers.
Speaker 1:I had two or three beers in front of me, but again coming from the hood and not being at millionaire type parties with Hollywood stars and athletes. That's why I first met Shaq as well, yeah, and stuff like that. But just calm again. I've been put around good people and they see the goodness in me and, like I said, I remember the first time a millionaire I ain't gonna say his name, but you probably ate at one of his restaurants he said hey, man, let's be Facebook friends. Can I get your number? I'm like what? Why you?
Speaker 1:want my number.
Speaker 3:I ain't nobody yeah.
Speaker 1:But, like you said, we all are somebody.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, and he just found.
Speaker 1:He found value in me and I found value in him. And we still Facebook friends today, stuff like that, and it's just that. And I've helped some kids go to college and help them get scholarships. You know I don't come out my pocket a good chunk of money, but it was all worth it. You know I used to be a manager at US Steel, one of the leading steel companies. Here Gary works. Yeah, they recruited me out to Navy, more or less because I didn't want to go to the airlines. I got tired of working on planes man. I didn't want to go to the airlines, I got tired of working on planes man. And you know I'm one of these people, when I get tired of something or get bored of something, I'm able to move on.
Speaker 3:Right right.
Speaker 1:I tucked a little money away, sold some stock and I just moved on and now I live a life of. You know, I kind of be tired early because I had some health issues issues, but, man, I still love engaging people. Yeah, I still love trying to mentor to young people, because that was something I didn't get. Yeah, so, of course, since I didn't get it and once I got a taste of it kind of like you, because something got you to get that bug as well and then now, just like you said, or I said before, once you have a gift, you can't share it with other people until you give it away. Right, yeah, and that's the life I live, man, a lot of people think I'm crazy, but then again these same people that thought I was crazy now want me to speak Because we're different, because I guarantee you, when you first start talking professionally or just doing it, because everything I do is not about money I give up a lot of my time and I know you do the same A lot of people think we was crazy, but now, when they feel us, like I said, once you touch someone's soul and their heart, then it kind of you know he ain't so crazy now.
Speaker 1:I didn't want my advice. Hey, man, I got some kids at middle school, can you come talk to them? Well, we don't have a budget? Hey, no problem, I'll be there next Friday, because I'm not a money grabber. Yeah, again, I'm not beating no speaker up or people who do what we do. I just think it's got to be more than just money. Right, and having my face on the front of someone's cover or on a marquee in front of a school, yeah, life is more than that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, on a marquee in front of a school. Life is more than that, yeah, and you can't put a price on a life. You can't put a price on impacting somebody's life or changing their mindset. You know, and I love, as I listen to your story and I hear about all the things that you've accomplished. I just think about. You used the word humble in the first half of our show and I can see the humility, but I can also see the gratitude and it just it pours out of you in everything that you do and it's really a beautiful thing to see, brother. It really is.
Speaker 1:Well, I appreciate it, man. I just again I love it, I love it, I love it. And even when I retired from coaching, like I said, I had nothing to give. After almost 31 years, like I said, my knees and my back was going bad with me, sorry, going bad on me I just said, man, how can I? Because for us to touch people, brother Dixon, we have to again stay relevant. To touch people, brother Dixon, we have to again stay relevant. And being relevant is having our nose to the grindstone and having our feet on the pavement. So again I can talk to corporate America, or I can talk to the kids about Drake and Ken McMahon having a beef, because, don't get me wrong, I'm from the city where rap started.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I can say Kool, moe D and the fantastic. Like I said, my sister was a freshman when Luther Vandross was an outgoing freshman at Taft High School in the Bronx and did some stuff joint uh chic and he uh, I'm sorry, um, did another group, uh change. But then again she went to class school with uh edwards of chic, uh okay, back in the day, uh, you know, doing a disco crazy. So, being in the bronx, if you got out, you knew somebody who did something. I repped my city, even though New York City for a long time got a bad rap. Even though I haven't lived there since I joined the military, I go back, but I still rep my city and I just think we all should rep where we come from good, bad and different because it made us, it molded us and it made us the people we are today.
Speaker 3:Right, right. So I want to go back a little bit. So when you made that decision to go into the military, that was around the 70s, right or 80s the 70s.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I graduated high school in 79. I took delayed entry and my first day of boot camp was, uh, april 21st 1980, yeah, 1980, okay.
Speaker 3:So. So when you made that decision, you know, because it's still around that time, still a rocky time for us and and you know, and and the, the, the, the perception of, of the military and everything like so when you made the decision to do that, uh, what were people in your inner circle saying family, friends, what were they saying about your decision?
Speaker 1:well, for one, they didn't like the navy because navy, uh, had some racial stuff going on on aircraft carriers. If you notice, the army is more black, the navy actually, um, have gotten more African American to be politically correct and Latinos. But normally, if you really look at pictures and look, the Army and the Marines were most of the people that looked like you and I went. The Navy was kind of like, unless you was a steward or a cook. You know what I'm saying. Now I'm working on $100 million aircrafts and they send me to school.
Speaker 1:Even though I was a C student, because I was, I clowned around a lot. I just passed classes just to continue to play high school football. I always tell people don't be like me. And you know trying to party. You know because when you start smelling yourself and start getting your name on the back of the New York Times, for you know making interception, making blocks, right Running in touchdowns. So you know we all, you know we all ego driven, we all go through that phase of. You know my sugar, honey, iced tea or shit don't stink. But I just again, I just knew there was more for me out there, right, but I had to get out there to find it. Yeah, I don't know if I would have been or be Coach Tony if I stayed in the city. Yeah, I had a chance to work for FedEx Not FedEx, the guys in the brown uniforms United State Posters. Yeah, yeah, ups, yeah, ups, yeah, ups.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because I actually had to take an interview, but I was already in the military. I was home for a vacation and it was cold. I went with a buddy of mine and, believe it or not, I had to take the test and interview. They gave me the job and they didn't give him the job, but I said I'm already in the military, so I'm already in the military, so they said why did you come down here?
Speaker 3:Right right.
Speaker 1:I said well because that's the only way I could get out the cold. So long story short. I'm pretty sure life would have found a niche for me, but that wasn't my niche. I would have loved it because I found out that them guys got paid versus what I was getting paid in the military my first year or two.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But I've kind of. I never regretted joining the military man. I had some situations where I had to go to Captain's Mass my first time in Africa. I got restricted to the ship because I was running my mouth and almost got in a fight. But I ain't gonna lie. The military turned me into a man, took that New York City street out of me and told me that there's going to be accountability to my actions and my words, because I can catch you deep with my words. You don't necessarily have to be physically. You can verbally beat someone up versus physically beat someone up, but at the end of the day it's still assault. You know what I'm saying. So I had to learn that things I say I'm going to be accountable for, and how you get young people's attention, you restrict their movements.
Speaker 1:Like I said, the first time we went to Africa Mombasa, africa I couldn't get off the ship and start playing with their paycheck. I had to give up half a month's pay for like two months, right. And at that point in time I said you know what? Okay, I know how the game is played now. Yeah, because life, right. And at that point in time I say you know what? Okay, I know how the game is played now? Yeah, because life ain't nothing but a game. Yeah, you know, just like we play spades, sometime you got to try to get bored. When you don't get that, you play spades, right. Yeah, okay. Yeah, sometime you got to play the best hand. You dealt like you say man, I ain't got nothing, man, but we're gonna struggle, make this board right, mess around and say you know what?
Speaker 1:we're gonna take these boys to boston yeah you're right, you just gotta play the hand you play yeah, yeah, play the hand that you dealt.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you're right, yeah, so, oh, you go ahead, go ahead, no, no, well, what's, what's one thing that you you learned while you were in the military that you still carry with you today?
Speaker 1:oh, wow, man, that's a good question. I used to still. You know, when I first got to melt after 20 years, you know I was working as a manager. You're still here at gary works. You know, for cindyanna I used to get up and run every day. That's not feasible now, yeah, I gained so much weight. You know I'm still in decent shape, but I'm heavy and I need to be, and I got arthritic knees. But, um, accountability, accountability, um, uh, keeping a sharp haircut. I started thinning so I just took it all off yeah, you know, keep the head.
Speaker 1:You know, look sharp. Uh, if you say you're gonna do something, do it. Um, um, yeah, um, being accountable for your actions, being a person of character, because at the end of the day, I can screw up and I can blame it on jason all day long, but at the end of the day, that's just deflecting. Tony branch, you was the problem. So how? So how are we going to? How, what they say? How I'm gonna get my military bearing back, uh, so, uh, you know what they say. How am I going to get my military bearing back? So you know. But they say you got to sit up straight and fly, right, you know. So that's what we have to do.
Speaker 1:And I just think, in today's society, a lot of people, well, I want to blame the system, I want to blame the cops, I want to blame the boss that fired me. You know, the boss fired you because you're stealing from your job or you wasn't coming to work on time. He told you that two or three times, you know so. And I and I, I tell people no, it's accountability. You lost your job because you wasn't doing what the guy paid you to do and you just don't. You can come in 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 15 minutes late, anytime you want to. Yeah, that's not how successful businesses are run, so I always tell people accountability. So, yeah, I would say accountability.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I love that and that's a big word for me as well in the stuff that I do. So I love that, I love that. So, coach Tony, you've accomplished some great things in your life and you touched on a few of the things. You've met some great things in your life and you touched on a few of the things. You've met some amazing people. So talk a little bit about your accomplishments and what you're most proud of. You've received an honorary degree. You've traveled all over. You've met amazing people. Talk a little bit about those accolades and what they mean to you and what they mean to you.
Speaker 1:Man, when I got my honorary doctorate degree in humanitarian studies from the ambassador of Burundi, who is now King, he got elevated to King. Hrh Dr Clyde Rivers, my amazing guy, believe it or not, met him on a humbug and invited him out to eat. And I didn't know he was ambassador of berundi, wow. So when I'm with him, you know I fall under his uh, his, uh, his wrongness.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for some reason I'm I'm lacking the word right now yeah, but I fall under his, so his entourage, so that's the word I was looking for. So I remember we was doing something and I'm walking in with him and he come back to Northwest Indiana. He used to do stuff here in Gary. That was a. That was a mind shaker. You know, here a young man I call myself a kid, you know, in a joking term I got an honorary doctorate degree and I struggled to get out of high school. I said man, ain't this world crazy?
Speaker 1:You know, I've written for a couple of magazines and news articles here and I wrote for a friend of mine who's a war officer out the army. He had a black magazine out there in Scottsdale. I did articles for him and, of course, like I said, I'm finishing up my seventh book now. A good friend of mine she's helped me. Dr Leslie Grace Okay, yeah, that's the person I just think you need to reach out to. She's doing amazing stuff in Philly with financial literacy, because a lot of times our kids don't understand money and they think us parents, money grows on trees. They don't understand just because you have a million dollars, you're not a millionaire because taxes off the top is only going to make you $650,000.
Speaker 1:And after that you know she does a great job with that. That's good. I got some other accolades throughout the community and stuff like that, but that one and just being an ambassador in the community do I change nations, you know, because he used to go to the UN and stuff like that we fall under. They're like in 120 countries right now. Like I said, I'll get you some stuff and maybe we can get him on here one day. Yeah, so he can talk to you. When he's getting escorted around in certain parts of Africa and other countries with bodyguards and stuff like that, I'm like man, this is crazy.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Wow. So yeah, but I don't take my accolades like my military stuff. I got them in boxes and storage I you know, cause this is a part of my life that I lived and I enjoyed it. But now it's behind me, because if I keep looking behind me then I can't see what's out in front of me. So I'm not one of these, even a lot of these guys. I don't hold it against them. They got an I love me room wall. But you know, the flag I got from President Clinton, which is his office, I think, flew over the Capitol a week or so before I retired. It's still in the envelope. They gave it to me, the envelope they sent it to me in, and my medals and stuff again in boxes somewhere. But don't get me wrong. I love this country.
Speaker 1:We got some things we need to fix though, but again, I'm an American, I'm an African American, true and blue, and I wouldn't trade my position or my place in this society for nobody, because I can't be you, I can only be me, and sometimes being me was tough, and some of my friends I will tell you, being a friend of Coach Tony is kind of rough, but at the end of the day, they see what I'm trying to do and they'd be the first ones to partner up with me. Hey, I want to donate $400. We'll let us match it. And hey, man, you got a book coming out. I want to donate $400, we'll let us match it. And hey, man, you got a book coming out. I want to buy two or three. So these same people, people who really love you, will give you the truth Right. People who want something from you will lie to you Always remember that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've had some people lie to me, but you know, at the end they expose themselves. You know you just say hi from a distance and just keep it moving. You can't have snakes and negative. Some motivations we could I used to listen to before I started doing it say you should always cut your grass. Yeah, this is why If you cut your grass, you can see the snakes coming. If you don't cut your grass, only thing you hear is a hiss. If you hear that before they bite you, right, yeah, yeah, I love that.
Speaker 3:I love that. I love that.
Speaker 1:I try to keep my grass cut and keep positive people around me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I love that. So, coach, tony, I'm your, you, you, you will appreciate this. I love sports metaphors and and as I listened to you talk, this is how I would describe you. And a lot of people talk about the, the difference between the old school ball players and the new school ball players, right? So here about the difference between the old school ballplayers and the new school ballplayers, right? So here's the difference that I see. You're the ballplayer that when you win the championship, you celebrate for a day or two, you put the trophy up and you get back to work because you want to repeat. Right, the new schools, like they win the championship, they get the trophy. It's like they go on a binge and they're just living it up and they forget about the fact that they got to do it again. Right, I look at you like that old school person, like, yeah, I did this stuff, I accomplished this, but I still got that drive and that determination to keep doing it over and over again. I'm not satisfied.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because once you get to a plateau and today's athletes get more money than the older athletes used to get the people who paved the way for them. But one thing about the older athletes they always wanted to reach that plateau. Yeah, not once, not twice, with the commodore say three times a lady right yeah, they always wanted to get there. You get an athlete today. They want it one time and they think they made it.
Speaker 3:They're good, I understand.
Speaker 1:Even as coaches, when I knew when I got my girls to the national championship game, even though I lost to Team Canada in Orlando at Disney World was okay. I can live off this being a number two team in a nation, even though I ended up losing to a team out of Canada. But Canada drops down to New York and Detroit and playing our AAU tournaments, so they allowed to play in our national tournament, so right. But I knew I can live off that for four or five months and after that I got to do it again. Got to do it again or I'm a has-been before I was a was, if that makes sense to you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I've been fortunate enough to have some undefeated seasons. Some of these kids they thought I was hard but I just had to push them because they thought winning was easy and it's not winning at the level we was winning. And I echo a lot. Um aj downs, one of my uh favorite young people. I start coaching her off and on as a sixth and then she started playing for me as a seventh grader. Uh, you know, she helped put up 123 wins on my 601 ring. I got enough of respect for that little point guard, uh. And, like I said, even though I started out with boys, never thought I was going to get into girls basketball, but girls basketball really put me on the map. So sometimes it's not what you think is going to get you to the next level. God had a plan. He had it with AJ Downs, meany Harris I'm used to talking to Anthony Curry and people like that, right, you know, but them girls really took me over the top and, like I said, I don't know how ABC found me to put me on that show, secret Me and after that my life changed.
Speaker 1:I couldn't even go outside. So a lot of times people think they want that publicity man. I didn't want it at all. I just I actually wanted to be left alone. Yeah, you know, because if before you saw me on tv, you saw me in the neighborhood, you never said nothing. You saw me on an hour tv show which is basically 43 minutes or 17 minutes worth of commercials. I mean after being in the newspaper, all that stuff with michael jackson, mom and them all came afterwards. But you guys really didn't help me.
Speaker 1:So I took my. You know, we washed cars, we sold cookies, I gave up my bonus, I used to get a US Steel, I funded my basketball team before people jumped on board and wanted to sponsor me. All that money came. 90% of that money came out of my pocket. Yeah, yeah, the kids, it wasn't even mine. The people just said that's crazy. The kids, it wasn't even mine. The people just said that's crazy. I said what's crazy about it? How many pairs of sneakers, how many cars can I own? How many suits can I own? I live, okay. I want to make sure these girls get a fair chance and I want to make sure I don't see these boys in the back of police cars.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah. The true life of a coach, right, nobody really knows behind the scenes the the level of investment and sacrifice that you gave up a lot of time, yeah, a lot of time, a lot of money, just like teachers, man, teachers, yeah, always going in their pocketbooks, can they never have enough crayons, uh stuff in a classroom?
Speaker 1:and teachers don't get paid enough. But even einstein had a teacher, even, uh, elon mus, einstein had a teacher, even, uh, elon Musk had a teacher. I just think our teachers, we got to do a better job and taking care of teachers because, uh, yes, you may be gifted, but until you find your gift or you master that gift, you were sitting in Miss Jones class, miss Dixon's class, miss's class, but we don't take care of Miss Johnson, miss Jones or Miss Dixon. See what?
Speaker 1:I'm saying Even though I'm, glad to see more males are getting into teaching now, especially males, men of color, because back in the day when we went to school watch this, I don't even know who your teachers was, but I'm going to take a guess Anglo-Saxon, white, female. That was 90%. See what I'm saying. So it was hard for us as men or black young men to relate to them because we didn't see no one who looked like us. But now we do. So that's as far as society has somewhat pushed forward, even though we still need to see more teachers, male teachers, white, black or whatever because how can you reach a young? I can teach a man how to be a man. I can't teach a woman how to be a woman, just like a woman can't teach a man how to be a man right, right, yeah.
Speaker 3:And and the importance of of you being out there, myself being out there, and whatever capacity it is, whether it's an educator, a coach, as long as you're giving back and you're mentoring and you're reaching people, it's important for them to have that visual, to see us doing those things, because, again, you can't be something or aspire to be something that you haven't seen for yourself, you haven't seen it modeled for you.
Speaker 1:Model. You have to envision it or see it. Yeah, to be it. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, other than that, until I watch this, you gotta even though people don't realize we're seeing each other, but when they hear it, they're gonna hear audio.
Speaker 1:I don't know that you got on a red, uh, fleece or polo shirt until I understood what red was. Other than that, how did I know what red was? Well, some art teacher told me this is blue, this is fuchsia, this is lavender. Someone taught us and once we digested it here in our minds. Now, every time I see something that look like that, oh, that's red or crimson, or different versions of red or burgundy.
Speaker 1:But still, we have to be taught and I just think our job, parents', job, society we should always be teaching people. That's behind us. You understand and I did do some studying on this and some research you understand that sixth grader that you are because I know you do a lot in middle school and high schools you're actually affecting. You won't see the fruits of your labor for the next five years, because what you're teaching them, as long as their parents are also reinforcing it at home, right, they won't feel the effects of the things you're telling them or you're teaching them until they probably get to the 10th, 11th grade. So that's probably four or five years from now.
Speaker 1:But again, brother Dixon, you had to plant the seed, you are the teacher. I think everybody should have a mentor. I wish I had one coming up because I would have not had to. I had to navigate some landmines because, remember, I didn't have a male in my life, my great uncle Richard, bless his soul. But you know I'm 14 years old. He was 79 years old, eyesight going bad, but he did what he could. Yeah, he did what he could, yeah, yeah he did what he could, he did what he could yeah.
Speaker 1:I agree with that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we also have mentors and I'm okay, even if it ain't a male there, a female mentor. But I would like to see. At one point in time I wanted to be a big brother Because I wanted again another way to give back, because when people start pointing to me, once my cup got filled and started running over, I got to go and fill someone else's cup, and that's what we need to do as a society, just straight across the board. And then guess what? We have less people in jail. We can close up some of these prisons Because they're out there taking care of their family instead of trying to rob from me and you to take care of their baby mamas. See what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:You notice how I play a metaphor with family and baby mamas. You can have a baby by a young girlfriend, but you're not a family because he's still running the streets. Until you take the street and the things that glorify the streets the fancy watches, the fancy cars and make sure that man is home with his family at night, he will grow exponentially when he has a woman in his life that's going to help him grow. Instead of taking from him. What are you going to do for me of taking from him. You know what are you going to do for me? How come you ain't paying my rent?
Speaker 1:It's like I I hate when I hear that with these young girls. Yeah, some guy take you out on a date and you mad because he ain't spent five hundred dollars. Yeah, girlfriend, you should be glad he spent fifty dollars on you, right, right, yeah, you may not be wife for two. See what I'm saying. Like I said, everything is relative and it comes from whatever perspective of how you was raised. Because if you used to seeing your mother get beat on, you don't respect women. You're probably beating on women too, because that's what you're used to. Yeah, but you saw. Yeah, but you better not put your hand on my daughters or my sister or my wife, or we're gonna have a problem. Yeah, because I was always brung up. Respect the weaker or the weaker of the two, which is normally the female now don't get me wrong.
Speaker 1:There's some tough females out there. Yeah, uh, but uh, but again it's society and the bible say you know, we, we, we supposed to take care. Yeah, take care. Yeah, our wives, the women, our children, you know yeah, a man that don't work. Don't eat. You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 3:so right, right, no, you're right, I love, I love that and and I do a lot of work also engaging, uh, boys and and men on ending cycles of domestic violence, so I love that you talked about that and what healthy masculinity looks like, you know, and shifting the narrative yeah.
Speaker 3:So I love that you said that. So, Coach Tony, let's wrap up on this. I want to talk a little bit about, you know, all the things that you've accomplished. Like you're working on your seventh book and you've done all these things right. So, in this chapter of your life, what's next? What are you hoping to do, accomplish? What legacy are you trying to leave? What's next for Coach Tony?
Speaker 1:Well, I don't look at my life as trying to leave a legacy. I just think if you do enough things, like I said probably 15 minutes ago, our disciples will make sure our legacy lives on. Because where did you learn that from? I learned that from Jason, I learned that from Coach Tony and stuff like that and stuff like that, so they will speak for us. I think a lot of times people get in trouble when they try to become famous. Fame is going to come to you if you do the right thing, and legacies will come to you the same way.
Speaker 1:I just think, again, being a sports guy, I'm in the fourth quarter of my life. I'm 64 years old. November 25th I turn 64. So I'm in the fourth quarter of my life. I just hope every time they pass me the ball, I can make the layup, hit my free throw. I don't turn it over, and I just hope I can make a couple of backdoor assists. If I can Throw an alley-oop to LeBron James or somebody, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:I just think that sometimes you can plan out stuff and it doesn't work that way. Sometimes, just like we were talking about the game of spades, you got to just play the best hand you was dealt, or shoot from the hip. I just hope that I can continue to be a positive person and continue to meet young men like yourself. And I'll point to you, like, believe it or not, I wrote some things down, you asked me and you will see them on Facebook and I'm going to send it to your phone, cause that's too late. Too late for tears, man. That that that's deep. That few little words are so powerful. Yeah, but again, I just just just keep living, man, because you know we, we all going to have an expiration date and, like I said, I'm trying to be late to my own funeral. But that's being funny. But I understand that when it's my time to go, it's my time to go.
Speaker 1:I just hope that I made some kind of a difference, whether it was here or where I used to live, or just someone reading my book and saying man, I never really thought about that because I don't know how you grew up, even though you listen to how I grew up. Like I said, I'm not embarrassed from the way I grew up, it is what it is. I just had, again, do the best I can with what I had, with what life had given me but, like I said, god blessed me to where sometimes I even fell forward. There was times, like I said, I cried.
Speaker 1:I remember I never wished that I wasn't here. I'm like one time I forsaken God and I'm like man, why you, god can't be real, why you putting me through this stuff? And then, like I said, I was in a situation that he got me out of that I didn't know how I was going to get out of and I'm like, wow, and I knee hustle every night, brother, I knee hustle every day. Like I said, I'm going to hit my pillow bed tonight. I'm going to thank him for allowing me to be on your podcast and meeting you and stuff like that. I just try to be me. I know that day is going to come where me is not going to be here, no more. But, like I said, as long as we leave a legacy through the people we touched and we was able to mentor brother, we will never die.
Speaker 1:We may be gone in physical form, but our spirit will live on.
Speaker 3:Right, right, and yours will. And again, brother, I love the work you're doing, I love just the inspiration you provided, the motivation, and I know that this fourth quarter is going to be the best quarter, and so I'm excited to see what lies ahead for you and I appreciate that, man. And let people stay connected. Yeah, I look forward to it.
Speaker 1:Hey, you're in my inner circle. Hey, I told you you're my Rolodex.
Speaker 3:You're my Rolodex now I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:We done messed around and even though we've been kind of fans of each other for two or three months and I've watched your stuff probably even longer than that, but now I've seen you, we vibe, yeah, hey, you better tell your mother you got a brother, you got an older brother.
Speaker 3:We family now? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. I love it. I love it. Yes, sir, coach Tony, yes, I appreciate your brother.
Speaker 2:Brother, you have people waiting on you to cross over to the other side so you can reach back and grab them. Thank you for listening to the Mic'd Up and Motivated podcast brought to you by Inspired to Reach Higher, the youth development company dedicated to empowering young people, engaging parents and equipping educators.