WEBVTT - #196 Victim of a Scam... 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:02.880 I have you trapped. The only way I will not 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:06.280 do that is if you obey me and do exactly 0:00:06.320 --> 0:00:09.160 what I say. Now, I need you to send another 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:12.600 picture doing this. If you do not send it within 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:15.840 twenty four hours, I will release this blackmailed video. So 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:19.560 that's how it works. That's very common, and most people 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:34.120 that are trapped in that don't say a word. What's up, everybody? 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:36.920 Welcome back to the podcast. This is episode one and 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:40.199 ninety six, and I am grateful to be here with you, 0:00:40.520 --> 0:00:43.479 wherever you're coming from, and however you're watching, whatever platform 0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:47.519 you're coming from, whether that's Spotify or Apple podcast or 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:52.840 YouTube or any other platform. iHeartRadio. Thank you for being here. 0:00:52.960 --> 0:00:56.760 I answer your questions. You email me Grangersmith Podcast at 0:00:56.800 --> 0:01:00.800 gmail dot com, and I walk through it in long 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:05.800 podcast form, sometimes maybe too long and sometimes maybe too short. 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:08.440 I have nothing planned. I have no notes in front 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.520 of me or no quotes or anything compiled. And I 0:01:11.560 --> 0:01:15.280 have also have not read these questions beforehand. So we're 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:17.000 gonna walk through it. You're gonna hear it as a 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:20.600 listener the same time that I'm hearing it, and then 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:24.400 we'll give the best answer that we can. These questions 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:28.040 could be about anything in life. Really, I've seen it 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:30.679 all over the place. You just email Grangersmith podcast at 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:32.800 gmail dot com. So let's go to the first one here. 0:01:33.240 --> 0:01:38.840 Subject Cline says curious, and the question says, Hello, granger 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:40.920 My name is Cindy. I live in Florida. I have 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:43.720 a quick question for you. Do you respond to comments 0:01:44.120 --> 0:01:46.720 on your podcast that ask us to message you on 0:01:46.760 --> 0:01:50.160 a different platform. I've received that on everything I've commented on. 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:53.880 Thank you and God blessed. Yeah, Cindy, thanks for emailing. 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:55.640 I'm glad this is the first one that popped up. 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:01.040 The answer is never. I'd never ask thank you ever 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:04.680 on social media or any platform, to go and message 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:08.280 me on another platform. Right, that's not me. That's a scammer, 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:12.560 probably from Nigeria. I've actually did a podcast on this 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:16.959 several years ago, way back in the archives. But they're 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:19.359 always scamming you. They're trying to scam you. Always look 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:21.600 for the blue check. It's really important to look for 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:23.799 that blue check and then just take a quick scan 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:26.440 over at the page. It's not hard to see what 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:28.400 a scammer page looks like. It doesn't have a lot 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:32.440 of followers and it doesn't. It could be cloned. They 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:34.840 could have posted the same thing, but you could tell 0:02:34.880 --> 0:02:36.720 that there's a lot less activity and there's a lot 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:40.280 less followers. So look for the blue check and also 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:44.320 don't follow any kind of blue checked artist or celebrity 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.120 of any kind. Don't ever follow them on a mess 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:49.920 direct message, or a comment that says, hey, come to 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:53.680 this other platform and message me there. It's also important 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:57.800 to never donate to anybody's charity that asks you straight 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.080 from a say an Instagram comment, and says, hey, donate 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:07.760 here to this certain charity. Also, don't even follow my advice. 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:10.160 If I'm asking you to donate from a charity, it 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:14.720 might not be me. So be very careful. I'm never 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:16.760 going to come to you, and I don't think anyone 0:03:16.840 --> 0:03:20.600 is ever going to come to you that you don't 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:23.120 personally know in your family that's going to say, hey, 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:26.200 I have some I got into some financial trouble, can 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:28.560 you help me out here? Whatever? Tom Cruise is not 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:31.520 going to tell you that. So anyway, be very careful, 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:34.120 be very safe out there on You know, we have 0:03:34.240 --> 0:03:38.240 learned in life how to be street smart and not 0:03:38.600 --> 0:03:42.480 walk down a dark alley. You wouldn't do that. So 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:45.120 we need to learn how to be web smart now 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:48.640 and learn where those new dark alleys are. Don't go 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:51.360 down them. It's a good question. I'm glad we started 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:56.640 with this. Next question, Subdeclin's has exploited. Hey, Grandere'd like 0:03:56.640 --> 0:03:59.720 to remain anonymous. I'm fifteen years old. I'm a boy. 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:04.160 Made a huge mistake. I sent private videos to what 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:07.320 I thought was a girl and ended up being a 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:13.360 sexploitation scheme. I deleted everything and reported it all, and 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:16.320 nothing has come of it. I'm struggling with the shame 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:20.680 and embarrassment that I fell into lust. I already prayed 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:23.080 about it and asked for forgiveness, but I still am 0:04:23.120 --> 0:04:26.320 filled with shame. Just wondering how I could help improve 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:29.960 excuse me, just how I'm wondering how I could help 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:36.839 overcome my shame. Thanks love the podcast. Anonymous. Okay, man, 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:40.039 what a good question to go back to. Back to 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:43.000 that other question, right, talking about dark alleys on the internet, 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:47.600 and we have to be aware. Man, that couldn't have 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:53.880 been timed better. Okay, where do I start with this? Anonymous? 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:57.640 First of all, fifteen year old boy, thank you for 0:04:57.760 --> 0:05:01.000 being vulnerable. Thank you for being up front about this 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:08.560 and just voicing this kind of concern that is dealt 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:12.279 with a lot. And I'm sure a lot of kids 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:15.640 are going through something like this and they don't know 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:17.960 who to talk to, and they don't ever bring it up, 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:21.560 and it never leaves their bedroom or behind four walls 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:25.760 of their house. So we'll start with that. You're vulnerable 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:29.560 and you're very brave to come forward. Second of all, 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.719 I think it goes without saying that this is it's 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:40.560 dangerous to send anything to anybody, even if you know them, 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:45.520 and much more dangerous if you don't know them. But 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:47.599 that's not what this question is about. And that's not 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:50.080 what you need to hear from me, because you already 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:53.040 know that the hard way, right, You've already learned that lesson. 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:55.320 There's no need for me to reinforce that with you. 0:05:56.480 --> 0:05:58.960 I do want everybody else that's listening to know and 0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:00.760 to see this and to see that this is a 0:06:00.800 --> 0:06:04.400 real thing, whether you are listening yourself and you could 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:08.320 be vulnerable to this, or if you have kids and 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:11.640 you don't know exactly what they're looking at. I say kids, 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:14.440 and I don't mean that to offend you. If you're fifteen. 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:18.560 I don't mean that in that way. So if you 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:23.560 have children that are on their phones, are on a screen, 0:06:23.600 --> 0:06:26.120 and you don't know exactly what they're looking at. I 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:29.120 want your parents, I want you to remember this that 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:34.840 they're not entitled to privacy. As long as they're under 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:38.200 eighteen and living under your roof, they are not entitled 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:41.200 to privacy. That is something that is earned, and that 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:44.400 trust is earned. And even when the trust of total 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:47.240 privacy is earned, that doesn't mean you have to give 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:51.480 it to them. Okay, because you're the parent, and you 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:58.640 are you are in desperate need these days to be 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:03.240 policing this, okay, because you know better, and many times 0:07:03.320 --> 0:07:06.680 they don't. They haven't been exposed to everything that you 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:08.760 and I know at this point. This is a great 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:13.400 example of it. Okay, this what is happening to this boy? Really, 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:19.600 I'll speak to everyone, including you anonymous. This could be 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:26.160 very dangerous to your own mental health. There are suicides 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:29.120 that happened because of this. Okay, that needs to be said, 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:33.240 needs to be addressed. How crazy this could be. And 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:35.720 it sounds like you're okay, So first of all, let's 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:39.680 just make sure you're okay and that everything in this 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:47.120 world can be replaced, including your your self esteem, right, 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:50.280 if that's what this is about. This could be repaired, 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:53.800 all this, all of this could be repaired, and no one, 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:57.640 no one should be able to judge you in a 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:00.360 way that they say, how could you be so? But 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:03.240 no one could really say that, because everyone that's a 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:06.000 human that walks on this earth could be vulnerable to 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:09.720 something like this if they just don't know, and you 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:13.400 were trapped, that you fell into the trap and the 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:17.520 trap was set. Now I'm so glad you reported it, 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:21.800 but I want to I want to make sure you 0:08:21.840 --> 0:08:23.520 take the next step as well, and I want to 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:27.280 make sure that the authorities are contacted for this, because 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:31.520 this is there is a big trafficking scheme that goes 0:08:31.560 --> 0:08:35.200 along with this kind of sexploitation. There are many people 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:39.800 right now, in fact, millions that are that are enslaved 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:45.320 and trapped by sexploitation because of something just like this, 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:49.040 because of a scheme that they sent a video to someone, 0:08:49.880 --> 0:08:54.480 a private video that they thought was a love interest 0:08:54.679 --> 0:09:00.160 about their age, ended up being some kind of scam 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:02.960 that's part of some kind of crime ring that then 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:06.120 brings that victim in and says now that I have this, 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:08.640 Now that I have this information about you, or this 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:11.120 video of you or this picture of you, I will 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:14.960 show it to everyone. I will ruin your life. I 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:18.319 will show all of your classmates, your friends, your parents, 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:22.640 your teachers, everyone in the town will see this vulnerable 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:26.400 video or picture of you. I have you trapped. The 0:09:26.440 --> 0:09:29.040 only way I will not do that is if you 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:32.720 obey me and do exactly what I say. Now. I 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:36.320 need you to send another picture doing this. If you 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:38.480 do not send it within twenty four hours, I will 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:42.080 release this blackmailed video. So that's how it works. That's 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:45.160 very common, and most people that are trapped in that 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:54.360 don't say a word for fear because they're scared. We 0:09:54.400 --> 0:09:56.840 need to be aware of this, We need to know 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:59.640 that this is going on. And I would like you 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:06.080 to know tofy the police about this. Anonymous. So all 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:07.760 of that I didn't I didn't even really get into 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:10.680 what you're asking. But you said you've prayed about it, 0:10:10.760 --> 0:10:13.440 you've asked for forgiveness, but you're still filled with shame, 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:17.400 just wondering how you could that you can overcome this 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:20.160 kind of shame. That's what you're asking, And I would say, 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:23.280 shine a light in the dark place, shine a light 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:26.079 on it, right on it. And the way you shine 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:28.600 a light on it is bring truth to it. Bring truth, 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:33.440 bring it to light. Confess this, not in a way 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.480 that you have to confess more and more and more. 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:38.199 That can become a pnception. And you don't want to 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:41.440 be obsessed with confessing, right, That's that's different. That's not 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:43.480 what this is about. This is about shining a light 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:46.440 in that dark, in those dark corners where the cobwebs 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:48.480 are in your life, and you go look over there. 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:53.000 I want everyone to see this, mister police officer, my friends. 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:57.120 I did this. I'm messed up, and I will not 0:10:57.240 --> 0:10:59.760 do this again. I've learned my lesson. But I also 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:02.880 want to make a bring awareness to other people that 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:06.720 could be in a similar kind of situation. There's no 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:10.400 shame in that and hiding it and crawling into a 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:14.360 ball and just wondering if you're a really bad person 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:21.000 that's going to cultivate more shame. Thanks for emailing, By 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:27.280 the way, I want to say that again. There's another 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:28.880 fifteen year old and I'm gonna wait on that one 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:32.839 so I don't do back to back. And here's a 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:34.520 sixteen year old. I'm gonna wait on that so we 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:37.640 don't go back to back. And here's another sixteen year 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:42.160 old man. I just keep pulling up the teenagers. Okay, 0:11:42.200 --> 0:11:43.800 let's pull up this one. I don't know how old 0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:46.040 this person is, but it says red letters. That's the 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:51.600 subject line. My name is Isaac Robbins from East Palestine, Ohio, 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:55.600 and I have been a fan of yours for quite 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:58.360 a while, but recently found your podcast and spent the 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:02.120 better part part of the last four weeks binging listening 0:12:02.200 --> 0:12:04.560 to get caught up on all one hundred and ninety 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:09.080 four episodes. That's amazing. But my question is this, when 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:12.360 reading the Bible, in the New Testament, you find red 0:12:12.480 --> 0:12:17.080 letter words which are directly quoted as Jesus's words, but 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:20.920 following the Trinity and the fact that all the Bible 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:25.240 is God breathe to man, is it all God slash 0:12:25.440 --> 0:12:30.719 Jesus's words? Just wondering what your thoughts are on red letters. Oh, 0:12:31.160 --> 0:12:34.680 that's such a great question. I love that question, and 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:38.160 I also love that you have binged listened to one 0:12:38.240 --> 0:12:40.600 hundred and ninety four episodes. That's really impressive and thank 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:45.240 you so much for that. Yeah, I hear you, and 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:49.800 I agree with you, and I personally, as I have 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:54.679 grown personally in my faith, I have a problem with 0:12:55.520 --> 0:13:01.720 red letter Bibles. I say that very loosely, because of 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:03.920 course I own some. I have some on my shelf 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:09.560 in here, but I'm not a fan of them like 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:13.200 I used to be as a baby believer. Because of 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:17.560 what you're saying, there's a couple of reasons. One we 0:13:17.720 --> 0:13:21.880 don't always know. This is reason number one. We don't 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:28.960 always know exactly when Jesus starts talking and when he 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:34.800 finishes talking, and when the apostle carries on the conversation. 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:39.680 For instance, John three point sixteen is actually a great 0:13:39.720 --> 0:13:47.280 example of this. We're not sure if Jesus himself said 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:52.240 the words in John three point sixteen, for God so 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:54.960 loved the world he gave his only son. We don't 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:57.280 know if Jesus said that, or if that is John, 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:02.600 the apostle who's writing the Book of John. If this 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:06.200 is John commentating, you see what I mean. So we 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:10.719 don't know when Jesus stops talking and when John starts commentating. 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:15.839 This is important. Now, that doesn't matter. That doesn't matter 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:20.880 in knowing truth, because John three point sixteen is still absolute, fundamental, 0:14:20.880 --> 0:14:24.120 objective truth. It doesn't matter if Jesus said it or 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:26.360 if the apostle John said it, because it's like you 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:31.360 said in your email, it's still God breathed. Right, But 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:36.040 you could put an unnecessary emphasis on looking for red 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:40.960 letter words and ignoring the black letter words. There's the problem. 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:46.560 So the problem is not whether it's truth or not. 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:51.280 The problem is feeling like only the red parts are 0:14:51.320 --> 0:14:53.640 the true parts, and the black parts aren't as important 0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:56.560 as the red parts, when all of it is important. 0:14:56.640 --> 0:15:01.120 Like you said, it's all God breathed. So I'm more 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:05.800 of a fan now, as have become more maturer over 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:08.080 the years, I'm more of a fan of all black 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:14.320 letters because you said it great. I mean, Jesus himself said, 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:19.920 the prophets were talking about me, Moses was talking about me. 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:26.200 So you go back into Exodus and Genesis and Leviticus, 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:30.800 and you don't see red letters there. Right when we're 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:33.480 hearing from Moses, we're not seeing red letters. We're seeing 0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:37.440 black letters. And so don't put an unnecessary emphasis on 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:39.720 where the red letters are for those two reasons. One, 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:43.120 you don't exactly know what Jesus is saying or when 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:46.600 this is the apostle John talking now, you know, but 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:50.520 it's also important just to take scripture as a whole, 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:56.280 as God breathed, as objective truth. It's a great observation, 0:15:56.920 --> 0:16:00.840 and I kind of get that problem. I'm going to 0:16:00.880 --> 0:16:02.400 move on from this question, but I want to say 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:07.120 lastly that I have a problem because country music lyrics 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:14.640 always say red letters because it's poetic. It's like, how 0:16:14.640 --> 0:16:17.800 many times, maybe not on the radio necessarily, but how 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:20.600 many times if I heard a songwriter write a song 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:22.600 or it's an album cut, or it's a song pitched, 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.640 or it's just a songwriter with a demo, And it's 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:29.880 poetic to say things when you're using colors like blue 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:36.480 collar red letters, you know, and you could just endlessly 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:39.760 make these kind of analogies, but it's really it's such 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:42.880 a songwriting thing to be like, Man, I always trust 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:46.120 them red letters. Mom always told me to look at 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:49.840 them red letters and not believe them red dirt. I 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:52.680 grew up on the red dirt and the red letters. 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:56.600 You know. It's like, Okay, I get it, but there's 0:16:56.640 --> 0:16:59.360 a problem there because what about the black letters? You 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:06.920 know what I mean. Okay, let's move on. That's my point, 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:11.560 all right. Ceject line here says life changes. Hey, Granger. 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:15.159 I started a new job back in twenty thirteen or 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:18.600 two twenty twenty three in February. It was supposed to 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:22.280 be the end all, be all job. A family member 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:25.280 helps me get this job, and they also work there. Recently, 0:17:25.320 --> 0:17:27.679 this family member and I had a falling out and 0:17:27.760 --> 0:17:31.720 I've not spoken in a few days. Back to the 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:35.680 job aspect, I am not happy here. Said family member 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:38.359 has been the only reason I've stayed here, but it's 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:41.320 taken a toll mentally on me as I'm not one 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:46.520 hundred percent happy here. It's the best job I've ever had, 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:49.240 but at the same time, I feel as though the 0:17:49.280 --> 0:17:52.399 work and I the work I do. Sorry, I'm having 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:57.320 trouble reading. The work I do goes unnoticed in the 0:17:57.359 --> 0:18:01.119 majority of the time. I'm adding some words here. With 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:03.360 this falling out, it has made me realize that I'm 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:07.120 not happy where I'm at and would love to pick 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:10.879 things up and move six plus hours away to an 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:13.760 area I've wanted to live in for years now? Am 0:18:13.840 --> 0:18:17.920 I crazy after such an inconvenience to be thinking like this? 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:20.920 Thank you and God bless Jake Jake, thanks for the email. Brother. 0:18:21.400 --> 0:18:24.359 Let me recap real quickly from my own brain. You 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:28.440 started this job recently, just a few months ago, and 0:18:28.600 --> 0:18:30.479 it was supposed to be a great job, and it is. 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:32.600 You ended up saying a family member helped you get 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:36.439 the job, and then you guys got into an argument. 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:38.560 You had a falling out. You haven't spoken a few 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:43.400 days now. This is making the job super uncomfortable. You're 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:45.439 not one hundred percent happy, and you're kind of wondering 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:48.679 why you're not happy if this is like the perfect job. 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:55.359 You're feeling restless. Right there's this place that you know, 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:59.200 six and out, six plus hours away, and you kind 0:18:59.200 --> 0:19:02.840 of just want to escape because maybe, as they say, 0:19:03.200 --> 0:19:08.200 the grass is greener. That's my recap, and I'll tell 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:11.119 you this. I know this for sure, Jake. I know, 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:12.720 I don't know. I don't know a lot of things 0:19:12.720 --> 0:19:15.600 for sure, but I do know this, that place that's 0:19:15.600 --> 0:19:21.480 six hours away, you will fall back into this same 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:25.560 rut there too. No matter where you go, you're gonna 0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:28.679 have this feeling like, you know what, I thought this 0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:31.399 was better. I thought this was gonna be better than this, 0:19:32.520 --> 0:19:37.440 and I'm still not really happy. I'm not like you said, 0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:43.320 I'm not one hundred percent happy. It's something else that's 0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:46.920 going on. There's a searching that's going on that's beyond 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:51.600 a job because partly, and I'm getting off of what 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:53.679 I know is true. I know that that's true. But 0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:55.000 now I'm gonna get off of that and go into 0:19:55.080 --> 0:19:59.800 my opinions. Your job has become to you, and I 0:19:59.840 --> 0:20:03.920 di it's a form of identity. It defines you. It's 0:20:03.960 --> 0:20:07.600 who you are. You are the job. And when you 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:12.360 go in and the job isn't perfect, it has flaws, 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:15.520 of course it does. And then you got this family 0:20:15.520 --> 0:20:17.840 member that brought you in and now you guys are 0:20:17.840 --> 0:20:22.439 having arguments. Of course that happens. Then your identity starts 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:26.800 to become eroded. There's problems in it. There's there's flaws 0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:29.159 in your own identity now because there's flaws in the 0:20:29.240 --> 0:20:32.679 job and the flaws and the family member, and you 0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:38.359 start thinking, well, I'm not happy, and if I'm not happy, 0:20:38.400 --> 0:20:42.239 I'm gonna blame it on my situation. We blame our 0:20:42.280 --> 0:20:46.520 happiness on these different things were when we're looking for 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:53.520 our identity through what we do, then we blame it 0:20:53.600 --> 0:20:57.080 on certain circumstances. For instance, we can blame it on 0:20:58.520 --> 0:21:02.600 the people that are around us family. We could say 0:21:02.920 --> 0:21:07.439 I'm not happy because my wife drives me crazy. My 0:21:07.560 --> 0:21:12.840 kid he's wacko. My boss is a lunatic, he doesn't 0:21:12.840 --> 0:21:18.960 appreciate you. Even said that my work gets unnoticed majority 0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:24.200 of the time. I blame my boss, I blame my superiors. Right. 0:21:25.800 --> 0:21:29.840 So to solve that problem, that problem of identity, you 0:21:29.960 --> 0:21:35.680 drop them, divorce, ignore the kid, move out from the family, 0:21:36.280 --> 0:21:41.119 get a new job. But because that never was your 0:21:41.160 --> 0:21:44.000 identity to begin with, it was a false blame, a false, 0:21:45.840 --> 0:21:52.400 false accusation, and you don't have a solution. Another way 0:21:52.440 --> 0:21:57.200 to look at this is it's the system. The system 0:21:57.280 --> 0:21:59.399 is messing things up for me. If it wasn't for 0:21:59.480 --> 0:22:03.080 the system or the government people say, the government, if 0:22:03.080 --> 0:22:06.359 it wasn't for the Democrats and the office right now, 0:22:06.840 --> 0:22:10.920 if it wasn't for the Trump followers, the Republicans, if 0:22:10.960 --> 0:22:13.560 it wasn't for what you name it, fill in the blank, 0:22:13.680 --> 0:22:18.159 whatever it is, the system, the government, the union, the 0:22:18.200 --> 0:22:23.280 big corporation. It's you are in a system that is 0:22:23.480 --> 0:22:26.920 flawed and that is making you unhappy, that is affecting 0:22:26.960 --> 0:22:31.600 your identity. Okay, and then another option is this one. 0:22:31.720 --> 0:22:33.800 This is unfortunate, but it happens a lot as well. 0:22:34.400 --> 0:22:38.560 You might think the problem is me. I just screw 0:22:38.680 --> 0:22:42.160 up everything everywhere I go. It's not my wife, it's 0:22:42.160 --> 0:22:44.439 not my boss, it's not the system, it's not the government. 0:22:44.480 --> 0:22:46.680 It's me. I'm just a screw up. I mess everything up. 0:22:47.359 --> 0:22:49.800 So that's another way. Those are all three false ways 0:22:49.800 --> 0:22:53.639 of finding your identity and false ways of accusing those 0:22:53.720 --> 0:22:56.800 around you or yourself with your own happiness. But I 0:22:56.840 --> 0:23:00.439 promise you, brother, if you don't find your own identity 0:23:01.000 --> 0:23:04.520 and the one that created you for his purpose, if 0:23:04.520 --> 0:23:08.600 you can't see that, you'll always keep searching for a 0:23:08.680 --> 0:23:13.160 truth that's not out there. You'll always be restless, You'll 0:23:13.160 --> 0:23:16.639 always feel like there's something else. The grass is always greener, 0:23:16.680 --> 0:23:21.919 and it's not until you realize I was created for 0:23:22.000 --> 0:23:26.159 the purpose greater than anything I can imagine. We'll take 0:23:26.200 --> 0:23:32.560 a break view right back. Some people have been asking 0:23:32.600 --> 0:23:35.920 me since I'm stepping away from music touring, what will 0:23:35.960 --> 0:23:40.919 happen to ee? Well, nothing that stays the same. Of course, 0:23:41.000 --> 0:23:44.359 my brothers and I run that company, and specifically my 0:23:44.440 --> 0:23:47.639 little brother Parker is the CEO of that company. So 0:23:47.720 --> 0:23:50.000 touring has really nothing to do with him at all, 0:23:50.440 --> 0:23:53.240 so that is doing fine. We're still in fact, we're 0:23:53.240 --> 0:23:57.480 doing an old school launch coming up on July twenty first, 0:23:57.880 --> 0:23:59.960 and I love that stuff. We went out and show 0:24:00.280 --> 0:24:03.960 some old school merch. We're gonna sell that on yee 0:24:04.200 --> 0:24:08.200 dot com as always again that launch, that special launch 0:24:08.280 --> 0:24:11.520 that will not be available after that stuff sells out, 0:24:11.520 --> 0:24:14.359 which I know it will at ee y dot com. 0:24:14.560 --> 0:24:15.840 If you need to get a hold of me for 0:24:15.840 --> 0:24:18.920 some reason, Cameo dot com slash Granger Smith. I talk 0:24:18.960 --> 0:24:21.000 about that almost every week here on the podcast. You 0:24:21.000 --> 0:24:23.560 could make a request for me to make you a 0:24:23.560 --> 0:24:27.520 little video message to anybody you want, including yourself, for 0:24:27.640 --> 0:24:31.600 any kind of anniversary or birthday or pick me up 0:24:31.840 --> 0:24:34.280 or holiday, whatever it might be. I could make you 0:24:34.320 --> 0:24:37.119 a video message on my phone and say whatever you 0:24:37.160 --> 0:24:40.359 need me to say at cameo dot com slash Granger Smith. 0:24:40.440 --> 0:24:43.359 Also on the Cameo app search for Granger Smith me. 0:24:44.119 --> 0:24:46.679 And then I can't get away with not saying anything 0:24:46.680 --> 0:24:48.880 about Like a River coming out just in a few 0:24:48.880 --> 0:24:52.840 weeks as I record this podcast, August the first, Like 0:24:52.840 --> 0:24:56.320 a River, my first book comes out. This is my story, 0:24:56.359 --> 0:25:00.639 my wife and I story as we navigated green loss 0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:04.040 after losing my son River he was three years old, 0:25:04.200 --> 0:25:06.800 And the book is going to start with that, and 0:25:06.800 --> 0:25:09.440 then it's going to walk through the aftermath, what we 0:25:09.600 --> 0:25:13.399 dealt with, what we went through, and ultimately how we 0:25:13.480 --> 0:25:16.400 found purpose in our pain. The book's called Like a River. 0:25:16.480 --> 0:25:19.639 You could pre order right now at grangersmith dot com. 0:25:19.840 --> 0:25:21.960