Faith, Fatherhood, and Finding Purpose in a Divided World

Eric Tansey joins Deny Caballero for a powerful conversation on faith, addiction recovery, fatherhood, leadership, and community. This episode explores how prayer, accountability, and vulnerability lead to transformation—and why veteran communities matter now more than ever.

Topics Covered:
• Addiction, recovery, and faith
• Parenting in the digital age
• Leadership through service
• The power of words and mindset
• Reviving Ranger Up
• Podcasting as positive influence

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Chapters:
00:00 Veteran Wins and Community Growth
 02:49 Podcasting and Veteran Influence
 06:02 Navigating Online Hate and Negativity
 09:09 Parenting and Social Media Responsibility
 11:57 Fatherhood and Life Priorities
 15:04 Finding Faith Through Hardship
 25:31 Financial Stress and Family Pressure
 28:51 A Turning Point in Faith and Purpose
 32:53 Spiritual Awakening and Self-Reflection
 39:59 Surrender, Family, and Accountability
 45:28 Community Support and Unexpected Blessings
 56:17 Faith, Growth, and Personal Healing
 58:39 Vulnerability and Leadership
 01:01:29 Connection and Brotherhood
 01:03:58 Spiritual Transformation
 01:06:20 Prayer and Emotional Healing
 01:10:19 Breaking Addiction Cycles
 01:13:08 Leadership and Responsibility
 01:19:57 Self-Discovery Through Faith
 01:28:36 Returning to Purpose
 01:31:24 Podcasting as Service
 01:34:11 Reviving Ranger Up
 01:37:37 Veteran Community Challenges
 01:50:06 Redemption and Brokenness
 01:53:47 Communication and Relationships
 01:56:08 Business, Stress, and Growth
 01:59:56 Ranger Up’s Mission Forward
 02:04:59 The Future of Growth and Leadership

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Transcript

A Heavy Heart And A Turning Point

SPEAKER_02 0:00

I just feel like this enormous weight that I cannot get off my shoulders. And I have it since I was trying to be a Green Beret. It's like it never left, dude. It never left. And as you recall from the last story, like when I left the Green Beret program, it was not on my, it wasn't because of me. It was because of people around me and decisions that I made with other people. I was doing good works while I was there. I was a good cop. I was changing tires, buying diapers and panties, doing all the things, but I wasn't praying. I wasn't talking to God and everything. I just felt in that moment, like maybe this is God, God saying, like, I don't need you to be at rock bottom. You're good enough to keep yourself from addictions or from hitting rock bottom, but you're not bigger than me.

SPEAKER_03 0:35

If you're out there struggling, you need somebody to cheer you on, reach out, let me know. Let's connect, let's be friends. Because you didn't serve your life in the military just to come out of it and not have somebody that will sit there and root for you, man. The powerful thing about who you are is you do have a story of always supporting people around you. And this community is very fucking small.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

I'm just gonna submit myself to God. Like I'm done doing all this stuff, I'm done running from God.

SPEAKER_03 1:13

How's it going, Eric? Good, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

How are you?

SPEAKER_03 1:17

Doing good, man. It's great seeing good people win, man. Um it's just it's just awesome, dude. Like, I I don't I've I uh I didn't have anybody that was like, um, like I've had some great people in the course of this project, but I've never I I've just been blessed, man. I've always had people that are like they they want to see you win. They want to see you win. I think that's the greatest thing that we can start trying to promote and put back in the veteran space. Can we all just win and celebrate each other? Can we do it?

SPEAKER_02 1:46

Can we all just be winners, man? Uh dude, I've learned so much, man. Um, your podcast, uh, you're you're an anomaly for me because I don't, well, let me say like I didn't. The past Eric Tanzi did not really consume other podcasts. Um, and I didn't like consume comedians or books, right? Because I wrote my own books, I do my own comedy, and so like I don't like listening to other people because I feel like I don't know, like I don't want their idea.

SPEAKER_03 2:11

Like it's yeah, it taints it. It taint even if you don't, if you don't like subconsciously, something will slip in. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

Yeah. So um, but like for you, I don't even know why I followed you um back then, but I did. And then for whatever reason, you stayed in my algorithm forever. And I always was drawn to watch your clips for inspiration. And I think that was paramount old me to like prepare me for like new me right now. If that makes sense. So I think you've you've been very instrumental in like your optimism and just the way that you do your platform. I won't say I was jealous of you, because that's not the right word, but I had this sense of okay, he's doing it right. Like that, that's what I thought I was when I started podcasting six, seven years ago. That was my goal was to make people just so you know feel better and feel happy. And he's doing it. He's doing what I wanted to do seven years ago. And then I kind of found myself like more on the division train, right? Like I would get more motivated when there was division in my podcast because the numbers would go way up and the comments would go way up.

SPEAKER_03 3:21

You will be very successful if you tap into the hate metric.

SPEAKER_02 3:25

I uh it's very easy, it's and it creeps in, dude. It really does. Because then it's like you almost convince yourself that you feel good from from the device of like, you know, I got him today, I got him today. Did you see how many are you gonna? And like really that's not sustainable or healthy.

SPEAKER_03 3:45

No, dude, it it crushes your. I always tell people, man, like, and this is no, I'm not targeting or saying anything bad to any creator out there, anybody that's out there in a space trying to carve out their own their own, you know, place out there in the everybody's algorithm. It is it is a known thing that psychology, we are drawn to powerful emotions. We're drawn to powerful that's why clips are designed certain ways, that's why thumbnails are designed certain ways. If it evokes a powerful emotion, even if it's a negative emotion, it'll probably do really well. I I it and and I didn't want to do that. There was a lot there was a certain individual, whether you liked him or not, whether you enjoyed it or not, that was just on everybody's platform. I fuck this dude, blah, blah, blah. And just hate, hate, hate, hate. And everybody's like, dude, you should you should come in on this meme. You gotta come in on it. I'm like, no, dude. It it doesn't at the end of the day, the hate, the anger, it's just like, you know, the the the old adage from Star Wars, hate, anger. It only leads to more suffering.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

It does. Like it might feel good in the moment to get involved because you know, you got your friends. And like I said, it was it's sublime, it's it's like it creeps in. It's not like you wake up one day and you're like, I'm gonna choose the dark side. No, it's like you you dabble, and then like your friends are like, dude, that was a great show. That was awesome. You're like, yeah, that was good. And yeah, go a little further.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Good.

SPEAKER_03 5:18

Good.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

Consume me.

SPEAKER_03 5:22

But it's important to understand there's always there's always a uh redemption. We're human beings. We are going to be hurtful, we're gonna be spiteful, we're gonna, we're gonna say mean things. But the key to it is once you realize it, man up, maybe talk to that individual. If you did hurt somebody and it was, it wasn't, it was more than just a meme, and you it's harder. It's easier doing online. If you were able, even at my even in our our our age, even individuals are in their the grown-ups, if you will, it's easy to make fun of somebody or hurt somebody's feelings online. I challenge you to do it to your face. Even if they're the biggest dummy, I love that word, love dummy, we gotta bring it back. Shout out to uh to to my buddy who came, who's who's trying to use that a lot more these days. But uh, even if the person's right in front of you through a screen, like you can kind of, but in person, you'd never do that. Or you'd be really quick to apologize. Like there's one thing that we all need to understand is like hey, be mindful of what you're saying on social media. I'm so I'm not saying to like you know, criticize higher ups and individuals in power, of course, all day, every day. But an average human being that you've never met, do you really need to call them? Do you really need to do you really need to attack somebody with that vulgar of language? Like, fuck you and your feelings. Like, hey, I don't I think that this isn't a good idea. Yeah, of course you would.

SPEAKER_02 6:50

And that's happened. That's that's like last night Nick Palmasciano texted me that he was going for a walk and like you were having like some like serious texting. He's like, okay, well, I'm about to go for my six-mile walk. No, and like it took everything in me not to just text. Have a nice walk, bag it. But I didn't do it because it's the new me, right? Like, it's the new me. And uh, I was like, dude, I'm not gonna do it, I'm not gonna do it. And I end up saying something like encouraging, like, you know, whatever. But um, uh my kids have gone extremely viral in the last three months, uh two months really. And uh, you know, their their content is a hundred percent genuine, like genuinely them, and it's so positive. And so these like dude, there are some really, you know, they'll have 2,000 comments or 400 comments, 800 comments, and eight, you know, 398 of them will be amazing, and then there'll be two. And it really is crazy because they don't have outside influences, they don't have school. They we live in the middle of nowhere country, they don't have like a like a big friend group, you know, they they don't have any real outside influences of the world, they don't do screens very often. And um, so like with the social media as I'm reading them their comments, it's it's fascinating like how natural it is that I'll read them one of the those one of like those two out of 300 negative comments and watch what it does to their spirit. And it's like, wow, this is real. They're not they're not being told to feel bad about this. Like, I'm like, dude, that was really awesome, and I love your cowboy hat. You're the real deal from Nigel Houston, like bro skateboarder, right? Like, holy cow, Nigel Houston. Uh bro, you should get some braces on those train tracks, dog. And then you can just watch the life be like, what does that mean, dad? And I'm like, uh, he's saying that your teeth are jacked up. He's like, my teeth are jacked up. And I'm like, oh, dude. But now I know like how poisonous those messages really are.

SPEAKER_03 8:54

Dude, I don't care who you are. Somebody slides in your comment section and hits you with something that you're super self-conscious about, you're done. You're done. You're done. I'm just like, hello, doctor.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

Like those people out there that you have to realize, and I explained it to them, and like I know now, um, after I went on the Andy Stump show. Um, thank you, Andy Stump, for teaching me this. But um, no, but like I tell I explain to my kids that this episode of Security Hulk is brought to you by Dr.

SPEAKER_03 9:20

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SPEAKER_02 10:10

There are people who just wake up every day and they're only on the internet to find something negative to say. And so they'll see a video and their goal is what can I say negative? They and that's all they see. So you know, that it's just gonna happen and you have to deal with it. And and, you know, luckily now, um, you know, I you know, I can encourage them to just pray for that person really quick. Absolutely. Maybe we'll pray together. You know, we'll just say, okay, let's just let's pray for that guy real quick. You know, or but sometimes that like carnal that like internal of me just wants to like lash out, and I'll be like, you know what we could do? We could screenshot that dude's message and we could post it on your story and just show everybody what a nerd this guy is and like let the internet do its thing, which we've done a few times and it's worked out brilliantly, but now like new me, maturing me is like, well, is that even a good thing to teach your kid? Like, probably not. We can probably just ignore it. That'd be the best.

SPEAKER_03 10:59

Yeah, that's it. That's exactly it because you have to remember hurt people, hurt people. And the main, the main thing that gets them up and encourages that behavior is the engagement, is the people that rally it on and cheer it on and and dog pile it on. Like, dude, there's plenty of stuff that we can make fun of. There's plenty of things we can we can all like laugh about and make fun of with with memes and stuff. Stop attacking each other personally.

The Allure Of Outrage Content

SPEAKER_02 11:22

We're like, let's get creative in the attacks. So, like some of the attacks are really good. Like, you know, some of them, you know, I'll be like, Touche. I'll I'll like read it to Duke, and he'll be like, Yeah, it's true. Like, that was trash. And I was like, you should say that. You should say, like, yes, my heel flips are trash, you know, or something like that. Um, like I think there was one, it was a really good one. And actually, I think now my son's kind of like so. I monitor all their stuff, like all their stuff is like linked to me. And so when they have social media time, because he just turned 13, and of course he turns 13 and gets millions of views on multiple videos, like right out of the gate, dude. Doesn't that just make you so mad? Um, you're like you grind and you grind for like 2,000 followers, and your kid like you give them access to their phone and say, like, all right, social media is yours, do what you want, like within reason, but like create your own content. I'm not helping you anymore. You know, I'm not doing your content for you, you know. And then like right out of the gate, like literally, I think the first video he posted did like 2.1 million views, and he got like 20,000 followers that week, and you know, he's up to like 25,000. It's only been since you know the beginning of January that we turned it over. Um you know, so but I monitor all of his his stuff, like I get to sales comments, and we still have time that he does social media time that he doesn't. So, like you know, hey, let's do social media time for 30 minutes. You can do it for 30 minutes, you know, like go through your comments, respond to your your followers, do you have fans now? Like it, you know, um, you know, do what you gotta do. And uh this one guy that's commenting on him was like, violation, your toes touched. And so Duke was like, Dad, can we go back and look at this video and just see if my toes did touch? And I was like, Yeah, we can. And he's like, My toes didn't touch, they didn't touch, it's right here. And I was like, All right, well, screenshot that, post it, and then say it's not a violation or ask the internet, like, I think that's fun content. And he did, and that guy ended up messaging back and he's like, I stand corrected, you know? And so now they're like kind of buddies, you know.

SPEAKER_03 13:18

Just picture this dude with a fedora on. Actually, I do stand corrected.

SPEAKER_02 13:24

Well, so there's this new there's this content creator, he's a pro skater, and he he just bashes videos, and it's so funny. So he takes these skate parts, you know, that these people who spend a lot of money on, right? Like, I think a real I was talking to Richie Jackson who who has one of the biggest parts on Thrasher for YouTube, like ever created. And um, I we were talking to him and I and and he's got a new part coming out, and I said, like, how much can I ask? Like, how much does it cost you to make a part? And he was like, This one cost me 10 grand, you know, to make this part for thrasher. And like, I think they don't I don't think they get paid. I mean, I'm sure they're gonna get like residuals from like sponsorships and stuff like that, but like you're paying$10,000 to get the exposure, yeah. Yeah, and um, so these guys spend big money on these parts, and this guy's just like you're rolling down a hill, another Ollie, and then he's like, violation, toe touch, you're gonna spend this much money on a thing, and you're gonna post a video where your toes touch the ground. And he goes, Here we are, rolling down a hill again. We're still rolling. It's so funny, but yeah, so that's that's the big craze on the internet right now. So, like, yeah, violation. Like all the kids are saying. Violation.

SPEAKER_03 14:40

I don't I don't envy you. I am I'm still in the uh the the one-year-old phase. My little one's still just kind of just cute and adorable and just shits all the time. It's nice.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

It's good, yeah. I've got five. Um, I've got a two-year-old and a three-year-old. It's like I'm in every phase right now. Wiping butts. Um, you know, the three-year-old's at the point where she like comes by and like bends over in front of you, you know, with like a turtle head and it's like, Dad, can you get this poopy out of my booty?

SPEAKER_03 15:06

And you're like, Yeah, yeah, that's life.

SPEAKER_02 15:10

Yeah, it's so demoralizing. It doesn't matter how cool you feel when you have five kids, like you're not cool, dude. You're just not cool. You're you're like a medic, you're like an 18 delta. You know what I mean? Like it doesn't matter that you're special forces, like you're still pulling worms out of people's buttholes.

SPEAKER_03 15:26

100%, dude. But that's like that's like the the greatest thing in life, though. Um I think that every man, and and I know by uh this is just my humble opinion. Every every man should experience fatherhood and take up that mantle, man. It's um I'm just with my first man, and it's it's life-changing. It there's there isn't a greater motivator, there isn't a greater thing than uh being responsible for another little tiny version of yourself. And I found it like I don't know, man, like it everybody's it's it's not instantaneous. Like I did feel a lot of a lot of stress, but that that call to do better on a daily basis. Like when I looked at my this last year's performance and everything, like I I do like, you know, everybody charts out their their web mapping of the year for the next year. This is a first year with like the the biggest factor, the biggest domain that I'm like trying to focus on is fatherhood and being a better husband. Like, and I not to say that I wasn't trying before, but now it's like fuck, like here pretty soon, those memories are gonna be concrete. She's gonna remember things. What is what do I want her to remember? That I was locked away in an office making poop and fart jokes with awesome guests, or working on the latest social media strategy for a customer, or that I was around and I was like, okay, yeah, I gotta I gotta figure this out. I gotta figure out this harmony. Otherwise, you know, no matter how much I provide, no matter how much money I'm able to bring in, no matter all the great things I can buy, like every every failed actress, every stripper with dad issues, it all boils down to dad wasn't around enough.

SPEAKER_02 17:06

Dad wasn't there. When you when your kid gets a little bit older, not I mean a lot older for you, because he's the only one, but like when they're around 11 or 10, you'll start to reap what you've sown. And like I just like my kid just turned 13 and puberty is real, dude. It is real, like it's it hits like overnight. It's like they wake up one day, like 99% happy all the time, not in their feels ever. And then one day they wake up and they're just like in their feels, lost, confused, like, and it's it's a thing. But you know, you that's the point that you get to see like what you have done. And like you'll see all of your mistakes right then and there, and you will be instantly um reminded of you know, like all those times that you didn't pull weeds in that garden or all the, you know, whatever. Like it's all gonna come out right when they hit that that mark at you know, between 12 and 13 or whatever it is, whenever they hit it, and and you're gonna see, like, yeah, I mean, it's been a big wake-up call for me. I I got really kicked in the chest in the last four months, um, and pretty much has changed my life forever. And and uh, you know, I'm still going through it, and but every day is just getting extremely it's just getting so much better for me.

SPEAKER_03 18:22

And and um, yeah, what what happened if if you don't mind me asking?

SPEAKER_02 18:25

Yeah, dude, you're you're probably the first person I've ever talked to about it. So congratulations. No, I'm just kidding. But um yes, exclusive. Yeah, it's really not that big of a podcast. It's like exclusive breaking news. Uh somebody didn't kill somebody overseas. Well, no, I'm just kidding. Like, who knows? Who cares? But uh I love that bombshell today in veteran. Bombshell today, Eric Tancy.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

It's like every day, it's like bombshell.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Guess who didn't kill somebody? It's like breaking news.

SPEAKER_03 18:53

Eric Tansi's selling all of his vital organs.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Tim Bin Laden.

SPEAKER_02 18:58

Like, who cares? Like, bro, who cares?

SPEAKER_00 19:00

It was me.

SPEAKER_02 19:01

It was me. I did it. Rob was lying for me, or Tim was lying for me, or whatever. I assume control. Remote control of Rob O'Neill's body, and I executed bin Laden. Like, how many, how much of this can be breaking? Like, it's just it's like insane. Like, even this week, I uh like I saw it's like breaking news, uh breaking podcast news. It's so much it's like, dude, haven't we been talking about this for like two years now? I don't know. Like, um, but no, um, no, dude, for me, uh, the big life moment changing was like uh it was it's just been a very weird time. I always thought um, you know, I was raised a religious kind of guy, uh, a raised in church. And the minute I turned 18, I was out. I was out. Like I moved out really like three weeks before I turned 18. And um I was gone, bro. And and and I never followed God ever, ever again. I mean, I prayed here and there, of course, like going through military stuff, you know. Of course, you slide in these prayers and everything. And but I just thought, like, I'm doing good. So I don't need to like worry about God. Like I'm doing the right thing. I'm making like I'm not a bad person. And and I really just spent the last 20-something years of my life thinking that like, well, because I'm doing acts of goodness or kindness and I'm kind to people, then I'm fine. Like I don't need to rely on God. I don't need any of this stuff. And then also in turn, I meet people with addictions and drugs and everything, and they hit rock bottom and they have these epiphanies and they find God and all these things. And in my brain, you know, I was like, well, of course you found God because you're at rock bottom. Like that was my cop mentality. Like, you what else are you gonna find? Therapy didn't work for you. This didn't work for it. So, like you decided at this moment you're gonna change, and everything else that you decided didn't work. So, of course, now that you've decided to change and there's nothing else to put the put the credit on, God gets to have that credit. But for me, it wasn't real. Like it was like you were gonna change whether it was a therapist or whether it was anything, because you chose it was time to change. You just chose to to choose God as being the uh the sole recipient of your you know, your comeback. Good. I'm glad you came back, whatever it takes. That was my mindset. And um, I've never been at rock bottom. I've never I don't have addiction issues. Uh never cheated on my wife, never adultery, don't drink, don't drive, don't gamble, don't have motorcycles, don't have both. I don't really have anything that could put me at rock bottom, right? Like no motorcycle accidents, no cancers, no nothing to put me at rock bottom. I've always just been pretty happy. And um, dude, all of a sudden, like my book was about to come out, and just this series of just they there they were knockdowns that can only be described. If I described them to you, you would just probably be like, well, that's just life, Eric. But if I explained to you exactly when they happened and how they happened, you would be like, Well, no, I don't believe you're stretching the truth, maybe, or like maybe you just perceived it wrong. Like it's it's it's unexplainable to to a person what was happening in my life because my life is perfect on paper. It's great. But it was these little tiny knockdowns, and I couldn't. Get a win, dude. From the minute the book came out, there was no wins. But there was wins on paper, right? Like, here's a check for$25,000. Well, like, how are you still like poor? Oh, well, because the check hasn't come yet. And, you know, you've got this birthday coming and or whatever. I mean, just like I said, I don't even like to talk. I'm I'm not even going to talk about it, but just because they're so minuscule that it doesn't really make sense on paper. But for me, I was just like loss after loss after loss, dude. And I was just getting kicked down. And they were at the most insane times. You couldn't put the timing like kids' birthday three days before Christmas. Like just these wild setbacks. And um, I'll tell you the one that really kicked me in the in the butt the hardest. You know, I don't know. I'll I'll can I give you an example? Do we have time? Yeah, yeah, please, dude.

SPEAKER_03 22:49

This is our show. We dictate what's going to be talked about.

SPEAKER_02 22:53

Uh Andy Stumpf, right? So I'm gonna go on the Andy Stump show. That's big for me for the book. It's huge. Huge, you know. So we get to Montana. I don't talk to, I've never talked to Andy's, never gotten an email from them or anything. It was all set up third party. And I get to Montana, and um, you know, I've got a huge check coming um from the book, big check coming, but I don't have it yet. And so I'm tapping into a little bit of savings, and I'm not gonna say, I'll just be honest with you, show. Like I probably had close to five grand in savings. Not a lot, but I have five kids. It's what it is. So I'm tapping into that to make this long trip out to Montana with Austin von Lechtmann, Mandatory Fund Day. And in my brain, this is an investment, it's a business investment. I'm tapping into my savings because I'm gonna have all this, you know, I'm gonna get all this clout, I'm gonna get all of these fans from this. I'm gonna be with, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So yeah. So I fly out there, right? And then, and of course, I get out there and I meet Andy. And Andy doesn't look at me, doesn't even talk to me the first day that we're there. He only talks to Austin. And then he talks to Austin about flying out the next day to New Jersey. And I'm like, well, whoa, I thought I was podcasting with you tomorrow. But like, he's not even giving me a minute. So I'm stressing, bro. And I'm I've got the cheapest hotel, which was like, I don't know, I posted a video about how terrible the hotel was. It was awful, dude. Like there was urine in the toilet when I got to the hotel.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

I like I did like an MTV crib.

SPEAKER_03 24:19

Was this the was this the uh the the hotel stripper ghost? Yes, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

Oh like I'm not even like people thought that was a parody.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

No, like I was there were ghosts for sure. And yeah, it was ugly, dude. There was like stains on the carpet that indicate a murder had taken place at some point in time. So uh, you know, and then I wake up and you know, he's kind of like Andy has a very sarcastic sense of humor. And so we had coffee and he was just like being very sarcastic towards me. Like I felt in my insecure brain at the time. And um, so I like I called Nick and I was like, dude, I'm not doing this. I'm not going on this guy's podcast. Like, this is like I don't want to do it. And he, of course, he talks me down. And the podcast happens, and I do it, and I do the worst podcast I've ever done in my life.

SPEAKER_03 25:05

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Protecting Kids From Online Poison

SPEAKER_02 25:23

I talk super fast. I'm super nervous. I'm all over the place. And of course, like the comment section just eats me alive on that podcast. I get home from that podcast and I have other shows to do in like Texas and all these other places, and I still haven't gotten paid yet. And so I'm just eating at this five grand that goes very fast. Very fast when you're flying, eating, and doing things. And my son's birthday is coming up, and uh and the checks don't come. The check doesn't come. Not only does that check not come, but like three other sponsors don't pay on time either for like the first time ever. And now I'm kind of like towards the middle of the month with like$200 to our name, and I'm still flying around. And um, it got to be my kids' birthday part, my birthday, and uh there was a skateboarding contest in Wilmington. Um, and I was really trying to get out of going to that contest and and thought we could plan something at home and it would be cheaper, and I could, you know, do other things. And he was like, No, I really, really want to go to this contest.

SPEAKER_03 26:30

And I was like, okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:32

So I explained to my kids, I'm like, guys, we're gonna go to the skateboard contest. I don't have any money, and it's your brother's birthday. So when we go places, like I'm gonna probably buy him Gatorade and stuff, but like everybody else, you guys are like drinking out of the cooler, like, like I need your help. He's eight, like it's his birthday. And and I explained to him, like, look, dude, like if you win, bro, I can't take the family out for dinner. So, like, if you win, like maybe you and I'll go out to dinner, or you and mom can go out to dinner, but like we really gotta save our money if we're gonna do this trip. Because you gotta buy the hotel and everything, you know. And I think we probably had like 900 bucks in the account at that time. And um, so we go to this contest and he freaking wins, dude. He's eight, and he was in like the 12 and under division. Definitely should not have won. He freaking wins, and they give him$100 cash. And he comes over and he was, you know, of course, like all of his brothers are cheering for him and everything. And he was like, dude, I got a hundred dollars, that means I can take us all out to eat.

SPEAKER_03 27:34

Oh man. What a sweet.

SPEAKER_02 27:37

It is the worst meal of my life, bro. I was trying not to cry like the whole meal, and he was like, Dad, do you like it? Like we ate like an Asian buffet, and he's like, Dad, do you like it? They have crawfish. Do you like the crawfish? And I'm like, I love it. I love it. It's the best meal ever. I'm such a piece of crap that I can't even afford my kids' birthday dinner, you know? Like, I just, dude, it hit me hard. Plus, I was seeing all the bad comments on Andy's show, like, oh, this guy talks so fast. Uh, you know, like all these things that shouldn't really bother me. They're just, it was all hitting me. And so, you know, here I have this book release, I'm on the bestseller list, and I just feel like garbage. Anyway, I finally got paid. Great. Um, you know, dollar too late because I already had this thing. And then Christmas rolls around, and the same things kind of happen again where the checks don't come in right before Christmas. Actually, we did have a check come in, but we were out on vacation. So I was like, screw it, dude. Like, we'll bury this account and then I'll put all this money back in the account when we get home. Because I don't like to take pictures of big checks and like do it digitally. So, you know, we're gone out of town, so I'm just blowing money and who cares? Like, I have the check. I have the money right here. Like, I just have to go put it in a bank. So who cares about the savings accounts? Who cares about this? Like, spend the money, kids. And like three days before Christmas, of course, that account's like down to like nothing. And I go to take this freaking check. And for the first time in my life, the the new bank teller decides that she doesn't recognize this check because it was coming from I was on a set, and part one of the checks was from Hollywood. And so it says like Hollywood on it, you know. And um, I don't know, maybe that's what made her do it. I don't know, but she was like, this doesn't look real. She puts a seven-day hold on everything.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Oh no.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

Like three days before Christmas. It was, I think it was a five-day hold, but it was business days. And so you had Christmas Eve, Christmas, and then Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So it ended up being like 10 days of no money. Bro, we were like negative in the in the account. And I'm like, how? I don't have any vices. I'm not like running lines of coke. We're not going out to eat every night. Like, we're literally like doing what we should be doing with our kids, which is these skateboarding adventures and stuff like that, you know. And it's just like now it's Christmas and we still don't have any money. It was just these like little tiny bit. Again, I'm not at rock bottom by any means, but I was just just, I was over it, dude. And um I was over it. And I I went to go get a job at the post office. I I was gonna, I told uh Nick, I said, dude, um, I'm done. Um, this was before the Christmas incident. This was way before this was like in like November, this was like in October after all the Andy's stuff. I was like, bro, I'm done. I'm done podcasting, I'm done social media, I'm done chasing sponsors for money. I'm gonna go get a real job again, and that's gonna be it. I'm going to the post office right now, and that's it. And he's like, do me a favor, dude, go to jujitsu first. Like, go do jujitsu and then go to the post office. I was like, fair, I'll do that anyway. Went to jujitsu, whatever. Um got in my car, dude, and um Dan uh Caldwell from Tap Out called me. Um and I I don't know him, didn't know him. I was supposed to, I was scheduled to go on a podcast with him, and uh I got this random call. I don't know, I think the number was from LA or Nashville or something. So I was like, eh, I'll take it because that looks like it could be important. And he was like, hey, uh Eric, this is Dan Caldwell. And I was like, like Dan Hunk ass Caldwell? And he was like, Yeah, and I was like, what's up? And he was like, nothing. Uh I got you scheduled to come on a podcast on Wednesday. And I was like, Yeah, man, actually, I was gonna email you guys today. I've never I've never flaked on a podcast, dude, but I'm so sorry. I'm a big fan. I love to see you in the movie The Warrior, one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm not gonna be able to go on your podcast on Wednesday. And he was like, What? And bro, how many people have you called before a podcast?

SPEAKER_03 31:37

Friggin' nobody.

Sponsors, Delays, And Humbling Lows

SPEAKER_02 31:39

Nobody, bro. Nobody in the industry does that. It's all over emails, right? Exactly, yeah. This dude called me. Like, no plan, just calls me. And he's like, Well, can I ask you what's up? And I was like, dude, it's an entrepreneur of podcast. I'm a failed entrepreneur times like 20. Like everything I've done sucks. Like, I didn't make it as a Green Beret, didn't make it as a cop, didn't make it as a distillery owner, didn't make it as a rum bar owner, don't make it as a podcaster, not making it as a podcast network. My book is like doing terrible. Like, it's it's awful. And he was like, whoa, okay, hold on. He was like, and I was like, look, dude, I'm not gonna sit here and talk to Dan Punk ass Caldwell about my life problems on the phone. You don't have time, I don't have time. I'm not asking for a handout when I'm telling you. And I said just like this, I was like, I'm not going on your podcast on Wednesday. Find a real entrepreneur, I'm done faking it, like, boom. And he's like, All right, can I ask you one more question? I was like, yes, sir. And he goes, What are they repoing right now? And I was like, what? And he's like, What's being repo'ed? Is it your house? And I was like, no. And he's like, it's just your car. I was like, no, nothing's being repo'd. Like, I've I've never had anything repo'd. All my shit, my all my stuff's paid off, actually. And he's like, oh, okay. Um is is it your is your wife leaving you? I was like, no, what? And he was like, wait, I mean, you're at rock bottom, right? And I was like, I mean, yeah, I I mean, yes, in in my world, I'm at rock bottom. Like this is rock bottom for me. Like, I'm done. Like, I'm I'm actually Dan going to the post office right now to go get an application. My dad retired like 30 years in the post office. I'm going to, I'm gonna go work at the post office for like forever. And he was like, Okay. And he's like, but nobody's repo'd anything. And he's like, no. And he was like, How many, how many books have you sold? And um, I was like, uh, you know, at this point, because at this point the book had only been out for like 60, 60 days, and I was like, a couple thousand? He was like, You've sold a couple thousand hardcover books. I was like, Yeah, yes. And he was like, dude, that what are you talking about? Like, you sold a couple thousand books already? I was like, Yeah, but I'm not on the New York Times bestselling list. Like I didn't hit the the goal in five days, the 10,000 in five days goal. And he was like, yo, what? And he was like, dude, he goes, I he goes, you ever watch Good Morning America? And he's like, you know how you can see Main Street or New York, the street that goes by and you can see all the cars passing by the window as they're talking. It's like, yeah, he's like, when I went on Good Morning America, the tow truck that drives by was on its way to go repo my car. He goes, I was on Good Morning America and my car was being repo'd, dude. And I was like, oh, that's crazy. And I was like, I was like, yeah, but I don't have like addictions up. He's like, I don't have addictions. I wasn't doing drugs, I wasn't getting drunk. He's like, dude, I own Tap out. I was an MMA fighter. I wasn't doing any, like, I wasn't doing drugs, hookers, I wasn't doing nothing, dude. I was training to fight and trying to be the best fighter in the world and like bring the best fighters with me. And he goes, bro, four years into Tap Out, I was living part-time on Chuck Liddell's couch. And by part-time, I mean when Chuck had a girl over, I had to go find somewhere else to spend the night until, you know, so nobody knew I was living on this guy's couch, you know. And um, and he was like, dude, you're not at rock bottom. Like, stop with the, you know, stop with that. You're like being too hard on yourself. And dude, he ended up talking to me for like two hours, bro, like about like everything. And um, you know, we kind of got off the phone call and I called Nick and I was like, dude, did you call Dan Coldwell? And he's like, no. And I was like, so this guy just calls me out of the blue, and I didn't believe it. I was like, whatever, dude. No, I I bet you guys set this up, like, because you knew I was in my fields, you know. And um, I really didn't believe anything that Dan said. I went on his show, you know, we talked about like parenting and stuff, and I faked the funk. Again, that was in like October, I think. And uh November came around, and I was just getting more negative about myself, more negative about myself, feeling more like a failure, feeling more like a piece of crap, and just like regretting not going to the post office, like kind of throwing everything over his head. Finally, that Christmas thing happened. The check doesn't go through. And at this point, I'm like pretty much waking up every day grumpy now. Like I'm grumpy. I haven't even promoted the book, I haven't done a single podcast, I haven't done um anything. I'm working for Ranger Up, kind of like half half-assing it, thinking it's all going to implode on me because that's how my brain works. It's like where like this isn't like manifesting catastrophe. Yeah. And um, you know, I was just kind of buying my time and then uh Christmas happened, and that it was just kind of depressing because I should on paper have tons of money, and this should be the best Christmas of all time. And I have zero dollars and you know, a check that's being held for the next 10 days for no freaking reason. And I end up having to call my dad for like the first time, and like I'm 41 years old, and I'm like, dad, I don't have money to get gas to even like go to the grocery store. He's like, What? And I have to explain to him, I'm like, look, dude, this is what happened, like this is where you know, this is the money, like this is how much I have, they're putting a hold on it. He's like, and I'm I'm my dad's ruthless, dude. Ruthless. And I'm expecting just for him to just be like, you moron, like you're an idiot, you've got your family, and let me see your bank account. You know, I'm thinking it's just gonna be crazy. And he's like, dude, I got you. He's like, I'm gonna put a thousand dollars in your account. You're good. I was like, what? He's like, Yeah, pay it back when you can. And I was like, you're gonna give me a thousand dollars. Like, dude, my dad doesn't give you a thousand dollars. You know what I mean? Yeah. And he's like, dude, he's like, your family came here for Thanksgiving and like you got the best kids ever, and everybody's respectful. And like, dude, I get it. Like, you're trying to, he's like, you're trying to get to the moon. And when you're trying to get to the moon, it's really difficult. And you know, nobody gets there. How many rockets did what's his name blow up? And I'm like, is this my dad talking to me? Because like, this is crazy. And um, yeah, so he bailed me out. Of course, those checks clear, and I'm paying them all back and everything. And then um, and then another one hit, dude. The same exact, same exact shenanigans, the freaking septic tank erupts.

SPEAKER_03 38:01

Oh man.

SPEAKER_02 38:02

You know, and uh, you know, it's gonna cost me all the money that, you know, just it's just bad, bro. So I finally broke down and my wife was like, I just told my wife, I said, uh, I don't know what's going on. Like, how am I not, how am I not happy? Like I have the best kids, they're crushing it. Hot wife loves me, crushing it. Like, how am I just why I just feel like there's this enormous weight that I cannot get off my shoulders. And I have it since I was trying to be a Green Beret. It's like it never left, dude. It never left. And as you recall from the last story, like when I left the Green Beret program, it was not on my, it wasn't because of me. It was because of people around me and decisions that I made with other people. But like on paper, everybody was doing it was just, it was almost like God was like, Nope, you're not gonna be a green beret. You know, I open up the distillery, COVID happens. All these things happen, and God's just like, no, you're not gonna be a distillery owner. And so my wife actually sat me down and she was like, you know, what do what does everything you've done in your life have in common with each other? You know, we're just kind of talking, and I was like, I don't know. I don't know. And she's like, have you ever like asked God? No, no, I don't ask God. I just do. Like, I'm not a, you know, I'm not a bad, I'm not one of these people, like I know so many people that go to church and have Bible verses over their kitchen counters and they're having affairs and stuff like that. And if they're in the graces of God, then I know I'm in the graces of God because my my works are better than everybody's, dude. You're like, you know, I don't lie, I don't cheat, I don't steal. You know, like I'm definitely a Christian. And um, she was like I'm on the good side. I'm on the good side, you know. And um my uh I I don't know, my dad sent me a Bible verse devotional thing, and it had the story of Jonah on it, and I read it, and just the story of Jonah for the first time in my life like just kicked me. Like I was like, I'm Jonah. Like I'm I'm literally, I've been Jonah for 20 years. Like I literally left at 18 and decided everything I was gonna do was gonna be me. I'm gonna do it. Eric Tansi. I'm gonna go be a green bread. I didn't ask God. I'm gonna, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that. And I didn't pray. I didn't, I wasn't a servant to God. I was doing good works while I was there, right? I was a good cop. I was changing tires, buying diapers and panties, doing all the things, right? Doing all the works, but I wasn't praying. I wasn't talking to God and everything. And I just felt in that moment, like maybe, maybe that's maybe this is God, God's saying, like, I don't need you to be at rock bottom. You're gonna, you're good enough to keep yourself from addictions or from hitting rock bottom, but you're not bigger than me. And I will make you feel at rock bottom no matter what you do. And this is where it gets crazy, dude. Like the the the stuff had happened. I sat down with my wife and I just told my wife, dude, it hit me, bro. I told my wife, we sat down on the table. I just wanted to talk to you real quick. She's like, Yeah, what's up? And I was like, I want to submit my life to God. She was like, what? And I was like, I don't know. Like, I don't know what's going on in my life right now, but like I want to, I'm done. Like, I'm done running from God. Like, I want to be a spiritual leader in this house. I want to submit my life to Christ. And a week, two weeks prior to that, my kids asked me to stop cussing. My kids aren't Christians, they don't go to church. They've been to church like twice in their life. They don't know who Jonah was until like a week ago. They never heard the story of Jonah, dude. Never heard it. They asked me to stop swearing. I was like, all right, I'll stop swearing because I feel like I should try to, you know, whatever. You asked me to do it. Then I don't know why they asked me to do it, but I it would be an impossible feat for me to stop swearing. I've been swearing for 25 years, bro. Every word, every sentence. I know. The crassest guy on the planet, dude. Like, there's no like sentence that comes out of my mouth that I'm a swear word. Thought it was gonna be impossible. But anyway, in this moment, a week later, I told my wife, I was like, I'm just gonna submit myself to God. Like I'm done doing all this stuff. I don't know what's going on. I don't have an answer for you. I don't know if there's a church we can go to. I don't know. Like I just I'm done running from God and I don't want to do it. And I felt this in my heart. Like I felt it. I just felt like God was I like I felt like I was Jonah, right? Um and so she prayed and I said, and she said, Well, what do you want out of God? And I said, I think I was put on this earth to do good things for people. I want to bless people. I want to do what you do. I want to make people happy. I want to give people answers. I don't want to make them angry. I don't want to divide them. I don't want clout. I don't want to be famous. I don't want a mansion. I don't want cars. None of those things appealed to me, but I do, I think I've always been put on this earth to help other people. When I was in the Q course, I thrived. I peered very high because I love to carry heavy stuff for other people. I don't want to be a leader. I didn't want to take charge. I wanted to carry your weight. I wanted to be those things that you needed, that grunt, that hardworking guy that can be counted on. And then she said, I said, and I want to be able to bless other people. I want God to give me an opportunity to where I can take what I have and give it to other people. But like I have nothing and I'm not giving anybody anything. And everything I do do seems to be for clout or anti-clout. I try to do the right things and I go on Andy Stump and everybody hates me. Why does everybody hate me? You know, it's always me, the victim card, right? And um, and I said, I, you know, I I she said, well, let's pray about that. Let's let's ask God for that. And um, I literally, I don't know, I've I heard the verse like a long time ago, 20 years ago probably. And I just said, Lord, like help my help me to be blessed to where my cup runneth over and I can bless other people. And I think that was my prayer that night. The next morning, dude, that was on a Saturday. Actually, what happened on that Saturday was Nick, he doesn't know this story at all. He doesn't know any of this. But he asked me to go do a live show in Charlotte. Oh, nice. I didn't have enough gas money to even go to Charlotte. I used the last of our funds that to plan it out. So I wouldn't go like in the hole again, waiting on another check, which was coming again, like it was always like they're always coming. Do you know you know I don't know like if that your sponsors are that way, but it's like net 30, net 60, net 90. So they have like 90 days to pay you.

SPEAKER_03 44:06

Yeah, I do it differently. I structure it differently. I make that I make these motherfuckers pay me.

SPEAKER_02 44:13

I should have done that, but I didn't because I'm dumb, right? And of course, I've never had money problems. I will tell you this.

SPEAKER_03 44:19

I will say this. Get Honey Book. There's a shameless plug. I'll put it on the episode description. Get Honey Book booking. It's the form flow for a podcaster, a producer, for any sort of digital nomad out there. Honeybook's got you taken care of. It gives you the tools you need to book and get paid on time. Honeybook.com. Go in the episode description, click the link, and uh sign up today. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

The Montana Trip And A Bruised Ego

SPEAKER_02 44:46

Dude, I'm gonna check out Honeybook 100%. But like, dude, I like, and this is what's crazy, bro, is I've been doing this for like six years, like on a professional network with Drinking Bros. I've never been in the hole as much as I've been, and I'm like allegedly on paper, have more money than I should than I've made in the past. So how was I how am I not having any money? Like it was blowing my mind. But like I told you, like it was a Jonah type thing. It was like God saying, I have to break you down. And the only way for me to do this is by prolonging this money, making this like giving you no opportunity. It was just it, like I told you, like it sounds weird, but like for me.

SPEAKER_03 45:23

It doesn't. I'm a man of faith.

SPEAKER_02 45:24

God was like forcing his hand on me. And um, so anyway, I end up going and doing this this live show with Nick, and I use what was scheduled out to be. So I was like, all right, I'm gonna go do this thing for Nick, babe, but you're gonna have to rearrange our budget, take$60 of gas out, because it's gonna cost me about$60 to get there and back. Take$60 out and of the gas funds because I'm about to blow it. She goes, well, if you do that, we're gonna only have this much to get you for the rest of the month, or we're gonna have to go back tapping into like the savings account again, which is right where you don't want to be. And we just started this in the new year, so like you got to make it happen. And I'm like, oh, this is awful. I'm tired of living this way. And like I'm angry again. I do the thing, but I come back home and of course my wife and I have that discussion and we pray that night because I'm tired of it. I'm just done. I'm broke. Like that broke me. That stupid trip to Charlotte was like, ugh,$60 killed me. How is this happening? I wake up Sunday morning, dude. I get a call from Blake Reynolds, the influencer. He's got like 200,000 followers just on Instagram. I think he's got more on TikTok, whatever. But I mean, he's got the the reality TV series Raising Reynolds. Great TV because he adopted all those kids and stuff. Really cool guy. Had him on a podcast like three years ago. Haven't talked to this dude in probably two or three years. Bro calls me on Sunday out of the blue. Bro, can't I I'm not lying to you. Calls me up and he goes, dude, I I woke up this morning and God put on my heart to send your kids$300 today. I said, What? My wife's eyes got like this big. She's like, what? I was like, bro, what do you what? And he goes, dude, I woke up today. I don't know. Like, God put it on my heart. Mind you, I prayed Saturday night for the first time. Like, like I gave it all up to God, like Dunski's Sunday morning. Now I'm getting this call from Blake Freaking Reynolds. God put it on my heart to send your kids 300 bucks. Each one of your kids$100 each. Three kids, uh, the three sons that are skateboarding. Yeah. And I said, why? And he goes, I don't know, dude. I woke up. I saw the first thing I saw when I got online was your kids. It made me so happy. It brings me so much joy. They're living their best life. And God said, those kids deserve$100 each. And I was like, bro, I don't know what to say. Um I I mean, go ahead and talk to them. They have their own account. You know, that's that's awesome. Yeah. Like, so he talks to the kids. He's like, hey boys, I'm gonna give you this money, spend it on however you want to spend it, spin it on yourself. And so I was like, dude, thank you. That that was that was awesome, bro. Thanks. And that didn't even hit because that doesn't help me, right? Giving my kids$300 doesn't really help me out of this minor situation that I'm not even in. He Venmos$500. And he said, I'm gonna send I in the Venmo card, it said, take your wife out for dinner or use that for whatever you want. And it was like, my wife goes, Who did you tell that we didn't have any money? I said, dude, I would tell nobody. It's the most embarrassing thing in the world. Like, how do I explain to somebody that I make this much money, but I have zero money and I have nothing to show for it? Like, and they're not gonna believe that I don't have addictions, they're not gonna believe that I'm not doing like nefarious activities. Like, it's impossible, honey. Like, I would never tell anybody this. She's like, So you so you think that Blake really like just woke up? And I was like, dude, I don't know. And we, I mean, I was literally shaking because that$200 solved it could it might as well have been a million dollars for me. And in that moment, and of course it's subjective because of course then the money hits the bank account and you're fine five days later, and this was all Fugazi anyway, but like it was God in that moment, like making me feel a type of way that's saying, like, you have to be better, bro. I don't know that I have said 10 cuss words in a week.

SPEAKER_03 49:19

Heck yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:21

I'm not even trying to not swear, dude. I'm not even trying. It's like God completely changed me, and I don't even know what's going on. Bro, AJ Buckley from the TV series SEAL team, um, big producer on this Mel Gibson film, calls me yesterday for an hour and a half. We ended up like praying, talking about God, like reading scriptures to each other. I shared he was like, send me your devotion.

SPEAKER_03 49:46

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SPEAKER_02 50:26

Because he's on set right now producing this movie, and it's the first movie that he's the executive producer on. So he's got his own office. So he's been like FaceTiming me and he's like, bro, look at this. And and I've got a part in this movie too, which is gonna be really fun. So yeah, it's been really fun. Um, I've been on a couple Hollywood sets now, and they're really exciting and fun. And um, so he's like showing me, he's like, bro, I've got my own office, and it's cool. And I've become like really close friends with this guy for no reason, except God, and he's going through the spiritual journey now that I didn't understand in November. He was trying to explain to me some stuff, and I was like, Cool, dude, like that's great. Like, I'm glad that you have found God. You were there yet. You weren't you were there yet? I wasn't there yet, but like now I am there. And like last night, I mean, now it's like I talked to him for like over an hour, a FaceTiming, and then um, and then next thing you know, we're like exchanging devotions back and forth, talking about the and my wife is like, dude, look at like where you've come in 10 days, you know, and you've been happy, you haven't been swearing, you haven't done anything. And I was like, dude, it is crazy that when God wants for me, it was like God was just, you know, it was like a total Jonah situation, dude. So I call it like the new me. I don't really know what it means yet, but I've woke up every single day, had a devotion with my parent, my children, and my wife every single day at eight o'clock in the morning-ish. Um, we get in a circle. It's a five-minute devotion that my dad sent me on an app. And um, and then we we pray and it's oldest to youngest. So on Monday it's me, on Tuesday it's my wife, on Wednesday, it's uh and so like my kids have been praying for the first time, they're killing it. Like, I mean, today my son was like praying for homeless people, and I was just like, I almost like wanted to cry, you know, because I was like, I didn't teach him this stuff, you know? Um, and it's just been it's been a really great two weeks. I don't know where it goes from here, but then you asked me to be on your podcast, and I'm like, wow, dude, this is this is this is great because you're the first podcast I've really done in a hot minute, dude. Because I I thought I was kind of done podcasting.

Money Stress And A Child’s Gift

SPEAKER_03 52:20

Well, dude, I I can't thank you enough for sharing that. And I I will tell you, man, I didn't find my faith until I went through the worst. And it and like I said, like I've been more vulnerable with my faith as I've gotten stronger, more resolute in it. Um, proud Catholic, do my rosary, go to Mass, try to get adoration. That's my number one thing. Go to adoration now in the new year, every week. That way I can put that at the forefront. Because I know what it's like to be exactly where you were describing it. There's been like 100% full, full transparency. There's been moments in this journey for me where it's like nobody values this. I I I can't, I'm not gonna go to towards a negative. I'm not gonna do a breakdown video because that's not what I want people to value me with. If the only thing that they see of worth is my time as a green beret, then I'm that's that's nothing. I don't want that. I don't want people to see me as just a green beret. It's something that I'm forever gonna be proud of, but it does not fucking define me, and I'm not gonna do the videos. And and the sponsors weren't there. There weren't people rallying, but there was there's always been one group of dudes. There's always been the ones ready podcasts, specifically um Aaron Love. Every single time I have been stressed financially, every single time where I a freaking client falls through. I I don't get, I don't lock in that next show to produce. I don't get that the the funding I needed to get that next tool so I could design that or do audio design better. And I'm sitting there struggling with the idea of like, fucking nobody wants me. Nobody wants me on their fucking team. No one's there wasn't people lining up at the door to come work with me or bring me onto their teams. What the fuck am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? I get a text message or a phone call from fucking Aaron Love. Out of nowhere, out of fucking no more. Aaron doesn't owe me that. He has no need to do that. But that guy, for some reason, God has always sent him the idea to connect with me. And I'll tell you, man, the the greatest thing that I've ever been able to do was pay it back tenfold. Anytime I think that somebody is struggling, or anytime it just pops in my head, I'm gonna reach out. I I'm gonna be an absolute fucking advocate and I'll I'll be your I'll be your only champion. If you're out there struggling, you need somebody to to uh cheer you on, reach out, let me know. Let's connect, let's be friends, because you didn't serve your life in the military just to come out of it and not have somebody that will sit there and root for you, man. Like, and the thing is, the other thing, Eric, the the powerful thing about who you are is you do have a story of always supporting people around you. And this community is very fucking small. And one of my guests that I had come on is like, have you did Eric tell you the full story about him going through the cue course? And so I was like, No, no, no. He he he mentioned what happened, he's like he graduated. By all intents and purposes, everybody that was there with him, he's a green beret. He is loved and respected by everybody he went through the cue course with, man. That dude's solid. End of quote. People respect you, love you, and admire you, man. But we don't stop to reflect that when we're or reflect on that when we're focused on I failed. Reframe that. No, you didn't fail. Life happened. Life friggin' happened, it didn't pan out. Okay, move on to the next. I have I have failed at so many friggin' things post-service, and I will continue to fail, and I will continue to step step up and and take a shot because that's that's a real failure. When we stop trying, when we stop wanting to achieve more. You're a father to amazing kids, and you said it yourself, an amazing wife, brother. That's an accomplishment. Right? Yeah. You you you and I are not America's next top male models, but we have wonderful wives. That says something. That says something. Even when I don't want to look in the mirror and believe in myself, I look at that woman, I look at the caliber of human being that she is, the amount of, I mean, just she's fucking I would never tell this to her face, never in a million years, but no, but like I married somebody that is so far out of my league. If they woke up one day and was like, hey, look, I clearly I'm a fucking 20. You're you're a five. I'd be like, yeah, you're right, you're right. Like, and I guarantee you have the same idea and understanding, but like, but we're we're not gonna ever walk away from that gift. And we have to acknowledge that they chose us. They they had a conscious decision, they chose us, so damn it, we have to believe in ourselves as much as they believe in us, because like that's that's what we need to do to get to that point where we can see us ourselves as the successful individuals that we know eventually we're we're going to be. But we just have to keep working and move forward. The the proof of the concept is out there. The first iteration, the second iteration, the third iteration of great veteran entrepreneurs that are out there, if they can do it, we can do it. If they can achieve success, if they can be leaders in a nonprofit space, if they can be leaders and build empires in the coffee world and build empires in the podcasting world, why not us? Why not us? Why can't we do it? We don't we don't have the the fancy team right now, or yet, but we could if we continue working hard, man. And I I think that what I love about you and your story and what you're doing is you put your family first in a world where that's become just absolutely impossible to friggin' find, you do that. And that gives me hope because that's what I want to do. Like, this is great. But if I'm not if I'm if I'm not championing my kids and being the number one hero, which is exactly what you're doing, why am I in this space? Like, that's what I want people to take away from this. As much as you say that I was an inspiration, brother, you're an inspiration to me. This episode of Security Hall is brought to you by Dr. Mark Gordon and Millennium Health Store. If you've listened to this show, you know how seriously we take brain health, recovery, and long-term performance, especially for veterans and high performers. Dr. Mark Gordon is one of the leading experts in neuroendrocrinology and traumatic brain injury. He's just released his new book, Peptides for Health, both the Medical Edition, Volume 1, and a Consumer Edition, Volume 1, are available right now. The book breaks down how peptide therapy supports brain health, hormonal balance, recovery, and resilience in a way that's practical and evidence-based. You can get 25% off the book by using code PTH25 at checkout, valid through March 15th. And for Dr. Gordon's proprietary health products, Security Health listeners can receive 10% off if they use the code phase2P. Click the link in the episode description to find out more and visit Millennium Health Store today. Because fatherhood's about taking care of your kids and making them feel like they're the number one fucking thing in the world. And I don't uh I have no doubt that your kids do that. The way that you champion your family, the way you put them first, that needs to be studied and emulated across the freaking board, man. So you're not going to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_02 59:58

You gotta invest in your kids, man. And you're doing that. And that's that's the greatest gift, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:04

That's the greatest gift.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:05

And uh, you know, and it's it's being a parent is a lot of fun. Um, you know, it's been really good, and it's important for you guys to do these shows. And you know, at the end of the day, like for me, everything that I was doing was was good works, and that was it. And the good works made me feel good. So it wasn't like a selfless service, right? Like I was doing good things because when I did something good, it made me feel good about myself, or maybe it made me feel better than everybody else. May I don't know. I but I didn't do it because I was doing it because I was a godly man. And so I heard a verse when I was younger. I have no idea where the verse, what what chapter of the Bible it's in or anything, but it was always like not by works that you have been saved, right? It's the gift of God. I never understood it until about 10 days ago what the gift of God really was for me. And that it wasn't about all those good things that I was doing, because it obviously meant nothing. Like in the grand scheme of things, if you're not glorifying something bigger than yourself, you're not glorifying God. If you're running from God like Jonah, you know, you're never, you're not, you're just not gonna, you're not gonna win. If God wants you, if God's gonna call you home to do his works, he's gonna call you. Whether it takes 20 years for me, it takes 10 days. Um, and and already it was funny because I remember I told you I asked, like, God help my cup to run it over so that I can bless other people. And of course, at the time, I was thinking about money. But like, as I go on, that blessing is not money that your cup runneth over and that you can bless other people. It's that you're in a position that you can truly be there for other people. And I I actually had a really good friend, dude, and that this was last week, and um, he got he came to Raleigh to get his brain zapped uh for PTSD. Like, I guess they have the psychological thing. And this guy's tried everything for post-traumatic stress syndrome, dude. He's always been on the brink of suicide. You know, you know those guys, right? Like you're just like one bad week from just and it's been like that for 15 years that I've known him or whatever. And um, I was just like going through the the throes of of my spirituality. Again, this was like a week ago, and I don't want to be that guy, right? Like, I don't want to be that guy preaching to people because you know I'm not, but he calls me and he's like, dude, you can we get coffee? I'm in Raleigh getting my brain zapped. I mean, I'm in your neck of the woods. Let's go get coffee. And um, it ended up not working out, but I could get coffee. And I said, dude, I cannot get coffee with you, but you can come to my house and I can make you, my wife can make dinner and and we can, you know, sit by the fire and then and then and it'll work out that way. I'm just on a different side of the area and I won't even be anywhere close. But by the time I got to your house, if I tried, or where you were staying in Raleigh, it would, you know, it would be nine o'clock at night, you know. So it was just easier. And so he came over, and again, I had no idea. And he and I were standing out by the fire, dude, and he was just he was he was just laying it all on me about all these struggles. And I said, dude, I don't have any answers for you. I I can just tell you that uh, you know, I I submitted myself to Christ recently in the last couple of days, and uh, I felt really better. And if you haven't found anything, you know, maybe, you know, maybe maybe just try God once, like just try that. And I don't know. And and uh I think he was just kind of like, you know, he he said something so you know, under his breath or whatever. Because I get it, it's weird, right? Nobody wants to hear from a new Christian how they should should do what you're doing, right? Um, and then we just started talking by the fire, and um, I was like kind of like overwhelmed by his story. I had no answer. I knew I didn't have an answer, and before, before my like revelation with God, I would always have an answer, right? I know I'm error. I'll tell you what to do, I'll tell you how to be a better thing.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:37

And I can solve your life problems.

Phone Calls That Changed Everything

SPEAKER_02 1:03:39

I will tell you that you don't need a therapist, you need to get right with yourself, you need to give yourself three positive statements and you like I I always had an answer in this moment by this fire. I knew that I don't have answers, that the guy didn't have answers. And I kind of like I broke down around the fire and and I said, dude, I I all I can say, and I was like kind of crying, and I was like, I I love you. And he was like, What? And I was like, dude, come here, I just want to hug you. I love you. And it's all I could come up with. It was the only thing I could come up with is I love you. And we hugged and we both started crying. It was, and we just we just hugged, and it wasn't like a big spiritual moment or anything, but here we are, two grown men around a fire, just hugging it out. And he called me the next day and he goes, dude, I was having a panic attack and I prayed, and I'm I'm good. And I just wanted to call and say, I love you, and I want to pray with you right now. And I was like, dude, this is a guy that sends me like a D pick like every week for 15 years, like random wiener picks, you know what I mean? Like, we are not spiritual guys, and it's just been, dude, it's been it's been 10 days of uh like a revival. It's just been like 10 days of everybody just and and I feel good, dude. I feel good, and I want to do what you do, and and I and I like to say that like you are so important, and I'm not just saying that. I followed you for no reason, bro. I was I had no reason to follow you. Matter of fact, I hate Green Beret podcasters. I hate, I don't want to be reminded of it. I I don't want to be reminded that I'm not in your community. Like, I don't want to be reminded that I'm not one of you guys. I don't want to be reminded. I don't want to, I don't want to hear anything that a special forces, survivalist, motivation speaker. I don't want to hear any of it. I hate all of you. But you always stayed in my algorithm and I always said, I like this guy. And I always watched it for the hour. Sometimes I didn't even care what you were saying. I was like, you know what? This I don't really, but I like this guy enough. I'm gonna watch the whole thing so it gives him time on his algorithm, right? And then sometimes I would be like, I would I would hear what you're saying and it would resonate with me. And I'd be like, oh dude, that's really good. Actually, that that is that was solid. Like that was I like what this guy is doing. So I like what you're doing, and and and maybe you don't see it sometimes from other people. People, but the space does need you specifically, guys like you. They really do.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:05

Thank you for that.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:06

You don't have it. You're the only one. You're the only one that's out there. There was a guy out there that was a SEAL back in the day doing it, but I hung out with him for one weekend and I was like, oh, so so you just say those things. Like, you don't you don't do any of those things. No, not at all. As he's running a line of blow at 3 a.m., you know, like it just got there. I'm like, oh, wow, okay. Geez. Like that video of you dancing with your wife yesterday.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:35

Not even a whole year. Oh, yeah. I shot that weeks ago. Yeah, it wasn't my life. That wasn't my wife.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:43

Dude, authentic, impactful mission, purpose. Purpose-driven, man. I'm nobody. Like, I'm not. I serve with some amazing people. Um, but I'm I'm I'm just trying to put some good out in the world. And yeah, some people will will listen with the background. But the reality is once we get on the outside, we're all the same. Like, the main thing I want to do is highlight transition issues, military issues, veteran mental health issues, and authentic stories like yours, man. And then be able to share mine. Be able to share that the mind, body, and spirit are three pillars that work together, man. And I was a broken dude for a long time, but the body was good. The body was doing good. I was able to not go through something, but then the surgeries add up. Then the deployments catch up. And then when the the body fails and the mind's not working because of all the different things are going on, and there's no spirit pillar, you're gonna go into crisis, man. The greatest, the greatest thing that ever happened to me was my wife deciding we're gonna go back to the Catholic Church. That was the greatest thing. And I and I I and I am grateful that I at least I understood that a family divided won't survive. And I understood, I'm like, we're we're going to church. We're I'm gonna have to figure this out. I'm gonna have to figure out confession. I'm gonna have to figure out what it means to be a Catholic man, what it means to be somebody that gets up and prays, and somebody that's willing to say, I'm gonna pray for the people that I think wronged me, and I'm gonna pray for the perceived ill the perceived wrongdoings. Like I pray for every single individual that I think has ever slided me, everybody, every single person. And you know the greatest thing about that when you pray for people that you don't like or you think are out there scheming against you, you realize it doesn't fucking matter. You realize it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that you're praying, you're actively caring about somebody else. Because it's not about a win or lose thing. You just want people to do well in life. That's what I realized. I remember how fast it shifted in my mind praying for somebody I didn't like or care for. And I realized, no, no, no, no. This is this is a bigger, it it's bigger than how I feel about somebody. I'm gonna pray with intention, with with vigor, with passion, and wake up every morning and just try to be a little bit better. Just try to pull it. And then maybe some people will turn it off, maybe some people won't like it, but that's okay because for every person that skips by it and passes off on that message, there's at least once that's gonna sit down and be willing to explore it. Because I'll tell you, it's an it's it's an it does nothing but bring good to your life. Like it does nothing but bring good. I worked so hard in 2025, countless nights and weekends, I didn't get any rest. But you know where I got rest? Where I felt energized? Going to mass, sitting with my family, holding my daughter, even when she was fussy, getting communion and sitting down, understanding this is for me, this pours back into me. And it gives me the motivation to keep going because at the end of the day, I know, I know when I pray, he's answering. Things didn't turn around for me. I wasn't getting any friggin' sponsors, I wasn't getting any sort of of attention and things weren't moving. And I thought, same thing, fuck, I'm not gonna be successful. And then one person, one person, one person came out of nowhere was like, love what you're doing, let's work together. And then another, and then another. And then I realized, okay, like, stay um, this is not just it's not a reward-based system. It's an alignment thing. I had to give up. I had to give up and remove just like you gave up swearing, I had to give up those things, kill the sin within you. All the stuff that you're struggling with, that you're wrestling with, maybe for you, or for you listening, maybe maybe it is alcohol addiction. Maybe it is, you know, you're prone to violence and anger outburst uh outburst, and you're you're quick to cut people down. Give that up. Surrender that, kill that part of you and give it up. Whatever vice you have, whatever thing that's completely removing you or keeping you from being completely in front of God, be willing to give it up. Be willing to walk away and watch what happens.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:11

Here's what happens with that too, because when I told my kids, again, this wasn't a God thing. This was like pre-God stuff. This was like one week prior to D-Day. Um my kids randomly were like, dude, can you quit swearing? And um, and it was funny because Nick's daughter was back from college and we were all, we were all filling orders for Christmas. It was fun, but it was so crazy. Nick has a kid in college, dude. Nick's got like, I think Nick's got like seven or eight kids. I lose track of how many kids Nick has.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:42

I'm still thinking of him like back in the GY.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:44

Bro, they're all amazing kids, dude. They're all like state wrestlers. One just one just got back from a deployment where he got shot.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:53

Yeah, one of the things. I've never met him. I've never met him in, but I I'm just I am I just always envision him the way he looked back in the the Ranger Up days.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:04

Like, yeah. That dude has offspring, lots of them. Um, and it's like the Brady bunch at his house, dude. It's great, dude. He's it's like big giant, it's like it's got all the rooms, all the kids are there. It's like very lived in. I love it. It's beautiful. He's he's just he is a he's an underrated good human being, bro. Completely underrated good person. And uh, but yeah, so one of his daughters was back, and and like, dude, his daughters wrestle in college and his sons wrestle, and yeah, they're all they're all they're all amazing kids. And um, she was like, You swear a lot. She's like, Can you ever can you say anything without a cuss word? And I was like, dang, dude, I've been swearing my whole life and nobody's ever cared. Like, why is all of a sudden in the last week my kids are telling me to quit swearing? Like, nobody has cared. I haven't like upped it up. Like, I haven't done anything. So when my kids asked me to stop swearing, I was like, all right, you know, this will be a fun New Year's resolution. It really wasn't a God thing at all. It was just like, my kids asked me to do it. I asked my kids to do hard stuff all the time. Uh, I'll start doing it. So I was like cussing a lot, but I was also substituting some cuss words with like fuggle nugget or like shiz and stuff like that. Then my one kid goes, like my eight-year-old was like, Dad, just cuss. Like, this is embarrassing. And I was like, what? You don't like, you know, sugar bottoms instead of that? He's like, No, I would rather you just say ah, fudge. Say it, you know? And he was like, it's embarrassing. So then I was like, well, I wasn't even really, really, I wasn't even stopping the swearing. It wasn't even a thing on my menu because it to me it was like an impossible thing. Yeah, I was just gonna do it, I was basically just saying I was gonna do it and just gonna have fun trying not to do it, but I knew it wasn't gonna last. When I submitted myself to God that night, swearing wasn't on the table. I wasn't even thinking about swearing, didn't even care. Like my life, my all the things that were going on in my life, the swearing was like the last thing I cared about. Like, who cares if I cuss? I don't care. I think when I woke up and I completely quit swearing, there was no conscious effort to stop swearing. And when I tell you, like that for so for me, the quitting swearing wasn't me saying, I'm gonna give up swearing for you, God. I think God took swearing out of my life to show me how big He is. He was like, dude, I'm just gonna let you wake up and you're just gonna stop swearing. How about that? Like, you're not even gonna have to try, dude. So this wasn't like an Eric Tansi going, I'm gonna stop swearing for God. I was stopping swearing for my kids like a week prior to all this. When I woke up and literally the swearing left my mouth, it literally just I cannot explain. It just left my mouth. So did everything else. My alg I told my wife this, my algorithm on my phone completely changed, dude. I didn't change. You know how you you know, I I always I always joke, like there's always these women on my phone and all this stuff. There's always like the or like the dumbest, like just crappy suicide jokes, dark humor, chicks doing dumb stuff all the time. And like I don't I don't have a password on my phone. Like my whole family, we all like they can all use my phone. I've just I've never I'm what I'm too lazy to figure it all out, and I'll I don't want to sit there and do all the you know whatever's um so I can't, I can only look at so much, I can only look at something that I can articulate to my family that's on my day, but my feed's always been ridiculously like dark. And my wife would like make fun of me. She's like, oh my god, the stuff that you see on a daily basis is not healthy. I was joking with her the other day. I was like, bro, I don't know what's like up with my phone. Scroll that Instagram feed right now. Like, just scroll it. Like, I that's gotta be a God thing because like Instagram doesn't care. Instagram doesn't care that I'm not looking at like foul, ridiculous, stupid stuff. So I don't know, dude. Like, I just like for me the same, dude.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:46

Same. Mine's nothing but now Catholic stuff and Warhammer 40k, which is pretty much the same thing.

Jonah, Surrender, And A New Path

SPEAKER_02 1:15:52

Yeah, but no, I actually had a word. Tournament at my distillery years ago, and it was so cool. I was like, these nerds wanted to do it, and I was like, I mean, I guess if you want to, they're like, we're gonna need it for 12 hours. I was like, Celsior. You need my whole distillery for 12 hours. You're like, yeah, because we have to set up and break down, and the game itself takes like 10 hours. And I was like, bro, they had like 200 people in there with these massive tables, and I just thought these guys were cool. They had people like painting characters and they had all these booths. It was actually really, really, really cool. Um, but yeah, dude, so like, you know, now my thought process is that like addiction might have seem impossible for you. Like you might be in a place like where I was with swearing, where it's like, okay, I can try to quit swearing, but that's probably not gonna happen. I've been doing it for 25 years. I will tell you this: all I did was submit myself to Christ. That's all I did with my whole heart, accidentally. Like, literally, I just gave myself to Christ. I just said, God, you are now in charge of everything. And I really meant it. I really meant you're in charge of my life, and God did that. God took the swearing away from me. It wasn't an Eric Tansi event that wasn't, I didn't have the will to forget it. Like, I I I can't even explain it, but I don't think you, I don't think I have said 10 cuss words in a in a week.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:10

Dude, I'm not crazy. You're motivating me now. I'm gonna take a I I'm taking that on. It's one thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:16

It's between you two boys. That's not me.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:19

Hey, yeah, I'm making it. I'm making it part of my life now. You challenged me. No, it's important, man. You you you're tapping into something that um I'm feeling it in my heart right now, too, man. I'm feeling it. Um because it's if if we make a commitment for how we speak, if we go back and look at the there's a reason why it's it's called swearing. There's a reason, you know, we I I still slip up and say, you know, GD. Hey, my wife's really quick about that because like, hey, it big or small, you you gotta count them in, and when you go to confession, you gotta bring that up to the man. Uh, which is like it's one thing, it's one thing to talk to God. And it's weird. People always ask me about like, you know, being Catholic and you going in there and talking to to uh you know your priest about what you've done. Like, isn't that weird? I'm like, at first it was I had a lot of a lot of issues with, and that's largely what kept me from going back because anybody that served in a GWAT, you have to think about the weight of all those things. You know, all the minor things you you threw up uh about. The thumb drives that we all shared. Oh, yes, that stuff too. All that stuff has to be brought up. And uh that's one thing where I'm like, well, he's never deployed. Why would I talk to my priest about that? And I realized real quickly after sitting down, studying, and speaking with my wife, um it's important to discuss and bring out all that stuff to to really find that closure for a lot of it, um, and really bring yourself back to a place where you're at a you're you're at the right starting line to go back to receive communion. That's the best way I can put it for you. If you want to go in depth and and talk about the the faith, hit hit me up, I'll tell you why confession is important. But when I started being an auditor of my own behavior, when I started being like, hey, I I can't consume this stuff, I can't talk like this, I can't say these mean hurtful things to individuals, I realized I was living better. I realized I wasn't being spiteful, I wasn't being mean and hurtful just because I was feeling something within myself and I wasn't lashing out. Because at the end of the day, you're gonna go talk to somebody about it. You're gonna bring that up at the end of the week. You're gonna go, you gotta go to math and be able to sit down in front of somebody and say, hey, I was hurtful to this individual. I was quick to anger and I said this, this, and this. No, you don't want to do that every single day. Because when you commit the when you commit yourself to bringing that stuff up on a weekly basis, or whenever you you take confession, if you're bringing up the same things over and over and over again, it's kind of a problem. You're gonna be like, I see that pattern here. Exactly. And I realized like, just like you said, um, you it took it, he took it from you. There's a lot of things in my life that weren't making me a good husband, a good man, that I was willing to just push off and say, whatever, it's not bad. I'm not smoking meth, I'm not doing lines of cocaine. Okay, yeah, yeah. But are you really, really living your best life? Are you are you gonna continue kicking this can down the road, saying the same things over and over and over again? And you're talking to another human being that's sort of like your your intermediary, intermediary, your middleman to God, and he's sitting there with you. And even that has a little bit of shame. And uh, like, hey, I'm coming in saying the same thing over and over again, and he's saying, like, hey, come on, man, what are you doing? There's not another tattooed dude in this in in this church, it's just you guy. I know who you are. We know you.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:04

You're like, you don't know who I am, but he's like, actually, I know I know exactly who you are. Oh, yes, I'm struggling.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:11

Denny, I know it's you.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:13

Oh no, it's not. It's me, Billy. My name is Book, and I am saying. He's like, nope, I still know it's you. It's clearly you.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:26

But I would get so amped and so angry of myself that you know, you you walk in and he's really quick to tell you, make sure you're using your low voice because I'm gonna be like, all right, I did it again. I did it again, it's a third time, and I'm I gotta stop doing this stuff. It's like lower your voice, guys.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:45

You're in there punching yourself. But like, I'll tell you what, if I do it again this week, I'm gonna put a gun in my mouth and I'm gonna blow my own brain down. If I cannot stop swearing, I will it's like, yo.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:58

Dude, it got to the point where I'm like, I'm frustrated and I'm feeling frustrated because I think I'm making you frustrated. And uh, it's like, no, dude, you just have to figure this out. You have to figure out how to kill the sinner in you, kill that that's keeping you from coming all the way to God and being close to him. And and it's the little things, man. If we can commit ourselves to not swearing, that's a good challenge for me. I think I'm gonna take that on, man. I think that listening to your conviction with that, it's easy to say, oh, it's just a little thing. But I think the little things matter. And I think if if we really truly believe that the little things matter, we gotta do what we can. I'm gonna put it in my heart right now. Like, can I be a better version of myself for my family? Because what if what happens when you meet somebody, somebody high up in an organization, and you want to be the best version of yourself? I've dropped a lot of swear words in key meetings. You know, I I hate to think that that's what's limited me from being able to connect with somebody, a potential sponsor of somebody, but maybe it has. Maybe I've been blocking my own growth in in certain endeavors because I can't be a better version of myself when it comes to speaking eloquently and actually using the English language properly.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:11

Yeah, I mean, that miracle like really instilled in me that God is real, that like He could He could take swearing away from me. Like it was just something I didn't see as possible. Like you're gonna, it's just like I can fake it, I can like do it under my breath where nobody can hear me, or I can like tone it back in certain moments, but I'm not gonna quit swearing. Like, that's just not gonna happen. Well, dude, it happened. And and like I have no way to explain to you how it happened because it hasn't even been a conscious effort. I'll tell you what else has happened is everybody has told me that I have imposter syndrome, and I have thought everybody else is an idiot, essentially, because I don't believe in imposter syndrome, like I don't believe in ADHD either. Like it's my superpower. Leave me alone. Like you can call it, you can give it a name, but like I really like not being able, like I like writing while having bluegrass music blaring right next to me. Like, can't write if it's not there. Or sometimes I like to write when there's like heavy metal death core going on. Like that helps me focus. Don't tell me I'm wrong. But anyway, um, the imposter syndrome was like, and you could hear it in all my podcasts because I would spend so much time trying to justify myself in what I'm saying. Yeah, because I didn't really believe in myself that you should just trust what I'm saying because I didn't feel like I'm trustworthy of saying it because I've always felt lower than myself. And so I've always had this like imposter syndrome, and and I've always had this thing was I'm not your leader. I'm not a leader, I am I am a nobody. I used to say that I mean every day. And Nick, Nick pulled me aside. Oh, it was after the the, you know, because that's what everybody said after the Andy Stump, like, wow, imposter syndrome, imposter syndrome. Andy was like, dude, you've got the imposter syndrome. And I was like, dude, you guys are all nuts. Like, I don't have imposter syndrome, I'm just a playing, probably playing the victim card or something. It's like, it's probably some stupid thing that I'm doing in my own internal, and like I'm just a piece of shit, you know, blah, blah, blah. You know, like that's what I was saying in in that moment, you know? And um, and that that was my attitude towards that, that, that whole thing. And um, literally in the last seven days, has just been like, no, no, no, I'm a spiritual leader in my house. I'm a I am I'm a spiritual leader in my house. And what that happened was like I had a conversation with my 13-year-old about being a spiritual leader. I said, dude, I'm the spiritual leader of the house, which means you're the second in command. You are a spiritual leader in this house. What we do together matters. Like what your little sisters and your little brothers see, you and I do or participate in, it matters. Like we have to be spiritual leaders, we have to be careful what we call each other and what we say to each other and how we bring each other down in the household. And and dude, we have literally been a different family in a week. And and and again, these are all things that if you would have told me two weeks ago that I would have called myself a leader at any moment and any time, I would have been like, you're crazy. You're so crazy, you're a dummy because I'm not a leader, dude. I'm a I'm a grunt, I carry heavy things for far distances. And you come up with ideas, and it doesn't matter how stupid your idea is, I will work so hard to make your idea happen. But I am not a leader. And I really feel this comfort in my soul that, yeah, yeah, no, no, actually, I am a leader. I am a leader. I am a leader. I can tell you, or I can pray with you, I can pray for you, I can give you guidance on how to get your marriage right. I can tell you how to be a good father. You could have called me three weeks ago and say, like, dude, I'm struggling as a father, and I'd be like, bro, I'm not your guy, dude. Like, I'm lucky, dude. My kids are just like, they woke up, you know, that wasn't me. That that was my wife. Like, it was an imposter syndrome. Like, I could not look you in the face and say, Yeah, I'm a good father. I would say, like, I got lucky. You know what I mean? And people would be like, oh, you're just being muddled. No, but in my heart, I really felt that way. I felt like a month ago, two weeks ago, three weeks ago, I felt in my heart, I really did believe that. I really believe that I just get lucky, dude. Like, how do my kids ask my wife when I first she just walked in the door, by the way. Um, ask my wife when I told her when she said she wanted to have kids, I said, and I this was a serious conversation. This 13 years ago, I said, you can have a kid with me, but I bet you God gives gives us a retarded child.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:16

Oh, jeez.

Family Devotions And Daily Change

SPEAKER_02 1:27:17

I said that. I and she was like, pull don't say, I was like, no, I'm telling you right now, like, God does not favor me. And I I'll just tell you, like, our kids gonna have cancer, our kids gonna be missing limbs. Like, if you want to have a kid with me, and and when our first child came out, ask her, dude. You you can literally ask my wife. And and and I will say, when I had my kid, I was like, dude, I just cannot believe that this kid's all normal. Like I was convinced, bro, that my kids were gonna be like, like, God was not gonna give me good kids. And so then God gave me not only good kids, but like athletic kids, and I'm not athletic. Like, what? So, like, again, imposter syndrome, like it's not me, it's not me. But now in the last week, like I'm comfortable with. Saying, yeah, no, I'm a good father. And here's why I'm a good father. This is what these are the decisions I did make. So I am seeing myself as a spiritual leader, and not for clout, not to boast or to brag. Um, but God with put within me a spirit of saying, no, no, no, okay, you spent 20 years literally running from me, and I have taken everything away from you that cannot be explained. I took away your chance at being a Green Beret. And if you tell anybody about this, everybody's gonna be like, yeah, that's probably not the whole. There's probably more to that story. So I can't tell that story. I just have to live with I didn't get to be a Green Beret, and I can't explain to you why I didn't do it. You'll not believe me. It doesn't matter. I can't explain to why I was officer of the year and I decided to go open up a distillery, bro. What was I thinking? Like, what was I thinking? And like, and then COVID happens like right when I open it. Not saying that God put COVID on me, but like, like God, just every little problem that could come up with it happened. And if I explain it to you, you would just be like, Well, you're an idiot. Like, I don't, you know what I mean? It's like everything that I do is a golden horseshoe, but I see it as a black cloud that it's like you're gonna have a book, yeah. I'm gonna have a book, but but you know, uh these, you know, it's gonna always be a butt, right? The Tim Kennedy thing happens. Nothing to do with me. I don't know Tim Kennedy, I don't care about Tim Kennedy. I lost, I lost Chad Robeshaw, I'll say it. I know the reason why he didn't put me on a show. He scheduled me onto his show, and then they canceled it literally the day that I was buying my flight, canceled the show, and I know it was because literally that week all the Tim Kennedy stuff came up. I got blasted with, oh, is this another 500-pound grenade guy? I don't even know Tim Kennedy that well. I've met him once. Like, I don't have anything to do with like Nick Palmasciano was gracious enough to put me in front of Simon Schuster. Simon Schuster offered me a once-in-a-lifetime deal, but Nick had to put his name on the book. And Nick also went through my entire book and told me grammatically what would make more sense. He helped me work with an editor. So Nick didn't really do any of the editing. I mean, he did a lot of base work editing, but the editor, like Nick was a self-server, which I know he was with Tim's book. It's not Nick's story, it was my story. Nick's gonna help you get your story out there. So Nick doesn't like say, like, oh, Eric, you should say 500 grenades right here. No, he what he says is like, hey, you should probably put a period here and that word doesn't make sense. You know, it it's not, he doesn't go and research all of your stories, he doesn't fact-check all of your stuff. You know, he one, he's a very trusting guy, and he would say, like, hey, Mr. Tim Kennedy, who is a UFC champion, are these stories true? Like, it's not his fault.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:44

But anyway, I again, a God because of because of the Nick uh Nick association with the book, everybody immediately said, Oh no, get this. And I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:54

And you know, podcasts don't want to have me on because of this. People are calling me and asking me. You know, Andy Stumpf brought it up about it was my joy, you know. So all of a sudden, again, right? Only can happen because of God, right? Eric Tanzi didn't lie in the book. Eric Tansi didn't tell a lie that they discredited, but somebody else didn't now you could say, well, now you're playing the victim card, you're you're pulling the victim card. But you could say that and you can believe that if you want to. But I know that for me it was God saying, nope, I didn't ask you to do that. I didn't ask you to write that book. I didn't ask you to be a distiller. I didn't ask you to be a green beret. You didn't acknowledge, you didn't ask me, you didn't come to me and say, God, should I be a green beret? You didn't pray while you were going through the cue course. Should I do this? Should I live with these folks over here? Should I do this? You didn't come to me. You came to me when you were cold and tired and you didn't know if your body was gonna hold up and you said, you know, God give me five more miles in these weathered feet. You know, you came to me then, you know, but that's not, you know, I didn't have those and plans for your life. And I I never saw that until, you know, about 10 days ago. Um, and and that's really where it was at for me. It was it was all these things that God said, one day, eventually you're gonna stop running from me. And then when you stop running from me, guess what? All of these things are gonna fall right to where they were. And our devotion today actually said that. He said the Israelites ran from God and they fled from God. And then when they decided to come back, God began to bless them again. And so, you know, when they were fleeing from God, when they weren't doing what God was, they suffered tremendously. But the the the suffering stopped the minute that they came back to God. And it said in our devotion today that God will rectify what what what you did when you were wicked, God will rectify that. It doesn't mean that you're not going to atone for your sins or whatever, but truly, in your heart, dude, you're you're rectified. You feel good. And and I feel great, bro. I feel happy. I'm not upset, I'm not angry. Like now, all these things that my kids are doing that are great. I am like, I just I see the world differently. And there was no rock bottom. So for you guys that are out there, me, it's like, well, you're at rock bottom, you had nowhere to go. There wasn't a rock bottom. Like nothing got repo'd. I wasn't losing my family, I wasn't dying of cancer. I there was no rock bottom for me, except that my life felt empty and meaningless and void and and the self-humiliation. If you read my book, I don't even know if I can go back and read my book because all I do is make fun of myself for 324 pages. You know, I meant all those things I say about myself in that book. That's why that book is so honest. It is an absolute honest telling of how I felt about myself. Um, I don't feel that way now. I don't feel that way now. I feel like I was meant, I was meant to put on this earth to bless others. And that's it. That is, and so I'm gonna start podcasting again because I've asked God, you know, I've talked to God about it. I talked, but here's the thing, dude. I'm gonna podcast because it's it's that one person that that that I can save. It's that one person that you talk to that I watch you, right? Like it's instrumental, dude. Like you don't know what God is doing through you. And if you're solely focused on my clout, on my numbers, so for me it wasn't about money because I was making money. I made great money podcasting because I got to start with the drinking bros, black rifle guys, right? So like I like it. I made money podcasting and I made a living at it for for a number of years. But that money didn't matter because it was the numbers. Why are my numbers not here? What can we do to get better numbers tomorrow? Oh, hey, Eric, uh, by the way, what you said about that shooting really made me think twice about my life and I'm doing jujitsu now because I need to be a better cop. Okay, that's cool. Hey guys, what do we need to do tomorrow to get more numbers? Like, hey, cool, thank you for that message, but do I really care? Not really. I'm trying to prepare for the next show and get those numbers. That was that's my mindset. And I think going back into podcasting now, I'm gonna be less concerned about that number. And it's how do I bless if you're that one person listening to me right now, how do I bless you? How do I and it's not like a fake how do I bring you value? Like, how do I bring you value? How do I bring you so? No, it's like, dude, I truly believe in my soul and my heart right now that I want you to be your best self. I want you to be a winner, I want your cup to run it over. I want you to be so blessed that you're able to bless others. How can I help? Like, let's make that happen.

SPEAKER_03 1:35:23

Yes, that's what we need, man. That's uh we need a whole army of that. And I do believe, I do believe 100% that staying true to that mission, I will succeed. I will succeed, you will succeed, anybody else that comes in that space. It it just it's not on our time. It's on his. And I'm okay with that. And that the proof is out there, man. Being able to meet individuals like yourself, being willing to, you know, reach out and be, hey, you willing to come back on, that proves in the pudding. If I if I wasn't an honest person, if I was uh a gimmick, a lot of people won't wouldn't want to come on. They'd see it. You'd feel it, you'd see it. But you trusted in me to come back on the show, and that's what matters, man. Making that connection with somebody to come in and have a talk like this, dude.

Mind, Body, Spirit Realignment

SPEAKER_02 1:36:09

This is a you're not a gimmick. You are not a gimmick. You're probably, I mean, I think that's the reason why I did follow you, is because you're clearly not, you're not that like I'm a green beret, listen to me. You know, you're like I mean, for me, watching your podcast, it's like, okay, we're trying to, we're trying to navigate a world, but you know, you truly are out there trying to bring like real value, like real spirituality, real advice. Like you're not trying to create some kind of divisiveness, you know. And then that's bro, that's a long road for you. That's that's a long road. But I think that once you know that God is on your side and you know that, then that's that that road becomes not that long, right? Like it's easier to go to sleep at night.

SPEAKER_03 1:36:47

It's easier to go to sleep at night, put your head on a pillow, look at your family, look at what you're doing, and say, hey, like it's humble, but at least I feel good about it.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:57

At least I know that I'm doing what God wants me to do. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 1:37:00

I don't I don't know, I don't have to feel like I'm gonna swindle a kid or an organization and lead people down the wrong path. Like it's I I started this thing with brothers, with friends, and then 2026, that's what I want to prioritize, being able to bring back that that the riff. Find a way to create, either bring it back to this show or create another show to to bring the funny. But this show has become bigger than than what I originally wanted to be. And it will stay the pure mission of just wanting to put good stuff out there to help somebody that's suffering, bring information, resources, and amplify the message of hey, maybe you don't come to God today, maybe not tomorrow, but at some point we're all gonna come back to him. And I'd like for you to start today. I'd like for you to make that effort. But if not, it's still gonna be here.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:54

It's crazy, bro, because it it's it's really it's it's so crazy because I I am this guy. Like, if you ask me to pray for me, like uh and and podcast fans, there's one in particular is Bosco Autry. That dude weasled his way. This guy is like, and uh he'll probably listen to the show because he's a huge fan, but on paper, right? Overweight, diesel mechanic, like like just like loves the Allman Brothers, probably to a point where it's it's a little bit like slow down, dude. It's just a band, but he'll be like, no, it's not like this guy weasled his way into getting my phone number as a fan. He was like a fan for like two years, just always hitting me up, dude. Like, always hitting me up. And I'm like, I hate giving people my phone number, dude. Like I do it all the time. Yeah. I mean, I do way more than I should. I do it way more than I should. But like for like Instagram fans, and so I don't know, like somehow this guy gets my phone number. And over the course of like two years, he would literally call me. And and I would be like, My wife and I'd be on like on a walk because my wife and I do like morning walks and evening walks a lot of times. And he would always call like on one of these morning or evening walks, and I'm like, oh God, let me just call this guy really quick. It's always quick. Thank God. He's always a quick talker. And um, I'm like, let me answer this. And and bro, like he would just be like, yo, let me pray for you. And I'd be like, I'd roll my eyes and I'd put it on speaker and I'd look at my wife and I'd be like, oh, and like, you know, he'd be praying for me. And then I'd be like, all right, dude, that's so special. You know, that means a lot to me. Like, thank you. And like it means a lot to me that somebody cared, but like I was so kind of like annoyed and just like whatever, but now I get it, dude. Like I understand all of it, and I know that's cheesy, but dude, before we hang up, dude, can I just pray for us really fast? Yeah, heck yeah, dude. Dude, it's weird, man. This will be the first podcast I've ever prayed on, but uh I'll just keep it quick. But Lord God, like please just do everything uh in your power to to make Danny's this his his cub runeth over. He's a great, a great human being. He's great to this industry, and and we know that what you're doing is is something we cannot explain and we don't have control over, and we give all that control over to you. And this is gonna be a great ride and uh help us to bless others uh along the way. Jesus name pray. Amen. Thanks, dude. I I don't know what else to say there, but no, that was perfect, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:40:14

That was perfect.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:15

I I just feel like you know, that guy prayed for me, and look, here I am two years later, and I I get it.

SPEAKER_03 1:40:22

So prayers work, man. Prayers work, and uh, but I can't let you go until you give us a little bit of an update on uh what you got going on in Ranger Up. Um because we all we G Walk kids, we grew up, we saw the first iteration of memes. We were we're that generation. We got to see the and a young, dare I say supple Nick Poliggiano came into the world Ranger Up. And uh, like I said, I still remember, I see that face like it hasn't changed. But I remember all the old skits, all the old memes, and then it disappeared, it went away. I didn't I didn't remember Sam with Article 15, all those early veteran brands disappeared. They left us, they forgot about us with the t-shirts, and now one of them is back. How did the how's this thing? Uh how did it get restarted? How is it going? And where's it what's what's the future hold for it? I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:16

It's it's really wild. Again, another like it's just a wild journey, bro. It's it's been a wild journey. I never on my 2026 or 2025 plan did I ever think I would be on Ranger Up. Well, one, I never even think I would knew Nick Pomashano. So when I had a book coming out with his name on it, was the world to me. But of course, the book came out in the same year that the Jim Kennedy scandal came out. And that phone call with Nick was I'm going to take my name off of the book. And I said, What? And he was like, I'm gonna take my name off of the book, and you can just we'll rewrite the contract, and you can just pay me a small fee for getting you hooked up with Simon Schuster or whatever you want to work out. I don't care. Just I think I want to get my name off of your book. And um, that was huge for me at the time because we knew, you know, I he he wasn't getting my name off the book because he was scared that my book wasn't true or not true. He didn't want to hurt me, and that was really cool. He didn't want to hurt me, and um, and I said, absolutely not, dude. Like, I don't roll that way, don't care. I've never cared. It's always been about my homies for me. Ride or die, brother. Put that name on the book, bro. We'll sell these C's together. Um and um, and then not only that, but I got to see kind of the brokenness in Nick, and and it was just veteran to veteran, it had nothing to do with religion or anything, but you know, I was like, okay, well, he's he's a guy I need. He's helped so many veterans, and he's really got nobody there helping him. So I was just trying to like just be his friend and help him out through this because, dude, he, you know, Nick's a good person, bro. Like, I don't know if you ever met him, dude, but never met him, never had the pleasure. Um he's the real deal, dude. Like, there's I've never met somebody more real in my life than Nick. Nick's never had a bad day. He's never been good.

SPEAKER_03 1:42:57

I tried booking him for the asset mindset, one of the other shows that I produce, but in my mind, I didn't realize when I when I was trying to book him, it was right in the middle of all this stuff. I was just I was just going down the list of like veteran entrepreneurs and veteran leaders. I'm like, oh because I my big thing is like if you're on my on my my my podcast network or like my my little media company, like I want you to be, I need you to be big. I need you to keep getting numbers. I need you to go after. I'm like, let's bring every leader in the veteran space. I'm like, Nick Poliggiano, I'm like, send an email. And he replied back, he's like, hey, can we just forecast this a couple months in the future? I'm like, oh yeah, yeah, sure. And I'm like, I come back to that email, I was like, oh, fuck. Yeah, I I should have. He was getting burnt, dude.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:44

And not only did he get burnt, but some woman on LinkedIn decided to go after him. And it couldn't be more further from the truth what she's saying on LinkedIn about him. And people are just like hook line and sinker, like responding to her comments, and they're like, all of her allegations are just not true. But anyway, it's just he was going through the ringer for a hot minute. And it's so sad because Nick's gotten so many people famous. Like he's putting so many people on the rock. I mean, he put Tim Kennedy out there, he got Tim Kennedy involved in UFC. He did all, you know, he was a big part of Tim's success. And then, of course, out of that came Matt Best and all those guys, they were all working through Nick because Nick was the only one making G Watt t-shirts that we all. I mean, I took I sent Nick a picture um a while ago of of one of my old G Watt. I mean, that was the first veteran shirt I ever owned, it was a Ranger Up shirt. You know, it was so cool. It was like, do I walk through the valley of the dark? I have a fear that you design the darkest man in the valley of the dark.

SPEAKER_03 1:44:42

We all did. I remember I had those t-shirts and that was in the 82nd. Dude, it was it was the very first big company. And it's easy to forget, and it's easy to align with tribal mentality when these big things flare up. We have to be willing to separate and look at the facts and be willing to say two things can be true. We have to be able to say, like, hey, this person has done a lot for the veteran community. A lot. Like you can't remove that. You have to be willing to look at the individual, save lives in the veteran community. Literally. Um and and be able to at least understand that, like, hey, at the end of the day, at the end of the day, we have to be able to look at the lived experience of that individual and what he's done for people.

Praying For Haters And Healing

SPEAKER_02 1:45:34

I don't actually not see that as a broken person. Like, I'm not talking about on a spiritual side because this was this this was past Eric. I always looked at the Tim Kennedy thing as that's a broken dude. That's a dude who made it through the UFC. That's a dude who had multiple, multiple combat rotations, who is a green beret, who worked on tier one uh uh with tier one units. I mean, you can't take that away. He did do those things, but he still felt like it's not good enough.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:02

Because he's got a he's got a giant hole, giant hole, a pit of just I mean, at the end of the day, the thing that that hurts the most is you and if hey, if he was an alcoholic, they would give him a pass.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:21

If he was an alcoholic, they'd give him a pass.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:23

I really wish he would have stood up and defended Nick a lot more because at the end of the day, I feel like you have to say something about the individual that is also getting thrown out there.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:36

I don't think there's I don't think the repentance has happened yet.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:39

I I don't think Tim, I don't know. I don't know Tim Mellow well, but I know that like when I know that me going through what I'm going through right now, like I know that once you have changed and you have really like changed, you you would you're gonna go back and you're gonna call those and you're gonna make things right. And I that hasn't happened. So I don't know, but like I i if if he was an alcoholic, nobody would care. Like if if if he got busted with 10 DUIs, nobody cared. Nobody would still care. They would still be like, yeah, he's still awesome, I'll still buy his shirts. But like he lied about his military service, that was an exceptional service to begin with, and all of a sudden, like that's that's where we draw the line. So like your buddies can lie to their wives and cheat on them and they'll get a pass. But if a dude lies about his service, like he's just that's unforgivable. I don't know. Like for me, I think that's a little bit harsh.

SPEAKER_03 1:47:33

I think that the main thing that a lot of people latched on to were uh they started bringing up every instance where he had said something that was insanely stupid or really derogatory, and they just it started stacking it and stacking.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:51

Yeah, but you you go 20 years of being a public figure.

SPEAKER_03 1:47:54

What are you gonna get? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:55

And you're gonna go, you're gonna say some like audacious, crazy, crazy stuff. And I mean, some of those things are taken out of context, like the 500 grenades or whatever, the 50 grenades and rocks, like like completely out of context. Like it's obvious in the book that that is an exaggeration. You know what I mean? It's obvious that he didn't put in like who cares? Like that it, you know, the fact is, did he probably throw some grenades on that trip? Yeah. I mean, he I'm sure he did. Uh I'm sure he threw one or two, you know, and uh, you know, but like that one was like one of those ones where it's like you gotta give that one kind of a pass, but like everybody holds on to that one.

SPEAKER_03 1:48:26

But you know, and the purple heart stuff, you know, and it's like the one thing that that that did stick with me is I served with the the one of the commanders on there, and Kevin Key is an amazing individual, such grace in the leader, wonderful human being. He ultimately uh his response was something that I was like absolutely like, God, you're you're you're everybody's you're you're the real deal, Captain America. I think Kevin his uh his response to it is like if it helps one more kid join the regiment, then it's good. I don't care. Like and that's like I think so highly of that man because of what ultimately was one of the longest lasting impressions of what a real leader is like, what a real leader should be. And it stuck with me my entire career. My entire career. And and remember, like your time your time with a company commander is very short in that short. Very, very short. But Kevin Key stayed with me my entire career, the way he led, the way that he understood the importance of the mission, the importance of NCOs, the importance of being the command presence stayed with me. And I'll never forget it, him and Doug Morey, our our war our our company warrant for that that time frame. Same thing. Very influential with why I became a warrant. And for a lot of people, it's also very influential figure. And when they're depicted in a way that makes them seem less That people get very angry. And I was very upset. And I was, and there's a lot of those little things that get piled up and get piled up, and and when a a big podcast or a podcast gets big because they they go line by line. Like I was angry. I was like, this was one of my figures. This is one of the men that I looked up to. You this is and then other people that came out, it's like, hey, no, like, absolutely not. This guy was the real deal. This is a real and then my thing is.

SPEAKER_02 1:50:28

And it's so sad that like the guys that even came out.

SPEAKER_03 1:50:32

Yeah, you should have had a moment where that guy would have said, Hey, I was retelling a story from my point of view, and I dramatized it, and I added some flair. And this individual-I'm an entertainer. Exactly. And this individual did not was not depicted the right way. Because I know within within our small community, you don't talk badly about certain people and certain key figures that are larger. Kevin Key to me will always look like Captain America. Always. Always and forever because he was that influential. And that's why that's for me, that was one of the biggest sticking points where I'm like, you know what? Nope. Nope. Not not until not until you you stand up and I don't care what else you address, you address that one issue. And he never will.

SPEAKER_02 1:51:19

He's a broken man. Um and that's all I mean that's I think so. I think I that's all I can say is like he is a broken individual. And it's I see I I have another guy that's extremely influential. I'm not gonna say his name, of course, but um he's a he's a movie star now, and uh, you know, i I don't want to give too much, but you know, he's he's a uh a post tier one guy and uh and a great guy. He's a broken man. And and I prayed with him the other night. And I and I he he was going through it, he you know, he was telling me all the you know the woes that he's got going on right now and all those things. And I said, dude, like you've literally tried everything. Have you tried some Jesus? You know, and he was like, Well, I'm gonna pray for you. And he didn't, he's reluctant, he didn't care. Um, and and I prayed for him, and it's fine, it's okay. Uh, but I don't see him as a all the things that he's doing stupid right now. I don't see him as an alcoholic, I don't see him as a drug addicted individual, I don't see him as a womanizer, I don't see him as whatever, whatever he might be doing right now, that's just off the rails insane. I don't see him as that person. I see him as a broken man. Like, and and that's the crazy thing too. That's like that's the virtue signaling that's going on in the veteran community right now. It's like, oh, if you're suffering PTSD and you're gonna stick a gun in your mouth, we love you. If you're suffering PTSD and you hate yourself so much that you have to lie about your service, you're a piece of garbage and you should go to hell forever.

SPEAKER_03 1:52:38

And no one's no one's stopping to say that the two are very much in line with each other. No one's saying, like, hey, like, there's a cry for help. Somebody needs to be there.

Ranger Up’s Comeback And Mission

SPEAKER_02 1:52:46

He's broken, dude. He's broken. And so, like, you know, uh, you know, for you, like Tim Kennedy talking bad about that commander is like this other guy uh drinking and driving for me, right? Like it's it's just as just as stupid, it's just as bad. It's hurtful, it's wrong, but I don't see him as just this raging alcoholic POS. I see him as this is a broken man that needs help somehow. And he and it's of course it's his responsibility, right? It's his responsibility to find that help. All I can do is pray for you, all I can do is lead you to the water, can't make you drink it. You know, I feel the same way about uh uh Tim or or whoever. Again, I don't know Tim, so it's not like I'm talking to you on on some kind of whatever. But like if I were to sit down with Tim and I had, and I could say this face to face, I I would tell, I would say, I think you are a broken individual and that you need to submit yourself fully to God. It doesn't matter that you believe in God, but it's not the works that are gonna get you there. It's not these good things that you've done, brother. God doesn't care if you're not committed to the change, then this is gonna keep happening. You're gonna get called out for these lies, you're gonna be held down. Life is gonna get a lot harder. And you can still say, like, I'm still doing good. I'm a good dad. I'm still good. Like it doesn't, God doesn't care. He doesn't care. That's what I was doing. So I see Tim as that. Like I see Tim as me-ish. Um, you know, that that's how I feel. It's like, bro, like you can't just keep saying, well, yeah, but I did a lot of good. No, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It's not the good deeds that you've done. It's, you know, that you've made real change in your life and that you've changed. And I think when Tim does do that, he's he's gonna find get that God like the Israelites, he's gonna grace him, he's gonna bless him again, right? Like you've come in back. I'm gonna, all these things are gonna, your, your sponsors are gonna restore your uh your engagements are gonna go back up. Like I'll restore to you, but you have to come back to me. Oh me, brother, come back to me. Um, that's what I would tell him. But Nick, um, you know, he is a spiritual guy, he is a good guy. He he raises his family, right? And um, you know, I you know, he's going through some some some rough patches, but it doesn't bother him, dude. He's never grumpy, he's never grounded. It doesn't dissuade him of helping out. And dude, it is, he'll take every phone call. I that guy, and I him and I have been talking about work addiction because, and this is before my spiritual time. This is before spiritual, dude. This is not spiritual, Eric talking. Uh, this was like six months ago, Eric talking. I'm like, bro, you you are addicted to working, bro. Like, you do not stop. And it's and it's working to help other people. And um, but it he's a just one of the best business people I've ever met. And just the way that we work customer service and how he put me in charge of customer service, and he was like, dude, I want you to be in charge of all customer service. Like, I don't care who you hire or fire, but like, you know, he's like, I've done it in the past, and he's like, You're the guy because I know that you're gonna do, you're gonna do it right. You're gonna, you're gonna make sure that people get what they want. And it's that that's a that's a terrible job, bro, because I bend over backwards, dude. I drive in the ice to get your package of the post office, and people still are like, worst company ever, customer service sucks. They didn't respond to my message, and then it's like, bro, you messaged the old website. Like, I don't have that website, or like you messaged us on Instagram and it went to like the spam folder, you know, or you message on like if you if you go to customer service at rangerup.com, like 100%, I'm answering your your stuff, and I'm I'm giving you like a$25 gift code and like you know, I'm Chick-fil-A, baby. I'm Chick-fil-A. Like, we didn't get your order out, dude. What can I do better? My pleasure, dude. Like, so that that's hurtful. Um, that's a that is a thankless job because everybody and dude, it it's funny, too, because like the the heavier the the you know, the the larger the size that somebody like if I look at it, if I see that the the order, I always look at the order before I read the email, just so it puts it into context. If I bring up the order and I see like 3XL, oh you're in for it. I already know like this is not gonna be a pleasant dude. They're the root, it's it's like hard. It's like if you hate your teeth, you're gonna hate, you're gonna hate me too. Cause that that it's not gonna be like, hi, Ranger up. I received this package and you sent one wrong shirt. It's like the quality of your shirt sucks. I wish it was the worst way. And it's like, bro, it's this is gonna be a 3XL, dude. I guarantee you this people where it's like double XL, bro. Like it's like the bigger the person, the more hate. But you know, but anyway, so Nick, um it could, I don't know how it worked out exactly. You'd have to get his side of the story, but it was in August. We're right in the throes of my book coming out. Um I'm getting a cancel like on a few podcasts because something had happened in Tim Kennedy's era at like in August that like resurfaced everything. Like it had its go, and then it kind of died down. And I don't know what happened because I I don't follow it, but something happened, and of course that's why it came up with Andy Stump on this show. And then right after that, Chad Roboshaw was like, eh, you're not coming on my show. Basically, like it was you know very hurtful too. I I I I felt personally like I I think I I deserved a phone call for that one.

SPEAKER_03 1:57:30

I don't know Chad Roboshaw or anything, but like I'm like, dude, I mean I it's just cancel with somebody, you have to con you have to communicate, man. That that is like I don't I don't know this individual, and I'm not gonna speak ill, but it does it does send a uh a message of like you you don't care.

SPEAKER_02 1:57:50

Yeah, well, I mean we knew we knew why. It was I don't want to have you on because you have Nick Palmashano's name on your book and Tim Kennedy's going through it. That I mean it was very clear that that was the case because they were like, we're gonna reschedule this for March of 2026. You know what I mean? Like, like let's just say he's like, we'll we'll revisit this. It wasn't even like we're rescheduling. It was like, let's revisit this like in March 2026, you know, something like that. This is like back in like September, dude. So I was like, I was like, oh, I get it, right? Like we're in the throws, and and for me, you know, a phone call that would have been really nice to say, like, hey, listen, I'm not gonna have you on because I I you know, but I I think that's you know, whatever, in poor form anyway. But you know, it it's so all these things are going on, it's right in the throws, and this company, so Nick had sold Ranger up in 2015. Don't call me a liar if that date was like 2016. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 1:58:42

We'll fact check it. We'll fact check it right now.

SPEAKER_02 1:58:44

But it was uh you know, 20, 2015, 2016, somewhere in that area, I think. But he sold the company to a uh, you know, a civilian, basically a civilian company that own a printing business. They print for like big shirts that are in Sears and Macy's and they're huge. And so they take brands and they're like, oh, you're already a big brand, we'll just buy this and we'll keep pumping out the shirts because it doesn't cost us anything, and we're just gonna rally off your brand. And um, so they ran that for I want to say seven years. And they were about to, it was like making like like four or five thousand dollars bro a month like in shirt sales. And uh they were like, I think they hit up Nick and they were like, Yeah, we're gonna fold this thing. It's ran its course, but we just I guess you know, here's you know, we'll just gonna let you know. And I think Nick was like, hey, I'll buy it back. Like, sell it back to me, let's do it, let's make a deal. And so he put together a deal, and like he this was in August, and our book comes out August 26th. This was like August 3rd. I'm having like the worst time with the book, bro. Like, I'm getting canceled and stuff. Like, I screwed up the Andy Stump show, which like the comment section, like guys, comments hurt people, dude. Like that hurt, bro.

SPEAKER_03 2:00:02

They do, like that hurt, man.

SPEAKER_02 2:00:05

And and you guys piling on, like, you're a mean person. You like just know that you guys are the bullies.

SPEAKER_01 2:00:10

Like, if you join the military to not be a bully, let me let you know.

SPEAKER_03 2:00:13

Like, you guys the worst is when somebody rallies the comment section, boo this man. It's like, no, don't not vote that one.

SPEAKER_02 2:00:21

No, it's like, oh yeah, this guy, like, dude, they were just like, and and they don't even know me, bro. Like, it's like you don't even know where my heart is, and and and my heart was in a good place. It's just I've my heart's always been in a good place. That's the problem. It's like I've I've never wanted to hurt anyone in here. Everybody's just like, this guy's a POS. This guy's a phony, yeah, this guy's an imposter, and oh, he's just a victim. Like, yeah, I said that on the show, guys. Like, I said that. I said that, like, yes, you could call it whatever you want. My life is terrible. I make the worst decisions. I don't know how I do it, I don't know why I do it. I wish there was some psychiatrist. I said that on Andy's stuff. I was like, if there's a psychiatrist out there that knows why I just continue to do this, please let me know because God knows I try to not make bad decisions, and it just everything I do is a bad decision. That's I said all that on the show, guys. Um but anyway, he calls me maybe like August 28th, and he's like, dude, I just bought back Ranger up. The deal just went through. So he started the deal on August 3rd. I didn't know. August 28th, he owns the company back, and he was like, I want you to come on as like my my like my main boy, like my second, like my second command. My my main man, like my only employee. And I'm like, bro, I'm not, I don't, uh what what do you want me to do? Like he's like, yeah, all of it, dude. Like, we're gonna crunch this, we're gonna do that warehouse, like dude. And I'm like, bro, I just sold my distillery, which failed miserably, by the way. And I suck at being a business guy. Like, that's what I said. You know, I'm not a good business person. I'm energetic, I'm passionate, but like you sit me down and try to get me to do an Excel spreadsheet, melt. You know, slamming computers, throwing things, like you try to get me to do anything that's business related, and I and I melt, you know. And and I'm I was very, you know, uh, I was very, I was very upfront about all that. And then um, he was like, no, I don't care. Stop saying bad things about yourself, join, join my team, like you're gonna be good. And so um, I was like, I didn't really get a choice. Yeah, I was like, okay, here I am, I'm I'm on your team, I guess. Yeah, here we go, ranger up. And next thing I know, dude, he's sending me skews and like 10 hours worth of like stuff to do on Excel. And I'm like, oh my God, and I'm messing it all up, dude. And um, you know, it was really funny. And then I would call him and tell him I suck and I'm the worst business pan in the world, and I can't do this. And you know, he would say, Stop being so negative, and I hate your negativity. And I'm like, Well, you I told you I wasn't good at these things, and you're making me do these things, and I'm not doing good, and you know, it was all these things, and um, and and it was funny, and then of course, holiday season hits only in Eric fashion, dude. You know, he buys his company back, sucks me into it right in the throes of fourth quarter, and you know how fourth quarter sales are. So now we're trying to find printers, we're trying to get new product, we're trying to get the quality thing, we're trying to get customer service, which hasn't been done in seven years. Seven years of people hating you because you haven't owned the company and they've been wronged by civilians, you know, and now I'm trying to I'm coming in on the fourth quarter, dealing with all of it, you know, worst company ever. Don't respond to social media. Well, like, yeah, I've only been in charge for 10 days, bro.

SPEAKER_03 2:03:32

It's a rebranding.

SPEAKER_02 2:03:34

To rebranding, you know. Um, you know, we were working with Austin and all these influencers, and uh, I'm starting to write scripts, and it's been fun, man. And Nick the whole time is like, it's okay, it's okay. You're good. Stop saying bad things about yourself. Look what you did today. You did you did 25 skews today that you got in in a million different colors and different sizes, and you had skews for all of those, and you did it, and you didn't mess up, but you messed up these. Who cares? Like, tomorrow we'll fix those, and it'll be an o' day. And I'm like, Are you sure? You sure you don't want to fire me? Like, sure you don't want to just give up on me? And he's like, No, who cares? You know, it's like, oh no, like you know, USPS is going on. Yeah, he's just you know, it's been fantastic, and he's uh a good leader. So that's where Ranger Up's at. And and and Nick's goal with Ranger Up is um I asked Nick, I said, Why are we doing this? Nick, why are we bringing Ranger Up back? And he goes, Because veterans need us right now, dude. There's nobody entertaining the veteran space anymore. Black Rifle Coffee's not doing it anymore.

SPEAKER_03 2:04:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:04:39

Uh uh uh nine line gets moved on. It's nobody's doing it. The people that are coming up is they're not bringing the positivity. It's all politics, it's news, it's clickbait, it's this and that. And nobody's nobody's being a goofball, and nobody's being that the what veterans really are, which are goofballs. I mean, we all have that story, right? Where we had nothing to do when you make a toilet paper roll into a softball, and we use the broomstick with all the duct tape that we have left to make a bat, and we play baseball, like all those dumb things that you did in basic training and AIT and all those dumb things. Like at the end of the day, that's who we really are. And um, and he was like, I want to get with the goofiest influencers, and I just want to make goofy skits again, I want to make people laugh, and we're gonna sell some shirts, and we're gonna do live shows, and we're gonna do this and that. And dude, he is a man of his word. We came back, I think month two, I think September we 1xed our sales. September, we either two or three X'd it, four X'd like November, December 11x, nice what it was, and September back up and going. And I mean, dude, it was like we we barely survived the Christmas season, in my opinion, because dude, you're talking thousands and thousands of orders that have to go out. And like I'm I'm having to learn how to do boxes, I'm learning how to order more boxes and bubble wrap and package. I got my wife and my kids, Nick's kids, we're all in the warehouse. Like everybody's stuffing boxes. We got this other warehouse in Ohio, they're doing their thing, and we don't really have a lot of control over what they do, and they're sending out, you know, so everybody, it was just, you know, we're just trying to survive and get through the holiday season. And the the minute the holiday season was out, he's like, but we're doing this veteran, uh, we're doing this veteran entrepreneur thing at da-da-da-da-da. Nick didn't advertise Ranger Up. He was like, I don't want to, I was like, so I'm in charge of it, right? So I'm getting the microphones, the cables, and packing the vans up and doing all this stuff. And I'm like, dude, we need a we need a Ranger Up um uh tablecloth. No, we don't need it. What do you mean? Like, if this is gonna be a production, it's gotta have it, yeah, yeah. We'll find a business there that has their tablecloth. I'd rather use theirs. Now, if you don't think Ranger Up doesn't have 150,000 different tablecloths, you're crazy. Like they have a whole room with nothing but tablecloth, right? Branded out. No, he didn't want the branded tablecloth because he wanted to use a veteran entrepreneur's brand to support them, you know. Um, and that that means a lot. You know, that's that's crazy. He was like, No, I want I want to use somebody else's tablecloth. And oh, oh, uh we're not getting paid for this. So, like, I'm gonna pay you, Eric, but we're not the the company's not being paid. And I'm like, well, if the company's not being paid, don't pay me. Like, no, no, no, no. We're donating, I'm gonna pay you because that's what Nick does, bro. Like, Nick wants to see you as a veteran succeed, and he is a man that that that his cup runneth over. And if anybody wants to hate Nick for making money off of veterans, shame on you because his cup runs over and fills up everybody else's cup a hundredfold. That dude drives a 20 probably 14 Jeep, two-door green, and his wife drives like a 2016 Silverado with no lift kit or no nothing. Like, you wouldn't know Nick wears basketball shorts and a t-shirt. He has no worldly possessions, no motorcycles, no boats. If you think he's getting rich, you've never seen a cloutful video from Nick Palmasciano, have you? No, no, you know, he doesn't do anything, like his house is a lived-in house. Like you go into his house, it's just like mine with five kids. Like, you think Nick must be like, you know, when one of these figures with the mahogany, you know, and it's just like the house is beautiful. No, dude, there's toys everywhere and kids running in and out, and you know, uh, you know, it's just a fun, loving household, and yeah, that's that's where Ranger Up's at. And um yeah, bringing back that space. We hope to get you involved, dude. Like to get you out on some of these skits, because he's in it, dude. And we'll give you some of them, some of these events too.

SPEAKER_03 2:08:48

Oh yeah, man. I'm in. I like promoting good stuff, and uh it's it seems asinine that we can't look back and touch our GWAT history and understand where Ranger Up was. So that that's I mean, I was a kid in 82nd, and seeing these brands finally represent us, like I remember when Matt Best came out. I remember seeing who do you think made those videos? Exactly, exactly. That's the thing that that we're so quick to forget what somebody did for us when we were kids, just kids are in a GWAP, man. Dude, you walked into B dubs right there off Fort Bragg, you know, Buffalo Wild Wings, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:09:25

And you looked around, dude, every shirt in there was a ranger up shirt at that time.

SPEAKER_03 2:09:29

For fucking sure, dude. Always. Um, and we need to we need to remember, like, yeah, it's it's uh it's a bit of nostalgia, man. Get back into it. Support it. Um Eric, when's the new podcast launching? When are you when are you getting it back into it?

SPEAKER_02 2:09:43

I don't know, dude. I don't know. Um I I'm I'm literally gonna pray about that and I'm gonna examine how I want it to go. I don't want it to be to fight, you know, as a police podcast, right? And we break down and it's very good and and it was always pure, but like again, if I said something divisive in the middle of the podcast, the views would go up, baby. Um, if I started dancing with conspiracy theories and having fun, and it's uh you know, it's all part of the plan, like you, you know, and you rally the troops, but at the end of the day, you know, that's not that's not healthy for this world right now. It's not making the world a better place.

SPEAKER_03 2:10:20

No, just take take some time and storyboard it, man. Whenever you see it.

Rebuilding Without Division

SPEAKER_02 2:10:24

Yeah, I want to break down the police related podcast. And I I think I want to use, you know, I'm really in this phase of life of of Lord, how can I, how can my cup runeth over? Like, how can I bring up security halt media and and how can I how can I bring up these people around me and watch them be successful? And um, you know, how can how can my kids, you know, who naturally bring up others, dude? It's wild that I have famous kids, like they're in magazines, they go to all the big contests, they're sponsored by anybody. I mean, Yellow Wolf, the the artist Yellow Wolf, just sent them this massive package. Joridos, we have we have in one hour, we have a semi-truck, another semi-truck of Joridos dropping off Horitos at my house. At 1 p.m., we have a scheduled delivery from my freight line of Joridos Mexican soda for my kids. Like, you know, you're famous when Joridos rolls up, not once, but twice with a like so you know, like a cowboy hat company, which has extremely expensive cowboy hats. They just made a custom hat that they're sending. That yeah, they've just they put his name on it and everything, and they're sending it to him. I mean, every single day we wake up, Berserker Built, who's a special forces guy, Navy Sweat guy, makes beautiful veterans boards. His wife passed away, and one of his wife's uh last wishes was that he supported the Groms. And so he found my kids and started supporting them. And that's been just an amazing uh partnership. And and my kid even said the other day, because now the bigger board brands are you know, OG skate companies, I reach out and I had a conversation. I said, dude, like what? Happens when Toy Machine or one of the big boys is on your they're following you right now. Like, what happens? And and I said, you know, where are you at? And he's like, dude, I'm I'm Berserker Built. Like, because the name Berserker Built resonates with him. He's outdoors, he's hunting, he's a survivalist, he's a he loves that military stuff. And he's like, I don't care. Like, I'm I'm Berserker built, dad. Like, you know, and I'm like, I was like, well, let's just make sure that if that's what you want, then then we're good. But if you think if you when they come knocking on the door, like we you need to like, I don't, I'm not gonna leave some veteran out in the dust. We need to like prepare him now and let him know what's going on and how this is gonna work. But if you're you're good to the brand, and now, and I said that as a good dad a month ago, now I will say that to him as like that's what God would want us to do. So now, no matter what, we're gonna do this. And actually, I I I wrote a movie script that's um it's a beautiful script, and it was uh a lot inspired by his wife. Like I I used part of his wife's story in this movie script, and lo and behold, um, I got that call last night from AJ Buckley when they're like, bro, this is like you got your rewrite, you turn in the rewrite, and this film's getting made. Like, you know, we're gonna get this budgeted out, and then I'm like, bro, this is and it's gonna be a dynamite. It'll be the next San Lot. Matter of fact, um, we are trying to, and I'm gonna say this now, but like the the direct the producer that that read the script and gave me the rewrite opportunity. What I I he said, who do you think plays this character, the father in this? It's a very pure story, it's a very Sandlot-esque skateboarding story. Very, very, very fun. It's it's gonna, it's it's a great story. And it's got like the veteran PTSD dad and the feral kids, right? It's very great. But um, he said, like, who would you want to play this at? And I said, dude, I'm gonna say something, it's gonna be ridiculous. I think the um the great Hambino from Sandlot, you know, would be I I literally wrote the dad character based on him now on Instagram, and he goes, He's my boy. And I said, What? And he goes, that guy, he's my boy. And he's like, that that is one of my closest. Like, I talked to him on the phone weekly, and I was like, bro, will you put this script in his hand? I would love for him to play that, you know, that that role. AJ Buckley was like, I'm gonna play Frank. I want to play that role. And um, so I I think that's gonna be that'd be really fun. So, you know, with the kids doing their their thing, watching them naturally go to the skate park and watch one kid try to drop in, and they're like, Hey, I got you, hand me your hands. And I'm like, dude, this is crazy because they're not doing it for clout. They don't, they have all the clout in the world, and they don't even really get to see what clout they have because they they're they're just good kids. They're good kids, dude. And that's what I want to be. I want to be my, I want to be them. So for podcasting for me, I'm looking at my sons and how kind and and great they are. And guess what? They're also really, really good at it. And I'm comfortable now saying I'm gonna be really, really good at podcasting. I am really good at podcasting, and I'm gonna be a good podcaster, and I'm gonna help others podcast too. That's that's what's gonna happen when the new podcast comes out.

SPEAKER_03 2:15:08

Heck yeah, man, dude. I'm I'm stoked. I am so proud uh of this journey you're on, man. And uh, if I can ever be of assistance, I will be there, my man. We're on it together, dude.

SPEAKER_02 2:15:18

We're we're we're family, bro.

SPEAKER_03 2:15:20

Just this is uh I'm I'm telling you, man, like the God works in mysterious ways, connects people for certain reasons. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:15:28

We prayed together. Like that makes us that's that's basically what makes us.

SPEAKER_03 2:15:31

Pretty much family. That's pretty much family. You're practically half Panamanian now. Dude, thank you for having me on, dude. Absolutely, man. Absolutely, man. And and to everybody listening, do yourself a favor. If um if you've been inspired and you want to take on a challenge, uh something spiritual, maybe you want to give up swearing as well, what better time than now? Join the Security Halt 100 challenge. That's right. 100 days to optimize your life, not just one domain, mind, body, and spirit. Look, at any point in your journey after service, you may have fallen off of alignment in any one of those pillars. And that's okay. This 100 day challenge is not like 75 hard. It's not like any other physical challenge. I am asking you to look at all three of those pillars and identify at least three things, three core habits that you can establish or enhance to make a better version of yourself. 100 days gives us the best shot at building that best version of ourselves for the next year and dare I say, for the rest of our lives. If you've already crushed the gym, maybe you're not going to prioritize lifting as much. Maybe it's recovery, maybe it's nutrition. And then the mind domain, maybe you take that class you've been putting off. Maybe you finish that degree you started two years ago, or maybe you just pick up one book and you start reading. I want you to optimize everything, and of course, the spirit pillar, man. Go back to church. If you're not ready for that, maybe pick up praying once a day. Maybe just pick up meditation and reflection. Whatever it is, it's up to you. And here's the catch: the last thing. At the end of this hundred-day challenge, I'm challenging you to do something big, whether it's a 20-mile run, a Spartan race, an endurance event, something big that's going to change your life and give you that outlook at the beginning of the year to say, like, hey, look where I come. Look where how far we've come. Do it with friends, do it by yourself, but please take on this challenge. And I've already dropped it on the blog. So check out securityhalt.com. Yeah, www.securityhault.com. Check out the latest blog posts. It's got the 100-day challenge on there. And uh be ready to start. You don't have to start it now, but the sooner you started, the sooner you can celebrate. So I'm kicking mine off February 1st. I hope you join me at some point. All right, here's mine.

SPEAKER_02 2:17:46

I'm gonna do I'm gonna tell you mine, and I'm gonna start it like tomorrow. I'm gonna start it today. But I've already kind of started it, right? So uh uh on the spiritual side, I'm gonna pray and have a devotion every single morning, seven days a week with my family before we do anything. So that that's that's already happening, doing it, right? Um uh for my mind, gonna I'm stopped swearing, good, got it. Um, so good there. Now for this, the challenge, the big challenge, I'm gonna do another jujitsu competition. I've I I I don't do contact, I've done a few competitions. My mind is so bad because I just convince myself I'm gonna lose. I'm terrible at jujitsu. That the only reason I competed in jujitsu is to prove to my mind, just to make myself do it, to punish myself. To say, like, eh, you know you're gonna lose and you know you suck, and you're gonna get embarrassed anyway, and we're gonna go do it. And sometimes I actually win and sometimes I don't. But this time I'm gonna do a jujitsu tournament, and I'm not gonna say that I suck at jujitsu, and I'm not gonna say that I didn't train good, or I'm not gonna come up with excuses. I'm not gonna lie to myself, I'm gonna say three positive things about myself every morning. I'm gonna do a jiu-jitsu contest, a big one. I'll find the biggest one I can, the one that should make me the most nervous, and I'm gonna go into it with a hundred percent optimism. That's what I'm gonna do. That's what I'm gonna do.

Security Halt 100 Challenge

SPEAKER_03 2:18:59

There you go, folks. There it is. Let's do it. Let's all get together. Let's be better this new year. Let's find ourselves finally at that place where we can say, Dad Gummit, I'm proud of myself. No swearing. There we go. No swearing. Eric. Brother, thank you for being here today. And to everybody listening, thank you for being here. Thank you for supporting the show. And uh, one more thing. You know, it's over. It's the same spiel. Pause the episode, go to episode description, click those links, send us a like, a share, a follow. Dare I say, leave me a review. It helps me and it feels good too when you do something good like that. Just say Denny's pretty cool or dip-dip-b-doo, whatever you want to put on there. I don't care. I I'm gonna enjoy it. Whatever you see, whatever you choose to put on there, I'll appreciate. Just don't say anything bad because then it'll break my heart. I'm just joking. I won't hold it against you. I'm Denny Caballero. That's been Eric Tanzi, and we're hoping you're gonna have a great, wonderful, blessed day. Till next time, take care.