WEBVTT - Operation Hope Founder and CEO on New Book

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason

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<v Speaker 1>Kelly on Bloomberg Radio. Well, we have had dozens, if

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<v Speaker 1>not hundreds, of I think great conversations across the course

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<v Speaker 1>of these last seven topsy turvy work at home months,

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<v Speaker 1>but few have resonated with us as much as one

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<v Speaker 1>of our early pandemic conversations with John Hope Bryant. He

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<v Speaker 1>is the founder and chief executive officer of Operation Hope.

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<v Speaker 1>He joins us on the phone from Atlanta. We met

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<v Speaker 1>him in person about a hundred and fifty years ago

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<v Speaker 1>at the Super Bowl down in Atlanta. He's been doing

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<v Speaker 1>some phenomenal work in the meantime, as he was before that,

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<v Speaker 1>and he's got a new book. It's called Up from Nothing.

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<v Speaker 1>He joins us from the A T. L. John. Really

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<v Speaker 1>nice to have you with us. How are you? I'm

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<v Speaker 1>gonna be with you. We are. You're right, it's like

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred and fifty years later, given given how much

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<v Speaker 1>the world has changed. Um, we're sitting in a moment

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<v Speaker 1>history now. But history doesn't feel historic when you're sitting

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<v Speaker 1>in it. It just feels like another day. But that

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't mean in the moment is not truly special. So

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<v Speaker 1>I want to thank you all for leaning in and

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<v Speaker 1>continuing to give people get information and content during this time,

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<v Speaker 1>keeping them inspired and you know, deeping out there in

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<v Speaker 1>control in their lives. Well, John, one thing you know

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<v Speaker 1>in saying that, you know, I think we spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>you in early June, right, and the world was reeling

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<v Speaker 1>and shocked by what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis.

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<v Speaker 1>And so I have to say I agree with Jason,

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<v Speaker 1>like your conversation really stayed with us on so many

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<v Speaker 1>different levels, and we've referenced it and repeated it several

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<v Speaker 1>times on our air. Has Are you seeing anything out

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<v Speaker 1>there that's progressed since then? Yes, I think America's found

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<v Speaker 1>our heart button. Um. You know, you can say you

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<v Speaker 1>like what the protesters are doing, or you don't like

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<v Speaker 1>what the protesters are doing, but what you absolutely have

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<v Speaker 1>to say is my god, they have heart um. And

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<v Speaker 1>you can say you don't like what's happening with uh

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<v Speaker 1>some of this candidates supporters are that candidates supporters, But

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<v Speaker 1>my god, do we have an active democracy? And if

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<v Speaker 1>this had happened in China, you disappear. If this has

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<v Speaker 1>happened in Russia, you disappear so in the So that's

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<v Speaker 1>that's the it's sort of the larger scheme of things.

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<v Speaker 1>And then specifically, I like that when this whole thing hit,

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<v Speaker 1>I got a call from this administration's Treasury Department, who

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<v Speaker 1>I actually I actually admire the Treasury department has in

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<v Speaker 1>problems with the other parts of the government, respectfully stated

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<v Speaker 1>but the Secretary of the Treasury, and they called it

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<v Speaker 1>a job. We need help, we want to help small businesses,

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<v Speaker 1>and so I helped them design parts of the p

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<v Speaker 1>p P program in a week. Um. Now, of course

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<v Speaker 1>not we now know the nineties of all black businesses

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<v Speaker 1>don't have an employee that they don't the bank or

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<v Speaker 1>with a bank teller and didn't have the bank relationship

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<v Speaker 1>to get in line and get the money. And that's

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<v Speaker 1>another point we now have to solve. But I like

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<v Speaker 1>that that it was one government. It may have been

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<v Speaker 1>for two weeks, but it wasn't Republican Democrat. It was

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<v Speaker 1>for the two weeks, it was one America. And I

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<v Speaker 1>like the fact that you have all these CEOs stepping

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<v Speaker 1>up because the government leadership is unclear, and markets hate clouds,

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<v Speaker 1>as you know, a Bloomberg, and you have the CEO

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<v Speaker 1>stepping up, saying knock it off, America, let's stand up,

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<v Speaker 1>and then making commitments I mean real money. Some of

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<v Speaker 1>it's pr but most of the real commitments and real money.

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<v Speaker 1>The CEO of Walmart, real dude, CEO of PayPal, real dude.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, ladies and men, Uh, stepping up and doing

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<v Speaker 1>real stuff. Because ninety percent of all jobs come from

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<v Speaker 1>the private sector and a d of the legitimate wealth

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<v Speaker 1>comes from the free enterprise system. So when they stepped up,

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<v Speaker 1>it reminds me of the Civil rights movement. Uh, it

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<v Speaker 1>reminds me of what happened, and we had a last

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<v Speaker 1>what I call the second reconstruction. This is my opinion,

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<v Speaker 1>the third reconstruction, which is why this book I've got

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<v Speaker 1>out now from nothing is so important for this moment

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<v Speaker 1>getting our minds right. We need solutions that are larger

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<v Speaker 1>than the problems that we seek solutions. And John, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm glad you brought up the book because the timing

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<v Speaker 1>is perfect in many ways, because I think we needed

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<v Speaker 1>to be reminded in this pandemic. It's a moment of

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<v Speaker 1>reflection for sure, and obviously the dueling pandemics that that

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<v Speaker 1>we've all talked about in this national and long overdue

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<v Speaker 1>reckoning about our history and and some systemic inequalities. But

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<v Speaker 1>one of the things you remind us about in the

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<v Speaker 1>book is that you can reflect, but then you gotta

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<v Speaker 1>go do it. You gotta get after it. And I

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<v Speaker 1>do wonder sort of what you learned about or sort

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<v Speaker 1>of relearned as you were putting this book together along

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<v Speaker 1>those lines of kind of getting after it. I learned

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<v Speaker 1>that my gut instinct was correct on this that even

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<v Speaker 1>if you want to distribute money money like a socialist,

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<v Speaker 1>you've got a first collect money like a capitalist. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>I learned that this country was made from poor people,

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<v Speaker 1>struggling immigrants from all places and races, and people today

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<v Speaker 1>forget these these yes, white mostly white immigrants were not

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<v Speaker 1>allowed into the office buildings, and they were not giving

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<v Speaker 1>business cards and salaries. And the last major protests we

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<v Speaker 1>had uh like this was a hundred years ago plus,

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<v Speaker 1>which was the precursors to the New Deal, and these

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<v Speaker 1>were all white people back then, I mean folks care protests,

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<v Speaker 1>and the protests today looked like uh kindergarten compared to

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<v Speaker 1>what was going on in the early nineteen hundreds. By

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<v Speaker 1>all white or new immigrants, and then they were allowed

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<v Speaker 1>to come in to the economy and they got the

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<v Speaker 1>new Deal. And then later on it was a new

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<v Speaker 1>Martial plan. And these were government initiatives used to invest,

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<v Speaker 1>not giveaway, invest in the population, which then created economic

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<v Speaker 1>return for the country and a sense of fair play.

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<v Speaker 1>So I was reminded that we really that we are

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<v Speaker 1>our worst enemy in our best asset. Everybody wants to

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<v Speaker 1>be an American, but Americans. But what's wrong now is

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<v Speaker 1>our mindset? What's what? What's wrong now that we were

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<v Speaker 1>now pitted against each other. This is ridiculous. This only

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<v Speaker 1>benefits China and Russia, and China and Russia who want

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<v Speaker 1>to be us. It's crazy that we've got citizen against

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<v Speaker 1>citizens against citizen, Republicans against Democrats, a black against white,

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<v Speaker 1>rich against poor, capitalists against working class. What kind of

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<v Speaker 1>crazy mess is this? The Bible says a house divided

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<v Speaker 1>cannot stay and that's the Biblical and it's also common sense.

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<v Speaker 1>John Hope Bryant found a Cheran CEO of Atlanta based

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<v Speaker 1>global nonprofit Operation Hope, and he does have a new

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<v Speaker 1>book out just yesterday, Up from Nothing, The Untold Story

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<v Speaker 1>of how we in parentheses all succeed And that's really important.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's where I wanted to start, John, because one

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<v Speaker 1>of the things that I kept repeating after our conversation

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<v Speaker 1>with you back in June was this whole idea of

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<v Speaker 1>having a seat at the table, and after George Floyd

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<v Speaker 1>and the protest, because I think you were having conversations

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<v Speaker 1>with people about let's do this calmly, and and people

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<v Speaker 1>were coming to you saying, we'll wait a minute. John.

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<v Speaker 1>It's easy for you to say you have a seat

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<v Speaker 1>at the table. We don't. So this is how we

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<v Speaker 1>get noticed. Are we going to get to make sure

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<v Speaker 1>that everybody has a seat at the table. Are you

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<v Speaker 1>seeing any signs of progress along those lines. Yes, I

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<v Speaker 1>think that people, the leaders I'm talking to now get

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<v Speaker 1>that this time is different. You know, this happens every

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<v Speaker 1>hundred years or so. You know eighteen sorry, seventeen sixty

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<v Speaker 1>to seventeen eighty, eighteen fifty, eighteen seventy uh sixteen, nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>fifty to nineteen seventy. We've killed the last two um

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<v Speaker 1>great leaders by the way, who tried to push this innovation,

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<v Speaker 1>Lincoln and Dr King. This is to me a third

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<v Speaker 1>reconstruction um, that's gonna last for about ten years. And

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<v Speaker 1>I think that it's also happened thirty years early. This

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<v Speaker 1>shouldn't have happened. This should have happened, you know, thirty

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<v Speaker 1>forty years from now. But people, people are tired. They're

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<v Speaker 1>tired of kicking the can down the road. And I

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<v Speaker 1>think God has since the Humoris gave us a global

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<v Speaker 1>health pandemic worse than a hundred years and economic crisis

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<v Speaker 1>and afforded euro social justice reckoning and told us all

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<v Speaker 1>basically to knock it off. On top of that an

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<v Speaker 1>environmental crisis, I think we've got a chance for a

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<v Speaker 1>reset here. We gotta get our minds back in the game.

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<v Speaker 1>We've got too many people with a surviving mindset that

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<v Speaker 1>mean that tends to make you focus on me and

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<v Speaker 1>not we are politicians all the way down to our protesters.

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<v Speaker 1>I told some of the protesters who who I said, Look,

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<v Speaker 1>I understand your pain, I'm with you, but you but

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<v Speaker 1>blaming your neighbor doesn't make you any wealthier, and anger

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<v Speaker 1>is not a strategy. We've got to get you from

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<v Speaker 1>the sweet, from the streets into the sweets. The politicians

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<v Speaker 1>can't keep cutting us up and dicing us and it's

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<v Speaker 1>spreading us because a house divided cannot stand. So we

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<v Speaker 1>need to move back to the theme and made us

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<v Speaker 1>who we are. That made Bloomberg what it is, which

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<v Speaker 1>is a winning mentality and a winner believed they were

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<v Speaker 1>a winner before they want any things. This is fundamental

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<v Speaker 1>and that comes from the way you were raised to

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<v Speaker 1>raise your culture, the way you were nurtured. We need

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<v Speaker 1>hunters more than we need skinners and cooks. We need

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<v Speaker 1>winners who build things more than we need, and we

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<v Speaker 1>can have have the survivors outnumber the winners and drivers.

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<v Speaker 1>The middle class is fantastic, but they we need things

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<v Speaker 1>for them to do, which is what the winners build

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<v Speaker 1>so that they can sustain. And all this comes down

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<v Speaker 1>to what I call the five pillars of success. All

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<v Speaker 1>this is in the book, by the way, and I really,

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<v Speaker 1>I really taken the emotion out of it and reduced

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<v Speaker 1>succeeding in America or any country in the world. I

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<v Speaker 1>believe down the five fundamental principles. You get three or

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<v Speaker 1>more those right, and you kill it, and if you don't,

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<v Speaker 1>you're left behind. And we we need everybody needs to

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<v Speaker 1>understand this is not charity or hand out, Racism is

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<v Speaker 1>a tax, a levy on everybody's prosperity. And so John

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<v Speaker 1>only got about a minute left and highly recommend this book.

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<v Speaker 1>Couldn't recommend it more, and you'll have to check it

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<v Speaker 1>out to get those five pillars of success. But bring

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<v Speaker 1>us back to Atlanta. What are you seeing there on

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<v Speaker 1>the ground because it is the cradle of civil rights,

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<v Speaker 1>you know that better than anyone. Are there signs of

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<v Speaker 1>hope there? Because I feel like if these things are

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<v Speaker 1>going to take root and I'm very biased to Atlanta

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<v Speaker 1>is you know, it's my hometown, Like it's gonna start

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<v Speaker 1>in places like that, what are you seeing? I'm seeing

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<v Speaker 1>that we're doubling down on on our old business plan.

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<v Speaker 1>I was concerned that we would would continue to sort

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<v Speaker 1>of splinter the Andrew Youngs and the ct Vivians and

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<v Speaker 1>all the heroes and heroes here that they're falling away,

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<v Speaker 1>they're getting older. Where's the next generation? I'm seeing them

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<v Speaker 1>step up and I'm seeing whites and black sit at

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<v Speaker 1>the tables and how can we produce more green? So

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<v Speaker 1>so I love that we're trying to figure out how

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<v Speaker 1>do we repair the breach? And that is very inspiring.

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<v Speaker 1>It is the moral center for the country. Al Right, well,

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<v Speaker 1>we're gonna leave it there. We always love catching up

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<v Speaker 1>with you. Thank you so much, John O'Brien He's got

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<v Speaker 1>a new book. It is called Up from Nothing, Checking Out,

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<v Speaker 1>founder and CEO of Operation Hope, and Uh. As we

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<v Speaker 1>said at the top, he's a guy that we constantly

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<v Speaker 1>go back to. Even when we're not talking to him directly,

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<v Speaker 1>we're talking about him in many ways. And I know

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<v Speaker 1>because his name comes up in lots of conversations that

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<v Speaker 1>I have with people. He is advising a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>big names on how to think about all of these issues.

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<v Speaker 1>And thank god, because you know the things that he says,

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<v Speaker 1>Racism is a levy on everyone's prosperity. I remember from

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<v Speaker 1>that initial conversation that this is a financial story, this

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<v Speaker 1>is a wealth story, and we need to get to

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<v Speaker 1>the heart of it to make sure we can make

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<v Speaker 1>a change in all of this. All right, John O'Briant, man,

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<v Speaker 1>I feel inspired.