Amazing Journey Podcast Introduction

Who I am, what the podcast will be about, and what I'm hoping to accomplish by doing it.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Amazing Journey Podcast. My name is Mike. I'm your host, and I look forward to continuing the journey in this podcasting experience for many years to come with all of you. First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to tune in and listen to this podcast. Without the audience, there's really no purpose in doing a podcast. And as I get older, I've learned that the greatest gift I can give anyone is my time. And so the last thing that I want to do is waste anybody else's time. I'm also very grateful for your time. So once again, right off the rip, thank you so much for joining us and listening to the stories of what I believe is my amazing journey in life. Who am I? What is this podcast about? Why am I doing it? Well, as stated, my name is Mike. I've played many roles in my life. I've been a father, I've been a husband, I've been a partner. In my former life/slash career, I was a United States Naval Officer. When I retired from that, I was a substitute teacher. I oversaw the daily operation of an ice rink. I was a personal trainer. I worked as an event planner and manager. And during the pandemic, I started a business as a handyman. And now I'm a podcaster. So you may be listening to this thinking, Mike, you had no idea what you wanted to do when you grew up, did you? And I would not argue that point. I'm still trying to figure that out. And all of that is part of the amazing journey that we call life. It really is a journey, regardless of who you are, regardless of what your story is. And we all have a story. And what I have found in listening to other people's stories is so many of them are quite extraordinary. I've learned a lot of lessons throughout my amazing journey in life. I'm a middle-aged man coming up rapidly on my 55th birthday, which is interesting. You know, you're going to find that as we go on these journeys together, I get sidetracked sometimes, and there are sidebar discussions I'll have with myself, and then there's tangential discussions. But I remember when I was little, my grandmother was 55 years old, and that was considered a senior citizen. And as a little kid, that was old to me. And so one of the most important things I've learned on my journey is that's not the way things are anymore. Like you're not old until you're at least 95. So I'm happy to be middle-aged. I'm proud of all of the gray hair around my temple area. I'm proud for every wrinkle and scar on my face and on my knuckles. I've earned each and every single one of them. Sometimes because that's just part of growing older in life, like the aging process. And sometimes because, well, I was a dummy and I I messed around some places where I shouldn't have been. So, but that's all part of the journey, too. Now, what's this podcast about? You know, here's my spirit and intent for doing it. I want you all to sit down for about a half hour each episode, because again, your time is precious to me. And I want you to feel like you're sitting around the table or in front of the fire or out on the deck or under a pavilion in nature with an old friend. Because that's one of the things that I see changing in this world at this time, and not for the better. Listen, I believe that technology can be a fantastic force multiplier on the side of good. And we've seen that. Where you know a surgeon in Germany can do a remote, remote robotic surgery on a patient in Africa without actually laying hands on that patient, all through computer monitors and amazing technology. Hundreds of years ago, that never would have even been thought of. And so technology can be used for good, and many times it is. But technology also has a dark side, and one of the dark sides to technology is that, from my perspective, it isolates us sometimes. There are fewer things that are sadder to me than to go out in public and see couples or families sitting next to each other in a park or seeing all of them out to dinner or traveling on a train or an airplane. They're sitting right next to each other, right across from each other, and each of them has their nose buried in their own cell phone or their own tablet or their own laptop. I've I've gone to dinner at people's homes where each parent has a phone and they have three or four children, and nobody's talking at the table. Nobody's talking in the living room. Everybody is looking at their electronic devices. So while there is a need for technology, as we are in the information and digital age, we don't talk to one another the way that we used to. And I think that is something we really should re-examine and get back to. There's no reason why both things need to be mutually exclusive of one another. We can embrace technology and enjoy the benefits of it. But there are times when I think you just need to have a conversation and the phone should be switched off or put on silent or left in the other room. Definitely not at the dinner table. Again, this is just my perspective of things that I've learned on my journey in life. So I want all of you that are kind enough to listen to feel like you're listening to a friend. I don't expect. Pardon me. I don't expect that you're going to agree with me all of the time. Um, nor do I want you to. If there's something that you find that I bring up that is factually incorrect, I hope that you'll reach out and send me an email. The amazing AmazingJourney Podcast at PM.me. Once again, that's AmazingJourney Podcast at PM.me, and we can establish a dialogue. And if you can show me facts that something I've said is incorrect, I'm enough of an adult to come back on here on the next episode and correct myself and give credit where credit is due. That's what friends do for one another, right? We hold one another accountable, politely and respectfully. We're not sycophants for one another. We're not yes people. We don't bob our heads up and down like bobbleheads, you know, and allow our friends to sound foolish. So that's what I'm hoping for. And these are just some of the things that I'm hoping to accomplish. I want this to be a place where people can relax and maybe reminisce about some good things. Perhaps some of my good memories will trigger some good memories for each of you that are listening. What you're not going to hear on this podcast are political rants, angry rants about being cut off in traffic. Folks, there's enough hollering and screaming out there. If you're looking for political podcasts, there are plenty of other podcasts you can listen to, hundreds of thousands of them. And I would encourage you to go there. Once again, I don't want to waste anybody's time. This podcast is not going to be a place for anger and rage. It's not going to be a place for hatred. It's not going to be a place for vitriol. I'm going to be discussing mostly good things, things that make me happy, things that interest me, perhaps some things about history. It will also be a realistic podcast. I'm not going to tell you that there will not be times that sad topics or topics that bring emotions like that won't come up. And while there may not always be a happy ending, I will say I will do my best to at least pull the lessons out of those difficult times. Because there are so many things that a lot of us go through. Loss of loved ones, loss of pets, disappointments in life, loss of a job, things like that. So I'm going to do the best I can every time I switch on this microphone and hit the record button to bring forth the most positivity that I can, the most realism that I can, and share what I've learned on my amazing journey. And hopefully it will help you along the way in your amazing journey. I'm a very, very blessed man. And one of the reasons that I am so blessed is I have never been bored a day in my life. Because I have varied interests. I enjoy target shooting. I enjoy gardening. I enjoy roller skating. I enjoy reading about things that before today I didn't know about and learning that way. I enjoy listening to other people's podcasts and YouTube videos. I have myriad interests. And I will never, ever, ever be so bold as to get behind this microphone and tell any of you what to think, nor will I tell you how to think. I'll just share what I've known and what I've learned. So that part of it, that's it in a nutshell. I got the idea for the title of this podcast from somebody that I view as exceptionally brilliant, and they know who they are. But they were absolutely right that life really is a journey. And when you think back to what all of us go through, the lessons we learn as children to young adulthood, to adulthood, to middle age, to the golden years, we really do have a lot of things in common. You know, we've learned how to make friends, we've learned how to part company when necessarily uh necessary, uh hopefully not on bitter terms. We've learned how to have animals get right into our hearts. We've learned how to let go of those animals. We have people come into our lives, we lose people through attrition, through death, through circumstances. We learn how to go to work, we learn how to work with folks that might have difficult personalities. We sometimes stay at jobs we don't necessarily care for, but we have to because we need the salary, we need the benefits, we need the insurances. We learn how to be empathetic, we learn how to be compassionate. Hopefully, we learn how to set limits and boundaries so that we're not hurt excessively. But all of that, when you look at it both at the macro level and the micro level, is part of an amazing journey. And I look forward to sharing certain parts of my amazing journey with all of you. So that's the introduction. That kind of sets the table, so to speak. What else can you expect from this podcast? Well, as of today, as I record this podcast, this is something I'm doing because I believe I'm going to enjoy it. And I want to share knowledge, and hopefully that knowledge is going to lead to wisdom. So, for folks out there listening that don't know the difference between knowledge and wisdom, knowledge is what I learn when I do the work and I make mistakes, and wisdom is what you learn from what I've learned and my mistakes. Um, I'm not receiving any funding at this time for any goods or services or companies, products that I mentioned. I plan to start each podcast with uh three musical selections. Names and titles of songs, the years they came out, the albums that they came off of. Um, it's what I call my own college of musical knowledge. I have varied musical interests, and I'd like to share at least three songs every week that I feel are appropriate to the topic that I'm going to discuss. And then we're going to talk about what I think is the important topic of the day, whatever resonates with me. And then in the middle, we're going to take a little bit of a break, and I'm going to recommend three products or services. Again, I'm currently not taking any sponsors. I'm not making any income off of anything that I'm promoting. These are just things that have worked well for me over the years, and I hope that they work well for you and that you enjoy them as much as I do. Now, that said, in the in the spirit of full disclosure, I hope at some point that will change, right? I am a capitalist. So if anybody listening and you want to put information on to any uh ins or contacts you may have at any of the companies I mention, if you have an in and you say, hey, there's this really swell fellow whose swellness is only surpassed by his modesty, and he's giving you some plugs for free. If you want to throw a little money his way, I am certainly not going to object. Quote one of the greatest people that I never had the pleasure of meeting in person. Uh I won't mind. So for as for today's product shout outs, I want to give a shout out to Tommy Bahama. You can't see me because at the time at this time I am doing an audio only podcast. But I'm sporting a brand new Tommy Bahama shirt, which fits great. It's extremely comfortable, it's very well made. I think it looks nice on me. In addition, the three-in-one shower gel I've used for a while, and especially to get ready for today's podcast, uh, is also made by Tommy Bahama. It's good for the hair, the face, the body. Gets you squeaky clean and smelling nice. So shout out to Tommy Bahama. In my current day job as a handyman, I would be absolutely lost without my DeWalt power tools. And I would be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to say what a fantastic product DeWalt makes. I use the 20-volt axe rechargeables. They're durable, they're reliable. Batteries hold a charge for a long time, help you get through any job that you need to get done. I highly recommend it. If you're looking to start a tool collection or enhance the tool collection, you cannot go wrong with DeWalt products. And the last thing, um, some of the most comfortable work pants I've ever had, I have to give a shout out to Carhartt. Back in the day, Carhartt clothing was just for tradespeople. Uh nowadays they're a fashion statement in and of themselves. But no matter how large that company has gotten, the quality and durability and reliability is still there. So those are my shout-outs for the day on my first episode. Now on to the rest of the podcast. What am I going to be talking about for the rest of the show? Well, it falls under the heading of Good Weather Equaling Great Memories. Where I'm broadcasting from, I'm in the northeastern part of the United States. And we are a very hearty bunch up here. We can get snow as early as October. I can remember times where it stuck around until May. So higher math, October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May, you see that beautiful white stuff conceivably about eight months out of the year. On average, it's five or six months. I will never complain about it because I realized a long time ago that snow in the winter means we're not going to have drought conditions during the summer. And some of the places that I visited on this planet, and yes, even in this country, drought is a very serious thing. I was thinking back to, it doesn't seem that long ago, but but it's been about 13 years. I had driven most of the way across the country and delivered a vehicle from just outside of Chicago to San Francisco, California. I was absolutely astounded when I got to San Francisco for many reasons, but one of the things that jumped out at me, there were water timers in people's homes, and showers were limited to three minutes. Three minutes. Now, I was a recently retired military fella. I've kept my same style haircut since I was 18 years old. Being in the military, I learned how to shower quickly, efficiently, and effectively, making sure that all important parts were washed in order of importance. But, you know, I've supported the same fantastic hairdo for about 37 years. My point is, I'm not going to have to spend that much time in the shower. But I started thinking about the women who have longer hair and the product that they need to use, and the shampoos and the conditioners, and that this is problematic. This is really problematic. So I don't know how they did it then. I'm I'm not sure if it's still going on out there at this time now. But um, I tip my hats to them. Uh I don't know how I don't know how they could do it. But anyway, when good weather comes and you don't have drought, it's the best scenario of all worlds. And when you can, get outside. Uh, good weather this this time of year, the summer coming, reminds me of my life's journey at the beginning, starting as a child. I remember sitting on my grandmother's front porch. She lived next to railroad tracks, and during this time of year, the fireflies would start to come out. So we would get an old Skippy peanut butter jar. Back then they were glass, everything it's what they weren't, it's not plastic, they weren't plastic like everything is packaged now. And we would get a nail and poke holes in the top of that Skippy Peanut Butter jar so that the fireflies could breathe. And we would catch the fireflies like five or six at a time, and we'd have our own little lantern. And the agreement we had with grandma was that before you went inside the house, you had to let them go so they could go wherever fireflies went at the end of the night. Great memories. These were great memories of much simpler times. As I got older and came into my own a little bit, I discovered the joys of outdoor concerts. And remaining in that mindset, I remember how much fun it was to go and buy the tickets. They, when I started to come of age to go to concerts, they came out with this thing called Ticketron. And it was in a department store chain not far from the house called the Boston Store. And they had one little ticket spitter outer machine that was hooked up to a rudimentary computer. Um, and I I went and I bought tickets to the Beach Boys. I was over the moon going to my first concert. The harmony and the pitch with those gentlemen could sing was amazing. Most of us, probably all of us, just most of us will admit to it. We all sing in the shower. And I have never been able to get Mr. Jardine's voice from the Beach Boys down and make it sound good. It could never get never make get up that high or make it sound that beautiful. Um when you tried to do it with your buddies, well, it turned out to be pretty terrible. But anyway, first concert, it was they sang every song on every Beach Boys album I had. I think I had like four of them at the time. It was a great show, and we definitely got our money's worth. A few years later, uh, when I got my driver's license, I I went to a Grateful Dead concert just for the experience. And I had heard a joke one time that I really didn't understand, and and the joke went like this you know, what do the deadheads say when the drugs wear off? And and the punchline didn't The joke is, man, this this music really sucks. Um, I didn't really enjoy the Grateful Dead's music aside from the Shakedown Street album. Um, and then years later, they kind of made a comeback and they had that song Touch of Gray. Uh, I did enjoy that one. But um anyway, it was quite the cultural experience. I up to that point, I hadn't seen anything quite like that up to that point in my life. But there is something special. It's magical, is probably the best word that I can use. It's it's magical to be able to enjoy an outdoor concert in great weather, especially if you have somebody special to go with. You know, you're good friends or you're blessed enough to have the love of your life with you. It's one of those moments and you can close your eyes and they're snapshots in time. They're those photographs in our mind that can really get us through some dark days and the cold days of winter when it's often difficult and unpleasant to go outside. So, those are some of the things I'd wanted to talk to you about. I the prevailing point is when the weather's nice, get outside, get outdoors, find something that you like to do. And if walking isn't your thing or or whatever, get just get outside, get that vitamin D, get the sunshine, enjoy every day of beautiful weather that you can. One of the things that's popped into my life over the last couple of months is the loss of someone very dear. Whenever I lose someone at this point in my life, I'm I'm at the age it's it's just a hard fact of life. If you're still alive, the longer that you're alive, the more people you're going to lose. But every time I have a situation where I lose somebody now, it really brings things into focus. Folks, tomorrow is not guaranteed. And any morning that you're able to get up and get out of bed under your own power, it's truly a gift. Make the most of it. And when you're going through hard times, if you're going through hard times right now, as bad as they are, I will never try to mitigate them or or minimize them. But please understand they're not going to last. You may think they're going to last forever, but but whatever it is, they're really not. At some point, it's been my experience that something is going to break and there's going to be a breath of fresh air. The the sun is going to come through the clouds, so to speak. And whatever you're going through, you're going to get to the other side of it. So on those beautiful days, please take advantage of it. And on the days that are rainy and cold and windy and miserable, you have technology as a force multiplier, right? You have YouTube, you have Amazon Prime, you have Hulu, you have oh boy, what are all the rest of them out there? T-Mobile, you have, you know, AMC Plus. Get in there and find a show that you like to binge watch. If you need recommendations, please do not hesitate to send me an email and I'll be happy to respond and uh give you some recommendations of things that I like to watch. Um that's the Amazing Journey Podcast at PM.ma. Well, believe it or not, we've had just about a half hour go by. And that's what I'm going to do my best to keep each podcast to around a half hour, around the 30-minute mark. Some episodes will be a little light, some just a couple of minutes heavy, but I think that's just enough. Just enough conversation. Let you go on a nice walk or a workout or do some of your chores. We'll enjoy our time together. I know I've certainly enjoyed my time with you, and I hope and pray that you've had as much fun as I've had. This is really a great experience, and I look forward to doing many, many more of these podcasts and enjoying our time together. Until then, until we get together next time, I would ask you to be safe, be well, do the best you can to find happiness, look after the people that you love, be kind, enjoy the sun, get outside. Once again, this is Mike, and I'm signing off now.