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Speaker 1: Yes, Yes, I am Dramas and this is the Street

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Speaker 1: Stoic Podcast, bringing you your daily dose of timeless stoic

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Speaker 1: philosophy remixed for the hip hop generation. Now, with that

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Speaker 1: in mind, let's get things started with your daily shot

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Speaker 1: of inspiration. Now today we're gonna be focusing around the

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Speaker 1: stoic idea of diminishing your ego, right, keeping that ego

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Speaker 1: in check. And I found a quote that really resonated

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Speaker 1: with me, and I think it really is a great

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Speaker 1: kind of perspective and a much needed one, especially in

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Speaker 1: the day and age that we live in today. And

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Speaker 1: it's a quote from Alicia Keys, and she says, if

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Speaker 1: we took the time to learn more about different places,

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Speaker 1: perhaps we would have more empathy for each other. And obviously,

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Speaker 1: we exist in a very polarized time right now, where

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Speaker 1: nobody wants to see things from the other side, right,

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Speaker 1: And even just I think as a culture, as human beings,

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Speaker 1: we have this idea that our way of life, the

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Speaker 1: way we do things, is always best, you know, And

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Speaker 1: when we do that, when we operate from that mindset,

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Speaker 1: we close ourselves off from potentially learning something new, right,

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Speaker 1: because just because you're used to doing things one way.

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Speaker 1: It doesn't mean that there's not a better way, or

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Speaker 1: just a different way or an other way that you

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Speaker 1: could be using to your advantage. Right. And this leads

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Speaker 1: to a quote from one of the Stokes epictetis where

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Speaker 1: he says it is impossible for a man to learn

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Speaker 1: what he thinks he already knows. So if you think

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Speaker 1: your way is the only way, and you have it

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Speaker 1: all figured out, then there's no room for you to

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Speaker 1: grow or to learn, right, You're gonna be stuck in

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Speaker 1: the same exact position. Right. And as we talk about

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Speaker 1: the current state of the world and things like politics,

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Speaker 1: the issue of neither side wanting to work with the

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Speaker 1: other and collectively come up with ideas best for us

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Speaker 1: all as a whole, that's what's holding us back. That

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Speaker 1: is what's stopping progress from happening. Right, It's everybody thinking

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Speaker 1: their way is the only way. And I relate to

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Speaker 1: this on such a deep level as of late, because

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Speaker 1: I've kind of developed this new mindset, or at least

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Speaker 1: vantage point of how I view politics. You know, I

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Speaker 1: was subscribing to the very polarizing sort of mindset for

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Speaker 1: a long time of you know, making fun of the

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Speaker 1: other side and pointing out idiocracy and quick to call

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Speaker 1: people crazy and getting angry at you know, family members

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Speaker 1: who had thoughts that I did not agree on whatsoever.

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Speaker 1: And I've sort of begun to have a mindset shift

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Speaker 1: in not what I believe to be right, but the

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Speaker 1: way that I interact with other people who have a

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Speaker 1: different mindset than me. Right, Rather than just writing people

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Speaker 1: off as crazy or as you know, conspiracy theorists, or

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Speaker 1: as dumb or whatever it might be, I'm challenging myself

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Speaker 1: to get in their shoes and look at the world

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Speaker 1: from their perspective. Right. This isn't a co sign for

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Speaker 1: people doing dumb things, for you know, for not believing

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Speaker 1: in elections or whatever it might be. But I believe

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Speaker 1: that the change that I'm hoping we all actually want

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Speaker 1: to see it doesn't come from pointing out the faults

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Speaker 1: of the other person, right, or calling other person crazy

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Speaker 1: or trying to just beat them into submission. That's healing

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Speaker 1: the wound. If you truly want to heal the disease,

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Speaker 1: that involves taking the time to actually see where people

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Speaker 1: are coming from and where their thought process is coming from. Right,

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Speaker 1: why are they so upset? And for me kind of

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Speaker 1: coming to this moment of like recognizing there's another vantage

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Speaker 1: point out there, or even just trying to see things

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Speaker 1: from the other side. You know. It was me becoming

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Speaker 1: close with someone who didn't necessarily grow up the same

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Speaker 1: way as myself, and having met them as a person

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Speaker 1: first and developing a connection and that friendship, recognizing that

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Speaker 1: this isn't a bad person. It's just a good person

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Speaker 1: who grew up differently and it's shaped the way that

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Speaker 1: they think. And when I was able to remove that

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Speaker 1: sort of wall and see the human in them, I recognized, Wow,

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Speaker 1: if I'm able to do this for this one person,

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Speaker 1: that means I should be able to do this for

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Speaker 1: everybody out there who I disagree with, Right, Because, just

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Speaker 1: like this other person who happens to be in my life,

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Speaker 1: other people out there are also human beings. Many of

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Speaker 1: them might actually be people who do a lot of

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Speaker 1: really good things and are down to earth and are

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Speaker 1: down to help their neighbor, right, And them just having

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Speaker 1: a different point of view from me doesn't mean I

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Speaker 1: should write them off completely, you know, and ignore the

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Speaker 1: humanity in them. Now you have heard from me and

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Speaker 1: my campaign speech for twenty twenty four, We have heard

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Speaker 1: from Alisia Keys and we've also heard from Epictetis. Now

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Speaker 1: let's talk about how you can make it your mantra

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Speaker 1: for today. But first to take a quick break and

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Speaker 1: then we'll be right back. All right. So this idea

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Speaker 1: of focusing on diminishing your ego and looking at it

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Speaker 1: from the perspective of your way is not the only way,

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Speaker 1: right and listen, this is easier said than done, right,

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Speaker 1: but you have to stop for a second and think

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Speaker 1: to yourself, what is the bigger goal at the end

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Speaker 1: of the day. Am I trying to grow? Am I

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Speaker 1: trying to progress? Am I trying to be a positive

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Speaker 1: force for anyone that comes into contact with me? And

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Speaker 1: if the answer is yes, you're gonna kind of have

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Speaker 1: to let down your guard a little bit. You're gonna

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Speaker 1: you're gonna have to be open to the fact that

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Speaker 1: other people are not going to see things the way

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Speaker 1: that you do. Right, you have to let go of

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Speaker 1: your ego bit in that situation for the sake of growth,

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Speaker 1: progress and also just being a good human being. You know,

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Speaker 1: seeing other people's perspectives, even if you don't agree with them,

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Speaker 1: it's only gonna benefit you. Like I'm not saying that

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Speaker 1: we have to agree with people that we have to

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Speaker 1: let them get away with saying things that are hurtful,

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Speaker 1: harmful or that we don't agree with. Right. I think

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Speaker 1: you can still have your perspective, you can still have

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Speaker 1: your opinion and stand strong in what you believe in,

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Speaker 1: but you also have to make sure that you are

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Speaker 1: talking to the other person as a human being and

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Speaker 1: treating them with such Right, You're looking at somebody with

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Speaker 1: empathy for the fact that they going through something or

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Speaker 1: something has shaped their experience in such a way that

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Speaker 1: makes them think this particular way that you disagree with. Right.

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Speaker 1: And when you look at, you know, things from someone

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Speaker 1: else's perspective, it allows you to replace that anger that

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Speaker 1: you might feel or that frustration with empathy. Right. And

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Speaker 1: and that's a far healthier way to live than carrying

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Speaker 1: around the burden of anger constantly. Right. So to recap

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Speaker 1: all that we were talking about today around this idea

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Speaker 1: of diminishing your ego, you know, we started with Alicia

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Speaker 1: Keys talking about people taking the time to learn about

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Speaker 1: different places and things that are not a part of

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Speaker 1: their everyday life and how that can cause them to

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Speaker 1: have empathy for other's situations and the way others think, right,

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Speaker 1: and then Stoe quotes here from epictetis, it's impossible for

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Speaker 1: a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.

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Speaker 1: If you are sitting so firmly in your own beliefs

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Speaker 1: and your own perspective, you are going to be stagnated

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Speaker 1: in that same exact position, and no growth, no change,

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Speaker 1: no no actual progress for the greater good comes from

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Speaker 1: people who decide to just be stuck in the same position. Right,

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Speaker 1: And even me, how I've kind of applied this to

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Speaker 1: my own life. I've been very, very vocal about my

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Speaker 1: opinion when it comes to politics, when it comes to

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Speaker 1: societal issues, I have been, just like many other people,

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Speaker 1: frustrated by family members who don't think the same way

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Speaker 1: that I do. But I can honestly tell you that

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Speaker 1: getting this perspective change, seeing the humanity and people who

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Speaker 1: have a different point of view than me, it's lightening

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Speaker 1: the load just a bit, right. It's made those family

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Speaker 1: parties not feel so suffocating. Right. I can sit there

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Speaker 1: and coexist with people on a human level and communicate

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Speaker 1: and hear them out because I understand that, just like me,

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Speaker 1: they're viewing something based upon their own experiences in this life. Right,

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Speaker 1: And if I truly want to actually have a positive

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Speaker 1: effect in this world, I have to hear others out,

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Speaker 1: even if I disagree with their point of view. Right,

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Speaker 1: I have to have empathy and lead with empathy if

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Speaker 1: I'm actually looking to be an agent of change rather

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Speaker 1: than one who just continues to divide this country further

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Speaker 1: and further apart. Hopefully this maybe lightens the load a

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Speaker 1: little bit on some of these holiday festivities that we

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Speaker 1: have coming up, allows you to maybe have a different

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Speaker 1: perspective going into it with people in your life that

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Speaker 1: you don't agree with, just allowing you to see the

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Speaker 1: human in them and recognize that their thoughts and beliefs

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Speaker 1: don't also make up all of who they are as

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Speaker 1: a person to a certain point. Of course, there are lines,

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Speaker 1: but that's a topic for another time. Now. With that said,

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Speaker 1: thank you for checking out the Street Stoic podcast. Do

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Speaker 1: your best to apply these concepts that we discussed into

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Speaker 1: your everyday life, and I will catch you next time.

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Speaker 1: The Street Stoke podcast is a production of Iheart's Akutura

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Speaker 1: podcast Network. Yeah