WEBVTT - EYL #30 Everything A Band-Aid Can’t Fix 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:03.600 An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:07.480 in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Al Salvador 0:00:07.720 --> 0:00:11.840 accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:15.840 filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just 0:00:15.920 --> 0:00:19.680 some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:20.159 Donald J. 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:21.200 Trump's leadership. 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:25.079 I'm Christy nom the United States Secretary of Homeland Security. 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:29.200 Under President Trump, attempted illegal border crossings are at the 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:33.080 lowest levels ever recorded, and over one hundred thousand illegal 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:36.920 aliens have been arrested. If you are here illegally, your 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:41.160 next you will be fined nearly one thousand dollars a day, imprisoned, 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:42.160 and deported. 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:43.800 You will never return. 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:47.120 But if you register using our CBP home app and 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:50.559 leave now, you could be allowed to return legally. Do 0:00:50.680 --> 0:00:51.280 what's right. 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:52.720 Leave now. 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:57.840 Under President Trump, America's laws, border and families will be protected. 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:00.000 Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security. 0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:05.400 All right, guys, welcome back, Episode thirty thirty. We turned thirty. 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:07.280 Yes Steph Curry with the shot. 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:12.200 Thirty thirty thirty thirty, So thank you guys. Last week 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:14.000 was a big week for us. We put out two episodes. 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:16.800 We put out an episode on crypto and investment banking, 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:19.720 and we also put out the episode on Africa. 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:20.800 Shout out to Fritz Charles. 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:24.200 Yeah, so that was Those were both tremendous episodes, done 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:26.440 tremendously well for us. So thank you, Thank you guys. 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:28.440 We appreciate it and we appreciate you all your support 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:32.280 for rocking with us. Before we start, I want to 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:34.959 break some news. So if you follow the podcast, you 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:36.920 know that we are traveling. 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:37.479 All right. 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:40.840 We did network we're doing these networking events meeting greets, 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:42.880 and we went to La. That's when the first one 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:47.360 was in LA, and then we went to Brooklyn, and 0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:53.680 we recently went to Atlanta. So the fourth stop is Houston, Texas. 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:58.280 Get ready, Houston, were on our way. We will be 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:03.000 releasing dates very very but within the next couple of weeks, 0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:04.160 within the next couple of weeks. 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:06.560 With your help, with hopefully everybody that we've been saying 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:09.440 that gets on that we wanted on the podcast, we'll 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:11.399 make it on the podcast. We don't need a little 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:12.120 bit of help from Houston. 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:14.280 We need we need some help from Houston. But more importantly, 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:16.600 we just need to support, so make sure you come out. 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:20.239 It's all of our first times in Texas. So we're 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:23.480 looking forward to that here. There's gonna be a good energy, 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:25.680 good vibe out there for sure, for sure, So I'm 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:26.400 excited about that. 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:26.840 Yeah. 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:30.200 But more importantly, we have a very special guest with 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:31.440 us today, Nicole Russell. 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:33.560 Thank you for joining us, Thank you for having me. 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:33.840 Yes. 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:36.560 So, Nicole does a lot of different things, but she 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:40.440 is the co founder and executive director of Precious Dreams Foundation, 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:42.880 which is a nonprofit organization. We're going to talk about it. 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:44.320 So this episode we're going to talk about a lot 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:46.840 of different things. But we haven't covered the nonprofit organization 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:51.040 industry yet, and a lot of people want to start 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:53.560 nonprofits or they work for nonprofits. They want to understand 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:56.080 how nonprofits work. It's interesting that the name is nonprofit, 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:59.160 but everything makes a profit in some level, right, But 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:01.280 we're gonna talk about the how to set up a 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:03.760 nonprofit and all of that stuff. But also we're going 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:05.760 to talk about her journey to get his It's very 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:09.520 very interesting. Yeah, true true hustler. So she was glamorous 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:13.640 Everyday Hero of the Year. She was Observer's top twenty 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:17.720 Heroes on the forty and also Walmart's Community Playmaker Awards. 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:18.160 She won that. 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:22.040 Yeah, lots of lots of awards that did not apply 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:22.320 for it. 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:25.440 Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:28.480 So all right, before we go into your work, now, 0:03:29.040 --> 0:03:31.600 I think it's important to tell your backstory. So you 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:33.960 was telling us off camera, but I think it's interesting. 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:36.480 So how you got here as far as you went 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:39.560 to you want you took an untraditional route, right, Because 0:03:39.560 --> 0:03:41.600 a lot of times we've had episodes we talked about 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:45.240 college and everybody has different views on college, right, And 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:48.640 we had Chris Gotti, right, and he was saying that 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:51.120 he wished that he would have gone to college because 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:53.040 he thought that it would have helped him, but he 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:56.000 didn't actually never went to college. But you did the 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:59.480 Kanye thing where you went but you didn't finish, right. 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:01.040 Yeah, solid drop out. 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:03.680 So do you have that? So can you talk about that? 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:07.800 Yeah? So before I do, I will say that my 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:11.280 one year, because I did one, My one year in 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:13.880 college was one of the best years of my life. 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:16.640 And it wasn't because of the education that I received. 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:19.720 It was because of the experiences and relationships that I developed. 0:04:20.200 --> 0:04:23.359 So I do think there's so many valuable things that 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:26.680 can come out of going to school. However, I don't 0:04:26.720 --> 0:04:29.599 have any regrets on not finishing. The one thing that 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:31.720 I will say is when you don't have that degree 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:35.200 and you walk into any space, you have to, you know, 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:38.839 prove your worth and you have to work five times 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:41.520 as hard in everything that you do when you don't 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:44.880 have a degree. So it's it's been tough. It's really 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:47.080 been tough. And even you see that that meme on 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:50.200 Instagram where it's like that success is not that straight 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:52.880 narrow path, but it's really like a crazy ze exactly. 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:55.640 That's what my life has looked like. 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:59.440 Well, so what made you since you had such a 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:01.320 good freshman Yeah, what made you drop out after. 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:01.880 Your first year? 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:05.000 Because I had other plans, you know, were there were 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:09.840 things that I wanted to do that I couldn't do. Also, financially, 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:13.200 my parents could not afford it. It's crazy. I'm actually 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:17.080 still paying off my debt from college for the one year. Yes, 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:20.240 because my parents didn't give me a dime to go 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:22.760 to school. But I really wanted to move to California, 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:24.719 so I took out a private loan, which was not 0:05:24.760 --> 0:05:28.240 the smartest thing. To do, and I covered my full tuition, 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:30.880 my travel expenses, everything that I needed to go to school. 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:33.400 I just took it out. So I am still paying 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:35.560 that off. But I realized very quickly going into my 0:05:35.600 --> 0:05:37.719 second year that I could not afford to do that again. 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:41.680 No, that's dope, and it's dope that you took the 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:44.960 initiative and just said you didn't let fear ruin it, right, 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:46.800 because a lot of times people move out of fear. 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:48.240 And I think I'm a little Jada when it comes 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:52.960 to college because I never I never did a job application. 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:55.120 So like even when you're saying, you know, as far 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:57.359 as on the job applications, they look at you funny 0:05:57.360 --> 0:05:58.880 if you don't have a college degree. And I'm just 0:05:58.920 --> 0:06:01.640 thinking to myself, like I feeled not a job application before, 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:05.160 so that's not normal. So I think I'm my perspective 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:07.120 on things is a little different because I never had 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:11.440 a job. So but for most people, you know, it 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:14.120 is something that can hold you back, right, Yeah. 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:14.240 For sure. 0:06:14.240 --> 0:06:16.440 I mean I couldn't have had a career in education 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:19.520 without it, Like, so you need it. Yeah, it's absolutely 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:21.479 mandatory that I go to school for four years and 0:06:21.520 --> 0:06:24.160 didn't have a master's degree and pass all these certifications, 0:06:24.760 --> 0:06:27.680 so it was needed for me. It wasn't even an option. 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:30.919 Like I truly feel like I could have done what 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:34.640 I'm doing now without all the school But like I said, 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:36.760 New York State mandated that I have to do these things, 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:37.480 so I had to do them. 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:40.080 Yeah, And it really just depends on what you want 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:42.400 to do, right, because now I'm teaching in schools and 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:46.000 I do trainings for educators without a degree. But it's 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:49.159 because I'm teaching social and emotional stuff, which is not 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:51.320 which are the things that you can learn in school. 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:53.360 But also I've been able to learn it through experience 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:56.920 and working with the target audience. So last year they 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.960 passed a law in New York and Virginia to require 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:03.640 mental health education in public schools. You know, before that, 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:05.320 and there's no way I could have walked into a 0:07:05.320 --> 0:07:08.039 school and said I want to host an assembly and 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:13.280 teach your educators how to how to teach mental health. 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:15.320 You know, they would have looked at me crazy if 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:16.640 I was just like, well, you know, this is what 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:18.560 I bring to the table by having this experience at 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:22.200 a nonprofit. But because it became mandatory, a lot of 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:25.880 schools were scrambling looking for content. There aren't that many 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:29.080 books out there that do you know this type of 0:07:29.120 --> 0:07:34.080 work mental health or like self help for minorities, for 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:37.640 people that live in underserved areas. So they were happy 0:07:37.760 --> 0:07:40.800 to start using the book to have me come in. 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:43.840 So social emotional health is something that is just like 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:48.680 completely overlooked in our community. Completely and more so over 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:50.680 the past i'd say five to ten years. It's become 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:53.240 more of the forefront for adults, but the kids in 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:55.400 our community, it is not even a thing. Like I've 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:59.640 had some experiences it was just like, wait, how are 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:01.280 we to just ignore this? 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:04.440 Yeah, but I think that's changing too, honestly, Like in 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:07.200 a few years, it's going to be just as popular 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:10.720 to talk about self care for teens as it is 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:11.280 for adults. 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:13.280 So all right, So gme me back up a little bit. 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:15.840 Because you worked at a restaurant, right, Well, you worked 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.760 in a restaurant industry, and then you've worked your way 0:08:18.840 --> 0:08:20.960 up and then you got to a point where you 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:24.520 ask for equity partnership, right, Can you explain that? Because 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:28.240 we talked about equity partnership a lot, and so this. 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:30.640 Is after you came back from California. 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:33.559 Yes, So as soon as I got back, I had 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:36.040 to get a job. I started waitressing in New York City, 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:38.680 one of the most popular things you know, that anybody 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:42.440 can do. And I was always very ambitious and wanted 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:44.600 to do more, and I wanted to make the most money. 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.280 In every space that I've gone to, I've always wanted 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:49.960 to figure out, how do I get into the position 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:53.440 to make the big money, how do I learn what's 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:55.960 needed to make the big money. So I started waitressing. 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:58.840 I very quickly asked if I could be trained to bartend. 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:01.960 I didn't even drink. I didn't even know, like I 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:04.920 didn't know the difference between beers and like dark liquor 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:08.160 light liquor. I learned that very quickly started bar attending, 0:09:08.960 --> 0:09:10.679 I learned that I didn't like those hours, so I 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:13.600 asked if I could start managing, and the general manager 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:15.440 at the time looked at me like I was crazy 0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:18.800 and said, you know, well, you don't have any experience managing. 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:20.240 I said, I know, I don't, but I know how 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:22.199 to do all of the positions that you need to manage, 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:24.680 and I do them very well. I'm bringing in the 0:09:24.720 --> 0:09:26.520 most money here, so it would make sense to have 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:29.560 someone like me lead. And then it was a couple 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:31.840 of weeks after I had that conversation that our manager 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:35.120 at the time got fired, and then I ended up 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:38.320 moving my way up into that position, then moving my 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:40.839 way up into the general manager position, and at some 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:43.760 point I was learning the book keeping and running the 0:09:43.920 --> 0:09:47.960 entire place. And at that point, as a twenty four 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:52.040 year old young African American girl working in Times Square, 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:54.040 I was like, well, then I should be partly owning 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:59.920 this place. And I asked very ambitious, and I asked 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:03.640 for a very small percent, like under ten percent, and 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:06.360 they said they would consider it, and they gave me 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:08.880 the run around for too long, and I just decided 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:10.520 I would take my value somewhere else. 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:14.760 So at twenty four years old and one year of college, right, 0:10:15.440 --> 0:10:19.440 how did you develop enough courage to act un established 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:22.160 you in Times Square that's an established restaurant? How do 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:25.040 you get enough courage to act established restaurant owners where 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:26.839 I'm assuming that much older than you and don't look 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:29.680 like you for ownership in their business? Like, how did 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:32.160 how did that conversation develop in your brain? 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:37.480 So in everything that I do, because I'm an introverted person, 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:42.120 and some people can walk into a room and verbally 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:45.760 share you know what they're going to do and how 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:49.000 people need them, and I just I've never known how 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:52.440 to do that. So I've always quietly and very humbly 0:10:52.600 --> 0:10:56.000 worked my butt off, knowing that I can be the 0:10:56.000 --> 0:10:58.120 best at everything as long as I work very hard. 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:02.320 And so I was very aware of my worth, very 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:04.040 aware of what I can bring to the table, and 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:07.400 I knew that they needed me. So in my mind, 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:10.760 if someone needs you, they're going to do everything they 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.160 can to keep you. But I had put myself in 0:11:13.200 --> 0:11:15.319 that position before I jumped out the window and made 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:16.480 that ass So. 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:19.439 Because that's important what you just said, as far as 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:23.040 you realize that they needed your worth, you have to 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:25.840 know your worth, right, and that's true with anything in business, relationships, 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:26.840 person relationships, whatever. 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:27.760 But it's so hard. 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:30.079 People struggle with that all the time, right, people struggle 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:33.440 with that all the time where they don't know their work, 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:36.480 they don't realize that how valuable they are. 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:37.480 Right, So. 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:41.400 As far as like what would be your advice, as 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:43.560 far as for people to say, okay, look, this is 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:46.920 something that I think I'm worth, This is I need 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:48.520 to ask for a raise I need to ask for 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:51.040 a partnership, because it's not easy to do that. It's 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:54.319 very difficult, especially especially like if you as you get 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:56.640 older and you have a family, and you know a 0:11:56.640 --> 0:11:59.520 lot of times we just you just kind of become 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:01.400 set and it's say, okay, I just know. 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:02.959 The risk becomes a lot higher when it's allowed on 0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:03.280 the lunch. 0:12:03.360 --> 0:12:08.960 Yeah, you develop less courage as you get older. I feel, so, Yeah, like, 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:11.440 what's the advice for people to go out there and 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:14.000 just really take charge of their destiny? 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:19.040 For that, I would say prove your why, because you know, 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:21.480 in the corporate world, there are people who complain about 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:24.199 doing things that are outside of their roles and responsibilities. 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:27.240 And if you ask someone to do something that they're 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:29.160 not supposed to do, they'll give up and say, well, 0:12:29.400 --> 0:12:32.400 I'm not supposed to do that. And then there are 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:38.360 those who will do it and complain probably internally, but 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:40.880 not say anything. They'll do it, and they'll show you 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:43.280 that they can do more than you've hired them for. 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:47.480 And then they'll go in and have a conversation and say, well, 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:50.480 while we're doing this review over the last year, here's 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:52.560 my contract. This is what I was supposed to do 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:55.240 and this is everything else that I took on. And 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:58.199 usually that's a surprise to the person who's been continuously 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:02.000 asking more for you. Then they realized you were supposed 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:04.880 to be doing because you always say yes. And I'm 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:07.400 not saying that you should, you know, take on more 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:10.160 than you can chew. But at the same time, if 0:13:10.200 --> 0:13:13.280 you want to grow in your position, you should always 0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:15.720 be ready and willing to go above and beyond. 0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:20.280 I think communication is important too, because even in like relationships, 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:22.560 I think a lot of times people don't communicate properly. 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:24.520 And that's a problem, right. It happens in business all 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:28.320 the time. Where you don't say what you want, people 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:30.400 can't reach your mind, and people are never gonna go 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:33.959 out their way to give you something extra. A closed 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:34.840 mouth doesn't get fit. 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:37.560 It's like I'm gonna keep poling on till you finally 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:39.400 say something, and when you do, I'll say, all right, well, 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:42.240 good job. Right, It's like the know you're worth it's key, 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:44.440 like we I like to think of it as like 0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:47.760 it'll take something happened happen for people to learn, Like 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:50.600 as you're getting these tasks, they don't realize that you're 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:52.640 learning more and more, like now I feel like I 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:54.679 can do these jobs. Like when you prove it to them, 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:56.600 it's like, yeah, I've been doing it. Now pay us 0:13:56.640 --> 0:13:57.080 like you always. 0:13:57.160 --> 0:13:59.600 Now it's like me and you more. Have this conversation 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:01.400 a lot. I'll show you jam a soon. I referenced 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:05.160 him last episode in this episode as well. But he's coming, 0:14:05.200 --> 0:14:09.520 don't worry. But you gotta have uncomfortable conversations. Yes, nobody 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:12.880 wants to have the uncomfortable conversations, right, nobody. It's human nature. 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:16.040 Nobody really nobody wants to have an uncomfortable conversation. But 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:20.960 sometimes you have to have uncomfortable conversations. And I've had 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:24.280 uncomfortable conversations in business, and you know what the crazy 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:26.640 thing about it is, most of the time they're not 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:30.200 really that uncomfortable because you you've already cited yourself mentally 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:32.880 for so long, Like you've walked past the person's office 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:37.880 ten times already, You've had the conversation in your head like, oh, 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:40.000 it's too early, I'm gonna wait till the afternoon. Then 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:41.760 you go in the afternoon and it's like he's out 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:46.720 for lunch. The day is almost over, and then it's like, okay, 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:49.520 let me wait ten minutes. It's like you make up 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:51.480 like all kinds of excuses, you delay it for so long, 0:14:51.520 --> 0:14:53.000 double dutch in the whole time, and then by the 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.480 time you actually do it, it's like because at the 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:56.880 end of the day you could just say yes to no, 0:14:57.040 --> 0:14:58.120 that's only then that happens. 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:02.560 Yeah, it's more uncomfortable, be unhappy. So you might as 0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:03.120 well ask. 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:04.800 I said, Jim, So all right, can we jump to 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:05.600 Masive Square Garden. 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:06.280 Yep? 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:09.320 So you you you realized that they wasn't going to 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:12.760 give you equity in the restaurant business, and you you've. 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:15.440 Reached the level where you felt that you. 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:18.480 You couldn't do any more and not get compensated as 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:20.720 you should get compensated. So you you took a leap 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:25.000 of faith and you quit, right yep. Okay, so then 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:27.680 you then you start VIP services in Masters Square. 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:27.960 Guarden, right. 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:30.400 So no, I didn't start it. H So I quit 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:33.520 my job without having a backup plan, which everyone tells 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:36.240 you not to do. They always say, never leave a 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:40.360 position until you get another one. But I, you know, 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:44.640 leaned on faith and I just felt very confident that 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:48.040 well one was Like I said, earlier. If you're it's 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:51.320 it's more uncomfortable to be unhappy. So I had become 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:54.640 unhappy in that position. And yes, I had to take 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:56.040 care of my financial needs, but I need to take 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:58.760 care of my mental needs too, so I knew that 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:01.840 I needed to leave regard. I did that, and then 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:05.120 the very next day, after my last day of work, 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:07.400 I got a phone call from one of my old 0:16:07.440 --> 0:16:10.280 clients at the restaurant who happened to work at Madison 0:16:10.280 --> 0:16:13.080 Square Garden, and they said that they were expanding their 0:16:13.160 --> 0:16:17.120 VIP services department, doing renovations and opening up these VIP 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:20.520 spaces and they needed a manager, and they actually asked 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:22.600 if I could refer someone because they didn't know that 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:24.840 I had quit. I had never told any of my 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:27.360 clients that I was unhappier that I was leaving, and 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:30.400 I always made sure that up until the last day, 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.880 I worked hard, so I was able to utilize so 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:39.000 many relationships that I gained through my last position to 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:42.800 help me and not just eventually getting that role at 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:45.360 Madison Square Garden, but with everything else that I decided 0:16:45.400 --> 0:16:47.160 to do after I started a nonprofit. 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:50.640 And how long were you got as Square. 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:52.160 Garden seven years? 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:55.120 So then you leave Madison Square Garden, right, m hm. 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:57.120 So we're going to talk about that in the next 0:16:57.200 --> 0:17:00.120 segment as far as starting the nonprofit. But before you 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:03.840 talk about that, what made you decide to even want 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:04.720 to start a nonprofit? 0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:12.000 So it's deep. I always wanted to help children, and 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:14.639 I always wanted to live in service of others. 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:14.920 Right. 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:18.280 So that's when you're working in the hospitality industry, that 0:17:18.480 --> 0:17:21.800 is to serve people, period. It doesn't matter if it's 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:24.679 in a hotel setting, if you're a cashier at a 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:28.560 sneaker store, You're in service of others at all times. 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:30.879 I wanted to do that and I wanted to help children. 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:34.960 I just didn't know how. My mother actually took in 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:39.000 a foster child and she suffered from nightmare seven nights 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:44.959 a week because of her traumatic experiences. Yeah, and my 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:47.359 mother had to introduce comfort items to her for the 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:50.760 very first time at age four to help her get 0:17:50.840 --> 0:17:52.600 back to sleep. She was waking my mother up every 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:59.080 single night and Teddy Bears pajamas, blanket. Yeah. And my 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:01.320 mom told me about it and said, you know, I 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:05.359 wonder how foster kids sleep when they have nightmares? What 0:18:05.440 --> 0:18:08.159 do they do in the middle of the night, and 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:10.600 it's not a thought that had ever crossed my mind. 0:18:12.480 --> 0:18:16.480 And so, you know, my mother's idea was for us 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:19.560 to start donating comfort items, a very simple thing to 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:22.600 do because of a cause that was now important to her. 0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:26.000 And my job was just to look online and figure 0:18:26.040 --> 0:18:29.159 out places where she could make these donations. And in 0:18:29.240 --> 0:18:33.760 doing research, I realized that there were no organizations that 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:39.720 focused solely on packages of bedtime items comfort items. And 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:43.040 so my simple fix to that was, let me just 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:46.199 figure out how to incorporate an organization so that we 0:18:46.280 --> 0:18:49.040 can do it on a very small scale, but at 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:52.600 least we'll have a place to kind of funnel everything through. 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:58.000 And Precious Dreams started with the concept of putting together 0:18:58.080 --> 0:19:02.320 care packages for foster kids, and then six months after 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:03.160 that everything. 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:05.680 Changed, all right, all right, So in the next siven, 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:08.560